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North America
CNBC Finance

Gap shares jump 12% after company names new Old Navy CEO to revive struggling brand

Gap on Thursday announced a new CEO for its Old Navy banner, effective Nov. 2, as the retailer tries to reinvigorate sluggish sales performance at the brand. Michael Francis, who was appointed the chief customer officer at Old Navy in May, will take over the reins from current CEO Haio Barbeito, who will become an advisor to the company. Barbeito has held the position since 2022. Gap CEO Richard Dickson told CNBC the move was "a planned and thoughtful transition" to better equip Old Navy for its next chapter. "We've been working — from fixing fundamentals to building momentum and ultimately looking to accelerate growth, and so there's not a change in strategy," Dickson said in an interview. "We're just going to continue to execute better, continuously improve our core business, while we drive some accelerators that we're really excited about." In the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings report, Old Navy posted net sales of $2.1 billion — down 4% year over year. Comparable sales were also down 4%, versus comparable sales growth of 2% during the same period last year. Wall Street analysts were expecting a decline of 2.4% for the most recent period, according to StreetAccount. It marked Old Navy's first negative same-store sales figure since the second quarter of 2023 and was due in part to "unanticipated slowdown in traffic," the company said. The brand contributes nearly 60% to Gap's overall revenue. Dickson told CNBC that Old Navy specifically saw disappointing results from its summer marketing, which he said "lacked a direct product message." But he added that the brand has already begun to see "significant improvement" in its traffic and sales this past month. Incoming CEO Francis said in a statement the brand would "continue to sharpen our customer focus, strengthen the brand's cultural relevance, enhance the customer experience across every touchpoint and build on the momentum already underway." Overall, Gap reported mixed results for its fiscal second quarter, beating analysts' estimates for earnings per share but underperforming revenue expectations. Gap Inc. comparable sales were down 1% for the period, including a 3% year-over-year decline in in-store sales. "Ultimately, our slight miss on total company was really due to Old Navy's seasonal product assortment," Dickson said. "We know we didn't execute well on our seasonal product, but if there's good news in this, seasonal is behind us." For the full fiscal year, Gap narrowed its net sales growth outlook from a range of between 1% and 2% to a range of between 1% to 1.5% due to the lag at Old Navy. Still, the company hiked its expectations for adjusted earnings per share from a range of $2.30 to $2.40 for the full year to a range of $2.35 to $2.45. Here's how the company performed in the quarter ended Aug. 1 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Gap shares jump 12% after company names new Old Navy CEO to revive struggling brand
Europe
The Guardian

US Federal Reserve’s Kevin Warsh gears up for key Jackson Hole conference as inflation fears mount – business live

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the global economy, the financial markets, business and the global economy. All eyes are on a mountain valley in Wyoming today, as central bankers and economists gather close to Yellowstone national park for a top-level symposium. Inflation, and the bond market, is top of the agenda at the annual Federal Reserve symposium at Jackson Hole this year, as the Iran war puts pressure on the global economy. Jackson Hole has been dubbed the Davos for central bankers, and today the financial markets are bracing for a speech from the world’s most powerful central bank chief, Kevin Warsh, at 3pm UK time (10am Eastern). Warsh is under pressure to provide clarity on how the Federal Reserve, which he leads, should deal with inflation if price pressures don’t abate. Last month he created uncertainty by suggesting that the markets, not the Fed, should take the lead on tightening financial conditions. But investors also hope to hear Warsh’s view on the recent interference in the bond markets by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who has been trying to push down US long-term borrowing costs by buying long-dated bonds. Besssent’s move appears to put the Treasury on a collision course with the Fed - lower borrowing costs will spice up the economy, undermining the battle against inflation. It will be Kevin Warsh’s first as Fed Chair, at a time when inflation remains stubbornly above target and long-term yields have been under pressure. Kevin Warsh is trying to change the way the Fed functions and communicates its policy to the market (or whether it communicates at all!). Investors are questioning, since Treasury announced last week that it would increase its longer-term bond buybacks to tame borrowing costs, how the Fed will respond to the Treasury’s intervention in the bond market, which – if successful – could interfere with the Fed’s policy path and the transmission of its policy to the economy. Last month, Warsh said he wanted his speech to focus on important points such as AI and productivity, demographic changes, and the global economy’s response to shocks from the Iran war. So we shall see!

US Federal Reserve’s Kevin Warsh gears up for key Jackson Hole conference as inflation fears mount – business live
Europe
The Guardian

AI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England governor tells G20

The Bank governor recently told City bosses: ‘No country can seal itself off from the cross-border nature of systems that are prevalent today.’ Photograph: Richard Drew/APView image in fullscreenThe Bank governor recently told City bosses: ‘No country can seal itself off from the cross-border nature of systems that are prevalent today.’ Photograph: Richard Drew/APGlobal economyAI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England governor tells G20Andrew Bailey, in role as financial stability watchdog chief, warns advanced models risk destabilising system The Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, has joined the throng of figures warning about the global risks posed by the most advanced artificial intelligence technology. In a two-page letter sent to international finance ministers and central bank governors as part of his role as chair of the international Financial Stability Board (FSB), Bailey said “frontier” AI models were “showing increasingly sophisticated autonomy and problem-solving abilities, as well as threat capabilities”. He said the models risked destabilising the “highly interconnected” global financial system via cyber-disruption that “can spread across jurisdictions”. Bailey wrote to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors before their meeting in North Carolina, US, this week: “Recent developments have also highlighted to me that many jurisdictions do not have the protocols in place to manage the development, release, and deployment of advanced frontier AI models, heightening risks for the financial sector and beyond”. His letter adds to alarm bells about AI that have been sounded by prominent technologists over the past few weeks – and mirrors his previous calls for international cooperation to tackle growing AI threats, when he told City bosses: “No country can seal itself off from the cross-border nature of systems that are prevalent today.” View image in fullscreenAndrew Bailey has raised concerns about high valuations in the AI markets. Photograph: Christian Ohde/AlamyLast month, a letter signed by 1,367 researchers and engineers at frontier AI labs – mainly OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind – also shone a light on the concerns of the engineers working on the technology every day. It stated: “There is a real risk that capability development rapidly accelerates beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems,” before going on to ask for the US government’s support for “an international effort to develop the technical and governance tools needed to deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI development”. Earlier this month, it also emerged that OpenAI staff observed signs of rogue behaviour among its cutting-edge AI agents weeks before they escaped their training environment to launch an unprecedented hacking crusade that spread global alarm. Extending this theme into the world of financial policy, Bailey continued: “For the financial system, the most immediate concern is the potential impact of frontier AI on cyber-risk. Frontier AI may have the ability materially to alter the speed, scale and economics of cyber-risk, which could undermine market confidence system-wide, especially due to highly concentrated third-party service providers.” Bailey called on those tasked with safeguarding the world’s financial systems to prioritise “appropriate steps to support safe and responsible model release and deployment on a global basis”. The letter also noted Bailey’s concerns about the increased use of leverage in bond and equity markets, which he said was combining with high valuations in concentrated financial markets – particularly fuelled by investor optimism about the prospects of AI – in a way that could amplify a future market correction.

AI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England governor tells G20
Europe
The Guardian

Detroit despairs as ‘insanity’ of Trump’s Canada trade war punishes city

View of the Gordie Howe international bridge during the opening ceremony in Windsor, Ontario, on 24 July 2026. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenView of the Gordie Howe international bridge during the opening ceremony in Windsor, Ontario, on 24 July 2026. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty ImagesTrump tariffsDetroit despairs as ‘insanity’ of Trump’s Canada trade war punishes cityUnpopular new policy comes as midterms loom and control of Congress could be decided by several Michigan races Every day $1bn worth of goods crosses the river dividing Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, two largely blue-collar US and Canadian cities that have come to act as one in the creation of North America’s auto industry. News this week of Donald Trump’s escalating trade spat with Canada has everyone worried. Political and economic leaders and observers labeled the move an act of “hubris” , blamed Trump’s “ego”, and called the escalation “insanity”. But many are hoping that Trump’s plans to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian goods from 1 January, covering everything from automobiles to honey to hockey sticks, will prove another empty threat and cite the upcoming midterm elections as a pivotal reason the plan may be scrapped. Control of the US Congress hangs in the balance and will almost certainly be decided by several close Michigan races. It also comes just two months after polling highlighted Michiganders’ fatigue with and opposition to the president’s unprecedented tariff program. By a 63%-31% margin, residents here oppose tariffs on Canadian goods, according to a June Epic-MRA poll, including 35% of Republicans. Meanwhile, nearly 75% of Michiganders said the tariffs are fueling high prices. Trump doubling down on an unpopular policy deep into election season is viewed by many observers as a gift to Democrats, and there is a real possibility that it contributes to a midterm loss for the Republicans. Meanwhile, there seems to be little upside for Trump. “I don’t understand what Trump is thinking,” the Epic-MRA pollster Bernie Porn said. Regardless, Michiganders have already suffered disproportionately as they pay on average over $3,200 annually for tariffs, or about 142% more than the rest of the country, because of the state’s shared border with Canada. The Canadian economy would also take a major hit if the tariffs are imposed, said Patrick Anderson, a Michigan-based economist with the Anderson Economic Group. View image in fullscreenThe Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed greets supporters at Renaissance high school in Detroit, Michigan, on 7 August. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images“Both will suffer – there are no two ways about it,” Anderson added. This critical upper midwest swing state has picked the presidential winner in five consecutive elections, going from Barack Obama to Trump to Joe Biden and back to Trump. Democrats’ chances to retake the Senate rest heavily on the Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed beating Trump ally Mike Rogers in the 3 November general election race. Rogers has supported the tariffs, but so far has been silent on the latest escalation.

Detroit despairs as ‘insanity’ of Trump’s Canada trade war punishes city
Europe
BBC Business

Japan Inc is betting big on India as China risks deepen

India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal led the country's largest-ever business delegation to Japan last week in a bid to expand trade and investment ties between the two countries. His visit came as Japan's deepening push into Asia's third largest economy has become increasingly more apparent. If you visit a shopping mall or a high street in Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru, it's hard to miss the growing number of Japanese consumer brands that have set up shop across India. Apparel giants Uniqlo and Muji and premium sneakers company Onitsuka Tiger have been around for a while, but are rapidly expanding. Niche players are also here - Nitori, a Japanese furniture maker, entered the market recently, while convenience store chain Lawson, external is on its way, with a plan to reportedly open 10,000 stores by 2050 in India, starting with Mumbai. It's not just retail. At a time when foreign lenders have been exiting their Indian bank portfolios, Japanese banks are aggressively bidding for Indian financial assets. MUFG Bank - Japan's largest bank - closed a deal to buy 20% of Indian shadow lender Shriram Finance for $4.4bn last year in what was the biggest ever foreign investment in India's financial sector. Last year also saw Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) becoming the largest shareholder in India's Yes Bank with a 24.22% stake. Japan Inc is now the largest contributor to India's booming ecosystem of global capability centres (GCCs) in the Asia Pacific. More than 100 Japanese firms operate these GCCs in the country, according to a recent Deloitte report, external. GCCs are offshore innovation hubs of multinationals that perform business critical functions such as R&D, corporate strategy and artificial intelligence development among a plethora of other key jobs. "Japanese companies are having to look to India for growth. With the local population declining for the past 16-17 years there isn't just a slowdown in domestic demand, but a permanent shrinking of the market," Vipul Nath Jindal, Founder of Next Bharat Ventures, an impact fund backed by Suzuki Motor Corporation, which recently announced a $200mn fund in India, told the BBC. Image source, Bloomberg via Getty ImagesImage caption, Japanese companies announced $12.5bn in investments in India through some 120 agreements during PM Sanae Takaichi's visit in July At the same time, Japan's traditional markets for expansion have become increasingly less attractive, he says.

Japan Inc is betting big on India as China risks deepen
Europe
BBC Business

Amazon rigged billions in ad pricing, lawsuit from states and US watchdog alleges

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of 22 states has filed a lawsuit alleging Amazon secretly overcharged more than a million advertising customers by manipulating online auctions it uses to set ad prices. The FTC and states say in their lawsuit filed Monday that the alleged scheme has likely netted the company $20bn from advertising customers since 2019. "Amazon overrides and replaces the actual auction results with higher prices set by Amazon to increase its profits," says a complaint filed in the company's home state of Washington. In a statement to the BBC, Amazon "strongly disagrees" with the premise that it misled advertisers and called the suit "misguided." In addition to advertisers, the FTC, a US consumer watchdog, and the states say Amazon customers have also been harmed as extra costs are passed onto shoppers. "Consumers are suffering, have suffered, and will continue to suffer substantial injury as a result," the complaint states, prompting swift pushback from Amazon. "The FTC wants the public to believe this case is about higher prices for consumers. It is not," Amazon said in its statement. The company's shares fell following the announcement of the lawsuit, closing 2.5% lower on Monday. Many brands and sellers compete on Amazon to place Sponsored Product ads and Sponsored Brands ads when consumer search for products using keywords on Amazon's e-commerce platform. The complaint accuses Amazon of secretly charging advertisers more in so-called "second price" auctions, whereby prospective advertisers expect to pay one cent more than the next highest bidder for each bid they win. But in practice, the complaint alleges, Amazon has charged its Sponsored Products advertisers their own winning bid close to 80% of the time. The lawsuit states that Amazon's methods were spurred because "it was unhappy about how much revenue its advertising auctions were generating".

Amazon rigged billions in ad pricing, lawsuit from states and US watchdog alleges
North America
CNBC Finance

Lost in limbo: Where the Paramount merger delay leaves WBD, and what may come next

It was only last summer that the company said it would split itself in two and began the process of creating separate, publicly traded entities: Warner Bros., which would have housed the streaming and film units, and Discovery Global, which would have run its global linear TV networks. Change seemed to be happening at breakneck speed. The company was in the midst of an aggressive buildout for its HBO Max streaming platform, pushing into new markets and chasing subscriber and profitability growth. Its film studio was showing signs of much awaited momentum. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels had begun strategizing with fellow executives on how to run a business of just TV networks in a period of rapid decline. But after a sale process and a delayed merger with David Ellison's Paramount Skydance, much of that change has ground to a halt. WBD CEO David Zaslav said during an earnings call earlier this month that executives have "been trying to drive the value of the company" in order to have WBD in the best shape possible for when the merger would close. That was after a group of states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed to block the deal on antitrust grounds — and before preliminary settlement talks between the California AG and Paramount seemed to fall apart earlier this week. The start-and-stop means Warner Bros. Discovery has fewer options on the table at a time when the media industry as a whole is charting new paths. The company — made up of the storied film studio, a portfolio of TV networks and a prestige streaming business — once looked agile. Now it's forced into being cautious. "This is as good a deal as Warner Bros. Discovery's going to get, and they are going to have a difficult time totally walking away here with no more than a breakup fee," said Tom Rogers, a media veteran who's currently senior advisor to Versant Media Group and executive chairman of AI film and TV production company Fountain 0. "So I think they have plenty of incentive to also figure out how this deal could get done." The proposed $110 billion sale price should be a windfall for WBD, Zaslav included. Paramount has agreed to pay $31 per share to acquire WBD, and if regulatory approval is delayed beyond September, Paramount will start owing a "ticking fee," raising the deal value. The questions that remain are what will Paramount be buying if the deal goes through after an extended delay, and what happens to WBD if it doesn't? WBD doesn't necessarily need to stand still as it waits for the merger to move forward. Interim operating covenants laid out in the merger agreement allow for WBD to run itself as an independent entity while the deal moves toward closing. That flexibility was a particular point of emphasis for Warner Bros. Discovery executives when it was negotiating a deal to sell itself — first with Netflix, then Paramount — according to a person familiar with the matter. In situations where WBD would need Paramount's blessing to do something while the transaction is pending, the agreement states those permissions can't be "unreasonably withheld."

Lost in limbo: Where the Paramount merger delay leaves WBD, and what may come next
Europe
BBC Business

Victoria Beckham's company makes its first profit after 18 years

Image source, Getty ImagesByIan YoungsCulture reporterPublished31 August 2026Victoria Beckham's fashion and beauty business has made an operating profit for the first time since she founded it in 2008, the company has said. Victoria Beckham Holdings Ltd, which is led by the former Spice Girl as creative director, made an operating profit of £7.3m in 2025, accounts show, after years of losses. "We have all worked hard for a long time for this moment of profitability and growth," Lady Beckham told the Financial Times, external. "We've been very transparent about the problems that we had in the business but have recovered and are now growing at a sensible pace. After 20 years, people don't look at my brand as a celebrity brand any more." Last year, a Netflix documentary told the story of her attempting to establish a fashion brand and achieve profitability - and the series itself helped boost sales, "with particularly strong momentum in denim and jersey", according to the accounts. The fashion side of the company delivered "strong double-digit growth" overall in 2025, they said, while the beauty side, which launched in 2019, "delivered one of its strongest performances to date". That was led by the popularity of her Foundation Drops, which had a 25,000-strong waiting list and which doubled the size of the skincare part of the company. The Netflix documentary showed the former pop star talking about her attempts to overcome doubters to be taken seriously as a designer and entrepreneur, then running into financial trouble when the company was "tens of millions in the red". The business was bailed out by her husband Sir David, who told the programme: "For her to have to come to me and say, 'Can I have some... We need some more money, the business needs more money' - that was hard for both of us because I didn't have the money to keep doing this." Lady Beckham said: "If he hadn't believed in me I wouldn't still have a business now." She went on to get £30m investment by selling 30% of the company to NEO Investment Partners in 2017, who launched a restructure. That included tackling what Beckham admitted was "mindblowing" waste, including "flying chairs from one side of the world to another" and spending what NEO's David Belhassen said was "70,000 a year" on office plants.

Victoria Beckham's company makes its first profit after 18 years
Europe
BBC Business

Trump administration illegally retaliated against Anthropic, judge rules

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesByOsmond ChiaBusiness reporterPublished28 August 2026, 03:57 BSTUpdated 13 minutes agoA judge has ruled the US Department of Defense acted unlawfully when it designated artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic a supply chain risk, calling the move "illegal and baseless". The company argued in the lawsuit that Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth overstepped his authority with the new designation. It followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use its AI models for things that included surveillance or autonomous weapons. US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics". Anthropic welcomed the ruling. The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment. Anthropic is focused on "working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," a spokesperson told the BBC. Judge Lin said in the court filing that the Defense Department had acted unlawfully to order firms that do business with the US military to boycott Anthropic. The Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk in February - a law typically reserved for companies based in countries that pose a threat to the US. It marked the first time an American company had been publicly designated as such. Anthropic's lawsuit said the government's actions were both "unprecedented and unlawful". The Claude-maker said its models were not reliable enough to be safely used in weapons systems for the military. It added that it opposed its use for domestic surveillance as a violation of rights. The Pentagon said at the time that private companies should not be able to constrain military action. The White House had previously said Anthropic was "a radical left, woke company" attempting to control military activity" and argued the military was beholden to the US Constitution, "not any woke AI company's terms of service".

Trump administration illegally retaliated against Anthropic, judge rules