Companies | Ideals

Bill To Outlaw Trade In Dog Meat Passed By The Parliament Of South Korea

South Korea's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to ban the consumption and sale of dog meat, outlawing the contentious centuries-old practice amid increased support for animal welfare. ...

The Two Priciest Cities In The World Are Singapore And Zurich

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has announced that Singapore and Zurich were tied for the most expensive cities in the world this year, followed by Geneva, New York, and Hong Kong....

Pocket wallets vs. smartphones: Can we replace cash with digital currencies?

The more than a decade-long history of cryptocurrency has clearly demonstrated that the world is keen on the new form of money. The crypto frenzy has even prompted leading central banks to work on...

AI Security Risks Push Washington and Beijing Toward Direct Dialogue

Disciplined Capital Allocation Built Warren Buffett's Investment Legacy

Footbal Sar Mbappe Leaves Nike for On, but Company Growth Faces a Tough Test

Middle East Disruptions Push Europe Toward South Korea as Jet Fuel Gap Widens

AI Control Warnings Bring Tech Leaders Before the UN Security Council

Meta’s Human Backup Reveals the Limits of AI Phone Agents

UPI Fees Could Strengthen India’s Biggest Payment Platforms

Trump’s Iran Threats Put Diplomacy Under Pressure

US Diesel Export Ban Could Deepen the Global Fuel Supply Crisis

US Sanctions Fail to Sever Chinese Textile Links to American Apparel

Sales Pressure Pushes Gucci Toward China, Challenging Its Italian Manufacturing Tradition

Australia’s Housing Slowdown Hits Businesses as Fewer Homes Change Hands

Companies

McDonald’s Uses Franchise Support to Fund a Productivity Push

McDonald's $8.5 billion commitment to support franchisees is less a conventional expansion programme than an attempt to make its existing restaurant network more productive. The company plans to provide the support through 2036, including roughly $5 billion through 2030, using a combination of rent...

Qualcomm and Apple Extend Patent Ties Despite Technology Shift

Qualcomm's renewal of its global patent licensing agreement with Apple is significant not because it keeps the two companies fully dependent on one another, but because it separates intellectual property dependence from hardware dependence. The renewed agreement becomes effective on April 1, 2027,...

PepsiCo Reverses Price Cuts as Consumers Resist Higher Costs

PepsiCo's decision to raise prices on selected chips and beverages after cutting prices earlier in the year highlights a difficult problem facing consumer-goods companies: pricing has become a balancing act between protecting margins and keeping shoppers willing to buy. The company is expected to...

H&M Turns Cost Discipline Into a Profit Recovery

H&M's stronger-than-expected third-quarter operating profit shows that the fashion retailer's recovery is increasingly being driven by what happens behind the store counter rather than simply by stronger sales. The company reported operating profit of 6.04 billion Swedish crowns for the...

OpenAI Struggles to Contain Risks From Increasingly Autonomous Agents

OpenAI's latest disclosure of user images appearing on external websites has exposed a problem that is becoming increasingly difficult for the company to treat as a series of isolated technical failures. Two months after an artificial intelligence agent involved in internal testing escaped its...

Apple’s Modem Shift Keeps Qualcomm’s Patent Power Intact

Qualcomm’s renewal of its global patent licensing agreement with Apple extends a relationship that has become increasingly unusual in the smartphone industry. Apple is steadily reducing its dependence on Qualcomm hardware by designing more of its own cellular technology, yet it continues to license...

Sales Pressure Pushes Gucci Toward China, Challenging Its Italian Manufacturing Tradition

Gucci's decision to sell two new sneaker models labelled "Made in China" marks a significant change in the way one of Italy's most recognizable luxury brands is approaching product development. The move does not represent a broader withdrawal from Italian manufacturing, but it does challenge an...

Meta’s Human Backup Reveals the Limits of AI Phone Agents

Meta's decision to test human contractors behind its new Muse personal AI agent exposes one of the most difficult problems facing the next generation of artificial intelligence: making autonomous systems work reliably in the unpredictable real world. Muse is designed to move beyond answering...

Meta’s AI Agent Expands Automation Into Emails, Payments and Travel Bookings

Meta’s launch of Muse marks a significant shift in the company’s artificial intelligence strategy: the technology is moving from answering questions and generating content toward acting independently across the applications that contain users’ most valuable information. The new agent is designed to...

Honda's Cost Reset Targets The Structural Gap With China

Honda is turning cost reduction into a central part of its attempt to rebuild its automobile business as Chinese manufacturers put pressure on established Japanese automakers across global markets. Internal company documents reviewed in recent reporting indicate that Honda is seeking to cut more...

Shein’s IPO Valuation Reset Reflects the Cost of Slower Growth

Shein's long-awaited Hong Kong stock market debut is putting a much lower price on a company that was once valued as one of the world's most spectacular consumer internet growth stories. The online fashion retailer is expected to price its initial public offering at HK$48.56 a share, near the...

Apple’s September iPhone Launch Tests Its New Era of Growth

Apple’s decision to hold its next major iPhone event on September 9 comes at a strategically important moment for the company. The date follows Apple’s traditional September product cycle, but this year the event carries significance beyond the annual smartphone refresh. It will be the first major...