Latest Developments

Europe
The Guardian

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement

Bloomsbury, which is home to the bestselling novelists Sarah J Maas and Susanna Clarke as well as JK Rowling, said it had 14,087 titles listed within the settlement, with a proposed compensation of about $3,000 a title. The London-based company expects to receive the cash from the settlement in instalments, potentially starting in the second half of this fiscal year, with the proceeds to be split with authors. After a deduction of about 10% for attorney fees and other expenses, Bloomsbury and the group of affected authors can expect to receive about $19m (£14m). View image in fullscreenThe lawsuit against Anthropic was filed by the novelist Andrea Bartz and two other authors in 2024. Photograph: Richard Drew/APThe US district judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said on Monday that the settlement provided “meaningful relief” to affected authors and publishers. The case began when the novelist Andrea Bartz and two other authors filed the lawsuit in 2024. About 91% of the 482,000 works covered in the suit have been claimed. Anthropic’s deputy general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, said in a written statement after the ruling: “We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we’re looking forward to bringing this matter to a close.” Bloomsbury announced an AI licensing deal last year which allows it to sell academic works to train up generative AI programmes. The firm said recently that more subject areas were now being considered for AI training. Authors have been given the opportunity to “opt in” to the scheme and will be paid royalties if they decide to let their work be used.

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement
North America
CNBC Finance

Nike to cut off thousands of online distributors in China, restructure digital footprint

Nike is planning to cut off thousands of online distributors in China beginning in January as the sneaker giant looks to clean up what's become a messy digital marketplace and get the region back to growth, the company said Tuesday. Starting next year, Nike's online footprint will shift primarily to the retailer's official website and app, and the storefronts it operates on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, some of China's largest online marketplaces and social platforms. Currently, consumers can shop Nike through all of those channels as well as thousands of other online storefronts powered by Nike's brick-and-mortar partners in the region and a network of secondary distributors. While the vast digital network has led to widespread consumer access to Nike's products, it's also created an inconsistent branding and pricing experience and hampered the company's efforts to reverse a sales decline in the region. "These new flagships will serve as the single, elevated destination for Nike within these ecosystems, with clearer product presentation, stronger storytelling and more connected consumer journeys," Cathy Sparks, Nike's new vice president and general manager of Greater China, wrote in a letter. "This is about strengthening the platforms where consumers already begin and end their shopping journey, making sure those experiences are direct, consistent and unmistakably Nike." "This is not about reducing access. It is about reducing fragmentation and strengthening the consumer journey," she said. "When the experience is consistent, the brand becomes stronger." Nike's plans to pare back its online footprint are designed to create a better, more consistent experience for the consumer and allow it to take back pricing control online. However, there are also concerns it could lead to a material drop in revenue in a region that's already shrunk about 30% in the last five years. News about Nike's plans to cut off online distributors first came to light late last month in a local Chinese media report. It prompted a note from BNP Paribas equity analyst Laurent Vasilescu, who wrote the move is reminiscent of Nike's ill-fated decision to cut off wholesalers in North America, which contributed to its collapse of market dominance in the region, as well as steep declines in sales and margins. "This strategy opened up shelf space for competitors and the strategy ended poorly for Nike. We believe the same could happen if it takes the same approach in China," Vasilescu wrote last month, adding that BNP was sticking with its underperform rating for the company. "We don't think Nike has a distributor problem but rather a product problem which also applies in other markets." The change is also expected to hurt Nike's brick-and-mortar partners in the region, which have expanded their online presence in recent years to grow their own businesses. Still, Topsports, Nike's largest distributor in mainland China, said it supports the company's decision. "Topsports has worked with Nike for 27 years based on the principle of mutual benefit and shared growth," Topsports CEO Yu Wu said in a statement. "This adjustment will bring some short-term pressure to our business. But we firmly believe that, over the medium- to long-term, this direction will help promote a healthier, more orderly, and more sustainable retail ecosystem in China, while further improving consumer experience and product appeal." "Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with Nike, leveraging our strengths in offline retail operations, local consumer service, and deep market development across city tiers," Wu said. "Through new concept sport stores and high-quality physical retail experiences, we will bring Chinese consumers richer and more meaningful sport experiences."

Nike to cut off thousands of online distributors in China, restructure digital footprint
Europe
BBC Business

France passes law banning under-15s from social media

Image source, Getty ImagesByHugh Schofield, Paris correspondent and Ottilie Mitchell, BBC NewsPublished8 minutes agoFrance's parliament has approved a law to ban social media for under-15s from January 2027, making it the first European country to block young people from the platforms. The law will mean everyone in France must verify their age to access social media and comes as the UK and EU are developing their own limits in response to concerns for children's mental health. French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed the move, which he had pledged to introduce to mark the end of his decade in office. While sceptics have questioned the law's viability, the government has insisted the online tools to put the age checks in place are effective and safe. Both the French Senate and National Assembly adopted the ban on Tuesday, despite criticism from some on the left. Once the ban is in place, social media platforms would need to use age-verification tools approved by the French privacy regulator, according to Reuters news agency. But concerns have been raised over privacy, the efficacy of age-verification tools, the risks of young people bypassing them, and how quickly the ban has been designed and brought in, Agence France Presse reports. French Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff defended the speed of the law's implementation ahead of the vote "because age-verification tools already exist", the agency added. Despite Australia banning under-16s from social media in December, it is widely acknowledged that many continue to use the platforms. In March, Australia's eSafety Commission announced seven out of 10 children aged under 16 who had a social media account before the ban still had "some access". Given this, Professor of Internet Studies at Western Australia's Curtin University Tama Leaver told the BBC the ban has "failed" in its technical aims. But, he says, it has successfully shown a ban "can be done" though classifies it as "a bit of an experiment".

France passes law banning under-15s from social media
North America
CNBC Finance

GM announces new gas-powered Cadillac vehicles amid EV pullback

DETROIT — General Motors will launch new gas-powered Cadillac vehicles beginning next spring as the automaker continues to shift gears away from all-electric vehicles. GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday that the next-generation Cadillacs will include new versions of the company's CT5 sedan, outdated XT5 midsize SUV and discontinued three-row XT6 SUV. "Starting next spring and continuing into 2028, we will begin launching the next generation of Cadillac ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicles," Barra said during the company's second-quarter earnings call. She said the vehicles will be in addition to Cadillac's current all-electric crossovers and Escalade SUV. The new product announcements add to GM's pullback in EVs. The automaker had planned for Cadillac to exclusively sell electric vehicles by the end of this decade. The company also has walked back EV plans for other brands and increased gas-powered engine production, including V-8 offerings. GM has recorded $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since the second half of last year after slower-than-expected electric vehicle adoption as well as U.S. regulatory changes easing emissions standards and eliminating support for EVs. Barra reiterated that GM's plans include "onshoring significant manufacturing" for the Detroit automaker beginning next year, in part by expanding production of its full-size SUVs to a Michigan plant that was previously slated to build EVs. The full-size SUVs — Escalade, Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL — are currently exclusively produced at the company's Arlington Assembly plant in Texas. 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.

GM announces new gas-powered Cadillac vehicles amid EV pullback
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s edible oil import bill up 20% in first 8 months

With India’s edible oil import bill up over 20 per cent in the first eight months of the oil year 2025-26 (November-October), the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) forecasts it to touch ₹1.75 lakh crore by the oil year-end. In his monthly letter to SEA members on Wedensday, Sanjeev Asthana, President of SEA, said India stands at a defining moment in its edible oil journey, and the warning signs are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The country’s edible oil import bill, which stood at ₹1.61 lakh crore last year, is now projected to cross an unprecedented ₹1.75 lakh crore this year. During November-June of the current oil year alone, imports have already exceeded 104 lakh tonnes, with the import bill rising from ₹99,000 crore to ₹1.19 lakh crore, an increase of nearly ₹20,000 crore in just eight months (a growth of 20.20 per cent). “This is not merely another statistic; it represents a substantial outflow of precious foreign exchange that could otherwise be channelled into strengthening India’s agricultural infrastructure,” he said. Stating that a weaker rupee has made imports costlier, Asthana said at the same time weather uncertainties, including below-normal monsoon forecasts and delayed sowing in several oilseed-growing regions, are raising concerns over domestic production. He said global developments are adding further pressure. Indonesia’s expanding biodiesel programme is diverting larger quantities of palm oil from food to fuel, tightening global supplies, while geopolitical uncertainties and higher freight and insurance costs continue to keep international edible oil prices volatile. “The net effect is that India may be compelled to import more, and pay considerably more for every tonne. While imports will continue to play an important role, India’s long-term answer cannot lie in importing more — it must lie in producing more,” he said. Expressing concerns over the delayed monsoon, he said the South-West monsoon has been uneven this year, with several oilseed-growing regions recording rainfall well below normal. Stating that initial kharif sowing data already reflect this stress, he said groundnut, soybean and sunflower sowing has lagged behind last year’s pace, and overall oilseed acreage has remained substantially lower at 147 lakh hectares as on July 17 compared to 155.7 lakh hectares, down by 8.6 lakh hectares, for the same period of last year. Particular concern is the possibility of weaker rainfall during the critical August-September flowering period, which could adversely affect oilseed yields and further deplete reservoir levels, with implications for the forthcoming rabi season as well. “The silver lining is that sowing delays do not necessarily translate into lower production; historically, acreage has caught up once rainfall improves. The coming weeks will therefore be decisive in determining whether kharif 2026 regains momentum, or whether India faces yet another year of heightened import dependence,” Asthana said. Referring to the recent calls by the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), S Mahendra Dev, for incentive-driven crop diversification towards oilseeds and pulses, he said these calls reinforce a direction SEA has consistently advocated.

India’s edible oil import bill up 20% in first 8 months
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Brent crude above $95 drags Nifty below 24,000 for third straight session

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses for a third straight session on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 715 points and the Nifty slipping below 24,000 as Brent crude climbed above $95 a barrel amid escalating tensions in West Asia. Equity markets extended their losing streak into a third consecutive session on Wednesday, as a sharp surge in crude oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia rattled investor sentiment, overshadowing a largely encouraging start to the earnings season. The Nifty 50 closed at 23,996.25, down 191.45 points or 0.79 per cent, slipping below the psychologically significant 24,000 mark. The Sensex fell 715.06 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at 76,755.05. The broader market fared worse, the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.09 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 1.53 per cent, with market breadth turning sharply negative, decliners outpacing gainers roughly 2:1. Brent crude climbed above $95 a barrel, a five-week high, while WTI breached $88, as US strikes on Iran continued and peace talks remained stalled, stoking fresh fears over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. “Rising oil is now the market’s central risk... results alone won’t be enough to change direction,” said Sarvam Goel, Founder, Pocketful. Sector performance was broadly weak. Real estate, media, and PSU banks were among the steepest losers, while pharma stocks came under additional pressure after US President Donald Trump announced a phased tariff plan on generic drug imports: zero tariffs for two years, followed by 100 per cent in year three and 200 per cent thereafter. Auto and FMCG were the only sectors to end in positive territory. On the earnings front, Bajaj Auto hit a fresh 52-week high after reporting strong Q1FY27 numbers, and Nestlé India gained over 3 per cent after posting a 48 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit to ₹959 crore on revenue of ₹6,378 crore. Bandhan Bank, however, plunged nearly 19 per cent despite reporting a 37 per cent rise in profit to ₹1,037 crore, after the bank lowered its return-on-assets guidance for FY27 due to expected margin pressure from rising deposit costs. The Indian rupee weakened by 32 paise to close at 96.56 against the US dollar, pressured by surging crude oil prices and a stronger dollar. Gold hit a two-week high of $4,140, while silver edged closer to $60, rallying amid ongoing tensions in West Asia. India VIX surged 5.6 per cent, reflecting heightened market anxiety. Ajit Mishra, SVP Research at Religare Broking, noted that “rotational buying across sectors continues to offer stock-specific trading opportunities,” while cautioning that the 23,650–23,800 zone could be retested in the near term, with 24,150–24,300 likely to cap any rebound. Thursday brings a heavy earnings calendar, with results from Infosys, NTPC, BPCL, InterGlobe Aviation, and Cipla due. Investors will also watch the ECB interest rate decision and US jobless claims data. Analysts at Motilal Oswal expect markets to “trade sideways with a marginal negative bias” as long as crude remains elevated and geopolitical uncertainty persists. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Brent crude above $95 drags Nifty below 24,000 for third straight session
Europe
BBC Business

Will AI help you do your job or replace you?

ByFaisal Islam, Economics editor, Phil Leake, Miguel Roca-Terry, Data journalists and Jess Carr, Data designerArtificial Intelligence (AI) companies are making vast claims about the ability of their tools to replace human labour. Some jobs will be automated, others will be "augmented". The bosses of the world's biggest companies are diverting vast sums into these tools, partly with the knowledge that they could save money on headcount. "Flat is the new up", we are told, in terms of the size of a company's workforce as investors ask whether jobs should be done by new recruits - or, instead, armies of "AI Agents", virtual workers tasked with doing specific roles, some of them relatively skilled. If even half true there will be an impact on us all, across sectors and individual careers, and perhaps it will happen sooner than we think. Nobel prize-winning economists recently warned the world “must act now”, external to ensure that AI leads to rising living standards and not large-scale job displacement, and last month London businesses warned they were struggling to find the skills they need as AI disrupts the jobs market. This chart is the industry benchmark for how various models can perform the tasks previously done by humans, in this case using and developing computer software. This measure showed that three years ago, large language models (LLMs) were only able to reliably complete tasks humans took seconds or minutes to do. Now they are increasingly able to complete fairly complex tasks taking an hour or so. Now, some of the LLMs can find problems in a cryptocurrency contract and even develop and streamline the model itself, which would take a human several hours. The latest generation of models could start to entirely develop themselves in the next year or so. This is just software coding, but the same type of pattern is being seen, at an earlier stage, with financial analysis, early stage legal work, even some entry level creative industry jobs. What does that mean for jobs? The most thorough analyses out there come from the United States, using four years of data on employment outcomes by age among a range of occupations most exposed to AI (including software developers and customer contact reps) - and least exposed to AI (health workers, childcare workers, hairdressers). Stanford University's analysis of wage and jobs data finds a hit to employment for 22 to 25-year-olds of 2.7% since ChatGPT became widespread, rising to 12.8% in the most AI-exposed sectors such as finance, software and creative industries. Not all economists agree, arguing that other factors such as interest rate rises can explain this.

Will AI help you do your job or replace you?
Europe
The Guardian

Judge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, one of Paramount’s biggest box office hits. Photograph: Album/AlamyView image in fullscreenTom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, one of Paramount’s biggest box office hits. Photograph: Album/AlamyParamount PicturesJudge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states$81bn merger halted for at least two weeks after US states sued to block deal, saying it would ‘extinguish competition’ A federal judge on Monday ordered Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery to halt their $81bn merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court. Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week – alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the US. The states’ top prosecutors called on Warner and Paramount to not close the transaction until after a court had time to “fully evaluate” their claims. And when the companies refused, they filed for a temporary restraining order – which is what district judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted on Monday. That opens the door to a potential preliminary injunction that the states are also seeking to effectively block the deal. “This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day,” Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, said in a statement following Monday’s order. “History tells the tale of what happens when a few people have great power over markets that are central to Americans’ lives: fewer opportunities for more people, worse products and services for all people.” A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the five last legacy studios in Hollywood – as well as host of TV networks, titles filling streaming libraries and news operations. That would include Warner’s HBO Max, fan favorites such as Harry Potter and even CNN coming under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS, movies including Top Gun and the Paramount+ streaming service. Paramount did not immediately comment on Monday’s order. But the company, which was bought out by Skydance just last year, has vowed to “vigorously defend” its Warner acquisition. Paramount previously called the states’ complaint “wrong on both the facts and the law”, maintaining that a merger would instead strengthen competition against bigger entertainment rivals. And it touted regulatory greenlights the deal has received elsewhere, including from the Trump administration last month. The temporary restraining order granted on Monday halts the deal from progressing for at least 14 days, although the pause could be extended for up to 28 days. The court has set 3 August as a date for a hearing on the states’ preliminary injunction motion, although that schedule could also be pushed back.

Judge orders pause on Paramount-Warner merger after challenge from 12 states
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

HDFC Bank shares tumble over 8% in three days on net interest margin concerns

Although HDFC Bank reported a 5% year-on-year increase in June-quarter net profit to ₹19,060 crore and a 7% rise in net interest income, weaker operating profit, lower total income and pressure on margins weighed on investor sentiment. | Photo Credit: ANUSHREE FADNAVIS Shares of HDFC Bank declined for the third day in a row on Wednesday, falling over 8 per cent and wiping out Rs 1 lakh crore from its market valuation, amid concerns on the margin front. The stock ended at Rs 753.15, down 1.09 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it lost 1.47 per cent to Rs 750.25. In three days, the stock tanked 8.11 per cent, wiping out Rs 1 lakh crore from its market valuation, which stood at Rs 11,59,950.98 crore. With this, the company slipped to the third place in market capitalisation ranking. Bharti Airtel became the second most-valued firm with a market valuation of Rs 12,16,839.14 crore. Reliance Industries is the country’s most valued firm with a market cap of Rs 17,44,141.25 crore. According to market experts, HDFC Bank has disappointed, particularly on the NIM (Net Interest Margins) front. HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 5 per cent increase in standalone net profit to Rs 19,060 crore for the June quarter. The country’s biggest private-sector lender had earned a net profit of Rs 18,155 crore in the year-ago period. However, total income of the bank during the quarter under review dropped to Rs 92,184 crore from Rs 99,200 crore in the same period a year ago, HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing. The lender’s interest income increased to Rs 79,363 crore from Rs 77,470 crore in the same quarter a year ago. During the period, operating profit of the bank declined to Rs 28,169 crore, as compared to Rs 35,734 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Net interest income grew 7 per cent to Rs 33,530 crore for the June quarter from Rs 31,440 crore a year ago, it said.

HDFC Bank shares tumble over 8% in three days on net interest margin concerns