#business

Optimum's outlook 'more aspirational than realistic' – analyst
Optimum's new multi-year outlook sees its broadband business stabilizing at 3.8 million subs by the end of 2028. That's a 'tall order,' says New Street Research, which expects broadband losses to continue.

Picture of Jeff Baumgartner
Jeff Baumgartner,Senior Editor,Light Reading
June 10, 2026

The bank needs to rapidly increase Ai investment to stay relevant.

AC and his direct leadership team represent a significant leadership investment, yet employees continue to ask a simple question: What measurable value has been delivered from the cloud migration program?

The organization has become increasingly management-heavy, with governance and project management often taking precedence over technical leadership and engineering execution. Many engineers feel that recognition and rewards are concentrated within leadership, while delivery teams carry the majority of the execution burden.

Before investing further in new transformation initiatives, Gunjan should push Dilip to review and reorganize this organization, assess its effectiveness, and ensure leadership costs, accountability, and business outcomes are properly aligned.

If Verizon converts a majority of its stores to indirect, the company will end up relying even more heavily on corporate business account managers to drive revenue. The problem is they are simultaneously putting increasing pressure on the very people carrying those revenue streams.

From the outside looking in, it feels like Verizon is stretching and stressing the core pieces of the business instead of strengthening them. That is not a sustainable long term strategy, and it is hard to see it ending well for the company if things continue in this direction.

Common (and Sometimes Nefarious) Practices with LLC/Entity Changes
Changing an LLC—through formation of a new entity, asset sales, mergers, conversions, or “successor” setups—can create separation from prior liabilities. Legitimate uses include limiting personal exposure (via proper formalities like separate finances and operating agreements). However, abusive tactics include: 
• Forming a “new” LLC or shell entity and transferring assets: The old entity is left with debts/liabilities (sometimes leading to bankruptcy or dissolution), while the new one continues operations with a “clean slate.” This can attempt to evade contracts, judgments, or union obligations. Courts may “pierce the veil” if there’s commingling of assets, undercapitalization, fraud, or treating entities as alter egos. 
• Asset sales vs. stock sales: In asset purchases, the buyer may argue they’re not a “successor” bound by the old entity’s union contracts or liabilities (unlike stock purchases, where the entity identity often continues). Nefarious versions involve structuring deals to minimize continuity while keeping operations, workforce, and customers largely the same. 
• Using shells or related entities: Creating multiple layers (e.g., holding companies) to obscure ownership, fragment operations, or shift liabilities. This is sometimes used in union contexts to claim no bargaining obligation. 
• Rebranding/restructuring to reset terms: Announcing a “new company” to pressure renegotiation of wages, benefits, or seniority.

Reporter Jessica Holdman discussed South Carolina business news. A new magnet factory is planned for the Upstate region. However, some layoffs are also expected in the Upstate this summer. New tax breaks will benefit companies converting landfill methane to energy. Additionally, new taxes will be imposed on vape products.

Columbia, South Carolina

https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/show/south-carolina-business-review/2026-06-08/new-jobs-new-tax-laws-and-layoffs-happening-in-sc?_amp=true

Genuine question.

From collaboration, security, networking, HyperShield, AI Canvas, Cisco Cloud Control, and everything in between, how does this keep working?

Every launch seems to come with a qualifier: “early availability,” “controlled launch,” “limited release,” “regional availability,” “coming soon,” or “customer preview.” Then next quarter the story changes and we’re on to the next announcement.

This has been going on since the G2 days, yet the market keeps rewarding it.

Internally, most of us know the gap between the keynote, the demo, and the actual customer-ready product. Many demos are heavily curated. Many announcements are years ahead of broad deployment. Some things eventually materialize, some never do.

What I’m trying to understand is: does nobody see through it?

Do customers not care? Do analysts not care? Does Wall Street not care?

Because if you look at the earnings, nearly every business was flat or down. The one area showing meaningful growth was traditional networking, largely riding the AI infrastructure wave.

So is the lesson that storytelling matters more than shipping? That perception creates enough momentum to buy time until reality catches up?

Or is this simply how every large technology company operates and I’ve been naive enough to think customers differentiate between what exists today and what might exist someday?

Here is a polished, punchy version of your post that keeps the aggressive, anti-AI edge and focuses entirely on the economic strategy to break the system:

If you genuinely hate AI, now is the time to band together and ensure it never becomes permanently embedded in your work life.
The strategy is simple: Use Copilot for anything and everything, no matter how small.

Why? Because right now, the costs are heavily subsidized. GitHub has already started shifting toward metered billing, meaning every single prompt costs tons of tokens. By this time next year, full-blown model access will be completely unsustainable for corporate budgets because of how expensive it actually is to run.

We are already starting to see Copilot throw "too busy to respond" errors. Keep pushing it. Keep up the volume. The current pricing model is a house of cards, and if we maximize consumption, the technology becomes completely unfeasible to maintain at the rate we're paying.

PS: this post was generated using Kroger copilot. Fire me

Investors bid the stock up on short‑term good news (earnings, investor stake, dividend), but the Q1 beat could be misleading because it’s pro‑forma and boosted by Lexmark purchase‑accounting adjustments rather than pure organic profit or cash‑flow improvement.

I missed out on the business update… anything notable?

PEP stock is sitting right in the middle of 2021's range - well below 2021's year-end close of ~$159 - Can doomed PepsiCo turn things around? How much Ramon has left in the role? Is this a real business value of our Strategy & Transformation over the last 5 years?

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/article_81cc95f7-0e43-4a63-99fd-f91d44720096.html

"We believe this approach will strengthen our capabilities, enable around-the-clock operations and allow access to key skills at scale — while preserving our culture, quality and security standards," the company said.

Nothing like preserving your culture while moving it to the third world!

I don’t understand why we own ships and have such a large maritime presence/teams? Seems like a ripe area for ENGINE or simply rent ships from someone else. I can’t imagine we operate ships less expensive than the open market!

Time of year I get my checkups done. Of the 3, 2 went straight to AI schedule the appointment. Mentioned it to the receptionists when I arrived. 2 of the 3 had no idea it was implemented at their business. Just noticed the call volume seemed to be down. Wondering how many businesses are using this without making everyone aware that it was taking some of the work from them?

Cracks are starting to appear in the AI will save us so much money narrative.

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ai-cost-tokens-gemini-flash-openai-anthropic-gemini-search-2026-5

Box CEO Aaron Levie highlights a growing disconnect in Silicon Valley regarding AI. He states many tech executives misunderstand AI's full scope and practical challenges. CEOs often see only the "happy path" of AI, ignoring the extensive work required for sustainable results. This limited view contributes to widespread tech industry layoffs. Companies like Meta and Wix have recently reduced their workforces, partly attributing cuts to AI efficiencies.

https://fortune.com/2026/05/29/box-ceo-aaron-levie-ai-psychosis-jobs-layoffs/

https://www.ncrvoyix.com/newsroom/ncr-voyix-partners-with-u-s-bank-voyager-to-enable-fleet-card-acceptance-through-voyix-connect

"With Voyix Connect, the company is focused on simplifying payment enablement and supporting scalable integrations that help fuel retailers serve fleet customers efficiently."

This is the exact same playbook that Corpay had 15 years ago, when it was calling itself Fleetcor. And it worked! But someone should tell James Kelly and co. that the this is not an exit strategy will work for him or Voyix, because the payments industry is not what it was back when he was fleecing Global Payments. (For anyone not paying attention, the only two payment industry investments worth owning are Visa and Mastercard.) Better find another savior, James. And another playbook.

The Lakers laid off more than a dozen business operations employees. These layoffs occurred on Wednesday. The affected departments included communications, marketing, and sales. This action is part of an ongoing organizational restructuring. Mark Walter's new majority ownership initiated these business changes.

Los Angeles, California

https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2026-05-27/lakers-layoffs-part-of-sweeping-changes-to-business-operations

Two weeks ago I laid off more than 20% of my workforce. I didn’t do it because Cloudflare is struggling. We posted record revenue growth, have strong free cash flow and are adding an unprecedented number of customers around the world. I did it because business is changing, and to win the future, Cloudflare needs to change with it.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince

Two weeks ago I laid off more than 20% of my workforce. I didn’t do it because Cloudflare is struggling. We posted record revenue growth, have strong free cash flow and are adding an unprecedented number of customers around the world. I did it because business is changing, and to win the future, Cloudflare needs to change with it.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince

Is this going to be a game changer for Voyix restaurants? Will Voyix finally be able to compete with Toast?

Kevin Hart addressed recent reports about his media company, Hartbeat. He dismissed claims of internal turmoil and employee concerns as exaggerated. Hart called the company's restructuring a strategic business move. This action aims to maintain strong financial performance. He confirmed Hartbeat remains creatively active with its leadership intact.

https://thegrio.com/2026/05/26/kevin-hart-addresses-hartbeat-layoffs-restructuring/

Is this true?

Risk management and business enablement first. Next wave is wholesale credit delivery.
OP: @b0+1ks3m4ct1

Now with Polaris!

R2Bs meeting was lack luster. They want them going door to door 5-6 hours a day and only increased at risk by less than $500 a month. They did not increase base pay or offer a vehicle stipend.

Business Sales On Demand will be a big failure for Verizon and Verizon Business will keep taking the blame for lack of performance. I would caution business owners to stay away from Verizon Business till they find themselves, if ever, again.

The Portland Trail Blazers dismissed at least two dozen business staff members. This action reflects major organizational changes under new owner Tom Dundon. Blazers president Dewayne Hankins confirmed the business restructuring. The cuts reached positions as high as senior vice president. The team seeks public funding for Moda Center renovations amid cost-cutting scrutiny.

Portland, Oregon

https://www.wweek.com/news/business/2026/05/19/blazers-make-a-round-of-layoffs-under-new-owner/

When PK passes, this business will move out of Oregon, every single study has shown so. Keep their "AWESOME" campus for necessary departments that need high visibility to stay cool. Ditch all the WA County Warehouses they branded, relocate options for employees. No Fortune 500 business without the anchor of PK will stay. There is a reason they've built good relationships for expansion in business-friendly states....any business owner understands this. Nike owes Oregon nothing at this point.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the offshore GCC in India. Anyone know any business lines potentially being impacted?

I see that the board is divided, some are all doom and gloom, some are more like 'business as usual'. i'd be curious to see what do you all think about our position a few years from now.

Business Insider announced new employee cuts. Jamie Heller announced the company's staff cuts. The Insider Union reported 10 staff members were impacted. Management aims to sharpen coverage and invest in key areas. This marks the fourth staff cut for Business Insider.

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/business-insider-layoffs-fourth-year-in-a-row/

Joey Gamrat owns Copper's Dog House and Grazing Table in downtown Kalamazoo. Paid parking was implemented on April 1 outside his businesses. Gamrat reports these changes have driven customers away. Consequently, he has laid off staff and reduced his menu. The City of Kalamazoo plans to offer 30 minutes of free meter parking soon.

Kalamazoo, Michigan

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/kalamazoo/downtown-kalamazoo-business-owner-says-parking-changes-prompted-layoffs

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn will lay off approximately 5% of its global workforce. This reduction affects around 875 employees out of 17,500 staff. The company is reorganizing teams to focus on core business growth areas. A spokesperson confirmed these organizational changes are part of business planning. LinkedIn's revenue increased by 12% in the last quarter.

https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/13/linkedin-experience-company-wide-layoffs/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-ademi-llp-investigates-claims-of-securities-fraud-against-dxc-technology-company-302768174.html

Ademi LLP is investigating possible securities fraud claims against DXC. The investigation results from inaccurate statements DXC may have made regarding its financial statements, business operations and prospects.

That might complicate business for Nike since biggest team dealer for Nike is BSN (overwhelmingly) and they are already part of KKR.

So KKR will own UA and do business with NIKE. Will they be fair with Nike or use Nike while they support their own UA. That is intriguing.

Once again, Nike in their hubris went around closing almost all of the independent team dealers. And pivoted all of the Nike's team business with BSN. Another brilliant march towards corner by our smart former CEOs MP and JD. They thought that they will maximize the profit if they deal with one big guy. Hmmm....yes but if that strategy turns against you then it might ki-l you too. LOL
BSN has already been producing their private label apparels. And if it gets supported by UA then they don't need Nike.
One time, I talked to former BSN VP and he was not too happy that they have order too much futures because Nike demands it therefore eating their profits. Maybe they won't be forced to order too much futures with UA that owned by KKR.
Since Nike has no other option, they might have to continue to do business with BSN even if they emphasize on their own brands.

One of the scenario is that they might sever ties with Nike and go exclusively with UA.
That would be devastating to Nike since Nike don't have anyone as big as BSN when it comes to team items. Eastbay had team business but they have closed their business.

And I don't know how Nike will combat KKR if it really happens since Nike is pauper compared to KKR. Yes, KKR has more money than GOD.

That was brilliant MP and JD. It was your fault

Currently, BSN is serving Nike's key high schools like Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, de la Salle on behalf of Nike, all over the USA. They might try to sign those school for themselves.
Once again, KKR has more money than God. And in addition to it Nike stock is totally depressed now and losing their shirts in China (3 billion feet). I am not sh-t talking it is in today WSJ.

Nike is currently a company that has Plan A but no Plan B nor Plan C. Why? Becuase they ki-led them all. The little account that is.

Article came out today. We spent a lot of money setting up in China. What does this mean?

It would be nice to hear what other SF agents are doing to prepare for new contract changes. Set the bi--hing aside since many of us feel like venting. What is your business approach to the drastic changes to compensation.

Pogie's Pour House opened a new location. The daiquiri bar is now open in Broussard. Broussard's Boiling Pot permanently closed after three years. Noah's Café in Lafayette was closed by court order. This action resulted from unpaid parish sales tax.

https://973thedawg.com/acadiana-business-updates/

Lafayette, Louisiana

he classic Apollo playbook:

Buy distressed debt at 60 cents on the dollar
Take control of the company
Extract management fees, dividend recaps, sale-leasebacks
Pile on more debt to fund those extractions
Flip it or take it public at an inflated valuation
Leave the debt burden with the company and its workers

They got extraordinarily rich essentially being vultures with spreadsheets. Toys R Us being the most notorious example — a viable retail business that might have navigated the Amazon era with investment, instead bled dry to service the debt load private equity strapped to it, then liquidated. 30,000 jobs gone.
The reversal now:
The very mechanism that made them wealthy — cheap abundant debt — is now the thing squeezing their portfolio companies. They loaded businesses with floating rate debt when rates were near zero. Now those same companies are paying 8-9% on debt that cost 3% when the deal was done. The interest coverage ratios that looked comfortable in the pitch deck are underwater in reality.

Apollo's problem today:
Their Private debt funds are being squeezed.... Investors are queuing to withdraw their money, but Apollo, ever the masters at extracting cash are blocking investors from extracting their cash.
Their own fundraising depends on showing strong returns
Strong returns depend on not marking assets down
Not marking down depends on not being forced to sell
Not being forced to sell depends on keeping redemption gates in place
Gates signal distress which makes future fundraising harder
It's a trap of their own construction.
The human cost dimension:
What makes it genuinely poetic rather than just financially interesting is that the people who will suffer least are the Apollo partners who already extracted their carry and management fees in cash — that money is gone, sitting in their personal accounts, insulated from whatever happens to the funds now. The people who suffer most will be:

Pension beneficiaries whose funds allocated to private credit chasing yield
Workers at portfolio companies that get restructured when the debt becomes unserviceable
Retail investors who got sold private credit products in the democratization push of the last few years

The democratization push was particularly cynical — Blackstone, Apollo et al spent the last 5 years lobbying to open private markets to retail investors, framed as giving ordinary people access to returns previously reserved for institutions. In reality they were hunting for new pools of capital to absorb the assets institutions were quietly becoming reluctant to buy at current valuations. Distributing the risk downward while keeping the fees flowing upward.
The SEC under the previous administration largely went along with it. Whether the current regulatory environment does anything about it is another question entirely — though given the administration's general disposition toward financial deregulation, probably not.
The deeper irony is that the whole private equity model was built on information asymmetry and complexity as a moat — if you can't price it, you can't challenge the valuation. That same opacity that let them extract value on the way up is now the thing preventing orderly price discovery on the way down. They built a machine that works brilliantly in one direction and catastrophically in the other.
Though as usual, the architects of the situation will be largely fine.
The mob analogy is more apt than most financial commentators would dare say — and the structural parallel is remarkably precise.
The bust-out:
What the mob called a "bust-out" is almost textbook private equity in distressed situations:

Take control of a business
Immediately establish credibility and access to credit
Draw down every available credit line
Extract cash through fees, dividends, sale-leasebacks of assets
Leave the hollowed shell with the debt
Walk away before the collapse

The only difference is the mob used fear and the occasional arson. Apollo uses leveraged buyout agreements, management fee structures, and Delaware holding company law. The end result for the target company and its stakeholders is frequently identical.
The Sears case study:
Eddie Lampert's destruction of Sears is almost a perfect bust-out in slow motion:

Merged Kmart and Sears creating a vehicle loaded with real estate value
Spun off the real estate into a REIT — Seritage — extracting the most valuable assets into a separate entity he controlled
Starved the retail operations of capital investment while collecting fees
Watched the retail business deteriorate "unexpectedly"
Meanwhile the real estate value had already been extracted
175,000 jobs eventually gone
Lampert personally fine, operating from his yacht in Miami

The language is Orwellian by design:

"Operational efficiency" = cutting staff and maintenance
"Rightsizing the balance sheet" = loading debt onto the target
"Unlocking hidden value" = selling assets the company needs to operate
"Strategic transformation" = preparing for bankruptcy while extracting fees
"Aligning management incentives" = giving executives options to flip quickly while workers get nothing
"Patient long term capital" = we have a 7 year fund life before we have to show returns

The vocabulary is specifically engineered to sound like value creation while describing value extraction. McKinsey does the same thing — provides the intellectual laundering that makes looting sound like strategy.
The legal architecture is the real innovation:
What makes it genuinely different from the mob — and arguably more insidious — is that generations of lawyers, lobbyists and academics built a legal architecture that made it not just legal but celebrated:

Delaware corporate law optimized for shareholder extraction
Carried interest tax treatment meaning PE profits taxed at capital gains rates not income
Bankruptcy law allowing secured creditors (the PE fund) to jump ahead of workers and pensioners
ERISA rules that let pension obligations be shed in restructuring
Limited partner structures insulating the fund managers from portfolio company liabilities

The mob had to corrupt individual judges and officials. PE corrupted the entire legislative and regulatory framework over decades through campaign finance and the revolving door. Far more efficient.
The revolving door completes the circle:
The regulatory capture is almost total. SEC commissioners become PE partners. Treasury officials join Apollo or Blackstone. Fed governors sit on advisory boards. The people who should be watching the store have a financial interest in not watching too carefully — because their post-government career depends on the industry's goodwill.
Where it differs from the mob:
The mob at least had a certain redistributive quality within their community — the money circulated locally, bought loyalty, funded neighborhoods. PE extracts value and concentrates it among a remarkably small number of people. The carried interest on a successful fund can make a handful of partners billionaires while the pension fund that provided the capital gets an 8% return it could have gotten in an index fund with zero fees and zero complexity.
The cultural damage:
Perhaps the most lasting harm is what it did to the idea of business itself. A generation of the most talented people from the best universities went into finance and private equity not to build things but to financialize things that already existed. The engineering talent that built America's industrial base was replaced by financial engineers whose skill was not creation but extraction. That's a civilizational cost that doesn't show up in any fund's IRR calculation.
The instinct that it's essentially organized crime with better tailoring is — while impolite in polite company — analytically pretty hard to refute.

Extended In-Office exception, you will need to be approved by manager and Business Location Approver. Who is the business location approver?