Axios

Seven months after Cookie Monster decried shrinkflation on X, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) are probing cereal, beverage and snack makers about the practice of shrinking package sizes while keeping prices the same.

Why it matters: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other consumer packaged goods companies have employed the tactic over the past few years to squeeze better margins out of sales.

Seven months after Cookie Monster decried shrinkflation on X, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) are probing cereal, beverage and snack makers about the practice of shrinking package sizes while keeping prices the same.

Why it matters: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other consumer packaged goods companies have employed the tactic over the past few years to squeeze better margins out of sales.

• It's gotten plenty of attention — French supermarket giant Carrefour even publicly shamed brands for the packaging tactic.

Between the lines: In joint letters to the CEOs of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills, the lawmakers accuse the companies of "price gouging" Americans who are already facing "challenging economic circumstances."

Pfizer shares showed signs of life today.

Why it matters: The pharmaceutical giant's stock has fallen more than 50% since the end of 2021, as the company failed to find its footing since the revenue heyday of COVID vaccines.

Driving the news: Heavyweight activist investor Starboard Value has built a $1 billion stake in Pfizer with an eye on making changes, WSJ reported last night.

• Just news of a campaign from Starboard is often enough to jolt a stock. Pfizer's jumped over 2% from Friday's close.

"The Money Game," a new docuseries that explores name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes, premiered in New York City on Sept. 9.

During the event, Jennifer Halloran, CMO and head of marketing and brand at MassMutual, sat down with Laura Correnti, founder and CEO of Deep Sports + Entertainment, to discuss the importance of supporting female college athletes as NIL opens up new commercial opportunities.

Chinese tech company Tencent and Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family are weighing a take-private buyout of the French video game maker, whose shares are down more than 40% this year, as first reported by Bloomberg and quasi-confirmed by the company.

The big picture: Many of Ubisoft's problems are self-inflicted, including a possible class action lawsuit over user privacy issues, but those have been exacerbated by online criticism — including by Elon Musk — that the company's next Assassin's Creed game is too "woke" because it its lead characters include a Black samurai.

The year's twistiest takeover saga appears to be over, as Vista Outdoors has agreed to a new deal that it believes will secure shareholder approval and keep a hostile buyer at bay.

Why it matters: Vista is one of America's largest ammunition makers, including to both the military and law enforcement markets.

Both presidential candidates' agendas would add trillions to already-enormous U.S. fiscal deficits over the next decade, according to a new analysis out this morning.

The big picture: Former President Trump's plans would add $7.5 trillion to cumulative deficits from 2026 to 2035, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, while Vice President Kamala Harris' agenda would add $3.5 trillion to the tally.

Major holiday sales are kicking off this week, starting with Target's on Sunday.

Why it matters: Consumers are set to benefit from steep discounts ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the election and a late Thanksgiving push stores to launch promotions earlier.