Barclays Q2 Profit Beats Forecasts as Investment Banking Strength Offsets Higher Costs 
Zabka Shares Drop 10% as Seven & i Abandons Investment Plans 
Johnson & Johnson Proposes $5.5 Billion Talc Settlement to Resolve U.S. Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits 
CATL Shares Jump as $5.6 Billion Buyback Signals Confidence in Long-Term Growth 
ASML, Applied Materials Slide as China DUV Chip Equipment Breakthrough Sparks Market Jitters 
Tech Stock Positioning Nears Neutral as Investor Rotation Enters Final Phase, Deutsche Bank Says 
GSK Unveils $2.52 Billion Cost-Cutting Plan to Accelerate Drug Pipeline 
Brown-Forman Rejects Sazerac’s $15 Billion Takeover Bid as Family Backs Independence 
CXMT IPO Debut in Shanghai Puts $85.5 Billion Chipmaker in Spotlight 
Standard Chartered Beats Profit Forecasts as First-Half Earnings Rise 9% 
Stellantis Sells Free2move Car-Sharing Business to Mutares to Strengthen Core Auto Strategy 
X Challenges Australia’s Expanded Social Media Ban Enforcement Powers 
TSMC Gradually Restarts Japan Chip Plant After Kumamoto Earthquake 
Nvidia Eyes $250B Guarantee for OpenAI’s Massive Ohio AI Data Center Project 
Philips Shares Slide 10% Despite Earnings Beat as Weak Orders Raise Growth Concerns 
Unilever Raises 2026 Sales Outlook After Strong Q2 Volume Growth 
Meta CEO Zuckerberg Opposes U.S. Ban on Chinese AI Models, Warns Against Overregulation 
Playboy Enterprises Inc may soon acquire TLA Acquisition Corp, the parent company of sexual wellness chain Lovers, at around $25 million as it expands in the consumer products arena.
Lovers sells sexual wellness and health goods, including lingerie and intimacy products, online and across 41 brick-and-mortar stores in five US states.
The company is capitalizing on its brand by selling everything from apparel to art.
Playboy is seeking to grow its lifestyle brand after shuttering its famous magazine after its March 2020 issue.
The magazine's closure ended a nearly seven-decade run that began with a debut issue featuring Marilyn Monroe in 1953.
The company attributed its decision to close the print edition in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, which interfered with its magazine distribution.
The magazine was redesigned in March 2016 to stop featuring full-frontal nudity due to its inability to compete with freely available internet pornography.
Playboy is expected to become a publicly-traded company again in February upon completing the merger deal with blank-check acquisition company Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp.
It was taken private in 2011 in a $207 million deal led by its late founder, Hugh Hefner, and private equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management.
The merger deal with Mountain Crest values Playboy at $413 million, including debt.
