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European Union wine and spirits producers could emerge among the few winners of a EU-U.S. trade deal agreed at the weekend that some European officials consider unbalanced. The high-level agreement, which imposes a 15% baseline duty for most EU goods entering the United States, is set to include tariff exemptions for some agricultural products, still to be hammered out. Alcoholic beverages could be among those, according to trade and industry officials. “We are optimistic that in the days ahead this positive meeting and agreement will lead to a return to zero-for-zero tariffs for U.S. and EU spirits products,” Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger said in a statement in response to the U.S.-EU agreement. On Monday, French Trade Minister Laurent Saint Martin also said he expected the spirits sector to be exempted from U.S. tariffs. If confirmed, an exemption would offer a lifeline to alcohol players including the world’s biggest spirits maker, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and Campari, all of which are very exposed to vast U.S. market and whose profits have already taken a big hit as consumers spend less on drink. Shares in Pernod, Diageo and Campari initially rose in early trade. But they stood 1.3%, 0.4% and 0.3% lower by 0707 GMT. Shares in Remy fell 2.2%. Alcohol is among the EU’s top exports to the United States, worth about 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in 2024, according to Eurostat data, with certain products like Remy Martin cognac and champagne required to be produced in specific European regions. About one-third of all exports of Irish whiskey such as Pernod Ricard’s Jameson are destined for the United States. Earlier in July, President Donald Trump had threatened a crippling 30% tariff that some industry experts said could stop flows of certain EU goods towards the United States. The United States accounts for about 18% of exports for another exclusively French product, champagne. Of all exports of cognac from its namesake region in France, about 43% end up in the United States. LVMH owns Hennessy Cognac. Remy Cointreau, which makes more than 70% of its sales from French-made cognac, is among the alcohol makers hit hardest by tariffs. It has pegged the hit from tariffs imposed globally at about 45 million euros. For cognac makers, the U.S. tariffs represent a fresh challenge after producers of the drink managed this month to avert the threat of duties of up to around 35% from China. For Spanish and Italian wines, around 14% and 24% of total exports, respectively, are sold in the United States. Beer brewers and makers of popular ready-to-drink cocktails will, however, continue to face tariffs on imported aluminum they may use for cans. Under the EU-U.S. deal struck on Sunday, Washington will continue to impose a levy of 50% on steel and aluminum entering the United States. ($1 = 0.8518 euros) Emma Rumney and Jessica DiNapoli, Reuters
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Businesses have spent the past decade or more amassing vast amounts of data on customers, sales, and nearly everything else measurable. Yet everyday employeesand even C-suite leadersoften struggle to work directly with these datasets, which typically require specialized technical skills to access, analyze, and query. Julius AI, a startup founded in 2022, claims to have a solution. It offers AI that allows users to ask questions in plain English, like Why is our revenue going up? or Can I see a pie chart of sales by region? The system then automatically generates code in languages like Python to deliver the required answer or data visualization, often within seconds, along with a written explanation of the process. Previously users would have needed to submit questions to their companys data science team, wait for clarifying questions, and then receive a response or link to a chart. Now they can simply talk to Julius. “They can just ask questions and get instant insights, says founder and CEO Rahul Sonwalkar. And then they [can] ask a lot of follow-up questions. So far, the tool has generated roughly 10 million data visualizations for users and produced an additional 4 million lines of code every day, Sonwalkar says. Its also the tool of choice in Harvard Business Schools Data Science and AI for Leaders class, now required for every incoming MBA student. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] For data scientists, Julius allows more time to focus on long-term projects, rather than handling a constant stream of ad hoc questions (and follow-ups) from colleagues. And when needed, they can use Julius themselves. The interface resembles a Jupyter notebook (commonly used by analysts for step-by-step workflows and visualizations) but with the added ability to input plain English, alongside code in Python, SQL, or R. This saves even experienced programmers the effort of looking up obscure syntax or remembering exact database table and column names. While those familiar with coding can edit the AI-generated code, most users dontand thats okay. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Most of our users dont know what Python is, Sonwalkar says. Julius recently raised $10 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and now has nearly 2 million users. The company is continuously expanding its capabilities to better handle sprawling enterprise data. Initially, users had to upload files like spreadsheets, but the tool can now connect to popular database and data warehouse platforms such as PostgreSQL and Snowflake. The AI can analyze database layouts to understand whats stored where, share that information with users, and build deeper contextual knowledge over time, Sonwalkar says. Julius is currently preparing integrations with other key business data sources, like Googles advertising tools, as well as working toward compatibility with established business intelligence platforms, aiming to replicate and enhance analyses already in use. The company is also working on enhanced support for visualization dashboards, along with scheduled queries that automatically refresh with new data on a regular basis, both common features of business intelligence software. And for users weary of checking dashboards to see whether any numbers have gone up or down unexpectedly, Julius expects to add notifications that can let users know if something noteworthy appears in the data. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Theres a dashboard fatigue in companies, Sonwalkar says. There are 50 dashboards that each team monitors every week, and most dashboards honestly dont change. But when they do, users will be able to ask Julius for an explanation and direct it to explore the underlying metrics, which traditional dashboards dont allow without manual coding. Julius isnt alone in pursuing AI-driven data science. Many data providers, from polling giant Morning Consult to various sales and marketing platforms, have added AI to help customers explore their datasets more intelligently. Established business intelligence tools are also layering in AI interfaces, while leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have launched their own data analysis tools. Still, Sonwalkar contends that Julius offers more robust features and deeper data source integrations than the AI tools from the big labsand is built from the ground up to help everyday users interact intelligently with data, rather than layering AI onto existing legacy systems. Were rebuilding the experience from scratch, he says.
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Director James Gunn got an ovation from thousands for “Superman” in the most fitting place of all Comic-Con.Among the highlights of day three of the San Diego pop culture spectacular was a sincere tribute to the director who’s now helming Warner Bros.’ DC Comics screen universe, even if John Cena played it for laughs.It came at a panel on the forthcoming Season 2 of DC’s HBO series “The Peacemaker,” and Cena appeared in the title character’s full comic costume and grand helmet, leading the legions in the kind of exaggerated drama he was perfect at provoking in his wrestling days.It was Gunn’s first time in front of a crowd in the weeks since “Superman” was released and has earned more than $200 million in North America.“Today has been the most fun day I’ve had in a year,” Gunn told the crowd at the end of the session.“Superman” was his first film as captain of the DC ship, but his first foray was in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” which spawned the “Peacemaker” TV series.The crowd saw scenes from Season 2, which arrives in August and sees Cena entering another dimension where he gets to be a cool version of the hero instead of the often pained and pathetic version that’s typical of the character. Some characters from “Superman” will make appearances.That panel followed another rousing showcase in Hall H, where star Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller showed scenes from their forthcoming science-comedy space adventure “Project Hail Mary.”The scenes from the film set for release in March included a look at Rocky, a faceless, stone-shaped alien who becomes Gosling’s unlikely partner in an attempt to save the universe from ecological disaster. Saturday morning cartoons in Hall H Wile E. Coyote is getting his day in court and theaters.The stars of “Coyote vs. Acme” delivered a rousing presentation Saturday morning of a movie that at one point wasn’t going to be released but is now bound for theaters in August 2026. The underdog story both of the movie and Coyote was a running theme of the panel. But rather than direct ire at Warner Bros., the real-world studio that shelved the project, the panel focused on the fictional Acme Corp.“This is purely an Acme decision and I am saying this for legal purposes,” moderator Paul Scheer said at the start of the panel.The movie is a hybrid of animation and live action and is based on a 1990 New Yorker article that satirized a legal complaint filed by Coyote against Acme, the maker of the TNT, detonators, rocket shoes, catapults and other products that consistently backfire during the Coyote’s fruitless attempts to catch the Roadrunner.Laughter filled Hall H as some 6,000 watched a montage of Coyote being blown up, flattened and falling into chasms in a scene set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” Coyote is replaying the moments in his lair when an ad for a personal injury lawyer appears on TV.They also played six minutes of the movie, including a scene of opening statements in the case in which Coyote’s lawyer, Will Forte, accidentally unleashes a rocket skate into the courtroom, setting Coyote and the judge’s robes on fire. Cena plays a slick Acme lawyer who wins over the jury, which includes a cartoon character, quickly.Forte said he didn’t think the movie would ever get to audiences.“I’m pretty speechless. You think back to the journey that this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope at a certain point,” Forte said. At one point, his comments were interrupted by a man playing an Acme lawyer who stormed into Hall H with cease-and-desist letters.Director Dave Green said the movie conforms to famed animator Chuck Jones’ rules for the struggle between the Coyote and Roadrunner, which include the bird always staying on the road and the Coyote being ultimately more humiliated than hurt when he falls, is crushed or gets blown up by TNT.The movie, which features cameos from numerous Looney Tunes characters like Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Bugs Bunny, will be released on Aug. 28, 2026. Ketchup Entertainment teamed up with Warner Bros. on the film and in the release of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”Also on Saturday morning, the cast of “Bad Guys 2” teasing new footage from the movie and describing how they recorded their characters.Marc Maron, who plays Snake, joked he asked to be tied up as he performed his lines on the floor. “The depth of the character should read a little more this time,” he said.The film, based on the graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey, introduces a new crew of animal criminals, the Bad Girls played by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova. ‘Star Trek’ ventures to new places Paramount showed off its first footage from a new series, “Starfleet Academy,” which stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.The show follows cadets as they go through training, with Hunter serving as chancellor of the academy.It will arrive in 2026, the 60th anniversary year of the original “Star Trek” series.Paramount+’s other “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds,” also shared updates.The crew of the USS Enterprise are being turned into puppets for an upcoming “Strange New Worlds” episode, Paramount announced Saturday. The puppets will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.Season 3, which follows the adventures of the Enterprise under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike, is being released on Paramount+. What’s happened at Comic-Con 2025 so far An estimated 135,000 people many in costumes are expected to attend Comic-Con 2025, which runs through Sunday in downtown San Diego.So far, fans have gotten previews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”the upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth,””Tron: Ares” and “Predator: Badlands,” which will be in theaters in November. Associated Press
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