PwC is a global professional services network offering audit, tax and consulting services. It faces scrutiny over AI and workforce shifts as firms navigate tech disruption and scaling.
SK Hynix has raised $26.5bn by selling 177.9m American depositary receipts at $149 each, in the largest-ever US share sale by a foreign company. Its ADRs have begun trading on Nasdaq under temporary ticker SKHYV and will convert to SKHY; the company is using proceeds to expand fabs, packaging and EUV capacity as AI-driven memory demand surges.
Starbucks and Bank of America are recalibrating GLP-1 weight-loss drug coverage amid rising costs. Starbucks will exclude GLP-1s for weight loss from October for benefits-eligible employees; Bank of America says its GLP-1 program costs exceed $250 million annually and accounts for about 13% of healthcare spend. Other firms weigh limits as utilization climbs.
Au Vodka, the Swansea-based RTD vodka brand known for its gold bottles, is nearing a sale to Sazerac. Founders Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn are expected to net over £100m each. The deal, first reported by Sky News, would deepen Sazerac’s UK footprint and follows Au Vodka’s rapid growth and US expansion.
A Shenzhen court has sentenced Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to life in prison and ordered confiscation of his assets, while a Guangzhou court has accepted bankruptcy liquidation for Evergrande’s mainland property unit. Courts have fined Evergrande and its unit about 15.8 billion yuan, and dozens of executives have also received prison terms.
Graduate job openings in the UK have fallen to 8,383 in July, a 45% drop from a year ago and the lowest since Adzuna began tracking the data in 2016. Competition per vacancy has risen while overall listings in key sectors have contracted. Some sectors are still hiring, and employers are shifting to AI and automation.