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After months of testing, Chick-fil-A is finally bringing several test items to its customers nationwide.While Chick-fil-A has built its reputation on iconic staples like its chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and signature sauce, the fast-growing quick-service chain has been experimenting with new menu items to keep customers engaged in a highly competitive restaurant environment.The company recently earned the top spot among quick-service restaurants for the 11th consecutive year, receiving a score of 83 out of 100 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index 2026 Restaurant and Food Delivery Study.As competition in the restaurant industry intensifies, Chick-fil-A is rolling out a major seasonal menu expansion for fall 2026, bringing several new flavors to customers nationwide.Chick-fil-A unveils 9 new items for its fall 2026 menuChick-fil-A is making nine test items available across all its restaurants nationwide beginning Aug. 24 through Nov. 14 as part of its new fall 2026 menu, the company told TheStreet.The nine-item lineup consists of two Chicken & Waffles Sandwiches, each available with multiple chicken options, plus a plain waffle and two treats. The new items include:Chicken & Waffles Breakfast Sandwich: Available in spicy, grilled, or original crispy chicken filetChicken & Waffles Sandwich: Available in spicy, grilled, or original crispy chicken filetPlain Waffle: Can be ordered on its ownS’mores MilkshakeS’mores Frosted CoffeeEach Chicken & Waffles Sandwich features a spicy, grilled, or original crispy chicken filet, applewood-smoked bacon, and honey butter spread, sandwiched between two maple waffles and served with a side of syrup. The breakfast version is smaller, while the lunch/dinner sandwich is full-sized.The breakfast offering will be available during standard breakfast hours, from opening until before 10:30 a.m., while the larger entrée size will be available from 10:30 a.m. to close.The handspun S’mores Milkshake is made with Chick-fil-A’s signature icedream dessert mixed with toasted marshmallow syrup and chocolate shortbread and graham cracker crumbles. It is topped with toasted marshmallow whipped cream and a cherry.The S’mores Frosted Coffee blends brewed coffee and Chick-fil-A’s signature icedream dessert with toasted marshmallow syrup and chocolate shortbread and graham cracker crumbles.”Both Chicken & Waffles and S’mores are much-loved classics, and we challenged ourselves to bring those flavors to our menu in a playful and unexpected way,” said Chick-fil-A Director of Menu and Packaging Allison Duncan in a statement sent to TheStreet. “After seeing the incredible response and excitement from Guests in our test markets, we couldn’t wait to share these flavors nationwide.”Alongside the fall 2026 menu release, Chick-fil-A is also releasing limited-time merchandise through its official online shop and at participating restaurants.Why Chick-fil-A is bringing the former test items nationwideBefore the nationwide launch announcement, Chick-fil-A first tested the breakfast and lunch/dinner versions of the Chicken & Waffles Sandwiches at select locations in Baltimore, Maryland, and San Antonio, Texas, from Dec. 1, 2025, through Jan. 24, 2026.The company also tested the S’mores Frosted Coffee and S’mores Milkshake at select restaurants in Austin, Texas, from late October 2025 through November 10.The nationwide rollout follows those limited-market tests, giving Chick-fil-A an opportunity to gauge customer response before making the items available across its restaurant network.

Chick-fil-A unveils its new fall 2026 menu.Fernanda Tronco/TheStreet

Chick-fil-A fosters innovation to stay relevant amid competitionChick-fil-A frequently tests experimental menu items in select markets before expanding them nationwide.Limited market tests like these allow brands to evaluate consumer demand before committing to a broader launch. Pilot programs also generate consumer buzz while reducing the financial risk associated with introducing a new menu item. Innovation has long played a role in Chick-fil-A’s strategy. The company opened HATCH Innovation Labs in 2012, a dedicated creative workspace designed to develop new ideas informed by customer feedback and operational testing. Industry experts say this type of experimentation has become increasingly important as consumers’ expectations around food and dining continue to evolve.”Consumers are no longer choosing food purely on category familiarity or brand recognition,” said Tastewise industry expert Kelia Losa Reinoso. “They are making decisions based on function, occasion, and flavor experience simultaneously, and they expect both their restaurant and retail choices to keep up.”Here’s some of my previous coverage on Chick-fil-A innovation:Chick-fil-A reveals seven new menu items for Spring 2026Chick-fil-A is making a major change to 425 restaurants nationwideChick-fil-A tries a growth planMenu innovation is also happening at a time when the foodservice industry faces mounting financial pressure. Prices for food away from home increased 3.4% in the 12 months ending July 2026, according to recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.Meanwhile, food and labor costs for the average restaurant have each risen by about 35% over the past five years, according to the National Restaurant Association.To offset those increases, menu prices climbed an average of 31% between February 2020 and April 2025, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.At the same time, overall traffic in the food service industry declined 1% in the quarter ending June 2025, according to Circana. The combination of higher costs and pressure on restaurant traffic has prompted many chains to find new ways to keep customers engaged and strengthen brand loyalty. For Chick-fil-A, limited-time offerings and nationwide launches of successful test items provide another way to generate interest while continuing to expand its menu.Related: Popular breakfast chain closes more restaurants

For much of the artificial intelligence boom, investors faced an uncomfortable trade-off.Big Tech continued to spend tens of billions of dollars on data centers, semiconductors, and cloud capacity as Wall Street waited for confirmation that investments would create enough income to justify the expense.JPMorgan now says the evidence is becoming much clearer.The bank lifted its year-end 2026 prediction for the S&P 500 to 8,000 from 7,800, Reuters reported, citing improved corporate profitability and more confidence that AI spending by the world’s leading technology companies will convert into faster revenue growth.That may not sound dramatic considering the index already gained 13.3% this year.But the justification for the improvement is more essential than the extra 200 points.JPMorgan says the AI investment cycle is transitioning from an era of pledges to spend into one where cloud growth, backlogs, and cash-flow visibility are starting to deliver real returns.That change has implications for investors in the firms funding the AI boom and for everyone wondering if the market’s lofty valuations can hold another leg higher.“As elevated backlogs convert into recognized revenue, cloud growth should remain well supported,” JPMorgan analysts said, reported by Reuters. The company added that the trend should help validate rising AI capital expenditures and ease concerns around return on invested capital.JPMorgan sees earnings catching up with the AI rallyJPMorgan’s new S&P 500 target rests heavily on earnings.The bank raised its 2026 S&P 500 earnings-per-share forecast to $365 from $350 and increased its 2027 forecast to $420 from $390, Reuters reported.That’s a powerful reset.The thinking is that JPMorgan anticipates corporate earnings to expand enough to support higher prices without another big push of market multiples.The second quarter earnings season has backed that viewpoint.Of the 436 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far via Friday morning, 85.1% surpassed analyst expectations, according to LSEG data published by Reuters.From 1994 on, the long-term average is around 68%.That disparity is significant.That means corporate America is posting results far stronger than a typical earnings season, even after stocks have already surged drastically.Related: J.P. Morgan drops Fed rate bombshell over Warsh, inflationThe most significant gains have emerged among the hyperscalers responsible for some of the world’s largest AI capital-spending programs.Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft were among those highlighted by JPMorgan, which said greater cloud growth, bigger backlogs, and better cash-flow visibility eased concerns over whether AI spending will eventually pay off.That’s what makes the difference for investors.Just because you spend on AI doesn’t mean your stocks will go up.The market wanted proof that costly infrastructure was generating income.JPMorgan believes that evidence is increasingly visible.Big Tech is starting to justify its enormous AI spendingThe hyperscaler AI buildout has Wall Street both excited and worried.Technology giants have poured billions into semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, and data centers.That investment has paid off for chipmakers and infrastructure corporations, but it also has raised one fundamental challenge.But how long could corporations hold out before investors sought a return?The second quarter gave a stronger answer, according to JPMorgan.Investors gained increased confidence that AI spending is fueling future income, rather than just boosting capital expenditures, at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, where stronger demand for cloud computing and rising order backlogs provided a boost.More Wall Street:Wall Street’s AI trade faces its biggest valuation testThe next Wall Street shift is already underwayWall Street sends strong 4-word verdict on the stock marketThat’s not to say the bank sees infinite upside.JPMorgan maintained its target valuation multiple around 20 times projected earnings.That restraint is crucial.What JPMorgan is really saying is not that investors should simply pay more for each dollar of earnings, but that larger profits can propel the market higher.The bank cited several reasons not to assume valuations can keep expanding indefinitely: higher interest rates, geopolitical risk, and heavy equity and debt issuance.That makes earnings growth particularly important.If multiples remain broadly stable, companies need to produce the profits currently embedded in expectations.

JPMorgan just made a bold call on what carries stocks higher.Bloomberg / Getty Images

S&P 500 investors still face a narrow margin for disappointmentAn 8,000 S&P 500 target seems bullish.The details are more delicate.The index is now around 3 percent below JPMorgan’s new year-end target of 7,757.64.And JPMorgan isn’t by itself anymore. At least seven brokerages now predict the S&P 500 to hit 8,000 by the end of 2026, Reuters reported.It makes for a fascinating premise.Expectations have gotten tougher to beat, but Wall Street has become more bullish in the market.What investors should watch8,000: JPMorgan’s new 2026 year-end S&P 500 target.7,800: The bank’s previous target.$365: JPMorgan’s revised 2026 S&P 500 EPS estimate, up from $350.$420: Its 2027 EPS forecast, raised from $390.85.1%: Share of reporting S&P 500 companies that beat earnings expectations through Friday morning.20x: JPMorgan’s unchanged forward valuation-multiple assumption.13.3%: S&P 500 gain so far in 2026.The bull case is simple.Corporate profitability is exceeding expectations, AI investments are beginning to generate tangible revenue benefits, and demand for cloud services is robust enough to sustain significant technology backlogs.The problem is that much of that good news is already priced in.The S&P 500 has risen more than 13% this year and the new goal from JPMorgan provides relatively limited further upside from here.Investors probably don’t need another wave of AI excitement.They need the money to keep rolling in.That’s what makes JPMorgan’s call interesting. The next phase of the AI rally might involve less of the talk about what artificial intelligence could someday become.Maybe it’s a matter of demonstrating that firms are already generating money out of it.Related: J.P. Morgan’s stock price is flashing valuation warning

The Transport Workers Union, the largest airline union, has organized more fuelers in Orlando and looks to fleet service contract talks at American Airlines.

Congressman Tom Barrett (R-MI) flipped Michigan’s 7th congressional from blue to red in 2024, and Democrats are looking to flip it back in November.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is warning consumers about a wave of fraudsters impersonating the agency’s officials. In some cases, they’re using the names of actual FCC employees to make their stories seem more convincing.
According to the agency’s new alert, the scammers are calling and texting people to claim their phone number is under investigation for criminal activity. From there, victims are threatened with legal action or pressed to send money and share sensitive financial information.

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These scams are especially concerning given how much money Americans already lose to impersonators. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than one million imposter scam reports in 2025, making it the most-reported type of fraud for the ninth year in a row. Consumers reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams, including about $920 million to fraudsters posing as government officials.
The FCC says it will never call or text to say your phone number is under investigation, direct you to a special law enforcement hotline or demand payment to resolve a problem. If someone does, hang up and don’t provide any personal or financial information. The agency also recommends reporting impersonation attempts through its online complaint system.
Other current scams to watch out for
Gold courier scams
New York Attorney General Letitia James warned consumers last week about a rise in gold bar scams that have been targeting seniors in the state. The New York Police Department has investigated more than 100 such cases over the past two years, with losses exceeding $100 million.
This type of scam is well-documented: Criminals typically convince victims that their financial accounts or identities have been compromised, tell them to convert their savings into gold and then send couriers to collect it. New York is far from the only place it’s happening.
In Washington, D.C., police announced arrests on Friday after an 85-year-old man was allegedly told by people posing as federal agents to buy more than $200,000 in gold. A gold dealer recognized the scam and alerted authorities before two men showed up at the victim’s home to collect it. Federal prosecutors in Hawaii also announced a similar case last month.
You should never feel pressured to move money because someone on the phone tells you to, regardless of what agency they claim to work for. If you believe there is a problem with your account, there’s no need to continue conversation with a stranger — contact your bank directly to ask for information instead.

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Refund and recovery scams
The FTC recently issued a warning about scammers who buy lists of previous fraud victims and contact them with promises of recovering their missing money, prizes or merchandise. Those lists can include a victim’s name, contact information, the type of scam they fell for and even how much they lost.
To make the pitch believable, these scammers may pose as the FTC or another government agency, a consumer advocacy group or a law firm. But before recovering anything, they will ask for a fee or an “administrative charge.” Others may ask for bank information so they can deposit your supposedly recovered funds.
It’s an especially malicious setup. The scam works because its target has already been victimized and is hoping to undo the financial damage. The FTC reminds consumers that legitimate organizations won’t charge you upfront to get a refund, and anyone unexpectedly promising to recover your money in exchange for a fee or financial information should be considered a scammer.
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The most common types of scam you should know
Scammers are constantly upping their game, coming up with new and exciting ways (for them) of fooling their targets. AI-powered scams are one example of this; the technology is being used to reach a larger number of people with increasingly more convincing schemes
But some tricks never run out of style. Most scams fall into a handful of familiar patterns, and many long-standing schemes are still a threat today. They’ve just evolved to better fit today’s digital landscape

Imposter scams: Scammers often pose as trusted figures such as government agencies, banks, employers and even friends or family to pressure victims into sending money or sharing personal information
Phishing and spoofing scams:
 These scams use emails, texts or phone calls that look like they’re from legitimate organizations. The goal is to trick you into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or handing over sensitive information
Online shopping scams: Fraudsters can create fake online stores or listings with hard-to-find items at unusually low prices. After you pay for an article, what you end up getting might be counterfeit — or it may never arrive in the first place
Investment scams: This type of scam often arrives with promises of high returns from crypto, forex or other “exclusive” opportunities. Many involve long-term grooming tactics in which victims are encouraged to invest more over time before losing everything
Romance scams: Some scammers try to get into your pocket through the heart. They build a relationship with you on dating apps or social media, then convince you to give up money and assets by fabricating emergencies or investment opportunities

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What to do if you’re the target — or victim — of a scam
No one is immune to scams or fraud, but a few consistent habits can reduce their danger and the damage they cause
For starters, be skeptical of unsolicited messages, especially those creating fear or urgency. This might look like an email from your bank threatening to close an account, a text from an online marketplace saying you’ll lose a discount or a call from the IRS claiming they’ll report you to the authorities unless you “act now.”
Scammers love to use this sort of language because it puts you on the spot, which they expect will move you to action
Always verify any requests from an organization by cross-checking with its official phone numbers, email or website. And don’t click any links, download attachments or respond to messages you suspect may be fraudulent. A legitimate organization will not pressure you for instant action or secrecy
Now, if you’ve already sent financial information or money to someone you suspect is a scammer, you’ll need to take a few steps to protect your data and possibly get your money reimbursed. Contact your bank, credit card issuer or payment platform immediately and attempt to stop or reverse the transactions. Make sure to change any relevant passwords and enable multi-factor authentication to safeguard your accounts, too.
Reporting a scam might also help protect others. You can file a report with the Federal Trade Commission and with local authorities at your nearby police department or sheriff’s office. Identity theft victims should also consider temporarily freezing their credit
Lastly, review your financial statements and credit reports regularly, keep your software updated and limit how much personal information you share online. Scammers often rely on publicly available details to make their schemes more convincing

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High-performers understand that optimizing downtime is just as important as optimizing work hours. But if you’re an entrepreneur based in Australia, your relaxation time often comes with a frustrating roadblock. You spend 20 minutes scrolling through Netflix Australia, sigh in frustration, and end up rewatching something you have already seen. You see viral hype online about a beloved classic hitting the Netflix US catalogue, only to realize it is entirely unavailable in Australia.
Why are Australians paying the same premium prices for less content, and what is the underlying business strategy driving this disparity? Here is a breakdown of what we are missing, the economics of streaming, and how you can hack your digital downtime.
What Australians Actually Have Access To
The Australian Netflix catalogue is not entirely empty. There are several solid, comforting options available for viewers:

Mad Men: A fierce character study set in 1960s advertising that serves as a masterclass on ambition and the cost of success.
Arrested Development: A comedy that completely redefined the sitcom genre with dense jokes and unapologetically flawed characters.
Firefly: Joss Whedon’s short-lived sci-fi western, loved by a fierce fanbase for its sharp banter and moral complexity.
Doctor Who: A British institution spanning decades that reinvented science fiction.
Freaks and Geeks: A cherished one-season wonder offering an honest portrayal of teenage awkwardness.
Pretty Little Liars & The Vampire Diaries: Highly addictive teen mysteries and supernatural romances featuring long-form character arcs.

The Heavy Hitters Missing from Netflix Australia
While we have some classics, some of the most iconic and culturally significant titles are glaringly absent from the Australian platform:

Breaking Bad: A masterclass in television storytelling that convincingly shows a normal person turning into a villain.
The Office (US): A cultural force featuring the beloved romance between Jim and Pam.
Parks and Recreation: An optimistic workplace comedy that turns small-town bureaucracy into an endlessly quotable show.
Twin Peaks & The Twilight Zone: Genre-breaking, ambitious series that explore social anxieties, moral questions, and the surreal.
Sherlock & White Collar: Clever crime and detective series built on charm, fast pacing, and excellent character chemistry.
Sons of Anarchy & Peep Show: Gritty biker-gang tragedies and brutally honest British cringe comedies.

The Business of Streaming: Why the Gap Exists
For business-minded individuals, the reasoning behind this content gap makes total sense: it comes down to distribution rights and Return on Investment (ROI).
Studios invest millions to create films and shows, and they guard their distribution rights carefully. These rights are enforced on a country-by-country basis, rather than platform-wide. Ultimately, Netflix will pay a premium to stream a title only in regions where they expect strong returns. If the numbers do not indicate a good ROI, they will simply walk away from securing those rights.
This creates a massive global disparity. The United States boasts the largest catalogue with 5,879 titles, while a country like Georgia has just over 2,100. Other regions have unique strengths; for example, South Korea dominates in Oscar-winning options, while Southeast Asian markets top the list for Emmy-winning TV shows.
Australia sits squarely in the middle. Our catalogue is not the worst, but it is certainly not on par with the US and Canada, despite Australians paying similar subscription fees.
How to Hack Your Streaming Options
For viewers who follow US pop culture closely, these gaps in offerings are palpable. From a pure cost-benefit perspective, buying multiple streaming subscriptions to make up the difference is a drain on your finances.
Instead, utilizing a VPN service for free internet access is an elegant solution. A VPN often costs significantly less per month than adding additional streaming platforms just to get a similar amount of choice.
What you need to know about using a VPN for streaming:

The Experience: The viewing experience remains largely the same, assuming your internet connection is stable. A VPN will not give you buffering miracles or picture upgrades; it simply provides more choices.
The Best Tools: NordVPN and ExpressVPN are common, reliable choices known for their speed and multiple server locations.
The Rules: While using a VPN is not illegal in Australia, it can conflict with Netflix’s terms of service. However, enforcement is generally inconsistent, leaving most users to make their own decisions based on convenience.

If you are content with local releases and Netflix originals, the standard Australian library does the job well enough. But for those who demand total control over their entertainment choices, bypassing regional restrictions is the ultimate way to optimize your digital downtime.
The post The Business Behind the Netflix Australia vs. US Content Gap (And How to Fix It) appeared first on Addicted 2 Success.

Visa’s president of technology, Rajat Taneja, walked the VB Transform 2026 audience through aiming Anthropic’s Mythos at Visa’s own payment network. The model stitched minor weaknesses into working exploit chains, and Visa open-sourced the harness that governed the hunt.That’s what it looks like when an enterprise has the engineering depth to act on what it finds. Most don’t get there. Just over half, or 53%, of enterprises have already had an agentic security incident or near-miss. Sixty-five percent enforce agent permissions at runtime, yet only 18% isolate their highest-risk agents, and just 8% pair enforcement with isolation.Leaning on provider-native controls to do the heavy lifting of agentic security just exacerbates that gap. The July wave of VentureBeat Pulse Research found that 92% of enterprises naming a primary security layer default to their hyperscalers and AI platform providers.Six waves of research have been completed since January, surveying 440 qualified enterprise security respondents. The key takeaway: the containment gap between what enterprises need and what’s getting done is growing wider, often unaddressed by enterprises whose agentic AI investments and futures are at risk.The satisfaction data doesn’t match the incident dataThe research keeps showing enterprises rating the tools they know best at a higher score, even if those tools failed them or delivered mediocre results. Three findings from the raw data cut against that instinct, and each one says something about how young this market still is. The enterprises that got hit rate their tools higher than the ones that didn’tLast month’s survey found that 46 enterprises reported a confirmed incident or near-miss, then went on to rate their satisfaction with their security tooling. Their average satisfaction was 4.39 out of 5. 30 of the 55 enterprises who experienced no incidents rated their security tooling at 4.13. Enterprises are rewarding any tool that saves them from a breach with a trust premium. It’s a sure sign of a nascent market when brand positioning, marketing, or other means of persuading enterprises get easily superseded by saving a customer from a breach. Near-misses outnumber confirmed incidents 2-to-1 in both June and July, which means enterprises are catching problems at the edge. That edge catch is being interpreted as validation of both the security strategy and the tools acquired. Evident through seven months of data is how quick enterprise security leaders are to trust a new tool that identifies an intrusion or breach and defeats it before it gains access. VentureBeat believes the rescue itself is doing the marketing. The 4.13 average among never-hit enterprises shows the other side of the same effect. Tools that have never been seen working earn less trust, not more. VentureBeat also found that of the 17 enterprises isolating their highest-risk agents, the 14 that rated their tooling average 4.00. Enterprises that do not isolate rate it 4.35. The enterprises closest to real security are the least satisfied with their tools — that dissatisfaction is what drives them toward the kind of engineering effort Visa put in.Four of five enterprises that solved identity did not build isolation49%, or 57 of the 116 enterprises surveyed in July, gave each agent its own scoped, managed identity. Just a month earlier, VentureBeat’s June wave recorded 32% of enterprises having assigned per-agent identities. July’s 17-point jump in one month is the fastest single-month move this series has recorded. Despite these gains, 63% still report credential sharing somewhere in the fleet. Only 11 of those 57 also isolate. That ratio explains why the containment gap keeps widening even as every headline control improves. Enterprises are treating identity and isolation as substitutes. They need to see the longer-term vision of each being integral to a platform-based, layered strategy. Two incidents VentureBeat has covered show why that distinction matters. A rogue AI agent at Meta passed every identity check before its March exposure was contained. And CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz disclosed, at his RSAC 2026 keynote, a Fortune 50 agent that rewrote its own security policy using valid credentials. Giving an agent scoped credentials does not bound the blast radius when those credentials are misused. Sandboxing does.The enforce-without-isolate population has a 58% incident rateFifty-three enterprises in July’s survey enforce scoped permissions at runtime but do not isolate. 31 of those 53 have already had an agent security incident or near-miss. That is 58%, five points above the 53% sample average. The enterprises living inside the containment gap are getting hit more often than the enterprises outside it.Amy Chang, Cisco’s head of AI threat intelligence and security research, presented findings on the Transform agentic security panel showing that when Cisco ran 6,986 multi-turn attacks against 15 flagship models, attackers who adapted across the conversation broke through up to 88.3% of the time. Single-turn red-teaming missed it. An adaptive attacker who defeats the guardrails lands inside whatever architecture sits behind them, and for 53 of the enterprises in this data, that architecture enforces but does not contain.VentureBeat’s Q1 Pulse Research tracked the same structural weakness earlier this year. Unauthorized tool or data access ranked as the most feared failure mode in every Q1 survey, growing from 42% in January to 50% in March. The April-May survey found only 4% of enterprises comfortable relying on model guardrails alone. Enterprises predicted they needed external controls, choosing to build enforcement over containment. Enterprises built enforcement 35 points ahead of forecast. Isolation barely movedThe April-May survey asked 109 enterprises how they expected agent behavior to be controlled by the end of 2026, and 30% predicted runtime enforcement, 14% sandboxed execution, and 32% model-level guardrails. By July, 65% had built enforcement, more than double the prediction, while isolation reached 18%, roughly the rate they said it would. Enterprises built what was easy at twice the forecast and built what was hard at roughly the forecast. The April question asked for the primary control mechanism, single-select, while July’s posture question allowed multiple selections, so the comparison is directional rather than exact.Provider lock-in accelerated across all three quartersProvider-native platforms already led usage in April-May, named by seven in ten enterprises describing their tooling. By June, 82% called one their primary agent security layer, and by July that share reached 92%, with OpenAI’s guardrails leading at 44%, Microsoft Azure at 42%, Anthropic’s managed-agent controls at 37%, and Google Cloud at 31%. Cloudflare at 11% and Cisco at 9% lead the dedicated specialists fighting over what remains. The identity tools most relevant to the credential-sharing gap are the smallest of all, with Microsoft Entra Agent ID at 7%, while Okta for AI Agents, non-human identity platforms, and runtime sandboxing tooling each sit at 3%. CrowdStrike CTO Elia Zaitsev told VentureBeat at RSAC 2026 that observing agent actions is a solvable problem but inferring intent is not. The provider bundle proves his point, solving observation while leaving containment unbuilt.74% plan to replace tools they just rated a career-high satisfaction scoreSatisfaction scores continue rising as enterprises gain more experience using tools and techniques to stop agentic AI-based attacks. Rising to 4.29 out of 5 in July from 4.2 in June, satisfaction is the highest reading in the series. Despite the high satisfaction levels, 74% plan to replace their tools within 12 months, up from 59% in June. Only 26% intend not to change. VentureBeat believes early adopters are impatient to gain greater insights, and know what they don’t know about agentic security and resilience. Closing that knowledge gap is forcing churn into a market this young, and the raw answers resolve the paradox: 92% of enterprises naming a primary layer name a provider-native one. The 4.29 measures how easy it is to turn on a provider’s guardrails. It does not measure how effective those guardrails are at preventing the incidents 53% of the same respondents already had.The organizations closest to the threat are the least confident about itIn June, defenders led attackers 35% to 21%, but by July the split was 30-30, a dead heat. Among enterprises that have been hit, 39% now say attackers are ahead, against 20% of those that have not. Getting hit nearly doubles the pessimism but does not change the shopping. Just 10% of enterprises include any agent-identity product in their consideration set. Runtime sandboxing draws 6%, and those numbers hold regardless of incident history. VentureBeat covered the same blind spot in the June data. The label changed from agent security gap to containment gap, but the shopping did not.MethodologyThe posture question was answered by 93 of the 116 qualified July respondents, and the skippers are not hidden isolators. Twenty-three of the 25 who selected no posture option are organizations still evaluating agents, unsure of their status, or with no deployment plans, groups for which a security posture largely does not yet exist, so the 18% isolation figure reads on the enterprises actually running or piloting agents. April-May, June, and July are separate, independently fielded waves rather than a single tracked series, so month-over-month comparisons in this piece are directional rather than a measured trend. Base sizes for the cross-cuts differ by instrument. The identity question covers all 116 respondents, isolation covers the 93 who described a posture, and the satisfaction inversion of 4.39 versus 4.13 is computed on the 76 respondents who rated their tooling.The bottom lineVentureBeat’s cross-survey analysis of 573 enterprise respondents concluded in July that enterprises deployed AI agents ahead of the controls needed to manage them, and they did it knowingly. Three waves of security-specific data now show where the knowing stops.Enterprises continue giving agents scoped identities and treating that as containment, but that assumption is false, and the incident data keeps proving it. In fact, 46 of 57 enterprises that solved identity did not build isolation. The enforce-without-isolate population’s 58% incident rate is the clearest evidence that identity alone isn’t enough. The containment gap will not close through satisfaction with what is easy. Whether enterprises build isolation and governed identity deliberately, or whether a confirmed incident that propagates does it for them, is the question the next wave will answer.

American seniors pay dramatically more for brand-name prescription drugs than patients in 19 comparable countries, and the gap keeps widening each year.AARP published a new report examining 25 top-selling brand-name drugs that account for more than $100 billion in annual Medicare spending.The findings arrive at a critical moment, with a federal subsidy program ending after 2026 that currently holds down premiums for standalone Medicare drug plans.Together, the pricing data and the subsidy expiration create financial pressure on roughly 25 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Part D coverage.The report strengthens the case for drug price negotiation, a policy that began producing results in 2026 with the first ten Medicare-negotiated medications.For retirees and those approaching Medicare eligibility, understanding both the pricing landscape and the coming premium changes will shape enrollment decisions this fall.Brand-name drug prices rose 81% in the U.S. while falling abroadU.S. prices for the 25 brand-name drugs in the study climbed 81% on average after their initial market launch, AARP’s press release showed. Prices for the same medications fell 13% on average across 19 comparable countries during the same period after launch.Enbrel, a widely prescribed treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, showed the most extreme divergence in the study’s findings across markets. Its U.S. price increased 873% after launch while falling 27% internationally, creating a gap that costs Medicare beneficiaries billions each year.Januvia, a common diabetes medication, rose 126% domestically while declining 40% in the comparison countries included in the analysis. Bill Sweeney, AARP’s senior vice president of government affairs, said seniors already struggle with healthcare expenses despite hard-won drug pricing reforms.Older Americans are already stretched thin by rising health care costs. AARP fought hard to create Medicare Part D, to win Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices and to cap out-of-pocket costs for people in Part DMedicare could save nearly $200 billion over five years on its ten highest-cost brand-name drugs by requiring manufacturers to match their lowest international prices, the full AARP report found.The 25 drugs in the study collectively affected nearly 15 million Medicare beneficiaries, concentrating the cost burden on some of the program’s most common conditions.A separate AARP report published in February found that retail prices for brand-name drugs widely used by older Americans have increased faster than inflation nearly every year since 2004, the organization’s Rx Price Watch series showed.AARP researcher Leigh Purvis said Medicare drug price negotiation “is successfully reducing costs for millions of seniors” but called for expanding the program’s scope.A federal subsidy expiration will push Part D premiums higher in 2027The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it will end the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration after 2026, removing a $9.8 billion support program.That program had subsidized standalone prescription drug plans to keep monthly premiums lower than market rates would otherwise allow, NPR reported.The 2027 national average monthly bid amount will rise to $296.05, a 24% increase that reflects both drug cost growth and the subsidy removal. More Medicare/Medicaid:Medicaid’s 5-year rule catches families off guardMedicare goes after hospital markup you’ve paid for yearsMedicare’s new $50 GLP-1 deal has a catch most overlookStandalone drug plan enrollees currently pay about $36 per month on average and could lose roughly $16 in monthly subsidies, a KFF analysis found.Vice President and Director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF Juliette Cubanski noted that losing $16 on a $36 premium represents “a large proportional change” for affected beneficiaries. CMS administrator Mehmet Oz said premiums “will go up by less than $10 for most Medicare recipients,” framing the increase as manageable for the majority.Medicare Advantage plans with built-in drug coverage charge roughly $8 per month on average, making the gap between plan types more visible after the subsidy ends, Forbes contributor Jesse Pines reported.

Medicare Part D premiums could rise in 2027 as a $9.8 billion subsidy expires, increasing costs for millions of prescription drug plan enrollees.Mirjana Pusicic / Getty Images

Negotiated prices and new protections offer partial reliefMedicare began paying negotiated prices on ten high-cost drugs in January 2026, including Eliquis, Jardiance, and Entresto, the Medicare Rights Center confirmed.Another 15 medications are set to receive negotiated rates starting in 2027, expanding the program’s reach across additional therapeutic categories, eMedicare’s tracking list showed.The Trump administration separately announced most-favored-nation agreements with 17 drugmakers, projecting $529 billion in savings over a decade.Seniors with standalone Part D plans should use the October 15 through December 7 open enrollment period to weigh their existing coverage against Medicare Advantage options that bundle drug benefits at lower average premiums, according to AARP.Whether those agreements and the expanding negotiation program can offset the premium increases from the subsidy expiration remains an open question heading into 2027.How the 2027 premium changes will land for beneficiariesCMS will publish final plan-specific premiums in mid-to-late September, giving enrollees roughly two months before open enrollment closes on December 7.Standalone Part D holders paying $36 today could see that figure jump by $16 or more once the subsidy disappears, while Medicare Advantage drug coverage averages $8.AARP has told beneficiaries to compare standalone plans against Medicare Advantage alternatives during open enrollment, noting that coverage networks, provider access, and formulary differences carry as much weight as the premium number in the final calculation.The negotiated prices rolling out in 2027 will lower costs on 15 additional drugs, though which savings reach specific prescriptions depends on plan-level decisions beneficiaries make during open enrollment.Related: A Medicare surcharge that could quietly cost retirees thousands

Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, often makes moves in some of her favorite tech stocks around earnings season.That’s exactly what she’s doing with Broadcom (AVGO), adding shares of the chipmaker ahead of its upcoming earnings report.Last year, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. But so far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 4.28% as of Aug. 12’s writing, while the S&P 500 surged 13.23%, Yahoo Finance data show.Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%.Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of Aug. 11, her Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -7.70%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 11.68% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.Cathie Wood says AI could help sustain high corporate profitsWood usually focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have strong growth potential, though their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.Over the decade ended 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out nearly $5 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the fourth-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in the ranking. Wood remains optimistic about AI, which she sees as a major driver of productivity, economic growth, and corporate profits in the years ahead.Related: Cathie Wood sells $5.5 million of surging tech stockIn a recent post on X (the former Twitter), Wood said U.S. corporate profits remain unusually strong, with domestic profits before tax at 13.2% of GDP, a level she said is near multi-decade highs. Some of that strength came from the massive monetary and fiscal stimulus during the pandemic, but Wood believes another factor is helping sustain margins today: Companies are leaning into AI and productivity gains to protect them.“I think we’re still early in seeing how far that can go,” she said, adding that companies that use AI effectively will “separate themselves from the ones that don’t.”Wood also found reasons for optimism in the latest U.S. jobs report, despite nonfarm payrolls falling by 23,000. “It’s not as scary as it looks,” she said, pointing to higher prime-age labor force participation, cooling wages, and productivity growth approaching 3%. She also suggested AI may be helping accelerate baby boomer retirements.Not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. Over the past 12 months through Aug. 10, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.48 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi. 

Over the past 12 months through Aug. 10, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.48 billion in net outflows.Getty Images

Cathie Wood buys $16.2 million of Broadcom stockOn Aug. 10, Wood’s Ark funds bought a total of 39,020 shares of Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), according to Ark’s daily trading information. Based on the latest closing price of $416.08, these stocks were worth about $16.2 million. Shares of Broadcom are up 21% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 but lagging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)’s gain of 73.8%.Much of that underperformance followed a sharp post-earnings sell-off. Broadcom shares tumbled 12.59% on June 4 after the company delivered disappointing quarterly results, then fell another 7.92% on June 5 amid a broader market sell-off.Related: Veteran analyst rethinks Palantir stock after earningsOn June 3, Broadcom reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.44 a share, topping analysts’ expectations of $2.40. Revenue came in at $22.19 billion, below the $22.27 billion analysts had expected, CNBC reported.For the fiscal third quarter, which Broadcom is set to report on Sept. 2, the company forecast revenue of about $29.4 billion, ahead of Wall Street estimates of $28.53 billion. But investors were disappointed that Broadcom did not raise its forecast for more than $100 billion in AI semiconductor revenue by fiscal 2027.Broadcom remained optimistic about its longer-term AI growth prospects. “We expect this momentum to continue into fiscal year 2027 and reiterate our AI semiconductor revenue guidance to be in excess of $100 billion,” Broadcom’s CEO Hock Tan said during an earnings call.Semiconductor stocks have pulled back in recent weeks, giving back some of their gains after a strong rally earlier this year.The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has lost roughly 4% over the past month and is now about 15% below its June high. Bank of America attributed the recent weakness partly to concerns about rising semiconductor costs, particularly memory chips, as well as seasonal volatility following the SOX’s more than 80% rally in the second quarter. “We see correction as a summer reset, not a fundamental reversal,” the analysts said in a July research note. They noted that semiconductors have experienced nine corrections of more than 10% since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, with declines averaging about 14% over 31 days. Bank of America remains bullish on leading chip stocks, including Broadcom, Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and Micron (MU), and expects global AI spending to more than double to about $1.7 trillion by 2030.Broadcom is currently not among the Ark Innovation ETF’s top 10 holdings. Top 10 holdings in the Ark Innovation ETF by portfolio weight as of Aug. 11, 2026:Tesla (TSLA): 9.15%SpaceX (SPCX): 6.02%Tempus AI (TEM): 5.42%Shopify (SHOP): 4.74%CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP): 4.66%Circle Internet Group (CRCL): 4.25%Twist Bioscience (TWST): 4.03%Coinbase Global (COIN): 3.98%Palantir Technologies (PLTR): 3.72%Robinhood Markets (HOOD): 3.51%Other than buying Broadcom shares, Wood’s latest trades included buying Cloudflare (NET), Nvidia (NVDA), Teradyne (TER), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Cerus (CERS), and Schrodinger (SDGR).She also trimmed positions in Deere (DE), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Shopify (SHOP), Snowflake (SNOW), 10x Genomics (TXG), Twist Bioscience (TWST), Elbit Systems (ESLT), Iridium Communications (IRDM), and Brera Holdings (SLMT).Related: Longtime grocery chain exits entire market after 49 years

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was hospitalized late Tuesday after fans called the police during a disturbing TikTok livestream.