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Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat on the long-term potential of these stocks Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat on the long-term potential of these stocks Worrisome economic data, weak consumer sentiment and tariff fears contributed to a rocky ride for stocks in February, with the S&P 500 losing 1.4% during the month. Investors should pick stocks of companies that can withstand these short-term pressures and capture growth opportunities to deliver attractive returns over the long term. To this end, recommendations of top Wall Street analysts are helpful, as they are based on in-depth analysis of a company’s strengths, challenges and growth prospects. With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Booking Holdings First up is Booking Holdings (BKNG), one of the leading online travel agents. The company delivered market-crushing fourth-quarter results, thanks to strong travel demand. Booking Holdings is investing in its business to drive long-term growth through several initiatives, including deploying generative artificial intelligence technology to enhance the value it provides to travelers and its partners. In reaction to the stellar results, Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney reiterated a buy rating on BKNG stock and boosted the price target to $5,500 from $5,300. The analyst noted that the company’s solid Q4 beat was driven by strength across all geographic markets and travel verticals. He also highlighted that BKNG’s fundamentals improved across the board, with key metrics like bookings, revenue and room nights growth accelerating in the quarter. In fact, Mahaney pointed out that despite being more than two-times ******* than Airbnb and three-times ******* than Expedia in terms of room nights, BKNG’s bookings, revenue and room nights grew faster than these two rivals in Q4 2024. Given its massive scale, superior growth, very high margin, and a highly experienced management team, the analyst considers BKNG to be the highest quality online travel stock. “And we continue to view BKNG as reasonably priced, with sustainable & premium EPS growth (15%), substantial FCF [free cash flow] generation, and a clear track record of execution,” said Mahaney. Overall, Mahaney is confident that BKNG can maintain its long-term target of 8% growth in bookings and revenue and 15% growth in EPS. He is also encouraged by BKNG’s multi-year strategic investments in merchandising, flights, payments, connected trips and generative AI as well as the growing traffic to the company’s site. Mahaney ranks No. 26 among more than 9,400 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, delivering an average return of 27.3%. See Booking Holdings Stock Charts on TipRanks. Visa The second stock pick is payments processing giant Visa (V). At the investor day event held on Feb. 20, the company discussed its growth strategy and the revenue opportunity in its Value Added Services (VAS) and other businesses. Following the event, BMO Capital analyst Rufus Hone reaffirmed a buy rating on Visa stock with a price target of $370. The analyst stated that the event helped address many investor concerns like the remaining runway in Consumer Payments and the company’s ability to sustain a high-teens growth in VAS. The analyst highlighted management’s commentary about the significant remaining runway in Consumer Payments. Specifically, the company estimates a $41 trillion volume opportunity in Consumer Payments, of which $23 trillion is currently underserved by the existing payment infrastructure. Commenting on the VAS business, Hone noted that the company offered significant insights into its VAS business. Notably, Visa projects longer-term revenue growth in the range of 9% to 12% and expects a continued shift in its revenue mix into the faster-growing Commercial & Money Movement Solutions (CMS) and VAS businesses, which will offset the expected moderation in Consumer Payments growth. Visa expects CMS and VAS to contribute more than 50% of its total revenue over time, compared to roughly one-third in FY24. Finally, Hone views Visa stock as a core holding within the U.S. financial space. “We continue to believe Visa will sustain double-digit top-line growth for the foreseeable future (consensus ~10% growth),” concluded the analyst. Hone ranks No. 543 among more than 9,400 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 76% of the time, delivering an average return of 16.7%. See Visa Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks. CyberArk Software The third stock on this week’s list is CyberArk Software (CYBR). The company recently announced solid Q4 2024 results, reflecting strong demand for its identity security solutions. On Feb. 24, the company held its investor day event to discuss its performance and growth prospects. Following the investor day, Baird analyst Shrenik Kothari reiterated a buy rating on CYBR stock and increased the price target to $465 from $455. The analyst stated that the event reinforced the company’s dominance in the cybersecurity space. Specifically, CyberArk now sees a total addressable market (TAM) of $80 billion, reflecting a notable jump from the previous estimate of $60 billion. Kothari explained that the expansion in CyberArk’s TAM is driven by the demand for machine-identity solutions, AI-driven security, and modern Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solutions. The analyst noted that the 45 times surge in machine identities compared to human identities has created a huge security gap, which CyberArk is well-positioned to capture through its Venafi acquisition. Moreover, the company’s Zilla Security acquisition is helping in addressing the need for modern IGA solutions. Coming to AI-driven security needs, Kothari highlighted CyberArk’s innovation, especially the launch of CORA AI. Kothari added that management is targeting annual recurring revenue of $2.3 billion and a free cash flow margin of 27% by 2028, backed by platform consolidation trends. “Deep enterprise pipeline/adoption, execution discipline should sustain CYBR’s long-term growth trajectory, in our view,” the analyst said. Kothari ranks No. 78 among more than 9,400 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 74% of the time, delivering an average return of 27.7%. See CyberArk Software Ownership Structure on TipRanks. Source link #Top #Wall #Street #analysts #upbeat #longterm #potential #stocks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Why first-class seats are holding up new airplanes Why first-class seats are holding up new airplanes A Lufthansa First Class “Allegris” cabin, which was set up outside the show. Peter Kneffel | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Heated or cooled seats. Ultra-high-definition TV screens. Benches. Convertible beds. All-aisle access. And of course, the coveted privacy door. Ever-more luxurious first- and business-class cabins that have hundreds of parts and require regulator approval are the latest hold-up as new airplanes arrive late to customers, according to the heads of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers. Boeing has 787 Dreamliners, a twin-aisle jetliner used on some of the world’s longest flights, on the ground at its South Carolina factory “that are held up for delivery for the seats, which obviously go in pretty late in the assembly process,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a Barclays industry conference on Feb. 20. Part of the problem is airlines’ rush to win over high-paying customers by offering comforts and more of the scarce space on board — even if a few extra inches. “It’s getting the seats certified, and it’s not actually the butt part of the seat,” Ortberg continued. “It’s the cabinet and the doors … for first class and business class. These are pretty complex systems, and getting those certified has taken both the seat suppliers and us longer than anticipated.” Similar issues are hitting Boeing’s main rival Airbus, the CEO of the European manufacturer, Guillaume Faury, said on an earnings call the same day. “We have delays in seats” as well as cabin “monuments” like galleys and closets that are “delaying the time at which we can deliver a plane fully completed,” Faury said. Together the companies account for the vast majority of the commercial airplane market. Aircraft deliveries are crucial for manufacturers’ revenue because customers pay the bulk of a jetliner’s price when they receive the plane, rather than when they first order it. A first-class compartment of a commercial passenger plane in the 1950s. Authenticated News | Archive Photos | Getty Images Pricier seats Airlines and aerospace manufacturers are highly regulated, and new seat designs, some features and even cabin layouts must win approval from regulators before taking to the skies. Passengers also need to be able to safely exit those seats in the case of an emergency. Some new aircraft cabins are still awaiting certification, and delays are adding to years of supply chain strains and labor shortages coming out of the pandemic. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has fired hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration workers in a cost-cutting spree. The agency said the positions aren’t “safety critical,” but didn’t say whether staffing issues could further slow down aircraft or other certifications. Getting the state-of-the-art seats installed at the front of the cabin means millions in revenue for airlines. For example, Delta Air Lines on Friday was selling a round-trip standard economy ticket between New York and Paris during the first week of May for $816. Move to Delta One, the carrier’s top-tier seat, and the same route jumps to $5,508. New planes’ longer ranges compared with older models are opening up new nonstop routes for carriers. “No one is happy right now,” about the delays, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. “They’re not able to get their new show ponies in.” Members of staff display the first class cabin of a Qatar Airways Boeing 787, at the Farnborough International Air Show in Farnborough, England, Monday, July 22, 2024. Alberto Pezzali | AP A business-class seat can have about 1,500 parts, and weight is key, especially for an industry that has taken great pains to remove fuel-costing weight on board. That includes using thinner paper for seatback magazines to lighter cutlery. Germany’s Recaro, a major airplane seat manufacturer, says its R7 business class seat weighs about 80 kilograms, or around 176 pounds. “You’re trying to make everything as light as you can and also have a pleasing aesthetic value,” said Harteveldt. Switzerland’s flag carrier, Swiss, said the center of gravity shifted in some of its aircraft after testing out its new seat models, so it has to make design changes and is looking at a “weight plate” before the new seats can fly commercially. Customers “clearly signal to us that it is time to modernize the cabin interiors of our long-haul fleet, especially the [Airbus] A330,” a spokesman for Swiss said in an email. “At the same time, we are working on solutions and observing trends and technologies that could allow us to achieve a different and more useful weight distribution.” Luxury travel ***** New business class seats cost in the low-six digits apiece, which “compares to the price of luxury car,” according to Recaro. To airline executives they’re worth it. They say customers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, have shown they are willing to pay up to sit toward the front of the cabin. Delta, for example, said in November that just 43% of its sales last year came from the main cabin, while 57% came from premium seats and its loyalty program. In 2010, 60% of revenue came from the main cabin. CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC in January that the trend toward premium travel is likely to continue. Airlines working to glow-up the front of their planes span the globe: Australia’s Qantas, Delta, American, JetBlue and others. Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabins on the Boeing 787s are held up in certification, a spokesman said. Singapore Airlines said in November that it will bring first-class seats to its longest flights, more than 17 hours. CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a news release that the offerings will “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity.” A Singapore Airlines A380 first class suite Leslie Josephs | CNBC American Airlines, for its part, has been waiting for months to debut a new seat for its wide-body planes and just won approval for those on its 787-9 Dreamliner. A spokeswoman said the airline is working with regulators and that it plans to introduce the new suites on its Airbus A321XLR, a long-range version of a key Airbus plane, and its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER later this year. It unveiled the seats in September 2022 and initially planned to debut them last year. “The biggest thing I can say on all those fronts though is that we are dependent on the supply chain. Right now, that supply chain, especially in regard to seats, is very tight,” CEO Robert Isom said on an earnings call in October. He said the company’s message to suppliers and partners is: “‘Work with us to make sure that we get those — that equipment — on dock as expected,’ and we’re really pushing to make sure that that’s the case right now.” Read more CNBC airline news Source link #firstclass #seats #holding #airplanes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

A total lunar eclipse is coming soon. Here’s when to spot it – The Washington Post A total lunar eclipse is coming soon. Here’s when to spot it – The Washington Post A total lunar eclipse is coming soon. Here’s when to spot it The Washington PostWhat’s up in the sky? March 2025 brings both total lunar and partial solar eclipse WTOPMarch Podcast: Planets, Stars, and Eclipses! Sky & TelescopeWhere will the ‘Blood Moon’ total lunar eclipse be visible in March 2025? Space.comRare planet parade, eclipses and more: Celestial spectacles unfold over the next month KOMO News Source link #total #lunar #eclipse #coming #Heres #spot #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

If the best defence against AI is more AI, this could be tech’s Oppenheimer moment | Artificial intelligence (AI) If the best defence against AI is more AI, this could be tech’s Oppenheimer moment | Artificial intelligence (AI) Oscar Wilde’s quip, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”, needs updating: replace “art” with “AI”. The Amazon page for Alexander C Karp and Nicholas W Zapiska’s new book, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West, also lists: a “workbook” containing “key takeaways” from the volume; a second volume on how the Karp/Zapiska tome “can help you navigate life”; and a third offering another “workbook” comprising a “Master Plan for Navigating Digital Age and the Future of Society”. It is conceivable that these parasitical works were written by humans, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Mr Karp, the lead author of the big book, is an interesting guy. He has a BA in philosophy from an American liberal arts college, a law degree from Stanford and a PhD in neoclassical social theory from Goethe University in Frankfurt. So he’s not your average geek. And yet he’s an object of obsessive interest to people both inside and outside the tech industry. Why? Because in 2003 he – together with Peter Thiel and three others – founded a secretive tech company called Palantir. And some of the initial funding came from the investment arm of – wait for it – the CIA! The name comes from palantíri, the “seeing stones” in the Tolkien fantasies. It makes sense because the USP of Palantir is its machine-learning technology – which is apparently very good at seeing patterns in, and extracting predictions from, oceans of data. The company was founded because at the time all the Silicon Valley tech companies either disapproved of government, or were staffed by engineers who were adamantly opposed to working for the US military. This created an opening that Karp and his colleagues astutely exploited to build a company which is simultaneously appears to be booming (current market capitalisation: $200bn), while also being regarded by critics of the industry as the spawn of the ******. Those critics will disdainfully read the book as a kind of extended tender for public sector contracts. Civil servants contemplating employing Palantir may be interested in the description of the approach its employees adopt when working in a client’s organisation. Interestingly, it’s an approach borrowed from a Toyota executive, Taiichi Ohno, as a way of getting to the root cause of a problem occurring in some part of an organisation’s operations. It’s called the “Five Whys”: ask why a problem occurred, and then ask why four more times. A still from the short newsreel film Atomic Power, in which Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard recreate the day in 1939 they drafted a letter to President Roosevelt warning him that work on the atom bomb was imperative. Photograph: Leo Szilard Papers. MSS 32. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library “Why did an essential update to an enterprise software platform not ship by a Friday deadline?” the co-authors write. “Because the team had only two days to review the draft code. Why did they only have two days to review? Because it had lost six software engineers in the budget review cycle late last year. Why did its budget decrease? Because the head of the group had shifted priorities elsewhere at the request of another group lead. Why was the request made to shift priorities? Because a new compensation model had been rolled out incentivising growth in certain areas. Why were certain areas selected at the expanse of others? Because of an ongoing feud at the company between two senior executives.” You get the idea. It’s not rocket science. Or AI, come to that. Maybe Keir Starmer should try it out. And it’ll be cheaper than employing McKinsey. Silicon Valley was built on a technological foundation that was laid by the state, and yet its beneficiaries have nothing but contempt for government But I digress. The argument of the book is suffused with indignation at what Karp sees as the arrogance and small-mindedness of Silicon Valley, which has collected the greatest concentration of engineering skill the world has ever seen – and then deployed it to create consumer toys and diversions that make tech founders insanely rich rather than using that talent to create technologies that would buttress the national ******** and security of the United States. What’s particularly galling to him is the fact that the wealth of Silicon Valley was built on a technological foundation that was laid – and paid for – by the state, and yet its beneficiaries appear to have nothing but contempt for government. They have prioritised consumer gratification and their own wealth-creation over everything else. “The grandiose rallying cry of generations of founders in Silicon Valley was simply to build,” write Karp and Kapiska. “Few asked what needed to be built, and why. For decades, we have taken this focus – and indeed obsession in many cases – by the technology industry on consumer culture for granted, hardly questioning the direction, and we think misdirection, of capital and talent to the trivial and ephemeral. Much of what passes for innovation today, of what attracts enormous amounts of talent and funding, will be forgotten before the decade is out.” Underpinning much of the book’s lamentations are two enduring themes. The first is a kind of nostalgic longing for the wartime and postwar collaboration between the American state and the scientists and engineers which made the US a technological colossus. For Karp, as for many other thinkers like him (including the ***’s own Dominic Cummings), the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb looks like a lost nirvana. The second theme is a chronicle of what the authors call “The Hollowing Out of the American Mind”: the abandonment of belief, the agnosticism of technology, the “assumption that the correctness of one’s views from a moral or ethical perspective precludes the need to engage with the more distasteful and fundamental question of relative power with respect to a geopolitical opponent, and specifically which party has a superior ability to inflict harm on the other. The wishfulness of the current moment and many of its political leaders may in the end be their undoing.” This is the “soft belief” of the book’s subtitle, and it’s why this section of the book sometimes evokes echoes of the conservative philosopher Allan Bloom on song. Palantir co-founder and author Alex Karp. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images There’s a lot of hegemonic anxiety in Karp’s musings. For him, American primacy is the key to the survival of the civilisational values that he reveres. He’s also a disciple of the Nobel laureate economist Thomas Schelling, and shares his view that “to be coercive, violence has to be anticipated… The power to hurt is bargaining power. To exploit it is diplomacy – vicious diplomacy, but diplomacy.” But the power to hurt is a prerogative of “hard” (ie military) power, and Karp seems particularly incensed by what he sees as the “precious” reservations of Google employees about the possibility that their technologies might be put into military hands. (It may also have been one of the motivations for the founding of Palantir.) His irritation seems unduly harsh to me. All of these employees (and their parents and grandparents) have lived through an era in which the idea that the United States might again be involved in an all-out war seemed as preposterous as the idea that their inventions might be used in battle. In that sense, the west has been on an 80-year-long holiday from history, from which Putin has rudely awoken us. The lesson that Karp and his co-author draw from all this is that “a more intimate collaboration between the state and the technology sector, and a closer alignment of vision between the two, will be required if the United States and its allies are to maintain an advantage that will constrain our adversaries over the longer term. The preconditions for a durable peace often come only from a credible threat of war.” Or, to put it more dramatically, maybe the arrival of AI makes this our “Oppenheimer moment”. For some critics, the reconceptualisation of AI as technology for national security will seem like an unmitigated disaster In the summer of 1939, Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard sent a letter to President Roosevelt, urging him to explore the construction of an atomic bomb – and quickly. The rapid advances in the technology, the two scientists wrote, “seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the administration”, as well as as a sustained partnership with “permanent contact maintained between the administration” and physicists. In that historical context, maybe the arrival of this book is timely. For those of us who have for decades been critical of tech companies, and who thought that the future for liberal democracy required that they be brought under democratic control, it’s an unsettling moment. If the AI technology that giant corporations largely own and control becomes an essential part of the national security apparatus, what happens to our concerns about fairness, diversity, equity and justice as these technologies are also deployed in “civilian” life? For some campaigners and critics, the reconceptualisation of AI as essential technology for national security will seem like an unmitigated disaster – Big Brother on steroids, with resistance being futile, if not criminal. On the other hand, some of the west’s adversaries (Russia, China) are already using this technology against us, and we urgently need to tool up to address the threat. When these thoughts were put to Mr Karp by a New York Times reporter, he replied: “I think a lot of the issues come back to: ‘Are we in a dangerous world where you have to invest in these things?’ And I come down to yes. All these technologies are dangerous. The only solution to stop AI abuse is to use AI.” Hobson’s choice, in other words. The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West is published by The Bodley Head (£25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply Source link #defence #techs #Oppenheimer #moment #Artificial #intelligence Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Iranian MPs fire economy minister over mismanagement Iranian MPs fire economy minister over mismanagement Iran’s parliament has voted to remove the country’s Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati from office over mismanagement of the economy and a plunging currency, state media reports say. The parliament has ousted Hemmati in a no confidence vote almost eight months after President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed his cabinet. Over the eight-month *******, Iran’s currency has lost close to half of its value against the US dollar, according to unofficial websites, such as alanchand.com. The Iranian rial now trades at 927,000 to the US dollar, against 595,500 in August of last year. MPs opposing Hemmati argued that he had failed to prevent price increases in basic goods such as medicine, food and housing while being unable to control the foreign exchange market, state media said. Hemmati had prioritised ending US sanctions on Iran and removing the country from the Financial Action Task Force’s blacklist, state media said. This was opposed by MPs who believe Iran should focus on “neutralising” sanctions. Hemmati’s supporters said it was not the right time to remove the economy minister as Iran remained under US sanctions and replacing him would cause further instability, according to state media. The economy is the top challenge for Iran’s ruling clerics, who fear a revival of protests by lower and middle-income communities angry at growing poverty that have erupted since 2017. US President Donald Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign aiming to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero. In the vote, 182 MPs backed the no confidence motion on Hemmati while 89 voted against the measure, according to state media. Source link #Iranian #MPs #fire #economy #minister #mismanagement Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why first-class seats are holding up new airplanes Why first-class seats are holding up new airplanes A Lufthansa First Class “Allegris” cabin, which was set up outside the show. Peter Kneffel | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Heated or cooled seats. Ultra-high-definition TV screens. Benches. Convertible beds. All-aisle access. And of course, the coveted privacy door. Ever-more luxurious first- and business-class cabins that have hundreds of parts and require regulator approval are the latest hold-up as new airplanes arrive late to customers, according to the heads of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers. Boeing has 787 Dreamliners, a twin-aisle jetliner used on some of the world’s longest flights, on the ground at its South Carolina factory “that are held up for delivery for the seats, which obviously go in pretty late in the assembly process,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a Barclays industry conference on Feb. 20. Part of the problem is airlines’ rush to win over high-paying customers by offering comforts and more of the scarce space on board — even if a few extra inches. “It’s getting the seats certified, and it’s not actually the butt part of the seat,” Ortberg continued. “It’s the cabinet and the doors … for first class and business class. These are pretty complex systems, and getting those certified has taken both the seat suppliers and us longer than anticipated.” Similar issues are hitting Boeing’s main rival Airbus, the CEO of the European manufacturer, Guillaume Faury, said on an earnings call the same day. “We have delays in seats” as well as cabin “monuments” like galleys and closets that are “delaying the time at which we can deliver a plane fully completed,” Faury said. Together the companies account for the vast majority of the commercial airplane market. Aircraft deliveries are crucial for manufacturers’ revenue because customers pay the bulk of a jetliner’s price when they receive the plane, rather than when they first order it. A first-class compartment of a commercial passenger plane in the 1950s. Authenticated News | Archive Photos | Getty Images Pricier seats Airlines and aerospace manufacturers are highly regulated, and new seat designs, some features and even cabin layouts must win approval from regulators before taking to the skies. Passengers also need to be able to safely exit those seats in the case of an emergency. Some new aircraft cabins are still awaiting certification, and delays are adding to years of supply chain strains and labor shortages coming out of the pandemic. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has fired hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration workers in a cost-cutting spree. The agency said the positions aren’t “safety critical,” but didn’t say whether staffing issues could further slow down aircraft or other certifications. Getting the state-of-the-art seats installed at the front of the cabin means millions in revenue for airlines. For example, Delta Air Lines on Friday was selling a round-trip standard economy ticket between New York and Paris during the first week of May for $816. Move to Delta One, the carrier’s top-tier seat, and the same route jumps to $5,508. New planes’ longer ranges compared with older models are opening up new nonstop routes for carriers. “No one is happy right now,” about the delays, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. “They’re not able to get their new show ponies in.” Members of staff display the first class cabin of a Qatar Airways Boeing 787, at the Farnborough International Air Show in Farnborough, England, Monday, July 22, 2024. Alberto Pezzali | AP A business-class seat can have about 1,500 parts, and weight is key, especially for an industry that has taken great pains to remove fuel-costing weight on board. That includes using thinner paper for seatback magazines to lighter cutlery. Germany’s Recaro, a major airplane seat manufacturer, says its R7 business class seat weighs about 80 kilograms, or around 176 pounds. “You’re trying to make everything as light as you can and also have a pleasing aesthetic value,” said Harteveldt. Switzerland’s flag carrier, Swiss, said the center of gravity shifted in some of its aircraft after testing out its new seat models, so it has to make design changes and is looking at a “weight plate” before the new seats can fly commercially. Customers “clearly signal to us that it is time to modernize the cabin interiors of our long-haul fleet, especially the [Airbus] A330,” a spokesman for Swiss said in an email. “At the same time, we are working on solutions and observing trends and technologies that could allow us to achieve a different and more useful weight distribution.” Luxury travel ***** New business class seats cost in the low-six digits apiece, which “compares to the price of luxury car,” according to Recaro. To airline executives they’re worth it. They say customers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, have shown they are willing to pay up to sit toward the front of the cabin. Delta, for example, said in November that just 43% of its sales last year came from the main cabin, while 57% came from premium seats and its loyalty program. In 2010, 60% of revenue came from the main cabin. CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC in January that the trend toward premium travel is likely to continue. Airlines working to glow-up the front of their planes span the globe: Australia’s Qantas, Delta, American, JetBlue and others. Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabins on the Boeing 787s are held up in certification, a spokesman said. Singapore Airlines said in November that it will bring first-class seats to its longest flights, more than 17 hours. CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a news release that the offerings will “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity.” A Singapore Airlines A380 first class suite Leslie Josephs | CNBC American Airlines, for its part, has been waiting for months to debut a new seat for its wide-body planes and just won approval for those on its 787-9 Dreamliner. A spokeswoman said the airline is working with regulators and that it plans to introduce the new suites on its Airbus A321XLR, a long-range version of a key Airbus plane, and its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER later this year. It unveiled the seats in September 2022 and initially planned to debut them last year. “The biggest thing I can say on all those fronts though is that we are dependent on the supply chain. Right now, that supply chain, especially in regard to seats, is very tight,” CEO Robert Isom said on an earnings call in October. He said the company’s message to suppliers and partners is: “‘Work with us to make sure that we get those — that equipment — on dock as expected,’ and we’re really pushing to make sure that that’s the case right now.” Read more CNBC airline news Source link #firstclass #seats #holding #airplanes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘I’m selling the Nazi mobile’: Tesla owners offload cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes | Tesla ‘I’m selling the Nazi mobile’: Tesla owners offload cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes | Tesla Illustration: Alvaro Dominguez/The Guardian When Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s “truck of the future” in 2019, Filipos could barely contain his excitement. He quickly paid $100 to get on the waitlist. Filipos described himself as a “true Tesla fanboy”, and the Cybertruck would be the third vehicle he’d buy from the company. “When the Cybertruck came out, I watched the live event that night, and my wife was sitting there going, ‘No. No. No,’” said Filipos, who lives in a suburb of Philadelphia and whose last name is being withheld for fear of online retribution. Despite his wife’s disapproval, Filipos loved the bulky trapezoidal truck. “I was truly geeking out on it,” he said. Now things have changed. Filipos bought a Ford F-150 Lightning instead of the Cybertruck. And even though his other car, a Model 3 Performance Tesla, had just 30,000 miles on it, he traded it in for an Acura in February. Frustration had been building for Filipos over the last few months, but the turning point was when Musk did back-to-back Nazi-style salutes during an inauguration day celebration for Donald Trump in January. “I didn’t want to be saddled with a vehicle that was associated with something so awful,” Filipos said. “When you own a vehicle like that, you are advertising for that company.” Elon Musk appears to give fascist-style salute after Trump inauguration – video Filipos is part of a growing movement of Tesla enthusiasts who are now turning their backs on the company – selling their cars, dropping their leases and getting rid of Tesla stock. Many say that, while they still love the cars, they can’t square the CEO’s politics and behavior with their own. Musk is synonymous with Tesla; his vehicles, the Cybertruck in particular, are his calling cards. The Guardian spoke with three people who offloaded their Teslas in protest of Musk over the last month alone. All said they did so explicitly because of Musk’s salutes during the inauguration. Another person who spoke with the Guardian on the condition of anonymity started the process of dropping her lease on the day of the salute with an email to Tesla reading: “Your boss is a Nazi.” Across Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, dozens of posts are popping up with people saying they are also getting rid of their Teslas. Some have added photos of themselves flipping the bird as a goodbye gesture to their cars. Still more have posted receipts to prove they sold their Tesla stock, saying they didn’t want to be associated with the Maga-happy CEO. When you own a vehicle like that, you are advertising for that company One celebrity Tesla owner has even taken part. Singer Sheryl Crow posted a video of herself to Instagram waving goodbye to her vehicle as it was hauled off in a flatbed truck on Valentine’s Day. Her caption read: “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla.” She said she was donating the ***** proceeds to National Public Radio because it was under threat by “President Musk”. Musk, the world’s richest man, has wholeheartedly thrown his weight behind Trump. He donated $288m to his presidential campaign and uses X, the social media platform he owns, as a megaphone to tout the new administration’s policies and goad anyone who disagrees. This support has earned Musk a coveted position heading the unofficial “department of government efficiency” (Doge), which is tasked with cutting federal spending. His government overhaul has been so sweeping that Democrats such as Senate ********* leader Chuck Schumer have called Doge an “unelected shadow government”. Musk and Tesla did not return requests for comment. The CEO responded to backlash over his fascist-style salute with jokes and memes on X. ‘No Swastikars’: protesters across the US lambast Musk The Tesla selloffs come amid nationwide US protests against Musk and his actions. Protesters have gathered outside Tesla showrooms in cities including New York, Seattle and Kansas City, and in towns as small as West Chester, Pennsylvania. In San Francisco, roughly 100 people descended on the city’s Tesla showroom in late February chanting: “Hey hey, ho ho, Elon Musk has got to go”. They unfurled a banner reading “Musk must GO” showing a boot kicking a swastika and carried signs saying “No Swastikars”, an apparent new nickname for Teslas. Passing cars drove by honking enthusiastically. Several anti-Musk websites and social media accounts have also popped up. Tesla Takedown encourages people to protest. One of the organizers is actor and activist Alex Winter, the titular Bill from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. A TikTok account called Cybertruck hunters has also surfaced. It’s filled with posts of people projecting anti-Musk videos onto the massive rear bumpers of Cybertrucks. The Instagram account Everyone Hates Elon is distributing stickers that say, “Don’t buy a Swasticar” and sending out posters for people to plaster around their cities that say “Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds” with a picture of Musk doing the Nazi salute. Tesla showrooms and individual cars are also being vandalized, according to Wired. One Cybertruck in downtown Manhattan was spraypainted with a swastika last week. This anti-Musk protest movement started to percolate over the summer, when Tesla owners began to put bumper stickers on their own cars that said: “I bought this before Elon went crazy”. Rebekkah, who lives in the Tampa area and is only going by her first name for fear of retribution, said she started looking for one of those bumper stickers to put on her Model 3 after Musk endorsed Trump for president in July. “It was just the shame of driving it around and getting out of it,” she said. “The potential optics that we were supporting him.” Rebekkah bought the car in 2020 because she was passionate about the climate crisis and wanted an electric vehicle, she said. She was initially thrilled with her Tesla, but like Filipos, things started to sour as she watched the Musk-Trump alliance grow. Then came Musk’s two-time inauguration day salute. “I was dead set on selling the car after that,” Rebekkah said, adding that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. Rebekkah said she called her mom and told her: “I’m selling the Nazi mobile.” The car was gone within days. “We haven’t looked back since,” Rebekkah said. She put down a deposit for a Rivian. Tesla owners sell at a loss: ‘I happily paid $4,000 to get rid of that car’ Ron likewise decided to sell his Tesla after Musk’s salute, even though he knew he would lose money. He bought his first Tesla in 2020, a gray Model 3 Performance, and loved it from the minute he test drove it. In 2023, he upgraded to a Model Y. Ron said he hadn’t really followed Musk at the time, but last summer, he began to pay attention to the billionaire’s increasing involvement in politics. “I started looking back at some of the things he said, and I started to feel guilty that I didn’t do more research beforehand,” said Ron, who lives in Los Angeles and is only going by his first name for fear of retribution. “I always just assumed he was a quirky, nerdy, you know, space-first exploration technology type of guy.” As time progressed and Musk became more outspoken, Ron said he grew increasingly embarrassed to drive the Tesla. “I felt like I was driving a billboard that supported his endeavors and his thoughts and ideologies,” he said. In the beginning of February, Ron swapped out his Model Y, which only had 15,000 miles, for another electric vehicle, a Hyundai Ioniq. He still owed thousands of dollars on his Tesla. Online trading sites and dealerships were driving hard bargains and ultimately he lost $4,000. I felt like I was driving a billboard that supported his endeavors and his thoughts and ideologies “I guess you could say I happily paid $4,000 to get rid of that car,” Ron said. “That’s how much I disagree with his politics.” Tesla sales have plummeted over the last year. In California, the biggest US market for electric vehicles, they fell by 12%. And registrations for new Tesla vehicles fell by 11.6%, according to the California New Car Dealers Association, even as overall registrations for electric vehicles have grown in the state. Nationwide, the slump in Tesla sales marked the company’s first decline in how many cars it delivered to buyers annually. It’s unclear if the decrease can be fully attributed to Musk, since the electric vehicle market has seen increased competition over the past couple of years, especially out of China. In Europe, Tesla has taken an even more severe hit. In January, sales fell by 12% in Britain, 38% in Norway and 63% in France, according to the New York Times. Sales in Germany fell by 59% that month, coinciding with Musk’s outspoken support for the far-right alternative party AfD and with scolding Germans for focusing too much on “past guilt” for the Holocaust. Tesla stock flies, then plummets In spite of its poor sales and weak earnings reports, Tesla’s stock price soared in 2024 – likely boosted by Musk’s proximity to Trump and a regulatory outlook that’s friendlier than ever to the car maker. The day after the election alone, shares jumped 14%. But, as Musk has become increasingly involved in the day-to-day of the new administration, that has changed, too. Since mid-December, Tesla’s stock has plunged 25%. On social media, people are encouraging others to sell their Tesla stock. Reddit has threads of people posting their share sales with headlines like, “Never normalize Nazis” and “This is my way of fighting Nazis and I’m damn proud.” Since inauguration day, there’s been a 21% selloff of Tesla stock, according to ABC. Musk has lost more than $100bn from his personal fortune and the company’s valuation has now dipped below $1tn. Filipos is one of the people who sold his stock. He first bought 40 shares in 2020, not long after he joined the Cybertruck waitlist. Over the years, that number grew to 717 shares. He planned to keep holding, but when Musk endorsed Trump last summer, Filipos changed his mind. “I had to come to a reckoning,” he said. Filipos didn’t see Trump as standing up for the environment, and Musk’s endorsement “was against what I perceived as the original vision for Tesla”. In late July, Filipos sold all of his shares – even though he knew he probably would have made more money if he held. Now, he and his wife have gotten rid of their Model 3 too and are free of all things Tesla. “We feel lighter not being saddled with a symbol of hate,” he said. Source link #selling #Nazi #mobile #Tesla #owners #offload #cars #Musks #fasciststyle #salutes #Tesla Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2026 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2026 The S&P 500 has been on an incredible bull run over the last 28 months, and one of its biggest driving force has been the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Recent advances have led to a lot of investor excitement about the potential for the technology to change nearly every business in the economy. Few companies have benefited as much from the increases in AI spending and investor excitement as Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). The company helps government agencies and business enterprises make sense out of the mountains of data they generate and collect. When data science tools are more accessible to more decision-makers, they can make better decisions. The premise is that paying for Palantir’s software can pay for itself quickly. While Palantir has long served U.S. government agencies and the military, the release of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) accelerated its growth, particularly among commercial customers. Its revenues have increased 50% over the last two years. But Palantir’s stock price has climbed a whopping more than tenfold in that same *******, giving it a $204 billion market cap and a sky-high valuation. And that’s after a more than 30% drop from the peak it hit earlier this month. Given that high expectations for the business are now baked into the stock price, Palantir could continue to drop with even the slightest hiccup in its financial results. Meanwhile, two other AI stocks look poised to overtake the AI darling in value by 2026. Here’s what investors need to know. Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) isn’t the semiconductor stock that comes to most people’s minds first when they think of artificial intelligence. It doesn’t make GPUs or network switches like some of the most hyped chipmakers. However, it could play a crucial role in supporting the artificial intelligence trend in the coming years. Qualcomm operates two business segments. Its high-margin licensing segment, QTL, holds a raft of important patents for wireless communication, including 3G, 4G, and 5G. It charges device makers a percentage of the price of each device sold that uses its patented technologies. Qualcomm currently faces a significant headwind as Apple is shifting away from using tech built on Qualcomm’s patents. Instead, the iPhone maker is developing its own baseband chips, The recently released iPhone 16e was the first device it brought to market that uses its in-house chips. Still, the bulk of Qualcomm’s revenue and profits come from its chip business, QCT. And that business could see a big bump in the near future as tech companies embed more AI processing power and capabilities into PCs, smartphones, and other personal computing devices. Story Continues Qualcomm makes the leading smartphone chip for high-end Android devices — the Snapdragon mobile system-on-chip line. It has adapted that platform for PCs and automotive applications as well. With consumers seeking ever more capable devices and more smart features in their vehicles, Qualcomm has seen strong sales growth. The QCT segment’s revenues climbed 20% in Qualcomm’s last fiscal quarter, and its earnings before taxes increased 25%. As developers create new AI software designed to run on devices like smartphones, those devices will need more powerful processors. Apple has shown that advanced on-device AI requires more powerful computing capabilities, which is why it has limited its Apple Intelligence features to its newer PCs and most recent iPhones. As other device makers and software developers keep pace, the demand for high-powered Snapdragon processors could increase even faster. Qualcomm stock trades for just 14.3-times expected forward earnings as of this writing. That makes it an absolute bargain of a stock, especially given that the company could benefit so much from growing demand for AI on devices. The stock has traded at an average trailing P/E ratio of about 18 since 2021, which implies about 25% upside from the current share price. A rise of that magnitude would push its market cap to about $230 billion, exceeding Palantir’s current value. Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) has invested a lot in artificial intelligence over the last few years, but investors are still wary about the impact that recent advancements in generative AI could have on its business. Many see new AI-powered creative tools as threatening to make Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications unnecessary. But Adobe’s competitive advantages remain strong. Its tools are the industry standards, so it’s unlikely professional creatives will shift away from them anytime soon. Businesses expect deliverables in Adobe’s file formats, and they expect designers and other creatives to be proficient (at least) with its software. Few professionals will want to take on the switching costs involved in leaving Adobe. What’s more, the creative capabilities unlocked by generative AI could ultimately benefit Adobe, as it makes it easier for more people to make designs, images, or videos. That’s why Adobe has leaned into its Firefly AI model, giving users access to it through its entry-level Adobe Express software. Management says it has seen strong user acquisition from Express, which could lead to greater adoption of its premium software later. Meanwhile, it implemented price increases, charging a premium for more Firefly access. All of that led to an 11% increase in annual recurring revenue for Adobe’s digital media segment in 2024. Perhaps the ******* opportunity for Adobe with AI comes in its marketing solutions business. While its Creative Cloud business often goes hand in hand with its marketing software (for creating ad campaigns), AI could help supercharge ad campaigns by helping businesses gather more data, make sense of it, and optimize their ad spending. Adobe launched GenStudio for Performance Marketing to pursue that massive opportunity, and integrated Firefly Services into the broader GenStudio product in the fourth quarter. Management says the early responses have been very promising. Adobe stock trades for less than 22-times analysts’ expectations for 2025 earnings. That’s well below its historic average, suggesting significant upside potential for shares that have largely moved sideways over the last few years. A 25% increase in the share price would push its trailing P/E into the high 20s, which is closer to its historic average, but still presents a cautious outlook for the future growth of the company. Such growth would push Adobe’s valuation above $240 billion, exceeding Palantir’s current value. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $765,576!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 890% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 170% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2025 Adam Levy has positions in Adobe, Apple, and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Apple, Palantir Technologies, and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2026 was originally published by The Motley Fool Source link #Artificial #Intelligence #Stocks #Worth #Palantir Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost aces moon touchdown with a special delivery for NASA Private lunar lander Blue Ghost aces moon touchdown with a special delivery for NASA A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth’s celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon’s northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of touchdown came from the company’s Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 225,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away. “We’re on the moon,” Mission Control reported, adding the lander was “stable.” A smooth, upright landing makes Firefly — a startup founded a decade ago — the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. Two other companies’ landers are hot on Blue Ghost’s heels, with the next one expected to join it on the moon later this week. Launched in mid-January from Florida, the 6-foot-6 (2 meters) tall lander carried 10 experiments to the moon for NASA. The space agency paid $101 million for the delivery, plus $44 million for the science and tech on board. It’s the third mission under NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program, intended to ignite a lunar economy of competing private businesses while scouting around before astronauts show up later this decade. The demos should get two weeks of run time, before lunar daytime ends and the lander shuts down. It carried a vacuum to ***** up moon dirt for analysis and a drill to measure temperature as deep as 10 feet (3 meters) below the surface. Also on board: a device for eliminating abrasive lunar dust — a scourge for NASA’s long-ago Apollo moonwalkers, who got it caked all over their spacesuits and equipment. On its way to the moon, Blue Ghost beamed back exquisite pictures of the home planet. The lander continued to stun once in orbit around the moon, with detailed shots of the moon’s gray pockmarked surface. At the same time, an on-board receiver tracked and acquired signals from the U.S. GPS and European Galileo constellations, an encouraging step forward in navigation for future explorers. The landing set the stage for a fresh crush of visitors angling for a piece of lunar business. Another lander — a tall and skinny 15-footer (4 meters tall) built and operated by Houston-based Intuitive Machines — is due to land on the moon Thursday. It’s aiming for the bottom of the moon, just 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the south pole. That’s closer to the pole than the company got last year with its first lander, which broke a leg and tipped over. Despite the tumble, Intuitive Machines’ lander put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since NASA astronauts closed out the Apollo program in 1972. A third lander from the Japanese company ispace is still three months from landing. It shared a rocket ride with Blue Ghost from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 15, taking a longer, windier route. Like Intuitive Machines, ispace is also attempting to land on the moon for the second time. Its first lander crashed in 2023. The moon is littered with wreckage not only from ispace, but dozens of other failed attempts over the decades. NASA wants to keep up a pace of two private lunar landers a year, realizing some missions will fail, said the space agency’s top science officer Nicky Fox. Unlike NASA’s successful Apollo moon landings that had billions of dollars behind them and ace astronauts at the helm, private companies operate on a limited budget with robotic craft that must land on their own, said Firefly CEO Jason Kim. “Every time we go up, we’re learning from each other,” Kim said. Source link #Private #lunar #lander #Blue #Ghost #aces #moon #touchdown #special #delivery #NASA Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What Would the Church Say About End-of-Life Decisions for a Pope? – The New York Times What Would the Church Say About End-of-Life Decisions for a Pope? – The New York Times What Would the Church Say About End-of-Life Decisions for a Pope? The New York TimesView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Church #EndofLife #Decisions #Pope #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless Review: More buttons – less weight SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless Review: More buttons – less weight Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. I play a lot of MMOs, they are my most played genre of computer games and ever since getting my first multi-button mouse, I’ve never been able to go back to a mouse with minimal buttons. Once I’d tried and gotten used to the first Razer Naga, there was no returning to anything without a 12-button side panel, it’s just so intuitive and useful for MMOs that often have a multitude of spells, abilities, and key binds. The Aerox 9 from SteelSeries looks to creep into the MMO mouse market and challenge the usual suspects on our list of best gaming mice with its wireless lightweight design, bright RGB colors, and functional quality construction. Design and Comfort of the Aerox 9 The Aerox 9 is a colorful MMO/MOBA-targeted wireless mouse with a matte ****** chassis with honeycomb cutouts. The cutouts give it a distinct look while also helping keep the weight low. I wasn’t a big fan of the cutouts, however — the cutouts flow from the rear of the mouse to the main left and right mouse buttons, and this can be rather uncomfortable if your fingers happen to rest on them for too long. I found this happening quite often if I used a claw grip. The Aerox 9 is a medium-large mouse measuring 5 inches (128mm) long, 2.6 (68mm) inches wide, and 1.6 inches (42mm) high. It weighs just 3.13 ounces (89g), which is fairly light for a mouse with so many buttons. It’s a good mouse for gamers with larger hands, but if your hands are on the smaller size it could be uncomfortable. The mouse wheel is sunk into the chassis and has a low profile, which improves access for scrolling but makes using the tilt function difficult. Now for the most important part: the Aerox 9 has 18 programmable buttons, most of which are on the elongated 12-button side panel. The other buttons are the left/right primary buttons, the tilt wheel (left, right, middle click), and the DPI switch button behind the mouse wheel. On the bottom of the mouse, you’ll find two large 100% PTFE mouse feet, plus a small PTFE circle around the sensor. This allows the mouse to freely glide around your mouse mat with minimal drag. The mouse is also touted as having an “Aqua Barrier” with an IP54 rating to protect its inner workings from dust, debris, and accidental drink spills (which we know all too well have dispatched a few peripherals to the bin). In the box, you get the Aerox 9 mouse, a 6.5-foot (2m) braided USB-C to USB-A cable, a USB-C to USB-C wireless extension adapter, and the 2.4GHz wireless USB-C dongle. Specs Swipe to scroll horizontally Sensor Model SteelSeries TrueMove Air Max Sensitivity 18,000 DPI Max Speed (IPS) 400 Max Acceleration (Gs) 40G Polling Rates 1000Hz/1ms Programmable Buttons 18 LED Zones 3 Cable 200cm USB-A to USB-C Braided Connectivity 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, wired (USB-C) Measurements (L x W x H) 5 x 2.6 x 1.6 inches / 128 x 68 x 42 mm Weight (excluding cable) 3.13 oz / 89g MSRP / Price at Time of Review $149 / £139 Performance of the Aerox 9 I found the Aerox 9 to be highly accurate and responsive in my testing. It features the TrueMove Air sensor, which was co-developed by SteelSeries and PixArt. This sensor offers a maximum sensitivity of 18,000 DPI and a maximum speed of 400 IPS, and can handle up to 40 G’s of acceleration and tilt tracking. I found the mouse performed equally well in MMO games, such as World of Warcraft, and FPS games, such as Destiny 2 and Counter-Strike 2. This was nice, as I didn’t have to constantly swap mice between games. Using the SteelSeries GG software Engine I was easily able to set up multiple profiles for my favorite games, and map macros and spells to buttons with ease. The wireless worked faultlessly with no dropouts and no hint of latency. The option is there to use Bluetooth to connect as well, and it also seemed to work flawlessly, there is a higher latency on Bluetooth, but I honestly couldn’t tell when using it. Primarily I kept to the 2.4GHz Quantum 2.0 wireless for the smoothest experience. The 1000Hz polling rate and ability to tweak every setting In the software meant the mouse performed flawlessly. The responsiveness of the main and side buttons was perfect and it didn’t take long to acclimatize to them from switching over from a Razer Naga Trinity. I still prefer the layout of the Razer Naga’s side buttons, but I’d rather have the larger and sleeker design of the Aerox 9. Yet the more I use the mouse, the more I don’t miss the Naga. The only issue I did have with the Aerox 9 in regards to the performance was the positioning of the mouse wheel. I found the mouse wheel to be positioned too deep in the chassis, and as I often bind abilities to the left and right tilt switches of the mouse wheel I found I couldn’t consistently access these abilities on command. Trying to force the left/right tilt switch often led to me scrolling up and down — which I also use for separate abilities. This forced me to have to rebind and change up some key binds, which I wouldn’t have had to do using a mouse with a better-positioned wheel. Features and Software of the Aerox 9 For me, the SteelSeries GG software is one of the best from the big peripheral manufacturers. It has a lot of features — some that have more to do with other aspects of gaming rather than the peripherals, but I’ve found I like using Moments a lot (when it comes to capturing those hilarious deaths and funny moments with friends it’s awesome). All of the Aerox 9’s settings are controlled in the Engine section of the SteelSeries GG software. You can control every aspect of the mouse: button assignment, sleep timer settings for battery, polling rate, sensitivity, and, of course, lighting. Here you can configure the RGB for each zone of the mouse, or disable it completely. Disabling the lighting drastically improves the battery life of the Aerox 9. Battery Life of the Aerox 9 SteelSeries quotes the Aerox as having a 180-hour battery life, and the mouse can certainly last that long over a Bluetooth connection. However, that figure is drastically different when you connect via 2.4GHz wireless, and is even lower with the lighting on. In my personal testing, the Aerox 9 lasted around 20 hours with the RGB running and around twice that with it turned off while I was gaming. The good news is that the mouse recharges very quickly and notifies you with a red flash when running low; it’s also easy to check the battery status in the SteelSeries GG software. The Bottom Line There’s a lot to like about the SteelSeries Aerox 9: it’s the only MMO mouse I’ve tried that I feel could replace my fondness for the feel of Razer’s 12-button side panels on their range of Naga mice. The sensor is responsive and accurate, and the mouse has a great hand shape for sustained hours of gaming — I felt no hand or finger fatigue while using the Aerox 9 over many gaming sessions. The only downside I encountered were the honeycomb cutouts on the left and rice mouse buttons, which made the tips of my fingers a little sore when I changed to more of a claw grip in some games, and the positioning of the mouse wheel in the chassis. The 3-zone RGB and all the different lighting patterns help to make the mouse stand out on the desk and give that gamified aesthetic, but the trade-off with battery life doesn’t really seem worth it to me. I ended up disabling the lighting for extended play time off of the charging cable. Source link #SteelSeries #Aerox #Wireless #Review #buttons #weight Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Newscast Newscast We unpack Laura’s interview with the PM. Source link #Newscast Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Scientists uncover link between smoke, air pollution and Alzheimer’s Scientists uncover link between smoke, air pollution and Alzheimer’s Researchers have discovered how wildfire smoke or air pollutants could be contributing to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Scientists from Scripps Research in California found the chemical change, known as S-nitrosylation, disrupts normal brain cell function by preventing cells from making new connections. The process can be triggered by inflammation, ageing or toxins found in air pollution, smoke and pesticides, ultimately resulting in cellular death. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study showed that blocking S-nitrosylation in a key brain protein partially reversed signs of memory loss in Alzheimer’s mouse models, as well as in nerve cells produced from human stem cells. “We’ve revealed the molecular details of how pollutants can contribute to memory loss and neurodegenerative disease,” said clinical neurologist and senior author Professor Stuart Lipton. “This could ultimately lead to new drugs that block these effects to better treat Alzheimer’s disease.” Source link #Scientists #uncover #link #smoke #air #pollution #Alzheimers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

GOP pushes ahead with citizenship voting bill. Some state election officials say it’s problematic GOP pushes ahead with citizenship voting bill. Some state election officials say it’s problematic WASHINGTON (AP) — The centerpiece election legislation from congressional Republicans would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering, raising concerns among state election officials about how it would be implemented and who would pay for it. In recent interviews, secretaries of state from both parties said they were wary of federal lawmakers creating state election rules and of costly new procedures that would come with them, including collecting and storing sensitive documents. They also criticized a provision that would allow for civil or criminal penalties against any election official who registers someone without evidence of citizenship. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there is no federal database that states can use to confirm a person’s citizenship status. Election officials described databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security as unreliable. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. “Reasonable people can agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections,” said Bellows, a Democrat. “If they want us to prove citizenship, then they need to build the infrastructure for that to happen.” House Republicans are ready to act quickly With the urging of President Donald Trump, House Republicans are expected to move quickly to advance the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A proof of citizenship requirement was included in a package of priority bills that can bypass committee and head straight to a floor vote. That could happen as soon as this week, though the bill’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain amid likely Democratic opposition. State election officials said they generally support steps to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting, an issue that typically involves a tiny fraction of ballots and is more often an individual mistake rather than an intentional and coordinated attempt to subvert an election. Debates largely center on how best to accomplish that, whether the responsibility should fall on the voter or whether the federal government should do a better job providing states with reliable data to verify citizenship status. “Every time there’s federal legislation, I’ve got concerns, especially when the feds talk about things that the states typically do on a year-by-year, day-to-day basis,” said Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican. “Just because you think it’ll work in your state doesn’t mean it will work in everybody else’s state.” Republicans in Congress have said the current process for registering voters is filled with loopholes that have allowed people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in past elections and relies on a system in which voters sign an oath that they are a citizen. Before the 2024 election, Trump pushed claims without evidence that such people might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. In fact, voting by noncitizens is rare and can lead to felony charges and deportation. Since his victory in November, Trump has continued to press for changes to how elections are run, including requiring proof of citizenship. No money included and the threat of prosecution Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican who oversees elections in her state, said she was concerned about federal overreach and the legislation lacking the support states will need to make it work. “It definitely shouldn’t be on throwing election workers or secretaries of state or county clerks in jail for accidentally registering a noncitizen to vote when we don’t have adequate tools to even verify citizenship,” she said. Another concern is funding. The bill does not include an appropriation, leaving states to cover the costs of its implementation. Federal money for elections has long been a point of contention for some election officials. “If you talk to the vast majority of election officials, they will tell you that federal investment in our elections is sorely needed, especially if folks in Congress are going to be talking about things like the SAVE Act, which will only increase costs of running elections and increase federal oversight and involvement in our elections,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. Concerns about voters having the right documents Voting rights groups have said married women who have changed their name could have trouble registering under the SAVE Act because their birth certificate lists their maiden name. Those groups also have criticized the bill’s requirement that people provide documents in person, saying that could be a challenge for people in rural parts of the country where visiting an election office might require a long drive and taking time off from work. Under the current registration system, those seeking to register are asked to provide either a state driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number and are directed to sign an oath swearing they are a U.S. citizen. A few states require a full Social Security number. Republicans say states can add people to the voter rolls even if they do not provide that information and that some noncitizens can receive Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses. The legislation outlines documents that could prove citizenship, including a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, a passport or a birth certificate. It also allows for states to establish a way for voters to provide other supporting documents. Only about 50% of Americans have a passport, and adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by DHS. State citizenship requirements have mixed results Currently, eight states have laws requiring proof of citizenship for voters while lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to add that requirement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Experiences have been mixed. In Kansas, where a proof of citizenship requirement was in effect for three years, the state’s own expert estimated that almost all the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote during that time were U.S. citizens eligible to vote. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has said his state has been successful in establishing a system with the state’s motor vehicle agency to verify citizenship. He and 20 other Republican secretaries of state sent a letter this past week asking the Department of Homeland Security to improve its database and eliminate fees for using it. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, described federal data as “totally unreliable” and pointed to an issue in his state, which has for years sought to implement a state-level proof of citizenship requirement. A recent state audit revealed instances in which U.S. passports might not prove citizenship because U.S. nationals – those born in U.S. territories – are eligible for passports but are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections. “We’ve got so many issues to deal with and such a poor understanding of our own laws that I think a massive shift like this is just problematic,” Fontes said. “I don’t think Congress has taken the time to ask the folks who actually do this work if what they are proposing is workable in the first place. And that’s dangerous, especially when you are criminalizing some of these activities.” ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Source link #GOP #pushes #ahead #citizenship #voting #bill #state #election #officials #problematic Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

New Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Details Revealed Via Official PlayStation Website New Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Details Revealed Via Official PlayStation Website February 11th, 2025 – KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, in collaboration with PlayStation, will host the DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Special Panel at the SXSW® 2025 festival in Austin, Texas on March 9th. At the Special Panel, Hideo Kojima will discuss and share new details about DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH, the upcoming sequel to the critically acclaimed DEATH STRANDING video game, arriving exclusively on PlayStation®5 later this year. Source link #Death #Stranding #Beach #Details #Revealed #Official #PlayStation #Website Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

China’s DeepSeek claims theoretical cost-profit ratio of 545% per day China’s DeepSeek claims theoretical cost-profit ratio of 545% per day Lionel Bonaventure | Afp | Getty Images ******** AI startup DeepSeek on Saturday disclosed some cost and revenue data related to its hit V3 and R1 models, claiming a theoretical cost-profit ratio of up to 545% per day, though it cautioned that actual revenue would be significantly lower. This marks the first time the Hangzhou-based company has revealed any information about its profit margins from less computationally intensive “inference” tasks, the stage after training that involves trained AI models making predictions or performing tasks, such as through chatbots. The revelation could further rattle AI stocks outside China that plunged in January after web and app chatbots powered by its R1 and V3 models surged in popularity worldwide. The sell-off was partly caused by DeepSeek’s claims that it spent less than $6 million on chips used to train the model, much less than what U.S. rivals like OpenAI have spent. The chips DeepSeek claims it used, Nvidia’s H800, are also much less powerful than what OpenAI and other U.S. AI firms have access to, making investors question even further U.S. AI firms’ pledges to spend billions of dollars on cutting-edge chips. DeepSeek said in a GitHub post published on Saturday that assuming the cost of renting one H800 chip is $2 per hour, the total daily inference cost for its V3 and R1 models is $87,072. In contrast, the theoretical daily revenue generated by these models is $562,027, leading to a cost-profit ratio of 545%. In a year this would add up to just over $200 million in revenue. However, the firm added that its “actual revenue is substantially lower” because the cost of using its V3 model is lower than the R1 model, only some services are monetized as web and app access remain free, and developers pay less during off-peak hours. Source link #Chinas #DeepSeek #claims #theoretical #costprofit #ratio #day Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Europe Races to Repair a Split Between the U.S. and Ukraine – The New York Times Europe Races to Repair a Split Between the U.S. and Ukraine – The New York Times Europe Races to Repair a Split Between the U.S. and Ukraine The New York TimesZelenskyy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London following Trump Oval Office clash Fox NewsThe Latest: Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Zelenskyy The Associated Press Source link #Europe #Races #Repair #Split #U.S #Ukraine #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Charlie Albone: Your garden is the perfect venue to connect family generations Charlie Albone: Your garden is the perfect venue to connect family generations Gardening is an activity that bridges the generations in the most organic way possible. Source link #Charlie #Albone #garden #perfect #venue #connect #family #generations Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Here’s why this Salem-Keizer school has the district’s best sense of belonging Here’s why this Salem-Keizer school has the district’s best sense of belonging Salem-Keizer Career Technical Education Center students Aspen McIntosh and Spencer Magann say they enjoy the school because of the real-world opportunities they are given. The center educates juniors and seniors through hands-on learning in 10 specialized programs. Programs include residential construction, auto body repair and painting, cosmetology, and behavioral health and human services. “(It) feels liberating to be more of your own person,” Magann said. In 2024, CTEC had the highest sense of belonging out of all schools in the Salem-Keizer district. Salem-Keizer Public Schools was the first school district in Oregon in 2018 to measure students’ sense of belonging — an indicator of academic performance, engagement and mental health — as a key performance metric. Aspen McIntosh and Spencer Magann work on an exercise about identity at Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center in Salem. Sense of belonging is the degree to which a student feels accepted, respected and valued at school, according to Chris Moore, Salem-Keizer’s director of mental health and social-emotional learning. Students who lack a sense of belonging may experience poor engagement, grades and attendance. Moore said when students feel like they belong, they create a stronger community within schools, have improved mental health and are more resilient. Salem-Keizer measures students’ sense of belonging by collecting data on their relationships with teachers, respect felt by peers and how much they feel understood. However, despite some progress, there is still more to do to reach annual targets. As of 2024, students in grades 3-5 were below annual sense of belonging targets by two percentage points and have been since spring 2022, but have increased since spring 2023. Students in grades 6-12 are below the annual sense of belonging targets by one percentage point, a two percentage point decrease from spring 2023. Salem-Keizer Public Schools sense of belonging initiatives The district created its equity office in 2016 to figure out ways to get students more involved in learning and boost their engagement, performance and graduation rates after noticing disproportionate outcomes for underrepresented students. In 2018, Salem-Keizer partnered with Panorama Education, a software company in Boston, to use their nationally benchmarked assessment survey system to track students’ sense of belonging. “Kids in our community have told us that we’ve needed to do better, and I think that’s really what launched us into that space,” Moore said. For example, in the Panorama survey, students are asked to give feedback on their experiences, such as what they would like their teachers to know so they can figure out how better to help students learn. Since 2016, Salem-Keizer schools have increased the number of counselors, social workers and psychologists in the district while partnering with mental health-focused community agencies. The district has also worked with affinity groups, people brought together by a common goal or purpose, to find ways schools can help them feel more represented. The district also added clubs and a community resource specialist to work with students directly in focus groups. The implementation of the affinity groups helped improve the sense of belonging for Pacific Islander students in 2024. Candalaria Elementary School students created a new culture center to help improve the sense of belonging in ********* students. “Sense of belonging is a district-wide endeavor,” Moore said. “It’s every single department’s work and lives in each of those schools.” Kelsie Wafer teaches about identity in the Behavioral Health and Human Services program in Salem-Keizer Career Technical Education Center. Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center With 10 years of experience working with adolescents and young adults, including three years as a social worker for Salem-Keizer, Kelsie Wafer said young people’s sense of belonging is a big success indicator. When students feel they belong, it helps build trust and connection, a foundation for getting work done, Wafer said. She said when trying to improve sense of belonging, the challenges could be getting students to leave their comfort zones, building confidence and teachers adapting to students’ constant changes in opinions, viewpoints and routines. McIntosh and Magann said CTEC gives them a stronger sense of belonging because it’s easier to connect with people. The two attended McNary High School before transferring to CTEC to join the new Behavioral Health and Human Services program that started in the 2023-2024 school year. The program works to give students “a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding human behavior, mental health, and social well-being,” according to the district’s website. In one classroom at CTEC, posters cover the walls, including one of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Other posters focus on personal check-ins, getting help for anxiety and “What you say in here stays in here.” McIntosh said the sense of belonging she feels at CTEC helps her stay motivated with the support of other students. When students feel safe and comfortable in school they can focus on classes and engage with the work, Magann said. Lauren Liudahl and Aliyah Lacanaria work on an exercise about identity in the Behavioral Health and Human Services program at Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center. Which Salem-Keizer schools have shown improved sense of belonging? In elementary schools, Asian students and students with disabilities reported the highest sense of belonging in 2024. Native and Indigenous students, students with autism, and nonbinary students reported sense of belonging more than 10 percentage points lower than other students. Elementary schools that have improved sense of belonging since spring 2023 include Highland Elementary, Keizer Elementary, Four Corners Elementary and Bush Elementary. In secondary schools, sixth grade students, students with autism, Pacific Islander students and students with speech/language needs reported the highest sense of belonging in 2024. Native and Indigenous students, students with emotional and behavioral disorders, and nonbinary students reported sense of belonging more than five percentage points lower than other students. Secondary schools that have improved sense of belonging since spring 2023 include Stephens Middle School, Whiteaker Middle School, Judson Middle School and Parrish Middle School. How Oregon tracks sense of belonging The Oregon Department of Education began tracking sense of belonging data in 2020-2021 through the Student Educational Equity Development survey. The survey went through a pilot ******* before it went live in 2023-2024. The SEED survey collects information on students’ education experiences, including their sense of belonging. The survey gathers statewide data from students in grades 3-11. When House Bill 2656 went into effect in 2024, it took away school districts choice of offering SEED surveys to students and required them to make it available. Students can choose to decline to participate. The SEED survey is among ODE’s initiatives that promote a sense of belonging. Others include: ODE’s Transformative Social and Emotional Learning Framework and Standards focuses on strengthening equity-focused school cultures that support students’ well-being. The Community Care Development Project focuses on improving Oregon students and families mental health, education and well-being through partnerships, emotional support, and response to physical and mental health needs. The Care and Connection campaign emphasizes cultivating a school community where students can build relationships and learn about others at the start of the school year. Chris Moore is Salem-Keizer Public Schools’ director of social-emotional learning and mental health. What’s next for sense of belonging initiatives in Salem-Keizer Public Schools? During a school board meeting at the end of 2024, Moore outlined initiatives that are in progress and next steps for the district. These include: The district launched its Behavioral Health Coaching and Training Academy in August. Moore said more than 1,200 staff have accessed training so far this year and received 98% positive feedback from staff on the training experience. The district has launched its Meadowlark Program, a behavioral health program, at the Children’s Day Education Center. The next step is to expand the mental health treatment program to more students. CTEC students in the Behavioral Health and Human Services program have begun mentoring elementary school students in the district. The next step is to expand it to more of the district’s elementary schools. The district wants to reimagine school-based mental health services and is actively recruiting additional providers. Their goal is to have clinicians available five days per week at all high schools, four days per week in all middle schools and three days per week in all elementary schools. The district wants staff to continue supporting cultural and affinity groups. The next steps are identifying opportunities and resources to maintain and expand those programs. Alexander Banks is an intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at *****@*****.tld This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem-Keizer CTEC program has district’s best sense of belonging Source link #Heres #SalemKeizer #school #districts #sense #belonging Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Vance previously slammed Zelensky for lack of gratitude. This time, it placed him at center of tense Oval Office exchange – CNN Vance previously slammed Zelensky for lack of gratitude. This time, it placed him at center of tense Oval Office exchange – CNN Vance previously slammed Zelensky for lack of gratitude. This time, it placed him at center of tense Oval Office exchange CNN‘Why Don’t You Wear a Suit?’: A Right-Wing News Outlet With Coveted Access Questions Zelensky The New York TimesVICTOR DAVIS HANSON: 10 bad takeaways from the Zelenskyy blow-up Fox News Source link #Vance #previously #slammed #Zelensky #lack #gratitude #time #center #tense #Oval #Office #exchange #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dockers shoot down Luke Jackson trade rumours Dockers shoot down Luke Jackson trade rumours Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says Luke Jackson has told the club that he is happy and not looking to move back to Melbourne at the end of the AFL season. Source link #Dockers #shoot #Luke #Jackson #trade #rumours Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

3 Great Value Stocks That Could Crush the S&P 500 This Year 3 Great Value Stocks That Could Crush the S&P 500 This Year With the overall market looking expensive, it can be prudent for investors in search of new stocks to add to their portfolios to dig into companies that, for whatever reason, are trading at discounts. Some might have the potential to close their valuation gaps and become above-average investments. For a variety of different reasons, consumer health company Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE), industrial conglomerate 3M (NYSE: MMM), and oil and natural gas company Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) are all trading at a discount. Let’s look at why all three could be excellent value stock picks in 2025. Image source: Getty Images. Consumer health company Kenvue hasn’t performed as well as hoped since it was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in the summer of 2023. Still, value investors don’t usually buy stocks for what they are, but rather for what they could be. For Kenvue to become what investors hope it could be, it will have to improve its performance in the skin health and beauty segment (where it owns brands such as Neutrogena and Aveeno) while maintaining solid growth in its self-care segment (featuring the likes of Tylenol, Nicorette, and Zyrtec) and its essential health business (home to Listerine and Band-Aid, among others). The good news is there are signs that its marketing and promotional investments in skin health and beauty are starting to pay off. That segment achieved 2.6% organic sales growth in the fourth quarter compared to a 1.9% decline for the full year. If Kenvue can maintain its momentum in that segment — and if management’s overall brand investments across its portfolio pay off — then all three segments could see growth pick up in the second half of 2025 leading into 2026. And if the company is firing on all cylinders by the end of the year, the stock could receive a rerating, as the market has typically been willing to pay a premium for stocks with reliable earnings across the economic cycle. Kenvue’s dividend, which yields 3.5% at the current share price, adds to the stock’s attractiveness for value investors. Industrial giant 3M’s growth has also disappointed in recent years. However, it has plenty of opportunities for improvement, and the new management team, led by CEO Bill Brown (who was appointed in May 2024) is building on the foundations of the restructuring initiated by former CEO Mike Roman. Roman’s restructuring, which included spinning off 3M’s healthcare business as Solventum in 2024, cutting less profitable consumer product lines, reducing management layers, cutting jobs, and changing its go-to-market strategy in its less important geographies, has resulted in a long-awaited margin expansion. Brown intends for 3M to galvanize long-term revenue growth by emphasizing new product introductions, and he outlined his plans on that front at the company’s recent investor day event. Story Continues In addition, Brown has a host of operational improvements planned, such as utilizing its infrastructure better and improving on-time in-full deliveries to distributors, notably in its safety and industrial segment businesses. Image source: Getty Images. While these changes may seem unexciting, and investors won’t see their impact on the revenue line for a while, they will enhance 3M’s profitability and lay the groundwork for significant growth. Let’s put it this way: 3M started 2024 as a business lacking in new product growth, failing to deliver its products satisfactorily to customers, and underutilizing its assets. The changes it has underway are music to the ears of value investors, not least because those operational improvements will translate into margin expansions and sales growth. That could drive long-term growth for 3M stock. The market fell out of love with oil and natural gas stocks last year. However, despite the doom and gloom, West Texas Intermediate crude still has a $70 handle and didn’t trade below $65 in the last year. That kind of pricing is good news for Devon Energy. For example, management has forecast that if the price of oil averages $70 a barrel in 2025, it will generate at least $3 billion in free cash flow. That’s a large number, and an even more significant one when compared to Devon’s market cap of just $23.6 billion. It’s almost 12.7% of its market cap, implying that Devon could, at least in theory, pay a dividend that yielded 12.7%. That said, management is sensibly using 30% of its free cash flow to pay down its $8.4 billion in long-term debt. It also plans to spend $200 million to $300 million per quarter on share buybacks — a good strategy given the stock’s low valuation. Meanwhile, Devon will continue to pay a fixed dividend of $0.96 a year, equating to a 2.6% yield at the current share price. It’s difficult to predict the price of oil, but that applies on the upside as much as it does on the downside. So, if you assume that oil will hold steady in the vicinity of $70 a barrel for 2025, then Devon looks like an outstanding value stock. With its integration of a 2024 acquisition and management’s investments in well productivity in 2024 paying off (a 15% increase in feet drilled), Devon is well positioned operationally to deliver in 2025. If the price of oil holds up, there’s every chance that the market will rerate this stock, which already looks like a great value. Before you buy stock in Kenvue, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Kenvue wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $765,576!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 890% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 170% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends 3M and Kenvue. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Solventum and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $13 calls on Kenvue. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Great Value Stocks That Could Crush the S&P 500 This Year was originally published by The Motley Fool Source link #Great #Stocks #Crush #Year Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Britain and France step in to heal Trump-Zelenskyy rift – POLITICO Europe Britain and France step in to heal Trump-Zelenskyy rift – POLITICO Europe Britain and France step in to heal Trump-Zelenskyy rift POLITICO EuropeUK’s Starmer tries to revive hope for Ukraine peace at summit ReutersEurope Races to Repair a Split Between the U.S. and Ukraine The New York Times Source link #Britain #France #step #heal #TrumpZelenskyy #rift #POLITICO #Europe Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A seaside town seen through a different lens A seaside town seen through a different lens Marc Waddington BBC News, Liverpool Reporting fromNew BrightonUGC Murals have sprung up on the sides of houses and shops across New Brighton “I grew up round here thinking I could not wait to get out,” says 51-year-old Dan Davies. “And then I used to come back up from London on a weekly basis and would see half the place boarded up and going downhill fast.” New Brighton, on the northern tip of the Wirral peninsula in Merseyside, was once a booming holiday destination boasting the longest promenade in the country, a pier and a tower ******* than Blackpool’s. But in the mid-1980s, after cheap package deals to Spain had become the first choice for many holidaymakers, New Brighton found itself struggling to keep up, and photographer Martin Parr’s famous 1986 collection The Last Resort depicted it as a scruffy, litter-strewn town whose glory days were behind it. Thousands of tourists flock to New Brighton each summer Now, though, it is undergoing a huge renaissance: in 2020 house prices rose faster in New Brighton than anywhere else in the country, investment is returning and businesses are thriving. So how does a place go from being somewhere people cannot wait to leave to somewhere people cannot move to fast enough? ‘Community feel’ Fran Barrett, 35, returned to New Brighton after going away to London to study and work as a journalist. “When you’re a kid you never want to live where you’re growing up,” she said. “But I realised as I got older why it was such a great place to live.” While many of Fran’s friends who stayed in London were still trying to get on the property ladder, she and her husband and toddler son were able to move up a rung in 2021 because of the £30,000 they made in profit on their terraced home. “It just has a real community feel to it,” said Fran. “There are so many new businesses springing up, and if you’ve got kids there are so many great little parks. “A lot of my friends from other parts of the Wirral are moving here, too.” And they all need places to eat, drink and shop. Fran’s sister Lou runs the café bar and gift shop SUP, just one of many independent businesses that have sprung up in the town in recent years. UGC Fran Barrett moved back to New Brighton after studying and working in London A few hundred yards away from the Sea Shanty is the James Atherton pub, which takes its name from the resort’s founder who, in the 1830s, set about creating a northern version of Sussex seaside town Brighton. The pub made national headlines in 2020 when it was renamed in a disparaging tribute to Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings and their three-tier coronavirus lockdown restrictions. It is one of a number of buildings in Victoria Road that Dan’s company Rockpoint Leisure revived. To “keep out the big boys”, as he puts it, the company bought up parcels of land and buildings and made sure independent shops, cafes and art spaces were able to move in. The walls of many of them are now festooned with large murals by artists both local and global. “We wanted to demonstrate that you don’t need big outside consultants to come in and tell you what you need, you need a sustainable plan that can protect a place like New Brighton. “We did that, and we have become the number one model for seaside town regeneration,” he says. UGC Dan Davies says art has been a key part of New Brighton’s regeneration Victoria Road is a haven of independent businesses. The Hatch art gallery opened in an old greengrocer’s shop and took its name from the hatch through which people were served during the pandemic. “Seaside towns are absolutely having a renaissance,” says owner Anneley Pickles, 51. “They just need things that will bring people here, whether that’s food or entertainment, or workshops or arts spaces.” Anneley Pickles Just up the road is Tallulah’s Emporium, which owner Wayne Saunders describes as a “listening space” after the model of the Japanese kissa bars that specialise in playing jazz records. Wayne, 51, left New Brighton in 1989, at a time when “numerous friends from primary school had ended up dead or in prison”. He moved to London, where he opened the Comedy Café in Shoreditch, before returning to New Brighton to open up Tallulah’s in 2022. He agrees with Dan’s assessment that New Brighton is, with its thriving independent scene, “Wirral’s Brooklyn to Liverpool’s Manhattan”. Wayne Saunders There are not many remnants of New Brighton’s past as a Victorian and Edwardian seaside town still visible today. The tower was pulled down and sold for scrap in the 1920s, while the ballroom was gutted by fire in 1969 and then demolished. But the town has always remained a seaside resort. In 2011, the Marine Point development opened at an estimated cost of about £65m, bringing a cinema, hotel, bars and restaurants to the seafront. It stands a short distance from the Fort Perch Rock coastal defence battery – now a museum – which was built in the 1820s to protect Liverpool from foreign naval attack, and the Adventureland amusement complex which was built about 100 years later and which has been mooted for redevelopment as apartments in recent years. Jayne Casey, a former member of punk band Big In Japan, now runs a small deli and arts bar District House just around the corner in Victoria Road. Jayne Casey and Eric Gooden Now 68, she remembers the New Brighton of the 1980s that was encapsulated in Parr’s Last Resort collection, and believes that, generally, the photos captured the area quite well. “It was where people from Liverpool and the Wirral came for a cheap day out,” she says. “It had a beautiful 1930s outdoor swimming pool, and had that classic seaside town look to it. “It was a place that working-class people came en-masse in the time when the factories closed down for a week and everyone had a week at the seaside.” Martin Parr Martin Parr’s collection The Last Resort captured New Brighton how it looked in the mid-1980s Today the resort is still popular with day trippers and families. And according to one person who was involved in its regeneration over the last decade, attempts to broaden what the town had to offer were not always met with open arms. “There was a feeling from some that New Brighton is just about grandparents bringing their grandkids for day out,” they said. “But there were those who felt it was about more than just Fort Perch Rock and the promenade.” Jane, who helped transform a wilderness of empty warehouses near the Liverpool waterfront into the arts and tech enclave now known as the Baltic Triangle, says that while art and culture are playing a big part in New Brighton’s renaissance and transformation, the town is not being “gentrified”. Gentrification is the process through which working-class urban populations find themselves displaced and priced out of their own communities. “Yes, house prices have gone up and new people have come in but I don’t think any kind of mass gentrification has happened,” she says. “But,” she warns, “there are some big sites that could come up and then could become apartment blocks and flats.” UGC Plots of land and buildings were bought “to keep the big boys out”, said Dan Davies New Brighton’s promenade – the longest in Britain – will be most familiar to those outside the north-west of England as the location of a Channel 4 ident that includes the TV network’s logo running to keep pace with a group of wheelchair racers. Next month, the documentary I Am Martin Parr will be screened at The Light cinema, part of the Marine Point complex which looms over the promenade where that clip was filmed and where one of Parr’s most infamous shots was taken. Jose Wilmin has been visiting New Brighton for over 60 years Jose Wilmin, who has been coming to New Brighton for more than 60 years from her home in Ellesmere Port, has witnessed the resort going through its ups and downs in that time. “It used to be a proper holiday place, there was a massive outdoor pool, a big funfair and the main street was just packed with bucket-and-spade shops,” the 68-year-old says. While she says it is great to see New Brighton “on the up again”, she has been a regular through good times and bad. “I’ve always come here, to have fish and chips and watch the world go by. “It’s where I used to come with my mum. It’s where all my memories were made.” Source link #seaside #town #lens Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost aces moon touchdown with a special delivery for NASA – The Associated Press Private lunar lander Blue Ghost aces moon touchdown with a special delivery for NASA – The Associated Press Private lunar lander Blue Ghost aces moon touchdown with a special delivery for NASA The Associated PressBlue Ghost becomes second private spacecraft to land on the Moon BBC.comEarth shines over the moon in amazing 1st photos from private Blue Ghost lander. ‘We’re all in that picture.’ Space.comTouchdown! Carrying NASA Science, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lands on Moon NASALive updates: Firefly ‘Blue Ghost’ lunar lander touches down on the moon CNN Source link #Private #lunar #lander #Blue #Ghost #aces #moon #touchdown #special #delivery #NASA #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]