• Russian shoppers are slamming the brakes, a warning sign for the wartime economy.
• The central bank reports fading demand, slowing wage growth, and increasingly nervous households.
• With oil and gas revenues sliding and the labor market cooling, Russia's economic engine is sputtering.

After years of wartime splurging, Russian shoppers are tightening their grip on their wallets — a shift that hints at growing stress in the country's economy.

Growth in consumer spending has weakened across most regions, the Central Bank of Russia said in a report published Wednesday.

In October and November, demand softened even as unemployment remained near historic lows and inflation expectations ticked higher.

"According to retailers across the country, an increasing share of products are being purchased during promotions, sales, and discounts. Household behavior has become more frugal," according to the central bank report.

Retailers in many regions report weakening demand for big-ticket and nonessential goods, marking a clear cooling after the post-2022 consumer boom.

"More subdued consumption may indicate a gradual reduction in labor market overheating and more moderate expectations for future income dynamics," wrote Russia's central bank.

Russia's wartime boom is losing momentum

It's a notable shift for an economy that witnessed a boom in consumer spending after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, even amid sweeping sanctions against Moscow.

That boom was fueled by surging defense spending and intense competition for scarce workers. Wages jumped, and many households went on spending sprees.

Now, that momentum appears to be fading.

Wage growth has slowed, and firms across multiple regions report reduced manpower demand and less urgency to hire, reflecting a cooling labor market, according to the central bank report.

Many firms told the central bank they expect even more modest wage increases in 2026, suggesting that households may be bracing for leaner times.

The central bank's latest report arrives as Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine approaches its fifth year, and the limits of wartime economic stimulus become more apparent.

Oil and gas revenues — the backbone of Russia's budget — dropped 34% year-over-year in November.

Even before this, analysts had warned that Russia's economy was being sustained largely by defense spending, subsidies, and emergency policy interventions.

Top officials had sounded alarms. In December 2023, Elvira Nabiullina, Russia's central bank governor, warned that the economy was at risk of overheating.

Last June, the head of Russia's largest bank said the economy was "definitely and strongly overheated."

Meanwhile, a deepening demographic crisis and ongoing competition for labor between the military and industry continue to weigh on Russia's growth prospects, both now and in the years ahead.

• OpenAI announced Thursday it had struck a deal to license Disney's characters and other IP.
• It's a major shift for Disney, which has historically been deeply protective of its IP.
• One media expert said that Disney was solving two big problems with this partnership.

It's likely just a matter of time before we see the wisened duo of Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket weilding lightsabers on the icy plains of Arendelle.

That's courtesy of artificial intelligence, of course, and a new deal between Disney and OpenAI.

OpenAI said Thursday it had struck a licensing agreement to use Disney's characters and other intellectual property. Disney will also invest $1 billion in OpenAI and will purchase ChatGPT Enterprise for its employees.

It's a major shift for Disney, which has historically been deeply protective of its intellectual property. And it's a big win for OpenAI, which is on a quest for more content to feed its AI models.

For users, the deal will enable them to recreate Disney characters on Sora, OpenAI's short-form video generation app, and to create images of Disney characters using ChatGPT.

Beyond the limitless possibilities for creative content, the deal reveals a lot about Disney's strategy in the AI age and the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of entertainment.

Here's what some smart people in media, tech, and business are saying about the deal.

Nick Cicero, entrepreneur and digital strategist

For Nick Cicero, the founder of Delmondo, a social media video analytics company that was acquired by Conviva in 2018, Disney's deal with OpenAI is less about AI and more about revenue.

Cicero argued in an X post on Thursday that Disney was aiming to solve two "existential" problems: creators using unauthorized Disney content and kids watching YouTube instead of Disney+.

"Sora gives Disney its first scalable way to pull creator-made content into its own premium ecosystem — brand-safe, trackable, legal, and ready for CTV monetization," he said, referring to the practice of delivering targeted advertising to internet-connected televisions.

"This move isn't about tech," he added. "It's about revenue physics."

Peter Csathy, media consultant

Chatbots like ChatGPT rely on data to power their outputs, and when it comes to collecting that data, AI companies are insatiable.

The drive to collect data often pits AI companies against content creators. Numerous media companies have sued OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, and other leading AI outfits for using their copyrighted content without permission. Other media companies, like Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, have struck deals with AI companies to license their content.

Peter Csathy, a longtime media consultant and analyst, said Disney's deal with OpenAI is a "watershed" moment for AI and media licensing.

"Now THIS is a generative AI use that makes sense to me and I support," Csathy wrote on LinkedIn. "Fully licensed characters, thereby respecting copyright and embracing partnership with the creative community (rather than theft of IP). New revenue streams for IP rights-holders. And overall delight by fans of those beloved characters."

Caroline Giegerich, AI and marketing strategist

There are just so many cease-and-desist letters a media lawyer can send.

Carline Giegerich, a vice president at the Interactive Advertising Bureau who once led emerging tech at HBO, says Disney's deal with OpenAI feels like a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" moment.

"When I was at HBO from '05 – '09, I marveled at the sheer volume of cease and desists from the legal team when mobile video was up and coming," she wrote on LinkedIn. "I thought it seemed difficult to fight against the entire internet, and it turns out it was. And AI presents a similar challenge."

She also said the deal presents a valuable marketing opportunity for Disney.

"Important to note that a selection of these fan-created videos will be available to stream on Disney+. What that means to me is that Disney sees this also as a marketing and content opportunity, which it is," she said.

James Miller, head of business development at Amazon

Disney's pivot from aggressively defending its IP at every turn to giving it over to the world's leading AI startup might be strategic for another reason.

James Miller, the head of business development at Amazon for media, entertainment, and Amazon Creators, said he suspects it's a matter of "controlling the inevitable."

Any IP eventually enters the public domain. In 2024, the copyright for Mickey Mouse himself — at least the sans white gloves version of the 1930s — expired, allowing anyone to use his likeness. Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Cinderella, and a handful of other Disney characters also entered the public domain at the same time.

"By officially licensing these characters now, Disney does three things," Miller wrote on LinkedIn. "1. Monetizes the AI trend rather than just fighting it in court. 2. Sets the quality standard for how their characters appear in AI video (likely drowning out lower-quality unauthorized versions). 3. Captures data on how fans want to use their IP before they lose exclusive rights."

Karl Haller, partner and Consumer Center of Competency leader at IBM

One consumer expert said that Disney might have gotten the short end of the stick in this partnership.

"Looks like OpenAI used the #jedimindwarp on The Walt Disney Company, not the other way around," Karl Haller, an IBM partner and the leader of the firm's Consumer Center of Competency, said in a post on LinkedIn.

He said he was "more than a bit surprised" to see that Disney is letting OpenAI license its IP for Sora and other AI tools, with some of the videos being made available to stream on Disney+.

"And what does Disney receive for this? Negative $1 billion," he wrote. "Rather than receiving a heftly license fee, Disney is instead investing $1B in OpenAI and receiving warrants to buy more in the future."

Simon Pullman, entertainment co-chair at Pryor Cashman

One entertainment lawyer pointed out that the deal comes with a lot of unanswered questions.

"This is a fairly stunning story all round with many questions," Simon Pullman, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman, wrote on LinkedIn on Thursday.

"Will audiences want/accept 'AI UGC' on Disney Plus," he wrote, referring to user-generated content. "Will it be possible for Disney to unring the bell after three years and not extend the license? How will they protect against misuse and brand damage?"

Mike Walsh, technological change consultant and author

Disney's $1 billion bet on AI is the right move for the media giant, according to Mike Walsh, the CEO of consulting firm Tomorrow.

"By partnering with OpenAI while suing Midjourney and warning Google, Disney is drawing a clear line," Walsh wrote on LinkedIn on Thursday. "Remix culture isn't going away, but it will be licensed, governed, and designed on its terms."

He added that Disney has always survived new media eras with this strategy.

"The future of entertainment belongs to companies that shape participation instead of fighting it," he wrote.

• Uber CEO says one market will lead the robotaxi boom.
• Dara Khosrowshahi said robotaxis are a "trillion-dollar-plus" industry and Asia has major potential.
• The ride-hailing giant has been leaning hard into autonomous driving.

Uber is preparing for a robotaxi surge, and its CEO says one market will drive it.

Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Bloomberg Television published Friday that robotaxis are a "trillion-dollar-plus" opportunity and Asia is a huge growth market for the ride-hailing giant.

"I expect to be in 10-plus markets by next year. And we want those markets to be in the Asia-Pacific region as well," Khosrowshahi said. Uber has self-driving vehicles in the US and the Middle East.

Analysts have long touted autonomous mobility as one of the biggest bets in the transportation industry. In 2023, McKinsey estimated that if robotaxis and roboshuttles scale, the shared-mobility market could reach $1 trillion by 2030.

Khosrowshahi said Japan has "great potential" for its robotaxi push, despite being behind in regulation.

"With an aging population, there's a real need for transportation, not just in the large cities but in the rural areas," he added. He also pointed to Hong Kong and Australia as potential key markets for its robotaxi services.

Khosrowshahi said Uber now works with more than 20 autonomous-vehicle partners — including China's Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai, as well as Waymo in the US.

"We will have access to autonomous technologies in the large cities and markets that really count," he added.

With a market that large, Khosrowshahi said autonomous driving is unlikely to be a "winner-take-all" industry.

"It's an exciting technology, but there are many players getting to the finish line," he said.

"We just have to make sure that the players that we work with are safe and that again, we're working with the regulators in a constructive manner," he added.

The hype around robotaxis

Uber has been leaning hard into autonomous driving. During its third-quarter earnings call in November, Khosrowshahi said the company is already seeing signs that robotaxis can boost demand.

"The biggest scale operations that we've got are with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta," Khosrowshahi said. "And what we are seeing is that those markets are growing faster than other US markets," he added.

Other industry leaders have also been hyping the sector.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly said that robotaxis will power the company's growth. In May, Musk said in an interview with CNBC that Tesla would hit one million self-driving cars by the end of next year, a claim he also made in 2019 that did not materialize.

The path to profitability remains murky. HSBC analysts warned in July that the robotaxi market has been "widely overestimated," and said it could be years before fleets make real money.

Even the most advanced players are burning cash. Alphabet's "Other Bets" division — which includes Waymo, as well as other subsidiaries — lost $1.42 billion in the third quarter.

The cost of an autonomous driving vehicle is steep. Analysts estimate that each Waymo vehicle costs about $150,000 to produce. The high costs have squeezed some companies out of the robotaxi market, including Ford and General Motors.

• Most Canadian provinces pulled US booze off their shelves in March to protest Trump's tariffs.
• Now, some are selling their stockpiles to raise money for food banks and charities ahead of the holidays.
• Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland are four such provinces.

Canada is coming up with ways to put its stockpiled American liquor to good use.

Several provinces in the country halted imports of US booze and removed it from store shelves in March in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Now, at least four provinces are planning to sell the remaining inventory and donate proceeds to food banks.

Canada's far eastern province, Prince Edward Island, told Business Insider that its government will put its stock of American booze, which it had pulled off the shelves, back in stores starting on December 11.

A representative for the province's finance department said the government anticipates profits of $600,000 Canadian dollars, or about $434,000, from the sale. The proceeds will be distributed to food banks across the island. The province says it does not intend to place any further orders for American alcohol.

The finance office of Newfoundland and Labrador told Business Insider it had made an upfront payment of $500,000 on Tuesday to 60 provincial food banks before the sales of any liquors, a move that will help more than 15,400 people. After the liquor is sold, more donations will go to the food banks for a total sum of up to $1 million.

Manitoba and Nova Scotia have similar plans.

Manitoba said it will sell its inventory through private retailers and restaurants, with the estimated $500,000 in net revenue going to food banks, holiday charities, children's organizations, and an advocacy group for First Nations.

As for Nova Scotia, the province is making a $4 million upfront payment to groups that provide food access, and the money will be recouped when the $14 million worth of liquor is eventually sold.

"We will not be ordering any more from the United States once this inventory is gone," the province's premier, Tim Houston, said in a statement. "But Nova Scotians have already paid for this product."

He added, "We don't want it to go to waste. That's why we're selling it and using the proceeds to help those in need."

In Canada, the sale of alcohol is mainly controlled by provincial governments, each of which establishes a board to oversee the matter. Only Alberta has a completely privatized alcohol retail system, while Saskatchewan has a partially privatized system.

Canada mainly imports whiskey and bourbon, alongside beer and other spirits, from the US.

Other provinces have different plans

The provinces are not taking a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with their stockpiles of American booze. Some are still undecided about what to do, while others have already sold off their inventory earlier in the year after ceasing imports.

A spokesperson for Ontario's finance ministry told Business Insider that the province had no plans to put the booze on store shelves soon.

"US alcohol will remain off shelves and is being held in storage until further notice," said the spokesperson. "We are currently exploring options for the products."

Ontario did not disclose how much inventory it still has, but the province said the inventory it had pulled off the shelves in March was worth around C$80 million.

A government representative from the Northwest Territories and a spokesperson of the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch both told Business Insider that they ceased US liquor imports in March, but will continue selling the stockpiled products until they are depleted.

A Yukon government cabinet representative said Yukon has the same plan.

However, the mountainous province of Alberta continues to import and sell American booze.

"In June this year, Alberta lifted restrictions on the purchase of US alcohol from American companies, signalling a renewed commitment to open and fair trade with our largest partner," a spokesperson of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction told Business Insider.

American distillers are hurting

The matter of US booze has been fueling the trade tension between the two neighbors.

The animosity started when Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canada in March and commented that Canada should become a state of the US.

Despite later walking back some of his broader tariffs and upholding a previous agreement that ensured most goods remain tariff-free, Trump's moves have drawn the ire of Canadians, who have canceled travel plans and boycotted American goods in stores.

According to the Distilled Spirits Council, US spirits exports to Canada plummeted 85% in the second quarter of 2025, falling below $10 million in export value.

"We hope both the US and Canada can address their respective concerns," said Chris Swonger, the CEO of the council. "And that our products can return to Canadian retail shelves as soon as possible."

In March, Kentucky's bourbon makers said Canada's ban on American alcohol would hurt them.

Eric Gregory, the president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, said in March that retaliatory tariffs would have "far-reaching consequences across Kentucky, home to 95% of the world's bourbon."

• Lululemon is making changes to its inventory-packed stores.
• Company executives said they would reduce the number of products in stores and highlight specific items.
• In recent months, analysts have criticized Lululemon's bad store experience and fragmented assortment.

Lululemon knows it's got a store layout problem, and it's rolling out a fix.

During a Thursday earnings call, company executives announced plans to enhance the athleisure giant's in-store experience by reducing clutter and curating pieces better.

"We plan to reduce the density of our assortment on a local basis to better highlight styles that are most relevant," Meghan Frank, Lululemon's finance chief, said.

"This will enable improved visual merchandising for the styles we know are most important to the guest in each local market," she added.

CEO Calvin McDonald added that the company was testing the new store experience in Los Angeles and Miami, working on "curating the stores, desorting, taking product out, so that we could put focus on the newness."

Representatives for Lululemon did not respond to a query from Business Insider regarding when the changes will be implemented across all stores.

The plan to improve store experience comes after analysts have criticized it for months.

Jefferies analysts said in a November note that Lululemon's store layout "appeared disjointed, with an inconsistent color palette and lack of design cohesion."

In an October note, they said the collection was "fragmented" and featured many "logo-heavy designs" that are not resonating with its core audience. An August note said that store inventory was "very high" as the brand tried to clear aged stock.

A July Jefferies note, analysts said some of the stores they visited were missing critical stock, like the brand's yoga leggings without front seams.

Lululemon reported a third-quarter revenue of $2.6 billion, a 7% increase from the same period last year. Its net revenue in the Americas decreased 2%, while its international sales increased 33%, buoyed by strong sales in China.

McDonald announced in the call that he would be stepping down at the end of January. Frank, as well as the CCO, André Maestrini, will serve as interim co-CEOs until the company finds a replacement for McDonald.

Its stock rose more than 10% in after-hours trading on Thursday after earnings and the announcement of McDonald's resignation. However, it's down about 50% since the start of the year.