BUSINESS

Apple acts as a gatekeeper for big companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic.

Lin examines the role of the Consensus event in providing founders with structured access to the sector’s most influential decision-makers.

Eighty-one percent of Republicans who identify as MAGA support the U.S. military operation in Iran.

The MAGA media ecosystem is imploding as figures like Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, and Megyn Kelly trade insults over Trump’s Iran war.

While the physical book industry did not completely disappear, digital sales certainly made the industry smaller. “For the second consecutive year, unit sales of print books were up at outlets that report to Circana BookScan, hitting 762.4 million in 2025 for the year ended Dec. 27, 2025. That marks a 0.3% increase over 2024, which in turn saw sales grow 0.5% over 2023. Since sales peaked in 2021 at 839.7 million copies, they have settled at levels higher than before the pandemic, though not as high as many publishers had hoped,” according to Publishers’ Weekly.Despite the convenience of digital books, physical ones have remained the dominant format, according to Pew Research data.”Overall, 75% of U.S. adults say they have read a book in the past 12 months in any format, whether completely or partway through, a figure that has remained largely unchanged since 2011,” a Pew Research Center survey showed.”Print books remain the most popular format for reading, with 65% of adults saying that they have read a print book in the past year,” according to Pew’s research.The ongoing resilience of the print format, however, has not been enough to sustain Baker & Taylor, a leading wholesale distributor of books, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Baker & Taylor has been in freefallWhile Baker & Taylor may not be a name many Americans outside of the publishing industry know, the company, founded in 1828, was a massive player behind the scenes.”Baker & Taylor and its affiliates provided top-quality books and media resources from book publishers to thousands of libraries, universities, and other public and private customers across the United States and elsewhere,” according to a Bondoro case study of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Over more than a century, the company grew into one of the largest book distributors in the United States.By the latter part of the 20th century, Baker & Taylor was a leading global provider of English-language books, media, software, and services, primarily to public and academic libraries in the United States.Related: Key U.S. military vendor files unexpected Chapter 11 bankruptcyA recent timeline of Baker & TaylorIn 2016, Castle Harlan sold its interests in Baker & Taylor to the Follett Corporation.Follett operated Baker & Taylor for approximately five years, but unfavorable economic trends continued, and the advent of the Covid pandemic further damaged Baker & Taylor’s prospects.In 2021, Follett sought to divest from multiple content and distribution divisions, including Baker & Taylor.On November 4, 2021, Follett sold Baker & Taylor to a group of officers and directors led by the current Chief Executive Officer.To finance the acquisition, Baker & Taylor and its affiliated entities entered into a Loan, Security and Guarantee Agreement through which CIT granted Baker & Taylor a credit facility of up to $70 million to acquire and operate the business.
Source: Bondoro
“After the 2021 Acquisition, Baker & Taylor was well-positioned to recover from the pandemic and complete its adaptation to contemporary market conditions. Unfortunately, however, events unforeseen at the time of the 2021 Acquisition crippled its recovery and severely impaired liquidity,” Bondoro reported.First, Baker & Taylor’s operations were impacted in early 2022 by the emergence of the Covid “Omicron” variant, which caused renewed fears of the virus’ spread, significantly lowered the purchasing appetite of customers, and dramatically increased payroll costs and crippled warehouse efficiency.Second, two major cyberattacks in August and November 2022 severely impaired Baker & Taylor’s operations, accounting, and technology systems, further reducing liquidity and draining cash resources.
Source: Bondoro

Baker & Taylor sold books to libraries and schools. Shutterstock

Baker & Taylor files Chapter 11 bankruptcyBaker & Taylor’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which was filed on March 16, according to PacerMonitor, was unexpected. That’s because the company had essentially shut down after a failed sale to ReaderLink.”The speculation about the filing is that the library wholesaler raised enough money through its liquidation sale of books, shelves, and other items that creditors forced them to go to court to account for where the money was, and is, going. While it is assumed that most of the funds raised went to the banks and secured creditors, the filing says there is still money available to pay unsecured creditors,” Publishers’ Weekly reported. Baker & Taylor Chapter 11 bankruptcy (2026)Debtor: Baker & Taylor, LLC Filed: March 16, 2026 Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey Case number: 26-12863 Assets: $1 million to $10 millionLiabilities: $100 million to $500 millionCreditors: 1,000-5,000 Context: Filing followed shutdown and liquidation after a failed sale.
Source: PacerMonitor
Top creditors include HarperCollins, which is owed over $15 million, as well as Ingram Publisher Services and John Wiley & Sons, which are each owed over $1.5 million, according to court documents. Baker & Taylor closure hit libraries hard”The closure comes as a surprise but not a shock to many in the industry,” OPB.com reported. Most Baker & Taylor customers will have to turn to its biggest rival. “Now, like thousands of other libraries around the country, Greensboro Public Library is in the process of setting up a new account with Ingram Content Group, Baker & Taylor’s main competitor,” the website added. Carolyn Morris, vice president of library services at Ingram, said the company is “well positioned” to work with the libraries that Baker & Taylor serviced, but she acknowledged that the process will take time and a lot of resources on Ingram’s part.“It’s not a flip of a switch. We still have to… hire people, make sure we have enough inventory to meet the new demand, and get people trained,” she said.Since Baker & Taylor began winding down, about 2,000 libraries have set up new accounts with Ingram.Related: 63-year-old sporting goods retailer files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

With the war set off by the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran continuing to rage and have ripple effects around the world, multiple airline executives have warned that rising fuel costs will eventually trickle down to travelers.At a panel discussion at the start of the month, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the impact of jet fuel that hovers at $100 per barrel on consumers “will probably start quick,” adding that he now expects oil prices to affect the airline’s bottom line into at least the second quarter.The latest airline executive to sound the alarm on crude oil and jet fuel prices is Robert Isom of American Airlines.”A $400 million impact”: Robert Isom speaks of jet fuel price spikes“Fuel prices have increased rapidly over the last few weeks,” Isom said at the JP Morgan Industrials Conference 2026. “It has only been seven weeks since we reported earnings. What we have seen since that time is about a $400 million USD impact in terms of our first-quarter expenses.”Amid widespread uncertainty around the course the war will take in the coming weeks and months, and continued retaliatory strikes on multiple Middle Eastern countries from Iran, there is much speculation about just how much impact the war will have on airfare.Related: Hedge fund sounds alarm about this airline’s stock amid Iran warAsian airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have already increased ticket prices on certain routes by as much as 200%, and many others have warned that they will need to do the same if the current situation continues.Delta Air Lines had previously estimated that an oil price increase of just one cent per gallon will increase its fuel costs by $40 million per year by the end of 2026. Isom is now also saying he expects fuel costs to affect the airline’s bottom line into the second quarter of 2026.While some analysts are advising travelers to lock down tickets for any future travel now, others are saying this could also be a risky move, given the rush of others doing the same in a situation of panic.

Spikes in crude oil prices have sown major disruption on the aviation industry.Shutterstock

What airlines are doing about rising jet fuel costsAirlines often have trouble passing fuel cost increases on to passengers without affecting booking numbers, so most will try to raise margins in other ways before increasing prices.European and Asian airlines have generally hedged oil to meet their needs into 2027 but U.S.-based carriers generally do not do this because securing futures contracts can also result in major losses if prices end up stabilizing earlier than anticipated.More Travel News:Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.Iranian strike hits major airport, injuries reportedUnexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026U.S. government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travelAt the investors conference, Isom also said the airline’s large domestic network could prove to be American’s advantage compared to competitors facing similar issues, given the lower fuel needs for shorter routes.”If this proves to be a long-term phenomenon, we know that appropriate steps will be taken to ensure we drive revenue performance to offset it,” Isom said. Unfortunately, such promises may fail to reassure many as the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate.Related: Iranian strike hits major airport, injuries reported

Elon Musk posted three words on X this month that grabbed the attention of millions of Americans scrambling to file before the April 15 deadline.The claim spread fast across social media, arriving during a filing season where the Tax Foundation reports the average refund is running 10.6% higher than last year.You might be tempted to hand your W-2s and 1099s to a chatbot and let artificial intelligence sort out your entire tax return for you.  But the tax professionals, independent researchers, and privacy experts who tested these tools are sounding alarms you should hear before you upload anything.Musk’s Grok tax claim started with a single $1,400 refund storyThe whole pitch traces back to a post from James Burnham, who serves as general counsel for both xAI and X, CNBC reported. Burnham described a user who allegedly used Grok to double-check a TurboTax return and walked away with an additional $1,400 in refund money from the IRS.Burnham himself added a disclaimer stating that Grok does not constitute tax advice and that users should always confirm the results on their own. Musk reposted it with the now-viral line, and the message reached millions of users during what the Treasury Department has called the largest refund season on record.Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, pushed back almost immediately, CNBC reported. O’Saben, who is also an enrolled agent licensed to practice before the IRS, said a bigger refund does not automatically mean your return is correct.You should always compare your current refund to previous years to understand why the amounts changed, according to O’Saben’s guidance for taxpayers.Independent tests show AI chatbots miscalculate tax returnsIf you are thinking about handing your return to Grok or any other chatbot, the results from recent tests suggest you should stop and think carefully first. The New York Times tested four major AI chatbots on tax scenarios prepared by TaxSlayer and found average miscalculations exceeding $2,000 per return, Gizmodo reported.Column Tax’s TaxCalcBench benchmark tested frontier AI models on 51 realistic federal returns, and even the best-performing model scored only in the mid-30% accuracy range. AI models consistently failed on credits like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, which require complex eligibility determinations and phase-out calculations.More Personal Finance:Why selling a home to your child for a dollar can backfireElon Musk says ‘universal high income’ is comingFTC, 21 states sue Uber over ‘shady’ subscription billingJoel Salas, owner of Elevated Tax Strategies, told Gizmodo he would not advise any taxpayer to use a general-purpose chatbot as a tax reviewer for their filing. Salas pointed out that Grok might show you a higher refund on paper, but that number could come from fabricated data rather than real, legitimate deductions.Uploading your tax documents to a chatbot creates real privacy risks Your tax return is one of the most sensitive documents you own, containing your Social Security number, income records, and your full financial picture. Entering that information into a chatbot raises privacy concerns, depending on how the platform stores or processes it.Privacy concerns with AI tax toolsStanford researchers found that many leading AI companies feed user inputs back into their models to improve capabilities, unless you manually opt out of data collection.xAI temporarily made user conversations with Grok publicly visible and searchable, exposing potentially sensitive personal information to anyone browsing the platform at that time.Meta previously allowed users to browse other people’s prompts and conversations with its chatbot, revealing medical, legal, and financial details to strangers online.The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency reportedly sought access to sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS, raising additional questions about the motivations behind this push.Salas warned in his interview with Gizmodo that AI platforms have not existed long enough for anyone to fully trust them with the data your tax documents contain. If you read the terms and conditions carefully, you would realize that your data could be used for purposes you never intended or approved in writing.

Taxpayers exploring AI tools should understand that the legal responsibility remains theirs, even if a chatbot makes costly filing errors.d3sign/Getty Images

The 2026 tax code is more complex than ever, and chatbots aren’t readyThis filing season is not a typical one, and the complexity of new tax law changes makes AI-assisted filing even more dangerous for your bottom line overall. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced over 100 changes to the tax code, including new deductions for overtime, tips, and auto loan interest, CNBC reported.New tax provisions that increase filing complexityA new Schedule 1-A form covers deductions for overtime pay, tip income, seniors, and auto loan interest that were not part of any previous year’s filing.More than 27.5 million returns have already claimed at least one new deduction on Schedule 1-A, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.Several new provisions include income phase-outs that gradually reduce the benefit for higher earners, creating layered interactions between credits and deductions on returns.The IRS did not adjust paycheck withholding tables after the July 2025 changes, meaning millions of workers overpaid throughout the second half of the calendar year.Related: Tax time: Tips for getting started and finishing your tax returnThe Tax Foundation reports that the average refund as of late February was $3,742, up 10.6% from $3,382 at the same point in the prior year’s season.Applying those new rules correctly often requires examining your full financial picture, which is exactly the kind of nuance that TaxCalcBench research confirms chatbots consistently miss.How to use AI during tax season without risking data or returnsNone of this means you should avoid AI entirely during tax season, but you need to understand where the boundary between helpful and harmful sits right now.Tax professionals increasingly use AI in their own practices, with 34% of tax firms already using generative AI, according to the 2026 AI in Professional Services Report from the Thomson Reuters Institute.Related: Vanguard says agentic AI will be the big unlock for investorsAnother 47% of tax firms say they plan to adopt or are actively considering AI technology for tasks such as searching tax law more quickly and drafting client memos.Safer approaches to AI and tax preparationUse AI to ask general tax questions about deductions, credits, or filing requirements, but never upload documents containing your Social Security number or income records.Tools like Taxbox are designed specifically as tax assistants or tutors that help you understand what different documents mean and how to navigate the filing system properly.If you want free filing help, the IRS Free File program offers guided tax preparation software at no cost for qualifying taxpayers with simple returns to complete.Always cross-reference any AI-generated tax suggestion against official guidance on IRS.gov or consult a licensed tax professional before you file any documents with the government.If your tax situation involves new OBBBA deductions, multiple income streams, or investment gains, professional preparation is the safest route to take this year.You are legally responsible for your returnThis is the part that gets lost in the excitement over AI tools, and it is the part that could cost you the most if something goes wrong with your filing. When you file your return, you sign a statement confirming that all the information is accurate to the best of your personal knowledge and belief as a taxpayer.The IRS does not care whether you used Grok, ChatGPT, TurboTax, or a pencil, because the legal liability for any errors falls entirely on your shoulders alone. A January 2026 survey from Invoice Home found that only 37% of filers would trust AI over a tax professional, which is down from 43% in 2025.That declining trust reflects a growing public awareness that chatbots are not equipped to handle the full complexity of individual tax situations with any reliability.The real cost of getting your return wrong in 2026Math errors triggered by new deductions could cause the IRS to flag your return and delay your refund by weeks, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.If you need to file an amended return using Form 1040-X, your correction will join a backlog that was already two million returns deep before this season started.The IRS has lost approximately 11% of its workforce due to DOGE-related cuts, and the agency plans to replace workers with AI instead of hiring experienced agents.E-filed returns with direct deposit remain the fastest path to your refund, but flagged returns with errors could add weeks or even months to your processing timeline.The April 15 deadline is approaching fast, and the safest move you can make right now is to keep a qualified human professional in the loop on your return. Musk may want you to file your taxes with Grok, but the experts, the data, and your own legal exposure all point clearly in the opposite direction here.Related: Elon Musk issues apology for not building xAI right​

The crypto security firm is expanding its U.S. footprint and strengthening its leadership team as it prepares for a potential public listing.

The consumer-goods company has been making efforts to focus on its beauty and well-being products

The pressure on Trump to deescalate in the Middle East is building. Markets need to be convinced oil is back below $100 forgood before they can rally concertedly.