The company, facing limited options ahead of a more than $100 million debt payment due at the end of this month, is exploring ways to boost cash, including raising emergency funds or selling assets, the report said.

“We are exploring all potential paths to secure a strong and stable future for Saks Global,” a Saks Global spokesperson said, following the report.

Saks Global, facing limited options ahead of a more than $100 million debt payment due at the end of this month, is exploring ways to boost cash, including raising emergency funds or selling assets, the report said. AFP via Getty Images

Some Saks lenders have recently held confidential talks to assess the company’s cash needs, focusing on a potential debtor-in-possession loan, a form of bankruptcy funding, Bloomberg said.

In September, a Saks Global spokesperson told Reuters that the company was looking to sell a minority stake in luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman to help reduce debt.

Saks Global has also been facing challenges in lifting demand in the US at a time when rising inflationary pressures and a soft labor market have pressured spending on non-essentials including luxury items in the US

The company was created in July last year by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) after its $2.65 billion acquisition of department store chain Neiman Marcus. It combined Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and other luxury retail and real estate assets, in a move to compete with department store operators such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.

Saks Global was created in July last year by Hudson’s Bay Company after its $2.65 billion acquisition of department store chain Neiman Marcus. AP

During Neiman Marcus’ buyout, HBC financed the deal with funds from shareholders and debt, including $1.15 billion from Apollo Global Management. It also secured $2 billion in debt financing from a syndicate of Wall Street banks.

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The iPhone maker has had discussions with both companies about using their large language models for Siri, asking them to train versions of their LLMs that could run on Apple’s cloud infrastructure for testing, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Apple in March said AI improvements to its voice assistant Siri will be delayed until 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com

Apple’s investigation into third-party models is at an early stage and the company has not made a final decision on using them, the report said.

Amazon-backed Anthropic declined to comment, while Apple and OpenAI did not respond to Reuters requests.

The company had in March said AI improvements to its voice assistant Siri will be delayed until 2026, without giving a reason for the setback.

Apple shook up its executive ranks to get its AI efforts back on track after months of delays, resulting in Mike Rockwell taking charge of Siri, as CEO Tim Cook lost confidence in AI head John Giannandrea’s ability to execute on product development, Bloomberg had reported in March.

Apple has had discussions with ChatGPT owner OpenAI and Anthropic about using their large language models for Siri. AP

Amid intense competition among major tech firms to dominate the burgeoning generative AI sector, Apple has been partnering with established AI companies and integrating a host of on-device AI features to enhance its offerings.

In May, Bloomberg reported that Apple was teaming up with Anthropic on a new “vibe-coding” software platform that will use AI to write, edit and test code on behalf of programmers.

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Chinese officials are mulling a potential option that involves the sale of TikTok’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk. Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chinese officials prefer that TikTok remain under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, adding that the company is contesting the ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Under one scenario, Musk’s social media platform X would take control of TikTok US and run the business together, the report said, adding that the Chinese officials have yet to reach any firm consensus about how to proceed and their deliberations are still preliminary.

A person holds a placard on the day justices hear oral arguments in a bid by TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by Jan. 19. REUTERS

TikTok declined to comment, while Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. X could not immediately be reached for a comment.

The Cyberspace Administration of China and China’s Ministry of Commerce, government agencies that could be involved in decisions about TikTok’s future, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Last week, the Supreme Court seemed inclined to uphold a law that would force a sale or ban of the popular short-video app TikTok in the United States by Jan. 19, with the justices focusing on the national security concerns about China that prompted the crackdown.

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