Finance

Skydance has completed its $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. CEO David Ellison said layoffs are coming. He said the cuts are aimed at integrating operations and reducing costs.

The UK’s 2026 drought pushed the total cereal harvest to a record low, with wheat output down about three million tonnes, or 11%, according to AHDB. Some farms reported harvests falling by more than 50%, while spring barley and beans dropped by over 50%. A Wiltshire farm said the impact cost it more than £100,000.

Indian shares are expected to open lower on Wednesday, with markets widely pricing in a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India to counter persistent inflation pressures tied to the war in the Middle East. Since the RBI paused rate increases on Aug. 5, the Nifty 50 has fallen 7.5%, weighed by higher oil prices, rising U.S. bond yields and foreign outflows. Investors will closely watch Governor Sanjay Malhotra’s remarks on inflation risks for clues on the future path of rates.

McDonald’s is facing a federal antitrust lawsuit over an AI-enhanced pricing tool that allegedly shares nonpublic sales data with franchisees who may compete in the same market. The suit, filed Friday in Illinois, says the system uses artificial intelligence to gather store-level information that competing operators typically would not share. McDonald’s says franchisees set menu prices and that the tools are optional and do not coordinate or fix pricing. Separately, CEO Chris Kempczinski said only 60% of U.S. restaurants offer the company’s proposed 10-item menu priced under $3.

Winklevoss Asset Services has filed a spot Zcash ETF application with the U.S. SEC, seeking to list a fund on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK that would hold ZEC directly. Following the disclosure, ZEC rose more than 5% over the past 24 hours. The token is currently trading at slightly more than $1,376.

Finland’s regulator has ordered construction work to stop at two planned Google data centres, citing the clearance of more than 300 hectares of forest and the absence of a required environmental impact assessment. The projects are part of Google’s record €13bn (£11bn; $15bn) investment in Finland. Google said it had fallen short of its own standards and would follow the regulator’s guidance.

U.S. consumers have filed a federal lawsuit against Starbucks, alleging its “sugarfree” protein drinks contain 13 to 21 grams of sugar per serving—an amount the suit compares to a Kit Kat bar. The plaintiffs argue the “sugarfree” label would mislead a reasonable consumer. The case seeks damages for consumers nationwide, and asks the court to order Starbucks to stop using the “sugarfree” label on products that contain sugar. Starbucks has not publicly responded.

The Delhi High Court has stayed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directive targeting PepsiCo and Monster Beverage over the “Energy Drink” label, allowing both companies to sell existing inventory carrying the descriptor. The court said the interim relief does not permit manufacturing new products bearing the “Energy Drink” tag. The stay will remain in effect until the next hearing on November 5. It also halted the July 17 communication that had asked state enforcement authorities to implement the order.

ServiceNow Chief Product Officer Amit Zavery said 50% of the company’s net-new revenue over the past year came from non-seat-based models, as customers increasingly pay for enterprise software based on usage, outcomes and value delivered. He said ServiceNow’s AI capabilities generated $600 million in value creation for customers last year and could reach around $1 billion this year. ServiceNow currently runs 100 billion workflows and 8 trillion transactions annually, with transactions growing 25%.

Google has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy that is set to add 890 megawatts of nuclear capacity to the PJM Interconnection grid. The deal does not involve building new reactors from scratch, but instead aims to increase output from existing facilities. Constellation plans to invest about $4.3 billion to fund the project, as Google seeks to meet rising electricity demand from its data centers.