Condé Nast shutters Self magazine

AIR TRAVEL

A looming jet fuel shortage in Europe and Asia sparked by the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz could further upend world travel within weeks if oil doesn’t start flowing again soon — meaning higher airfares and flight cancellations as the summer travel season approaches. In an exclusive Associated Press interview Thursday, International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol said Europe has “maybe six weeks” of remaining jet fuel supplies and said the global economy faces its “largest energy crisis.” In general, some European countries hold several months’ worth of jet fuel inventory at a time, according to an IEA report released this week. Jet fuel — a refined kerosene-based oil product — is airlines’ biggest cost, making up about 30 percent of overall expenses, according to the International Air Transport Association. And jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the war began. Shortages could start next. “Every passing day that the Strait of Hormuz remains shut, Europe is edging closer to supply shortages,” said Amaar Khan, head of European jet fuel pricing at Argus Media. “The strait accounts for around 40 percent of Europe’s jet fuel imports, but no jet fuel has passed the strait since the war broke out.” Airline officials have largely reacted with caution, acknowledging potential fuel issues but working to reassure customers. Still, some carriers have already passed costs on to consumers by increasing fees for baggage and other add-ons, embedding costs into ticket prices, or raising fuel surcharges. A handful of airlines already are cutting flights. Experts say other parts of air travel — such as scheduling flexibility and routes — would likely be impacted. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILANTHROPY

NPR said Thursday that it had received two gifts totaling $113 million, including the largest donation from a living donor in the network’s history. Connie Ballmer, the philanthropist and co-founder of the Ballmer Group, a philanthropic organization she leads with her husband, billionaire former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, gave NPR $80 million for its digital innovation efforts. An anonymous donor gave $33 million to the NPR Network, a web of affiliated public radio stations across the United States. “I support NPR because an informed public is the bedrock of our society, and democracy requires strong, independent journalism,” Connie Ballmer said in a statement. Last year, Congress clawed back $500 million in annual funding from public broadcasters, sending hundreds of stations scrambling. NPR was somewhat insulated from the direct financial impacts of that decision, because a small fraction of its budget came directly from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the government-funded company that gave away funds to NPR and PBS stations. But the ripple effects still have taken a toll. Katherine Maher, NPR’s CEO, said in a statement that she hoped the gifts would inspire others to donate and “ensure public media remains strong for generations to come.” — NEW YORK TIMES

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAI is rolling out an early version of an artificial intelligence model meant to speed up drug discoveries, joining a field of growing interest for tech companies eager to prove AI can pave the way for more scientific breakthroughs. The ChatGPT maker said Thursday that the model, GPT Rosalind, is intended for life sciences research, such as helping glean insights from large volumes of data and turning scientific studies into health-care applications for patients. The model will be available initially as a research preview to some of the company’s business customers, OpenAI said. The initial users include drugmaker Amgen Inc., vaccine maker Moderna Inc. and the Allen Institute, a bioscience research nonprofit. OpenAI, Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have increasingly focused on scientific and health-care applications for AI, ranging from using the technology to help guide research on new drugs to having it review personal medical data. The technology is generally seen as nascent but promising, and some drugs discovered with the help of AI have been involved in early clinical trials. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

Paramount Skydance Corp. plans to release all of its films in theaters and keep them there exclusively for at least 45 days as the media company continues to face criticism over whether its pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will hurt Hollywood. The company will send its films to streaming services like Paramount+ after 90 days have passed, according to Chief Executive Officer David Ellison, who gave a presentation Thursday at the CinemaCon conference in Las Vegas. The policies begin immediately. The comments build upon earlier commitments he made to European regulators. Ellison reaffirmed the company’s commitment to increase its film output, noting that Paramount has 15 movies slated for this year, up from eight in 2025. “Once we combine with Warner Bros., we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually, across both studios,” Ellison said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

FOOD

PepsiCo Inc. said it’s starting to see salty snack sales grow after the company cut prices earlier this year. The maker of Doritos and Lay’s said its strategy of slashing prices by up to 15 percent in some brands and reducing internal costs through layoffs and plant closures was starting to pay off. After years of declines, organic revenue in its North American foods division increased 1 percent and volume grew 2 percent, the company said in its first quarter earnings Thursday. Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta said the company saw some customers coming back due to lower prices and some attracted by products reformulated without artificial colors or flavors. Still, the company reported a 2.5 percent drop in sales volume in its North American beverages. PepsiCo also announced an overhaul of its Gatorade brand on Thursday as it looks to win over more health-conscious consumers, including new lines that emphasize better hydration and lower sugar content. — BLOOMBERG NRWS

BANKRUPTCY

The owner of home shopping network pioneer QVC — which for years garnered the attention of millions of TV viewers looking for a deal on baubles and housewares, is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A filing about imminent bankruptcy protection by parent company QVC Group, which also owns HSN, formerly the Home Shopping Network, arrives as long-running TV shopping networks struggle to adapt to the rapid shift by consumers now tuning in to livestreams on TikTok, or online marketplaces like Shein. According to an annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, the company said that it intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after reaching a restructuring agreement with creditors. Its goal is to emerge from bankruptcy protection before the summer is over, but the West Chester, Pennsylvania, company warned that its access to funding is difficult to predict. It noted significant fees and other costs in connection with the preparation for the bankruptcy protection. “We cannot assure that cash on hand, cash flow from operations will be sufficient to continue to fund our operations,” it wrote. QVC Group has attempted to revive flagging sales for some time, which in 2024 were down almost 30 percent compared with its peak of more than $14 billion in 2020. Shares in QVC Group, which went for over $900 a decade ago, were trading for less than $3 earlier this week. — ASSOCIATED PRESS