Saks Global secured US bankruptcy court approval for a $1 billion loan as part of a broader $1.75 billion financing package to support its Chapter 11 restructuring. The retailer resolved disputes with luxury suppliers including Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and LVMH, confirming consignment goods remain brand-owned. Saks, which filed for Chapter 11 in January with $3.4 billion in liabilities, plans to use the funds to pay suppliers, refinance debt and refocus on full-price luxury retail. (Yahoo Finance)

President Trump said Netflix would “pay the consequences” if it does not remove board member Susan Rice, following her podcast comments suggesting corporations that align too closely with him could face backlash under future Democratic leadership. The comments arrive as Netflix seeks regulatory approval for its planned Warner Bros. acquisition, placing the streaming giant at the intersection of corporate governance, politics, and federal oversight. (Business Insider)

The European Commission is pushing back after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down former President Trump’s global tariffs, only for Trump to respond with new across-the-board levies of 10%, later raised to 15%. Brussels says last year’s EU-U.S. deal capped most tariffs at 15% and warned that any increase would violate agreed terms. Officials are demanding “full clarity” from Washington, arguing that unpredictable tariffs undermine market confidence and transatlantic trade stability. (Reuters)

Shares of Amazon, Etsy, Shopify and other e-commerce companies climbed after the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump lacked authority to impose sweeping global tariffs under the International Economic Powers Act. The decision eased pressure on online sellers that had faced margin hits, price hikes and supply chain shifts tied to the levies. For now, markets are treating the decision as a reset moment for digital commerce. (CNBC)

Wispr Flow has launched its Android app, expanding its AI-powered dictation tools beyond Mac, Windows and iOS. The app uses a floating bubble interface for voice input, supports translation in 100+ languages and formats text contextually across apps. The company says a recent infrastructure rewrite makes dictation 30% faster. Backed by investors including Menlo Ventures and Notable Capital, Wispr Flow has raised $81M at a reported $700M valuation. (TechCrunch)

Let me tell you what's happening at a lot of companies right now.

Budget season rolls around. Leadership gets nervous. 

Someone in finance says, "What if we just give everyone the same percentage increase and call it a day?" And honestly? It sounds great in the room.

You get to skip the hard conversations, and no one feels singled out. In theory, it’s the lean, simple, done solution. 

They call it a peanut butter raise. Spread it thin, spread it even, move on.

CNBC's been tracking the trend as more companies are leaning into across-the-board increases as a way to simplify execution and keep a lid on costs. 

And look, I get the appeal. In a softer job market where people aren't exactly sprinting for the exits, it feels like a safe move.

But the truth is, it's not. And the numbers make that pretty clear.

When you give your top performer the same 3% as the person who's been coasting since they started, you're not saving money. You're making a trade.

You're trading short-term budget simplicity for long-term talent erosion.

SHRM puts the cost of replacing an employee at somewhere between 50% and 200% of their annual salary, and that's before you factor in lost momentum, the gap period, and however long it takes the new person to actually get up to speed. So that extra $10K you didn't give your best hire? It might cost you $80K to $150K when they walk.

And here's the thing about a soft job market… your A-players aren't leaving today. 

They're patient. They're updating their resume slowly, taking a recruiter call here and there, and waiting. When the market opens back up, and it will, they'll have options lined up before you even know there's a problem. 

You won't get an exit interview warning. You'll just get a two-week notice.

Your top performers know exactly who they are. They know they're carrying more than the person next to them. And when the raise hits and it's identical (same percentage, same everything), they do the math fast.

And, it’s not just about the money. It's about what the money signals. And what a peanut butter raise signals is: we see everyone the same here.

That's a retention death sentence for your best people.

Here's what I'd actually do.

Tier your raise pool, not your raise percentage.
You don't need to spend more overall; you just need to spend smarter.
Break your team into rough thirds: high performers, solid contributors, and people who need a conversation. Route the majority of your raise budget to the top tier. The total number barely moves. The signal it sends is completely different.

Get your KPIs in place before comp season.
This is where a lot of founders get burned; they want to differentiate pay, but they haven't defined what "high performance" actually looks like on their team.
If you don't have clear, role-specific KPIs tracked consistently, you can't defend differentiated raises, and you'll default to peanut butter every time because it's the only "fair" option left. Build the measurement system first. Then the comp conversation becomes easy.

Use non-cash levers more aggressively.
Equity refreshes, title bumps, flexible work arrangements, a dedicated L&D budget; these cost a fraction of what a replacement hire does, and for the right person, they're worth more than cash. Top performers want trajectory. Give them a visible path, and they'll stay.

Run a flight risk audit before every comp cycle.
Score your top 15% on two axes: performance and likelihood to leave. High on both? That's your priority list. A proactive retention conversation (or a targeted raise) before someone's mentally checked out is infinitely cheaper than a reactive one after they've already accepted an offer somewhere else.

Have the conversation directly.
The biggest retention mistake I see founders make isn't what they pay, it's the silence around it. Your best people want to know you see them. A 20-minute conversation about their trajectory, what they're building toward, and how comp will reflect that over the next 12 months does more for retention than almost anything else. Don't skip it.

Peanut butter raises feel safe. 

But they're absolutely not. In a tight market they look contained, but you're just deferring the problem and paying interest on it the whole time.

Keeping your best people around for the long haul starts with being intentional about who you're investing in, and making sure they know it.

⚡Getting traffic but not enough sales calls?
Smart founders are building high-value newsletters to book consistent sales calls. If you want predictable B2B leads without burning cash on ads
→ Build your audience here

🧲 Want to make more money from your website?
ShowYourWork.Studio builds high-converting websites that help founders go from “we should launch” to “we just got paid” in just 72 hours.
→ See the 72-hour difference here 

🤝 Want to hire better people with less risk?
Go Carpathian sources top-tier global talent from world-class companies, screens them for skill and fit, and hands you candidates who are ready to perform from day one. Check out how they can help you hire smarter, faster, and 70% cheaper than U.S. rates.
→ Speak to a recruitment specialist