Talk Fuse

    Companies

    Companies brings together the latest on corporate deals, disputes and leadership shake-ups from across the business world, spanning household names in media, technology, retail and sport. Expect coverage of boardroom reshuffles, courtroom battles over mergers and settlements, and the financial fallout when firms face fraud allegations or regulatory scrutiny, alongside lighter stories about workplace disputes and unusual legal rulings.

    Much of the current activity centres on the entertainment and technology industries, from antitrust wrangling between major studios to shifting fortunes at prominent tech firms, as well as the ripple effects of high-profile ownership changes involving frozen assets and sports clubs. Smaller, fast-growing companies also feature, reflecting how emerging businesses jostle for investment and recognition alongside established giants.

    This topic matters because corporate decisions, however distant they may seem from daily life, tend to shape the products, services and workplaces that readers encounter directly. Tracking these stories helps make sense of how power, money and accountability move through the companies that increasingly influence culture, employment and public life.

    • Nike refocuses on sport as shares hit decade low

      Nike chief executive Elliott Hill has said the company has spent the past year putting “sport at the centre of everything we do”, as he leads a turnaround amid weak sales and falling investor confidence. The article presents the message as a possible shift away from high-profile social campaigns, which critics say distracted from products,…

    • Utah startup pilots AI-written acne prescriptions for adult users

      Utah-based healthcare startup Nolla Health has launched a pilot programme allowing users to receive AI-generated acne prescriptions through a mobile app. Users photograph their faces and the system analyses acne severity before autonomously writing a prescription, making it the first such system approved in the United States to issue initial prescriptions rather than renewals only.…

    • Hyundai chief says fair competition could curb impact of Chinese rivals

      Hyundai chief executive José Muñoz says fair competition and stronger products could help limit the impact of Chinese carmakers if they enter the US market. He warns that, without protections, affordable Chinese imports could put pressure on established manufacturers, but says he is not adopting a China-specific strategy. Muñoz points to Hyundai’s efforts to cut…

    • 5 startups that caught VCs’ attention at the latest PearX demo day

      PearX, a highly selective 12-week accelerator run by Pear VC, held its latest demo day in San Francisco with top venture capitalists in attendance. The programme, which caps cohorts at just 20 startups and keeps participants confidential until demo day, has built a strong reputation for producing successful companies. Five companies from the latest cohort…

    • OpenAI PR tells journalist to ‘move on’ while asking Sam Altman about a ChatGPT user’s suicide

      An OpenAI publicist interrupted a Vanity Fair interview with chief executive Sam Altman when journalist Mark Guiducci asked about a ChatGPT user who died by suicide. The exchange raises questions about how the company responds to scrutiny of the chatbot’s role in mental health crises. Guiducci referred to journalist Laura Reiley’s account of her daughter’s…

    • Sam Altman says ‘some bad things’ will happen but AI is totally worth it

      Sam Altman said society should expect some harms from AI, including hacks and scams, because he believes the technology will enable far greater benefits. His comments underline a divide between OpenAI’s more permissive stance and Anthropic’s more cautious approach, as regulators and AI companies face growing questions about safety. Altman described OpenAI as a pragmatic…

    • Pentagon ends use of Anthropic’s Claude tools after safety dispute

      The US Pentagon has officially ceased using Anthropic’s Claude AI tools, an official confirmed to the BBC, following months of contention with the company over AI safety features. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security risk in February after the company refused to remove safety guardrails from its systems, citing concerns about mass…

    • Sainsbury’s and Morrisons explored merger talks before discussions ended

      Sainsbury’s and Morrisons held exploratory merger talks this year to create one of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains, though the companies are no longer in active discussions. The proposed deal would have created a business with a 23.6% market share, making it the second-largest supermarket group behind Tesco, and would have represented the biggest shake-up for…

    • Mark Thompson will lead CNN under the new Skydance ownership

      CNN chief executive Mark Thompson will stay in charge when Paramount completes its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, expected on Tuesday. His continued leadership matters because the merger brings CNN and CBS News under the same ownership, raising questions about editorial independence. In a staff memo, Thompson said he believes the combined company…

    • OpenAI to test sponsored product images in ChatGPT in US this month

      OpenAI is introducing visual ads to ChatGPT, featuring sponsored product images that will initially appear when users generate images. This marks an expansion of OpenAI’s advertising strategy, which began in February with text-based sponsored links. The move represents OpenAI’s efforts to monetise ChatGPT beyond its subscription tiers. The visual ads will be tested in the…