• Instagram is opening its arms to long-form video again.
• Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top exec, said longer videos will help the app stay "relevant."
• Instagram is testing tools for creators making episodic content. But will it pay for them?

Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, has a plan to keep the platform "culturally relevant" — by making it more like YouTube.

Meta-owned Instagram unveiled an overhaul of long-form video features on Monday, including a test of horizontal videos called "Features." Taken together, the changes make the app feel a lot more like YouTube.

"We want to be the most culturally relevant platform," Mosseri said in an interview with content creators and founders of Press Publish, Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry. "To do that, we just need to show up where people are."

The context: YouTube has become a major hit on TV screens, and there's a growing appetite for Instagram-native shows with recurring episodes.

"Subway Takes," hosted by Kareem Rahma, is a prime example of Instagram's strengths and limits. The show started in 2023 as a short-form interview series and, as it grew, expanded with longer-form cuts on YouTube and the streaming platform Tubi. Instagram, however, is where Rahma's show still has its largest audience of 2.4 million followers.

Instagram doesn't want people to go to YouTube or Tubi to see longer versions of shows like "Subway Takes." That's leaving ad revenue and user engagement on the table. Its new tools are designed to entice creators and viewers to stay on its platform.

Here are Instagram's latest video tools and how creators can use them:

• "Features" keep viewers within the Instagram ecosystem. Instead of leaving Instagram to watch the extended version of an interview or episode, it'll be relatively seamless to stay on Instagram and watch that longer-form content. Instagram's "Features" can be as long as 90 minutes, although the new format is, for now, only available to a limited number of creators in the US and Brazil.
• Instagram is feeding more content to its TV apps. Instagram is also pushing its "Instagram for TV" app further. The app will feature various video content on TV services like Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and now Apple TV. People can now watch a feed of content their friends are also liking or resharing on TV.
• Instagram-native shows can label their episodes more clearly with "Series." Within the main Instagram feed, Instagram is testing a way for shows on the app to seamlessly connect episodic content. Eligible creators can add videos to a Series, and a label appears over the content indicating that there are additional episodes. People can then watch those episodes in order from the start. This test is expanding to more countries through the end of the year.
• Clips can directly drive engagement back to the original video. Instead of clipping content and praying that the audience will go the extra mile of clicking on an account and finding the original, longer-form video, Instagram is letting creators link up to 8 clips to one long video.

This isn't Instagram's first time dabbling in long-form content.

In 2018, it launched IGTV, a long-form video format and stand-alone app. In 2020, Instagram rolled out a program that let creators earn money from those videos on IGTV. Four years after launching, the company sunset the IGTV app and shifted its video efforts to Reels.

There are a few key elements missing from Instagram's big leap (back) into long-form video.

You can't watch the video while continuing to scroll through Instagram, or multitask by opening other apps while keeping the Instagram content in a picture-in-picture pop-up. There also aren't automated transcripts and subtitles yet. A spokesperson for Meta told Business Insider that there are plans for these features.

Will creators get a slice of the ad revenue pie?

For creators, one key question and pain point looms: Will Meta share the honeypot?

Mosseri told Rosenblum and Chaudry that Instagram is thinking about ways to test pre-roll and mid-roll ads that could lead to a revenue split. However, he said previous attempts by Instagram to build a creator monetization system comparable to YouTube's Partner Program didn't prove beneficial for the platform.

"We spend more money than we make back by a long shot," Mosseri said of Instagram's previous efforts at broad revenue-sharing programs.

Mosseri said that in its previous iterations of content monetization, creators typically didn't produce more content than they already did for free, and the content they did create tended to be lower quality.

Still, Instagram will need to "figure it out" as it tries to crack longer-form content, Mosseri said.

"I don't think of platform payments or performance-based incentives or bonuses as a revenue driver," Mosseri added. "I'd be psyched to scale them up for any of these formats — as long as we're breaking even."

In 2003, Chinese president Hu Jintao worried about what became known among the country’s leadership as the ‘Malacca dilemma.’  

Some 80 percent of China’s imported crude passed through the Malacca strait which Beijing’s naval forces could not control. 

This gave rise to a wider security doctrine of supply-chain resilience which became the basis for China’s transformation into the clean tech powerhouse it is today. 

When the US–Iran war disrupted Middle Eastern oil flows this year, Xi Jinping called China’s early bet on wind and solar “forward-looking” – as recounted in a new paper from the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute published on Monday (26 October). 

The paper identifies green growth as “the answer” to geopolitical uncertainty. Clean tech isn’t just clean, it’s also secure and not dependent on imports. Plus, it delivers a “more durable pathway” to “economic resilience.” 

Some governments want to expand fossil-fuel imports, or drill more oil or gas wells, arguing that a more diversified supply chain improves resilience. But the paper dismissed that. 

Oil and gas are priced on global markets, so even producers are exposed to price shocks. More North Sea drilling would save UK households between £16 and £82 (€19 to €98) a year, the paper finds, citing Oxford University research, compared with £105 to £441 on a renewables and electrification pathway.

It’s interesting comparing how the two political systems respond to (hypothetical) supply shocks. In China, the mere threat of losing control of one strait was enough to transform energy politics gradually over many years.

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520 companies, several “straw men”, a labyrinthine network, and estimated at least 100 million euros in tax evasion. The owner of bakery chain “Horiatiko”, Angelos Giannakopoulos, and another 58 persons have been arrested since yesterday, Sunday. After Pizza Fan chain raids and arrests last week, the raids and arrests in Choriatiko is the second case […]

The post Owner of well-known bakery-chains arrested for big scale tax fraud appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Gli alimenti a base di insetti, la carne coltivata in laboratorio e gli ingredienti ottenuti attraverso tecniche innovative fanno parte di un dibattito sempre più centrale per il sistema agroalimentare europeo, chiamato a confrontarsi con il cambiamento climatico, la scarsità di risorse e la necessità di rendere più resilienti le filiere produttive.

Intanto, i consumatori sembrano riconoscere le opportunità offerte dalla ricerca, ma chiedono più trasparenza, informazioni comprensibili e garanzie sulla sicurezza di ciò che acquistano. Non tutti, però, sono aperti a questa eventualità.

Cibo a base di insetti e carne da laboratorio, cosa pensano gli europei

Come riportato nel nuovo Eurobarometro sull’innovazione alimentare, pubblicato dalla Commissione europea il 26 ottobre 2026:

• il 68% degli europei riconosce che l’innovazione in ambito alimentare può aiutare agricoltori e produttori ad affrontare le sfide del settore;
• il 72% dichiara di non sentirsi adeguatamente informato sui nuovi alimenti, ingredienti e colture.

Il primo dato che emerge dall’indagine (condotta in tutti i 27 Stati membri tra il 22 maggio e il 24 giugno 2026 su 26.456 persone di almeno 15 anni) è che quasi sette europei su dieci ritengono che l’innovazione alimentare possa fornire strumenti aggiuntivi per affrontare problemi come:

• siccità;
• parassiti;
• eventi meteorologici estremi;
• scarsità di risorse;
• interruzioni delle catene di approvvigionamento.

Tuttavia, molti europei che riconoscono l’utilità della ricerca sono poco convinti all’idea di acquistare alimenti realizzati con ingredienti insoliti o processi produttivi poco conosciuti. E questo nonostante abbiano già visto quanto siccità ed eventi estremi pesino sulla competitività dell’agricoltura e sulla stabilità dei prezzi.

Il sostegno, quindi, non equivale necessariamente alla disponibilità a consumare qualsiasi prodotto ottenuto attraverso tecniche recenti. Infatti:

• il 51% degli intervistati dichiara di avere una visione negativa dei prodotti alimentari innovativi;
• solo il 39% ne ha una positiva.

Chi è più disposto a provare il cibo del futuro

Dati più specifici sulla carne coltivata arrivano da altre indagini. Uno studio realizzato da Euroconsumers nel gennaio 2025 in quattro Paesi europei, tra cui l’Italia, ha rilevato che il 47% dei consumatori italiani sarebbe disposto a provarla se fosse autorizzata e disponibile sul mercato. La percentuale sale al 56% in Spagna, al 53% in Portogallo e si attesta al 44% in Belgio.

C’è quindi un potenziale interesse, che non si traduce con certezza in domanda (e acquisto). La ricerca però fa anche luce su quali condizioni potrebbero favorire la diffusione della carne coltivata:

• per il 48% dei consumatori coinvolti nello studio, il prodotto dovrebbe avere gusto e consistenza simili a quelli della carne tradizionale;
• per il 59% il prezzo è altrettanto importante: più della metà degli intervistati ha infatti dichiarato che non la comprerebbe se costasse più della carne convenzionale.

Il 51% esprime timori legati ai possibili effetti sulla salute nel lungo periodo, mentre il 68% si dichiara disposto a fidarsi dell’Autorità europea per la sicurezza alimentare (Efsa) nel valutare se il prodotto sia sicuro.

Il discorso cambia quando si parla di insetti destinati all’alimentazione umana. Grilli, larve e altre specie commestibili possono essere trasformati in ingredienti utilizzabili, per esempio, in farine, snack e prodotti ad alto contenuto proteico. In questo caso, secondo un altro studio, condotto in 11 Paesi dell’Unione europea, il 12,9% degli intervistati non escludeva la possibilità di sostituire la carne con gli insetti, pur senza dichiararsi disposto a farlo con certezza. Tra i Paesi in cui emergeva una maggiore apertura figuravano Belgio, Austria e Paesi Bassi.

La resistenza, quindi, non riguarda soltanto la conoscenza delle caratteristiche nutrizionali, ma anche le abitudini alimentari e la percezione di ciò che viene considerato normale o accettabile a tavola.

Chi accetta meglio le novità

Secondo il nuovo Eurobarometro, infine, la disponibilità ad accettare alimenti innovativi è maggiore in alcune fasce della popolazione:

• i giovani;
• le persone con livelli di istruzione più elevati;
• chi vive nelle grandi città;
• chi conosce già queste tecnologie.

In particolare, oltre il 50% degli intervistati con meno di 39 anni dichiara di sentirsi a proprio agio con gli alimenti innovativi, contro il 34% delle persone di almeno 55 anni. Nelle grandi città, più della metà dei residenti esprime un atteggiamento positivo rispetto agli alimenti sviluppati con tecniche moderne, mentre nelle aree rurali e nei villaggi la percentuale varia tra il 42% e il 46%.

La differenza più marcata, tuttavia, riguarda il livello di informazione:

• tra chi ritiene di essere ben informato sugli alimenti innovativi, il 72% ha un’opinione positiva;
• la percentuale scende al 27% tra chi non si sente adeguatamente informato;
• il 59% di chi ne aveva già sentito parlare si dichiara a proprio agio con gli alimenti innovativi, contro il 32% di chi non li conosceva.

Uno dei risultati più importanti dell’indagine riguarda comunque le informazioni che dovrebbero accompagnare i nuovi prodotti. L’85% degli europei ritiene infatti che gli alimenti innovativi debbano avere denominazioni chiare e fornire indicazioni comprensibili su come vengono prodotti, quali ingredienti contengono e da dove provengono.

Lula plans to expand technical education and use renewable energy to attract data centers and keep information stored in Brazil.

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged to develop a domestic artificial intelligence system, expand technical education and attract data centers powered by renewable energy, aiming to strengthen Brazil’s technological independence and accelerate its transition to a developed economy.

RELATED: Lula Celebrates Reelection, Promises Education Reform and Sovereign AI

Speaking after his victory in the presidential runoff, Lula said Brazil must invest in mathematics and engineering to build its own artificial intelligence capabilities rather than depend on technology developed in China or the United States.

“We will teach more mathematics, more engineering, because I don’t want to depend on Chinese or American artificial intelligence; I want to create a Brazilian one,” he said.

Lula also pledged to use Brazil’s renewable energy resources to attract data centers and keep information stored within the country. The proposal forms part of a broader push to expand the digital economy and strengthen domestic technological capacity.

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Text Reads: The Brazil we wish to build is a country where our elderly are cared for with dignity, women are respected, and everyone has the right to live out their faith in freedom.
It is a country that respects differences, with a State that guarantees rights for all—because to govern means to look after 215 million Brazilians, without distinction. Respect must be the starting point for us to build, together, a Brazil that is increasingly fair and humane.

“We want to transform this country from a developing country into a developed one,” he said, identifying the digital, green and creative economies as key areas for investment.

He also outlined an ambition for Brazil to play a central role in political and economic decision-making and in efforts to promote peace.

Lula promised that his next term would deliver unprecedented results, telling supporters: “I want to make a commitment: I will deliver the best term of office any president has ever had in Brazil’s history. You can be sure of that.”

The president-elect, who turns 81 on Oct. 27, dismissed concerns about his age as he prepares to take office for another term. He pledged to devote himself fully to the country’s development and to improving the daily lives of Brazilians.

“I will dedicate 20 or 24 hours a day to making this the country everyone dreams of, where people can go to sleep and wake up in complete peace of mind,” he said.

Lula also thanked voters for their support in the runoff and praised young people who took to the streets to defend democracy, crediting their participation as a key factor in his victory.

His pledges place artificial intelligence, renewable energy and digital infrastructure among the priorities he has outlined for Brazil’s next phase of development, alongside his ambition to transform the country into a developed nation.

• Over 10 million student-loan borrowers are behind on payments.
• Some borrowers said they're hopeful the midterms will prompt policy to protect those in default.
• States with closely contested Senate races, like Texas and Ohio, have high rates of nonpayment, per an Urban Institute analysis.

Sarah Bundy has been in and out of default on her student loans for nearly three decades.

She borrowed for college in the mid-1990s, but dropped out as her loan balance became unaffordable. At the time, it was $39,000. Now, it's $60,000.

The 55-year-old is hoping a "blue wave" will pave the way for Democratic legislation to shield borrowers at risk of default.

"At my age, I can never get ahead of this," Bundy said. "So I'm just trying to scooch under the wire as long as I can."

Roughly one of every six adult Americans has federal student loan debt, according to Federal Student Aid. And some 16% of federal and private borrowers were 60 or more days late on their payments in 2026, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute.

Student-loan payments add to the squeeze from groceries and housing in an election increasingly centered on the cost of everyday life. High utility bills and gas prices are an added strain, especially as inflation is outpacing pay hikes.

Economic concerns are also reshaping debates over AI, with politicians reconsidering their support for data centers amid a backlash.

For borrowers, the pressure is particularly acute, and elevated student-loan delinquency rates overlap with some of the country's most competitive races.

Texas and Ohio, home to closely-contested Senate races, both had higher-than-average non-payment rates. In the House, nine battleground districts as identified by the Cook Political Report as of Friday afternoon had worse nonpayment rates than the national average — some 28% of borrowers are delinquent in Texas's 34th District, and 25% in North Carolina's 1st.

Meanwhile, federal student-loan defaults, which typically occur after 270 days of nonpayment, are at a record high. While involuntary collections on defaults, including wage and federal benefit garnishment, have been paused for over a year, Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for legislation to protect borrowers once those consequences resume. Still, even a strong election for Democrats would likely leave them without sufficient numbers to override a presidential veto.

As of June 30, 9.3 million borrowers were in default, and an additional 1.5 million were in late-stage delinquency, according to Federal Student Aid. Roughly 14% of the $1.7 trillion student-debt load in the US is in default, or $234 billion.

Republican lawmakers have expressed support for President Donald Trump's student-loan changes, which they said will help borrowers repay their loans. Sen. Roger Marshall, who is up for reelection in Kansas, previously said that Trump's "big beautiful" spending legislation "made transformational reforms to student loans."

Student-loan borrowers have told Business Insider that they're worried about the consequences of defaulting, primarily through losing a chunk of their paycheck, Social Security payments, and tax refunds. Those concerns are exacerbated by the anticipated higher monthly bills under Trump's repayment overhaul.

"All we can do is keep pushing for every little bit of progress we can get on this," Bundy said.

A student-loan default wave

Luke Helton, a student-loan borrower in Tennessee, previously told Business Insider that the only way he can afford his expected $600 payment increase is by digging into his retirement.

While he voted for Trump because he believed in the administration's campaign promise to put America first, his student loan challenges have him second-guessing his vote.

"They talked a big game about caring about the little people, and they just haven't," Helton said.

The defaulted student-loan portfolio itself is undergoing changes. The Department of Education is moving forward with its plan, announced in March, to transfer defaulted student-loan accounts to the Treasury Department. The transfer will occur in phases, with the most recent step being the launching of a new online portal to help borrowers return to good standing and access default resources.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that the department "was never intended to serve as the fifth largest bank in America, and that's exactly why we partnered with the Treasury Department to improve the administration of federal student aid programs that millions of American students, families, and borrowers rely on."

Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the Treasury's capability to manage federal student loans. Over 60 of them pushed to halt the transfer and continue the pause on involuntary collections to continue giving borrowers relief as they navigate Trump's repayment overhaul. Sen. Bernie Sanders also led some of his colleagues in introducing a bill to prevent older borrowers and borrowers with disabilities from facing Social Security garnishment if they default.

Bundy recently went to Washington, DC, to urge New York lawmakers to support Sanders' bill. She's one of the millions of borrowers transitioning off the Biden-era SAVE plan, which offered lower monthly payments. She said she's not sure how she'll afford payments once they resume, and she's worried that she — and millions of other borrowers — could fall behind.

"When these garnishments start back up, it's really going to throw us pretty far back down," Bundy said. "I don't think people realize just how brutal it really is out there."

Have a story to share about student loans? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• Toy prices have gone up 8.3% since February due to tariffs, geopolitics, and supply chain issues.
• Local mom-and-pop toy stores across the US spoke to the rise and its impact on their businesses.
• Legacy toymakers also grapple with the impacts, looking toward tariff refunds.

Toy prices are rising fast across the country— and local toy stores are struggling to play along.

At Clever Monsters, a toy store in NYC, co-owner Daniel Orlov said he has to recalculate prices order by order, at times cutting into his own profits to keep them at a reasonable level for his customers. Sometimes, he knows before putting some toys on the shelves that he won't make anything off them.

The struggle results from higher shipping fees, tariffs, and customs charges and reflects a broader inflationary moment in the economy.

Toys have historically gotten less expensive over time, but have seen a spike in prices this year, rising 8.3% in the US between February and September. Year-over-year, toy prices were up 6.6% in September, the highest annualized growth rate since 1988.

Orlov said smaller toy stores like his could be particularly affected by these sharp price spikes. "It especially hurts for small businesses like us because we don't really have a pocket; we had to open up credit lines and take loans — bigger companies have a little pocket of collateral that they can use for a bit."

Tariffs, fuel prices, and supply chain woes

Big geopolitical swings are one factor putting pressure on toy sellers. President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have added extra costs, and smaller retailers don't have the financial flexibility to wait for refunds like those from the Supreme Court's invalidation of the "Liberation Day" levies. Meanwhile, the ongoing war in Iran has driven up fuel prices and shipping costs for all manner of goods.

Small toy stores, confronting those problems, are facing smaller profit margins.

Helen Dean, owner and operator of Toy Safari in California for 34 years, said her usual 7 to 8% profit margin has fallen to around 5% in the past year. She cut into her own salary and skipped on hiring the two or three college students she brings on during vacation season to cut costs.

"It was summer by the time I started to see that I was going to have to pay more for the items, and that it was going to come out of my bottom line," Dean said. "For a long time, mass market has gotten favorable pricing from major toy companies, and this problem has only been exacerbated by the tariffs and fuel prices and supply chain issues; everywhere we lose."

It's not just specialty mom-and-pop stores; toymaking giants are also dealing with the tariff back-and-forth and broader inflationary issues. An AlphaSense analysis of company filings and earnings transcripts over the last six months found that legacy toymakers such as Hasbro and Mattel have alluded to cost inflation caused by "tariffs, oil-linked resin and freight, packaging, labor," while also discussing the impact of tariff refunds. However, those large toymakers haven't disclosed any major increases in toy prices over that period.

Hasbro's Q2 earnings report highlighted an $8 million adjusted operating loss in consumer products — its physical toy sector — due to "incremental tariff expense, entertainment-related mix shifts, and normal seasonality." Yet its Q3 earnings report highlighted $55 million in relief from tariff refunds; $48 million of this was attributed to the core toy sector.

The Q3 report also noted that tariffs could "increase our product costs and other costs of doing business, result in higher prices of our products, impact consumer spending," and hurt business revenue.

Mattel's gross margin is still under pressure due to tariffs and inflation. The toy company has also received about $90 million in tariff refunds, said Paul Ruh, Mattel's former chief financial officer, at a conference in September.

Scalpers, TikTok and squishy NeeDohs

High operating costs are not the only thing changing the toy market. First, more adults are participating in "Kidulting," said Jay Berino, store manager at the Lowry Town Center Timbuk Toys in Denver, meaning toys are being bought by older demographics who buy into nostalgia.

"As much as we're a toy store and people hear toy store and think of kids, we sell to a lot to full-blown adults, and that drives a huge chunk of our business," he said. At the same time, viral toys such as NeeDohs, which are sensory fidget and stress-relief toys, have helped bring more people into stores.

Sylvia Edwards, co-owner and CEO of Terra Toys in Austin, said that scalpers try to buy up stock from toy shops to resell it at higher prices — fueling the perception of product scarcity and price gouging.

"We're in a crisis where there's way more demand than there is product available, and so when that happens, people will naturally get greedy and increase the price," Edwards said. To manage the issue, stores like Terra Toys limit bulk purchases.

Orlov from Clever Monsters in NYC said they have also placed a limit on scalpers. "I'm only limiting it because this is the kids' store, and the kids are really excited to get that stuff," he said.

The virality of products such as NeeDohs on TikTok and other platforms helps these stores boost demand at a time when the high cost of living means buyers are not looking to spend much on other classic toys. Parents and kids are willing to spend on hyped products — but for much else, they keep their wallets shut.

"Honestly, the trends have been really saving us in that it drives not just sales, but just foot traffic through the store," Orlov said. "The only thing we can do is just stay on the trends, on what people want, make sure customers are happy, build up relationships with our customers, and sort of have a little monopoly on our area on parents who think toys — 'Oh, we gotta come to Clever Monsters. That's just where you go.'"

Members of the European Parliament are visiting Amazon logistics centres in Germany and Poland this week to investigate working conditions and the use of digital monitoring systems, reopening a dispute between the technology company, European legislators and trade unions over employee rights.

The fact-finding mission, scheduled for 26th and 27th October, will examine how Amazon organises work, measures employee productivity and uses automated systems in warehouses. MEPs will meet management, employees, works councils and trade union representatives, with particular attention to whether technological changes are affecting workers’ health and their ability to exercise employment rights.

The investigation comes as the European Commission prepares its Quality Jobs Act, which is expected to address algorithmic management, occupational safety and working conditions across the European economy. Amazon’s extensive logistics network makes the company a prominent example of the questions legislators must resolve.

MEPs enter warehouses after prolonged dispute

The delegation is led by Li Andersson, chairwoman of Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, and includes Belgian MEPs Liesbet Sommen and Estelle Ceulemans, alongside representatives from several other political groups.

According to the European trade union federation UNI Europa, MEPs will inspect facilities in Dortmund and Mönchengladbach on Monday before travelling to Poland on Tuesday.

The German visits will cover older warehouse operations and newer facilities incorporating robotics, allowing parliamentarians to compare different approaches to handling orders and managing employees. The Polish programme includes a major returns facility in the Katowice area.

The visit follows several years of strained relations between Amazon and the European Parliament.

In February 2024, Parliament withdrew permanent access badges from Amazon representatives following disagreements over the company’s participation in hearings and requests for visits to its warehouses.

Amazon disputed suggestions that it was avoiding scrutiny, maintaining that it had offered alternative arrangements for parliamentary visits during periods when its logistics operations were particularly busy.

Company executives eventually appeared before the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in January 2026, where they defended Amazon’s employment policies and workplace practices.

The controversy over digital surveillance

At the centre of the dispute is the increasingly widespread use of electronic systems to monitor productivity.

Warehouse employees commonly use handheld scanners, while automated systems can help allocate tasks, coordinate movements and identify delays in processing orders.

These technologies allow employers to manage substantial logistics operations with considerable precision. They also make it possible to collect detailed information about individual workers’ activities throughout their shifts.

Trade unions argue that such monitoring can create unreasonable performance pressure, particularly where targets are adjusted automatically or workers cannot challenge assessments generated by software.

The concerns are not confined to Amazon.

A European Commission survey examined by EU Today earlier this month found that 42 per cent of surveyed smaller and medium-sized businesses already used artificial intelligence or algorithmic management systems.

However, 49 per cent of respondents expressed distrust of automated systems making decisions about employees, illustrating the distinction between using technology to support management and delegating consequential decisions to algorithms.

Previous regulatory action

Amazon has already faced formal European regulatory scrutiny over workplace monitoring.

France’s data protection authority imposed a €32 million fine on Amazon France Logistique in December 2023, announcing the decision in January 2024. The regulator concluded that certain employee monitoring practices were excessively intrusive and breached data-protection requirements.

The investigation examined the collection and retention of detailed information from warehouse scanners, including productivity indicators and periods of inactivity.

Amazon rejected the regulator’s conclusions and subsequently appealed the decision. The penalty therefore needs to be distinguished from any final judicial determination of the dispute.

The case nevertheless demonstrates that workplace monitoring falls within existing European privacy legislation, independently of proposals for new employment rules.

EU Today has also reported on the application of European data-protection law to automated employment decisions, including the question of whether meaningful human review is available when software affects a person’s ability to work.

Amazon disputes allegations

Amazon maintains that its warehouse technology is intended to improve operational efficiency, safety and the reliability of deliveries.

In its January parliamentary testimony, the company defended its investment in employee training and insisted that workers have the right to join trade unions.

It also pointed to engagement with works councils and employee representative bodies across its European operations.

Trade unions contest the adequacy of those arrangements, particularly in Germany, where the ver.di union has repeatedly sought a collective agreement covering Amazon employees.

These competing positions will form part of the parliamentary delegation’s assessment.

Implications for EU employment legislation

The Commission’s Quality Jobs initiative addresses several questions raised by the Amazon dispute, including algorithmic management, psychosocial risks and the effectiveness of collective bargaining.

Legislators must determine how far employers should be required to disclose the operation of automated monitoring systems, how employees can contest decisions and what safeguards should apply when performance targets are generated by software.

Rules must also accommodate legitimate requirements for stock management, security and workplace safety.

The parliamentary visit will not itself establish whether Amazon has breached employment legislation. It is a fact-finding exercise intended to inform future policy discussions.

Its importance lies in giving legislators direct access to warehouse operations and employee accounts before deciding how European labour law should respond to increasingly automated workplaces.

Sono cinque i vini della Valle d’Aosta inseriti nella guida Vini d’Italia 2027 curata da Gambero Rosso. Le etichette, premiate con il riconoscimento “Tre Bicchieri”, si sono distinte come migliori per la loro qualità e identità.

In un territorio in cui la viticoltura di montagna richiede competenze tecniche, investimenti e una particolare attenzione alle condizioni ambientali, la selezione mette in evidenza un panorama enologico capace di coniugare vitigni internazionali, varietà caratteristiche dell’arco alpino e tecniche di vinificazione sempre più precise.

I migliori vini della Valle d’Aosta del 2027

Nella selezione di Gambero Rosso si distinguono soprattutto i vini bianchi, che mostrano una continuità qualitativa, mentre tra i rossi emergono esperienze interessanti legate ai vitigni tradizionali e ad alcune varietà meno diffuse. Ad essere stati riconosciuti come i migliori della regione, sono:

• VdA Chardonnay Élevé en Fût de Chêne 2024 – Maison Anselmet. Uno Chardonnay che valorizza il potenziale delle uve bianche attraverso l’affinamento in legno di rovere, alla ricerca di equilibrio tra struttura, complessità e freschezza alpina;
• VdA Petite Arvine 2025 – Les Crêtes. Una delle espressioni più rappresentative dei bianchi valdostani, ottenuta da un vitigno che trova in montagna condizioni favorevoli per sviluppare freschezza e intensità aromatica;
• VdA Petite Arvine 2025 – Elio Ottin. La seconda Petite Arvine premiata, che conferma l’interesse per questo vitigno, interpretato da un’altra azienda del territorio con una propria identità produttiva;
• VdA Pinot Gris 2025 – Lo Triolet. Un Pinot Gris che rappresenta il contributo dei vitigni internazionali alla produzione regionale, con attenzione alla gestione degli aromi e alla precisione stilistica;
• VdA Pinot Noir Pierre 2023 – Cave Gargantua. È l’unico rosso presente nella selezione, un Pinot Noir che testimonia il lavoro svolto in Valle d’Aosta sulle uve a bacca nera e sulle varietà internazionali capaci di adattarsi alla viticoltura alpina.

L’assegnazione dei Tre Bicchieri 2027 in questa regione è il risultato di un sistema produttivo nel quale il valore del vino dipende soprattutto dalla capacità di interpretare il territorio. Le cinque etichette sono infatti cinque interpretazioni differenti, ma ad accomunarle è la qualità, uno dei punti di forza della regione.

Che cosa significa il riconoscimento dei Tre Bicchieri per il mercato del vino

La Valle d’Aosta non può competere con i grandi distretti vitivinicoli italiani sul piano dei volumi, ma può puntare sulla qualità, sulla specificità territoriale e sulla capacità di intercettare consumatori interessati a vini distintivi. Riconoscimenti come questo contribuiscono a dare visibilità alle aziende e possono favorire la presenza delle etichette nei ristoranti, nelle enoteche specializzate e nei circuiti dedicati al turismo enogastronomico.

Questo aspetto è particolarmente rilevante per una regione in cui il vino si lega strettamente al paesaggio, alla cucina e all’esperienza turistica. La scoperta di una cantina può diventare parte di un soggiorno, mentre la degustazione di un’etichetta locale può rafforzare l’interesse per le produzioni locali e spingere più visitatori a scoprire il territorio.

La sfida resta quella di mantenere elevati gli standard qualitativi, sostenendo al tempo stesso la redditività delle aziende e il lavoro dei piccoli produttori. I costi della viticoltura di montagna, infatti, sono elevati. Inoltre, la conformazione del suolo, le pendenze, la disponibilità limitata di superfici coltivabili e le differenze climatiche tra le diverse zone condizionano le scelte dei produttori e rendono difficile aumentare significativamente i volumi. Piccoli numeri, grande qualità e un’identità territoriale riconoscibile rimangono quindi gli obiettivi perseguibili se si vuole mantenere un business sostenibile.

• Trump said on Saturday that American oil companies are making a "fortune" on the Iran war.
• Americans, however, are paying record prices at the pump, according to AAA.
• Trump made the comments less than two weeks from the midterm elections.

Though regular Americans are paying more at the pump, US oil companies are striking it rich, President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

Speaking at a rally in Georgia, Trump said that oil prices are "temporarily high," but added that the throttling of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed oil buyers to American companies with operations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

"The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars," Trump said. "I don't give a damn, I'm going to say it — we're making a freaking fortune."

Indeed, a Q2 report this year from the Oil & Gas Journal, a trade publication, noted that "surging crude prices tied to ongoing Strait of Hormuz disruptions" fueled massive windfalls for North American oil companies.

Year over year, a sample of 38 US producers and refiners collectively grew revenues by about $140 billion, the Oil & Gas Journal reported.

Those profits, however, are not exactly shared by the American public.

AAA reported that the average price of regular gas in the United States is now at $4.29 a gallon. In February, one day before the US and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran, gas prices were at $2.98.

Diesel prices have also increased precipitously since the American war on Iran began. On Sunday, AAA reported that they sat at $6.35, up from $3.75 a day before the conflict began. Shipping companies rely on diesel to power their boats and trucks. Higher diesel costs are often passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.

Trump's comments are unlikely to curry goodwill among an American electorate reckoning with an affordability crisis less than two weeks out from midterm elections. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent on Sunday.

As the midterms approach, Trump has taken steps to lower gas prices.

On October 9, Trump said he reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, which had been heavily sanctioned since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Analysts warned the move could provide a lifeline to the Russian economy as the country seeks to bombard Ukraine into submission this winter.

"I can see just the fake headlines — 'President Trump is talking about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump,'" Trump said at the Georgia rally. "That'll be the headline."

• Only tech companies are seeing growth from the AI boom, Apollo Global Management says.
• Apollo says that though some big companies are spending big on AI, they may soon pull back.
• Corporate America is starting to see AI spending not as a source of growth, but as a cost center.

One of the world's largest investment firms says that only tech companies are getting a share of the AI pie.

In an economic analysis published on Saturday, Apollo Global Management said that while the Magnificent Seven — a group of established tech companies that includes Nvidia and Meta — are seeing revenue growth during the AI boom, this growth isn't being shared by other industries.

"Mainstream corporate America is pulling back and starting to view token spending not as a source of growth but as a cost center that weighs on margins," Torsten Slok, a partner and chief economist at Apollo, said in the report. "The technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech."

In a series of graphs, Slok measured three main metrics that have boomed for tech companies but not for regular companies: revenue per worker, profit margins, and productivity growth.

Since 2022, revenue per employee figures have skyrocketed for tech companies — rising from $550,000 to nearly $800,000 today. Meanwhile, that figure hasn't changed much for everyone else in the S&P 500, lingering around $550,000 for the last seven years.

Similarly, while profit margins soared among tech companies since 2022, they've stagnated at about 10% for everyone else.

And across the economy, AI hasn't yet dramatically increased productivity growth as some AI optimists have predicted.

Apollo's research portends a dark shadow over a US economy throwing massive amounts of dough toward AI tools and companies, whose leaders have promised that an "age of abundance," where people won't have to work as much, will soon be upon us.

"The question looking ahead is whether, even as models become commoditized, mainstream corporate America can turn increasingly cheap intelligence into higher revenue growth and higher profit margins," Slok said.

"That may be harder than it sounds," he added.

VW investment, creating 4,500 jobs in Georgia, comes amid Trump’s damaging tariffs, intense Chinese competition and costly shift towards EVs

Audi has said it will spend $4bn (£3bn) to build its first factory in the US, as its parent company, Volkswagen, struggles with the impact of steep tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

The German brand’s chief executive, Gernot Döllner, joined Trump on stage at a campaign rally on Saturday night to announce the factory in Macon, Georgia, in an unusual move by a big European brand just days before the US midterm elections.

Al Forum internazionale dell’agricoltura e dell’alimentazione organizzato da Coldiretti e dall’Osservatorio agromafie, tenutosi a Roma a ottobre 2026, è stato tracciato il primo bilancio sui risultati ottenuti dall’entrata in vigore della legge contro le frodi agroalimentari. Con l’avvio dei controlli su larga scala, il nuovo sistema sanzionatorio è entrato pienamente a regime, andando a individuare tutte le fattispecie di reato che rischiano di compromettere il valore del made in Italy, il reddito degli agricoltori e la salute dei consumatori.

Le ispezioni delle autorità, ovviamente, continueranno su questa scia, con l’obiettivo di individuare chi ancora commette illeciti o non rispetta le regole su tracciabilità e denominazione.

Nuova legge contro le frodi alimentari: cosa cambia

La riforma approvata introduce un quadro normativo più articolato per contrastare gli illeciti nel settore agroalimentare. Il provvedimento, che riprende i contenuti già elaborati dalla cosiddetta legge Caselli, interviene principalmente introducendo:

• nuovi reati penali;
• sanzioni più incisive;
• strumenti di controllo più stringenti.

Tra le fattispecie introdotte figurano i reati per:

• frode in commercio di alimenti;
• frode in commercio di alimenti con segni mendaci.

Le nuove disposizioni mirano a contrastare le condotte che ingannano il consumatore sulla qualità, sulla quantità o sulla provenienza dei prodotti (comprese quelle realizzate attraverso segni, indicazioni o presentazioni commerciali ingannevoli).

La riforma introduce inoltre il delitto di agropirateria, destinato a colpire le forme più strutturate e sistematiche di frode agroalimentare, soprattutto quando emerge un modello di business organizzato e continuativo. In questo caso si considera illecito quando le frodi alimentari o la vendita di cibo con segni e marchi mendaci non sono episodi occasionali, ma vengono commesse:

• in modo sistematico e continuativo;
• attraverso un’organizzazione complessa;
• con una distribuzione dei prodotti contraffatti su larga scala, invadendo i mercati nazionali o internazionali.

Cosa rischia chi vende falso made in Italy

Con la nuova legge non rischia più solo chi produce materialmente un alimento contraffatto, ma può coinvolgere anche gli operatori che partecipano consapevolmente alla sua distribuzione o vendita, come un’impresa che presenta un alimento straniero come italiano. Lo stesso vale per chi commercializza prodotti accompagnati da informazioni false sulla qualità o su altre caratteristiche rilevanti.

Sotto il profilo penale, la responsabilità individuale degli amministratori, dei titolari d’azienda o dei commercianti varia a seconda della gravità e della sistematicità della condotta:

• in caso di frode alimentare e commercio con segni mendaci, chi produce, confeziona o vende alimenti spacciandoli per made in Italy o attribuendo loro qualità, quantità o provenienze geografiche false rischia la reclusione unitamente a multe edittali inasprite;
• in caso di agropirateria, per chi mette in piedi un’attività sistematica, organizzata e professionale di falsificazione (ad esempio, una rete strutturata per importare olio o formaggi esteri e rivenderli stabilmente come italiani Dop o Igp) è prevista la detenzione, commisurata ai delitti d’impresa e di criminalità organizzata;
• In caso di pericoli per la salute (cosiddetto disastro sanitario), se il falso Made in Italy coinvolge cibi adulterati, nocivi o pericolosi per il consumo, l’imprenditore risponde dei nuovi delitti contro la salute pubblica e rischia la reclusione.

A livello patrimoniale, invece, il piano sanzionatorio prevede:

• la confisca dei beni nei casi di agropirateria o di associazione a delinquere finalizzata alla frode alimentare. Lo Stato applica la confisca dei beni, del denaro e delle proprietà di cui il condannato non possa giustificare la legittima provenienza, per un valore sproporzionato al proprio reddito;
• il sequestro immediato dei prodotti falsificati, le etichette, gli imballaggi e gli strumenti di produzione, che vengono eventualmente anche distrutti.

Anche la semplice mancata collaborazione con gli organi ispettivi comporta rischi penali: gli operatori che ostacolano, impediscono o non consentono la ricostruzione della tracciabilità degli alimenti incorrono in un reato contravvenzionale punito con l’ammenda da 600 a 6.000 euro, oltre alle sanzioni previste per l’eventuale frode sottostante.

Agromafie, il business raggiunge 25,2 miliardi di euro

La necessità di rafforzare gli strumenti di contrasto a chi commercializza prodotti contraffatti, falsifica l’origine delle materie prime o presenta alimenti con caratteristiche diverse da quelle dichiarate nasce soprattutto per far fronte a un fenomeno sempre più problematico, ovvero il business delle agromafie, che oggi ha raggiunto un valore di 25,2 miliardi di euro.

Si tratta di cifre che si traducono in un danno economico che si distribuisce lungo tutta la filiera. La diffusione delle frodi alimentari è confermata anche dalla percezione dei consumatori. Secondo il rapporto Coldiretti/Censis, il 75% degli italiani dichiara di essere stato vittima almeno una volta di un inganno a tavola.

Così, mentre il consumatore paga un prezzo che potrebbe non essere giustificato dalle caratteristiche reali dell’alimento, il produttore onesto subisce la concorrenza di chi riesce a ridurre i costi ricorrendo a pratiche illegali. E le imprese che investono in qualità, controlli, materie prime e certificazioni rischiano così di perdere quote di mercato a vantaggio di operatori che sfruttano impropriamente la reputazione delle produzioni italiane.