BUSINESS

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Elon Musk has reignited a public row with Ryanair's outspoken chief executive, Michael O'Leary, by floating the idea of buying Europe's largest low-cost airline after the Irish boss dismissed Musk's Starlink satellite internet technology for aircraft.

The exchange began when O'Leary was asked whether Ryanair would follow airlines such as Lufthansa and British Airways in installing Starlink across its fleet of about 650 planes. He rejected the suggestion, arguing that fitting antennas would increase fuel burn by roughly 2%, adding an estimated $200m to $250m to the carrier's annual fuel bill.

Musk responded on his X platform, calling that assessment "misinformed", triggering a rapid back-and-forth that saw both men trade insults. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive went further, saying O'Leary should be fired.

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Mitsubishi Corp has agreed to acquire shale gas production and infrastructure assets in Texas and Louisiana for US$7.53 billion, marking the Japanese trading house's largest-ever deal as it deepens its exposure to natural gas amid rising global demand.

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Netflix is preparing to submit an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming businesses, according to a source familiar with the matter, escalating one of Hollywood's most closely watched takeover battles. The move would replace Netflix's earlier cash-and-stock proposal and is designed to speed up a transaction that is expected to take months to complete and faces regulatory and political scrutiny.

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Luxury retailer Saks Global has filed for bankruptcy, preparing to reposition itself in the increasingly competitive upscale market after obtaining about $1.75 billion in financing commitments.

The New York-based private company that owns retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus said in a release Wednesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas.

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Verizon confirmed on Wednesday night that its wireless network is fully operational following a major day-long outage that disrupted cellular data and voice services. A company spokesperson announced shortly after 10 p.m. ET that the technical issues had been resolved. The carrier advised any customers still experiencing connectivity problems to restart their devices to facilitate a fresh connection to the network.

The spokesperson apologized for the outage and said customers would be given account credits, and that details would be shared with customers directly.

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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, has successfully secured $20 billion in its first funding round of 2026, significantly exceeding its initial $15 billion target. Musk publicly expressed his gratitude to investors following the completion of the upsized Series E round, which now stands as one of the largest single capital raises in the history of the technology industry.

Musk celebrated the milestone on his social media platform, 𝕏, posting:

"Congrats to the @xAI team and thank you to investors for your faith in our company."

The funding round, which closed on Monday, January 6, 2026, saw participation from a powerhouse consortium of global investors. These include Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Baron Capital Group.