ChatGPT, A.I.-Powered Chatbot, Faces Rivals From Google and Baidu – The New York Times

BP dials back its green transition plans. In reporting its highest-ever annual profit, the British giant said its oil and gas output in 2030 would be only 25 percent lower than in 2019, having once promised a reduction of 40 percent. It’s the latest sign that soaring energy prices are tempting oil giants to keep pumping out fossil fuels despite pressure to focus on renewable energy.

Disney nears a compromise with Florida over its special tax zone. Under legislation proposed on Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis would be able to appoint all five board members overseeing an arrangement that allows Disney World to tax itself to cover services like water, roads and firefighting. The confrontation arose over Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill.

Adani Group rebounds as it pays off some debt. Shares in the Indian conglomerate’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, surged 15 percent after the company agreed to prepay $1.1 billion in loans. Still, the group has lost $115 billion in market value since an American short seller accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation.

The ailing retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is hoping to ride the meme-stock wave to secure the rescue financing it needs to avoid bankruptcy. Rather than venture into the pricey corporate debt market, the company is planning to issue about $1 billion worth of stock that it will use to pay down debt and fund its business.

Shares of Bed Bath nearly are up nearly 250 percent since it warned of a possible bankruptcy filing early last month. That rally is probably driven by retail investors looking to squeeze short sellers. Existing investors — who will be diluted by the flood of 900 million new shares — were less excited by the news: the retailer’s shares were down more than 20 percent in the after market.

Meme-stock darlings have tried this move before. AMC, the movie-theater chain that has faced its own liquidity challenges recently, offered preferred shares in August. (Both sets of AMC shares have remained volatile.) In 2020, Hertz tried to sell shares after filing for bankruptcy, but the S.E.C. squashed those efforts.