Connect with us

Published

on

The proliferation of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic is having an unintended side-effect on snack makers — a reduction in sales, according to a report.

Walmart said customers who have been taking the popular meds to slim down are cutting back on high-fat and salty treats because the weight-loss drugs help to suppress appetites.

“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” John Furner, the CEO of Walmarts US operation, told Bloomberg.

Walmart, which sells weight-loss drugs at its pharmacies, is able to study changes in sales patterns using anonymized data on shopper populations, according to the outlet.

With those data sets, the Bentonville, Ark.-based can see how many customers are on diabetes-turned-weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro and compare their shopping habits to those not taking the medications.

Furner said people on weight-loss drugs are purchasing “less units, slightly less calories,” but said that it’s too soon to conclude what effect the meds are having on Walmart’s overall sales.

Representatives for Walmart did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

One woman who takes Mounjaro said the reduction in appetite has cut her grocery bill by as much as 20%.

I still have a fully stocked kitchen, theres chips and pretzels in there. I dont find it tempting, Carolyn MacBain-Waldo told the Wall Street Journal.

Another Mounjaro user said she doesnt think about food all the time anymore and eats far fewer snacks.

The other day I had a single jelly bean, which is unheard of for me, Karyn Carlton, 47, told The Journal, adding that she also recently ordered a kids meal from a fast-food restaurant and felt satiated.

The drug, which stimulates the body to produce insulin and lowers blood sugar, has historically been used to treat Type 2 diabetes but was popularized after patients discovered their slimming effects, and particularly exploded when it was revealed celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Chelsea Handler admitted to using it.

Their use has filtered to middle America and is only expected to grow, despite disturbing case studies where the medications paralyzed some users’ stomachs and even burned off one woman’s genitals.

Morgan Stanley estimated that 7% of the US population, or 24 million people, will be taking hunger-suppressing weight-loss drugs by 2035 — cutting their daily calorie consumption by as much as 30%, according to the firm, which surveyed over 300 patients.

For a person on an FDA-recommended 2,000-calorie daily diet, that could mean eliminating a one-ounce bag of salted potato chips, a bottle of soda, and more each day.

“The food, beverage, and restaurant industries could see softer demand, particularly for unhealthier foods and high-fat, sweet, and salty options, said Morgan Stanleys tobacco and packaged food analyst Pamela Kaufman.

Kaufman said major food companies like Conagra Brands, Mondelez, and Campbell Soup could see a 3% hit to their bottom lines by 2035.

Kellogg’s Brands, which is behind popular snack foods like Cheez-Its and Pringles, has reportedly been studying the potential impact popular weight-loss drugs could have on consumer behaviors.

“Like everything that potentially impacts our business, well look at it, study it and, if necessary, mitigate,” Kellogg’s chief Steve Cahillane told Bloomberg.

Cahillane called it “very, very early days” for the drugs, but said the company, which also makes Rice Krispie Treats, was “by no means complacent,” suggesting Kellogg’s would make changes to its products if overweight Americans on weight-loss medications continued limiting their calorie intake.

The Post has sought comment from Kellogg’s.

Despite being “early days,” US sales for GLP-1-containing drugs have experienced a whopping 300% increase in prescription volume from 2020 to 2022, according to Trilliant Health.

Of those prescriptions, Ozempic was the most-prescribed GLP-1, and national spending on semaglutide — the peptide name for Ozempic and Wegovy — now exceeds $10 billion, Trilliant Health said.

Continue Reading

US

Venezuela’s president pleads for peace after Trump sends in CIA

Published

on

By

Trump refuses to say if CIA has authority to assassinate Venezuela's president

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of a coup attempt after Donald Trump approved CIA operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.

Mr Trump confirmed his decision, first revealed by The New York Times, as he said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela – much of it trafficked by sea.

“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.

When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.

“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.

Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters

Maduro hits back

He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro, who denies accusations from Washington that he has connections to drug trafficking and organised crime.

The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest.

“How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups?” he asked after Mr Trump’s comments on Wednesday evening, saying calls for regime change harkened back to “failed eternal wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a message to the American people, he said in English: “Not war, yes peace. The people of the US, please.”

President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
Image:
President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters

US targets ‘drug boats’

Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.

On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.

According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.

Read more from Sky News:
Pakistan agrees to ceasefire with Afghanistan after
Venezuela opposition leader wins Nobel Peace Prize

Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
Image:
Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social

The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.

War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.

The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.

Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.

There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.

‘Bomb the boats’: Bold move or dangerous overreach?

It’s a dramatic – and risky – escalation of US strategy for countering narcotics.

Having carried out strikes on Venezuelan “drug boats” at sea, Trump says he’s “looking a” targeting cartels on land.

He claims the attacks, which have claimed 27 lives, have saved up to 50,000 Americans.

By framing bombings as a blow against “narcoterrorists”, he’s attempting to justify them as self-defence – but the administration has veered into murky territory.

Under international law, such strikes require proof of imminent threat – something the White House has yet to substantiate.

Strategically, Trump’ss militarised approach could backfire, forcing traffickers to adapt, and inflaming tensions with Venezuela and allies wary of US intervention.

Without transparent evidence or congressional oversight, some will view the move less like counterterrorism and more like vigilantism on the seas.

The president’s “bomb the boats” rhetoric signals a shift back to shock and awe tactics in foreign policy, under the banner of fighting drugs.

Supporters will hail it as a bold, decisive move, but to critics it’s reckless posturing that undermines international law.

The strikes send a message of strength, but the legal, moral and geopolitical costs are still being calculated.

Continue Reading

Environment

Trump says Modi assured him India will stop Russian oil purchases, but timeline unclear

Published

on

By

Trump says Modi assured him India will stop Russian oil purchases, but timeline unclear

The India-flagged oil tanker Desh Ujaala is pictured in the Gulf waters near Al-Basrah Oil Terminal (ABOT), about 50 kilometres offshore of Iraq’s southern Faw peninsula, on August 5, 2025.

Hussein Faleh | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him New Delhi will stop buying oil from Russia, though the move will take time.

“[Modi] assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big stop.” Trump said at the press briefing in the Oval Office. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing.”

He added that Washington was unhappy with New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude because it allowed Moscow to continue waging its “ridiculous war” in Ukraine.

However, the U.S. president also said that the halt will not be immediate, and there will be “a little bit of a process,” without giving a clear timeline.

India’s external affairs ministry said Friday that the country’s oil import decisions are driven by efforts to protect consumers by ensuring stable energy prices and securing supplies.

The ministry’s priority was to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

He added that India’s import policies are guided “entirely” by that goal.

Jaiswal said that India has sought for years to expand energy trade with the U.S. “This has steadily progressed in the last decade,” he said, adding that “the current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing.”

India and Russian crude

India’s imports of Russian oil have been a sticking point in the relationship between Washington and New Delhi. Trump slapped additional tariffs of 25% on India back in August, raising the total levy to 50%, while India has called out the U.S. for its trade with Russia.

“If India doesn’t buy [Russian] oil, it makes [ending the war] much easier,” Trump said. “They assured me within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia, and they will go back to Russia after the war is over.”

On Thursday, Brent crude futures climbed 0.82% to $62.43 a barrel by 10:31 p.m. ET, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 0.89% to $58.79.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

hide content

India is one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil. Data from research firm Kpler shows Russia exports about 3.35 million barrels of crude per day, with India taking about 1.7 million and China 1.1 million.

New Delhi has defended those purchases, with Energy Minister Hardeep Singh Puri telling CNBC in July that New Delhi helped stabilize global energy prices and was encouraged by the U.S. to do so.

“If people or countries had stopped buying at that stage, the price of oil would have gone up to 130 dollars a barrel. That was a situation in which we were advised, including by our friends in the United States, to please buy Russian oil, but within the price cap,” Puri said.

Russian sales of crude oil have been placed under a price cap by the G7 nations and the European Union since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

That price cap, set at $47.6 per barrel, aims to limit Moscow’s revenue from oil exports, constricting the country’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

hide content

Continue Reading

Technology

TSMC hits yet another record as profit surges 39%, beating estimates on AI chip demand surge

Published

on

By

TSMC hits yet another record as profit surges 39%, beating estimates on AI chip demand surge

The TSMC logo is displayed on a building in Hsinchu, Taiwan April 15, 2025.

Ann Wang | Reuters

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on Thursday reported a 39.1% increase in third-quarter profit from last year, hitting a fresh record as demand for artificial intelligence chips stayed strong.

Here are the company’s results versus LSEG SmartEstimates:

  • Revenue: NT$989.92 billion new Taiwan dollars, vs. NT$977.46 billion expected
  • Net income: NT$452.3 billion, vs. NT$417.69 billion 

TSMC’s revenue in the September quarter rose 30.3% from a year ago to NT$989.92 billion, beating estimates.

TSMC’s high-performance computing division, which encompasses artificial intelligence and 5G applications, drove third-quarter sales.

As Asia’s largest technology company by market capitalization, TSMC has benefited from the artificial-intelligence megatrend as it manufactures advanced AI processors for clients, including Nvidia and Apple.

TSMC said advanced chips, with sizes 7-nanometer or smaller, accounted for 74% of TSMC’s total wafer revenue in the quarter. 

In semiconductor technology, smaller nanometer sizes signify more compact transistor designs, which lead to greater processing power and efficiency. 

Continue Reading

Trending