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Europe
The Guardian

McDonald’s to take on KFC and rivals as Gen Z flock to fried chicken

The fast food chain’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, said McDonald’s current share of the chicken market was ‘high teens’, but that it was bigger and growing at twice the pace of beef. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PAView image in fullscreenThe fast food chain’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, said McDonald’s current share of the chicken market was ‘high teens’, but that it was bigger and growing at twice the pace of beef. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PAMcDonald'sMcDonald’s to take on KFC and rivals as Gen Z flock to fried chickenFast food giant aiming to increase share of global chicken market as rising cost of beef hits profits McDonald’s is betting on fried chicken as health concerns and the rising price of beef shift dining habits. The company said that it aimed to take an extra 1.5 percentage point-share of the global chicken market by 2030, with an aim to increase its share of drinks by the same proportion. McDonald’s said the growth in chicken, a lower-priced protein, would not come at the expense of beef burger sales, saying it aimed maintain its “leadership position in beef”. Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s chair and chief executive, told investors in May that the chain’s share of the chicken market was in the “high teens”, compared with about 45% in beef, but the chicken market was bigger and growing at twice the pace of its red meat counterpart. McDonald’s has warned that the rising cost of beef, as well as energy, was hitting profits for its franchisees. The chain also faces heavy competition from the rapid rise of chicken shop chains including Popeyes and Wingstop as well as expansion by the more established player KFC, driven particularly by the popularity of fried chicken among younger Gen Z consumers. “McDonald’s has the unmatched scale, customer insights, brand loyalty and operational capabilities to not only adapt to the next wave of change in our industry, but to turn it into an advantage,” said Kempczinski. The chain also said it would spend about $8.5bn (£6.4bn) to help franchisees with rent and improve their restaurants. The change comes amid the rapid rise in chicken shops and sales of chicken and the surging price of beef, which has risen by more than 20% in the past two years in the US and the UK, according to figures from the UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. Peter Backman, an independent food service industry analyst, said “chicken is cheaper and perceived as healthier”. He said the rising price of beef was likely to be a “drag on the market” for burgers and offering more chicken would enable McDonald’s to sell more to its fans and “steal a bit of market share from other quick service operators”. He said higher drinks sales were probably attractive as beverages tended to be more profitable. In the UK, 39% of consumers used chicken shops in 2025 compared with 37% in 2023, according to market research firm Mintel, with Gen Z usage hitting 52%, almost matching pizza outlets at 56%. A plethora of other options, including Asian-inspired chains such as Wagamama, are also eating into the market share of burgers and pizza. Late last year Domino’s Pizza Group announced that its chief executive of two years had stepped down with immediate effect, less than two weeks after he appeared to suggest the UK may be approaching “peak pizza” and that the chain should try to broaden its menu to sell more chicken.

McDonald’s to take on KFC and rivals as Gen Z flock to fried chicken
North America
CNBC Economy

France’s wine production nears a 70-year low, leaving winemakers with tough choices

Florent Latour, CEO of the largest owner of Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy, spent the summer praying for rain. "We felt we were so close," Latour, who's head of Maison Louis Latour, told CNBC. "Just a bit more rain would have produced a fantastic harvest on both counts, but we had to settle for quality, and about half of a harvest." His prayers — and frustrations — are being echoed across France, as a record-hot summer and severe droughts hit the country's world-famous wine industry hard. France's agriculture ministry has warned that wine production could hit a 70-year low in 2026, marking the third year of reduced output. "The 2023 vintage was decent, but yields have been pretty disastrous since the start of the decade," said Jean-Marie Cardebat, chair of wines and spirits at the INSEEC Grande École university. "We are realizing that no region in France is safe from heatwaves today." Paradoxically, the regions that suffer the most are those with more temperate climates, namely the Loire Valley and Champagne. In contrast, winemakers in the southern regions of Bordeaux and Languedoc-Roussillon reported higher harvests compared to last year. For Cardebat, also an economics professor at the University of Bordeaux, France's poor preparation in the face of climate change is a big problem. "Spain is more often affected by heatwaves and global warming; however, it is better prepared," he said. "Partly because it already has an irrigation network in place." This is rare in France, he said, and permitted only in exceptional cases. "In France, setting up such measures takes time." The impacts of climate change are heightening the debate around the strict rules that govern France's wine sector. Last year, Chateau Lafleur caused a storm by withdrawing from the prestigious Pomerol and wider Bordeaux official designations for their six wines. Owned by the Guinaudeau family, the estate said that rigid appellation (AOC) rules — which include irrigation restrictions, planting densities, and permitted grape varieties among others — prevented it from adapting quickly enough to the changing climate.

France’s wine production nears a 70-year low, leaving winemakers with tough choices
North America
CNBC Economy

Consumers hit by one-two punch of oil and rates from Iran war. The estimated bill is $1,700 per household

Consumers are facing a double-whammy of jumping oil prices and Treasury yields amid the U.S. war with Iran that is leaving them increasingly cash-strapped. Crude prices reaccelerated in recent weeks as fighting between the U.S. and Iran has ramped back up, a development that will lead to higher prices at the pump. On top of that, the 10-year Treasury yield jumped this week to its highest in 19 years, threatening to intensify affordability challenges for consumers as borrowing costs rise for items like homes and cars. "Consumers are under a lot of financial pressure," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The total bill per household since the U.S.-Iran conflict began is around $1,760, according to an analysis from Moody's Analytics as of Sept. 11. Zandi said $930 — or more than half — of that total bill for households comes from higher costs for energy, a category that includes pressures from rising prices on items like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Cumulatively, Moody's found that U.S. consumers have spent more than $121 billion extra on energy since the war began. Another $425 of that $1,760 stems from higher interest rates since the war broke out. The final $405 comes from higher military spending, which Zandi said consumers will foot the bill for through either national debt expansion or increased taxes. U.S. crude oil prices topped $105 per barrel on Tuesday, its highest closing level since mid May. Tuesday's jump came despite Energy Secretary Chris Wright's assurance to CNBC that the closure of a Saudi Arabian pipeline would only last a few days. The average gallon of gas in the U.S. exceeded $4.32 on Tuesday, up 6% month over month and 36% from a year ago, according to AAA. Labor Day travelers earlier this month faced their highest prices at the pump for the holiday on record. Per-gallon diesel prices hit all-time highs above $6 in recent days and were roughly 70% higher than the same day a year prior, per AAA. Economists have warned that companies could pass on higher costs for diesel — the fuel type largely used by truckers to transport groceries and other goods — to consumers in the form of price hikes. Slightly over 29% of respondents to the University of Michigan's closely followed consumer sentiment survey mentioned gas prices in September. That's up from around 12% and 6% readings in the same month of 2024 and 2025, respectively. Deloitte found that a 20% gain in crude oil prices translates to an estimated increase in inflation of about three-tenths of a percentage point. But that excludes knock-on impacts to prices for airfare or food, for example, which can make the overall impact on price growth higher, the consultancy said in a May report. Airfare prices have been one of the fastest-accelerating categories tracked in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index since the war broke out. The price has jumped more than 23% in August from the same month a year before, per the latest data from the BLS released last week.

Consumers hit by one-two punch of oil and rates from Iran war. The estimated bill is $1,700 per household
Europe
BBC Business

Paramount settles lawsuit with US states, clearing way for $110bn merger with Warner Bros

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, A coalition of states led by California had challenged the deal, raising concerns over competition across film and television. Paramount Skydance has settled a lawsuit with a dozen US states, paving the way for its $110bn (£82.8bn) merger with Warner Bros Discovery. Under the agreement, Paramount must produce at least 30 films a year and ensure a certain percentage are produced in the US, or face penalties including selling off parts of its business. The deal clears one of the final hurdles for the merger that is set to reshape Hollywood, combining legacy studios, major streamers, and national networks under one umbrella. Announcing the settlement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the agreement was "not a vote of support for this merger", while Paramount's chief executive welcomed the resolution. David Ellison said that now the state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) concerns had been addressed, "we have complete clearance for this merger and look forward to putting these commitments into action". "Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and - most importantly -the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling," he said. The WGA said it continues to believe the deal "will cause damage to writers and the industry at large". The guild said it was forced to settle its own lawsuit because, as a non-profit, it could not afford to fight the merger alone without government support. The studio is set to pay $17.5m into the WGA health fund, cover legal fees, and prohibit writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for five years. Bonta said the settlement will help boost film production in the US. Under the agreement, Paramount must release at least 30 films each year. To prevent the studio from fulfilling its annual quota with low-budget or automated content, Bonta said there were strict guardrails against "AI-generated" films.

Paramount settles lawsuit with US states, clearing way for $110bn merger with Warner Bros
North America
CNBC Economy

Consumer sentiment is in the dumps despite a solid economy. Goldman Sachs blames 'lower happiness'

Goldman Sachs identified a potential culprit for sour consumer sentiment readings: A decline in happiness. The consumer sentiment index tracked by the University of Michigan hit record lows this year. The index fell 13% year over year in September, due to a drop of almost 8% from August alone. Economists have widely questioned why sentiment has remained depressed since the Covid pandemic, even as the economy hummed along on paper. Goldman economist Joseph Briggs told clients this week that the downward pressure may stem from broader pessimism in society. "Low reported economic sentiment likely reflects a more fundamental, downbeat assessment of the state of the world rather than the economy," Briggs wrote to clients. To be sure, Briggs said inflationary pressures are likely also hurting confidence. But he said "lower happiness" at large can partially explain the continued disconnect between sentiment and other measures of the economy's performance, such as gross domestic product growth or stock market performance, that offer rosier views. Briggs pointed to data from the University of Chicago's General Social Survey illustrating how happiness never fully recovered from a drop during the pandemic. The share of respondents feeling "very happy" fell to 23% in 2024 from 31% in 2016, survey data shows. The percentage reporting responses of "not too happy" rose from 13% to 20% over the same period, per the data. Overall happiness saw a sharper decline than the perception of financial satisfaction also tracked in the survey, according to Briggs' analysis of the data. Briggs isn't the only economist pointing the finger at declining happiness readings. Joanne Hsu, the director of Michigan's survey, told CNBC earlier this year that the downtrend in sentiment mirrors readings showing both decreasing happiness and trust in public institutions. Briggs also cited a connection between lower overall happiness readings and decreasing trust in institutions. He found that lower trust in these bodies caused a "disproportionate amount" of the decline in net happiness in recent years. Given the connection to non-economic variables, consumer sentiment readings may not improve even if the economy continues chugging along, Briggs said. As a result, consumer sentiment may become a less useful predictor of economic dynamics, he said. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Consumer sentiment is in the dumps despite a solid economy. Goldman Sachs blames 'lower happiness'
Europe
The Guardian

Patrick Clancy interview on 60 Minutes fails to provide big ratings boost for CBS

Patrick Clancy during his 60 Minutes interview. Photograph: CBS NewsView image in fullscreenPatrick Clancy during his 60 Minutes interview. Photograph: CBS NewsUS newsPatrick Clancy interview on 60 Minutes fails to provide big ratings boost for CBSAmid show’s major overhaul by Bari Weiss, Sunday’s episode draws third-smallest audience for a second episode in the past 25 years 60 Minutes’ blockbuster interview with Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, failed to provide a major ratings boost for the Sunday show, according to audience figures released Tuesday. Sunday night’s episode of the newsmagazine show drew an average of 6.77m total viewers, the third-smallest audience in the past 25 years for the second episode of a season, adding to a disappointing debut for Bari Weiss, who, as CBS editor-in-chief, rewired the show, firing several high-profile correspondents in the run-up to the new season. The 59th season debuted on 13 September with an audience down sharply from the 58th season debut, drawing 7.94 million viewers compared with 10 million for last season’s first episode. That episode was the show’s lowest-rated season debut in the 21st century, though CBS News touted it as the most-watched non-sports program of the week and released a statement expressing satisfaction with the content of the program. “We are so proud of the exceptional journalism on display in our season premiere and we can’t wait to bring our audience another amazing show this coming Sunday,” the network said last week. The 20 September episode of the show barely edged last season’s second episode (6.45 million viewers), and it was likely hurt by not having NFL football as a lead-in program in all markets. But it featured what should have been an audience-boosting interview, with new correspondent Ross Douthat sitting down with Patrick Clancy, who described the killings of his children and the aftermath. Clancy’s new wife, fertility doctor Rachel Danis, also gave a brief interview. In a nod to the interview’s cultural significance and importance for the show, Weiss was in attendance for the conversation, sources said. The show also featured a timely segment on pushback against datacenters reported by correspondent Norah O’Donnell, along with a whodunnit piece from longtime sports-focused correspondent Jon Wertheim about Shergar, an Irish racehorse kidnapped in the 1980s. While Douthat’s interview with Clancy received generally favorable reviews, it evidently was not the ratings draw that CBS News executives had hoped. The show’s debut episode had also featured a blockbuster interview, with one of the American fighter pilots shot down over Iran in April. On a positive note for the network, the episode attracted 179.2m social views, surpassing last week’s record of 116.7m views.

Patrick Clancy interview on 60 Minutes fails to provide big ratings boost for CBS
Europe
BBC Business

Off sick? You need to phone your boss, back-to-work adviser says

Image source, Getty ImagesByLucy HookerBusiness reporterPublished23 September 2026, 11:40 BSTUpdated 58 minutes agoPeople off sick from work should keep in phone contact with their boss, government-appointed back-to-work expert Sir Charlie Mayfield has said. Getting bosses and workers to have a conversation, rather than simply exchanging emails and sicknotes, could help get people back into work, Sir Charlie, who is leading the Keep Britain Working taskforce, said. His latest report said health-related economic inactivity was costing Britain around £210bn a year in benefit payments and lost output. The report calls for more workplace support, external for people with health conditions and disabilities and the establishment of a Workplace Health System alongside the NHS. But improving communication was also a way to "rehumanise" the workplace and help prevent people dropping out of work altogether, Sir Charlie said. The report does not suggest that someone struck down by flu needs to croak through their symptoms over the phone or that bosses need to provide down-the-line sickbed sympathy if an employee is off with food poisoning. "I'm not worried about a day here and a day there. It is more about longer term issues," Sir Charlie told the BBC's Today Programme. But he said Britain was doing a "poor job" of handling sickness in the workplace, leading to more people becoming disengaged and dropping out altogether. "I have met so many people who have said to me, 'You know, I was signed off sick and I was off sick for a month, two months, three months, and I had almost no contact with my employer'," Sir Charlie said. Around 300,000 people leave work every year with a health condition, much of which is preventable, the report said. Sir Charlie said employees sometimes feared talking about long-term health issues with their employer. "But the fear is also felt by employers as well because they're afraid of causing offence or creating a complaint or a grievance," he added.

Off sick? You need to phone your boss, back-to-work adviser says
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Her education business started from a 4-room HDB flat at age 24

Nicolette Ng started giving tuition at 24 and now runs the Write Edge chain of education centres. SINGAPORE – Nicolette Ng runs 12 education centres in Singapore, providing English writing enrichment to students. Her business, Write Edge, had humble beginnings, operating out of a four-room HDB flat when Ng was 24 years old. “My mother encouraged me to move to a small 130 sq ft shop unit, and from there, we grew to 60 students in a span of six months,” she said. She was then joined by co-founder Eileen Chin, and the business expanded by one shop a year over the next 12 years. By February 2027, she will have opened two more centres, taking the total to 14. Ng said: “In the early years, I thought success came just from working hard and moving fast. But as the company grew, I learnt that leadership also requires emotional resilience, self-awareness and the ability to navigate uncertainty, criticism and change.” She added that growth amplifies both her strengths and her blind spots. “I had to learn how to delegate, trust people, communicate more clearly and build systems that could scale beyond me,” Ng said. Ng also worked in communications and media, including at Singapore Press Holdings and Weber Shandwick. She handled media monitoring and content development, and supported regional projects. Ng holds a master’s degree in education (English language) from the National Institute of Education and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Nanyang Technological University. She is married to a senior product manager in a technology company and they have a five-year-old child. I invest in the business itself – whether it is building stronger teams, improving our curriculum, or putting resources into systems that allow us to scale well. I also invest in my own development – through structured programmes, mentorship, retreats, workshops or any exposure that helps me become a better professional and leader.

Her education business started from a 4-room HDB flat at age 24
North America
CNBC Economy

UK inflation jumps to 3.1% as energy costs soar

The U.K.'s annual inflation rate jumped to 3.1% in August, pushed up by surging gasoline and diesel prices. The print, which was in line with economists' expectations, marked the first inflation reading above 3% since March. The country's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the spike was largely driven by rising motor fuel costs, which surged 23% year-on-year. The average price of gasoline rose by 9.1 pence ($0.12) per liter between July and August, the ONS said, putting average prices at their highest since Nov. 2022. Meanwhile, average diesel prices rose by 14.2 pence per liter in August. Inflation rose to 2.9% in July, as a government-regulated price cap on energy costs was revised sharply upward. Prices are continuing to rise as crude oil prices hover above $100 a barrel. Earlier this week, British motoring body the RAC said petrol and diesel prices had hit, since the Iran war began, with both fuels now at prices not seen in four years. The U.K., a net importer of energy, is particularly vulnerable to external energy shocks. The country's inflation rate rose to 2.9% in July, as a government-regulated price cap on energy costs was revised sharply upward. In August, the cost of electricity, gas and other household fuels jumped 6% year-on-year, the ONS said Wednesday. The U.K. is still grappling with a cost-of-living crisis sparked by post-pandemic inflation and surging energy costs that arose in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Yields on U.K. government bonds, known as gilts, fell across the curve after Wednesday's inflation print. The yield on the 30-year gilt — which rose to a 28-year high on Tuesday — was last seen almost 2 basis points lower at 5.907%. The benchmark 10-year gilt yield was nearly 3 basis points lower at 5.365%. The inflation print comes before the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee announces its latest policy update on Thursday. Markets are pricing in more than an 80% chance of the central bank holding its key interest rate steady at 3.75%, according to LSEG data, but are anticipating a hike at its next meeting in November. Rising costs also add to the pressure on new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has pledged to tackle the cost-of-living burden but is also tasked with balancing the public books and placating the bond market.

UK inflation jumps to 3.1% as energy costs soar