Connect with us

Business

Gwyneth Paltrow is ready to take 17-year-old Goop into its next era

Published

on


Good morning! Poppi could get acquired, surveillance tech monitors women in Iran, and Gwyneth Paltrow takes Goop into its next era. Have a mindful Monday.

– Next chapter. Gwyneth Paltrow founded Goop nearly 20 years ago—which means Goop is almost a “heritage brand” in an increasingly crowded marketplace of lifestyle competitors, Paltrow tells me in a new interview.

The actor-turned-founder called me last week for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of Goop, leading through layoffs, and how she’s grown as a founder over the past decade-plus. Talking to Paltrow, it’s immediately clear that she’s a real-deal founder. She speaks the language fluently, from how she decided which categories to exit and which to focus on (some Goop had experimented with, like sexual wellness, saw low lifetime value); to deciding to do layoffs (a “difficult” but “necessary” choice to put payroll costs back into growth); to her advice to new founders (it’s about ESPs and QuickBooks).

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11: Gwyneth Paltrow speaks at Forbes Power Women’s Summit 2024 on September 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

Paltrow credits a close-knit group chat of female founders and CEOs with helping her grow as a leader. “It’s sort of like Fight Club,” she jokes. “We’re not really supposed to talk about it.”

And Goop is also growing. Despite the headlines around its 2024 restructuring, I report that revenue grew 10% between 2023 and 2024, with growth across the three categories Goop is now focused on: beauty, its G. Label fashion line, and its Los Angeles-based takeout chain Goop Kitchen.

As Goop enters this next chapter, Paltrow says profitability is coming and that she’s not interested in selling for at least three more years.

“It’s amazing to me we’ve been around this long,” she says. “We want to energetically own who we are and what we’ve accomplished—continue to innovate and accept our place in the landscape and lean into it.”

Read the full interview here.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Warren Buffett is investing more money in Japan amid the recent selloff in the U.S. stock market

Published

on



  • Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in Japan’s five biggest trading houses, according to a regulatory disclosure published on Monday. The investment comes as the U.S. stock market has endured a major selloff, though analysts doubt asset prices are low enough for Warren Buffett to start deploying his immense cash pile for a big purchase.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is investing more money in Japan amid the recent selloff in the U.S. stock market.

The conglomerate increased its holdings in Japan’s five biggest trading houses, according to Japanese regulatory filings published on Monday.

Berkshire grew its stake in Mitsui to 9.82% from 8.09%, in Mitsubishi to 9.67% from 8.31%, in Marubeni to 9.3% from 8.3%, in Sumitomu to 9.29% from 8.23%, and in Itochu to 8.53% from 7.47%.

Buffett has likened them to them to Berkshire itself, noting they have a diverse array of investments at home and abroad.

Berkshire began building positions in the sogo shosha in 2019 and recently reached an agreement with them to gradually go beyond an earlier 10% cap on its stakes. At the end of 2024, the market value of Berkshire’s holdings in the firms totaled $23.5 billion.

In his annual letter to shareholders last month, Buffett said that “our admiration for these companies has consistently grown,” citing appropriate dividend hikes, sensible share buybacks, and compensation for top managers that’s “far less aggressive” compared to the US.

“I expect that Greg [Abel] and his eventual successors will be holding this Japanese position for many decades and that Berkshire will find other ways to work productively with the five companies in the future,” Buffett added, referring to his designated replacement as CEO.

While the additional Japanese investments were disclosed on Monday, the exact timing of the transactions is unclear, though the annual letter in late February telegraphed what was coming.

The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In contrast, Berkshire sold a net $134 billion in equities in 2024, ending the year with a cash pile of $334.2 billion—nearly double from a year ago and more than its shrinking stock portfolio of $272 billion. 

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks began nose-diving in mid-February after President Donald Trump began imposing tariffs; he has since continued rolling out more. So far, he has hit China, Canada, Mexico, steel, and aluminum with higher duties, and reciprocal tariffs are due April 2.

The Nasdaq has tumbled into correction territory, and the S&P 500 also passed the correction threshold last week but soon pared its decline to less than 10% from its peak.

That’s left investors wondering if Buffett will finally make a major purchase of stock or clinch a mega-deal for a company after complaining for years that valuations have been too high.

But analysts told Fortune earlier that a big splash is still unlikely as valuations haven’t gone down far enough, noting that Buffett usually prefers to be patient.

“He has no interest in timing the market’s bottom, nor does he chase short-term rebounds,” Armando Gonzalez, founder of AI-powered research platform Bigdata.com, said. “Instead, he waits for moments when fear drives prices to levels where the risk-reward equation tilts decisively in his favor.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

The dangerous side of popular sleep and anxiety drugs like Xanax and Lorazepam

Published

on



If you’ve been HBO’s new season of White Lotus, then you’ve seen Parker Posey’s character Victoria Ratliff popping a steady stream of Lorazepam while on a family vacation at a Thailand wellness resort, at one point comically declaring, “Someone stole my Lorazepam. I’m going to have to drink myself to sleep.” 

The drug, also known under the brand name Ativan, is part of a class called benzodiazepines, which also includes Xanax and Klonopin. Only available through prescription, they are used to help relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, and reduce seizures, according to the DEA. However, as seen in the show, they can lead to dependence and overuse. 

“We definitely see that a lot in real life as well,” Dr. Ian Neel, a geriatrician at UC San Diego Health, tells the New York Times about the class of drugs.

Of the over 30 million adults who reported using benzodiazepines in the last year, over 5 million misused them (described as “any way a doctor did not direct”), per 2019 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

While some people may have taken a one-time Xanax to calm flight anxiety, for example, long-term use is what poses the most danger as it can lead to dependence. People can become dependent even when taking the prescribed amount, Dr. Ludmila De Faria, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s council on women’s mental health, told the New York Times. 

Particularly important is the appeal of “benzos” to older adults: Those ages 50 to 64 are the biggest consumers of this class of drugs, according to the 2019 study, and need to use extra caution due to the drugs’ potential effects on slowing cognition.

The class of drugs slows down the nervous system and often takes an immediate effect. And while they are generally safe when taken as prescribed for a limited time, side effects include drowsiness, memory problems, and slurred speech. Overuse can cause worsened effects, including dependence, cognitive impairment, coma, and potential death, although rare. 

Neel cautioned that older adults may metabolize drugs differently, and should be aware of the potential for negative interactions with other medications and drugs they might be taking. Combining benzodiazepines with other depressants like alcohol, for example, can exacerbate feelings of sedation, as seen on White Lotus, as Posey’s character usually pops Lorazepam with a glass of wine. 

When regular users of benzodiazepines—often called benzos—try to wean off the drugs, it’s common to experience withdrawal symptoms, like sweating, headaches, and heart palpitations according to the American Addiction Centers

“Each benzodiazepine medication has a specific half-life that influences the length of time it takes for the drug to leave the bloodstream,” according to the Center. “If an individual is dependent on a benzo, once the drug is purged from the body, withdrawal may begin.” 

It’s important to talk to a medical doctor and a mental health professional if you think you’re experiencing any withdrawal symptoms or negative side effects from benzodiazepines because there are other ways to treat anxiety and sleep orders. “The first-line treatment [for anxiety] is typically antidepressants like SSRIs [antidepressants], plus psychotherapy,” Dr. David Merrill, a geriatric psychiatrist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. told Healthline.

For more on sleep, mental health, and more:

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Computer-programming employment in U.S. falls to lowest since 1980

Published

on

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Miami Select.