Axios

Two of the biggest industries in the world are taking the supply of key resources into their own hands.

Why it matters: Controlling inputs gives businesses more control over costs and outputs.

Consumers in China opened fewer Hennessy bottles and dropped less cash on things like Dior bags last quarter.

Why it matters: Global brands are hurting as China's economy shows signs of deterioration.

Driving the news: Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the parent company of Hennessy, Dior and dozens of other luxury brands, reported a 16% decline in its "Asia excluding Japan" segment, which makes up roughly 30% of its sales.

Morgan Stanley today joined the parade of strong earnings from Wall Street banks.

Why it matters: Taken together, the results over the last few days from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America, among others, point to a long-awaited pickup in dealmaking for U.S. corporations.

Between the lines: Businesses have resumed tapping equity and debt markets for cash.

• Merger and acquisition activity, though far from humming, also picked up. Both trends led to a surge in investment banking fees across Wall Street last quarter.

When humans step foot again on the moon, they can tag Prada in their Instagram posts.

• 👩‍🚀 The Milan fashion brand is co-designing the spacesuits.

Zoom in: Prada and Axiom Space, the company developing the suits, have been working together over the past two years on a design that provides "increased flexibility, performance, and safety" for astronauts who may be on spacewalks for eight hours or more.

• Prada's expertise led to "innovative sewing methods," they said.

The big picture: Style's been a priority for SpaceX too.

• CEO Elon Musk famously hired Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez to design SpaceX Dragon suits.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it has finalized a "click-to-cancel" rule to make it easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions.

Why it matters: Cutting out the loopholes to cancel a gym membership or online subscription can save consumers time and money.

Global public debt is on track to match the size of the world economy in the coming years, new projections from the International Monetary Fund show.

Why it matters: That gloomy fiscal outlook in major economies risks triggering market turmoil around the world.

Only a small sliver of U.S. homes changed hands through August this year, according to Redfin.

Why it matters: This is one more stunning stat that shows just how stagnant the real estate market has been.

The FTC has unanimously approved major changes to the pre-merger filing process, albeit fewer than originally proposed.

Why it matters: The FTC and Justice Department in June 2023 said that HSR needed to be modernized and streamlined, in order for them to more quickly and effectively determine when in-depth investigations are warranted.

Alchemy, a developer of in-house pharmacy programs for clinics with large HIV and hepatitis C patient populations, raised $31 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Why it matters: Antiretrovirals are one of biotech's greatest success stories, but there still are disparities in who receives the drugs.

Some private equity firms are pulling back from investing in consumer companies that could be negatively impacted by the GLP-1 boom, believing that profits will get squeezed as obesity rates fall.

Zoom in: That could include certain snackmakers, alcohol producers, or restaurant chains. Or gyms. Or grocery, which earns much of its meager margin on items that many GLP-1 users no longer crave.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) levied a record fine against German airline Lufthansa Tuesday for discriminating against Jewish passengers who were stopped from boarding a 2022 flight.

Why it matters: The $4 million fine is the largest that the DOT has slapped an airline with for a civil rights violation.

Walgreens is dramatically shrinking its retail footprint and revamping its front-of-store product mix in a bid to fend off competition from online and other rivals who've upended the pharmacy business.

Why it matters: The moves announced on Tuesday reflect big chain pharmacies' challenge to revive their core businesses amid sluggish demand, workforce crunches and shrinking prescription payments.

Taylor Swift mania is about to sweep another few American cities with the last leg of the Eras Tour starting Friday in Miami.

Why it matters: The highest-grossing tour of all time has boosted local economies across the country last year and drove travel demand across the country and overseas.