Finance

Australia’s four major banks now forecast the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.60% on September 29. ANZ also expects back-to-back increases in September and November, which would take the cash rate to 4.85%, returning it to levels seen during the 2008 global financial crisis. The banks point to Middle East conflict pushing up oil prices, an inflation risk the RBA is seen as prioritising, adding to the urgency for another hike.

Paramount Skydance has settled a lawsuit with dozens of US states that challenged its $110bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, removing a major obstacle, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. Under the agreement, Paramount must release at least 30 films each year. It must also ensure 20% of film production takes place in the US for the first two years, rising to over 30% in the following three years.

Meritage Hospitality Group, one of the largest Wendy’s franchisees in the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy protection after rising beef costs and a dispute with Wendy’s corporate parent. Store-level earnings fell 48% in 2025, while the company posted a $31.5 million net loss and revenue declined 7.6% to $617.7 million. Wendy’s franchising unit has asserted $146.9 million in claims, including past-due royalties and fees and Continuous Operations Fees.

Paramount has reached a settlement with a 12-state coalition led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, removing a key antitrust hurdle to its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The $111 billion transaction, billed as the largest merger in Hollywood history, had been paused while states pursued an antitrust lawsuit. The agreement was reached just ahead of a $7 million-per-day “ticking fee” set to begin accruing on Oct. 1. It clears a major path toward completing the deal.

Paramount has reached a settlement with California and 12 other states over an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. The terms include independent editorial boards for CNN and CBS, and a $30 million penalty per film if Paramount falls short of its pledge to release 30 movies annually. The agreement clears the last major hurdle to the transaction and helps Paramount avoid a $7 million-a-day “ticking fee” if the deal does not close after September 30, according to a source.

Donatella Versace will form a joint venture with e-commerce retailer Revolve Group to launch an as-yet-unnamed fashion and beauty brand, where she will serve as chief creative officer. Revolve Group, listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2019, has posted double-digit net sales growth across its Revolve and Fwrd platforms for three consecutive quarters. The company held $311.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and had no debt heading into late 2026. Versace was acquired by Prada Group last year for an enterprise value of 1.25 billion euros.

A technical fault at the UK’s air traffic control provider Nats triggered widespread delays across northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, marking the second similar incident within a month. Officials said the disruption was unrelated to the six-hour outage on September 8. By lunchtime, more than 200 flights had been cancelled, while Ryanair said over 25,000 passengers were affected and more than 140 of its flights were delayed by more than three hours.

Rothschild & Co said it is losing patience with the pace of the turnaround at Flutter’s FanDuel and cut its price target to $119 from $169. The firm said FanDuel has reduced guidance four straight times, most recently lowering its 2026 EBITDA midpoint forecast by 22%. It described 2026 as another “transitional year” and said the turnaround is likely to take longer than anticipated. Flutter shares are down 58% in 2026.

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI has made its flagship open-source model, Kimi K3, available on Amazon Web Services’ Amazon Bedrock platform for building generative AI applications. The model is offered under revised commercial licensing terms that require payment if a hosting provider’s annual revenue exceeds US$20 million. AWS has said its AI business has surpassed a US$25 billion annual revenue run rate, putting the partnership in focus as a test of monetizing Chinese open models through third-party cloud platforms.

Ennis Inc. reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $9.4 million, or 37 cents per share. Revenue for the period was $102 million. The figures were part of a routine earnings release and did not include any information on performance versus expectations or forward guidance.