Daily Recap: Business — 8 October 2026

Companies across media, consumer brands and finance use scale in different ways today: pushing intellectual property into new formats, weighing transformative deals, and tightening operations when growth or margins come under pressure. The throughline is a search for stronger rea...

Starbucks has explored a potential takeover of Chipotle, a combination that would bring together two of the biggest names in fast food and coffee. Advisers have worked on a proposal in recent months, though it remains unclear whether any formal offer was made or whether talks advanced beyond an early stage. Investors reacted cautiously as Chipotle shares rose and Starbucks shares fell.

PepsiCo lowers its annual outlook for core profit and says it will step up cost cuts after weak North America performance and margin pressure weigh on results. The company still delivers quarterly figures ahead of expectations, but higher costs and softer profitability in its largest market push management to revise guidance for 2026 earnings.

Amazon is cutting nearly 1,000 office jobs, mainly in its Stores division that runs the company’s online retail business. The reductions affect staff in the United States, India and the United Kingdom and include customer service, engineering and seller-support roles, underscoring continued pressure to streamline operations even during a major shopping promotion period.

Goldman Sachs plans special equity bonuses worth more than $500 million for about 20 top executives under a multi-year performance structure. The awards stand out for both their size and concentration among senior leadership, highlighting how the bank is using long-term stock compensation to retain and reward key decision-makers.

Xbox creates a new division called XP to expand its game franchises into film, television and other entertainment experiences. The unit is designed to bring together work that already exists across the company and to turn more gaming intellectual property into broader media businesses that can reach audiences beyond console and PC players.

Spotify renews its multiyear podcast deal with Joe Rogan, keeping one of its biggest audio properties on the platform under a continued licensing arrangement. Spotify retains control over major commercial functions including advertising sales and licensing, reinforcing its strategy of pairing high-profile creators with in-house monetization and distribution.

India’s planned 0.4% merchant discount rate on some UPI payments may be pushed back to January 2027 instead of starting this month. The possible delay follows requests from merchant groups and fintech companies, and the issue is under discussion with the Finance Ministry as policymakers weigh the costs of changing the economics of the country’s dominant digital payments network.

Sportsbooks are rolling out new-customer promotions tied to Thursday Night Football’s Buccaneers-Cowboys matchup, using bonus bets and similar credits to attract sign-ups. The offers show how aggressively betting operators continue to spend on customer acquisition around marquee live sports, especially when nationally televised games provide a concentrated marketing opportunity.