text
stringlengths 102
112k
| url
stringlengths 37
240
| crawl_date
timestamp[us, tz=UTC]date 2024-01-04 00:15:18
2024-01-31 23:10:45
| exclusion_reason
stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|
Dollar General (DG - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $133.45, moving +0.43% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.16%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.36%.
The discount retailer's stock has dropped by 1.97% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Dollar General in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.73, indicating a 41.55% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $9.77 billion, reflecting a 4.27% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.45 per share and revenue of $38.6 billion. These totals would mark changes of -30.24% and +2%, respectively, from last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Dollar General. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Dollar General is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Dollar General is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.83. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 23.78 of its industry.
Investors should also note that DG has a PEG ratio of 2.46 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.26.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 86, this industry ranks in the top 35% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216686/dollar-general-dg-gains-as-market-dips-what-you-should-know
| 2024-01-26T23:16:37Z
|
blocked_url
|
The most recent trading session ended with Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND - Free Report) standing at $1.54, reflecting a -0.65% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.16%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
The company's shares have seen a decrease of 20.51% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. to post earnings of -$0.11 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 22.22%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $51.46 million, indicating a 3.41% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 53, positioning it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216687/nextdoor-holdings-inc-kind-falls-more-steeply-than-broader-market-what-investors-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:16:43Z
|
blocked_url
|
Construction Partners (ROAD - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $43.40, moving +0.21% from the previous trading session. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.36%.
The road and highway construction company's stock has dropped by 1.84% in the past month, falling short of the Construction sector's loss of 1.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Construction Partners in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 9, 2024. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.13, indicating a 225% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $384.03 million, up 12.36% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.27 per share and a revenue of $1.79 billion, representing changes of +35.11% and +14.2%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Construction Partners should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. At present, Construction Partners boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Construction Partners is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 34.17. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 17.27.
The Building Products - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Construction sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, positioning it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216688/why-the-market-dipped-but-construction-partners-road-gained-today
| 2024-01-26T23:16:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
Aquestive Therapeutics (AQST - Free Report) closed at $2.39 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.84% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
Shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company have appreciated by 18.5% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's gain of 1.45% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Aquestive Therapeutics in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Aquestive Therapeutics is projected to report earnings of -$0.08 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 65.22%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.79 million, up 10.36% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Aquestive Therapeutics. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. At present, Aquestive Therapeutics boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
The Medical - Drugs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, finds itself in the top 37% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216689/aquestive-therapeutics-aqst-increases-despite-market-slip-heres-what-you-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:16:55Z
|
blocked_url
|
The most recent trading session ended with Meritage Homes (MTH - Free Report) standing at $165.43, reflecting a -0.41% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.07% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
The homebuilder's shares have seen a decrease of 5.27% over the last month, not keeping up with the Construction sector's loss of 1.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Meritage Homes in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on January 31, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $5.18, marking a 26.94% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.52 billion, indicating a 23.54% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Meritage Homes. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.24% downward. Meritage Homes is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Meritage Homes is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.51. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 9.72 of its industry.
The Building Products - Home Builders industry is part of the Construction sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 25, positioning it in the top 10% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216690/meritage-homes-mth-sees-a-more-significant-dip-than-broader-market-some-facts-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:02Z
|
blocked_url
|
Adeia (ADEA - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $12.13, demonstrating no swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.16%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the provider of chip technology for small electronic devices had lost 3.35% over the past month, lagging the Business Services sector's gain of 1.03% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Adeia will be of great interest to investors. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.26, indicating a 36.59% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $89.23 million, down 13.61% from the prior-year quarter.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Adeia. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. At present, Adeia boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Adeia has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.54 right now. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 24.17.
The Technology Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 66, positioning it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216691/adeia-adea-flat-as-market-sinks-what-you-should-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (MTW - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $16.32, indicating a +0.37% change from the previous session's end. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the company had lost 4.97% over the past month. This has lagged the Industrial Products sector's loss of 0.09% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. in its upcoming release. On that day, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is projected to report earnings of $0.19 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 74.32%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $575.21 million, down 7.46% from the prior-year quarter.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for The Manitowoc Company, Inc. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 8.99% higher within the past month. At present, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. boasts a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Digging into valuation, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.16. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.16, which means The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.
The Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 29, putting it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216692/the-manitowoc-company-inc-mtw-increases-despite-market-slip-heres-what-you-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:14Z
|
blocked_url
|
The latest trading session saw UFP Industries (UFPI - Free Report) ending at $113.91, denoting a -0.19% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
The the stock of wood and materials provider for the construction industry has fallen by 10.23% in the past month, lagging the Construction sector's loss of 1.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of UFP Industries in its upcoming release. On that day, UFP Industries is projected to report earnings of $1.68 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 20%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.75 billion, down 8.41% from the year-ago period.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for UFP Industries. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. UFP Industries is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that UFP Industries has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.79 right now. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 23.61 for its industry.
The Building Products - Wood industry is part of the Construction sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 53, this industry ranks in the top 22% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216693/why-ufp-industries-ufpi-dipped-more-than-broader-market-today
| 2024-01-26T23:17:30Z
|
blocked_url
|
The most recent trading session ended with Allison Transmission (ALSN - Free Report) standing at $60.26, reflecting a +1.72% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
The automatic transmission maker's shares have seen an increase of 1.44% over the last month, surpassing the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's loss of 12.12% and falling behind the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Allison Transmission in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 13, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.42, marking a 6.58% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $753.73 million, reflecting a 4.98% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Allison Transmission. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.21% higher. At present, Allison Transmission boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Investors should also note Allison Transmission's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.43. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 11.51 of its industry.
We can additionally observe that ALSN currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.2. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Automotive - Original Equipment industry held an average PEG ratio of 0.69.
The Automotive - Original Equipment industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 109, finds itself in the top 44% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216694/allison-transmission-alsn-ascends-while-market-falls-some-facts-to-note
| 2024-01-26T23:17:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
BorgWarner (BWA - Free Report) closed at $34.14 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.04% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
Shares of the auto parts supplier have depreciated by 6.11% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's loss of 12.12% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of BorgWarner in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 8, 2024. On that day, BorgWarner is projected to report earnings of $0.92 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 26.98%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.59 billion, down 12.61% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for BorgWarner. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 1.58% upward. At present, BorgWarner boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, BorgWarner is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.94. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 11.51 of its industry.
It's also important to note that BWA currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.91. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Automotive - Original Equipment industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.69 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Automotive - Original Equipment industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 109, putting it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow BWA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216695/borgwarner-bwa-increases-despite-market-slip-heres-what-you-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
CF Industries (CF - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $77.49, indicating a +0.7% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the fertilizer maker had lost 3.4% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Basic Materials sector's loss of 7% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of CF Industries in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 14, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.56, signifying a 64.14% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.49 billion, showing a 42.99% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for CF Industries. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.8% increase. At present, CF Industries boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note CF Industries's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.87. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.06.
It's also important to note that CF currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.98. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Fertilizers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.44 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Fertilizers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 220, putting it in the bottom 13% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216697/cf-industries-cf-gains-as-market-dips-what-you-should-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:48Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest trading session, Sunrun (RUN - Free Report) closed at $14.32, marking a -0.07% move from the previous day. The stock's change was equal to S&P 500. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the solar energy products distributor had lost 29.48% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Sunrun in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on February 21, 2024. In that report, analysts expect Sunrun to post earnings of -$0.19 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 165.52%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $498.73 million, down 18.13% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Sunrun should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 4.6% downward. As of now, Sunrun holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 221, this industry ranks in the bottom 13% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216698/sunrun-run-stock-moves--007-what-you-should-know
| 2024-01-26T23:17:55Z
|
blocked_url
|
Coty (COTY - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $12.16, demonstrating a +1.08% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.36%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the beauty products company had lost 3.91% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 4.4% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Coty will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on February 7, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.19, marking a 13.64% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $1.67 billion, reflecting a 9.62% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $0.40 per share and a revenue of $6.11 billion, indicating changes of -24.53% and +9.92%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Coty. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.25% upward. Coty is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at valuation, Coty is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.45. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 29.16.
Also, we should mention that COTY has a PEG ratio of 6.78. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Cosmetics industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.72 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Cosmetics industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 173, this industry ranks in the bottom 32% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216699/coty-coty-ascends-while-market-falls-some-facts-to-note
| 2024-01-26T23:18:01Z
|
blocked_url
|
Splunk (SPLK - Free Report) closed at $153.36 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.04% move from the prior day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of software that helps companies collect and analyze internal data had gained 0.82% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Splunk in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.87, showcasing an 8.33% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.25 billion, showing a 0.28% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.28 per share and a revenue of $3.96 billion, representing changes of +59.11% and +8.52%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Splunk. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Right now, Splunk possesses a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Splunk is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 35.83. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 34.06.
We can additionally observe that SPLK currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.21. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Internet - Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.76.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 53, putting it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216700/why-the-market-dipped-but-splunk-splk-gained-today
| 2024-01-26T23:18:07Z
|
blocked_url
|
Cummins (CMI - Free Report) closed at $240.63 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.75% move from the prior day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the engine maker had lost 0.72% over the past month, outpacing the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's loss of 12.12% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Cummins in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on February 6, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.41, showcasing a 2.43% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $8.08 billion, showing a 3.93% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Cummins should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.07% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Cummins boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Cummins is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.38. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.38, which means Cummins is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.
We can additionally observe that CMI currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.28. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Automotive - Internal Combustion Engines industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.28.
The Automotive - Internal Combustion Engines industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 111, placing it within the top 45% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216701/why-the-market-dipped-but-cummins-cmi-gained-today
| 2024-01-26T23:18:13Z
|
blocked_url
|
The most recent trading session ended with On Holding (ONON - Free Report) standing at $26.25, reflecting a -1.43% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.16%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
The running-shoe and apparel company's shares have seen a decrease of 4.76% over the last month, not keeping up with the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 1.63% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of On Holding in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.11, showcasing a 450% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $508.48 million, up 33.51% from the year-ago period.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for On Holding. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.2% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. On Holding is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, On Holding is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 33.39. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.98, which means On Holding is trading at a premium to the group.
We can additionally observe that ONON currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.84. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Leisure and Recreation Products industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.32.
The Leisure and Recreation Products industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 193, putting it in the bottom 24% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216702/on-holding-onon-sees-a-more-significant-dip-than-broader-market-some-facts-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:18:19Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest market close, Array Technologies, Inc. (ARRY - Free Report) reached $13.02, with a -1.44% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
The company's shares have seen a decrease of 22.7% over the last month, not keeping up with the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Array Technologies, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.11, indicating a 10% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $322.34 million, indicating a 19.83% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Array Technologies, Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 4.1% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Array Technologies, Inc. is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Array Technologies, Inc. is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.48. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 11.3 of its industry.
Investors should also note that ARRY has a PEG ratio of 0.22 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Solar industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.05.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, positioning it in the bottom 13% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216703/array-technologies-inc-arry-falls-more-steeply-than-broader-market-what-investors-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:18:26Z
|
blocked_url
|
Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $69.11, moving -0.19% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 1.31% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 6.48%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.05%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Southern Co. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 15, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.59, reflecting a 126.92% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $7.8 billion, indicating a 10.66% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.68% lower within the past month. Right now, Southern Co. possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 17.28. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.52.
One should further note that SO currently holds a PEG ratio of 4.32. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.53 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 111, placing it within the top 45% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216704/southern-co-so-falls-more-steeply-than-broader-market-what-investors-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:18:32Z
|
blocked_url
|
The latest trading session saw Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) ending at $130.99, denoting a +0.85% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the scientific instrument maker had lost 7.08% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Agilent Technologies in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 27, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.21, down 11.68% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.57 billion, indicating a 10.53% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.48 per share and a revenue of $6.74 billion, representing changes of +0.74% and -1.42%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Agilent Technologies should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.07% upward. Agilent Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Agilent Technologies currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.72. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 24.
Also, we should mention that A has a PEG ratio of 2.96. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Electronics - Testing Equipment industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.69.
The Electronics - Testing Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 40, this industry ranks in the top 16% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216705/agilent-technologies-a-advances-while-market-declines-some-information-for-investors
| 2024-01-26T23:18:38Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest trading session, Hercules Capital (HTGC - Free Report) closed at $17.56, marking a +1.27% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Coming into today, shares of the specialty finance company had gained 2.6% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 1.77%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.05%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Hercules Capital in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on February 15, 2024. On that day, Hercules Capital is projected to report earnings of $0.50 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.38%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $115.96 million, up 15.74% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Hercules Capital. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Right now, Hercules Capital possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Looking at its valuation, Hercules Capital is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.64. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 7.77 of its industry.
The Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry is part of the Finance sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 180, placing it within the bottom 29% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216706/hercules-capital-htgc-ascends-while-market-falls-some-facts-to-note
| 2024-01-26T23:18:44Z
|
blocked_url
|
Canadian Solar (CSIQ - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $22.97, demonstrating a -1.5% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
Shares of the solar wafers manufacturer have depreciated by 11.77% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Canadian Solar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of -$0.13, showcasing a 111.71% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.65 billion, showing a 16.33% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Canadian Solar. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Canadian Solar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
From a valuation perspective, Canadian Solar is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.78. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.3.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, placing it within the bottom 13% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216707/why-canadian-solar-csiq-dipped-more-than-broader-market-today
| 2024-01-26T23:18:51Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest trading session, Alkermes (ALKS - Free Report) closed at $27.74, marking a -1% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Coming into today, shares of the drugmaker had gained 0.5% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 1.45%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.05%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Alkermes in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.42, up 200% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $361.67 million, showing a 18.71% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Alkermes. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.36% higher. Right now, Alkermes possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Alkermes's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 12.31. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 22.09.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, which puts it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216708/alkermes-alks-registers-a-bigger-fall-than-the-market-important-facts-to-note
| 2024-01-26T23:18:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest trading session, Arcos Dorados (ARCO - Free Report) closed at $12.90, marking a -1.45% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Coming into today, shares of the restaurant owner had gained 2.27% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 1.02%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.05%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Arcos Dorados in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.25, down 3.85% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.16 billion, showing a 14.4% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Arcos Dorados. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Right now, Arcos Dorados possesses a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Investors should also note Arcos Dorados's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.83. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.79.
It is also worth noting that ARCO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.09. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Retail - Restaurants industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.84.
The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 109, this industry ranks in the top 44% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216709/arcos-dorados-arco-registers-a-bigger-fall-than-the-market-important-facts-to-note
| 2024-01-26T23:19:03Z
|
blocked_url
|
Affirm Holdings (AFRM - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $41.34, demonstrating a +1.55% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.36%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the operator of digital commerce platform had lost 20.78% over the past month. This has lagged the Business Services sector's gain of 1.03% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Affirm Holdings in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 8, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.07, up 106.36% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $518.42 million, up 29.75% from the prior-year quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $0.33 per share and revenue of $2.02 billion, indicating changes of +109.88% and +27.45%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Affirm Holdings. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, Affirm Holdings possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Affirm Holdings is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 122.13. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.85, so one might conclude that Affirm Holdings is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can additionally observe that AFRM currently boasts a PEG ratio of 8.37. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. AFRM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.42 as of yesterday's close.
The Business - Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 173, which puts it in the bottom 32% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216710/affirm-holdings-afrm-advances-while-market-declines-some-information-for-investors
| 2024-01-26T23:19:09Z
|
blocked_url
|
Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $493.59, demonstrating a +0.08% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.07% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the beauty products retailer had gained 1.31% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.02% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Ulta Beauty in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $7.48, reflecting a 11.98% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $3.51 billion, indicating an 8.89% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $25.52 per share and a revenue of $11.22 billion, representing changes of +6.29% and +9.86%, respectively, from the prior year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Ulta Beauty. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.03% upward. Ulta Beauty presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Ulta Beauty currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.33. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.56.
Meanwhile, ULTA's PEG ratio is currently 2.17. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Miscellaneous industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.38.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 208, this industry ranks in the bottom 18% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216711/ulta-beauty-ulta-rises-as-market-takes-a-dip-key-facts
| 2024-01-26T23:19:15Z
|
blocked_url
|
Paramount Global-B (PARA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $13.80, moving -1.15% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
The company's stock has dropped by 7.85% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 1.63% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Paramount Global-B in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on February 28, 2024. The company is predicted to post an EPS of -$0.04, indicating a 150% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.8 billion, showing a 4.01% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Paramount Global-B. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 2.81% decrease. Paramount Global-B is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Paramount Global-B currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.45. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.29.
One should further note that PARA currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.79. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Media Conglomerates industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.79.
The Media Conglomerates industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 111, this industry ranks in the top 45% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow PARA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216712/paramount-global-b-para-suffers-a-larger-drop-than-the-general-market-key-insights
| 2024-01-26T23:19:22Z
|
blocked_url
|
The most recent trading session ended with G-III Apparel Group (GIII - Free Report) standing at $30.91, reflecting a +0.55% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36%.
The clothing and accessories maker's stock has dropped by 9.67% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 1.63% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The upcoming earnings release of G-III Apparel Group will be of great interest to investors. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.67, signifying a 63.41% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $817.35 million, indicating a 4.34% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
GIII's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.97 per share and revenue of $3.15 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +39.3% and -2.35%, respectively.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for G-III Apparel Group. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. As of now, G-III Apparel Group holds a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking at its valuation, G-III Apparel Group is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 7.74. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.08.
The Textile - Apparel industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 180, finds itself in the bottom 29% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216713/g-iii-apparel-group-giii-increases-despite-market-slip-heres-what-you-need-to-know
| 2024-01-26T23:19:28Z
|
blocked_url
|
James Hardie (JHX - Free Report) closed at $36.73 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.46% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.16%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.36%.
The the stock of fiber cement maker has fallen by 4.77% in the past month, lagging the Construction sector's loss of 1.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
The upcoming earnings release of James Hardie will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on February 12, 2024.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.60 per share and a revenue of $3.94 billion, indicating changes of +17.65% and +4.37%, respectively, from the former year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for James Hardie. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 1.27% increase. James Hardie presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
From a valuation perspective, James Hardie is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.85. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.27.
It's also important to note that JHX currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.93. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Building Products - Miscellaneous industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.79 as of yesterday's close.
The Building Products - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Construction sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, finds itself in the top 31% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow JHX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216714/james-hardie-jhx-gains-as-market-dips-what-you-should-know
| 2024-01-26T23:19:35Z
|
blocked_url
|
The latest trading session saw Eaton (ETN - Free Report) ending at $245.89, denoting a +0.03% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the power management company had gained 2.11% over the past month, outpacing the Industrial Products sector's loss of 0.09% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Eaton in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 1, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.47, up 19.9% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $5.89 billion, indicating a 9.48% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Eaton. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.24% higher. Eaton presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Digging into valuation, Eaton currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.58. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 20.51, so one might conclude that Eaton is trading at a premium comparatively.
It's also important to note that ETN currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.09. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Manufacturing - Electronics was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.89 at yesterday's closing price.
The Manufacturing - Electronics industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 10, putting it in the top 4% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216715/eaton-etn-advances-while-market-declines-some-information-for-investors
| 2024-01-26T23:19:41Z
|
blocked_url
|
In the latest market close, Bel Fuse (BELFB - Free Report) reached $66.22, with a -0.94% movement compared to the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.36%.
The maker of electronic products for circuits's shares have seen a decrease of 0.89% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Bel Fuse in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Bel Fuse is projected to report earnings of $1.44 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.67%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $152.86 million, down 9.66% from the year-ago period.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Bel Fuse. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.13% higher within the past month. Bel Fuse currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Bel Fuse is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.63. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 18.62.
The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, which puts it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216716/bel-fuse-belfb-declines-more-than-market-some-information-for-investors
| 2024-01-26T23:19:47Z
|
blocked_url
|
Fashion
With ‘60s soul and a full Spring 2024 runway look, the modern jazz singer hits the town.
We’ve entered the next phase of the Toryssaince, and the theme is … cats. On Jan. 24, Tory Burch and Humberto Leon (of Opening Ceremony and Kenzo fame) threw a party for their new popup shop in Los Angeles, which was designed to resemble a postmodern cat tower with shag carpeting and Chuch Estudio fresa vases. Under the gaze of Walter Schels’ floor-to-ceiling feline photographs, guests — including Natasha Lyonne, Awkwafina, and an actual kitten named Bean — browsed Hoop dresses and Pierced wedges as cat-eared servers passed strawberry ring pops.
Singer Laufey — who was also in attendance wearing look four from the designer’s Spring 2024 collection — takes NYLON along as she preps for the evening, cow earrings and all.
Your fans have named your style “Laufeycore.” Out of 10, how would you rate your look tonight on the Laufey-core scale?
I would say a seven. The cow earrings were pretty high up there. I wore a miniskirt, which is very Laufeycore. I felt very in my element. There have definitely been fashion moments where I pushed myself … but this was fun. I felt very comfy.
What were you listening to as you got ready?
I was listening exclusively to Sam Cooke, very ‘50s, ‘60s soulful music. It just felt appropriate. I was playing “Cupid” and “Only Sixteen.” The outfit itself — the whole line — is quite ‘60s. We played into that with the makeup, and I played into that with the getting-ready music as well.
What caught your eye at the Tory Burch store?
The accessories [made for] the best interior. There was a pair of brown suede T-strap shoes that I need to figure out how to acquire. I immediately drifted towards them.
What were your highlights of the evening?
Lukita, who I met there, brought her cat called Bean. I got to hang out with Bean for a little bit. And I walked in and saw Awkwafina, who I’ve hung out with before. So immediately, I was like, “Oh, there are friends here.” And I got to talk to Tory — she has twins, and I’m a twin so we bonded over that. I met so many people who had twins yesterday it was crazy. Then we went to The Formosa Cafe to have a smaller dinner and they had dumplings. Being half-Chinese, I was very happy.
Do you have any tricks for working a room?
I just remember that fake confidence is the same thing as real confidence. You need to remember that everyone around you is kind of feeling the same way. A lot of being at events is feeling like you don’t belong, but the truth is that if you’re there, you do belong. Everyone’s thinking about themselves, no one’s thinking about you.
It’s just been announced that you're supporting Mitski on tour. How are you feeling?
To get to share the stage in any way with Mitski is wild. We have a lot of fan crossover so it was really exciting to announce it. I’ve loved her music even before this year, and I’m so happy she’s getting recognition. She’s one of the few other half-Asian artists I look up to, and that’s really valuable to me.
A lot of fans online are feeling some type of way about that announcement. What message do you want to share with them?
Pack tissues. [Laughs.] Just enjoy.
You're nominated for a Grammy! Can you give us a hint about your look for the ceremony next week?
It’s very, very classic, I would say … girly classic. I thought, “It’s my first Grammys. I want to appear as myself.”
|
https://www.nylon.com/fashion/getting-ready-with-laufey
| 2024-01-26T23:35:10Z
|
blocked_url
|
Nylon Nights
Opening Night At The Spotlight, A Hollywood Hotspot With Something For Everyone
A buzzy new music venue opens in L.A. — here’s everything you need to know.
The corner of Selma Avenue and N. Cahuenga Boulevard — where nightlife hotspots Tao, Dream Hollwyood, and Beauty & Essex are located — is rarely quiet. But on Jan. 25, the lines stretched even longer than usual, thanks to the highly anticipated opening of The Spotlight, a music venue whose name refers to the space’s storied past as a 24-hour gay nightclub in the ‘70s.
As I walked past a psychedelic mural by Valfré wrapping the exterior, the 2,700-square-foot space unfolds with dim, gold-toned lighting made for date night. Framework, the production company also behind the nearby club Sound, is responsible for the moody interior that they say is reminiscent of a 1960s speakeasy. But while Sound is known for electronic music, The Spotlight is built for the bona fide live-music fan with more eclectic tastes.
Past the bar that offers a drink named after Avicii, British singer-songwriter SG Lewis — known for his collabs with artists like Tove Lo and Dua Lipa — is spinning inside a custom DJ booth built on automatic hydraulics. (The Dare and Ahmed Spins are also booked to play this weekend, with upcoming acts including DJ Tennis and Ariel Vromen.) The crowd, or at least those who could make it inside, take to the all-new dance floor in droves under a big disco ball.
Even when packed, the space feels comfortable to the VIP crowd. There were no photo shoots or or TikToks being created that I could see. (Photos and videos are prohibited in the main DJ space on Thursday nights.) Even the unofficial dress-code is cooler than your average Hoolywood spot: Dr. Martens, black minis, and leather bombers feel refreshingly casual compared to the usual super-tight and sexy L.A. fodder; the guys in attendance mostly went for band tees and blazers.
Folks of all ages danced and hung out on the couches in the back, which opens onto a brick-walled outdoor space and another bar. In the crowd, I spotted influencer Rickey Thompson, as well as The Bungalow and Neon Carnival founder Brent Bolthouse.
Notably, L.A. bars close at 2 a.m. (blame it on early-morning Runyon hikes), but when I left well- after midnight, there was still a line to get in. Considering how it stands out among the area’s other options, with something for everyone, we’d say it’s well worth the wait.
|
https://www.nylon.com/nylon-nights/the-spotlight-hollywood-opening
| 2024-01-26T23:35:16Z
|
blocked_url
|
Kate Hudson is going back to her comedy chops as she has joined Mindy Kaling's new TV project with Netflix.
The mom-of-three will star as Isla Gordon, the "only sister in a family of competitive brothers" who has been "overlooked and underappreciated her whole life". But, "when she is unexpectedly appointed President of the Los Angeles Waves, she finally has the chance to prove she deserves to be part of the family business as much as everyone else".
The project is still untitled and has Mindy, her Mindy Project costar and long-time collaborator Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen as executive producers.
The official synopsis reads: "When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon is appointed President of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business. Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job, especially in the unpredictable, male-dominated world of sports."
Kate is the daughter of Goldie Hawn, and was raised amid an acting dynasty; her step-father is Kurt Russell, and two of her brothers are both actors – Oliver Hudson most recently starred in The Cleaning Lady on Fox, and Wyatt Russell appears alongside dad Kurt in Apple TV+'s Monarch.
Kate found fame in the early 2000s with roles in Almost Famous – for which she was nominated for an Oscar – and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and most recently co-starred with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in the Apple TV+ series, Truth Be Told.
She is also releasing her debut single 'Talk About Love,' on January 30.
"Sneaky peeky I’m beyond excited to put my first single Talk About Love into the world Out January 30… pre-save it now in my bio," she shared with fans on social media.
Kate is mom to three kids – Ryder, 20, who was born during her marriage to Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, 12-year-old Bingham, whom she welcomed with Matt Bellamy, and daughter Rani, five, whom she shares with Danny Fujikawa; the pair became engaged in 2021.
“It’s hard to get it together when you are a working mom, and it was especially hard when I was a single mom. But at the end of the day, I want people to not put so much pressure on themselves,” she shared in an interview with People magazine earlier in 2024.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/512167/kate-hudson-major-career-decision-ahead-of-debut-single-release-all-we-know/
| 2024-01-26T23:39:30Z
|
blocked_url
|
Elizabeth Hurley effortlessly wows her fans on a consistent basis with her flawless bikini body, and in her latest post she shared an insight into her fitness secrets.
The advice came alongside a stunning snap of the 58-year-old as she modelled a bold one-piece swimsuit that had an incredibly deep v-cut neckline. The black swimsuit looked flawless on the swimwear model and she styled her luscious brunette hair into tresses for the black-and-white photos.
In her caption, she revealed that followers often reached out to her for advice on how to achieve a bikini body like hers, and so Elizabeth spilled the beans.
The star's secrets were surprisingly simple as she highlighted exercise and the avoidance of junk foods. "One question I get asked all the time is, how do you stay in shape and what do you eat? So here goes," she penned. "My mantra is: don't eat too much, too fast, too often or too late.
"Or, put another way, eat smaller meals, chew properly, ban snacking and eat dinner earlier. This works for me. I don't drink weird green juices or shakes and only take supplements if a blood test tells me I'm lacking something. I try to have vegetables or fruit equal half of every plate I eat - ie if I have a sandwich, I also eat an apple."
She continued: "I eat pretty much everything but only have junk food as an absolute treat - and I count junk food as anything that contains any ingredient that I don't have in my own kitchen, so that includes 'diet' and 'low-fat' everything, all ready meals, all bought sandwiches, cakes and biscuits and all sodas. My best investment was a bread maker and I make a loaf a day. I also make cakes every weekend.
The star concluded: "Other than diet, my other advice is to move more. I don't go to the gym or do any set exercise but I'm extremely active. There endeth the sermon. Let me know if this makes sense for you."
The model's advice is similar to previous interviews, with the star previously telling MailOnline: "I love working in my garden and am never happier than when wielding a strimmer. I walk my dogs a lot too. I don't do any set exercise but can't sit still for long."
When it comes to diet, Elizabeth isn't one of these celebrities who constantly partakes in unsustainable, fad diets, previously admitting to MailOnline: "I actually eat quite a lot, but very little junk or processed foods and don't drink much alcohol. I try to eat lots of vegetables and never eat between meals."
She also told The View: "I always watch what I eat, but I eat plenty of food. I don't do all that green juice, I don't do any of that… powders, I don't really take vitamins. I try not to eat too much for dinner."
In terms of what Elizabeth does eat, she has been known to be a fan of having cups of hot water first thing in the morning to boost metabolism, before tucking into some Greek yoghurt with fruit. Later in the day, the model likes to stick to fresh vegetables and locally sourced meat. She also revealed she likes to eat early in the day, so her body has enough time to digest before sleeping.
SEE: Elizabeth Hurley sparks fan response with latest daring beachside photos
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/512168/elizabeth-hurley-smoulders-plunging-swimsuit-fitness-secrets/
| 2024-01-26T23:39:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
SYDNEY - The pro-Taiwan leader of the Pacific islands nation of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, lost his seat in an election closely watched by Taiwan, China and the U.S., partial results showed on Saturday.
Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan, after Nauru cut ties this month and switched to Beijing, which had promised more development help.
Natano had pledged to continue support for Taiwan, a diplomatic ally since 1979. Another leadership contender, Seve Paeniu, has said diplomatic ties should be reviewed, with the new government deciding whether Taiwan or China can best respond to Tuvalu's needs.
Results for the electorate of Funafuti released on Saturday on a Tuvalu TV showed Natano did not retain his seat. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Paeniu was returned unopposed in the Nukulaelae island electorate, and said he will seek to form a coalition among elected lawmakers to run for prime minister.
There are no political parties in Tuvalu's parliament, where two lawmakers are elected in each of eight island electorates.
The diplomatic tussle between Taiwan and China comes amid a wider contest for influence in the Pacific between China and the U.S., with Washington recently pledging the first submarine cable to connect Tuvalu to global telecommunications.
Paeniu told Reuters on Saturday the issue of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan or China should be debated by the new government.
"Our last government under Prime Minister Natano had extensive internal discussions about it upon the commencement of our term in government to determine our policy stance on it, so undoubtedly the new government would need to look at the matter and decide its policy position accordingly," he said.
Tuvalu's election commissioner Tufoua Panapa said on Friday evening after polling booths closed that the new lawmakers will meet next week to vote for a prime minister, at a time notified by the Governor General.
"We will have a clearer picture by next week - as we need to bring elect-MPs to the capital island, from the outer-islands," he said. The boat journey can take up to 27 hours.
Another leadership contender, Enele Sopoaga, was still waiting for results. Sopoaga previously supported Taiwan ties, but wants a security deal with Australia to be scrapped.
Former foreign minister Simon Kofe, who attracted global headlines in 2021 when he delivered a speech to the United Nations climate change summit standing knee-deep in water to highlight the plight of the low-lying nation, has retained his seat in parliament for Funafuti. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/tuvalus-pro-taiwan-leader-loses-seat-in-national-election
| 2024-01-27T00:44:22Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he will miss his old sparring partner Juergen Klopp when the Liverpool manager calls time on his reign at the end of the season.
Klopp stunned the soccer world on Jan 26 when he announced this would be his last season at the Anfield club he took over in 2015 and led to multiple trophies.
Asked after his side’s 1-0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Tottenham Hotspur if the news had been a shock, Guardiola said: “I am a little bit, he’s an absolutely incredible manager and I know I don’t know him closely but he’s an incredible person.
“I had a feeling that he’s leaving part of us too at Man City as Liverpool have been our biggest rival in his years.
"Personally he has been my biggest rival from when he was at Dortmund and I was at Bayern Munich. He will be missed, personally I will miss.
“I am pleased because without him I will sleep a little bit better the night before we play against Liverpool! But I wish him all the best.”
City have jousted with Liverpool in several epic title races since Guardiola and Klopp both took charge and look set to go toe-to-toe again this season with the sides first and second in the standings.
"He doesn't admit it but he will be back," Guardiola, whose City side are seeking a fourth successive league title, said. "All the managers will (feel tired) when you've done many years, I feel it completely.
"I felt it at Barcelona so I understand it completely."
Klopp, who has won the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Super Cup during his spell in charge, said he had made the decision because his energy for the job was waning.
"I think the Premier League is going to miss his charisma, personality and the way his teams play," added Guardiola.
"They have always been a pleasure to watch how positive they are in their approach. They try to win every game. I wish him all the best." REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/ill-miss-him-but-ill-sleep-better-guardiola-says-of-klopps-quit-decision
| 2024-01-27T00:44:33Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Whether you are a defender, attacker or goalkeeper, there are three important skills and attributes that one must have to excel in floorball.
Mastering the art of passing and shooting is key to success in the rink, says national women’s floorballer Siti Khairul Anwar, along with grit and hard work.
Emerging in Sweden in the late 1960s, floorball is a type of floor hockey that involves six players per side – a goalkeeper and five outfield players.
The sport is mainly played indoors – with a plastic/carbon fibre stick and a plastic ball – on a rink that is around 20 metres wide and 40 metres long. The objective is to outscore your opponents within three 20-minute periods.
Floorball is popular in most Scandinavian countries and Europeans ones such as Switzerland and the Czech Republic. It also has a significant following in Singapore, with over 10,000 active players and 100 clubs.
The Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) was formed in 1995 and joined the International Floorball Federation the following year.
Since then, the Republic has hosted several World Championships, Asia Pacific Championship and World University Championships – with the most recent being the Women’s World Championship in December 2023.
The Singapore women’s team are the reigning SEA Games champions and ranked 12th in the world, while the men’s clinched bronze in Phnom Penh in 2022 and are ranked 16th globally.
Siti, 25, started her journey in the sport when she was in secondary school.
A volleyball player in primary school, she had initially wanted to continue in the sport but her friends convinced her to join floorball and she has been been hooked on it since.
Siti said: “My group of friends were playing floorball so I thought, “let’s give this sport a shot”, and from there my coach then made me love the sport even more, I saw myself growing and made the decision to stay.”
She scored five goals in the world championship – the team finished 12th eventually – and will compete in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in February.
Floorball is a sport that is well suited to Singapore as it can be played indoors and will not be affected by inclement weather, says Singapore national women’s head coach Lim Jin Quan.
“What I love about floorball is that it is a contact team sport, it is easy to play indoors and the beauty about floorball is that it is easy to pick up.”
For those who are looking to get started in floorball, Lim adds that there are clinics available at Our Tampines Hub as well as several academies that run classes for children and adults.
Three tips from a pro:
1. Train on your basic passing – work on simple passes with a partner and increase the distance for progression. Longer distance means more power is needed but be sure to maintain accuracy, with the ball directed to your friend’s blade.
2. Practice shooting – set up bottles as targets by placing them at different heights and then aim to shoot them down. This helps to improve your accuracy.
3. Hard Work – in order to excel in the sport, off-the-ball training is crucial. As floorball is fast paced and a contact sport, go for runs to improve fitness and work out in the gym to build strength.
Fun fact:
No one actually knows where floorball originated. Many countries have laid claim to being the inventor of the sport, but they can all agree that it is actually a way to play a variation of ice hockey when it is not snowing.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/st-sports-play-of-the-month-floorball
| 2024-01-27T00:44:43Z
|
blocked_url
|
BERLIN - Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday voiced concern over the rise of extreme-right tendencies in his country 79 years after the Auschwitz extermination camp was liberated.
"New reports are emerging all the time: about neo-Nazis and their dark networks," the Social Democrat said in a recorded video speech commemorating the Jan. 27, 1945, liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops.
"At the same time, right-wing populists are gaining ground, fuelling fear and sowing hatred," Scholz said, adding that this should not be accepted.
Indeed protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have been gaining momentum in the wake of a report that two senior party members joined a meeting to discuss plans for the mass deportation of citizens of foreign origin, with countrywide demonstrations heading into their third week.
The protesters are looking to curb support for the AfD, which is polling in second place nationally and first in the three eastern German states holding elections this year.
"It is the cohesion of democrats that makes our democracy strong," Scholz said.
"Showing it confidently in public - as is happening now - feels good," he added.
The chancellor also welcomed a landmark ruling to cut funding to the radical right-wing party Die Heimat, which sparked a debate on whether a similar step could be taken against the nationalist AfD party, referring to the decision as "very good". REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/germanys-scholz-says-dark-neo-nazi-networks-are-on-the-rise
| 2024-01-27T00:44:54Z
|
blocked_url
|
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Friday the creation of a second body to assist businesses in wartime after several entrepreneurs voiced outrage at the arrest of a prominent banker.
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said the All-Ukraine Economic Platform would help businesses overcome the challenges posed by Russia's nearly two-year-old invasion.
Earlier this week, Zelenskiy announced the formation of a Council for the Support of Entrepreneurship, which he said sought to strengthen the economy and clarify issues relating to law enforcement agencies.
Decrees creating both bodies were published on Friday.
In his latest remarks, Zelenskiy said the platform would be a "new communication mechanism with entrepreneurs" and would encompass the "entire business community".
He said he was grateful to all entrepreneurs "who stay in the country and maintain their businesses and jobs".
The creation of the two entities followed a meeting with business leaders after the arrest last week of banker Ihor Mazepa, which Zelenskiy acknowledged had been "difficult".
The council was formed on the basis of a decision of the
National Security and Defence Council, which sets defence policy. The council also pledged to alter provisions of the criminal code on the arrest and prosecution of business figures.
Business owners objected to Mazepa's detention on allegations he engaged in an illegal acquisition of land north of Kyiv to proceed with construction of luxury housing. Mazepa has since been released from pre-trial detention after posting reduced bail.
Mazepa has pledged to appeal the court ruling ordering his detention and said the case against him was being pursued because of his criticism of law enforcement bodies.
His company, Concorde Capital, has operated in Ukraine for some 20 years. His brother and company officials were also detained. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-announces-second-pro-business-body-after-fury-over-bankers-arrest
| 2024-01-27T00:45:04Z
|
blocked_url
|
BEIRUT - Lebanon's parliament late on Friday passed an amended budget for 2024 that experts said neglected to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from a financial meltdown gutting the public sector for nearly five years.
The draft was passed after three days of drawn-out disputes, including several heated exchanges in parliament's chamber with caretaker premier Najib Mikati, highlighting the deep divisions that have paralysed Lebanese politics, and prolonged a more than year-long vacuum at the presidency.
The budget, amended over the course of months from a version that had been submitted to parliament by Mikati, anticipated significantly higher state revenues earned through VAT and customs fees.
It also included measures that appeared to target those who had made illicit gains during Lebanon's financial crisis, by fining companies who unfairly benefited from the central bank's previous currency exchange platform and traders who used the central bank's subsidies on imports to generate profit.
Since Lebanon's economy began to unravel in 2019, the currency has lost around 95% of its value, banks have locked most depositors out of their savings and more than 80% of the population has sunk below the poverty line.
The crisis erupted after decades of profligate spending and corruption among the ruling elite, some of whom led banks that lent heavily to the state.
The government estimates losses in the financial system total more than $70 billion, the majority of which were accrued at the central bank.
The vested interests of the political and economic class have blocked key reforms required by the International Monetary Fund to unlock a $3 billion aid package for Lebanon, including legislation to resolve its banking crisis and unifying multiple exchange rates for the Lebanese pound.
The IMF had also urged Lebanon to consider increases in social spending "with the goal of protecting the most vulnerable". It said last year that Lebanon "will be mired in a never-ending crisis" unless it implemented rapid reforms.
But speaking to legislators at Friday's session, Mikati said the government "stopped the collapse that had been happening, and we began the recovery phase". Around 40 of parliament's 128 members requested to comment on the budget, with many objecting to his remarks.
The draft of the 2024 budget seen by Reuters used an exchange rate of 89,000 Lebanese pounds ($5.93) to the U.S. dollar to calculate most tax revenues, while other calculations were set at a rate of 50,000 pounds.
The central bank last year devalued the official currency rate from the longtime peg of 1,500 to a rate of 15,000 pounds to the U.S. dollar.
The Policy Initiative think tank said the draft budget "disproportionately burden middle and lower-income households compared to affluent ones" by lowering the threshold for businesses to pay VAT and offering tax exemptions for big businesses.
Sami Zoughaib, a Lebanese economics expert at The Policy Initiative, said the budget was an example of "Lebanese economic alchemy."
"It serves no economic purpose and serves no particular vision beyond repeating a cycle of entropic decay for the state, the economy, and society," he told Reuters. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/lebanons-parliament-passes-2024-budget-shunning-major-reforms
| 2024-01-27T00:45:14Z
|
blocked_url
|
NEW YORK – A Manhattan jury on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump to pay US$83.3 million (S$111 million) to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in social media posts, news conferences and even on the campaign trail ever since she first accused him in 2019 of raping her in a department store dressing room decades earlier.
The award included US$65 million in punitive damages, which the nine-member jury assessed after finding that Trump, 77, had acted maliciously after Ms Carroll’s lawyers pointed to Trump’s persisting in attacks on her, both from the White House and after leaving office.
On a single day recently, Trump made more than 40 derisive posts about her on his Truth Social website.
Ms Carroll, 80, testified that his repeated taunts and lashing out had mobilized many of his supporters, leading to an onslaught of attacks on social media and in her email inbox that frightened her and “shattered” her reputation as a well-regarded advice columnist for Elle magazine. “I was attacked on Twitter,” Ms Carroll told the jury. “I was attacked on Facebook. I was living in a new universe.”
The verdict came as Trump faces a series of civil and criminal cases and is seeking to return to the White House. During the trial, Trump alternated campaign stops in New Hampshire, where he won the Republican presidential primary, with court appearances, using them as an opportunity to reach voters and complain that he had been mistreated. He appeared in court most days during the trial.
It is the second time Trump has been ordered to pay Ms Carroll damages in less than a year. In May, a different Manhattan jury awarded her US$5 million after finding Trump liable for sexually abusing her in the dressing room assault in the mid-1990s, and for defaming her in a post on his Truth Social website in October 2022, in which he called her accusation “a complete con job” and “a Hoax and a lie.”
On Friday, Ms Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Ms Carroll, asked the jury in a crisp and methodical summation to award her client at least US$24 million to help Carroll repair her reputation and to compensate her for the emotional harm Trump had inflicted with his attacks.
Ms Kaplan also asked the jury to award substantial punitive damages to deter Trump from continuing to attack Ms Carroll. Ms Kaplan did not specify an amount, but she noted that Trump, in an excerpt from a video deposition played for the jury, estimated that his brand alone was worth “maybe US$10 billion” and that he placed the value of various of his real estate properties at US$14 billion.
“Donald Trump is worth billions of dollars,” Ms Kaplan told the jury.
“The law says you can consider Donald Trump’s wealth as well as his malicious and spiteful continuing conduct in making that assessment,” Ms Kaplan said, adding, “Now is the time to make him pay for it, and now is the time to make him pay dearly.”
Trump did not hear those words. After scoffing, muttering and shaking his head throughout the first few minutes of Ms Kaplan’s closing argument, Trump rose from the defense table without saying anything, turned and left the 26th-floor courtroom. Ms Kaplan continued to address the jury as if the stark breach of decorum had not happened.
“The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom,” said Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is not related to Ms Carroll’s lawyer.
A clutch of reporters rushed to catch him outside. A sketch artist began drawing his exiting the courtroom. Later, a juror leaned forward and looked expectantly at the door.
He returned about 75 minutes after he left, when his lawyer, Ms Alina Habba, offered her summation.
Trump’s lawyers tried to cast Ms Carroll as a fame-hungry writer who was trying to raise a diminishing profile when she wrote in 2019 of an encounter more than two decades earlier that she said had traumatized her for decades.
Ms Habba argued that Ms Carroll’s reputation, far from being damaged, had improved as a result of the president’s statements. And she said Ms Carroll’s lawyers had not proved that the deluge of threats and defamatory statements the writer received were a response to Trump’s statements.
“No causation,” Ms Habba thundered, adding, “President Trump has no more control over the thoughts and feelings of social media users than he does the weather.”
The jurors remained attentive during the closing arguments, offering no clues about how they might be viewing the case. One watched Ms Roberta Kaplan intently during much of her summation; others alternated among looking at the lawyers, staring at the exhibits on the screens in front of them and taking notes.
During the summations, Trump’s account on his Truth Social website made about 16 posts in 15 minutes mostly attacking the judge and Ms Carroll, with by now familiar insults.
Mr Shawn G. Crowley, another of Carroll’s lawyers, rejected Ms Habba’s contention that Trump’s statements did not prompt the threats Ms Carroll received. Mr Crowley also brought up his decision Friday to walk away as Ms Roberta Kaplan gave full voice to Carroll’s case.
“He gets to lie,” Mr Crowley said. “He gets to threaten. He gets to ignore a jury verdict. He gets to defy the law and the rules of this courtroom. You saw how he has behaved through this trial. You heard him. You saw him stand up and walk out of this courtroom while Ms Kaplan was speaking. Rules don’t apply to Donald Trump.” NYTIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/trump-ordered-to-pay-carroll-us833-million-for-years-of-defamation
| 2024-01-27T00:45:25Z
|
blocked_url
|
Experts at the German Foreign Ministry have uncovered Russia’s systematic large-scale disinformation campaign being conducted on Twitter (X), Spiegel reported.
Analysts from the German Foreign Ministry examined a massive amount of data on Twitter (X) between 20 December and 20 January. During this period, they found over 50,000 fake user accounts that do not belong to real people and are involved in coordinated German-language information campaigns that support Russian narrative about the invasion of Ukraine.
According to Spiegel, on some days, these bots could send about 200,000 tweets per day. The activity of these fake accounts decreases on weekends and daysoff that are public holidays in Russia, Spiegel reported.
The narrative that Germany is neglecting the interests of its population to support Ukraine is prevalent among the posts spread by such bots. For instance, first-person bots usually write that they “think it is strange that the government does more for other countries than its own citizens.”
At the same time, it seems that the coordinators of such information campaigns seek to exploit the discontent felt by some Germans and try to inflame it, according to Spiegel. Analysts from the German Foreign Ministry believe that the goal of the disinformation campaign is to incite discontent among Germans and undermine confidence in the government, the democratic system, and the media.
Whitewashing Putin: how one reporter muddies Austrian views on Ukraine
German aid to Ukraine is a priority topic of the disinformation campaign, and the narrative of “Ukraine’s defeat” and the “invasion of Ukrainian refugees” into Western Europe is also widespread. Analysts at the Foreign Ministry believe the disinformation campaign on Twitter (X) has been going on since 2022 and Russia is behind it. There is growing concern within the German Foreign Ministry that such massive bot activity on social media could have a tangible impact on the upcoming region elections in Germany and the European Parliament elections.
Analysts are particularly concerned that much of the campaign appears to be fully automated: bots from a large group of accounts post their tweets at roughly the same time and at the same pace, giving the impression that it is somehow controlled by certain algorithms.
The campaign coordinators have repeatedly created fake sources to spread the necessary tweets to a large audience. For example, in September, a fake screenshot from German Foerign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s actual Twitter (X) account with her alleged statement that “the war in Ukraine will end in three months” was circulated. The screenshot turned out to be photoshopped (a template from the Russian-language interface was used).
Similarly, messages in reputable media are sometimes faked, attributing fictitious news and articles to them, which are then distributed on a large scale by fake user accounts. To do this, fake websites are created that copy the interface of an authentic media outlet accurately and use the names of actual journalists for fake news. The only thing that gives them away is their domain address. The fake user accounts spread a shortened link so that vigilant people do not see it right away.
Some accounts are eventually banned, but many of them continue to operate successfully, according to Speigel.
Related:
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/27/spiegel-russia-behind-massive-disinformation-campaign-to-undermine-support-for-ukraine-in-germany/
| 2024-01-27T00:59:37Z
|
blocked_url
|
The process of screening Ukrainian legislation for compliance with European law has officially begun in Brussels, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 26 January 2024.
The screening lays the groundwork for negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“I welcome today’s start of substantial preparations for Ukraine’s EU accession talks. The screening process, which lays the groundwork for the negotiations, has officially begun in Brussels,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter (X). “The thorough work of assessing the conformity of Ukrainian legislation with EU norms, the formation of Ukraine’s delegation, and our negotiating position are all ahead of us. I expect full engagement of the Ukrainian government team and the first intergovernmental conference to be held already this spring.” Ukraine’s President added.
President Zelenskyy noted that the start of preparations for Ukraine’s EU accession talks without delays is the outcome of his agreements reached with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) earlier this year.
The EU member states decided to start EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova on the first day of the EU Council Summit in Brussels in December 2023. Ukraine and Moldova submitted their applications for EU membership after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. In June of the same year, both countries were granted candidate status.
The EU’s decision to start accession talks with Ukraine represents the initial phase in a lengthy and intricately technical process, which may extend over several years before culminating in full-fledged membership.
Related:
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/27/ukraine-gears-up-for-eu-accession-talks/
| 2024-01-27T01:00:18Z
|
blocked_url
|
Travis Kelce is shaking off the haters. The NFL superstar has shared that he is only focusing on what is happening inside the locker room and his own personal life, amid ongoing claims that his new girlfriend Taylor Swift is a distraction.
"As long as we’re happy, we can't listen to anything that's outside noise. That's all that matters," he told the press during a Friday January 26 conference ahead of the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.
"You hear the media throughout the year if we’re not having success, you know, maybe throw it out there that I wasn't focused or that the team isn’t focused on certain things, and if you're in this building, you know exactly what’s going on," he added.
"So, you gotta compartmentalize what you're hearing and make sure that you're staying on task, and giving everybody in the building and on that team the right perception."
Travis, 34, and superstar Taylor began dating last summer after connecting following her July 2023 Eras Tour concert at Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, where Travis plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In stark contrast to her relationship of over six years with Joe Alwyn, Taylor and Travis have been incredibly public, with the 'Bejeweled' singer attending 12 Chiefs games tthis season, and Travis using his bye week in October to fly to Argentina to watch her perform in South America.
This past week marked another big step in their relationship as she made her first public appearance with Travis' brother Jason – who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles – and his wife Kylie.
Along with Cara Delevingne and Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the group gathered in a VIP suite in Buffalo, New York, braving the cold to cheer on the team as they beat the Buffalo Bills for a spot in the AFC finals.
Taylor rocked a striking $1,800 red-and-white varsity jacket, paired with a matching red beanie and her iconic red lipstick for the occasion – but it was Jason who was the talk of the stadium as, in true Bills Mafia fashion, he took off his shirt in the freezing temperatures and pounded beers, before jumping out of the suite and mingling with the crowds.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/512169/travis-kelce-shares-rare-insight-romance-with-taylor-swift-were-happy/
| 2024-01-27T01:51:00Z
|
blocked_url
|
You are reading the Morning Briefing newsletter. Get the news that prepares you for the day ahead, delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Use of ez-link, Nets FlashPay cards on public transport to stay till at least 2030: Chee Hong Tat
The $40 million bill to retain the card-based system will not affect fares, said the minister.
Phasing out older payment cards in SimplyGo switch a ‘judgment error’, says Transport Minister
ICJ ruling will increase Israel’s diplomatic isolation, but has little impact on the war in Gaza
The judges did not order a ceasefire, as demanded by South Africa, nor did they direct Israel to stop its bombing.
S’pore needs ‘active foreign policy’ that requires constant engagement: President Tharman
HK leaders say ‘days of fear’ are over, but Hong Kongers beg to differ. Who is right?
The city’s famed resilience is being tested on its rocky road to recovery after recent years of trauma.
Cordlife lapses: Viability results of 19,700 cord blood units to be released by end-March
Investigations had been expected to take about six weeks, based on a December 2023 announcement.
Majority of heat injury patients at SGH are young adults aged 18 to 39: Study
Over 200 of the 426 heat-related injury cases at SGH happened in December, one of the cooler months.
15-year-old teen among 68 suspects arrested in islandwide drug bust, over $60k in narcotics seized
The anti-drug operation covered areas such as Ang Mo Kio, MacPherson, Pasir Ris and Woodlands.
Klopp to take sabbatical, rules out ever managing another English club
How dangling a $10k carrot has helped private bus company woo younger S’porean drivers
Westpoint Transit's joining bonus has attracted 1,300 job applicants since December, half of whom are under 45.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/morning-briefing-top-stories-from-the-straits-times-on-jan-27-2024
| 2024-01-27T02:16:32Z
|
blocked_url
|
BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's new government withdrew major spending reforms from a sweeping "omnibus" bill in Congress to facilitate its approval, the economy minister said on Friday, while stressing President Javier Milei's pledge to eliminate the budget deficit.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the decision to scrap controversial provisions from the legislation, including pension and tax reform, implying that the libertarian Milei will seek tougher spending cuts elsewhere.
Milei's office described his commitment to a balanced budget as "unbreakable" in a statement after Caputo's remarks and argued that the removal of the bill's so-called fiscal chapter should guarantee its passage with lawmakers.
"The priority is for the law to pass," wrote analyst Salvador Vitelli in a post on X.
The announcement from Milei's economy chief marks a major concession as the government hopes to salvage the bill's prospects in Congress, where allies from other parties will be needed to enact the legislation.
The proposal had already faced stiff opposition, and the president's Libertad Avanza party only holds a small number of seats.
Milei, who took office last month, won a resounding election victory on a promise to rein in triple-digit inflation by dramatically downsizing the role of the government, including the privatization of state-owned firms and sharp cuts to a range of subsidies.
He has since pared back some of those promises - such as the privatization of state oil firm YPF - from the bill's text.
At a press conference, Caputo noted that inflation - which now stands at over 200% annually - has "slowed strongly" in the past two weeks, after a surge when the government pushed an early devaluation of the local peso currency last month.
He also said that his ministry would take control of the country's infrastructure portfolio, confirming earlier media reports that the government had moved to abolish the infrastructure ministry. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/argentina-pension-tax-reforms-scrapped-from-legislation-to-ease-passage
| 2024-01-27T02:16:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
NEW YORK -Donald Trump was handed a stinging defeat on Friday by a Manhattan jury that ordered him to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her.
Jurors needed less than three hours to reach a verdict in Manhattan federal court following a five-day trial. The sum that the former U.S. president was ordered to pay far exceeded the minimum $10 million Carroll had sought. Trump plans to appeal.
Carroll's case has become an issue in Trump's campaign to retake the White House in the November U.S. election. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
Trump attended most of the trial, but was not in the courtroom for the verdict.
"Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon," Trump posted on social media. "THIS IS NOT AMERICA!"
Carroll, 80, left the courthouse with her arms around two of her lawyers.
"This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she's been knocked down, and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down," Carroll said in a statement.
The former Elle magazine advice columnist sued Trump in November 2019 over his denials five months earlier that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Carroll testified that Trump's denials "shattered" her reputation as a respected journalist who told the truth.
The jury of seven men and two women, whose members were kept anonymous, awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages, including $11 million for harm to her reputation. Carroll also was awarded $65 million in punitive damages, which she said was needed to stop Trump from continuing to defame her.
Trump, 77, maintained that he had never heard of Carroll, and that she made up her story to boost sales of her memoir.
His lawyers said Carroll was hungry for fame and enjoyed the attention from supporters for speaking out against her nemesis.
In May 2023, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll.
Trump is appealing that decision, and set aside $5.55 million with the Manhattan court during that process. Both appeals could take years.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both trials, said the earlier verdict applied to the second trial, including that Trump had forced his fingers into Carroll's vagina. All jurors needed to decide was how much Trump should pay.
'IT WILL NOT DETER US'
Alina Habba, who led Trump's defense in Carroll's case, cast Friday's verdict in political terms, and predicted Trump's appeal will succeed.
"President Trump is leading in the polls, and now we see what you get in New York," Habba told reporters. "It will not deter us, we will keep fighting, and I assure you we didn't win today, but we will win."
Trump on Friday stalked out of the courtroom during the closing argument of Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, but returned for Habba's closing argument.
He has used his legal travails to portray himself as the victim of politically motivated lies and a biased, out-of-control judicial system.
Trump has separately pleaded not guilty to 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. He is also awaiting a decision, perhaps this month, from a New York judge on how much he should be penalized in state Attorney General Letitia James' $370 million civil fraud lawsuit against him and his namesake Trump Organization.
During the Carroll trial, Trump was heard muttering that the case was a "con job" and "witch hunt" and that he still did not know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to keep quiet.
CLOSING ARGUMENTS
Carroll's lawyer Kaplan said during her closing argument that Trump acted toward her client as though he were not bound by the law, and that he should pay "dearly."
Habba countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll's memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump's denials that began five hours later. Habba also argued that Carroll enjoyed her newfound fame, and that coming forward left her "happier than ever."
Trump testified on Thursday, but spent only four minutes on the witness stand because the judge forbade him from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled. He stood behind his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had seen, in which he called Carroll's claims a "hoax" and said she was "mentally sick."
Carroll wrote the "Ask E. Jean" column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC's "Today" and ABC's "Good Morning America." She said those appearances dried up because of Trump. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/donald-trump-ordered-to-pay-e-jean-carroll-833-million-will-appeal-verdict
| 2024-01-27T02:16:52Z
|
blocked_url
|
CHISINAU - The chief negotiator for Moldova's Russian-backed separatist Transdniestria region said on Friday that his team would no longer attend talks on the country's future in areas under government control because he feared arrest.
Transdniestria split from Moldova before the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule and fought a brief war against the newly independent country, but it has existed for more than 30 years on the country's eastern fringe with little turmoil.
The two sides hold periodic talks on resolving their differences, but tension has risen in the new year over Moldova's imposition of customs duties that the separatist side says will hurt its businesses. Moldovan officials described the latest session of talks earlier this month as "difficult".
Transdniestria's foreign minister, Vitaly Ignatiev, said he was wary of recent changes to Moldova's criminal code toughening its provisions against separatism. He said he could no longer abide by the principle of alternating the talks between the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, and Tiraspol, the separatist region's main town.
"No resident of Transdniestria can be safe from criminal prosecution if he is on the other side of the Dniester River," Ignatiev said, referring to the government-controlled area of Moldova.
"Within the context of our talks, we have repeatedly asked for guarantees against the use of repressive measures against citizens of Transdniestria. But Chisinau won't provide them."
Given the new criminal provisions, he said, talks could only be held either in Transdniestria or by video conference.
The pro-European government in Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries and which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has pledged to press on with a drive to join the European Union.
President Maia Sandu has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accused Russia of plotting to remove her. She says Moldova could join the EU initially without Transdniestria, citing membership granted to the divided island of Cyprus.
Moldova's chief negotiator, Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrean, said last week that authorities were not insisting on the current practice of alternating the site of talks.
The country's criminal code, he said, sought to uphold Moldova's territorial integrity and was not aimed at Transdniestria's residents, though he could not offer security guarantees "because I am not a prosecutor".
Ignatiev holds Ukrainian and Russian citizenship, and Kyiv has ordered him appear in a Ukrainian court this month to answer charges of welcoming Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and for more recent hostile statements about Ukraine. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/moldova-separatist-negotiator-wont-meet-in-government-held-areas-citing-arrest-fear
| 2024-01-27T02:17:03Z
|
blocked_url
|
CHISINAU - The chief negotiator for Moldova's Russian-backed separatist Transdniestria region said on Friday that his team would no longer attend talks on the country's future in areas under government control because he feared arrest.
Transdniestria split from Moldova before the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule and fought a brief war against the newly independent country, but it has existed for more than 30 years on the country's eastern fringe with little turmoil.
The two sides hold periodic talks on resolving their differences, but tension has risen in the new year over Moldova's imposition of customs duties that the separatist side says will hurt its businesses. Moldovan officials described the latest session of talks earlier this month as "difficult".
Transdniestria's foreign minister, Vitaly Ignatiev, said he was wary of recent changes to Moldova's criminal code toughening its provisions against separatism. He said he could no longer abide by the principle of alternating the talks between the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, and Tiraspol, the separatist region's main town.
"No resident of Transdniestria can be safe from criminal prosecution if he is on the other side of the Dniester River," Ignatiev said, referring to the government-controlled area of Moldova.
"Within the context of our talks, we have repeatedly asked for guarantees against the use of repressive measures against citizens of Transdniestria. But Chisinau won't provide them."
Given the new criminal provisions, he said, talks could only be held either in Transdniestria or by video conference.
The pro-European government in Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries and which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has pledged to press on with a drive to join the European Union.
President Maia Sandu has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accused Russia of plotting to remove her. She says Moldova could join the EU initially without Transdniestria, citing membership granted to the divided island of Cyprus.
Moldova's chief negotiator, Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrean, said last week that authorities were not insisting on the current practice of alternating the site of talks.
The country's criminal code, he said, sought to uphold Moldova's territorial integrity and was not aimed at Transdniestria's residents, though he could not offer security guarantees "because I am not a prosecutor".
Ignatiev holds Ukrainian and Russian citizenship, and Kyiv has ordered him appear in a Ukrainian court this month to answer charges of welcoming Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and for more recent hostile statements about Ukraine. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/moldova-separatist-negotiator-wont-meet-in-government-held-areas-citing-arrest-fear-0
| 2024-01-27T02:17:13Z
|
blocked_url
|
Russia’s labor shortage affects Moscow’s ability to recruit men for its armed forces, according to Bloomberg.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is exacerbating a severe labor shortage that exerts a negative influence on businesses and might undermine the Kremlin’s ability to replenish its armed forces.
According to Bloomberg, the competition for workers in Russia has led to substantial salary increases and made the once relatively lucrative military service less attractive, even after a 10.5% increase in monthly pay for participation in the war in 2023.
Professionals such as engineers, mechanics, machine operators, welders, and drivers can now find jobs with salaries comparable to or higher than those in the army after compensation for such work increased by 8-20% last year, according to Russian recruitment online service Superjob.
After Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared war mobilization in 2022, companies lost employees to the army and defense plants, which offered much higher salaries than even the most generous civilian plants, according to Bloomberg.
US Treasury: Russia’s economy under “considerable strain” due to its war in Ukraine
However, wages in other sectors of the Russian economy began to rise in response, and many businesses eventually regained their competitiveness.
Competition is also evident in the civilian sector, according to Bloomberg. Industrial enterprises compete for workers, as vacancies for security guards, for instance, offer higher salaries than in factories (but with much fewer job responsibilities), a top manager of one of the largest metallurgical and mining companies in Russia told Bloomberg.
According to Russia’s Federal Statistics Service, as of December 2023, the Russian economy needed a record 2.3 million workers. At the same time, the unemployment rate in Russia fell to a historic low of 2.9%.
“Russia’s strategy of recruiting volunteers for the armed forces with substantial sign-on bonuses and high salaries was most likely designed for a short war, according to Russian economist Aleksei Isakov. As the invasion of Ukraine drags on, labor shortages and low unemployment mean that private employers are left with few options other than what the military offers, Aleksei Isakov said.
“As market wages catch up with military pay, Russia will be forced to choose between devoting an even greater share of its public spending to the military, accepting a drop in volunteerism, or relying on targeted mobilization,” Aleksei Isakov said.
The Kremlin continues to rely heavily on volunteers for its war in Ukraine, offering them 210,000 rubles a month (around $2340). The sectors most in need of new staff, namely the public administration and defense sectors, have a shortage of 365,000 workers, according to Bloomberg.
In September 2022, Vladimir Putin’s decision to call up 300,000 reservists provoked the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Russians seeking to avoid war. Many of them were young professionals whose departure further exacerbated tensions in the labor market.
According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in 2023, about 490,000 people served in the Russian army under contract. According to Shoigu, the Russian military receives more than 1,500 applications for service every week.
Balance of war in Ukraine set to shift, not in Russia’s favor
The labor shortage has become a big problem for Russia’s central bank, which partially doubled its key interest rate in 2023 due to inflation caused by higher wages. Meanwhile, the labor shortage is acting as a constraint on the potential growth of the Russian economy.
Higher wages decrease Russian companies’ profits. In addition to wages, manufacturers offer additional benefits to attract and retain workers. Restaurants and construction companies are also feeling the pressure as labor migrants from neighboring countries leave Russia because high inflation and a weak national currency (Russian ruble) have reduced their income in dollar terms.
Labor shortages have forced Russia to look abroad for workers. About 10,000 people are expected to arrive from Kenya after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Nairobi in May 2023 for the first time in 13 years, according to Bloomberg.
Authorities in one of Russia’s Siberian regions are counting on North Korea and Cuba as a source of labor for their construction sites, which are short thousands of construction workers.
Other companies are looking for less traditional domestic sources of labor. At the end of 2023, Dmitry Shakhanov, deputy general director of Russian Railways, said that the company plans to hire convicts for forced labor and has already begun negotiations with the Federal Penitentiary Service.
According to a study by Superjob, the new reality of the Russian labor market is that 85% of companies in Russia are experiencing staff shortages, and 93% are hesitant to reduce staff, even though the number of vacancies increased 1.5 times in 2023.
Current trends in the labor market make it difficult for Russia’s Defense Ministry to attract volunteers to the Russian army and support the invasion of Ukraine.
Related:
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/27/bloomberg-war-with-ukraine-sparks-labor-shortage-in-russia-and-affects-its-ability-to-replenish-armed-forces/
| 2024-01-27T02:46:30Z
|
blocked_url
|
Intel’s ((INTC - Free Report) ) stock tumbled -12% in today’s trading session after the chip giant posted favorable Q4 results after market hours on Thursday but provided underwhelming guidance for the first quarter.
Still, investor sentiment has been high for chip stocks amid easing inflation. To that point, the Zacks Semiconductor-General Industry is already up +18% year to date and +121% over the last year with Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) ) and AMD (AMD - Free Report) ) leading the way.
Although Intel’s stock is now down -13% YTD, INTC shares have climbed +55% in the last year and investors may be wondering if the recent dip is a buying opportunity.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Q4 Review
CEO Pat Gelsinger stated the fourth quarter capped off a year of tremendous progress on Intel’s transformation with Q4 EPS of $0.54 a share topping the Zacks Consensus of $0.44 a share by 23%. More impressive, Q4 earnings soared 440% from $0.10 a share in the prior year quarter. This also marked Intel’s fourth straight quarter of topping earnings estimates.
On the top line, Q4 sales of $15.4 billion came in 2% better than expected and rose 10% year over year. Intel attributed the exhilarating results to consistent execution and accelerated innovation which resulted in strong customer momentum for the company’s products.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Following a very sharp recovery in 2022, Intel’s full-year fiscal 2023 revenue of $54.2 billion dipped -14% year over year with annual earnings of $1.05 per share falling -43% from $1.84 a share.
In a bid to compete against the likes of Nvidia and AMD regarding AI-powered chips, Intel is continuing to build its external foundry business and at-scale global manufacturing by executing its mission to bring AI everywhere.
Intel expects this to drive long-term value to shareholders with the company previously announcing the organizational change to integrate its Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group into its Client Computing Group and Data Center and AI Group. Notably, Data Center and AI revenue did dip -10% during Q4 to $4 billion but Client Computing revenue jumped 33% to $8.8 billion.
Image Source: Intel Press Release
Mobileye Headwinds & Weaker Outlook
Discrete headwinds in Intel’s Mobileye segment which is the company’s autonomous driving technologies unit along with business exits among others are impacting overall revenue for the first quarter. This led to Intel offering first quarter revenue guidance of $12.2 billion-$13.2 billion which was below most analysts' expectations and the current Zacks Consensus of $14.3 billion.
Intel expects Q1 earnings to be at $0.13 a share which was well below the current Zacks Consensus of $0.35 a share (current quarter below) and fueled today’s selloff.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Bottom Line
It may be to soon to buy the dip in Intel's stock as earnings estimates are likely to decline given the company’s weaker-than-expected guidance. For now, Intel’s stock lands a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and may continue to reward longer-term investors but the company’s transformation and outlook should still be closely monitored going forward.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Intel Corporation (INTC) - free report >>
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216718/should-investors-buy-the-dip-in-intels-stock-after-earnings?
| 2024-01-27T03:02:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD - Free Report) recently announced that the Super Pit expansion project at the Lumwana copper mine has been expedited, with initial production now slated for 2028. During a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow provided this update, highlighting the project's significance in transforming Lumwana into a major global copper mine, projecting an annual output of approximately 240,000 tons over a lifespan exceeding 30 years. The project, with an estimated cost of nearly $2 billion, is set to commence construction later this year.
Since Barrick's strategic refocus in 2019, Lumwana, once a struggling mine, has undergone restructuring, emerging as a substantial contributor to Barrick's expanding copper portfolio. The reopening of the Malundwe pit and the successful transition to owner mining supported the achievement of the production targets for 2023.
Lumwana has made substantial contributions to the Zambian economy, injecting nearly $3 billion since 2019 in the form of royalties, taxes, salaries, and local business procurement. In 2023 alone, local procurement amounted to $472 million, constituting over 81% of the total spending for Lumwana.
Barrick, which is among the prominent players in the mining space along with Newmont Corporation (NEM - Free Report) , Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) and Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC - Free Report) , also launched a Business Accelerator Program aimed at enhancing the business capabilities of Zambian contractors within its supply chain. This initiative seeks to empower these contractors for sustainable growth and diversification, extending beyond the life of the Lumwana mine. Adhering to Barrick's partnership philosophy, the company's REDD+ initiative aims to uplift host communities by conserving the natural forest surrounding the mine. Resources have been allocated, and community engagement is underway.
Barrick mentioned ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to facilitate necessary licensing, underscoring Barrick's commitment to collaboration with local government for sustainable initiatives.
Earlier this month, Barrick reported positive preliminary full-year and fourth-quarter 2023 production results, meeting its previously guided forecast for the entire year. The full-year gold production reached 4.05 million ounces, and copper production totaled 420 million pounds, falling within the projected range. In the fourth quarter, the company recorded sales of 1.04 million ounces of gold and 117 million pounds of copper, with the average market prices for gold and copper at $1,971 per ounce and $3.70 per pound, respectively.
The fourth quarter saw improved gold production, particularly from Cortez, Phoenix, and Pueblo Viejo, offsetting lower production at Loulo-Gounkoto as planned. However, the fourth-quarter gold cost of sales per ounce is expected to be 6-8% higher than the third quarter.
Another prominent mining company, Newmont, revised its 2023 standalone portfolio outlook in its third-quarter call, projecting 5.3 million ounces of attributable production. The update considers factors such as the Penasquito strike, reduced production from non-managed Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo joint ventures, and decreased Ahafo production due to operating below full capacity to safeguard a grinding mill's girth gears. As a result, the 2023 CAS is estimated to be around $1,000 per ounce, with an AISC of $1,400 per ounce.
Agnico Eagle anticipates its 2023 gold production to exceed the midpoint of its gold production guidance, ranging from 3.24 to 3.44 million ounces. AEM also expects to meet its projected total cash costs per ounce of $840-$890 and AISC per ounce of $1,140-$1,190 for the year.
Moreover, Kinross maintained its trajectory to achieve its production guidance for 2023, targeting 2.1 million gold equivalent ounces with a variance of +/- 5%. The company is tracking the lower range of its 2023 production cost of sales guidance and the upper end of its capital expenditure guidance for the year.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Newmont Corporation (NEM) - free report >>
Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC) - free report >>
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216721/barrick-gold-expedites-lumwana-super-pit-expansion-project
| 2024-01-27T03:03:02Z
|
blocked_url
|
MAG Silver Corp. (MAG - Free Report) reported that the Juanicipio Project achieved notable results in the fourth quarter of 2023, producing 4.5 million ounces of silver and 10,591 ounces of gold. This brings the total output for 2023 to 16.8 million silver ounces and 36,732 gold ounces. These figures demonstrate a robust performance, especially considering that 2023 marked the project's inaugural year and ramp-up phase.
The Juanicipio Project started commercial production on Jun 1, 2023, which marked MAG Silver’s transition from a developer to a producer. The Juanicipio Project, located in Zacatecas, Mexico, is a joint venture between MAG and Fresnillo. MAG Silver owns a 44% stake in the Juanicipio Project and Fresnillo holds the remaining 56%.
The project is situated in the Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, which is one of the world's premier silver mining camps. In addition to underground mine production and processing of mineralized material, MAG Silver has an expanded exploration program in place targeting multiple highly prospective targets in the region.
MAG is also executing multi-phase exploration programs at the Deer Trail 100% earn-in Project in Utah and the Larder Project, located in the historically prolific Abitibi region of Canada.
In the fourth quarter, Juanicipio processed 346,766 tons of mineralized material, showcasing an increase from 322,249 tons in the third quarter. This uptick reflects MAG Silver’s continuous efforts to enhance production and optimize operational efficiency. For the entire year, Juanicipio processed a total of 1,268,756 tons of mineralized material.
Let's have a look at the performances of other players in the Mining - Silver industry during the fourth quarter.
Pan American Silver (PAAS - Free Report) reported silver production of 4.84 million ounces and gold production was at 267.8 thousand ounces for the fourth quarter of 2023.
In 2023, Pan American’s consolidated silver production went up 11% year over year to 20.4 million ounces but fell slightly below the company’s projected range of 21.0-23.0 million ounces.
PAAS achieved consolidated gold production of 882.9 thousand ounces in 2023, which was within its earlier stated range of 870-970 thousand ounces. Gold production marked a 60% increase from 2022 levels.
Hecla Mining (HL - Free Report) reported silver production of 2.9 million ounces in the fourth quarter of 2023 and gold production at 37,168 ounces. In 2023, silver production inched up 1% year over year to 14.3 million ounces despite the halt in operations at the Lucky Friday mine since August 2023. This was mainly aided by strong performance at Greens Creek. HL’s gold production was down 14% year over year to 151,259 ounces in 2023.
First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG - Free Report) announced that its total production reached 6.6 million silver equivalent (AgEq) ounces in the fourth quarter of 2023. The figure consists of 2.6 million silver ounces and 46,585 gold ounces. AgEq ounces produced saw a 6% increase from the third quarter of 2023. The increased production was driven by Santa Elena's record quarterly production, somewhat offset by lower silver production at La Encantada due to persistent water scarcity.
First Majestic’s total production for 2023 came in at 26.9 million AgEq ounces, consisting of 10.3 million silver ounces and 198,921 gold ounces. The figure marked a 14% fall from the 2022 reported figure, driven by the temporary suspension of Jerritt Canyon. However, the total production came within the company’s revised guidance of 26.2-27.8 million AgEq ounces.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Hecla Mining Company (HL) - free report >>
Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS) - free report >>
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216722/mag-silver-mag-reports-solid-production-at-juanicipio
| 2024-01-27T03:03:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM - Free Report) recently announced a hike in its quarterly dividend payout. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 11%, which reflects its intention to utilize free cash to boost shareholders’ returns.
YUM increased its quarterly dividend to 67 cents per share (or $2.68 annually) from the previous payout of 60.5 cents (or $2.42 annually). The hiked dividend will be paid out on Mar 8, 2024, to shareholders on record at the close of Feb 21, 2024.
Based on the closing price of $129.44 per share on Jan 24, 2024, the stock has a dividend yield of 2.1%. YUM’s payout ratio is 46, with a five-year dividend growth rate of 9.3%. Along with boosting shareholders’ returns, dividend hikes raise the market value of the stock. Companies often attract new investors and retain old ones through this strategy.
We appreciate Yum! Brands’ consistent efforts to enhance shareholders’ returns despite high inflation affecting most industries. These initiatives reflect the company’s business strength and the sustainability of its cash flows.
What’s Driving the Dividend Policy?
Despite the challenging macro environment, the company impressed investors with robust same-store sales growth in the third quarter of 2023. The company reported consolidated same-store sales growth of 6% year over year. A rise in dine-in traffic, digital initiatives and strategic third-party partnerships primarily backed the upside. During the quarter, same-store sales at Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut rose 8%, 6% and 1% year over year, respectively.
The company has been benefiting from a recovery in emerging markets. Given the emphasis on consumer value proposition, expanded digital access and franchise partners, the company anticipates the momentum to continue in the upcoming periods.
The company — which shares space with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Free Report) , Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI - Free Report) and Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY - Free Report) in the Zacks Retail – Restaurants industry — has also implemented various digital features in mobile and online platforms across all brand segments to enhance the guest experience. The company is accelerating its delivery services and the results have been positive. In third-quarter 2023, it reported digital sales of more than $7 billion.
A Brief Review of the Other Stocks
Chipotle is benefiting from its digital efforts, Chipotlane add-ons and marketing initiatives. This, along with strength in digital sales, a rise in menu prices and new restaurant openings, have been driving the company. Also, a strong comparable restaurant sales growth bodes well. Going forward, it continues to focus on the stage gate process and leveraging digital programs to expand access and convenience. The company focuses on improving order accuracy and timing for its digital business.
Darden Restaurants is benefiting from strong off-premise offerings, menu innovation and digital initiatives. The focus on strategic acquisitions bodes well. In second-quarter fiscal 2024, off-premise sales contributed approximately 23% to total sales at Olive Garden and 14% at LongHorn. The company has been benefitting from technological enhancements with reference to online ordering. Going forward, the company intends to revamp its point-of-sale system to boost guest experience and manage off-premise offerings.
Dave & Buster's is benefiting from strategic initiatives, marketing and technology investments. Also, the emphasis on an optimized service model, expansion of entertainment options and new stores bode well. During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, the company opened two new Dave & Buster's stores and one new Main Event store. Following the openings, the company reported solid performances regarding the same. In fiscal 2023, the company expected to open 16 new stores (including 11 Dave & Buster's and 5 Main Event locations) and relocate Dave & Buster's Vernon Hills store.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) - free report >>
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) - free report >>
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216723/yum-brands-yum-rewards-shareholders-with-11-dividend-hike
| 2024-01-27T03:03:15Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC - Free Report) is keen on transforming its business to unleash its full potential. The consumer products company is focused on effective pricing strategies to counter inflationary headwinds.
Let’s discuss this in detail.
Focus on Transformation Bodes Well
Kraft Heinz is committed to accelerating its profit and enhancing the long-term shareholders’ value. As part of its transformation phase, management unveiled AGILE@SCALE in February 2022. The strategy helps it improve its agile expertise and capabilities via partnerships with technology giants and cutting-edge innovators.
Management is on track to build its innovation pipeline aided by the Agile Innovation Engine. Strength in Kraft Heinz’s AGILE@SCALE and strategic partnerships are generating solutions throughout the value chain to drive growth and efficiency. As part of the AGILE@SCALE strategy, management is building digital-first solutions to fuel gross efficiencies.
Kraft Heinz is benefiting from strength in its three key pillars — Foodservice, Emerging Markets and U.S. Retail Grow platforms. In the Foodservice business, management prioritizes higher margin spaces and undertakes customer-friendly innovations to drive growth. Kraft Heinz’s data-driven and repeatable go-to-market model has been yielding across emerging markets. Strength in the Heinz brand bodes well in such markets.
Pricing Actions Protect Margins
Kraft Heinz is undertaking strategic pricing initiatives to improve its performance. In fact, robust pricing strategies have been shielding margin performance amid inflation. In the third quarter of 2023, the company’s organic net sales increased 1.7% on favorable pricing to the tune of 7.1 percentage points — stemming from higher list prices to counter escalated input costs. Adjusted gross margin expanded 396 basis points (bps) to 34%, driven by pricing actions undertaken to offset inflation, solid gross supply chain efficiencies and a favorable mix in North America. The continuation of this trend is likely to keep contributing to the company’s margin.
Is All Rosy for Kraft Heinz?
Kraft Heinz continues to battle an inflationary environment, although the inflation continues to moderate. In its last earnings call, management highlighted that it is seeing persistent inflation in areas like labor, tomatoes and sugar. The company is also incurring high SG&A costs across marketing, R&D and technology. Although such investments are likely to contribute to long-term growth, they might put pressure on profits in the near term.
All said, the company’s well-knitted transformation efforts and pricing actions are likely to keep narrating its growth story.
Other Food Stocks Battling Cost Woes
Players like Sysco Corporation (SYY - Free Report) , Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO - Free Report) and Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW - Free Report) have also been grappling with inflationary headwinds.
Sysco has been encountering product cost inflation for a while now. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, SYY witnessed overall product cost inflation of 1.7%, measured by the estimated change in product costs, mainly in the frozen, canned and dry categories. During the quarter, Sysco’s adjusted operating expenses escalated 2.9% year over year. The persistence of these trends is a concern.
Flowers Foods is battling hurdles due to cost inflation. In the third quarter of fiscal 2023, FLO battled input cost inflation, reduced production volumes, higher product returns and elevated labor and maintenance costs. Volatility in commodity costs remains an aspect to be watched for Flowers Foods.
Although Lamb Weston’s gross margin increased year over year, it was hurt to some extent by increased costs per pound in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Escalated costs per pound reflect mid-single-digit cost inflation for key inputs like raw potatoes, grains, starches and labor. In its last earnings call, LW highlighted that it expects fiscal third-quarter gross margin to be under pressure by escalated manufacturing costs, reflecting lower fixed cost coverage and other cost inefficiencies.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Sysco Corporation (SYY) - free report >>
Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) - free report >>
|
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2216724/kraft-heinzs-khc-pricing-transformation-efforts-solid?-transformation-efforts-solid
| 2024-01-27T03:03:21Z
|
blocked_url
|
SYDNEY - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday his centre-left government would soon legislate changes to planned tax cuts set to trim benefits to the wealthy while giving low-income earners more breaks, as many Australians battle higher living costs.
"We'll introduce the legislation in coming weeks when parliament resumes," Albanese told reporters in the New South Wales town of Orange. Federal parliament resumes on Feb. 6.
Under the new policy, announced this week, people earning up to A$135,000 ($88,763) will fall into lower tax brackets from July 1. Tax breaks for some high-income earners will nearly halve, with the savings redirected to those on low incomes.
Australian households are under broad financial pressure from high inflation, which rose to 7.8% in December 2022, before easing to 5.4% in the third quarter of 2023.
The changes represented "cost of living support to middle class working families without putting pressure on inflation", Albanese told Saturday's press conference.
The Albanese-led Labor government in May 2023 announced A$23 billion in targeted cost-of-living relief, and had been under pressure to provide more relief in the lead up to unveiling the reshaped policy.
The shift comes amid a dip in support for Albanese, elected to office in 2022, with two polls last month showing his disapproval ratings outstripped his approval numbers.
The political opposition says Albanese has wrecked his credibility for breaking an election pledge not to modify the tax policy, legislated by the previous government in 2019. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australia-pm-vows-to-introduce-bill-to-reshape-tax-cuts-within-weeks
| 2024-01-27T03:48:40Z
|
blocked_url
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani about Gaza and they agreed that efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas were key to securing a longer pause in fighting, the White House said.
"Both leaders affirmed that a hostage deal is central to establishing a prolonged humanitarian pause in the fighting and ensure additional life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in need throughout Gaza," the White House said in a statement.
Biden's Middle East adviser Brett McGurk was in Doha this week having discussions about the possibility of another hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday the U.S. would support a longer humanitarian pause in combat in Gaza to ensure hostages could be released and aid brought in.
Biden also spoke with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday.
They discussed intensifying efforts to further increase the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance into and throughout Gaza and agreed to continue their close coordination on humanitarian assistance, the White House said in a statement. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/biden-qatars-emir-agree-hostage-deal-key-to-pause-in-gaza-fighting-white-house
| 2024-01-27T03:48:50Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – While Japan’s famed members-only restaurant Wagyumafia may not be opening in Singapore any time soon, its ramen concept Mashi No Mashi is set to make a splash here when it debuts in Bugis in March.
The bright yellow hoarding is up for the 1,576 sq ft stand-alone 65-seat restaurant at the mixed-use development Guoco Midtown.
Mashi No Mashi, which means to eat more and more, is known for its signature massive wagyujiro ramen with Kobe beef bone broth, tsukemen and gyoza stuffed with Ozaki beef – accompanied by its line of hot sauce, Wagyusco.
The prized Ozaki beef comes from the wagyu cattle from the farm owned by Japanese farmer Muneharu Ozaki.
It is this Ozaki beef that set Wagyumafia’s charismatic chef-owner Hisato Hamada – with his signature steely gaze – on the path to what has become a successful beef export business on a global scale.
Singapore was the first country he exported beef to, and he lived here “on and off” from 2012 to 2015 to further develop the business.
The 46-year-old started Wagyumafia in 2016 and hosted its first pop-up that year in Singapore. Since then, the Wagyumafia brand – best known for its extravagant wagyu sandwiches – now has 14 restaurants in Japan, four in Hong Kong and three in Saudi Arabia.
Wagyumafia expanded to Hong Kong in 2018, followed by Mashi No Mashi and grill concept Yakinikumafia in subsequent years.
Mashi No Mashi, which opened in Hong Kong in 2019, now has outlets in Tokyo and Jeddah.
At a recent Wagyumafia pop-up experience in Singapore, invited guests had a taste of Ozaki beef in not only the gyoza, but also in Hamada’s robust version of a peppery bak kut teh broth.
It was a prelude to some of his dishes at Mashi No Mashi here, one of them being a wagyu bak kut teh – partly a nod to his favourite local dish, and also inspired by his good friend and local film-maker Eric Khoo, whose 2018 film Ramen Teh is about ramen and bak kut teh.
Diners also had a sampling of wagyujiro, a rich and flavour-packed Kobe beef bone broth with thick and al dente noodles topped with a sheet of seaweed with Mashi No Mashi’s monkey logo.
The chef is also working on a wagyu Hokkien mee and wagyu laksa.
Prices for the menu in Singapore have yet to be confirmed.
Besides ramen, he is also developing a cocktail menu with his own version of a Singapore Sling.
On launching Mashi No Mashi in Singapore instead of Wagyumafia, he says: “Singapore is all about street food. And I want to bring in my favourite street food, which is ramen.
“Because I love Singapore so much, I didn’t want to come unprepared. I was waiting for the right time.”
It was also about getting the right partner, whom he found in Mr Paul Ng, now Mashi No Mashi’s franchise owner here. Mr Ng, 57, a former restaurateur, met Hamada in Jakarta through mutual friends in April 2023.
A few months later, Mr Ng went to Tokyo to try his food and eventually convinced Hamada to bring the brand here.
Mr Ng, who has 37 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, does not rule out eventually opening Wagyumafia in Singapore as well.
Up next for Hamada in 2024 is yet another Wagyumafia project, which will operate at the penthouse of the upcoming Nagasaki Stadium City. The large complex houses a stadium, hotels and commercial facilities.
Despite his busy schedule, he plans to visit Singapore at least four times a year, just as he used to in the past for holidays.
He says: “Singapore is my hideaway from Tokyo. It is my nest and where my soul rejuvenates. That’s why I didn’t open here, even though I love this country and everyone said I have to. I didn’t want to work.”
But when Mashi No Mashi finally opens, do not expect to see Hamada slaving over the counter.
“I created this concept for me to have my ramen. So you will see me, not in my kitchen, but on the other side, having ramen,” he adds, laughing.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/japan-s-famed-wagyumafia-to-open-mashi-no-mashi-ramen-brand-in-march-in-bugis
| 2024-01-27T03:49:00Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – In recent months, a new foodie hot spot has been drawing crowds to the former OG Orchard Point building in Somerset.
The department store shut in October 2022, and all five of its retail floors – more than 155,000 sq ft of space – have been leased out to its master tenant Hao Corp, a home-grown business best known for its chain of Hao Mart supermarkets.
Collectively, the five floors are now known as Taste Orchard, offering a mix of groceries, food and beverage options and restaurants.
Basement 1 to Level 2 house its Eccellente by Hao Mart supermarket, which sells groceries and international food items, household products and Singapore souvenirs to cater to tourists prowling the Orchard Road belt. Also open are Killiney Kopitiam, Korean fried chicken chain BHC Chicken and frozen yogurt chain Yole.
For drinks, a Wine Bar & Cellar, run by wine restaurant chain Wine Mansion, offers up to 20 wines by the glass (from $12). Its highlight is an exclusive Taste Orchard cocktail ($18) made with rum and sake.
New tenants can be expected in the coming months.
The highlight on Level 1 is the FYI (Famous. Yummy. Irresistible) Kitchen area operated by Hao Mart. Slated to open by March, it will offer an array of live seafood – from Australian and Boston lobsters to razor clams and oysters – as well as a butchery with dry-aged beef. Diners can choose to have the produce cooked on site and dine at a 30-seat area.
There is also a menu featuring dishes from three popular home-grown businesses – Le Matin Patisserie, steakhouse The Feather Blade and pizza specialist Casa Vostra.
These include Le Matin’s Seafood Symphony Sub ($24.90), with crab and avocado sandwiched between croissant pastry; Casa Vostra’s truffle mushroom pizza ($25.90); and The Feather Blade’s steak ($24).
The Feather Blade’s meat marinades will also be on sale at the butcher’s section, while Casa Vostra’s frozen pizzas are available at the supermarket area.
Le Matin is also slated to open a small bakery there soon, selling its popular pastries.
On the second floor, a Chef Community space – targeted to launch by end-June – will feature cooking classes and events in collaboration with chefs and home-cooking groups.
Other tenants in the pipeline include the first Kebuke Tea Co., a bubble tea outlet from Taiwan, and the second outlet of Warabimochi Kamakura from Japan. The latter is known for its dessert drinks topped with warabimochi (made from starch produced from bracken root), and its debut outlet here opens on Feb 3 at One Holland Village.
There will also be branches of familiar Japanese restaurants – such as Sushiro, Chirashi King Kong and Ikura – opening soon.
Adding to the food line-up are other services including local optometrist Raylite Optical, tuition centre ASE Learning, as well as an aesthetic medical clinic and nail salon. Chun K, a family-friendly karaoke chain from China, will also take up 7,000 sq ft of space on Level 4.
The boss of this latest Orchard Road foodie and lifestyle enclave, Hao Corp’s chief executive Tan Kim Yong, 64, says he picked this spot for its convenient location and accessible parking space. He had eyed other spots, including T Galleria by DFS in Scotts Road and The Heeren.
Dr Tan, who started Hao Mart in 2016 as a minimart in Whampoa, runs the business with his daughter Germaine, 28, the company’s chief marketing officer, and his son Justin, 29, who is deputy chief executive.
Hao Mart now has 28 outlets islandwide.
At its peak, it had more than 60 branches. But Dr Tan says he consolidated them over time, as many were small minimart concepts that could not compete against bigger supermarket chains in the heartland.
With a 12-year lease for Taste Orchard, he says he is in it for the long run, and does not rule out replicating the concept if it proves to be successful.
At this site, the company is in the unique position of being both landlord and tenant – and so the main challenge has been to curate a trending and differentiated mix of offerings, he says.
Acknowledging the competitive supermarket scene, Ms Tan adds: “We have no lack of supermarkets and groceries in Singapore. But there’s something special in the experience of going to the supermarket to see the live seafood in the tank and picking the exact fish you want.”
Taste Orchard at 160 Orchard Road opens from 8.30am to 10.30pm daily.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/taste-orchard-by-hao-mart-to-launch-live-seafood-butcher-and-other-fb-brands-at-former-og-orchard-point
| 2024-01-27T03:49:11Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – When young-onset dementia robbed Mr Gary Chua of speech, he would hold his wife’s hand or seek her reassuring touch.
Love persists even as a person changes, in his widow’s experience. Madam Siti A. recalls through tears and smiles how she and her husband communicated affection, even though he often forgot her name.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/lady-love-how-she-coped-with-diabetes-raising-two-kids-and-her-husband-s-young-onset-dementia-which-robbed-him-of-speech
| 2024-01-27T03:49:21Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – By the time Fayra Armel Iskandar turned one year old, she had already travelled to five destinations by air and clocked more than 31,000km.
She was barely four months old when she took her first flight, which was three hours long, in November 2022, to the Indonesian island of Lombok.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/meet-the-globetoddlers-this-tot-flew-31000km-visited-five-destinations-in-her-first-year
| 2024-01-27T03:49:32Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - A senior research engineer at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) has been accused of molesting a 29-year-old woman at Clarke Quay.
Vuong Dao Nghe, 40, allegedly committed the offence at around 2.15am on Aug 20, 2023.
On Jan 26, A*Star told The Straits Times in a statement: “(We hold) our staff to the highest standards of conduct, behaviour and integrity. We take a very serious view of staff who breach these standards.
“A*Star will consider the matter and take action as is appropriate in the circumstances. As this case is currently before the courts, we are unable to comment further.”
The Singaporean’s case has been adjourned to Feb 21.
He was among more than 10 men who were charged with molestation on Jan 23 in unrelated incidents.
Three of them allegedly committed the offences within Marina Bay Sands.
Al Amin, 41, purportedly molested a 27-year-old woman at the Ce La Vi club at around 2.40am on Oct 12, 2023.
Jephthah Goh Poh Khang, 29, was at the Marquee Singapore nightclub shortly before 5.20am on Nov 25, 2023, when he allegedly molested a 25-year-old woman.
And on Jan 1, 2024, July Izaak, 30, was at the Avenue Singapore lounge when he allegedly molested a 31-year-old woman.
The cases involving all the men are pending.
A campaign aimed at encouraging nightlife outlets and patrons to adopt safe clubbing practices has returned in 2024 following more molestation cases and fights at nightspots.
Known as the Safe Clubbing Campaign, the year-long effort will see staff of public entertainment outlets receive training to handle situations involving intoxicated patrons effectively and safely.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling had earlier said that 106 outrage of modesty cases were reported at nightspots between January and September 2023.
This marks a 37 per cent rise from the 77 molestation cases reported in the same period in 2022.
As part of 2024’s campaign, the police collaborated with the Singapore Nightlife Business Association, Singapore River One and the National Crime Prevention Council to create a training handbook for staff working at public entertainment outlets.
This is to enable them to identify signs of binge-drinking and how to intervene early, and handle such situations safely.
For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.
And for using criminal force on another person, an offender can be jailed for three months and fined up to $1,500.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/astar-senior-research-engineer-allegedly-molested-woman-at-clarke-quay
| 2024-01-27T03:49:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
DOHA – Son Heung-min’s stuttering South Korea will take on Saudi Arabia while Palestine face hosts and holders Qatar, as the Asian Cup kicks into high gear with the knockout rounds from Jan 28.
The tournament has been whittled down from 24 teams to 16 but trying to predict who lifts the trophy on Feb 10 looks more difficult than ever.
Japan came to Qatar as favourites and looking to win the title for a record-extending fifth time, but they reached the knockout phase as only runners-up in their group behind Iraq.
Iraq impressed in deservedly beating the Samurai Blue 2-1 and along with Iran and Qatar, were the only teams to win all three games in the first round. Iraq play Jordan and Iran meet Syria next.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s South Korea would have faced Japan had they topped their group, but they were held 3-3 by Malaysia in their final game and play Roberto Mancini’s Saudis on Jan 30.
The Taeguk Warriors, who are trying to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, also drew with Jordan and coach Klinsmann is anticipating a “battle”.
“You cannot underestimate any team – every team is tactically very smart, they can hurt you even if you have 85 per cent possession,” the German legend warned.
“There is no easy team in Asia to play.”
Skipper and talisman Son has scored twice at the tournament, both penalties, and called their madcap stalemate with already eliminated Malaysia a “big wake-up call”.
Opponents Saudi Arabia topped their group with two wins and a draw, but they have not really fired in attack and made hard work of defeating nine-man Kyrgyzstan 2-0.
“We know it will be a very difficult match, not only for us, but also for them,” said Mancini of the looming South Korea clash, which is undoubtedly the game of the last 16.
In other matches, Japan play Bahrain, but like the Koreans, they have not lived up to big expectations so far.
Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma is yet to play a single minute and Hajime Moriyasu has refused to put a timeframe on his return from injury. The coach admitted he had taken a risk in bringing him to the tournament, saying: “I don’t want to use him until he’s ready.”
Moriyasu looks set to stick with inexperienced goalkeeper Zion Suzuki despite the 21-year-old being culpable for at least two of the five goals Japan conceded in the group stage.
Qatar impressed in tearing through Group A and face Palestine, who defeated Hong Kong 3-0 – their first victory in the history of the competition.
That landmark achievement, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, also put the Palestinians into the Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time.
The hosts will be favourites to reach the last eight and with home advantage look set to go deep in the competition.
But no matter what happens on Jan 29, Palestinian captain Musab Al-Battat said his team had fulfilled a “promise to the Palestinian people”.
“We managed to put a smile on the faces of those who follow us... inside or outside Palestine,” he said.
The knockout phase begins on Jan 28 when Australia play Indonesia, followed the same day by the United Arab Emirates against tournament debutants Tajikistan. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/son-heung-min-faces-saudis-palestine-make-history-in-asian-cup-last-16
| 2024-01-27T03:49:52Z
|
blocked_url
|
LOS ANGELES - Data gathered by NASA's rover Perseverance has confirmed the existence of ancient lake sediments deposited by water that once filled a giant basin on Mars called Jerezo Crater, according to a study published on Friday.
The findings from ground-penetrating radar observations conducted by the robotic rover substantiate previous orbital imagery and other data leading scientists to theorize that portions of Mars were once covered in water and may have harbored microbial life.
The research, led by teams from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Oslo, was published in the journal Science Advances.
It was based on subsurface scans taken by the car-sized, six-wheeled rover as it made its away across the Martian surface from the crater floor onto an adjacent expanse of braided, sedimentary-like features resembling, from orbit, the river deltas found on Earth.
Soundings from the rover's RIMFAX radar instrument allow scientists to peer underground to get a cross-sectional view of rock layers 65 feet (20 meters) deep, "almost like looking at a road cut," said UCLA planetary scientist David Paige, the first author of the paper.
Those layers provide unmistakable evidence that soil sediments carried by water were deposited at Jerezo Crater and its delta from a river that fed it, just as they are in lakes on Earth. The findings reinforced what previous studies have long suggested - that cold, arid, lifeless Mars was once warm, wet and perhaps habitable.
Scientists look forward to an up-close examination of Jerezo's sediments - thought to have formed some 3 billion years ago - in samples collected by Perseverance for future transport to Earth.
In the meantime, the latest study is welcome validation that scientists undertook their geo-biological Mars endeavor at the right place on the planet after all.
Remote analysis of early core samples drilled by Perseverance at four sites close to where it landed in February 2021 surprised researchers by revealing rock that was volcanic in nature, rather than sedimentary as had been expected.
The two studies are not contradictory. Even the volcanic rocks bore signs of alteration through exposure to water, and scientists who published those findings in August 2022 reasoned then that sedimentary deposits may have eroded away.
Indeed, the RIMFAX radar readings reported on Friday found signs of erosion before and after the formation of sedimentary layers identified at the crater's western edge, evidence of a complex geological history there, Paige said.
"There were volcanic rocks that we the landed on," Paige said. "The real news here is that now we've driven onto the delta and now we're seeing evidence of these lake sediments, which is one of the main reasons we came to this location. So that's a happy story in that respect." REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/mars-rover-data-confirms-ancient-lake-sediments-on-mars
| 2024-01-27T03:50:03Z
|
blocked_url
|
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Friday formally informed Congress of its intention to proceed with the $23 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, taking a major step toward completing a long-delayed process that tested ties with Ankara.
The State Department sent the notification to advance the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Turkey, a day after Ankara fully completed ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden, a move that became directly linked to the jet sales.
The Biden administration simultaneously advanced the sale of 20 Lockheed F-35 stealth fighter jets to fellow NATO ally Greece, an $8.6-billion deal that Washington advanced as it tries to strike a balance between two alliance members with a history of tense relations.
Turkey first made the request for the jets in October 2021, but Ankara's delay in approving the ratification of Sweden's NATO bid had been a major obstacle to winning congressional approval for the sale.
Following 20 months of delay, the Turkish parliament earlier this week ratified Sweden's NATO bid, and subsequently U.S. President Joe Biden wrote a letter to key congressional committee leaders, urging them to approve the F-16 sale "without delay."
The State Department's Friday night notification came only a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gave his final sign-off on Sweden's ratification, and hours after the instrument of accession was delivered to Washington.
"My approval of Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 aircrafts has been contingent on Turkish approval of Sweden’s NATO membership. But make no mistake: This was not a decision I came to lightly," said Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, one of four key committees that needs to approve arms transfers.
Turkey needs to urgently improve its human rights record, cooperate better on holding Russia accountable for its invasion in Ukraine and help lower the temperature in the Middle East, Cardin listed.
"My concerns have been strongly and consistently conveyed to the Biden administration as part of our ongoing engagement, and I am encouraged by the productive direction of their discussions with Turkish officials to address these issues," he said.
Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees review every major foreign arms sale. They regularly ask questions or raise concerns over human rights or diplomatic issues that can delay or stop such deals.
Following the transfer of the formal notification by the State Department, the Congress has 15 days to object to the sale, after which it is considered final.
U.S. officials do not expect the Congress to block either sale, despite criticism of Turkey by some members. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/us-advances-fighter-jet-sale-to-turkey-greece-congress-likely-to-approve
| 2024-01-27T03:50:13Z
|
blocked_url
|
Exclusive
Military
Reuters: Ukrainian drones reportedly destroyed Russian oil refinery in the Black Sea. The drones hit the oil refinery in the Russian port city of Tuapse in the Black Sea on 25 January 2024
Russia uses deadly chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers, experts confirm. Russia has been using special gas grenades with chloroacetophenone, a prohibited chemical warfare agent, to attack Ukrainian troops, according to Ukrainian military representatives and forensic experts.
As of 26 Jan 2024, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the invasion to the present day:
-
-
- Personnel: 380600 (+990)
- Tanks: 6265 (+8)
- APV: 11637 (+16)
- Artillery systems: 9082 (+15)
- MLRS: 972
- Anti-aircraft systems: 660
- Aircraft: 331
- Helicopters: 324
- UAV: 7033
- Cruise missiles: 1845 (+1)
- Warships/boats: 23
- Submarines: 1
- Vehicles and fuel tanks: 12064 (+20)
-
Intelligence and technology
Ukraine unveils FURY: new weapon to dominate the Black Sea . Ukraine is developing a new underwater drone project that aims to destroy the Russian Navy in the Black Sea and protect Ukrainian waters.
UK intel: Wartime policies magnify Russia’s chronic underinvestment in public works. Heating systems are failing across Russia, leaving residents in sub-zero distress, as years of military prioritization over infrastructure combine with wartime strains on budgets and workforces, per UK intelligence.
Ukraine plans construction of four new nuclear reactors to replace lost capacity. Preparatory work is scheduled for the summer of 2024.
International
PM Shmyhal: all EU members to back €50 billion Ukraine fund. Slovakia pledged to support the package, Hungary is likely to stop blocking the EU decision.
Finnish FM: Hungary gave us “positive signal” that it will stop blocking EU’s €50 billion Ukraine aid. Elina Valtonen, Finland’s Foreign Minister, expressed confidence that Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will not obstruct the €50 billion EU aid plan for Ukraine during the February 1st summit.
Air raid siren welcomes Danish Foreign Minister during his visit to Ukraine. The Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, had to go down to a bomb shelter as he came to Ukraine with a surprise visit.
Humanitarian and social impact
Ukraine’s government will cut payments to internally displaced people from war zones. Ukraine counts 4.9 people who relocated within the country due to the war. 2.5 million receive social assistance, but this year, the total spending will be reduced by 30%.
Russian shelling kills woman, wound boy in eastern Ukraine. The Russian army shelled residential areas of two towns in the Donetsk Oblast.
Russian missile strikes on Myrnohrad and Kherson injure seven, including children. The attacks, which were confirmed by regional authorities, targeted a school, a shopping center, and a kindergarten.
Kharkiv renames Pushkin’s street after Ukraine’s philosopher Skovoroda, cutting ties with the Soviet past. On 26 January 2024, the Kharkiv city council voted to change 65 Soviet street names linked to Russia, including Pushkinska Street.
Political and legal developments
MH-17 shooter Girkin convicted on extremism charges in Russia. The war criminal Igor Girkin (also known by his nom de guerre Strelkov) was convicted for criticizing the “lacking” war effort against Ukraine on social media.
New developments
US House Speaker threatens to derail border deal and Ukraine aid. The US Senate’s border deal that would include aid to Ukraine is facing strong opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has warned that he will not accept any compromise that does not fit the House GOP’s immigration bill.
Pentagon urges congress to approve Ukraine funding request, asserts global significance of support. The Pentagon’s concern centers on Russia’s alliances with countries like Iran and North Korea.
Read our earlier daily review here.
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/27/russo-ukrainian-war-day-702-russia-uses-deadly-chemical-weapons-against-ukrainian-soldiers/
| 2024-01-27T04:28:39Z
|
blocked_url
|
Xbox Series X|S vs Xbox One Sales Comparison in Europe - December 2023 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted 29 minutes ago / 639 ViewsThe VGChartz sales comparison series of articles are updated monthly and each one focuses on a different sales comparison using our estimated video game hardware figures. The charts include comparisons between the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, as well as with older platforms. There are articles based on our worldwide estimates, as well as the US, Europe, and Japan.
This monthly series compares the aligned Europe sales of the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
The Xbox Series X|S launched in November 2020, while the Xbox One launched in November 2013. This does mean the holiday periods for the two consoles do lineup.
XSX|S Vs. XOne Europe:
Gap change in latest month: 274,080 - XOne
Gap change over last 12 months: 512,081 - XOne
Total Lead: 519,053 - XOne
Xbox Series X|S Total Sales: 7,341,779
Xbox One Total Sales: 7,860,832
December 2023 is the 38th month the Xbox Series X|S has been available for. In the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Xbox One when compared to the aligned launch of the Xbox Series X|S by 274,080 units.
In the last 12 months, the Xbox One has outsold the Xbox Series X|S by 0.51 million units. The Xbox Series X|S is currently behind the Xbox One by 0.52 million units.
The Xbox Series X|S has sold 7.34 million units in 38 months, while the Xbox One sold 7.86 million units. Month 38 for the Xbox Series X|S is December 2023 and for the Xbox One is December 2016.
The Xbox One crossed 8 million units sold in Europe in month 39, 10 million in month 50, and 12 million in month 62. The Xbox One sold 14.86 million units lifetime in Europe. The Xbox Series X|S is 7.52 million units behind lifetime Xbox One sales in Europe.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
|
https://www.vgchartz.com/article/459647/xbox-series-xs-vs-xbox-one-sales-comparison-in-europe-december-2023/
| 2024-01-27T04:37:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned on Saturday domestic neo-Nazi activity after a black-clad group was arrested on the country's national day, which saw rallies in support of its Indigenous people.
Police said late on Friday, a holiday known as Australia Day, that they arrested six people and issued 55 others with infringement notices for offensive behaviour at a train station in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales state.
The group was "heavily disguised", police said.
"I was horrified," Albanese told reporters in the town of Orange, about 203 kilometres (126 miles) from Sydney, when asked about the group on Saturday.
"I don't want to see people in balaclavas dressed in black from head to toe, who are engaged in neo-Nazi activity in this country," Albanese said.
Such activity "is rightly being condemned by all decent people," he said, adding that Australia had seen a rise in neo-Nazism.
Australia Day commemorates the day Britain established New South Wales as a penal colony, but many Indigenous Australians reject it as marking the start of injustices suffered since European colonisation.
Friday saw thousands rally at "Invasion Day" events in state capitals backing the Indigenous community, many of whom want to drop celebrations or move the date.
Earlier this month, new laws banning the Nazi salute and display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia in response to more antisemitic incidents following the Israel-Gaza war.
At the time, the centre-left Labor government said the laws sent a clear message there was no place in Australia for those who glorify the Holocaust or terrorist acts. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australia-pm-condemns-neo-nazis-after-arrest-of-disguised-group
| 2024-01-27T05:20:47Z
|
blocked_url
|
TAIPEI - Swinging side-to-side to a Chinese ditty, Taiwanese teenagers and kids performed at a recent night market competition, showing off their loose-limbed moves while executing the viral “subject three” dance that has taken social media by storm.
The competitors included young men in leather jackets and high-tops, siblings matching in denim jackets and sunglasses, and even dancers improvising with pop-and-lock hip-hop moves.
But all stuck to the original spirit of the “kemusan” dance – translated as “subject three” in Mandarin – which calls for dancers to look like they are almost twisting their ankles, as they flick their wrists rapidly to traditional Chinese music mixed with disco beats.
“My impression? Lots of slippery motions,” said Ms Chang Feng, a bemused homemaker who came to Taipei’s popular Ningxia night market with her daughter to watch the aspiring trend-setters on a small stage.
Nearby, diners waited for oyster omelettes and Taiwan’s famed stinky tofu at food stalls, with curious onlookers wandering over to check out the dancers.
“Seems like all the kids know how to dance kemusan – it’s a trendy thing I suppose,” Ms Chang said.
The dance is believed to have originated from Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, with avid users jumping on the trend by performing their versions of it, drawing millions of views.
Even businesses have tried to capitalise on it – like popular hotpot chain Haidilao, whose employees twist and jerk their limbs when customers order “kemusan”, according to online anecdotes and videos posted on Douyin.
Fifth-grader Nancy Wu said she learned it from the platform.
“We also dance it at school. It has a demonic attractiveness to it,” the 10-year-old said with an impish grin.
Dance controversy
But the infectious music and jaunty moves have come with a dose of controversy – some Taiwanese users on Facebook have accused the night market organisers of using the dance as a Chinese propaganda tool to brainwash Taiwanese youth.
Self-ruled Taiwan held an election earlier in January, during which China’s claim over the island was a dominant talking point among the presidential hopefuls.
The winner was independence-leaning president-elect Lai Ching-te, who has been slammed by Chinese officials as a dangerous separatist.
Now political chatter appears to have migrated into the territory of viral internet dances as well.
“Looks like this is Douyin night market in mainland China,” commented one user on the post advertising the competition, which drew more than 230 “thumbs up”.
Mr Lin Ting-wei, chairman of Ningxia Night Market Association, told reporters that the dance competition on Jan 25 was purely for commercial profit.
“We are using music and dance to try to increase consumer spending and promote Ningxia Night Market to the younger generation,” he said.
“This event is very straightforward. Don’t associate too much with it.” AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-s-ningxia-night-market-serves-up-viral-dance
| 2024-01-27T05:20:58Z
|
blocked_url
|
PETALING JAYA - Cameron Highlands and roads along the Tapah-Cameron Highlands route have been identified as landslide hotspots among 31 locations by the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, said Malaysia’s Mineral and Geoscience Department.
Its director-general Datuk Zamri Ramli said in Cameron Highlands alone, there have been 418 landslides from 1961 to 2023.
This made up 6.5 per cent of the total landslides that occurred in the same period at the 31 hotspots, with 6,431 landslides and 602 deaths.
Other hotspots were the Kuala Kubu-Raub route, Temerloh, Kuala Lipis, Seremban-Simpang Pertang, Rembau-Johol and Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway.
On Jan 26, a landslide hit Cameron Highlands, the second case in 2024.
Pahang Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Ismail Abdul Ghani said the department received a distress call at 2.51am.
So far, two Myanmar nationals have been found dead in the landslide. The search is ongoing for three others.
Only a week before, a landslide on Jan 19 forced a road closure at Jalan Boh Habu.
On Jan 21, the Cameron Highlands Public Works Department issued a notice regarding the temporary closure of the road at Section 0.70, which connected Habu to the Boh Tea Estate in both directions.
The closure is planned until Feb 2 but may be subject to change based on ongoing repairs.
Despite getting only 10 yellow alerts for continuous rain between January and Dec 4 last year, Cameron Highlands suffered at least four incidents of landslides in 2023.
At the end of last year, there were two incidents of landslides in Cameron Highlands.
On Oct 12 last year, a total of 88 Orang Asli from 17 families were forced to evacuate their homes. They took shelter at the community hall in Kampung Sungai Ruil after a landslide.
It was found that the landslide was caused by broken underground pipes and frequent rain, especially at night.
Last July, three families were forced to evacuate their houses in Kampung Juang, Jalan Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands following a downpour.
Mr Zamri said mitigation works at locations identified as critical slopes in the country are ongoing, with 37 of the 254 locations having been completed.
He said the final report of the geological disaster mappings together with suggested mitigation measures and early warning systems for debris flows have been submitted to the relevant stakeholders.
He said this is to enable them to be prepared in the event of a landslide.
Mr Zamri also said that the department’s geological disaster response team is prepared for any eventuality.
“Teams have also been activated in all states and will update rescue teams on the status of any geological disaster,” he said.
He advised those living in sloped areas or locations with a history of landslides to pay attention to their surroundings.
He said they should be aware of small movements on slopes, cracks in the ground, walls, pillars, or roads.
“Contact the Mineral and Geoscience Department or local authorities for further information or assistance,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cameron-highlands-identified-as-major-hotspot-for-landslides-as-search-for-victims-goes-on
| 2024-01-27T05:21:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
No Room In Neverland
By Joyce Chua
Fiction/Penguin Random House SEA/Paperback/256 pages/$17.75/Amazon SG (amzn.to/493E8KS)
3 stars
Neverland and Peter Pan are real. Gemma would know, having been brought there by her mother as a child, though no one around her seems to believe it.
Convinced that Neverland has the answers to the mystery of her mother’s disappearance and her father’s abandonment, Gemma finds that the only person who can help might be Cole, a boy she does not remember but who exudes all the magic of Neverland.
Told in chapters that alternate between Gemma and Cole, their connections to Neverland and each other are slowly revealed as their search for the truth forces them to confront more pain than either could have imagined.
In the acknowledgements, Singaporean author Joyce Chua calls this “the book of my heart”, a reflection of herself in the “escapism, loss of childhood innocence, a dark Peter Pan retelling, a girl’s stubborn optimism and a boy’s cynicism all in one”. The words ring true to the story.
Found family, more than anything else, is the novel’s greatest strength.
Brought up by her foster parents Boon and Jo, owners of the Wild Ride amusement park where she was abandoned, Gemma’s insistence on looking for her birth parents often raises the question of whom she truly considers family and whether she can let go of the past.
Her best friend Thomas acts like an elder brother figure, mediating family matters and stepping in as the voice of reason when Gemma becomes too emotional.
Obsessed with finding her father and understanding what happened to her mother, Gemma’s brash nature can occasionally be frustrating to readers, yet her hyperfixation is understandable as she searches for answers about her abandonment.
Most chapters end with an account from Gemma’s past as she learns about Neverland and visits it. These fragmented glimpses speak to her fuzzy memory of the years before her eighth birthday and the fateful day she was left by her father in front of a Peter Pan ride.
Chua’s descriptions paint a vividly convincing picture of the land where children never grow up. In contrast, the real world lacks substance stemming from the absence of details and information. Characters and their relationships struggle to feel multidimensional, even for Gemma and Cole, whose personalities are subsumed by their obsessions.
Cole tells Gemma: “You’ve been hiding at the Wild Ride all this while, waiting for your parents to come find you, because then you don’t have to deal with the possibility that they didn’t bother looking for you.”
The final reveal begs further questions, most of which go unanswered.
If you like this, read: Straight On Till Morning by Liz Braswell (Disney Books, 2019, $23.53, Amazon SG, go to amzn.to/3SwqXg7). Wendy Darling escapes her future as a governess the night she makes a deal with a pirate to travel to Neverland. She discovers that the land of magic might be more sinister than she initially realised.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/book-review-an-ode-to-found-family-and-childhood-innocence-in-no-room-in-neverland
| 2024-01-27T05:21:18Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Inventors
By Daryl Li
Creative non-fiction/Rosetta Cultures/Paperback/263 pages/$28/TrendLit Publishing (trendlitpublishing.com/products/the-inventors-daryl-li)
3 stars
What do a suicidal beggar-monk from Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling’s Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio, Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan’s 1991 film Center Stage and a dying cat in 2016 have in common?
Not much, but they are drawn together in the rich, sensitive inner world of Singapore writer Daryl Li, whose palimpsestic debut The Inventors proves as daring as it is indulgent, as insistently questioning as it is frustrating.
Li, writing in the creative non-fiction mode – a rare form in Singapore – is obsessed with the inaccessibility of the past, as well as the necessary failure of remembrance and writing.
Just about every single one of the compiled essays here is his po-faced meditation on the subjects.
Much like Kwan’s film about Chinese actress Ruan Lingyu, the essays are intentionally non-linear – a disruption of chronology that feels more truthful to how people remember, though also embracing an awareness of the artificiality of this process.
And so an art encounter – during which “chicken rice” rice cake is served – returns Li to his first date with a classmate, which is in turn interrupted by an exposition on the video game Soma.
A tardy friend prompts wonderment about the Mannerist faces of 16th-century Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo and the imprecise science of orchid hybridisation.
All these Li inevitably reels back to his central concern: the futility of memory, and writing as further fabrication and pastiche. Not only does writing distort the past, it corrupts the present too, changing an experience even as the person becomes conscious of wanting to set it down on paper.
These circular and epistemological frustrations are dragged out over sentences, pages and chapters. The product of a particular poetic sensibility, Li’s writing is elegant, reflexive and admirably dogged with the truth.
One sentence reads: “I write in order to remember, no, to perform the memory... announcing the presence of a secret, yet, but also guiding you towards a meaning, which may belong to you or me, or perhaps is shared in the in-between.”
Later in the book, he leans into the freedom of the writer, and makes it explicit: “Perhaps it rained. Yes, let’s say that it rained. The rain was heavy yesterday when I sat in front of my door.”
Yet sustained over pages, this meta-awareness has a tendency to feel tired, the clauses too self-consciously pretty.
The expansiveness of Li’s references is also not matched by an expansiveness of interests – again, not a problem in small doses but remarkably stagnant when read as a whole.
Li almost exclusively dwells in his head, when one hopes he can just let the introspection recede a little. The most powerful works of creative non-fiction have been able to balance the inner and the external worlds to illuminate both, casting off solipsism to embrace the world.
When this relentless reflection is more constrained though, it works, as in Li’s Ghost Stories, which splits the page vertically to carry out simultaneous narratives.
On the left is a more conventional fictional tale about a ghost who comes to stay. And on the right, a metatextual commentary, constantly clarifying facts, establishing context and offering criticism.
By refusing to relegate any of what is usually treated as background noise to footnotes or marginalia, Li creates a more democratic form that manages to surface the inner dialogue of many a writer.
Whether it is worthwhile to reverse the usual order of importance altogether and focus entirely on the craft, however, is less certain. Perhaps this is a book written more for Li’s kindred writers than the general reader.
If you like this, read: The Rings Of Saturn by W.G. Sebald (Vintage Classics, 2020, $21.96, Amazon SG, go to amzn.to/3Hz11du). A first-person narrative from the German James Joyce, who ponders European history as he walks through Suffolk.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/book-review-daryl-li-s-the-inventors-an-unusual-but-indulgent-essay-collection-on-memory-and-writing
| 2024-01-27T05:21:29Z
|
blocked_url
|
A Study In Our Selves
By Max Pasakorn
Creative non-fiction/Neon Hemlock Press/Paperback/55 pages/$25/Book Bar
4 stars
Reading Max Pasakorn’s micro-memoir of questioning selfhood is like sinking your teeth into sticky toffee, as every line spills over with decadent images that tell of a deliciously complex mode of being in between worlds.
Early in the slim 55-page chapbook, Pasakorn writes: “I have learned to err on the side of caution; by which I mean, my kinship with caution is so tight, I feel her stroking my leg hairs into their flat places.”
But Pasakorn’s prose is no kin with caution, as the Thailand-born and Singapore-based writer, 27, has boldly deconstructed the language of memoir to speak about queerness, cultural identity, body image, migration and family dynamics in ways that stretch the genre’s antiquated connotations.
For example, he brings an eloquent, razor-sharp voice to critique the vapidness of gym culture (“They don’t understand how I could be round. I think they are too used to conversing with man-looking folk with deliriously repetitive topics like fitness regimes”) and hypercompetition (“My father was on the phone, asking me why I would want to live like a dog in Singapore when I could return home to live like royalty”).
These personal essays are interspersed with a more poetic series of floating sections, where an unnamed “self” tries to grapple with her existence: “self doesn’t seem to need food or water but self moves so the energy must come from somewhere maybe self has little mouths on her feet that feed off the dust mites in the room”.
A Study In Our Selves is Pasakorn’s debut chapbook, which won the 2022 OutWrite Chapbook Competition award. The voice here is at once assured and unruly, and the writer – an arts and humanities undergraduate at Yale-NUS College – is one to watch out for in Singapore literature.
Savour this linguistically charged chapbook in less than an hour, and you will start to see the edges of your self start to fray.
If you like this, read: Bluets by Maggie Nelson (Wave Books, 2009, $23.87, Amazon SG, go to amzn.to/3vK4lzQ). Made up of 240 short pieces that reveal personal and aesthetic visions of love, Nelson’s book is also an hour-long affair that plays with the essay form.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/book-review-max-pasakorn-s-a-study-in-our-selves-a-delicious-micro-memoir-of-many-selves
| 2024-01-27T05:21:39Z
|
blocked_url
|
Valley Verified
By Kyla Zhao
Contemporary/Berkley/Paperback/384 pages/$19.03/Amazon SG (amzn.to/3O8Asjd)
4 stars
Tired of having her story ideas shut down by her snobby boss, New York City fashion writer Zoe Zeng takes a spontaneous and lucrative job offer to be the vice-president of marketing at FitPick, a Silicon Valley start-up that allows users to upload photos of their outfits for others to vote on.
If Zoe succeeds in coming up with the right marketing campaign to catch the attention of investors, gone will be the days of stressing over the perfect outfit for occasions big and small.
The app has promise and no one knows fashion like Zoe, but the cross-country move quickly has her doubting if she is the right person for the job.
The sophomore novel by Singaporean author Kyla Zhao once again delves into the world of fashion and power. Her debut novel The Fraud Squad (2023) follows a working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society.
Currently based in California, Zhao, 25, blends her background as a fashion magazine writer for Vogue, Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar with her job as a marketing analyst at a Silicon Valley tech company to bridge the gap between fashion and tech for Valley Verified.
What appears on the surface to be a novel about fashion and a young woman finding her identity includes a much more serious discussion around sexism in the tech industry.
After a less-than-successful pitch at FitPick, Zoe unintentionally overhears her colleagues Bram and Austin questioning her qualifications.
Austin says: “I heard Bill met her at some party and hired her on the spot. Didn’t even bother to interview her or check her qualifications or anything.”
The response from Bram stings even more: “She’s probably one of those founder-hounders (women who pursue relationships with founders of tech start-ups). Trust Bill to fall for a pretty face and now we’re the ones stuck working with her.”
However, Zoe’s commitment to making FitPick an inclusive space for people from all walks of life quickly proves she is not to be underestimated.
Comments within the book about social media users wanting safe spaces to share photos without the pressure to appear perfect, as well as an increasing demand for diverse influencers, serve as clever real-life critiques of platforms like Instagram and Facebook, both owned by Meta, for their emphasis on perfectly curated images.
One might not expect such depth from a novel that reads so easily, but Zhao handles the topics with deft care and rightful frustration that women are frequently still second-class in the world of technology.
Easing the sexism Zoe often faces is the solid friendship she finds in Bernadette, a Nordstrom personal shopper who invites the young fashionista to workout sessions and dinners. Being slightly older and having left her consulting job due to health reasons, Bernadette often provides Zoe with a listening ear and sound advice.
More than just a fun romp, Valley Verified stands as an empowering novel for young women in fashion and technology to pursue their dreams, regardless of what others say.
In the wise words of Bernadette: “I’ve always believed dressing up isn’t about turning someone into a different person, but bringing out the best person they can be.”
If you like this, read: Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown (AuthorHouse, 2001, $20.16, Amazon SG, go to amzn.to/3HzDDwo). Blonde sorority president Elle Woods enrols at Stanford Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III, after he declares that he needs a more serious woman as his wife. The book spawned a 2001 movie of the same name, starring Reese Witherspoon, as well as a sequel, a musical and a spin-off.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/book-review-valley-verified-deftly-critiques-sexism-in-tech
| 2024-01-27T05:21:50Z
|
blocked_url
|
In this week’s Singapore shelf, The Straits Times reviews a slew of recent releases, including Kyla Zhao’s latest, Valley Verified. Buy the books at Amazon. These articles include affiliate links. When you buy through them, we may earn a small commission.
Singapore writer Mervin Mirapuri’s 100-page poem posthumously published
SINGAPORE – The late poet Mervin Mirapuri had published only a single book of poems in his lifetime and might have been erased from Singapore’s literary history – if not for a stack of manuscripts he left on his wife’s bedside in his last days.
With the posthumous publication of A Walk With My Pig (2023), an epic poem written between 2005 and 2011 that runs close to 100 pages, Mirapuri’s family – who emigrated to Australia in 1988 – is hoping to give him a poetic homecoming.
His elder daughter Dawn, 56, tells The Straits Times on a recent family visit to Singapore: “I knew in my heart it had to be published in Singapore.”
Book review: Valley Verified deftly critiques sexism in tech
Tired of having her story ideas shut down by her snobby boss, New York City fashion writer Zoe Zeng takes a spontaneous and lucrative job offer to be the vice-president of marketing at FitPick, a Silicon Valley start-up that allows users to upload photos of their outfits for others to vote on.
If Zoe succeeds in coming up with the right marketing campaign to catch the attention of investors, gone will be the days of stressing over the perfect outfit for occasions big and small.
The app has promise and no one knows fashion like Zoe, but the cross-country move quickly has her doubting if she is the right person for the job.
The sophomore novel by Singaporean author Kyla Zhao once again delves into the world of fashion and power. Her debut novel The Fraud Squad (2023) follows a working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society.
Book review: Daryl Li’s The Inventors an unusual but indulgent essay collection on memory and writing
What do a suicidal beggar-monk from Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling’s Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio, Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan’s 1991 film Center Stage and a dying cat in 2016 have in common?
Not much, but they are drawn together in the rich, sensitive inner world of Singapore writer Daryl Li, whose palimpsestic debut The Inventors proves as daring as it is indulgent, as insistently questioning as it is frustrating.
Li, writing in the creative non-fiction mode – a rare form in Singapore – is obsessed with the inaccessibility of the past, as well as the necessary failure of remembrance and writing.
Just about every single one of the compiled essays here is his po-faced meditation on the subjects.
Book review: Max Pasakorn’s A Study In Our Selves a delicious micro-memoir of many selves
Reading Max Pasakorn’s micro-memoir of questioning selfhood is like sinking your teeth into sticky toffee, as every line spills over with decadent images that tell of a deliciously complex mode of being in between worlds.
Early in the slim 55-page chapbook, Pasakorn writes: “I have learned to err on the side of caution; by which I mean, my kinship with caution is so tight, I feel her stroking my leg hairs into their flat places.”
But Pasakorn’s prose is no kin with caution, as the Thailand-born and Singapore-based writer, 27, has boldly deconstructed the language of memoir to speak about queerness, cultural identity, body image, migration and family dynamics in ways that stretch the genre’s antiquated connotations.
Book review: An ode to found family and childhood innocence in No Room In Neverland
Neverland and Peter Pan are real. Gemma would know, having been brought there by her mother as a child, though no one around her seems to believe it.
Convinced that Neverland has the answers to the mystery of her mother’s disappearance and her father’s abandonment, Gemma finds that the only person who can help might be Cole, a boy she does not remember but who exudes all the magic of Neverland.
Told in chapters that alternate between Gemma and Cole, their connections to Neverland and each other are slowly revealed as their search for the truth forces them to confront more pain than either could have imagined.
In the acknowledgements, Singaporean author Joyce Chua calls this “the book of my heart”, a reflection of herself in the “escapism, loss of childhood innocence, a dark Peter Pan retelling, a girl’s stubborn optimism and a boy’s cynicism all in one”. The words ring true to the story.
The Straits Times’ Weekly Bestsellers Jan 27
Collide: Embracing Conflict To Boost Creativity by Tay Guan Hin tops the non-fiction bestsellers list.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/singapore-shelf-poetic-gems-a-micro-memoir-and-more
| 2024-01-27T05:22:00Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – The late poet Mervin Mirapuri had published only a single book of poems in his lifetime and might have been erased from Singapore’s literary history – if not for a stack of manuscripts he left on his wife’s bedside in his last days.
With the posthumous publication of A Walk With My Pig (2023), an epic poem written between 2005 and 2011 that runs close to 100 pages, Mirapuri’s family – who emigrated to Australia in 1988 – is hoping to give him a poetic homecoming.
His elder daughter Dawn, 56, tells The Straits Times on a recent family visit to Singapore: “I knew in my heart it had to be published in Singapore.”
She had approached Singapore publisher Pagesetters, which launched the book recently at the George Town Literary Festival in Penang, and in Singapore.
Mirapuri has been dubbed a “lost son of Singapore” by literary critic Gwee Li Sui, who painstakingly reconstructed the poem from six drafts and conversations with his family to decipher the cryptic scribbles and marks on his manuscripts.
Mirapuri, who died of lung cancer in 2020 at age 74, was the author of Eden 22 (1974), which was put out by Woodrose Publications. He co-founded Woodrose with fellow poet Chandran Nair, who died in September 2023.
He is of the generation of Singapore poets born in the 1940s which include Nair, Arthur Yap, Lee Tzu Pheng and Wong May, who also received a homecoming of sorts in 2023 when her first book of poems, A Bad Girl’s Book Of Animals (1969), was reissued by Ethos Books.
This book is his magnum opus and represents a distinctive break from those who know him from his Singapore poems, says Dr Gwee.
“He became a very different poet when he moved to Australia. His voice changed completely. He’s this very absorbent poet and the experiences all fed into his technique.”
A Walk With My Pig originated in an e-mail his daughter Dawn sent him when she made a conference trip across the Israeli checkpoint to the West Bank in 2005, as part of her research with the American University at Cairo in Arab women’s writing in English.
Dawn had shared her outrage at the suffering of the Palestinians with her father, and Mirapuri had replied – as he was wont to do – with an untitled poem that eventually became an integral part of the final poem.
She says: “Those initial blocks of words responded to some of those things – being in Jerusalem, seeing this injustice, just that whole juxtaposition of universes clashing, that there were different people living under different conditions. All of those truths were in that one place.”
The book, which Dr Gwee says in his introduction can be understood as an “expression of a frustrated new Australian”, is also witness to the forms of discrimination like ageism and racism Mirapuri faced at that point in his life.
Because of Mirapuri’s attention to world issues and his migrant journey, there is a worldliness to the book that seems fitting for this globalised and connected age.
His younger daughter Ann, 52, says Mirapuri used to call her and her siblings “children of the universe”, and laughs at how there were always “bits of poetry in the air” with her father.
His wife Elizabeth, 81, says: “We’re all citizens of the world now. We care for people in Gaza and all around the world. We need kindness – that’s all we need – and respect.”
The couple also have a son, Tristan, 50.
Although Mirapuri’s life was split between Singapore and Australia, Dawn says: “At his very core, there was a proud Singaporean – and then he was a very proud Australian too. And there was no tension in that whatsoever.”
There are other unpublished manuscripts in the family’s possession – but the one closest to his wife’s heart is a personal book of love poems handwritten for her.
Elizabeth recalls that she fell in love with Mirapuri after he showed her some of his poems. “He always wrote with a fountain pen and never with a ballpoint pen. His shirts used to be stained because the ink would leak.”
While she has never shown these love poems to anyone, she takes it out during the interview and says she might now consider publishing the book, poignant about the passage of time. “I might do it now because the writing is fading.”
Mervin Mirapuri’s A Walk With My Pig ($19) is available from Ethos Books’ website (ethosbooks.com.sg/products/a-walk-with-my-pig)
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/singapore-writer-mervin-mirapuri-s-100-page-poem-posthumously-published
| 2024-01-27T05:22:10Z
|
blocked_url
|
Fiction
1. (1) Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
2. (2) King Of Greed by Ana Huang
3. (4) It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
4. (6) Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher
5. (5) The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
6. (-) The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
7. (-) Final Offer by Lauren Asher
8. (-) You Said I Was Your Favourite by Monica Murphy
9. (9) The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
10. (-) The Art Of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew
Non-fiction
1. (-) Collide: Embracing Conflict To Boost Creativity by Tay Guan Hin
2. (2) Atomic Habits by James Clear
3. (4) The Art Of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli
4. (5) I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
5. (9) The Psychology Of Money by Morgan Housel
6. (2) The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
7. (6) The 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene
8. (7) Love For Imperfect Things by Haemin Sunim
9. (10) Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson
10. (8) Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Children’s
1. (2) True Singapore Ghost Stories #27 by Russell Lee
2. (1) Cat Kid Comic Club #5: Influencers by Dav Pilkey
3. (3) Diary Of A Wimpy Kid #18: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney
4. (4) Percy Jackson And The Olympians #6: The Chalice Of The Gods by Rick Riordan
5. (-) Kingdom Of Fantasy #16: The Treasures Of The Kingdom by Geronimo Stilton
6. (5) Investigators #7: All Tide Up by John Patrick Green
7. (6) Dog Man #11: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea by Dav Pilkey
8. (7) Dork Diaries #15: Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure by Rachel Renee Russell
9. (10) Diary Of A Wimpy Kid #17: Diper Overlode by Jeff Kinney
10. (8) The 169-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
This is The Sunday Times’ compilation of bestseller lists from the Times, Popular, Epigram, Wardah Books and Book Bar bookstores.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/the-straits-times-weekly-bestsellers-jan-27
| 2024-01-27T05:22:21Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – Scented candles received as a gift may have been the reason for a frightening trip to the vet for a cat and his Singaporean owner.
In a TikTok video of her Ragdoll cat Olaf posted on Dec 7, 2023, the owner, who asked to be known only as Yuhui, said her cat was “poisoned” and warned fellow cat owners to be wary of candles and essential oils.
The creative director of a social media agency said that she noticed Olaf was unable to walk straight and “wasn’t himself” soon after candles from Yankee Candle - that were not yet lit - were placed in the room he often slept in.
Yuhui, who is in her 30s, rushed her fur kid to the vet where he was put on drip. It took two weeks for him to recover.
Her Tiktok post has accumulated more than 136,000 views on the video-sharing platform as at Jan 27. It is one of the more recent examples of pet owners worldwide warning others about the effects they believe essential oils and products containing them, such as candles and diffusers, may have on their animal companions.
In September 2022, TikTok user gabbysummers75 said that four of her dogs started to have vomiting and diarrhoea episodes after she started using an electric diffuser from Bath & Body Works.
Her dalmatian, Woodford, had to be rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night, an ordeal his owner described as “heart-wrenching”.
On forum platform Reddit, meanwhile, user BPDprisoner said in a February 2020 post that they came home to their kitten “being limp and barely breathing” after buying a diffuser from an unspecified brand for the apartment.
The user added that they believed essential oils are toxic to cats, and warned fellow cat owners against using them in their homes.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), essential oils can pose a danger to pets and cause them to develop health problems. Some symptoms include unsteadiness on the feet, depression and, in severe cases, low body temperature.
If a pet ingests concentrated essential oils, they may experience vomiting, diarrhoea or depressive episodes, said the ASPCA.
Local veterinarians also cautioned the use of such products for households with pets.
If the products are made with artificial fragrances, inhaling them could lead to respiratory irritation, said Dr Angeline Yang, veterinarian and co-founder of VetMobile.
“These artificial fragrances could be potential carcinogens. If we do not air our homes while burning candles, there could be a build-up of carbon particles and other pollutants, irritating their respiratory tracts,” she told The Straits Times.
Some oils are also more harmful than others.
Essential oils such as eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree oils can be harmful to cats even in small amounts and should be avoided, said Dr Teo Boon Han, managing partner and veterinary consultant at VetTrust Singapore.
Animals with existing respiratory issues such as asthma risk suffering worse impacts. Breeds with short snouts, such as Persian cats, pugs and French bulldogs, are also at higher risk of respiratory distress, added Dr Teo.
Local retailers said they are aware that such products may be harmful to animals, and curate their offerings to be pet-friendly.
Ms Vivian Chung, founder of homegrown company Artisan of Sense, said candles from the brand are made with soy wax, and do not emit chemicals such as toluene and benzene. These chemicals may lead to respiratory problems, headache and eye irritation.
She added that customers are cautioned about electric diffusers, which may emit a higher concentration of essential oils, and advised customers to carefully observe their pets for signs of irritation and discomfort.
Ms Datina Wee, co-founder of Lynk Fragrances, said it uses natural coconut wax to make its candles, which contain fragrance and essential oils that are pet-friendly.
“Recognising pets’ heightened sensitivity to scents, potential irritation is meticulously considered in the formulation process,” she said.
Managing director and founder of aromatherapy brand Hysses Cheryl Gan said that the company conducts research and references medical journals to choose ingredients compatible with pets.
Hysses also names specific oils that are used in its products, on their labels.
“Different species and even individual pets within the same species may exhibit varying levels of sensitivity to different plants and substances,” said Ms Gan.
Pet owners are advised to take precautions while using such products as allergies and reactions may vary between animals.
Owners are also encouraged to seek advice from vets or professionals if they are unsure about using fragrance products, said Ms Chung.
“We also encourage checking product websites or sending emails to the manufacturers to request more details,” she added.
Sufficient ventilation of the house should be ensured when using scented candles or diffusers, said Ms Wee.
Candles should also be places in areas inaccessible to pets, and owners should closely monitor their animals for any signs or discomfort or sensitivity.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/can-scented-candles-and-essential-oils-harm-your-pets-s-pore-vets-warn-of-the-risks
| 2024-01-27T05:22:31Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – New homes are set to be built within a short walk of Redhill and Clementi MRT stations, with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Jan 26 readying a plot in each town for development.
In a proposed amendment to its 2019 masterplan, it rezoned a roughly 1.5ha site in Tanglin Road, next to Crescent Girls’ School, from civic and community institution use to residential use, assigning it a gross plot ratio of 4.2.
The agency also increased the gross plot ratio of a housing plot – about 1.6ha – in Clementi Close from 4.3 to 5.0. Both plots are equivalent in size to about two football fields.
The Tanglin Road site, URA said, will used for “high density residential development with commercial amenities and social and communal facilities”, allowing residents to tap its proximity to Redhill MRT station and recreational offerings along Alexandra Canal.
Agencies will study how the site can be “developed sensitively in relation to surrounding residential developments”, with attention paid to the height of the upcoming housing project.
Apart from abutting Crescent Girls’ School and the canal, the site is near a private residential enclave and the High Commission of Brunei. Future residents will be within a 500m walk from Redhill MRT station.
Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group, said the site could be used for private homes given its proximity to a good class bungalow area and condominiums.
At 1.5ha and with a 4.2 plot ratio, about 700 to 750 homes could be rolled out, she added.
Property portal Mogul.sg’s chief research officer Nicholas Mak said between 530 and 580 flats could be built, should the Government want to inject diversity into the area, and make public homes in the city fringe more accessible.
Both Ms Sun and Mr Mak noted the site’s proximity to Orchard Road, as well as schools and other amenities that would make upcoming homes attractive to buyers intending to stay or invest.
The Clementi Close plot partially occupies a site vacated under a Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) project that was announced in March 2005 as part of a rejuvenation of Clementi Town Centre.
URA said its proposed intensification of the site will help meet housing needs and “allow more people to enjoy the convenience of living close to a well-connected public transport node and amenities”.
Future homes will be within a 350m walk from Clementi MRT station, and will also be next to the new Clementi Polyclinic, which is set to be completed in 2027, as well as Clementi Town Secondary School and Clementi Primary School.
Pointing to the mix of private and public homes in the area, Mr Mak said it is difficult to tell what type of housing the plot would be used for.
At about 1.6ha and with a plot ratio of 5.0, analysts said about 920 to 1,000 condominium units could be built, or about 650 to 720 flats.
Ms Sun and Mr Mak both said a Build-To-Order (BTO) project on the site, if launched under the Housing Board’s new classification system of flats from October 2024, could fall under the new Plus category. He noted that the flats would be near an MRT station but outside of the central region.
To be offered along the existing Prime flats – those in the choicest locations close to the city centre – and Standard flats, which come with standard subsidies, the new Plus flats are a step down from the Prime ones. Plus flats are in attractive locations within each region across Singapore, such as those near an MRT station or town centre.
Plus flats, like the Prime types, will have a 10-year minimum occupation period, among other restrictions.
Mr Mak added that BTO projects in Clementi are hard to come by – the last was launched in 2017.
The Redhill and Clementi sites are not part of the list of projects for February’s BTO launch, or on the current list of Government Land Sales sites.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/new-homes-to-be-built-within-walking-distance-of-redhill-clementi-mrt-stations
| 2024-01-27T05:22:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
ATLANTA – Luka Doncic just wanted to “get a win” after he matched the fourth-highest scoring performance in National Basketball Association (NBA) history on Jan 26, pouring in 73 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 148-143 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
A masterful individual performance saw the Slovenian star set a Mavs record with 41 first-half points, with the scorching run continuing in the second half as Dallas kept the determined Hawks at bay.
Doncic added 10 rebounds and seven assists. He connected on 25 of 33 shots from the floor – including eight three-pointers – and made 15 of his 16 free throws.
He ranked the performance “probably at the top” in his career, but with the Mavs coming in on a three-game losing streak, he was just focused on getting a victory.
“We’ve been struggling lately,” he said.
“Mindset was get a win. I was just going, you know, whatever the defence give me. In the second half they doubled me all the time so I tried to make some plays.”
His sensational performance spoiled the return of Trae Young, who led the Hawks with 30 points after missing two games in concussion protocol.
Doncic’s franchise-record effort pushed him into elite NBA territory. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant have scored more points in a game, Chamberlain with the league record 100 in 1962 and Bryant with 81 in 2006.
Chamberlain also owns a 78-point performance and two of 73 – a number also reached by David Thompson and, now, Doncic.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd said it was something “extra special” from a player who comes up special on a regular basis.
“What he does on the court is different than anybody else,” he said, adding that Doncic’s ability to keep feeding his teammates amid his own red-hot scoring made the victory possible.
“His ability to make shots, create shots, find open guys – he did that at a high level tonight.”
Doncic’s 25 baskets were a career high and he crushed his own franchise record of 60 points, set against the New York Knicks on Dec 27, 2022.
His effort came less than a week after Joel Embiid poured in 70 in a Philadelphia 76ers win over San Antonio – and it was not the only eye-popping outburst of the night.
Phoenix guard Devin Booker’s 62-point performance, however, came in a losing effort as the Indiana Pacers triumphed 133-131 to halt the Suns’ seven-game winning streak.
It was Booker’s second game this season of 50 or more points after a 52-point showing against New Orleans earlier in January. He had a career-high 70 against Boston in 2017.
Siakam scored 31 points, leading six Pacers players in double figures as Indiana notched a second straight win.
Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points to propel the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-100 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out nine assists – coming up just shy of a third straight triple-double.
Damian Lillard added another 22 points for the Bucks, who confirmed that Doc Rivers – who guided Boston to the 2008 NBA title – would take over as head coach after the abrupt sacking of Adrian Griffin. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/basketball/dazzling-luka-doncic-scores-73-as-dallas-mavericks-down-atlanta-hawks
| 2024-01-27T05:22:52Z
|
blocked_url
|
LAUSANNE – American swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win a US national college title, is taking legal action in a bid to be allowed compete again in elite female competition, including the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old has not swum since World Aquatics introduced new rules in 2022, which prohibit anyone who has undergone any part of male puberty from competing in the female category.
On Jan 26, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed “the registration of the request for arbitration filed by US transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, aimed at challenging certain parts of World Aquatics’ policy on the eligibility for the men’s and women’s competition categories”.
“Ms Thomas accepts that fair competition is a legitimate sporting objective and that some regulation of transgender women in swimming is appropriate,” the statement read.
“However, Ms Thomas submits that the challenged provisions are invalid and unlawful as they discriminate against her contrary to the Olympic Charter, the World Aquatics Constitution, and Swiss law.”
In her submission to CAS, Thomas said: “Such discrimination cannot be justified as necessary, reasonable, or proportionate to achieve a legitimate sporting objective.”
CAS also said that Thomas was seeking “an order from the CAS declaring that the challenged provisions are unlawful, invalid, and of no force and effect”.
It added that the proceedings had begun in September 2023, but had been “subject to strict confidentiality rules”, and that “at this point, no hearing date has been fixed yet”.
Two years ago, governing body World Aquatics voted to stop transgender female athletes from competing in women’s elite races.
In February 2022, USA Swimming decided to revise its rules, limiting testosterone levels for a period of at least 36 months for any transgender athletes wanting to compete at the elite level.
The change was prompted by the controversy surrounding Thomas’ performance in the university championship.
Born male and having begun transition in 2019, Thomas was adjudged by detractors to be physiologically advantaged.
Barely a month later, the University of Pennsylvania swimmer won the women’s 500-yard freestyle final.
It was an historic victory, made possible by the refusal of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association), which governs college sports, to apply the new USA federation rules.
In June 2022, World Aquatics announced that it wanted to create an open category for transgender athletes. It limited entry to its women’s categories to swimmers who “became women before puberty”.
The governing bodies in other sports such as cycling and athletics have also banned transgender athletes from elite female competition over the past two years. AFP, REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-challenges-ban-before-cas
| 2024-01-27T05:23:02Z
|
blocked_url
|
WASHINGTON - A Houthi anti-ship missile damaged an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Jan 26, but no injuries were reported and a US Navy ship was providing assistance, the US military said.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Marlin Luanda issued a distress call and reported damage, US Central Command said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The USS Carney and other coalition ships were providing assistance to the oil tanker, it said.
About eight hours later, the US military destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch, Central Command said.
The missile “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” it said. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/houthi-missile-damages-oil-tanker-in-gulf-of-aden-us-hits-houthi-target
| 2024-01-27T05:23:13Z
|
blocked_url
|
KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian anti-graft agency’s investigation into offshore assets has expanded to include another son of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Businessman Mokhzani Mahathir received an asset declaration notice from the agency, a spokesperson for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said on Jan 27.
Earlier in January, the MACC ordered Tun Dr Mahathir’s eldest son Mirzan Mahathir to declare all of his income since 1981, when his father first became prime minister.
Tan Sri Mokhzani could not immediately be reached for comment. His father, who served two stints as Malaysian prime minister, has alleged the probe is politically motivated.
The order is part of MACC’s investigation into information from leaks of offshore business records that were revealed in recent years by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a global media network.
Tun Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister and adviser to Dr Mahathir, was among those probed.
Malaysian media on Jan 27 reported that Mr Daim said he will face charges on Jan 29 related to disclosure of assets.
His wife Na’imah Abdul Khalid was charged earlier in January for failing to declare assets. She has denied the charges. BLOOMBERG
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-anti-graft-agency-asks-another-mahathir-son-to-show-assets
| 2024-01-27T06:52:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – In spite of lower fuel prices, electricity prices are still climbing in Singapore.
Increased carbon taxes in 2024, now at $20 per tonne of emissions from the previous $5 per tonne, have compounded cost pressures.
To offset the higher costs of electricity and water consumption, residents in one- to three-room flats can consider using climate vouchers, whose validity has been extended till March 20.
Under the Climate Friendly Households Programme (CFHP), each eligible household can claim a $150 voucher to buy an energy-efficient refrigerator, a $25 voucher for LED lights, and a $50 voucher for water-saving shower fittings.
The vouchers are applicable for energy- and water-efficient appliances rated with three or more ticks.
The Straits Times explores some ways to conserve electricity when using common household appliances.
Q: Which common household appliances consume the most electricity?
A: The biggest energy guzzlers are air conditioners, refrigerators, fans, water heaters, and non-LED lights such as fluorescent lights, said Dr Eddy Foo, senior lecturer at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Old TV sets using the cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology can consume substantial amounts of electricity too, noted Dr Foo.
Q: How do I calculate how much power an appliance consumes?
A: In the monthly utilities bill, electricity consumed is usually indicated in kilowatt-hours (kWh). To convert to kWh from the wattage indicated in the technical specification of a home appliance, multiply the energy consumed in kW by the duration in hours that it was used, said Ms Wei Linyun, vice president of sustainability and business Development for Singapore at Schneider Electric.
If the appliance was running for less than an hour, say, 45 minutes, the duration can be derived by dividing 45 minutes over 60 minutes, which is equivalent to one hour, said Dr Foo.
But the rated power of the appliance is usually higher than the actual power it consumes, said Mr Alvin Ee, research fellow at the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
He explained that the rated power is the maximum power that an appliance consumes. For example, if an oven’s light is turned on without heating or fan, the actual power consumed will be lower than the rated power.
Q: What should I look out for in my monthly electricity bill?
A: There are two main things to look out for in an electricity bill, said Dr Foo; the amount of kWh consumed and the electricity price per kWh. The electricity bill for the month is derived by multiplying the amount of kWh with the electricity price.
The power bill also allows for simple analysis, said Mr Ee.
He highlighted that the bar graph showing past months of consumption can demonstrate trends and indicate potential changes in energy consumption patterns like higher use of air-conditioning due to the warmer weather, or a new appliance at home.
“This indicates how a lifestyle change or introduction of new household products affects the overall consumption,” said Mr Ee.
Households that purchase electricity from national retailer SP Group can also compare their electricity consumption to that of their neighbours or to the national average for similar housing.
Such comparisons, said Mr Ee, gauge household energy consumption. “If a household’s consumption is higher than the neighbourhood and national average, the household might not be using electricity efficiently,” he added.
Q: How can I boost the energy efficiency of my home appliances?
A: Under the Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (Mels), the number of ticks on the energy labels how efficient an appliance is. An appliance is considered more energy-efficient when it uses less electricity to produce a particular output, compared with another appliance that uses more electricity to produce the same output.
When considering the energy efficiency of an air-conditioner, room size is key.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) recommends that the cooling capacity, expressed in kilowatts (kW), should be five times the total floor area, in square metres, that an air-con needs to cool.
An air-con with a higher capacity than is needed for a given room would waste electricity, while an undersized air-con system would not be able to deliver the desired cooling effect.
Q: Which air-con settings – cool, eco, dry or auto – provide the most savings?
A: Thermal comfort is affected by both humidity and temperature in a room, said Mr Ee.
Dehumidifying the air in dry mode consumes less energy compared to cool mode, said Dr Foo. In dry mode, the fan unit runs slower, and most importantly, the compressor unit runs less frequently than when the unit is operating in cool mode.
Mr Ee explained that an air-con running in cool mode helps to reduce the temperature in a warm and humid space, while dry mode is recommended for a space which that is humid but at a relatively comfortable temperature – this is because dry mode helps to reduce humidity to approximately 60 per cent while maintaining temperatures.
Q: Will turning on the fan and the air-con at the same time help save electricity?
A: Combining the use of an air-con with a ceiling fan is an efficient practice in Singapore, said Mr Ee.
This is because the fan helps distribute the cool air evenly, enhancing the cooling effect and allowing the air-con to be set at a higher temperature. In addition, it helps to draw warm air from the surface faster, reducing the air-con’s workload and energy consumption.
Q: LED lights consume less power but are more expensive than non-LED lights. Is buying them still the better option?
A: While LED lights are more expensive, they are the more economical option in the long run, said Ms Wei. This is because they often last longer than non-LED lights.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/askst/askst-how-do-i-conserve-power-and-save-money-while-using-household-appliances
| 2024-01-27T06:53:06Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – As Chinese New Year rolls round, one of the must-have snacks for this festive season is the pineapple tart.
There is no lack of choices this time of the year when it comes to purchasing these tarts, be it open-faced or sphere-shaped ones.
It is time-consuming and laborious, but it may be worth the effort to roll up your sleeves to make your own.
Chef Anup Kumar, culinary manager at cooking school AllSpice Institute, has a recipe for pineapple tart that stands out from store-bought ones.
His open-faced pineapple tarts have a base that is rich with nuttiness and buttery enough to be fragrant but not greasy nor cloying.
The pineapple jam, which he prepares from scratch, is a low-sugar version with a delightfully tart edge from the use of fresh pineapple.
The 38-year-old says: “Pineapple tarts are not a healthy snack, but making your own allows you to control the amount of sugar and use better-quality ingredients to make a healthier version.”
Store-bought ones which are made with palm oil or margarine may be less fragrant and not as tasty as homemade ones made using butter in the dough.
Tarts made with pineapple filling that is high in sugar content are harder and stickier in texture.
Chef Kumar, who hails from North India, fell in love with pineapple tarts during Chinese New Year in 2011 when he relocated here for work.
He learnt to make the pastry and jam from other chefs, refining his recipe over the years.
Last year, he spent a year in France, attending a diploma course in patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.
What he learnt there inspired him to add almond flour to plain flour to make the pineapple tart dough, which gives it nuttiness and more fragrance. But almond flour renders a crispier tart base.
If you prefer your tart base in a softer texture, use cake flour instead of the almond flour and plain flour combination.
Chef Kumar also favours the use of French butter, which has a higher fat content, for making the tart base.
When preparing the pineapple, remove the eyes and the core before grating or placing in a food processor to blend.
Spices and rum lend deeper aroma and flavour to the pineapple jam. Skip the rum if you want to make an alcohol-free version.
If you want a more nuanced flavour, chef Kumar suggests adding two orange slices, including the skin, when cooking the jam.
For those making large batches and who want to cut down on the labour, use store-bought pineapple filling, such as Redman’s pineapple paste, to add to your homemade one.
Combine equal amounts of homemade and store-bought filling, he suggests.
Once the tarts are done baking, it is crucial to let them cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.
They should be able to keep for up to three weeks without refrigeration.
It is best to consume the pineapple tarts two days after baking them as the pastry will be more pronounced in flavour and the pineapple filling will be softer.
• Follow Hedy Khoo on Instagram @hedchefhedykhoo. Go to straitstimesfood.com for recipes, news on the latest food trends and more. Follow our social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook @straitstimesfood
Chef Anup Kumar’s recipe for open-faced pineapple tarts
Ingredients for the dough
200g plain flour (replace with cake flour for softer texture)
50g to 78g icing sugar, depending on how sweet you want the tart base to be
24g almond flour
2g fine sea salt
120g cold butter, cubed
3 egg yolks (50g)
1 tsp vanilla essence
Method
1. In a cake mixer bowl, place the plain flour, icing sugar, almond flour and salt.
2. Using a paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are mixed.
3. Add the cold butter cubes. Starting with low speed and increasing to medium speed, mix until the ingredients combine to form a sandy texture.
4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla essence. Continue mixing until the mixture forms a dough which clings to the paddle.
5. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough briefly to form a disc.
6. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use, but it is best to let it rest overnight to make it easier to shape.
Ingredients for the pineapple jam
700g fresh pineapple flesh, finely grated or blended
2 cinnamon sticks
8 to 10 cloves
4 to 5 green cardamom pods
2 star anise
150g caster sugar
2 Tbs rum (optional)
Method
1. In a pot, add the finely grated pineapple, cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom and star anise.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours, to reduce the moisture in the mixture.
3. Add ¾ of the sugar and continue cooking, stirring for about 20 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns golden brown. Add the remaining sugar and continue cooking for a few minutes if the mixture is too tart. The final texture should be sticky and the jam should not have any visible moisture.
4. Turn off the heat and add the rum. Stir well and allow the mixture to cool. The jam will turn deeper in colour as it cools.
5. Remove and discard the spices.
6. Refrigerate the mixture overnight so that it firms up and is easier to shape into balls.
Ingredients for egg wash
20g egg yolk
20ml fresh milk
Method
1. Mix the egg yolk and fresh milk together and strain. Keep chilled until ready to use.
2. Instead of brushing the egg wash onto the tart dough with a brush, you can pour the egg wash into a spray bottle and spray it on the tart dough to avoid marring the tart base with the brush.
Assembling the tart
1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Shape the pineapple jam into balls of 8g to 10g each.
3. On a flour-dusted surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 4mm-thick sheet.
4. Dust a pineapple tart cutter and shake off excess flour. Press it into the dough and gently twist to cut out the tart base. Minimise the space between each cut-out to get more pieces from the tart base.
5. Arrange cut dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
6. Lightly brush or spray a thin coat of egg wash on the cut dough.
7. Place a ball of pineapple jam on each piece of the cut dough. Gently tap the ball so the filling sticks to the dough.
8. To decorate the tarts, roll out the remainder of the dough into thin strips and place them on top of the pineapple filling in the shape of a cross.
9. Place the baking tray with the tarts into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Allow tarts to cool completely before storing in air-tight containers.
Makes 30 to 40 tarts.
AllSpice Institute is conducting workshops called Dragon Pineapple Tart & Sugee Cake this festive season.
Where: AllSpice Institute, Block 162 Bukit Merah Central, 07-3545
When: Jan 31 and Feb 6, 10am to 1pm
Admission: $168 nett
Info: Call 6377-9303 or e-mail admin1@allspice.edu.sg
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/cny-recipe-healthier-homemade-pineapple-tarts-to-impress-your-friends-and-family
| 2024-01-27T06:53:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
OKINAWA – Ten minutes into a conversation with Mr Kansei Arashiro, it becomes clear that purple sweet potato is not solely responsible for the energetic farmer reaching the ripe old age of 86.
He tells us about the joy of farming, chuckling about how he turns his vegetables into art by twisting them into vaguely humanoid shapes.
“I do it for fun,” he says in Japanese to our media group.
“Are you vegetarian?” someone asks him, hoping to hear about the merits of a plant-based diet.
“I eat a lot of vegetables, yes,” he replies, then quickly adds: “But I also eat everything. We should all have fun and be happy.”
The real secret to the octogenarian’s longevity, it seems, is sheer joy, coupled with a strong sense of community and an active lifestyle.
The agricultural expert wakes up at 6am every day, cycles to his mini farm from his home nearby, and takes afternoon naps. He also spends time interacting with aged neighbours and friends in Ogimi village in Okinawa, Japan.
It is perfectly in line with what researchers have determined are the factors behind the longevity of residents of Japan’s southern islands. But seeing this up close makes it very real, and it is illuminating to chat with one of the many living examples of how to grow old gracefully.
Okinawa is now easily accessible. After a hiatus of more than three years, Jetstar Asia has begun flying direct from Singapore to Okinawa, the only airline to do so.
The flight takes about five hours, while flights routing through Osaka or Tokyo take at least 10 hours.
Japan has always been a darling of Singapore travellers, and Okinawa is in the spotlight again after Netflix series Live To 100: Secrets Of The Blue Zones (2023) featured it as an area with a higher-than-average concentration of residents with extra-long life expectancies.
Ogimi, a village of 3,000, has more than 20 active centenarians, an impressive proportion that has earned it the label, “village of longevity”.
“It’s not that anyone here deliberately tried to live longer,” says Ogimi’s director of tourism, Mr Fumimaru Osaki. “But by doing everyday things like farming and living close to nature, they ended up keeping active and staying independent.”
The easy pace of life on the islands is also a major contributing factor, he adds.
Wherever you are, you are never far from one of the numerous farms that dot the islands or the beaches that line their coast. Mountains are always in view, and even Naha – the capital of Okinawa prefecture – feels more like a big town than a city.
Such scenes are a feast for the eyes. This laid-back corner of Japan is also a refreshing alternative to the mainland.
This is partly a result of Okinawa’s mixed history and culture. Originally an independent nation ruled by the Ryukyu kingdom, the islands thrived on trade with China and countries in East and South-east Asia.
They became part of the Japanese shogunate in the 1600s, and a prefecture of Japan in the 1800s, explaining why the food, architecture, and culture have a distinctive Chinese touch.
At the same time, Okinawa’s sub-tropical climate and environment give it Hawaiian vibes, which are very much bolstered by the popularity of spam – yes, the luncheon meat – in local fare.
Introduced by the United States – which took over administration of the islands after some of the most fearsome battles of World War II, and returned them to Japan in 1972 – spam can be found in a number of dishes, including the local version of onigiri (Japanese rice balls).
This unique mix adds to the charms of Okinawa, which draws millions of tourists looking for a spot of sunshine and a break from city life each year. More than half are Japanese from the mainland, and some have never gone back.
“I came here when I married my husband, who is from Okinawa,” says Ms Seiko Suzuki, our tour guide. “But now, I don’t think I can go back to the mainland. Life is so slow and peaceful here.”
But that does not mean Okinawa is a retirement village or isolated island getaway where there is not a lot for visitors to do.
There are a host of experiences, many of them sea-related.
Go snorkelling or scuba diving. Or, if you want a close-up view of sea creatures without getting wet, hitch a ride on a glass-bottom boat. Also, visit Busena Marine Park’s underwater observatory or Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, one of the world’s largest.
There are ample opportunities for hiking and cafe-hopping for the land-based, and families can keep restless kids occupied with activities such as glass-blowing and making sweet potato tarts.
If you have time to venture beyond Okinawa’s main island, check out one of the outlying islands. The prefecture includes more than 150 islands, with the major, inhabited ones accessible by ferry.
Do not miss the food, of course. The local sashimi is extra fresh. Unless you are anti-greens, you will do well to check out the produce that Okinawa is well known for.
This includes goya (bittergourd), umibudo (sea grapes), mozuku (seaweed) and, of course, beni imo, Okinawa’s famous purple sweet potato that is believed to contribute to its residents’ longevity.
Even the sake has been localised. Awamori – Okinawa’s version of the classic Japanese alcoholic beverage – is made from Thai rice instead of Japanese rice, and is distilled instead of brewed, making for a more potent swig.
Or you could just kick back, relax in one of the many cafes lining the beaches, and soak in the peace and calm of Okinawa, which is really its best draw – and one of its secrets to longevity.
- Leslie Koh is a former Straits Times journalist. His trip was hosted by Jetstar Asia.
Getting there
Jetstar Asia (jetstar.com) flies to Naha, Okinawa, three times a week. Prices start at about $320 for a return flight, depending on when you book.
Staying there
Okinawa has numerous accommodation options, from luxury and budget hotels to beach resorts and homestays.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/travel/in-quest-of-okinawa-s-style-of-living-long-and-slow
| 2024-01-27T06:53:27Z
|
blocked_url
|
HYDERABAD, India - England reached 89 for one in their battle to save the opening test against India having conceded a chunky lead on day three of the match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.
India were all out for 436 inside the first hour, losing their last three wickets for no run, to grab a first-innings lead of 190.
Ben Duckett was leading England's fightback with an unbeaten 38, while Ollie Pope was batting on 16 at the lunch break.
Earlier, India added 15 runs to their overnight score before losing their last three wickets.
Part-time spinner Joe Root was pick of the English bowlers, claiming 4-79.
The off-spinner dismissed Ravindra Jadeja (87) and Jasprit Bumrah with successive deliveries but was denied a hat-trick by Mohammed Siraj.
Axar Patel was the last Indian batter to fall after his useful cameo of 44.
England began brightly in their second innings with Zak Crawley (31) and Duckett frequently employing the sweep shot -- both traditional and reverse -- to negate the threats posed by the India spinners.
Crawley stepped out to hit Patel into the sightscreen and motored along at a run-a-ball rate but could not convert the start.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin induced an edge from the opener and India captain Rohit Sharma gleefully grabbed the catch at the lone slip to dismiss Crawley. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/england-89-1-after-conceding-big-lead-against-india
| 2024-01-27T06:53:37Z
|
blocked_url
|
SAN DIEGO – Torrey Pines bit back on Jan 26, but Germany’s Stephan Jaeger “mentally attacked” the golf course and maintained a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.
The golfers who made the tournament cut are playing the third and fourth rounds at Torrey Pines’ famed South Course.
Jaeger posted a one-over 73 to slip to 11-under 205, but the 34-year-old still found himself on top after a shakeup on the par-five 18th hole.
Thomas Detry of Belgium was alone in the lead at 11 under when his third shot at the 543-yard hole landed in the greenside water hazard. After a penalty stroke, he only managed a double-bogey and fell to nine under.
Jaeger, who had six bogeys and four birdies to that point, stuck his third shot at the same hole inside 6 feet of the pin.
He converted the ensuing birdie putt to move up to 11 under, one shot clear of France’s Matthieu Pavon (72) and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (73). Detry also signed for a 73 and is alone in fourth.
“Super happy with how (I) mentally kind of attacked the golf course in different places now,” Jaeger said.
“I didn’t have my best stuff (Friday), so I’d love to putt a little better, hit a little more fairways (Saturday). But it’s golf.”
Jaeger is the world No. 101 and has won six times on the Korn Ferry Tour but not on the PGA Tour yet.
Should he win, he is projected to move to the top of the new “Aon Swing 5“ standings and therefore qualify for next week’s signature event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The German called winning a “learnt skill”.
“I remember Brooks (Koepka) saying that he just does his stuff in Majors and all of a sudden here comes Sunday afternoon, he’s there,” Jaeger added.
“That’s so much harder done than said. Like I said, it’s definitely something I’ve done before, but I’m going to lean on stuff I’ve been really working on the last six months or a year.”
Will Zalatoris, playing in his third tournament back from a lengthy injury absence, shot his second straight 68 and is part of a large tie at seven under that also includes Xander Schauffele (72).
In women’s golf, hometown hero Nelly Korda took a two-shot lead in the second round of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Bradenton, Florida.
The American birdied three of her final four holes at Bradenton Country Club to card a four-under 67 and enter the weekend at 10-under 132, passing second-place Lee So-mi of South Korea (65). REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/golf/stephan-jaeger-holds-onto-lead-at-farmers-insurance-open
| 2024-01-27T06:53:48Z
|
blocked_url
|
HYDERABAD, India - India made 436 all out in reply to England's first-innings total of 246, claiming a lead of 190 on day three of the opening test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja (87), KL Rahul (86) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (80) scored the bulk of the runs for the hosts.
Part-time spinner Joe Root was the pick of the England bowlers, claiming 4-79. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/india-436-all-out-to-claim-big-lead-v-england
| 2024-01-27T06:53:58Z
|
blocked_url
|
MELBOURNE - Order of play on the main court on the 15th day of the Australian Open on Sunday (times local, prefix number denotes seeding):
* Twilight session: From 0300 p.m. (0400 GMT)
ROD LAVER ARENA
Women's Doubles final
11-Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine)/Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) v 2-Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei)/Elise Mertens (Belgium)
Men's Singles final (not before 0730 p.m.)
4-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v 3-Daniil Medvedev (Russia) REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/australian-open-order-of-play-on-sunday-0
| 2024-01-27T06:54:09Z
|
blocked_url
|
Vince McMahon resigned from wrestling giant TKO Group and the subsidiary WWE that he founded, over a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking, which he said he will fight, the company said on Friday.
"I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately," McMahon said in a statement released by TKO.
The suit by a former employee, filed on Thursday in federal court in Connecticut, accuses McMahon, WWE and another executive of "physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking at WWE," and seeks unspecified costs and damages.
McMahon denied the allegations in the statement, saying, "I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name."
WWE President Nick Khan wrote in a memo to employees that McMahon "will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE."
McMahon had retired from WWE in 2022 amid allegations of misconduct and paid $17.4 million to the company to cover costs related to an investigation into that case. He returned in January 2023.
The powerhouse behind the wrestling entertainment company, McMahon transformed it from a regional player in a highly fragmented industry of the 1980s to a global giant, with about $1 billion in revenue in 2021.
He used scripted matches, celebrity wrestlers and glitz to make the brand more acceptable to television audiences, and created the concept of pay-per-view matches for bigger events such as "WrestleMania" to build its revenue base.
TKO was formed last year when McMahon forged a deal between WWE and Endeavor Group-owned mixed martial arts franchise UFC. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/vince-mcmahon-resigns-from-tko-wwe-over-sex-assault-lawsuit
| 2024-01-27T06:54:19Z
|
blocked_url
|
There’s something timelessly magical about James and Sophie Perkins’s home, Parnham Park. Hidden away in a dreamy corner of Dorset, the elegant Elizabethan mansion lies in its own secluded valley, where a lake shimmers beneath ancient trees and white deer roam. It’s hard to believe that this idyllic scene was violently disturbed just seven years ago, when a suspected arson attack resulted in the house being engulfed in flames.
Happily, Parnham is rising phoenix-like from the ashes. Although the roof and interior were destroyed, the honey-tinted local stone of the walls withstood the blaze – and that’s when James, 55, and Sophie, 37, stepped in to acquire the estate, determined to restore it to its former glory and ensure its future survival.
Entrepreneur James has established quite a track record of restoring historic properties, his most ambitious project being the couple’s 17th-century former home, 40-bedroom Aynhoe Park in Northamptonshire.
Their other passions, for collecting and nature conservation, are very much complementary. Parnham is the perfect place to showcase their holdings of everything from ostrich-feather lamps to old masters, while its vast grounds are a haven for a host of animal and plant species.
And naturally, the couple’s three children – Beau, 16, Lyon, 11, and Luna, eight – couldn’t be happier. With something fascinating to discover at every turn, Parnham is a playground filled with adventure.
James, tell us about your background...
I grew up in Gloucestershire, in a family that takes a lot of inspiration from my mother Sally. She owned fashion boutiques and is a very talented flower arranger; I inherited my creative streak from her.
How long have you been a collector?
Since I was 14, when I attended my first auction with my mother. I was captivated by the possibility of buying lost treasures and reimagining them, giving them a new setting.
Which objects mean most to you?
Every item I acquire becomes my new favourite, from a giant piece of amethyst I brought back from Brazil to some paintings of exotic South American birds, which I bought recently from a local artist, Nigel Hughes.
There’s a model of a woolly mammoth from seven million years ago, and one of an explorers’ boat standing next to a Vexquisite 5ft reproduction of Big Ben. Then I have a huge cabinet of curiosities filled with 200-million-year-old ammonites. They’re all my favourites.
How old is Parnham, and how is the restoration progressing?
There has been a house on this site since the 1400s, so it’s one of the oldest and most important stately homes in Dorset. The house was remodelled in 1810 by John Nash, best known for his work on Buckingham Palace, Marble Arch and Regent Street.
Parnham is steeped in history. Following the fire, our intention is to restore and reimagine this enchanting estate. We’re around halfway through now.
We hope to turn it into not only a home for ourselves, but also a hospitality venue for celebrating birthdays and weddings, as we did with Aynhoe Park, which became renowned worldwide.
What were your first impressions of Parnham?
I felt that it had a magical allure. The setting, near the beautiful town of Beaminster on the River Brit, includes formal gardens, historic walled gardens, ancient woodlands, orchards and a dramatic lake and waterfall.
What projects are you planning?
We intend to create an inclusive estate featuring luxury holiday residences, as well as our restaurant, The Parnham Garden Kitchen, in the heart of our walled garden, so that people can come and enjoy this very special, undiscovered pocket of Dorset.
At the same time, this will enable us to save the historic house from certain ruin. I want to make sure that Parnham survives for several hundred more years, and to make it the focal point of the local area once again.
Which of your restoration projects are you most proud of?
I think it’s fair to say that Aynhoe Park was a fantastic transformation, from a tired old country house to a 40-bedroom operation that brought so much joy and won us the global Best Venue award [at the prestigious Bridelux Awards] in 2019. Of course, our plans for Parnham Park are even more exciting.
Back in the 1990s, you were a trailblazer on the electronic music scene, creating the first big festivals with your company Fantazia...
Yes. When I was 20, I was inspired by the latest technology of the time, like lasers, and excited by the new electronic dance movement. I saw an opportunity to be at the forefront of it, producing safe yet spectacular shows for giant audiences, while enjoying the freedom of staying out all night listening to this groundbreaking sound that became a global phenomenon”
Sophie, how did you meet James?
We were introduced by a mutual friend in a Cotswolds pub.
And you worked together on Aynhoe Park?
We started the events company together there, organising weddings, parties and photoshoots.x
Many famous names enjoyed its hospitality while you were there...
Many of our clients remain private, as we respect their wishes to stage private celebrations with us.
However, it’s fair to say those who have made it into the mainstream media include some of the world’s biggest film directors, brands such as LVMH, the entire Cabinet and global rock stars such as The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bono, Noel and Liam Gallagher, and Kate Moss, to name a few.
You’ve described Aynhoe and Parnham as "living museums of art and curiosities, filled with pieces both priceless and playful". Is their style much copied?
Aynhoe’s interiors are internationally famous, so, due to demand from our clients who wanted to buy similar pieces, we launched the website A Modern Grand Tour – a celebration of travelling, collecting and filling your home with interesting objects. That motivated James to design, and inspired by the style and history of Aynhoe and Parnham, he’s now created his own line of furniture.
What’s it like to live here?
Like Aynhoe, Parnham is magical, but there’s a different kind of enchantment here. It feels very nostalgic, like all of the Enid Blyton books we read as children rolled into one. I love listening to our children and their friends as they play in the forest or paddle in the lake. Nature is everywhere, from dragonflies and otters to deer.
Which is your favourite room?
I’m happiest of all when I’m outside. We’ve spent a lot of time restoring the gardens and thinking about how they’ll be used in the future; how we can teach and stimulate conversation through what we plant. Growing our own food was very important to me – the potting shed and greenhouse are a sanctuary. There’s nothing better than talking to the gardeners and seeing the garden flourish.
Do you enjoy hosting here?
I love to see the look on a guest’s face when they arrive and discover the magic we’re creating here. We want to create a community of like-minded people, creatives and families, who can use Parnham and enjoy it as we do. We all have busy lives and to reconnect, we need to disconnect.
Is travel important to you?
James would like to travel more, but someone has to keep us grounded and I love this place, so I never want to leave. But we love taking the kids on trips – it brings us new ideas, new memories and new objects for the house.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/512043/parnham-park-dorset-james-sophie-perkins-photos/
| 2024-01-27T06:57:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
Former TOWIE star Jess Wright is one to watch when it comes to nailing an ultra-glamorous aesthetic. And with her stylish sister-in-law Michelle Keegan and brother Mark Wright living up the road, it wasn't much to expect that Jess, 38, would have a gorgeous home.
The star's newly-renovated Essex mansion certainly doesn't disappoint and now she and her husband William Lee-Kemp share a son, Preston, we can't think of anywhere more perfect to raise a family. The pair welcomed their little one in May 2022 and now they have the picture-perfect setting for his early years.
Jess let HELLO! into her gorgeous home in an exclusive interview and offered a full tour of the property which is a neutral haven with minimalist energy and the most peaceful atmosphere. From a spa-like bathroom to a kitchen which is every chef's dream, the home is the ideal spot for relaxing after a long day or for hosting friends and family.
"It's a really amazing feeling to be here," Jess, 38, says as she shows HELLO! around the six-bedroom, four-bathroom property. "I walk around and say to Will: 'I can't believe we live here'. It's a dream come true - I just pinch myself every time I walk through the front door. And to know that me and Will have achieved our new home by working hard and doing it all ourselves is wonderful."
Take a tour of the home in full yourself as Jess shows how extensive renovations have brought her Essex dream mansion to life.
Presley's bedroom
A lot of effort has gone into creating a picture-perfect bedroom for Jess' son. His room is what kids' dreams are made of with an incredibly intricate wall mural with blocks with his name on surrounded by characters from Toy Story,Finding Nemo, and Moana. To tie the room in with the rest of the house, cream carpet has been put down and the room is accessorised with cream furniture.
Presley's play area
Taking a closer look at Presley's bedroom, fans will spot his ball pit and koala bear rocking horse as well as the cosy armchair.
Jess' island
We love how Jess has opted for a neutral colour scheme but used accents of different shades to add depth to the space. The star's kitchen features a stunning marble backsplash that coordinates with her grey bar stools. The cool stones are offset by warm touches in the gold tap, cupboard handles, and light fittings.
Jess' kitchen
Zooming in on Jess' kitchen, fans will spot her incredible American-style double fridge and how the star has added her signature feminine touch in the form of a vase of white roses.
Jess' dining room
Gorgeous double glass doors with black detailing open into Jess' dining room. She has filled the space with a large oval dining table in a dark wood that has been lightened up by the white boucle chairs with gold hardware. The cosy neutral patterned rug makes the space feel inviting and adds dimension.
Jess' sitting room
Jess has carried the neutral colour scheme into her sitting room. The TV star herself described the space as 'peaceful' and we couldn't agree more. Her room feels light and airy, thanks to the white sofa and oatmeal plush carpet with decorative cushions. She has used textured wallpaper to add another visual element to the space, a clever way to add interest into a minimalist space.
Somewhere to relax as a couple
The plush feel of Jess' home makes it the perfect place to enjoy some downtime with her husband whom she wed in 2021.
The extra touches
Jess has paid attention to detail with this space. We love her coffee table which has a space built into it for decorative elements to sit.
A spot for Bella
Not only is Jess' new home the perfect home for her, Will, and Presley to enjoy, but she has ensured her plentiful seating offers a resting place for her adorable Yorkshire terrier, Bella.
Jess' master bedroom
We can see why Jess enjoys relaxing in her gorgeous master bedroom. The room feels uncluttered and inviting with an impressive bed adorned with cosy throw pillows.
Jess' bathroom
Jess wanted to feel like she had a spa at home when she and her interior designer set about creating her perfect bathroom. It is mission accomplished as far as we are concerned. The space has double sinks built into neutral marble cabinetry with gold accents. The glass and gold sconces reflect light around the room with the help of several mirrors.
Credits:
Wardrobes by Hammonds
Interior designers - Sixty 3 London
Curtains and blinds - CD Blinds
London Parquet Flooring - Living Kitchen Flooring
All decoration work ICONNIC Decor Ltd @weareiconnic
Carpets by Cormar
Pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. Subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/512141/jess-wright-exclusive-essex-mansion-dream-post-renovation-mark-wright/
| 2024-01-27T06:57:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Prince of Wales has been making daily visits to see his wife Princess Kate, who is recuperating in hospital, according to a new report.
Kate, 42, has been staying at the private London Clinic, based in Marylebone, after undergoing abdominal surgery on 16 January.
Prince William - who has since cut down his work commitments - was last seen in public on 18 January, when he drove himself to the London-based hospital.
It's been reported that the royal couple's three children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis, are yet to visit their mother.
According to The Sun, the siblings spent last Sunday with their grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton, at their home in Berkshire.
It comes as no surprise that the Middletons are helping where they can. The doting grandparents - who are very hands-on - live in Bucklebury village about 40 minutes' drive away from the Wales' family home, Adelaide Cottage.
Since Kate's admission to hospital last week, Prince William has been looking after his children at their home in Windsor. The couple are striving to make sure things are as normal as possible.
William, 41, will no doubt also have the support of the children's nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, who studied at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, and has worked for the royals since 2014 when George was eight months old.
Last week, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the future Queen is expected to remain in hospital for up to 14 days before returning home to continue her recovery.
READ MORE: Princess Kate kept surgery a secret for those close to the royal family
She is not expected to carry out official engagements until after Easter, with the Prince of Wales clearing his diary of official duties for the time being.
The Palace refused to confirm what Kate was being treated for but confirmed the condition was non-cancerous. In a statement, the palace added: "The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
"She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share.
"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible."
LISTEN: A Right Royal Podcast - find out why King Charles 'loves' seeing his grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511637/prince-william-visited-kate-middleton-every-day/
| 2024-01-27T06:57:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
NEW DELHI - India and France have agreed to work together on the joint production of defence equipment including helicopters and submarines for the Indian armed forces and production for friendly countries, New Delhi said.
The deal was reached during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended a state banquet hosted by President Draupadi Murmu, the government said in a statement late on Friday.
Macron and Modi agreed to expand bilateral ties in defence production, nuclear energy, space research and the use of artificial intelligence for public services like climate change, health and agriculture, the statement said.
It did not specify the value of any deals.
After Russia, France is the largest arms supplier to India, which has relied on its fighter jets for four decades.
The leaders welcomed the setting up of maintenance, repair and overhaul services by France's Safran for leading-edge aviation propulsion (LEAP) engines in India and adding such services for Rafale engines, and a helicopter partnership.
The bilateral summit during Macron's 40-hour visit, was the fifth Macron-Modi meeting since May.
India's Tata Group and France's Airbus have signed an agreement to manufacture civilian helicopters together, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.
French jet engine maker CFM International also announced an agreement with India’s Akasa Air to buy more than 300 of its LEAP-1B engines to power 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Akasa Air previously ordered 76 aircraft powered by the engine, of which 22 are in use.
India and France agreed to intensify cooperation in the southwest Indian Ocean, building on joint surveillance missions carried out from the French island territory of La Reunion in 2020 and 2022, the government statement said.
Macron also said France would create conditions to attract up to 30,000 Indian students a year for higher education. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/india-france-agree-on-joint-defence-production-statement
| 2024-01-27T08:25:07Z
|
blocked_url
|
BENGALURU – Prison modernisation reforms got off to a quirky start at a major prison in the western Indian state of Maharashtra with the rollout of nine washing machines for its inmates.
But beyond relieving inmates of handwashing their clothes, advocates say India needs an express cycle for its justice system to clean out the problem of overcrowding in prisons.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/indian-prisons-get-tech-boost-but-overcrowding-remains-an-issue
| 2024-01-27T08:25:18Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – What is in the colour of a plate? Well, quite a lot, it seems, for some hawkers.
Mr Sumadi Sapari, the third-generation owner of Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari, uses yellow bowls as a way of keeping his late father’s memory alive.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/rainbow-connection-preserving-the-colourful-melamine-bowls-and-plates-of-hawker-centres
| 2024-01-27T08:25:28Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – With Chinese New Year round the corner, it is time to load up on snacks.
Instead of the usual pineapple tarts and bak kwa, The Straits Times trawled through festive fairs and hotel offerings to pick eight unusual – and lip-smacking – Chinese New Year snacks.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/trending-food-8-unusual-chinese-new-year-snacks-to-try
| 2024-01-27T08:25:38Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chairman Tan Cheng Bock said he may run in West Coast GRC in the next general election.
And he hoped the departure of former transport minister S. Iswaran, who faces 27 charges in a corruption case against him, would help the PSP’s chances.
Dr Tan, 83, led the PSP in West Coast GRC in 2020, narrowly losing to the People’s Action Party (PAP) team, led by Iswaran, which secured the five-member constituency with 51.68 per cent of the vote.
It was the PAP’s narrowest win in the 2020 General Election.
Iswaran was an MP for West Coast GRC since 1997 before he resigned in a letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Jan 16. He was charged on Jan 18.
After a walkabout on Jan 27 at West Coast Market Square, Dr Tan told the media: “If you believe in active ageing, I shouldn’t retire, right? Because if you all think that age is not a problem, I’ll be around.”
Pressed again if he plans to run in the next election, which must be held by November 2025, Dr Tan said: “I never say no.”
Asked whether Iswaran’s departure from the Group Representation Constituency presented an opportunity for his party, Dr Tan said the PSP had been working the ground since the 2020 General Election, before the corruption probe against Iswaran surfaced in July 2023, and it would continue to do so.
Dr Tan said: “Of course, we hope that (this) will help us, but I think it all depends on the electorate. How we perform, and now we have a (presence in) Parliament for them to assess us.”
PSP’s vice-chairman, Ms Hazel Poa, acknowledged that there had been talk of Iswaran’s criminal case working in favour of the PSP, but said it would be a mistake for them to believe so.
Ms Poa, who is a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, said: “In elections, there are many, many factors affecting the results. And it will be complacent of us to actually think that just because of this one incident, we will have a better chance of getting into Parliament.”
She added that much depends on what the PAP does and who they send in to replace Iswaran.
In a nod to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s East Coast Plan during the 2020 General Election, she said: “They might come up with the West Coast Plan.”
Volunteers from the PAP’s West Coast Branch were also spotted at the hawker centre on Jan 27, including acting branch chairman, Ms Chua Wei-Shan, whom Dr Tan said he exchanged pleasantries with.
PSP secretary-general Leong Mun Wai told the media the party would ramp up its walkabouts and house visits to West Coast GRC, from monthly to weekly.
Mr Leong said the goal was to convince residents to trust his party to run the town council better than the incumbent.
He said: “At the national level, we are able to bring up policies that will improve their lives in general. I think that is the most important, whether we are credible enough to have gained their trust.”
Dr Tan was also asked if he regretted supporting presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian during the 2023 Presidential Election in a personal capacity.
Mr Tan Kin Lian finished last, winning 13.87 per cent of the votes, compared with President Tharman Shanmugratnam’s landslide 70.4 per cent. Mr Ng Kok Song came in second with 15.72 per cent.
Dr Tan said: “I think there is a principle involved. I wanted somebody who is independent, who is not linked to a political party, and that to me is very important.
“Or else, it’s just a repeat every year, the same group of people running the country.”
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tan-cheng-bock-may-run-in-next-ge-hopes-iswaran-s-departure-helps-psp-win-west-coast-grc
| 2024-01-27T08:25:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – Sengkang residents in Fernvale Link were awakened late at night on Jan 26 by a fire in a carpark which left three motorcycles burnt beyond recognition.
The Straits Times understands that the fire originated from electronic parts installed in one of the motorcycles.
There were no injuries as a result of the fire, which is under investigation, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
SCDF added that it was alerted at 11.20pm on Jan 26 to the fire at Block 415A Fernvale Link. It involved three motorcycles and was extinguished using a water jet.
According to an eyewitness account in Chinese-language news outlet Lianhe Zaobao, at least 50 people were seen standing in the vicinity to observe the blaze.
Mr Gan Jieshi, a 36-year-old manager, said he heard the fire alarm go off at about 11pm and discovered that a fire had broken out in the carpark.
“When I went down to take a look, I saw it was a motorcycle on fire. Soon after, three police cars, three fire engines and an SCDF Red Rhino arrived to support the scene,” he said.
“During this period, the elevator was suspended and we stayed there until about 12.45am before going home.”
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/three-motorcycles-destroyed-in-fire-at-fernvale-link-carpark
| 2024-01-27T08:25:59Z
|
blocked_url
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.