Writing the summary…
‘It's awful’: How tariffs, soaring fuel costs and higher interest rates are squeezing American companies
Original reporting
CNBC: read the full reportRelated stories

UK startup snares $20m to recreate gigs with ‘hyper-realistic’ digital avatars
Unit1 hopes to offer cheaper version of shows such as Abba Voyage, showcasing living and dead artists in any venue The former chief executive of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s entertainment group has obtained a near-£15m investment for his UK music tech startup that hopes to recreate classic concerts by manifesting musicians as digital avatars. Unit1 was set up last year by Barney Wragg, an entertainment executive who ran Lord Lloyd-Webber’s Cats-to-Evita empire for five years from late 2011. It has secured the $20m in funding from a group of investors, including tech backer Balderton Capital through its partner Daniel Waterhouse, who made early investments in Spotify. Continue reading...

RNLI warns supporters their personal information may have been hacked
Data raid comes amid targeting of lifeboat charity by far-right agitators who object to migrant boat rescues Supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI ) have been warned that their personal information could have been stolen by hackers amid targeting of the charity by far-right agitators. In a letter accompanying the autumn copy of its Lifeboat magazine, the charity warned members that their “name, contact details and records of interactions with the RNLI” could have been breached in the raid on a company it uses for customer relationship management. Continue reading...
Top Wall Street analysts find these 3 stocks attractive as long-term investments
Look beyond short-term noise and focus on stocks with strong growth potential in future years.

US environment agency let Bayer pick regulations for destructive weedkiller, documents show
Environmental Protection Agency asked firm to choose rules it wanted for dicamba, then put the choices in a proposed federal rule The EPA allowed pesticide giant Bayer to pick from a menu of regulation options for the controversial and destructive weedkiller dicamba, newly released internal agency documents show. The documents provide an unusually clear look into the process of developing pesticide regulations, which is typically done out of public view. It shows in detail how the EPA asked Bayer which regulations it wanted, received a response from Bayer, then put Bayer’s choices into a proposed federal rule. Continue reading...
Williams-Sonoma's stock has soared in a sluggish housing market. Here's how it won over Wall Street
Williams-Sonoma is outperforming the furnishings industry due to its ability to grow profitability despite a weak housing backdrop.
Budget airline king Bill Franke warms to first-class seats and premium upgrades
Serial airline investor Bill Franke is embracing more upmarket changes like first-class seats.