• LVMH's CEO, Bernard Arnault, promoted his second-youngest son to be the CEO of Loro Piana.
• Frédéric Arnault, aged 29, led LVMH's watches division.
• This is Arnault's latest move of reshuffling his children around in leadership roles in LVMH.

Bernard Arnault, the billionaire CEO and chairman of French luxury giant LVMH, is shuffling one of his children around at his companies again.

Frédéric Arnault, the chief executive's 29-year-old son, has been tapped to be the CEO of Loro Piana, an Italian cashmere brand under LVMH.

The company said in a Wednesday statement that he will step into the role on June 10. Before the promotion, the younger Arnault led LVMH's watches division.

Frédéric Arnault's appointment was one of three across LVMH. Damien Bertrand, the current CEO of Loro Piana, was promoted to deputy CEO of Louis Vuitton, and Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou was appointed deputy CEO of Dior. According to his LinkedIn, Angeloglou is currently the managing director of LVMH's fashion group and the CEO of Fendi.

"Our maisons' desirability is fuelled by dedicated and passionate leaders. Damien, Frédéric and Pierre-Emmanuel's vision, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and commitment to excellence will be assets to pursue the dynamic development of our maisons," Arnault said in the statement.

The move is the latest instance of Arnault, aged 76, shaking up leadership in LVMH and putting his five children in the upper echelons of its fashion houses.

In November, he appointed his third-eldest child, Alexandre Arnault, as the deputy CEO of LVMH's Wines and Spirits division, Moët Hennessy. Before the new posting, he was executive vice president of product and communications at Tiffany & Co.

In 2023, Arnault's eldest child, Delphine Arnault, was tapped to be the CEO of Christian Dior. His second oldest child, Antoine Arnault, is LVMH's image and environment director.

And Jean Arnault, the youngest of the siblings, is the watch director of Louis Vuitton.

Four of his children — Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre, and Frédéric — sit on LVMH's board of directors.

• India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, announced a partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
• Ambani's Jio Platforms will bring Starlink's internet services to India, per the partnership.
• This deal comes at a welcome time for Musk.

India's richest man is joining hands with Elon Musk to bring Starlink into the subcontinent.

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire owner of Indian mega-conglomerate Reliance Industries, announced a partnership with Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's internet services to India through its technology subsidiary, Jio Platforms.

In a press release on Wednesday, Jio Platforms said that it would offer Starlink services to customers in India through its retail and online storefronts.

The partnership would increase access connectivity across the subcontinent, even in "most rural and remote regions of India," the release wrote.

"Our collaboration with SpaceX to bring Starlink to India strengthens our commitment and marks a transformative step toward seamless broadband connectivity for all," Mathew Oommen, the CEO of Reliance Jio, said in the release.

Jio Platforms said this agreement will be "subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell Starlink in India."

Jio Platforms did not specify when the partnership will be rolled out.

If the partnership goes through, it will give Starlink access to the world's largest consumer market. India is the world's most populous country, with more than 1.4 billion people.

Reliance Jio had 481.8 million subscribers in the country as of 2024, Reliance Industries said in its 2023-2024 annual report. Ambani had a net worth of $87.5 billion at press time on Wednesday, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Representatives for SpaceX and Reliance Industries did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Musk said he's been running his businesses 'with great difficulty'

The deal with Ambani, if confirmed, would be a welcome boost for Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, which aired Monday, that running the Department of Government Efficiency along with his companies hasn't been easy.

"With great difficulty," Musk said when asked how he managed his businesses.

Tesla saw a postelection boost after President Donald Trump's victory in November, but the stock has slid by more than 50% from recent highs. Musk's EV company has also seen declining sales in Europe and China.

In January, Tesla said it delivered 1.79 million vehicles last year, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million vehicles it delivered in 2023. This was the first time the company's annual sales declined in more than a decade.

Musk's clashes with European politicians over the Ukraine war have resulted in increased scrutiny over the market dominance of his satellite internet service, Starlink. Musk initially supported Ukraine but has since called for the US to stop sending it military aid.

On Sunday, Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, wrote in an X post that Poland "will be forced to look for other suppliers" of satellite internet services if SpaceX "proves to be an unreliable provider."

"To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals," Musk wrote on X on Sunday.

"We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip," he added.

• McDonald's is trying to get new burgers out the door and into its restaurants faster.
• CEO Chris Kempczinski said new products and upgrades to signature burgers take years to reach customers.
• He plans to shake up operations and introduce new executive roles to speed up the process.

McDonald's takes years to introduce new burgers, its CEO says, and he wants to change that.

The chain's chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, said he wants to speed up the process of introducing new burgers and improving existing signature burgers. He made these comments in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday.

Kempczinski says he's switching things up in leadership and operations to make the company move faster. Part of that involves changing the job scopes of his leadership team to roll out new technology and products to its restaurants faster.

Jill McDonald, who heads the company's international division, has been tapped to be the chain's first chief restaurant experience officer starting May 1. McDonald is a retail veteran, having held top roles at Marks and Spencer and Costa Coffee.

She'll lead the team responsible for the company's innovation, supply chains, and operations.

"I wanted one person who's actually looking at all these tech things through the eyes of the restaurant general manager," Kempczinski said to the Journal.

He did not elaborate on how else he would speed up the burger development process. Representatives for McDonald's did not respond to a query from Business Insider on the topic, sent outside regular business hours.

In the interview, Kempczinski also hinted at a more extensive drinks menu. He said he would get executives to focus exclusively on beverage development.

He said this would help the company find a way to keep customers in store and buying their drinks rather than going to competitors.

"We just need to make sure that our menu offering doesn't give somebody a reason why they come to us for their food and they maybe go to the place next door to go get the beverage," Kempczinski said.

Kempczinski's comments come as the chain posted stagnant financial results in 2024. The chain's global comparable sales declined 0.1% in 2024. It reported a full-year revenue of $25.92 billion.

When markets closed on Tuesday, McDonald's stock traded at $306.8. It has risen about 4% in the past year.

The fast food industry is facing a wave of cost-conscious consumers in the US who are put off by rising fast food product prices. Some are opting to eat at home.

McDonald's, for its part, has doubled down on cheap meals to attract frugal customers. In a February earnings call, Kempczinski said its $5 meal deals in the US were working.

It also offered a promotion on its Egg McMuffins on March 2, selling the popular breakfast item for $1 despite the skyrocketing egg prices in the US.

• Aerospace company Intuitive Machines launched its lunar lander Athena in February.
• The lunar lander traveled through space in SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
• It landed on its side in a crater 820 feet away from the intended landing site and is no longer functioning.

Intuitive Machines, an American space company, launched its lunar lander Athena to the moon in late February, but the craft had a rough touchdown, landing in a crater and flipping over on its side.

Athena landed about 820 feet away from its intended landing site, which was in the Mons Mouton region on the moon's south pole, Intuitive Machines said in a press release on Friday.

"Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side," Intuitive Machines said, adding that its batteries depleted some time after landing.

The company said it "does not expect Athena to recharge," given the direction of the sun, the orientation of Athena's solar panels, and the frigid temperatures in the crater it had landed in.

The lander was transported to the moon on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

Representatives for Intuitive Machines did not respond to a request for comment.

A photo shared by the company showed the lander on its side on the surface of the moon, with some of the legs it is meant to stand on up in the air.

Intuitive Machines said the mission, IM-2, was intended to "demonstrate lunar mobility, resource prospecting, and analysis of volatile substances from subsurface material."

The company also said that despite the lander landing on its side, its teams are analyzing the data that was collected and that insights from the mission would open up the region, known for harsh conditions, to more space exploration.

NASA also said Intuitive Machines was able to collect some data for the agency before the mission came to its earlier-than-expected end.

"Our targeted landing site near the lunar South Pole is one of the most scientifically interesting, and geographically challenging locations on the Moon," Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA, said in a statement. "Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow, and we will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration, and commercial development as we get ready for human exploration of Mars."

• DOGE has been ordered to release some records by US District Judge Christopher Cooper.
• He wrote in a 37-page opinion memorandum that DOGE was operating rapidly but with "unusual secrecy."
• He's now instructed the agency to comply with FOIA requests from a watchdog nonprofit.

A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to release some of its records publicly, citing its "unprecedented" authority and the "unusual secrecy" with which it operates.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper instructed DOGE to comply with three Freedom of Information Act requests from a nonprofit that asked for details about the agency's role in "spearheading the mass firings and dramatic disruptions to federal programs."

In a 37-page opinion memorandum on Monday, Cooper wrote that the "public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay" in the FOIA requests.

He told DOGE to deliver the requested information quickly and "begin producing documents on a rolling basis as soon as possible."

Cooper's decision is the first major legal ruling that has sought to pry open DOGE's operations for the public. His memo mainly cited news reports and social media statements from Musk and President Donald Trump.

Still, the ruling can be appealed.

In his note, Cooper wrote that DOGE's actions "demonstrate its substantial authority over vast swaths of the federal government."

The judge wrote that DOGE appeared to have access to much of the government's IT systems, allowing it to act and move quickly.

"But the rapid pace of USDS's actions, in turn, requires the quick release of information about its structure and activities," he added, citing the agency as the US DOGE Service.

Since Trump took office in January, DOGE's mandate has been to ax government spending in the name of efficiency. As part of that effort, it's canceled most USAID programs and fired thousands of federal employees.

Data released this month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that job cuts in the federal government had reached 172,017 in February alone — the highest monthly level since the pandemic spurred a wave of layoffs in June 2020.

DOGE estimates it's saved $105 billion so far, but its tallies aren't definitive. The agency has repeatedly deleted or lowered the amount saved in some of its reports by billions of dollars.

In his memo, Cooper cited multiple concerns with how DOGE was working, writing that it operates with "unusual secrecy."

Cooper referred to several news reports, such as a piece from The New York Times that found DOGE employees were operating on auto-deleting messaging apps like Signal.

"Moreover, the authority exercised by USDS across the federal government and the dramatic cuts it has apparently made with no congressional input appear to be unprecedented," he wrote.

In line with Cooper's order for DOGE to release its records, the judge also instructed it to preserve all records that might be related to the nonprofit's FOIA request.

The nonprofit, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is a watchdog organization that focuses on the government's ethics and transparency.

On Monday, CREW's executive director said the organization was "grateful for Judge Cooper's decision."

"Now more than ever, Americans deserve transparency in their government," said Donald Sherman. "Despite efforts and claims to the contrary, the government cannot hide the actions of the US DOGE Service."

Representatives of DOGE and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• Australian-born K-Pop singer Felix Lee walked the Louis Vuitton runway in Paris on Monday night.
• Lee is a muse hand-picked by Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton's artistic director.
• Lee's second turn on the catwalk comes as LVMH bets big on East Asia, buying into endorsements from K-Pop.

Wherever Felix Lee goes, the lights — and Louis Vuitton — seem to follow.

On Monday, the 24-year-old Australian-born K-Pop singer showed up at LV's March Fall-Winter 2025 show in Paris for his second time on the catwalk.

He walked the runway wearing pieces designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, LV's artistic director for womenswear.

The look: Loose checked pants with a black and beige knit sweater paired with a teal duffel bag with orange straps. Lee's hair — freshly bleached blonde — was straight and slicked back, reminiscent of his first appearance on the LV catwalk in 2023.

Lee — who is based in South Korea and part of the eight-member band Stray Kids — is one of Ghesquière's latest muses. And while it's now common to see at least one South Korean pop star sitting front-row at fashion shows in New York, London, and Paris, it's still rare for one of them to walk the runway for a major brand.

Before Monday's show, Lee posted stories on Instagram with Ghesquière, where the designer said it was a "big honor" to have Lee at his show.

In several of the brand's videos, Lee has spoken extensively about his friendship with Ghesquière.

In a March video from LV, Lee said he first met Ghesquière in 2023 in Seoul.

"It's such a huge pleasure to meet him up front, and from there on, we became good friends," he said in the video.

He said Ghesquière personally invited him to walk in the LV Fall-Winter 2024 show in Paris.

"The fact that I got to attend and do my first runway for Nicolas' 10th-anniversary runway — honestly, it just blew my mind," Lee said in a May interview with Vogue.

Lee's Instagram page, which had 26.2 million followers as of press time, is full of pictures of him wearing LV pieces.

In a September post, he wore a black tee with the words "Vuitton Louis icons" emblazoned on it.

Another October post showed him carrying the brand's Neverfull bag.

LV bets big on East Asia

Lee's meteoric rise in LV's hall of muses comes as LV bets big on Asian endorsements.

Lisa from the K-Pop girl group Blackpink, who was previously the face of Celine, joined LV as a brand ambassador in July.

And back in 2021, LV tapped BTS as house ambassadors.

The larger LVMH business, too, has added K-Pop idols to its roster of ambassadors.

In 2023, Dior and Tiffany & Co. made Jimin — one of the seven members of BTS — their brand ambassador. V, also from BTS, became the face of Celine and Cartier the same year.

In 2021, Tiffany & Co. signed Blackpink singer Rosé to be the face of the brand. Her bandmate, Jisoo, was chosen as Dior's global ambassador in 2021.

To be sure, the connections between Korean pop culture and Western high fashion have been over a decade in the making.

G-Dragon — the leader of BIGBANG, the top band in South Korea's pop scene in the 2000s — was one of Chanel's hottest faces in Asia. The rapper was friends with the late Karl Lagerfeld and, in 2015, walked in Chanel's haute couture show in Paris.

A broader East Asia marketing push from LV

Jacob Cooke, the CEO of the China-based marketing firm WPIC Marketing + Technologies, said that LV's strategy of featuring K-Pop stars like Lee is a "continuation of its broader East Asia approach, where luxury brands use celebrity endorsements to cultivate deep emotional connections with consumers."

"South Korea has long been a cultural powerhouse for luxury, driving trends across Asia and beyond, particularly through K-Pop and K-drama fandoms, so LV's investment in stars like Felix Lee makes sense in terms of market positioning for the entire region," Cooke said.

However, Cooke said celebrity endorsements may not always be effective for sustained brand growth, as the brand risks appearing "too mass market" and less "aspirational."

Representatives for Lee at JYP Entertainment and Louis Vuitton did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• Mark Zuckerberg sported a new timepiece at Saturday's UFC match in Las Vegas.
• Watch experts identified the watch as a Rolex Daytona "Le Mans" in solid gold.
• The Meta CEO has been seen with numerous expensive watches in recent months.

Mark Zuckerberg showed up with a Rolex timepiece at the UFC match on Saturday in Las Vegas, adding to the slate of major wrist candy he's been spotted with.

In his Sunday Instagram post and videos on X, the Meta CEO was seen wearing a shiny gold watch with a black dial and three white subdials.

He kept the rest of his outfit simple, with a black T-shirt, khaki cargo pants, black shades, and his new staple accessory — a thick gold chain.

Four watch experts told Business Insider the watch is likely a yellow gold Rolex Daytona "Le Mans."

Ng Yong Shen, a vice president at Re-Loved Luxury, a Dubai-based secondhand luxury retailer, said the watch has a resale value of up to $300,000.

Three other watch trading and authentication experts based in Italy, Switzerland, and the UK, confirmed the watch's model to BI.

In January, while announcing the end of his Meta's fact-checking partnerships in the US, Zuckerberg wore a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1, which costs more than $900,000.

Greubel Forsey's website said it produces only two or three pieces of the watch annually.

In September, Zuckerberg was spotted wearing a rose gold De Bethune DB 25 Starry Varius during an interview with the business podcast "Acquired."

According to listings on watch retailers like The 1916 Company and The Hour Glass, the De Bethune watch costs between $90,000 and $95,700.

Shortly before the "Acquired" interview, he wore a Patek Philippe watch in an Instagram post, with his hand around his wife Priscilla Chan's shoulders. The model Zuckerberg wore — the Patek Philippe Grand Complications In-Line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 — retails for $141,400, per the watchmaker's website.

It's unclear when Zuckerberg first started collecting watches. But the Meta chief was interested in timepieces in March 2024, if his conversation with Anant Ambani at the latter's pre-wedding party is anything to go by.

In a video from the pre-wedding event circulated on social media, Zuckerberg and Chan were heard praising Ambani's Richard Mille watch.

"You know, I never really wanted to get a watch. But after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool," Zuckerberg said of Ambani's timepiece.

Zuckerberg's style evolution is not limited to watches. The tech leader has long ditched his work uniform, which used to consist of drab gray T-shirts and hoodies. Now, he's been known to wear shearling brown jackets, gold chains, and other statement pieces.

Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant based in New York, told BI in September that Zuckerberg's style shift, "shown by a love for premium watches and subtle luxury, suggests a shift."

"He's stepping into a role where his appearance reflects his position as a tech innovator," Rosenfeld added.

Representatives for Zuckerberg did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• Kentucky's bourbon makers are not happy with Canada's response to Trump's 25% tariffs.
• Some provinces have pulled US-made alcohol off their stores' shelves and stopped buying new products.
• The Kentucky Distillers' Association said Canada's measures will have "far-reaching consequences."

Kentucky's bourbon makers are unhappy with Canada, which buys millions of dollars of whiskey a year from the state.

In the days since Trump's tariffs went into effect, several Canadian provinces have pulled US-made alcohol from store shelves. And any US alcohol they buy could get more expensive: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said he would impose retaliatory 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods.

Eric Gregory, the president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, said in a Tuesday statement on X that retaliatory tariffs would have "far-reaching consequences across Kentucky, home to 95% of the world's bourbon."

Canada's retaliatory measures will "jeopardize growth for years," he said.

Gregory's statement comes as several Canadian provinces have clamped down on US-made alcohol this week. Provinces like Ontario and New Brunswick instructed state-affiliated alcohol retailers, which regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol in their regions, to pull US products from their shelves.

Ontario's government instructed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to "immediately" cease imports of US alcohol and stop selling American products, the LCBO said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the government of New Brunswick said on Facebook that it would not purchase any new US alcohol products. The government said it had removed US-made alcohol products from the shelves of Alcool NB, a government-affiliated alcohol retailer.

Quebec followed suit. The Société des alcools du Québec, a government-run alcohol retailer, said in a Wednesday X post that it was wiping all US products from branches and its website "at the request of the Québec government."

Before the trade war kicked off, Canada was a large importer of Kentucky-made spirits.

The Canada-Kentucky agricultural trade totaled $691 million in 2023, with Kentucky exporting $43 million worth of whiskey to Canada that year, the Canadian government said on its official site.

And Kentucky imported $40.3 million worth of whiskey from Canada.

Paul Coomes, a professor of economics at the University of Louisville, wrote in a 2023 report that Canada was the biggest importer of Kentucky-made spirits in 2022.

It's not just Kentucky bourbon makers who lamented Canada's retaliatory measures.

Lawson Whiting, the CEO of Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's, said on a Wednesday earnings call that the retaliation was "worse than a tariff" and a "disproportionate response" to Trump's tariffs.

In June, the company said in its annual report that Canada accounted for 1% of total sales, while 45% came from the US.

Trump said in early February that he would impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Those tariffs were delayed by a month after both countries promised to tighten their border security but went into effect on Tuesday.

Representatives for the Kentucky Distillers' Association did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• The CEO of the parent company of Jack Daniel's criticized Canada for its response to US tariffs.
• The Brown-Forman chief said Canada pulling US alcohol off its shelves was "worse than a tariff."
• In response to Donald Trump's tariffs, Canada announced a 25% levy on all US exports on Monday.

A top Jack Daniel's executive isn't happy about how some Canadian provinces responded to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Ontario and New Brunswick instructed state-affiliated alcohol retailers this week to remove US-made alcohol from store shelves. The pulling of American alcohol was in response to Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.

In a Wednesday earnings call, Lawson Whiting, the CEO of the parent company of Jack Daniel's, Brown-Forman, said he thought Canada's retaliation was "worse than a tariff."

"It's literally taking your sales away," Whiting said.

"That's a very disproportionate response to a 25% tariff," he added.

Whiting also called it "disappointing" that some Canadians now couldn't buy Jack Daniel's because of the tariffs.

"We're going to see how that all plays out," Whiting said, adding that Canada was "not a massive" market for the company and made up "around 1%" of Brown-Forman's sales.

Brown-Forman, which owns other spirit brands such as Old Forester and Glendronach, reported that net sales decreased by 3% in the quarter that ended on January 31 compared with the same period the year before.

Brown-Forman's net sales in the quarter totaled $1.04 billion.

The company also reported a 6% decrease in its net income in the latest quarter compared with the year before.

Canadian provinces are clamping down hard on US alcohol

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, a government-run wholesaler of alcohol in Ontario, said on Tuesday that the state government had instructed it to "immediately" cease imports of US alcohol. It's also been told to stop selling American products.

"U.S. products will not be purchased by LCBO until the LCBO is directed to resume normal business," a news release on the LCBO's website said.

The LCBO's annual sales from US alcohol products have been as high as $965 million, according to the board's news release.

In a Wednesday Facebook post, the government of Canada's eastern province of New Brunswick said the province wouldn't be purchasing any new US alcohol products.

It also said the products had been removed from the shelves of Alcool NB, a government-affiliated alcohol retailer. A video accompanying the post showed shelves in an Alcool NB store labeled "United States" wiped clean.

Société des Alcools du Québec, a government-run alcohol retailer in Quebec, said in a Wednesday X post that it was wiping all US products from branches and its website "at the request of the Québec government."

In early February, Trump said he'd impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. But those tariffs were delayed by a month after both countries promised to tighten their border security.

The tariffs went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

In a statement on Monday, Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the country would impose a retaliatory 25% tariff on $155 billion worth of American goods.

Representatives for Brown-Forman didn't respond to a request for comment, sent outside regular business hours.

• President Donald Trump is pausing all military aid to Ukraine.
• The halting of aid affects all military equipment that has not reached Ukraine yet.
• The pause comes after Trump sparred with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday.

President Donald Trump said that he would pause military aid to Ukraine, days after he clashed with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Oval Office.

A White House official told Business Insider in a written statement that: "The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution."

Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general at the UK's Royal United Services Institute, said in a statement sent to BI that the decision was driven by Trump's view that Russia is willing to strike a peace deal, while Ukraine stands in the way.

"But there is no evidence that Russia would be prepared to accept a deal, and what that would be," he said, adding: "This decision will encourage Putin to ask for more — including Ukrainian demilitarization and neutrality."

Mark Cancian, a senior advisor on defense and security at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told BI the aid pause would effectively halve Ukraine's total equipment intake and severely weaken its ability to fight.

"That's very serious because even with all the aid they were receiving previously, they were barely hanging on," Cancian said.

"My guess is if US aid does not restart, then Ukrainians could hold out two to four months," Cancian added. "But by four months, I think their front lines will crack, and they'll have to make some sort of deal."

Edward Hunter Christie, a former NATO official and a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told BI that Ukraine's most immediate concern is weaponry like interceptors for its Patriot batteries.

"We will see negative impacts soon," he said. "The question is how much."

Minerals deal in the balance

Discussions in the Oval Office escalated into a war of words on Friday between Vice President JD Vance, Trump, and Zelenskyy.

During the televised meeting, Trump accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War III" and was being "disrespectful" to the US.

Vance then accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful or thanking the US sufficiently for the military aid it had provided.

The US has provided $65.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, per the State Department. Zelenskyy has, on multiple occasions, thanked the US for its help.

Zelenskyy left the White House on Friday without signing a minerals deal with the US that had been under discussion. On Sunday, Zelenskyy said he remains "ready to sign" the agreement.

Trump said in early February that he wanted Ukraine to give the US access to valuable minerals in exchange for continuing to aid its war efforts.

On February 26, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said they'd agreed on a deal. Zelenskyy's visit to the White House was supposed to include a deal-signing ceremony in which the two leaders would cement the agreement.

However, it did not turn out that way.

In the meantime, European leaders have rallied around Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

Keir Starmer, the UK's prime minister, welcomed Zelenskyy to 10 Downing Street on Saturday with an embrace and said that Ukraine has the UK's "full backing."

• Mixue, the world's largest fast-food chain, had a blockbuster first day as a publicly traded company.
• The company's shares jumped 30% from its IPO price when the market opened.
• The chain has over 45,000 stores and has attracted customers with cheap ice cream and bubble tea.

A bubble tea chain from China just went public, and it's off to a very sweet start.

Mixue, a bubble tea and ice cream chain founded in 1997 in China's Henan province, debuted on Hong Kong's stock market on Monday. It offered close to 17.1 million shares, amounting to HK$3.45 billion, or about $444 million.

The stock jumped more than 30% to HK$262 when markets opened on Monday. When markets closed, it was trading at HK$294, 45% higher than its IPO price.

Mixue is the world's biggest fast-food chain by store count. As of September, it has more than 45,000 stores — franchisees and self-owned — around the world. It has outpaced the retail footprints of Starbucks and McDonald's, which have around 40,000 and 41,000 outlets worldwide, respectively.

The chain's founder, Zhang Hongchao, and his younger brother, Zhang Hongfu, the chain's CEO, have a combined net worth of $8.1 billion after the share sale, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

$1 ice cream, $2 drinks

Mixue's main draw is its cheap products, customers in Singapore told Business Insider.

The chain has around 20 outlets in Singapore, all operating as to-go counters. When BI visited an outlet near Singapore's Central Business District at lunchtime on Monday, there were around five people in line.

The storefront's most prominent visual was the brand's "Snow King" mascot — a snowman wearing a crown.

The cheapest item at the store was the Signature King Cone ice cream, which cost 1.50 Singapore dollars, or about $1.10. The most expensive item was the Cheese Strawberry drink for SG$4. Most of the store's drinks were priced between SG$2.50 and SG$3.50.

Eden Loke, 23, who works in communications, said she first heard of Mixue when someone wearing the brand's inflatable "Snow King" mascot was filmed prancing around a shopping complex in Singapore. The mascot's shenanigans at the mall — including a dance-off with another brand's mascot — went viral on TikTok.

"The viral marketing, likable branding, word of mouth from family, and unbeatable prices resonated with me," Loke said.

She said her go-to drink is Mixue's Kiwi Oolong Tea, which costs SG$3.50. Loke said the low price was the biggest factor in making her pick the brand over other stores.

Eli Tun, a student waiting for his regular order — a SG$3 Taro Milk Tea — said he first spotted the brand in Malaysia last year and realized how cheap the drinks were.

Since then, he's switched from buying from other popular bubble tea brands in Singapore, like LiHo Tea or KOI Thé, saying he would rather pay SG$3 at Mixue than SG$6 for a similar drink elsewhere.

"I'm not looking for the cream of the crop of drinks, just something to drink while going home," Tun, 19, said.

Nathanael Chow, an investment consultant, said he always gets the Signature King Cone at Mixue — vanilla soft-serve ice cream in a tall waffle cone.

Chow said he was drawn to the brand because of the brand's catchy jingle, which is set to the tune of "Oh! Susanna." Some Mixue outlets play the jingle at the store, though the shop BI visited did not.

Courting China's cost-conscious buyers

Jason Yu, the managing director for Greater China at the UK-based consumer research group Kantar Worldpanel, said Mixue's edge in China's highly competitive bubble tea market is that most of its products are priced under RMB 10, or about $1.40.

"This is very attractive to consumers in the lower tier cities and towns," Yu said.

Alexandra Leung, the founder of Monogic, a food and beverage marketing and public relations agency in Singapore and Hong Kong, said Mixue's success comes from small shops in high-traffic areas, particularly around campuses.

"This approach not only captures a significant customer base but also ensures high foot traffic and brand loyalty, especially among students who frequently consume their products," Leung said.

While other bubble tea brands have been focusing on premium positioning with prices above RMB 20 in Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai, Mixue "successfully established its presence in lower-tier cities where competition is less intense," Leung said.

China has seen a bubble tea IPO boom.

In mid-February, Guming Holdings debuted in Hong Kong. Its stock was trading at HK$11.40 when markets closed on Monday.

Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial Co — also known as Chabaidao — went public in Hong Kong in April. It was offered for HK$17.50 in April and traded at HK$9.70 when markets closed Monday.

Representatives for Mixue did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

• Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is trying to turn the brand around.
• Challenges include fixing long wait times and issues with the mobile ordering system.
• Retail and marketing experts say his moves are a step in the right direction.

When Brian Niccol stepped into the top job at Starbucks in September, he had a game plan to turn things around.

"We're refocusing on what has always set Starbucks apart — a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas," Niccol wrote in an open letter at the time. He dubbed it the "Back to Starbucks" plan.

The brand was facing various challenges, including long wait times, flaws in the customer experience, and issues with its mobile ordering system. As Niccol saw it, mobile ordering had chipped away at the brand's soul.

Starbucks' global comparable sales slid by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period a year before. Its performance was slightly better in the first quarter of 2025, when global comparable sales decreased by 4% year-on-year.

"It was trying to command a premium price for an experience that had rapidly deteriorated to being sub-premium, and hence, customers fled," Dipanjan Chatterjee, a vice president at the New York-based market research company Forrester, told Business Insider.

Six months into the job, retail and marketing experts say Niccol is getting a lot right.

Jeffrey Towson, the founder of the US and China-based retail consultancy TechMoat Consulting, said Niccol is "revamping the entire customer journey," which is the "right strategy."

He said Starbucks already has one big advantage — its retail footprint — but now, it needs to "revitalize the customer experience and its reputation."

"Real estate trumps brand in retail coffee. Nobody walks an extra two blocks to go to a Tim Horton's versus a Starbucks. They go to the closest one," he said.

Niccol's turnaround plan

Niccol is trying to rebrand Starbucks as a cozy local coffeehouse where people can hang out.

He has brought back ceramic mugs in store for hot drinks, which he said would improve the café experience, and re-introduced self-serve condiment bars.

He's asking baristas to personalize the experience by writing notes to their customers on the cups. Customers are being given refills of brewed coffee.

To reduce customer wait times, Niccol has eliminated 30% of its menu offerings and introduced a new mobile ordering system. His goal is to cut wait times to four minutes or less.

Chatterjee told BI that due to its size, Starbucks will likely not be able to get to a point where every store feels unique and local. But it's making the right move by trying to adopt elements from small coffee shops, Chatterjee said.

"Lifting elements of the coffee house experience and weaving them into the Starbucks journey, like the ceramic mugs and the doodling, does enough to reduce the sterility of a chain store," he said.

Niccol has also made staffing changes. On Monday, the company announced it would be laying off 1,100 employees. In an open letter, Niccol wrote that Starbucks is "simplifying our structure, removing layers and duplication and creating smaller, more nimble teams."

A Starbucks representative told BI that the brand is testing changes to its staffing, processes, and new mobile ordering algorithm to improve its wait times.

The representative added that the chain would add more seating to its cafés to improve the in-store experience and start introducing shelves and risers to separate the café and mobile ordering sections.

Execution, consistency, and training

Hal Hershfield, a professor of marketing, behavioral decision-making, and psychology at UCLA, said the success of Niccol's plan will hinge on how well it's executed.

"It has to be more than just a marketing gimmick, and something that gets executed at a deeper level," he said.

Starbucks' attempts to emulate the feel of a neighborhood coffeehouse will work "only if it can actually foster more of a sense of belonging," Hershfield added.

Mário Braz de Matos, the cofounder of the Singapore-based branding consultancy agency Flying Fish Lab, said Niccol's changes would require "consistent execution across Starbucks' vast network of stores in the US," so employee training will be critical.

Starbucks faces broader challenges, like competition from local coffee chains and evolving consumer preferences, which may limit its ability to attract new customers, he said.

In global markets like China, Starbucks faces "stiff competition" from competitors like Luckin Coffee, he said.

"Additionally, the brand's ubiquity in markets like the US means it has fewer untapped customer segments to target," he added.

The remaking of the Starbucks brand will take time, Chatterjee said — and as the brand works to build up more of a café vibe, it can't afford to lose the speed and efficiency that some customers desire.

"Sometimes, you want to linger and soak in the atmosphere, and other times, you need to grab and go," he said. "Starbucks needs to win both those occasions."

• Chris Hwang, cofounder of The Golden Duck, started the snack brand in 2015 with one product — salted egg yolk chips.
• A decade on, it's sold in over 3,000 stores and plans to expand into the US this year.
• From selling off his cars to afford payroll in the pandemic, here's how he built the business.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chris Hwang, the 33-year-old cofounder of The Golden Duck, a Singaporean snack brand. It has been edited for length and clarity.

At 23, I dropped out of law school to start The Golden Duck, a gourmet snack brand that reimagines Asian flavors like salted egg yolk; a decade later, it is sold in over 3,000 stores worldwide. We've set our sights on expanding into the US in 2025.

I don't have any culinary experience, but I love food.

The idea for the brand came about when my cofounder, Jonathan, approached me one day and asked, "What do you think about salted egg?"

I thought, "Salted egg is great. I love it in a Chinese Zi Char restaurant. I love salted egg crab."

I asked him what he had in mind, and he said, "How about we make salted egg yolk potato chips?" I thought it would be the kind of chips that come with dips, a Western concept that doesn't really sell well in Singapore.

He said, "Hear me out. I found a way to put it on a chip in a dry format."

I sat down with him and a chef friend of ours, and I tried it. It was so mind-blowingly good. The flavor, with the chilies and curry leaves, perfectly coated the chips. I said, "We have to do this business."

Cooking out of one tiny kitchen

We launched in 2015 with just one product — salted egg yolk chips.

At the start, our capacity was so limited that we were just making it out of a home kitchen, producing only about 50 packs daily.

We started selling them at a tiny seven-foot-long pop-up booth in Singapore's Suntec City mall for $7 a pop.

On the first day, the sales were not too crazy. But on day two, a queue started forming. By day three, we had sold out by 3 p.m. and had to put a maximum order of five packs per order.

Our products are often given as gifts or bought as souvenirs, and I think this is where it started. People started bringing their friends down to help them buy more packs, and it became a gift item for friends and family.

A huge opportunity for authentic flavors

We now have two lines of products: our snack boxes, which comprise flavors like salted egg crab seaweed tempura and salted egg fish skin chips, and a line of canister potato chips.

Asian flavors are gaining traction in the West, and I think people all around the world are craving authentic experiences.

We all know what sour cream and onion flavor or barbecue tastes like. But why not have sour cream and Sriracha?

That's one of our newest flavors in the canister line of chips that we launched in 2024, along with others like truffle wagyu and Himalayan pink salt.

Challenges in scaling up

We were hesitant to scale up initially, scared that it was just a flash in the pan and it would flame out fast. So we were very, very hesitant to put in capital to set up a store.

We did pop-ups for a few months until we finally got a tiny store in Chinatown, which had just enough space for one person to work in.

From there, we kept expanding. From 2016 to 2018, we grew to 10 stores in Singapore and more stores overseas. At the peak, we had about 15 stores, and we were also selling to retailers like 7-Eleven and other supermarket chains.

Some of the biggest surprises in our business came from scaling up our own manufacturing. The moment we tried to give a product a shelf life, we had to consider, "How will this taste after six months?"

Hiring the right people was key. If you hire someone who hates being in a hot kitchen, your products will come out pretty bad. We needed to hire people who care about their food.

Weathering the pandemic

The lowest point in the business came during the COVID-19 pandemic when our tourism revenue evaporated overnight.

I subscribe to the ideology that leaders eat last. I thought — if the company can't afford payroll and cannot meet its obligations to continue its business, I'm going to sell my cars.

From 2019 to 2021, I sold three cars so that I could lead the fundraising efforts during the pandemic.

We also had to restructure the team, going from 200 head count to about 120 over the course of one year.

We had to tell friends that we'd brought on board that we wouldn't be able to work together and that we were sorry for where the business was.

We now have a team of 25 people, producing results close to what our team of 200 was producing just five to six years ago.

Eyes set on a US expansion

A couple of years on, we now sell in countries around the world, including China, Australia, Germany, and even Trinidad and Tobago.

Now, we are eyeing the US as our new market.

I just returned from the US in December. It's a huge market for snacks, second to none. And the US consumer is so discerning and excited, and they're happy to consume and try new things.

We wanted to develop something that they would find interesting and exciting but still familiar, so we didn't want to reinvent the wheel.

This new line of canister chips is basically like Pringles but better. It's so easy to explain to Americans because we don't have to tell them what fish skin is or what seaweed tempura is.

• McDonald's is selling $1 Egg McMuffins on its app on Sunday.
• The promotion comes as the Egg McMuffin celebrates 50 years on the market and as egg prices soar.
• Egg prices hit a record high in the US in January, with a dozen large Grade A eggs costing an average of $4.95.

As the food industry grapples with the skyrocketing price of eggs in the US, McDonald's is going the other way and selling $1 Egg McMuffins for one day.

On Tuesday, McDonald's announced it will be selling Egg McMuffins and Sausage McMuffins with Egg for $1 on Sunday, March 2. The deal is only valid for purchases made through the app in the US.

The promotion is being held to celebrate the Egg McMuffin's 50th birthday. The product was introduced in the US in 1975.

McDonald's menu prices vary depending on location. In downtown Manhattan, an Egg McMuffin currently costs $5.99.

The company's North America impact officer, Michael Gonda, wrote a LinkedIn post on Tuesday about the deal. Referencing egg prices, Gonda said customers "definitely WON'T see McDonald's USA issuing surcharges on eggs."

Value strategy

Dipanjan Chatterjee, a vice president at Forrester, a New York-based market research company, told BI the deal fits right into McDonald's value strategy, which includes $5 meal deals and $1 items.

Chatterjee said that with egg prices hitting all-time highs, marketing a "$1 value item" that uses eggs "may seem like an odd choice."

But it's more of an opportunity — because McDonald's now has a chance to position itself as a company that "prioritizes its customers over profit," Chatterjee said.

The move is "likely to pay off handsomely for McDonald's," said Mário Braz de Matos, the cofounder of the Singapore-based branding consultancy agency Flying Fish Lab.

"McDonald's doesn't just stand for fast food, it also stands for value," he said. "In good times, it matters, but in harder economic climates, it makes this particular aspect of the brand more attractive to consumers."

Alexandra Leung, the founder of Monogic, a food-and-beverage marketing and PR agency in Singapore and Hong Kong, told BI that while the deal will be attractive to attract cost-conscious consumers, its real value isn't in the sales bump, but in "digital customer acquisition."

"I think that the measure of success for this promotion might be better evaluated through metrics like app downloads and digital engagement rather than sustained McMuffin sales post-promotion," she said.

Soaring egg prices

McDonald's $1 deal comes as egg prices in the US have soared, partly due to supply chain issues stemming from an H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the US.

The average price of a dozen large Grade A eggs in the country hit an all-time high of $4.95 in January.

Given the short supply of eggs, supermarket chains have seen egg cartons sell out minutes after store openings. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Costco have imposed limits on the number of cartons each customer can purchase.

Restaurant chain Waffle House announced earlier this month that it would start including a $0.50 surcharge on each egg it sold.

Shake Shack's CEO, Rob Lynch, said on Thursday that restaurant chains with big breakfast businesses might dial back on eggs and offer more beef and chicken products instead.

Representatives for McDonald's did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

• Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned former FTX chief, had an inactive X account for two years.
• But on Monday, 10 posts giving advice on firing employees appeared on that account.
• It comes as Elon Musk's DOGE ramps up efforts to slash head count in the federal workforce.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former FTX chief sentenced to 25 years in prison in March last year, disappeared from X for two years. A series of 10 posts on Monday night from his account broke that spell.

The posts gave his followers leadership advice about firing employees and talked about Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Bankman-Fried's last X post before Monday was on January 20, 2023.

Some of the posts on Bankman-Fried's account give tips about how to fire people.

"I'd tell this to everyone we let go: that it was as much our fault for not having the right role for them, or the right person to manage them, or the right work environment for them," read one post.

Other posts voiced support for DOGE and its rounds of firing. One post read: "There's no point in keeping them around, doing nothing."

It is unclear if Bankman-Fried wrote the posts himself. His lawyer did not respond to a request from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

The posts come nearly a year after he was convicted of taking $8 billion from his customers in his FTX cryptocurrency exchange. he was sentenced to 25 years in prison by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

He has been serving his sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Musk's DOGE is doubling down on its plan to slash the size of the US federal workforce as part of its larger aim to weed out government inefficiencies.

The Office of Personnel Management wrote federal workers an email on Saturday, asking them to turn in a list of their achievements within the last week and giving them a deadline of Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Musk wrote in a Saturday X post about the new directive, "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

However, at least eight federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, have asked their workers not to respond to the email.

• Shake Shack's CEO said rising egg costs will have an impact on the F&B industry.
• He said food chains will offer more beef and chicken products as they grapple with the egg crisis.
• In January, the average price of a dozen large Grade A eggs hit an all-time high of $4.95.

Shake Shack's CEO, Rob Lynch, says food chains will likely introduce more chicken and beef menu items as the price of eggs soars.

On the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Lynch discussed the impact of tariffs and imports on the burger chain's business.

Lynch said the company sources the majority of its ingredients domestically and won't have major exposure to tariffs.

Thanks to its menu, it is largely insulated from the skyrocketing price of eggs as well.

"I mean we don't have a breakfast business, a big breakfast business. So we don't have the exposure to eggs," Lynch said.

"But other restaurant companies that have exposure to eggs may be moving away from eggs in the time being, which means they are going to offer more beef products or chicken products to complement, to substitute for that high-cost item," he said.

Shake Shack is known for its beef, chicken, and mushroom burgers, as well as its fries and frozen custard shakes. While eggs don't play heavily into its menu, fast food giants from Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell to McDonald's and Burger King rely on eggs for some of their popular breakfast menu items.

Lynch's comments come as egg prices in the US soar. Prices increased by 15.2% from December to January, the largest monthly spike in 10 years. In January, the average price of a dozen large Grade A eggs in the country hit an all-time high of $4.95.

The surge was caused due to supply chain issues stemming from a H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the US. The flu has forced farmers to cull infected birds, leading to egg shortages.

Chains like Costco have seen egg cartons fly off their shelves minutes after store openings. Grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Costco have imposed limits on the number of cartons each customer can purchase. Earlier this month, Waffle House started adding a 50-cent surcharge to each egg it sells.

Shake Shack, which started as a hot dog kiosk in New York City's Madison Square Park in 2004, has over 570 locations worldwide, including more than 370 outlets in the US.

The chain posted a total quarterly revenue of $329 million, up 14.8% from the same quarter in 2023. This included $317 million of company-operated sales and about $12 million from licensing revenue.

The company's stock was up 11% at market close on Thursday. It's up more than 27% in the past year.

Representatives for Shake Shack did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Starbucks is moving away from clear plastic cups in some locations.
• It has introduced opaque cups for its hot and cold drinks in 14 states.
• It's a big change for a brand known for its Instagrammable drinks.

Starbucks has rolled out opaque cups for its drinks in some states, marking a shift in presentation for a brand that's become known for designed-for-Instagram drinks.

A representative for the chain told BI that a "small number of stores" in the US transitioned to using "commercially compostable hot and cold cups because of local government requirements." The change went into effect on February 11 in 14 states, including California, Washington, and Massachusetts.

As of the end of December, the chain had over 17,000 stores across the US.

The new cups — which are white and feature flat or domed lids — look similar to the disposable paper cups the chain has historically used for to-go hot drinks. They bear the message, "This cup is compostable. Cheers to helping reduce waste together."

The website says they are made from fiber-based paper board with a bioplastic liner.

The move to opaque cups is a shift for a brand known for colorful drinks that often go viral on social media.

In 2019, Starbucks launched a limited-time-only drink, the Tie-Dye Frappuccino, a fruity drink with rainbow colors. Other notable — and Instagrammable — limited launches include the bright purple Unicorn Frappuccino in 2017 and the turquoise Crystal Ball Frappuccino in 2018.

Starbucks also sells some colorful items on its permanent menu, such as its magenta-colored Refreshers and its Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino Blended Beverage.

Mário Braz de Matos, the cofounder of the Singapore-based branding consultancy agency Flying Fish Lab, told BI that changing a product's packaging can "greatly impact a brand" from an experience and perception perspective.

"That's why brands are usually very careful to test any packaging changes that might significantly impact the user experience," he said.

"While there will be an impact on how 'Instagrammable' the beverages are in this new packaging, this must be weighed against its positive environmental impact," he said.

The transition to opaque compostable cups comes as Starbucks' CEO, Brian Niccol, attempts to reposition the brand and turn it into an inviting coffee shop where people want to spend time.

The brand has evolved significantly from its origins as a low-key Seattle coffee shop. In a podcast interview earlier this month, Niccol said mobile ordering has "chipped away" at the brand's "soul."

Niccol, who took over leadership of Starbucks in September, has said he will be simplifying the chain's offerings. In an earnings call on January 28, he said Starbucks had brought back using reusable ceramic mugs for hot drinks served in stores.

On the call, Niccol and Starbucks' finance chief also said the chain would remove 30% of its menu items to streamline service and introduce a new algorithm to smooth service for its mobile orders.

Starbucks' stock was trading at $112 early Thursday. It is up about 17% compared to a year ago.

• KFC is moving out of Kentucky.
• Yum Brands said that it would shift its brands into offices in Texas and California.
• It said that it would also ask 90 of its US-based remote employees to return to the office.

KFC is shifting its US headquarters from Kentucky to Texas.

KFC's parent company Yum Brands said in a press release on Tuesday that the group would designate two brand headquarters in the US — one in Plano, Texas, and one in Irvine, California.

The relocation marks a shift away from the fried chicken chain's roots in Kentucky. Yum Brands' current headquarters is in Louisville, Kentucky.

The group said in the release that the shift in headquarters was to "foster greater collaboration among brands and employees."

However, Yum Brands and the KFC Foundation would maintain corporate offices in Louisville, the release said.

The company said it would also ask KFC's US-based corporate office employees — who are currently working in Louisville — to relocate to the Plano headquarters.

About 90 remote employees will also be called back to the office. The release said that they would be relocated to "the campus where their work happens."

"The relocation of approximately 100 KFC U.S. corporate roles will occur over the next six months, while the relocation of 90 remote positions will take place over the next 18 months," the release read.

Yum Brands is the parent company of four food and beverage chains — KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger & Grill.

There are over 4,100 KFC stores in the US. KFC's website wrote that globally, the store count exceeds 30,000 in more than 145 countries.

The group released its fourth-quarter earnings on February 6, reporting an 8% sales growth globally, with KFC's sales growing 6%.

Yum Brands' stock is up about 10% from the start of the year.

Representatives for KFC did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• Tesla is hiring for roles based in Mumbai, India.
• The recruitment efforts come just days after Elon Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Tesla has long sought to break into India, the world's third-largest auto market.

Tesla is amping up its recruitment efforts in India just days after the country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, met with Elon Musk.

Tesla listed 13 roles based in Mumbai on its careers page. The positions were also advertised on the company's LinkedIn page on Monday.

The roles range across three categories — vehicle service, sales and customer support, and operations and business support.

All the listings show that the jobs, which are a mix of full time and part time roles, are based out of suburban Mumbai.

The listings also hinted at the opening of a Tesla store and a delivery center in India. For instance, the "Store Manager" listing says the new hire will be "responsible for overseeing and driving sales and sales operations."

Tesla is also hiring people for delivery operations work. Staff under this designation are expected to "oversee and coordinate administrative responsibilities at the delivery center."

Musk met with Modi in Washington on Thursday. The Indian premier also met with President Donald Trump during his two-day visit to the US.

It is unclear if Modi and Musk discussed Tesla's entry into the Indian market during their meeting. Modi wrote in an X post on Thursday that he had a "very good meeting" with the Tesla CEO.

"We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation," Modi added.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that while he wasn't sure why Musk had met Modi, he assumed it was because Musk "wants to do business in India."

Representatives for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Tesla has been planning to enter the Indian market for close to a decade. In April 2016, the company started accepting pre-orders for its vehicles.

Then, in January 2021, Tesla registered a company in India, just weeks after the country's transport minister, Nitin Gadkari, said Tesla would launch its operations there in early 2021. India is the world's third-largest auto market.

But those plans were put on hold. Musk said in July 2021 it was difficult for Tesla to break into the Indian market because the country's "import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country."

"Still working through a lot of challenges with the government," Musk wrote in an X post in January 2022 when asked if Tesla was still planning to launch in India.

In March, India lowered its import taxes on EVs made by companies that commit to invest at least $500 million and start making cars in the country within three years.

Musk was scheduled to visit India in April and announce Tesla's entry into the country. However, the trip was postponed at the last minute.

"Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year," Musk wrote in an X post in April.

• A Delta Air Lines plane flipped with 80 people on board as it landed in Toronto Monday.
• The Bombardier CRJ900 was flying from Minneapolis, operated by Delta's Endeavor Air.
• The airline said Monday evening 18 customers with injuries were transported to hospitals.

A Delta Air Lines jet flipped with 80 people on board as it landed at a Toronto airport Monday, leaving emergency crews scrambling to reach the injured in the upside-down aircraft.

All passengers and crew were "accounted for," Toronto Pearson International Airport said. Delta Air Lines said 18 injured people were taken to hospitals. A Peel Regional Police spokesperson said the Greater Toronto Airports Authority was investigating.

Photos on X appeared to show the plane upside down and at least one wing missing. More photos of the wreck trickled out later. Delta said there were 76 passengers and four crew on board.

"Initial reports indicate there are no fatalities and 18 customers with injuries have been transported to area hospitals. Our primary focus is taking care of those impacted," Delta said Monday at around 5:40 p.,m. ET.

At around 10:30 p.m. ET, the company said, "Some of the customers initially transported to area hospitals have been released."

Ornge, an air ambulance service in Ontario, told Business Insider that three people were transported to Toronto hospitals with critical injuries, including a child, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 40s.

The Bombardier CRJ900, which was flying from Minneapolis as Flight 4819, was operated by Delta's wholly-owned regional subsidiary, Endeavor Air.

"Everything just kind of went sideways," Pete Carlson, a passenger on the flight, told Canada's national broadcaster CBC.

"One minute you're landing, kind of waiting to see your friends and your people, and the next minute you're physically upside down," he said.

Carlson described the sound of "cement and metal" as the plane crashed.

Flights to Toronto Pearson were halted due to the emergency but resumed at 5 p.m. local time. More than 330 flights were delayed on Monday, and nearly 400 flights were canceled, per FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.

"The airport remains open. Passengers are advised to check their flight status before coming to the airport," the airport wrote in an X post on Monday night.

Delta said that it is working with customers flying from, to, or through Toronto and that customers should check their flight status via the Delta app.

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in an X post that investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration were traveling to Toronto and that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would lead the investigation.

Canada's transport minister Anita Anand thanked first responders and airport staff in an X post. In an earlier post, she said she had spoken to Duffy about the crash and that the FAA was sending investigators to support the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

A bad few months for aviation safety

The Delta incident comes two and a half weeks after an American Airlines flight collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter over Washington D.C., killing 67 people.

The event in Toronto highlights the ongoing concerns over aviation safety. Despite the incident happening in Canada, the plane was operated by a US airline regulated by the FAA.

On Monday, the Trump Administration fired hundreds of FAA staff, according to the workers' union, including people in the safety department.

Among those fired was Jason King, whose work directly involved addressessing safety concerns, the Washington television station, WUSA, reported.

He said his team's work included investigating the midair collision over D.C.

The Delta and American flights join a string of aviation safety events since December. An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer plane crashed on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan, with some blaming Russian air defenses. Thirty-eight people died.

A few days later, a Boeing 737 operated by the South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air crashed in South Korea. 179 people died, and two people survived.

A small general aviation plane crashed in Pennsylvania a few days after the American accident, killing six on the plane and one on the ground.

And on February 6, an Alaskan regional airline crashed in western Alaska, killing 10 people.