BUSINESS HEADLINES

US stocks edge higher after swinging through worries about AI and the economy

NEW YORK (AP) — A quiet finish for U.S. stocks masked big swings underneath the surface. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Tuesday after flipping between a gain of 0.5% and a loss of nearly 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite each also added 0.1%. Paramount Skydance helped lead the market after Warner Bros. Discovery allowed it to make its best and final offer to buy the entertainment company. General Mills fell after saying customers are feeling less confident. Nvidia swung between being one of the heaviest weights on the market and one of its biggest strengths as AI hopes and worries keep pressuring Wall Street.

Warner Bros reopens takeover talks with Paramount after receiving a waiver from Netflix

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery is briefly reopening takeover talks with Skydance-owned Paramount to hear the company’s “best and final” offer, while the Hollywood giant continues to back the studio and streaming deal it struck with Netflix. In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Warner said that Netflix had granted it a waiver to open discussions with Paramount for seven days. Paramount now has until Feb. 23 to negotiate a possible transaction. But in the meantime, Warner’s board is still recommending shareholders support of its proposed merger with Netflix. A special meeting is now scheduled for Friday, March 20 to hold a vote on that deal.

Elevate Prize winners gain more than $300K in funding. They learn to better tell their own stories

The Elevate Prize Foundation named its 10 winners for 2026 on Tuesday, including Monica Ramirez of Justice for Migrant Women and Mara Fleishman of the Chef Ann Foundation. Each group gets $300,000 in unrestricted funding. Winners also get training to grow and raise their profile. CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram tells The Associated Press that increasing a group’s visibility not only can increase fundraising and finding partners. It also helps protects leaders under pressure. The foundation also launched its “Good Is Trending” initiative Tuesday, taking over NASDAQ’s Times Square billboards to promote the stories of this year’s winners.

Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bayer has agreed to a proposed $7.25 billion deal to settle thousands of U.S. lawsuits that blame Roundup for causing cancer. Bayer and lawyers for cancer patients announced Tuesday that they were filing the proposed settlement in St. Louis. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear Bayer’s argument about federal rules and warning labels for the popular weedkiller. That separate case will continue. Bayer says Roundup’s key ingredient of glyphosate does not cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But the company says legal costs have threatened Roundup sales in U.S. farming markets. Bayer bought Monsanto, the original Roundup maker, in 2018.

Trump administration backs Kalshi, Polymarket as states move to ban prediction markets

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration has backed Kalshi and Polymarket in a court fight over whether prediction markets constitute gambling. The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission says states cannot ban these markets because federal law gives the CFTC control. Several states accuse the platforms of running unlicensed casinos. Nevada has moved the furthest. A federal judge issued a temporary order that blocks Kalshi there. Kalshi appealed, and the CFTC has weighed in with a “friend of the court” briefing. The CFTC chairman argues these contracts act like futures, not sportsbook bets. States say most activity is in sports, and age rules also differ.

Warren Buffett’s company invests in the New York Times six years after he sold all his newspapers

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five years after Warren Buffett sold off all of Berkshire Hathaway’s newspapers and predicted unending declines for the industry, Berkshire disclosed a new $350 million investment in the New York Times on Tuesday. The somewhat surprising move highlighted the quarterly update Berkshire filed about the company’s stock holdings in Buffett’s last quarter as CEO. Berkshire also increased its investment in Chevron just before President Donald Trump promised to reinvigorate Venezuela’s oil industry. At the time that Buffett sold off Berkshire’s newspapers in 2020 he concluded the industry was “toast.” But even then he suggested that newspapers with a national brand like the Times or Wall Street Journal might still do well.

Trump family business files for trademark rights on any airports using the president’s name

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump family company wants to trademark the use of the president’s name on any airports but says it doesn’t plan on charging a fee — at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home. Applications filed by the Trump Organization with the federal trademark office are seeking exclusive rights to use the president’s name on airports and anywhere else they appear there, including buses shuttling passengers, umbrellas and flight suits. The filings come amid debate in Florida over a state bill to name the Palm Beach airport after Trump. A trademark lawyer who first spotted the filings called them unprecedented.

India hosts a high-stakes AI summit, drawing 20 leaders and top tech CEOs

NEW DELHI (AP) — India is hosting a major AI summit in New Delhi this week, as it pushes to shape global rules and show its own AI ambitions. The five-day meeting begins Monday and brings leaders and tech chiefs together in what organizers call the first big AI summit in the Global South. India is presenting itself as a bridge between rich countries and developing ones. Officials highlight India’s digital identity and payment systems as models for low-cost scaling. The event is expected to end with a nonbinding New Delhi declaration. A panel of experts have released a report on safety risks ahead of the summit, while Indian leaders stress reskilling to limit job disruption.

Thomas Pritzker steps down from Hyatt board saying he deeply regrets association with Epstein

Thomas Pritzker will retire as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after details of his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents related to the burgeoning investigation of ties the notorious sex trafficker had to the elite and powerful. Pritzker, in a prepared statement, said he deeply regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a long time associate of Epstein. Some emails between Pritzker and Epstein are included in a cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice. Epstein died by suicide while incarcerated in 2019 after he was charged with sex trafficking.

How the rich pass on their wealth. And how you can too

NEW YORK (AP) — Death and taxes may be inevitable, but a big bill for your heirs doesn’t have to be. Estate planners say many of the strategies used by the wealthy to smoothly pass on money also work for families with far more modest assets. While most Americans won’t owe estate taxes, inheritances can still get tied up in probate court, costing families time and money. Another legal method many rich families use to grow their wealth is a rule that allows inherited stocks and property to be sold with little or no tax. Experts stress the importance of keeping beneficiary designations up to date too.