• Sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 are outpacing the original Switch. The company has sold 5.8 million units since launch and expects to hit the 15 million mark by the end of March. Software sales were strong as well. The original Switch is the best-selling console in the company’s history, beating the Wii, NES and SNES.

Demand for Nintendo’s Switch 2 is not slowing down.

The Kyoto-based company says it has sold 5.82 million units since the system went on sale in early June and demand continues to outpace supply in most locations. Nintendo says it’s on track to sell 15 million units by the end of its fiscal year (in March of 2026).

Should it achieve that goal, that will make the Switch 2 a faster seller than the original Switch, which went on to become Nintendo’s best-selling console system. (The original took a full calendar year to hit the 15 million mark.)

That led to a strong quarter for the company. Revenues more than doubled compared to a year ago, coming in at $3.8 billion. Profits topped $378 million. Officials say Nintendo is on track to early $12.6 billion this fiscal year.

To make up for Switch 2 shortages, Nintendo plans to boost production – as many people who have ordered one have yet to receive theirs.

It’s not just game systems that are selling well. Switch 2 software sold 8.67 million units in the quarter, with Mario Kart World and the highly-rated Donkey Kong Bananza both leading the charge.

The Switch 2 is backwards compatible with the original Switch, so software sales for that older system were even higher. Nintendo says it sold 24.4 million Switch games in the quarter – along with nearly 1 million of the older consoles.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Miller Lite is celebrating its 50^th anniversary by giving away 50,000 beers in 500 bars around the country. The company is also offering free beer on its website to people that can’t make it to a bar in time. The giveaways will take place between 4:50 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time.

Aug. 1 is international beer day—and if your beer fridge happens to be empty, one major beer brand is happy to offer you a freebie today.

Miller Lite is giving away 50,000 beers at 500 bars around the country on Friday. (This also happens to be the beer brand’s 50^th anniversary.) Can’t get to a bar? The brand will also be offering a sweepstakes on its Website that’ll pick up the tab for fans.

To find which bars near you are handing out the free beers, head to millerlite.com/find-celebration. There’s no reason to plan on a liquid lunch, though, which should make HR departments happy. The giveaways will take place between 4:50 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time.

Alternatively, you can visit MillerLite.com, starting at 3:00 p.m. CT (4:00 p.m. ET) to enter a sweepstakes for free beers.

“The 50th anniversary is just more than a milestone for Miller Lite, it’s a celebration of our fans and the five decades we’ve spent together enjoying Miller Time,” said Ann Legan, vice president of marketing for the Miller family of brands.

To culminate the celebration, Miller will host a Beer Drop at its brewery in Milwaukee, much like the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve. Only, in this case, it will be a larger-than-life six pack that descends, rather than a crystal-encrusted ball.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Stocks fell in after a weak jobs report and the rollout of Trump’s new tariff rates. July’s figures fell short of expectations, and the Labor Department drastically reduced the number of new jobs for June and May. Trump, meanwhile, made last-minute changes to tariff rates ahead of his self-imposed deadline.

More last-minute modifications to tariff rates and a disappointing July jobs report weighed heavily on investors on Friday.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 542 points (-1.23%). The Nasdaq sank 2.24%, and the S&P 500 plunged -1.6%.

Nonfarm payrolls were up by 73,000 last month, which was far less than the 100,000 economists were expecting. In addition, the Labor Department revised previous months downward, saying June job growth, which was previously reported at 147,000, was actually just 14,000. May’s count was also changed from 144,000 to 19,000.

That indicated the job market has been weak for quite a while now, something many Americans suspected, despite the bullish jobs numbers. The only possible bright side to that is it could give the Federal Reserve a reason to cut interest rates sooner than expected.

“Today’s data signals labor market conditions continue to cool and while the softer conditions don’t warrant a warning signal for investors, it should put market participants including the Fed on notice that economic conditions are shifting,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.

Before the jobs report came out, tariffs weighed on stocks, though. Overnight, Trump updated the levies, which now range from 10% to 41%. Even goods that were transshipped to avoid the tariffs will face a 40% tariff now. And Canada will now have a 35% levy, up from 25%.

Macquarie strategists Thierry Wizman and Gareth Berry, in a note to investors, wrote trading at the start of the month was beginning “with a bit of panic.”

Amidst all this, Trump resumed his public criticisms of Fed chair Jerome Powell, seemingly encouraging the Fed Board to launch a coup.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW,” Trump wrote. “IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!”

The weak market open comes after three consecutive days of losses for the S&P 500. So far this year, the S&P 500 has increased 6.6%. The Dow is up 2.45% and the Nasdaq has rallied 6.9%.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Microsoft has listed the jobs least likely to be impacted by artificial intelligence. Healthcare and blue collar jobs are the safest, while those in the communication field are most at risk.

For all the doomsaying about the effect of artificial intelligence on the job market, there are some positions that are, for now at least, relatively safe.

While people in the communications field have good reason to be worried, Microsoft has unveiled a study showing which careers are most and least likely to be affected by generative AI. What it avoided saying directly, though, was whether those careers would vanish in the coming years.

To determine the risk factor, Microsoft analyzed a “dataset of 200k anonymized and privacy-scrubbed conversations between users and Microsoft Bing Copilot” to assess an AI applicability score. The jobs that appear to be most at risk, were those that involve “providing information and assistance, writing, teaching, and advising.”

That said, Microsoft cautioned that a high (or low) AI adaptability was not a sure sign that a job would or wouldn’t become obsolete.

“It is tempting to conclude that occupations that have high overlap with activities AI performs will be automated and thus experience job or wage loss, and that occupations with activities AI assists with will be augmented and raise wages,” the company wrote in the report. “This would be a mistake, as our data do not include the downstream business impacts of new technology, which are very hard to predict and often counterintuitive.”

The study’s not the first to send up a flare about creative positions. What it did that really stood out was look at the jobs where AI seems to have the lowest applicability – and healthcare and blue-collar jobs seem positioned to best withstanding an AI assault.

Here’s a ranked look at the 20 careers that posted the lowest AI applicability score:

• Dredge operators
• Bridge and lock tenders
• Water treatment plant and system operators
• Foundry mold and coremakers
• Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators
• Pile driver operators
• Floor sanders and finishers
• Orderlies
• Motorboat operators
• Logging equipment operators
• Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators
• Maids and housekeeping cleaners
• Roustabouts (oil and gas)
• Roofers
• Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators
• Helpers–roofers
• Tire builders
• Surgical assistants
• Massage therapists
• Ophthalmic medical technicians

Other jobs that are in the safety zone include industrial truck and tractor operators, highway maintenance workers, dishwashers, automotive glass installers, embalmers and phlebotomists.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• TikTok and Instagram are reportedly working on apps designed for television viewing. The move follows the success of YouTube’s TV app. At present, however, neither social network is reportedly courting a partnership with broadcasters.

While streaming services are seeing more customer churn lately due to escalating prices, two of the biggest names in social media are reportedly planning to throw their hats in the ring and launch television-streaming offerings.

TikTok and Instagram are both looking to follow the path YouTube charted with its YouTube TV service, which currently has an estimated 9.4 million subscribers. The two social-media companies are reportedly building apps that are designed for TV viewing.

The services, which were first reported by The Information, won’t be quite the same as what YouTube offers, however. Meta’s entry in the field would reportedly be populated with Reels. As yet, no other deals with broadcasters have been signed.

TikTok, however, is said to have spent the past six months working on the best way to approach the app, which seems to be with higher production-value videos. (TikTok previously had a TV app in 2021, but didn’t promote it heavily and it was pulled earlier this year.)

While there has been no official comment from either Meta or TikTok about the reported apps, TikTok’s Global Head of Product Operations and Solutions, David Kaufman, told Cannes Lions attendees last week that “the living room is definitely a new frontier for us that we’re taking very seriously.”

Beyond the capital earned from those subscription fees, YouTube’s streaming TV service has kept eyes on the app, increasing viewership of native short videos.

“These social networks are seeing how well YouTube has done in the living room and how they’ve really cemented themselves as one of the top streamers,” eMarketer analyst Minda Smiley said on a recent episode of the Behind the Numbers podcast. “I’m surprised it took this long.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• After having her newly purchased car repossessed, an Ohio woman found that the dealer had failed to renew the registration of its name. She took possession of the name. A legal fight is proceeding, with an appeals court showing her some support.

An Ohio woman, whose car was repossessed by the dealership just one month after she bought it, has pulled off a revenge move for the ages.

Tiah McCreary discovered, as she explored legal options against the company, that the dealer has failed to renew the registration on the company’s name with the Ohio Secretary of State, so she registered it in her name—then hit the dealer with a cease-and-desist order, ordering them to no longer use the name they’ve used since 2012.

As you might guess, a legal battle is underway..

To back up: McCreary, according to court documents, received preliminary approval for a loan when buying a used Kia K5 at Taylor Kia of Lima. The lender later determined the information regarding McCreary’s income was not sufficient for final approval and the car was repossessed while she was at work.

Once she responded in court, with the demand that the owner cease using the name, the dealer argued that an arbitration clause in her agreement to buy the K5 made the court case invalid. A judge agreed.

That could have been that, but the Third District appeals court ruled that while McCreary signed the arbitration agreement and that would apply to the matter of the repossession, the claim over the use of the name “Taylor Kia of Lima” was not subject to arbitration, as it had nothing to do with the Kia purchase.

The court reversed the previous decision, writing “this claim is a separate matter that could be pursued independently of the other claims in the complaint that address the consumer transaction at issue.  Since this claim does not fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement, this claim should not have been dismissed and sent to arbitration.”

The case is now headed back to lower courts for additional legal proceedings.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• John Hess, CEO of the Hess Corp., has struck a deal to keep the gas company’s toy line in the family following its buyout by Chevron. Hess will also join the Chevron board of directors. The Hess trucks have been a holiday offering since 1964.

The Hess gas-station chain’s acquisition by Chevron may have wrapped up earlier this month, but when it comes to the Hess toy trucks that are a regular presence each holiday season, those are going to stay in the hands of the family.

John Hess, CEO of the Hess Corp, plans to buy back the toy-truck business from Chevron. The price has yet to be determined, but the deal is expected to close next year.

News of the return of Hess trucks to the Hess family came in a filing with the SEC on Wednesday. John Hess was also appointed to the Chevron board, the company announced in that filing.

Hess and the toy trucks have been linked together for decades—and they’re popular enough that when the merger was Chevron was announced, Mike Wirth, the CEO of that company, felt the need to announce the truck sales would continue when the merger closed.

It’s not just trucks. All Hess-themed toys, which have included helicopters, rescue vehicles, airplanes and even space shuttles, will revert to the Hess family. Hess also has struck a deal to retain the trademarks associated with his family name.

Independent appraisers will determine the value of the toy business, the filing said.

Hess toys have been sold since 1964 and have a rabid fan based. Some collectors have spend as much as $2,500 for past models.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort production company was involved with the latest Astronomer video featuring Gwyneth Paltrow. The ad is being hailed as a master class in crisis PR. It comes days after the former CEO and former head of HR were seen embracing at a Coldplay concert.

Astronomer might have gotten the last laugh following the viral moment that caught its former CEO and former head of HR in an embrace at a Coldplay concert. And it has, in some ways, Ryan Reynolds to thank for that.

Late Friday, Astronomer released a video featuring Gwyneth Paltrow (who was formerly married to Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin), who was hired as a spokesperson on a “very temporary basis.” In the humorous clip, Paltrow answers questions such as “OMG, what the actual f” and “How is your social media team holding…” by promoting the company’s services and upcoming analytics event.

If the tongue-in-cheek approach—from the phrasing of the questions to Paltrow’s blithely chipper answers—seems to have a Ryan Reynolds tinge to it, that’s because the ads were created by Reynolds’ Maximum Effort production company.

The company confirmed its participation in the ads on Sunday in a post on social media, writing “Thank you for your interest in Maximum Effort, @astronomerio! We’ll now get back to what we do best: motion pictures with Hugh Jackman, Fastvertising and Wrexham football,” the post said. “We’ll leave data workflow automation to Gwyneth Pa Astronomer.”

Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s cofounder, who stepped in as CEO after Andy Byron’s resignation following the kiss cam incident, thanked Maximum Effort in a LinkedIn post Sunday.

“I’d also like to thank the team at Maximum Effort for their remarkable work with our very temporary spokesperson,” DeJoy said. “As Gwyneth Paltrow said, now it’s time for us to return to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers. We look forward to what this next chapter holds for Astronomer.”

Maximum Effort, founded in 2018, has made a name for itself with its irreverent video spots, some of which are ads, some of which are simply meant to amuse. It also co-produced the films Free Guy and Deadpool & Wolverine.

The Paltrow video has been viewed more than 36 million times on X/Twitter alone, with more than 150,000 likes. It has another 534,000 views on YouTube to date.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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