India’s retail sugar prices fell from a record high, with the national average easing to ₹64.33 per kg. The decline followed the government’s Aug. 20 decision to allow dutyfree imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar to boost domestic supply ahead of the festival season. The government has said exmill prices have dropped about 18%. Even after the pullback, retail prices are still 31% higher than a month ago and 39% above a year earlier.

AST SpaceMobile reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $31.5 million, up more than 100% sequentially, driven by government contract milestone revenue and sales of gateway equipment to carrier partners. Management reiterated its full-year revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million. The company said it has recently secured more than $100 million in contracts. It also said it works with more than 60 mobile network operator partners covering more than 3 billion subscribers.

Burlington Stores said fiscal second-quarter net income rose to $184.3 million, with adjusted earnings of $2.96 per share. That topped Wall Street expectations of $2.18 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research. Revenue was $3 billion, slightly below the $3.03 billion analysts expected. The company also forecast full-year earnings of $11.77 to $11.97 per share.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview that the company is slowing down because AI safety matters more than growth momentum. OpenAI secretly filed for an IPO in June and expects to spend $50 billion on compute this year. Rival Anthropic’s annualised revenue has surpassed $65 billion, compared with roughly $40 billion for OpenAI. Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit mission was dismissed in May, though he has said he will appeal.

Six months after the Iran conflict began, energy prices jumped, with Brent crude briefly rising above $120 a barrel and averaging around $90 in 2026 versus roughly $70 in 2025. Disruptions to Gulf output and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz weighed on the region, with Saudi exports down 10% from the first to the second quarter. Global equities held up as AI-linked investment supported risk assets, pushing the MSCI World index’s valuation to about $105 trillion this month and adding almost $7 trillion since the conflict began. Traditional safe havens such as Treasuries and gold drew less consistent demand, while fertiliser and agricultural supply chains faced disruption and renewed inflation concerns, according to Reuters.

NEXTDC reported FY26 net revenue of $405 million, up 16%, and underlying EBITDA of $248.8 million, up 15%, both above the top end of its guidance. Statutory NPAT swung to a profit of $82.1 million from a $60.5 million loss. Contracted utilisation surged 202% to 740.1MW. Capital expenditure hit a record $3,397 million, $397 million above the top end of guidance, driven by land acquisitions and accelerated construction to meet customer delivery dates.

Goldman Sachs said surging sugar prices could lift input costs for consumer goods companies, with Britannia Industries the most exposed among the firms it covers. Nestle India and Varun Beverages may also face pressure, though the brokerage expects the impact to be more manageable. Sugar prices have risen 10% over the past month to a record high as global supply tightens, including more Brazilian cane being diverted to ethanol and lower output in Thailand and the EU. Analysts expect prices to stay elevated for at least the next three months.

Durkan Holdings Limited reported results for the year ended 30 November 2025, with turnover of £142m and operating profit rising to £6.2m. The company booked £18.6m of exceptional costs tied to fire remediation claims on legacy developments under the Building Safety Act. That charge pushed the group to a net loss of £11.2m for the year. Durkan said its balance sheet remained strong, with net assets of £33.9m and cash of £36.5m.