US Prepares To Board Iran-Linked Ships Globally Following Iranian Gunboat Attack On Tanker In Hormuz

Domino's US Sale Growth Hits Five-Quarter Low As Budget Diners Pull Back Domino's Pizza posted its softest US comparable-sales growth in five quarters as inflation and the national average price for regular gasoline above $4 a gallon pressured working-poor consumers. Second-quarter same-store sales rose a measly .1%, in line with estimates but trailing the growth expected across much of the quick-service restaurant industry (QSR). Snapshot of 2Q earnings results (courtesy of Bloomberg): Total domestic stores comp sales growth +0.1%, estimate +0.11% (Bloomberg Consensus) Domestic franchise comparable sales growth 0%, estimate +0.07% Domestic co-owned comparable sales...

Regulators Circle StanChart After CEO's AI Layoff Comments Spark Uproar It has been a tumultuous week for Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters. Winters appeared out of touch with the growing anxiety surrounding mounting white-collar AI-related job losses. He described the bank's AI adoption push as "not cost-cutting," but rather as "replacing lower-value human capital with financial and investment capital." Such language ignited a firestorm for the CEO and the bank, and by the end of the week, regulatory scrutiny had descended on the firm. Reuters reports that authorities in Hong Kong and...

Cracker Barrel Dumps CEO After Woke Logo Fiasco Shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store have yet to fully recover from outgoing CEO Julie Masino's brief "woke" rebranding effort last year. The family-dining chain quickly restored its iconic "Old Country Store" logo and nostalgic aesthetic. Still, the failed overhaul now appears to have cost Masino her job after exposing a serious failure of brand stewardship. The Cracker Barrel controversy began on Aug. 18, 2025, when the company published a simplified logo that removed the "Old Timer" and barrel, sparking an...