Snowflake unveils AI development, security capabilities
Snowflake unveils AI development, security capabilities
Snowflake on Tuesday unveiled new AI capabilities, including features designed to make it easier and faster for customers to develop conversational AI applications that deliver trusted results.
In addition, Snowflake revealed tools aimed at better enabling collaboration and added security features following the theft of customers’ data last spring, when a hacker broke into Snowflake’s platform through user passwords.
The new capabilities, some of which are generally available but most of which are in preview, were unveiled during Build, Snowflake’s annual virtual conference for developers.
Enterprise interest in AI has surged over the past two years, sparked initially by OpenAI’s November 2022 launch of ChatGPT and furthered by steadily improving generative AI capabilities that have the potential to be as transformative for businesses as the personal computer was decades ago.
As enterprises expand investments in developing AI capabilities, their two main focuses are generative AI given how it can make workers more efficient and governance because the data used to train AI tools is proprietary, according to David Menninger, an analyst at ISG’s Ventana Research. As a result, the new features revealed by Snowflake are timely, delivering what customers need at this stage of their AI investments.
“There are two hot topics in AI — generative AI and governance,” Menninger said. “These announcements attempt to tackle both of these issues, albeit with many of the features still in preview mode.”
Based in Bozeman, Mont., but with no headquarters, Snowflake is a data platform vendor whose tools enable customers to store and analyze data as well as develop analytics and AI products.
In August, Snowflake launched Snowpark Container Services, a managed service for securely deploying and managing AI models. Two months earlier, the vendor unveiled a host of new features during Summit, its annual user conference, including the preview of APIs designed to help customers develop chatbots in minutes.
New AI capabilities
Perhaps the top business benefit of generative AI is significantly increased efficiency.
Just as the telephone transformed communication a century ago and the evolution of personal computers altered how business is conducted over the past 40 years, generative AI holds the potential to revolutionize the way employees do their work.
Generative AI allows enterprises to automate myriad tasks that take up copious amounts of people’s time, enabling people to be far more productive than was previously possible.
In addition, generative AI holds the possibility of making workers smarter.
Data-driven decisions have been shown to be more effective than those made based on instinct alone. Data, however, has long been difficult to operationalize for most workers, given the complexity of data management and analytics platforms. As a result, only about 25% of employees within organizations used analytics tools as part of their decision-making process as recently as 2022.
Generative AI models, when combined with an organization’s proprietary data, eliminate much of the complexity it previously took to work with data, including the need to write code to query and analyze data and the data literacy training needed to interpret data. By enabling true natural language processing, allowing users to ask questions of their data without having to write code and delivering responses — including detailed, summarized interpretations — they help just about any employee to make data-driven decisions.
However, as much as enterprises now want to develop generative AI tools, doing so is difficult.
In response, data management and analytics vendors such as Snowflake, chief rival Databricks and myriad others have created environments for customers to build AI and machine learning tools. Snowflake’s latest new features continue that effort.
In June, the vendor unveiled Cortex Analyst and Cortex Search — neither of which was yet in preview — to help users develop conversational AI tools.
Cortex Search enables developers to extract data from unstructured text documents to feed AI models and is now generally available. Cortex Analyst, which enables developers to use structured data to inform AI tools, is now in public preview.
Beyond the two features first introduced last spring, among other new Cortex AI capabilities aimed at helping customers develop AI tools, Snowflake unveiled the following:
Cortex Complete Multimodal Input Support so developers can inform models with unstructured data beyond just text such as images and audio files.
Cortex Chat API to streamline integrating application interfaces with Snowflake data.
AI Observability for LLM Apps to provide users with metrics for monitoring the quality of their data and AI applications.
Cortex Complete Multimodal Input Support is not yet in preview, while Cortex Chat API will soon be in public preview, and AI Observability for LLM Apps is now in public preview.
Perhaps the most significant new features for users are those like the LLM observability capabilities that address AI governance, according to Menninger. Just as data governance emerged as a necessity when enterprises began to adopt self-service analytics tools, AI governance is becoming increasingly needed as enterprises attempt to expand their use of AI tools.
“I am a big proponent of the trustworthy AI enhancements, including model explainability, model observability and observability for LLM applications,” Menninger said. “My recent research indicates that there is a significant lack of tooling for AI governance, leaving enterprises to fend for themselves. These new capabilities should be welcome additions to the platform.”
Additional new capabilities aimed at helping developers build AI tools include customized processing options for large batch files of text, so AI teams can create conversational AI pipelines with high processing speeds and Container Runtime to enable users to ******** training workloads on graphics processing units.
Collectively, the primary benefit of the new features is speed, according to ********** Kleinerman, Snowflake’s executive vice president of product.
By providing customers with tools that make it easier for developers to discover and operationalize both structured and unstructured data as well, gain visibility into the performance of data pipeline and model health and optimize the use of compute power, Snowflake hopes to speed and simplify AI development.
“[One of] the benefits that we expect customers to realize is a much faster time to build applications that are conversationally natured for structured and unstructured data … in a trusted, cost-effective fashion,” Kleinerman said during a virtual press conference on Nov. 8.
While the new capabilities advance how customers can use Snowflake to develop AI tools, they also demonstrate that the vendor is remaining competitive with Databricks and other vendors when it comes to enabling AI development, according to Menninger.
Snowflake was slower to add such capabilities than some of its peers. But since Sridhar Ramaswamy was appointed CEO In February, the vendor has made AI development a focal point of its product development roadmap.
“All the data platform vendors are making significant investments in providing AI/ML capabilities,” Menninger said, noting that some, such as Snowflake, have taken an API-based approach that enables customers to build their own AI applications while others have provided more actual tools for their customers.
“Neither approach is right or wrong, but they appeal to different audiences,” Menninger continued. “Ideally, vendors would provide both, giving different teams the option to use the approach they prefer.”
Collaboration and security
Beyond AI development, Snowflake also introduced new collaboration and security capabilities.
New collaboration capabilities include Internal Marketplace, an environment, now generally available, where organizations can store datasets, applications and AI products so that different business units can access and use tools developed by other business units. In addition, in a move aimed at making it easier for customers to distribute analytics and AI tools, whether to other users within their organization to monetize them to sell to third parties, Snowflake’s Native APP Framework is now integrated with Snowpark Container Services.
Meanwhile, regarding security, Snowflake is adding new threat prevention and security monitoring capabilities.
Last May, using stolen user login credentials, a hacker was able to infiltrate Snowflake and steal customers’ data. Up to 165 Snowflake customers were compromised, including AT&T and Ticketmaster.
While it took a hacker to access Snowflake’s environment and the vendor’s existing security measures have prevented anyone from breaking without proper login credentials, Snowflake is nevertheless adding new security layers to try to protect customers.
Snowflake offers Horizon Catalog, a data catalog that enables users to govern their data, including its access.
To improve security, the vendor is adding Leaked Password Protection, which automatically disables any password discovered on the dark web, and Programmatic Access Tokens to authenticate APIs and prevent unauthorized access to application.
In addition to Horizon Catalog, Snowflake offers Trust Center, a tool that helps customers monitor and improve the security of their accounts. Within Trust Center, Threat Intelligence Scanner Package is now generally available to monitor which users may be risky.
Motivated by what occurred last spring, the new security features represent Snowflake’s acknowledgment that it needs to do more to protect customer accounts, according to Kleinerman.
“Even though we’ve had security capabilities for years, they were not leveraged in the appropriate way,” he said. “That has informed our view of where our responsibility ends. We now strongly believe that it’s on us to help our customers make the best use of the technologies we have. That’s why we’re adding a lot around monitoring, recommendations, insights and controls being surfaced for our customers.”
Next steps
As Snowflake plots future product development, native application development will be a focus, according to Benoit Dageville, Snowflake’s president of product and one of the vendor’s co-founders.
Native applications, such as one recently developed by Metaplane, enable customers to use other systems in connection with their Snowflake data without having to move data from Snowflake’s environment into the other system. The native connection limits exposing data to potential leaks and simplifies using two systems in concert.
“We are providing extensibility such that every use case can be performed,” Dageville said.
Menninger, meanwhile, lamented that many of the features unveiled during Snowflake Build are not yet in preview or just entering preview. While they may seem significant, they’re not yet a supported part of the vendor’s platform.
“Snowflake still needs to deliver these capabilities as generally available features,” he said.
In addition, Menninger suggested that while Snowflake’s API-first approach to AI development is attractive to some developers, adding tools beyond APIs could help the vendor appeal to a broader audience of AI developers. For example, developing generative AI-powered tools that relieve model developers of some of their work is an opportunity.
“Tooling beyond APIs would help expand its market and make AI/ML developers more efficient,” he said. “At some point, we’ll probably see GenAI dramatically simplify model development just as we see it impacting application development processes.”
Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management.
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Wells Fargo sees Twilio as the next ‘pick-and-shovel play’ in AI
Wells Fargo sees Twilio as the next ‘pick-and-shovel play’ in AI
Twilio could be a standout name as software stocks bounce back heading into the end of the year, according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Michael Turrin upgraded San Francisco-based Twilio to overweight from equal weight and lifted his price target by 50%, or $40, to $120 from $80. That suggests 28% potential upside for the cloud-based communication software company, which has already gained nearly 24% year to date. Underlying Turrin’s investment thesis is his belief that software vendors will lead the next phase of AI development. The analyst said that artificial agents will drive increased communications volumes over many years, which should help drive sustained growth for Twilio, which also provides AI customer engagement services. “A new build cycle is here; we expect the future favors the builders … This new set of AI developments is kicking off a new ‘build cycle’ of software development, with most recent example being AI agents, in our view, creating a tailwind for vendors who are able to position themselves as a key component of the new genAI stack,” Turrin said in a note to clients. Twilio is a company that’s likely able to tap into the core parts of this stack, which include Platform as a Service, or a cloud computing model often known as PaaS, as well as data and infrastructure, he said. “We believe Twilio can serve as a pick-and-shovel play for the next wave of AI-native front office and communications-powered genAI applications,” Turrin said, highlighting the company’s integration with OpenAI’s Realtime API that allows developers to build low latency speech to speech AI agents into applications. Low latency refers to to minimal delays in processing data over a network. “Importantly, this positioning could include powering companies that decide to build in-house over buying out-of-the-box applications, like efforts telegraphed by T-Mobile (building in-house customer service chatbot to launch into production next year) and Klarna, among others,” he continued.
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NatWest blocks staff from using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger
NatWest blocks staff from using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger
NatWest Group has blocked messaging services WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices to stop staff using them to communicate with each other.
The bank had already told employees to stick to “approved channels” for conversations about business matters.
But now it has gone further and made the platforms inaccessible on work phones and computers.
So-called off-channel communications are a persistent problem in both business and politics, with concerns that services such as WhatsApp are used to reduce the scrutiny some conversations can be subject to.
Messages can be difficult to retrieve or even set to disappear – whereas those sent via approved channels are fully retrievable, meaning they can be looked into if there is any suspected wrongdoing.
“Like many organisations, we only permit the use of approved channels for communicating about business matters, whether internally or externally,” NatWest said in a statement.
It said the change came into effect earlier this month.
Banks in the US have been handed fines worth more than $2.8bn (£2.18bn) over the past few years over record-keeping rules – with workers unable to retrieve old messages from some messaging services.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup are among those to be issued with penalties.
It was reported in August that the *** banking regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is considering a probe into how bank workers use messaging services.
It follows a fine issued by energy regulator Ofgem to Morgan Stanley over calls made on private phones over WhatsApp – breaching rules on record-keeping.
Outside of banking, there have been issues with staff using apps in the public sector, with questions surrounding how ministers have used WhatsApp for government business in recent years.
The *** Covid inquiry revealed officials and ministers had deleted WhatsApp messages exchanged during the pandemic.
That included then-prime minister Boris Johnson, with then cabinet member Penny Mordaunt telling the inquiry that two years of messages with him had disappeared. Johnson told the inquiry he had lost around 5,000 messages.
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What’s Happening at BLEED Esports? Player Payment Scandal Explained
What’s Happening at BLEED Esports? Player Payment Scandal Explained
BLEED Esports’ leadership team has come under ***** once again for reportedly failing to pay players and staff. It has been claimed that for more than a year, the organisation has been lying to all of their players across multiple games, withholding salaries, and refusing to pay out tournament winnings.
In a straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back move, the BLEED Esports Rainbow Six roster has pulled away from the organisation following a month of negotiation and communications with Ubisoft, and the players are now on an exposé mission.
If It BLEEDs
The situation with BLEED Esports reached a tipping point when Patrick ‘MentalistC’ Fan, the R6 squad’s IGL, took to social media to slam BLEED’s leadership:
For the past year, BLEED has been lying to all of their players (Valorant, CS2, R6, OW, MLBB, Dota 2…) about payments, failing to pay salaries, making false promises, and withholding prize pools. They only ever provided us payslips with no proof of actual funds, a tactic they used to fool other organisations into thinking that they paid the buyouts of players.
For the past month, we have been consistently and clearly communicating with Ubisoft, pleading our case. We have clearly communicated with Ubisoft that:
BLEED has been ghosting us, having zero intention to cure their contract breach.
BLEED has been full of ***** and false promises, and their words cannot be trusted.
As of the writing of this letter, our contract breach notice to BLEED has taken effect. We can now terminate our contracts with BLEED. We are awaiting Ubisoft’s final decision.
MentalistC’s Twitter bio now marks him as a player for ‘NOTPAID R6S’, but moving forward, the roster will play under the name ‘BLED’.
He was backed up by other players, such as Taylor ‘Terdsta’ Ching, who claimed BLEED owed him a whopping $35,000. He insisted that he would be unable to pay his bills or even feed himself if it wasn’t for other avenues of income, like streaming.
In the wake of his scandal, seven members of BLEED (including a coach and an analyst) have vacated their Rainbow Six positions. One Counter-Strike coach claimed that BLEED has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt in the CS world. This allegation came from Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunovic, who claimed that BLEED’s CEO is actively ghosting the situation and is fully aware of what’s happening.
Thanks to EscoreNews for the references.
The CEO, Mervyn Goh, has been scrutinised by fans and critics for the longest time. The bad press surrounding Goh is often insurmountable. In 2022, he allegedly beat a woman at a nightclub, and in 2023, it was claimed that the Singaporean government struck BLEED Esports from the registry.
If you ***** deeper into the topic, you start to uncover references to ‘Mervyn Goh En Wei’ being embroiled in a vast array of legal issues.
Presently, nobody has been able to reach the CEO for a statement.
What do you think about this situation? If you’ve got anything to share, feel free to make a note in the comments.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out the news that the BLAST R6 Major Montreal’s viewership is suffering
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Study links ********* access to women’s economic outcomes
Study links ********* access to women’s economic outcomes
Study design. Credit: Everett & Taylor (********* Sociological Review) 2024
Access to safe, legal ********* can be a lifelong economic stratifier, according to a new analysis of a national database of adolescent health information.
The new study assesses ********* and socioeconomic outcomes in two ways, both using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to ****** Health (Add Health).
First, the authors analyzed the relationship between living one’s teenage years in a region with ********* restrictions and socioeconomic status in adulthood. Second, they compared ****** outcomes between adolescent ****** who became teen moms and those ****** who avoided teen parenthood because they had an *********.
The authors found that adolescents in regions with fewer ********* restrictions and those who reported having an ********* were more likely to have graduated from college, earn higher incomes and have greater financial stability at two time-points over an almost 25-year *******. ****** who became teen moms, conversely, were more likely to experience eviction, debt and food insecurity.
One in four women will have had an ********* before the end of her reproductive years, more than half of whom are already mothers. Surveys show that the main reason women say they have an ********* is because they can’t afford to raise a child or raise more children. As ********* access and policy shift wildly in the ******* States, it’s crucial to understand how ********* access impacts women’s socioeconomic futures.
“Childbearing is one of the most consequential decisions women will make in their lives, and their partner and family’s lives,” said Bethany Everett, sociologist at the University of Utah and lead author of the study. “If we’re going to pass policies that ban or restrict *********, we should understand how they will impact women’s lives and society more broadly.”
The study was published in the ********* Sociological Review on Nov. 11, 2024.
Comparison of predicted outcomes of socioeconomic attainment for individuals age 24–32 and the level of ********* restrictions in the region where each participant lived as a teen. Credit: Adapted from Everett & Taylor (********* Sociological Review) 2024
*********: A mechanism for economic stratification
********* is still a stigmatized and sometimes ******** medical procedure, which has made scholarship on the topic difficult as women have historically underreported their abortions. This study aimed to fill the knowledge gap using Add Health, a 24-year survey tracking Americans’ well-being as they transition to adulthood, which includes participants’ complete reproductive histories.
The first study participants were surveyed in 1994 from 80 high schools and 52 middle schools, when they were between the ages of 12 and 19. A subsample of nearly 21,000 students were asked to complete additional in-home interviews at multiple subsequent points in their lives, referred to as “waves.”
The surveyors checked in with participants for their socioeconomic attainment at Wave IV (ages 24–32, between 2001–2003) and Wave V (ages 34–43 between 2016–2018).
The study is the first to link ********* policy at the macro-level to outcomes at the individual-level. Using Add Health data, the authors assessed state- and county-level ********* restrictions for the region where each participant lived when they were between 12 and 19 years old.
The authors used four indicators to determine the degree of ********* restriction: Did the state allow Medicare to fund abortions only in limited cases (*****, ******* or life endangerment) or in all circumstances; parental consent requirements; did the respondent’s home county have an ********* provider; and state-level mandatory waiting periods and informed consent.
The authors then analyzed the relationship between restrictive ********* environments and the individual’s socioeconomic outcome at Waves IV (age 24–32) and V (age 34–43). They controlled for other variables that might influence an individual’s later status, including family income, education attainment and other state- and community- level variables.
By 34 to 43 years old, women who lived in less restrictive ********* environments were more likely to have graduated from college and score lower on multiple indicators of ******** and economic insecurity than those living in states and counties with higher ********* restrictions.
“********* is extremely hard to measure because there is so much stigma surrounding the procedure that even on anonymous surveys, people are reluctant to report having had one. Using policy measures avoids the measurement issues associated with self-reported data and instead captures the influence of ********* policy on access,” Everett said.
“Given that one in four women will have an *********, these measures impact a broad swath of the population.”
For the second approach, the authors only compared women who had a teen pregnancy that ended either in a live birth or an *********. They matched individuals who shared demographic characteristics, such as adolescent ********, and mental health, but who differed in how their pregnancy ended.
In both studies, the authors found that relationships between measures of ********* were less consistently associated with employment compared to other measures of economic outcomes. However, those who had live births consistently had lower incomes, suggesting that ********* restriction and/or having an ********* is a factor in socioeconomic stratification in the U.S.
“In this current political climate, people pit concerns about the economy against concerns about social issues, such as ********* rights. However, our results show that this is a false choice,” said Catherine Taylor, associate professor of sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara, and co-author of the study.
“In reality, policies around ********* have a lot of economic impact and taking away access to ********* causes economic problems for many women and families.”
More information:
Bethany G. Everett et al, ********* and Women’s Future Socioeconomic Attainment, ********* Sociological Review (2024). DOI: 10.1177/00031224241292058
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Study links ********* access to women’s economic outcomes (2024, November 12)
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Vivo X200 Series Said to Launch in India Soon, But May Not Include All Models
Vivo X200 Series Said to Launch in India Soon, But May Not Include All Models
Vivo X200, Vivo X200 Pro, and Vivo X200 Pro Mini were launched in China last month. Vivo is yet to confirm when the global launch of the trio will take place, but a latest ***** suggests that their India launch will happen next month. However, the report suggests that not all Vivo X200 series will be available in India. The Vivo X200 series runs on MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoCs, Origin OS 5 UI, and feature Zeiss-branded cameras.
Citing people familiar with the matter, 91mobiles reports that Vivo will launch the Vivo X200 and Vivo X200 Pro in India in December. The brand will reportedly skip the X200 Pro Mini in the Indian market.
The Vivo X200 series was unveiled last month and is currently China-exclusive. The lineup is confirmed to land in the Malaysian market soon, however, it’s now unclear if the Vivo X200 Pro Mini model will be part of the global release. The phones were earlier said to launch in India by the end of November or first week of December.
Unfortunately, Vivo has not revealed any details about the availability of its Vivo X200 series in India. Therefore, it is safe to consider these details with a pinch of salt. The previous Vivo X series phones were made available in the Indian market.
Vivo X200 Series Price, Specifications
The price of Vivo X200 series starts at CNY 4,300 (roughly Rs. 51,000) in China for the base 12GB + 256GB storage configuration of the vanilla model.
Vivo’s X200, X200 Pro, and X200 Pro Mini were unveiled with Origin OS 5, based on Android 15. All three phones run on MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC and have a Zeiss-branded triple rear camera setup comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera. The Vivo X200 Pro has a 200-megapixel telephoto sensor.
The vanilla Vivo X200 has a 5,800mAh battery with support for 90W wired charging. Meanwhile, the Vivo X200 Pro and X200 Pro Mini are backed by 6,000mAh and 5,800mAh batteries, respectively, with 90W wired charging support.
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S&P 500 Set for Gains: What Trump’s Return Means for the Market’s Rally
S&P 500 Set for Gains: What Trump’s Return Means for the Market’s Rally
The S&P 500 is in a strong rally and likely to continue moving higher over the next: the bull case scenario is a move to 7,400.
Analysts are lifting targets for the six largest S&P 500 companies, forecasting a 30% gain on average, with the three leaders expected to rise by 35%.
Strong labor markets and capital returns, including dividends and share buybacks, will help sustain market strength.
The is in a strong uptrend that is gaining momentum following the 2024 election results. The robust technical outlook suggests that the market can increase by another 20% to reach 7,400. As wild as it sounds, the target is derived from not one but numerous projections that provide signal convergence and increased reliability. The first projection is based on the COVID-19 bubble. The COVID bubble began with a sharp, *****-driven price correction in the S&P that led the market into a buying opportunity and rally that increased its value by more than 100% over the next year. The increase was driven by stimulus spending and monetary policy, which still impact today’s economy.
Economic Health Provides a Bid for Stocks
As much economic slowing as has happened in recent months, the U.S. economy continues to grow and fuel earnings growth for the S&P 500. The most problematic data is the labor market data, but even that isn’t bad. The labor market has cooled significantly but ******** healthy relative to the pre-COVID levels and consistent with sustainable economic growth. Regarding the stock market, a healthy labor market provides an underlying bid for stock because of the billions in retirement account savings invested each month. The US labor force is at record levels and growing, so the support it provides is substantial.
With Trump back in the White House, the labor market will likely improve and accelerate the outlook for growth and S&P 500 earnings. Even so, the outlook for S&P 500 earnings is solid across sectors and supportive for the market, with growth expected to accelerate to double-digits in Q4 and sustain the pace in 2025.
Big Tech Will Drive S&P 500 Gains in 2025
More factors than technical indications and labor markets drive the stock market in 2024 and the outlook for 2025. The primary is the ongoing supremacy of big tech and AI, which will likely gain momentum in 2025. The six largest S&P 500 companies account for more than 30% of the index value and are forecasted to rise by double-digits next year. The consensus price targets lag many underlying markets, but revision trends are positive for all of the S&P 500 leaders, with the high-end range predicting an average 30% gain.
The leaders, including NVIDIA (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:), are all indicated to gain 35% compared to early November price points, and the forecasts will likely rise over the coming year. These companies have proven that investment in data centers, the cloud, and AI pays off and are increasing their investments quarterly. Add in the tailwinds of falling interest rates and a business-friendly President, and the odds are high that the rally will extend well beyond the end of 2025 because of persistent outperformance relative to forecasts.
Capital Return Growth Underpins the Stock Market Advance
Capital returns and capital return growth underpin the stock market advance. The S&P 500 grew its capital return, including dividends and share buybacks, at a mid-single-digit pace in 2024 and is expected to sustain the growth in 2025. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) predicts that total capital return will top $1 trillion and continue to grow from there. The forecasts are likely cautious, given the economic shifts that are underway. With headwinds easing and tailwinds beginning to form, the S&P 500 will likely accelerate its capital return growth by the end of 2025.
The critical technical detail for today’s investors is that the COVID-19 bubble, from bottom to the 2021 peak near 4,800, is worth 2,600 S&P 500 points. That’s the first projection, made from the 2021 peak, and it puts the market at 7,400 now that the original trading range is broken. The second project is based on the post-COVID-19 stock market correction. The market fell nearly 30% to establish support and the bottom of a significant trading range at 5,500. The range is worth 1,300 S&P 500 points, 50% of the original bubble, and provides the second projectionable figure. The market is on the brink of completing a 1,300-point advance from the 2024 breakout point and will likely advance by that much again once the critical target at 6,100 is broken. Another 1,300 advance puts the market at 7,400, aligning with the macro-target.
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Three held over videos about president on social media
Three held over videos about president on social media
Two Ugandans have been detained for allegedly insulting President Yoweri Museveni, the first lady Janet Museveni and the president’s son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on the video sharing platform, TikTok.
Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis remanded 21-year-old David Ssengozi, alias Lucky Choice, and Isaiah Ssekagiri , 28, to Kigo prison until Wednesday when they will make an initial court appearance.
They are accused of hate speech and spreading malicious information against the first family and musicians linked to the governing National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Appearing in court on Monday, the two denied the charges.
They are jointly charged with Julius Tayebwa, 19, who had already been brought before court and remanded in prison for the same offences.
Prosecutors allege that they posted information on TikTok meant to “ridicule degrade, demean, and promote hostility” against the first family and others
The magistrate allowed their detention after police said they were still making inquiries on the matter.
“You will come back on the 13 November, when the case will come up for mention. You are remanded at Kigo prison till then,” the magistrate ordered.
In September, police spokesman Rusoke Kituuma warned that abusing the president, who he termed the “fountain of honour”, was an offence. He mentioned Tiktoker with the name Lucky Choice who he said they were investigating. The Tiktoker was later arrested.
It is not clear which post led to the arrest, but a video released in April on TikTok on the page LuckyChoice70, with the title My First Enemies, criticised the first family using ********* explicit terms.
In July, a 24-year-old man was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting the president and the first family on a TikTok video. He had pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness.
It comes as the government has been criticised for restricting people’s ability to criticise actions by the state or its officials.
The US government in a report last year accused Uganda of restricting internet freedom through the use of ********* punishments.
Rights groups also regularly denounce the Ugandan authorities over violations of human rights and the freedom of expression.
In 2022, award-winning Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was charged with two counts of “offensive communication” after making unflattering remarks about the president and his son on Twitter.
He fled the country to Germany after spending a month in jail, where he said he had been tortured.
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Ancient Greece’s Cultural Rise Started a Century Earlier Than Previously Thought—New Research
Ancient Greece’s Cultural Rise Started a Century Earlier Than Previously Thought—New Research
Trevor Van Damme/The Conversation
While ancient Greece is one of the best known cultures of antiquity, there are no surviving historical narratives covering events between 1200 and 760BC. This ******* has traditionally been viewed as a “Dark Age” on account of the lack of preserved written sources after much of the Mediterranean suffered a societal and political collapse.
The Greek Iron Age occurred within this *******. But, because of the lack of documents, up to now historians have been working with a timeline, which uses pottery styles from Athens as its basis. Devised in the late 50s and 60s by the historians Nicolas Coldsteam and Vincent Desborough, it has supported the conclusion that the Iron Ages began in 1025 and ended in 700BC.
The “Greek Renaissance”, from 760BC to 700 BC, emerged in the Iron Age’s last *******, known as the Late Geometric. This was a time of rapid economic and demographic growth that saw the adoption of alphabetic writing, the emergence of the Greek city-states, Pan-Hellenic sanctuaries and the establishment of Greek colonies abroad.
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Link was going to speak in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, but Nintendo thought it ‘didn’t feel right’
Link was going to speak in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, but Nintendo thought it ‘didn’t feel right’
Link was originally going to have dialogue for the first time in a first-party Zelda game in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
In an interview with Famitsu, director Satoshi Terada and producer Eiji Aonuma revealed that they originally wanted Link to have written dialogue in the game.
The pair explained that throughout the history of The Legend of Zelda series, the idea has always been that the protagonist doesn’t speak. Because the protagonist has always been Link, that essentially meant Link never spoke (other than occasional dialogue options for the player)
However, because Zelda is the protagonist in Echoes of Wisdom, the idea was originally that she would be the only character with no dialogue, allowing Link to have lines for the first time.
“Actually, Link was speaking at first,” Aonuma confirmed.
“I had Link talk a little bit,” Terada agreed, adding: “No matter what I made him say, it just didn’t feel right.”
“Link would never speak like that,” Aonuma explained. “It felt really strange. Nobody knew what Link would say – that’s only natural, because he’s never spoken before.
“So we had to come up with a setting where he couldn’t speak, and that’s how we came up with part of the story.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Aonuma said Echoes of Wisdom was designed to be a game that could be beaten by players who never bothered to finish a Zelda game before.
“Miyamoto and I have spoken for a long time about trying to make a Zelda game that everyone can reach the end of,” Aonuma explained.
“We design the whole game so that players can reach the final goal and watch the ending, so it’s a shame when they give up halfway through and can’t go on because they’re discouraged.
“In that sense, I think this time we’ve finally made a game where everyone can reach the goal.”
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Poco X7 Pro Could Be the First Smartphone to Ship With Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 in India
Poco X7 Pro Could Be the First Smartphone to Ship With Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 in India
Xiaomi’s new Android skin version — HyperOS 2.0 — was announced in China last month alongside the Xiaomi 15 series. While the company did not outline a rollout plan of its latest custom skin for devices in India, a new ***** has hinted that the Poco X7 Pro will be the first to debut with HyperOS 2.0 in the country. The new Poco X series phone is rumoured to launch next month in India. The Poco X7 Pro is expected to arrive as a rebrand of the Redmi Note 14 Pro+. It is likely to offer upgrades over the Poco X6 Pro.
Smartprix, citing unnamed sources, reports that the Poco X7 Pro will be the first smartphone in India to launch with HyperOS 2.0 based on Android 15. It is expected to go official in December in the county.
In China, the Xiaomi 15 was the first to land with HyperOS 2.0 but its India launch is expected to take place only next year. Therefore, the Poco X7 Pro is believed to hit the Indian market ahead of the Xiaomi 15.
The Poco X7 Pro is speculated to come as a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 14 Pro+. It is expected to succeed the Poco X6 Pro.
Redmi Note 14 Pro+ Price, Specifications
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ is already available in the ******** market since September this year with prices starting from CNY 1,899 (roughly Rs. 22,000). It gets a 6.67-inch 1.5K (1,220×2,712 pixels) display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 3000nits peak brightness. It runs on a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB onboard storage.
Redmi Note 14 Pro+ has a triple rear camera unit comprising a 50-megapixel Light Hunter 900 sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle sensor, and a 50-megapixel portrait telephoto camera. On the front, the handset boasts a 20-megapixel OmniVision OV20B sensor. The handset is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance and packs a 6,200mAh battery with 90W fast charging support.
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Alpine to use Mercedes engines in Formula 1 from 2026
Alpine to use Mercedes engines in Formula 1 from 2026
In June this year, former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore was appointed executive adviser by Renault chief executive officer Luca de Meo, with a remit to restructure the team.
Briatore has since appointed Briton Oliver Oakes as team principal and told Sky Sports Italia recently that the workforce at the *** base in Enstone, Oxfordshire, had shrunk by 300 people, from 1,150 to 850.
This was in contrast to comments he made in a news conference at the Dutch Grand Prix, when he said he “didn’t want to cut jobs”, while also saying the team “didn’t need so many people”.
An Alpine spokesperson said: “The organisation of the F1 team at Enstone has been under review in order to optimise the resources and put the team in a position to work efficiently and strategically, to quickly recover performance and compete again at the sharp end of the grid.
“As part of that review process, there are areas of the Enstone team that are going under a restructure, with the sole aim of putting the right organisation in place for the team’s future success.”
Alpine started the season as the slowest on the grid but has made significant progress in recent months.
A critical strategic decision during the wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix on 3 November led to Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing second and third, behind winner Max Verstappen.
That result vaulted the team from ninth in the constructors’ championship to sixth in one go, a potential gain of about $30m (£23.4m) in prize money if they can retain the place to the end of the season.
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Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K Show Needs the ‘Months of Shame’ Arc About the War Between Grey Knights and Space Wolves
Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K Show Needs the ‘Months of Shame’ Arc About the War Between Grey Knights and Space Wolves
The Warhammer 40K universe is growing in popularity, thanks in part to the release of Space Marine 2 and the growing excitement surrounding the upcoming live-action adaptation, spearheaded by none other than Henry Cavill. Fans and players of the grimdark universe are eager to see which part of the expansive lore the TV series will tackle.
Fans of the series are excited to see the TV show adaptation with Cavill’s involvement. | Image Credit: Games Workshop
While the Horus Heresy arc is the obvious choice due to its grand scale and epic storyline, it has already been explored extensively in novels, games, and other media, making it somewhat predictable and, perhaps, too mainstream for a fresh adaptation. Instead, the series would benefit from focusing on a lesser-known but equally captivating chapter of the lore: the war between the Grey Knights and the Space Wolves, particularly the infamous ‘Months of Shame’.
Warhammer 40K Show Should Focus on the ‘Months of Shame’ Arc
It will be more intriguing to see the story of the conflict between the Grey Knights and the Space Wolves. | Image Credit: Saber Interactive
For those who are not familiar with Warhammer 40K lore, the Horus Heresy is arguably the most well-known and widely explored story arc. It shows the rise and fall of Horus Lupercal, the favored son of the Emperor of Mankind, and how his tragic rebellion led to the rise of the massive civil war between the loyalist Space Marines and the traitorous forces of Chaos.
The arc perfectly embodies the universe as it has the themes of brotherhood, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice. In many ways, it’s the most obvious choice for any adaptation. But with the massive exposure the Horus Heresy already enjoys, is it the right choice for a fresh, groundbreaking series?
Enter the Months of Shame arc, a ******* of bitter warfare between two of the most famous Space Marine chapters: the Grey Knights and the Space Wolves. Unlike Horus Heresy, this conflict is far more personal, morally complex, and rooted in the themes of honor, trust, and betrayal. This conflict showed the deep internal friction that exists within the Imperium.
While both factions didn’t like each other for various reasons, the “Months of Shame” is a pivotal moment in the lore, one that actually saw them going against each other. Highlighting that both chapters represent different ideals and interpretations of duty to the Emperor, and their clashes show that, even among the most elite of the Emperor’s warriors, there is no absolute unity.
Why the Show Would Benefit from a Bold, Unconventional Choice
Fans have high expectations for the show and are eager to see the franchise’s epic lore brought to life on screen. | Image Credit: Saber Interactive
The upcoming Warhammer 40K show, with Henry Cavill at the helm, has the potential to be a groundbreaking adaptation of the franchise. While the Horus Heresy arc is often viewed as the natural choice for such a series, it would be thrilling to see the Months of Shame arc being showcased to the audiences.
This arc revolves around the tension between the Grey Knights and the Space Wolves, which would be a bold and unconventional direction for several reasons. First, it’s an emotionally complex and morally grey story, offering a more intimate and brutal look at the Warhammer 40K universe.
Second, this arc could introduce viewers to more nuanced, character-driven storytelling. Both the Grey Knights and Space Wolves have strong and contrasting personalities. One is righteous zeal who has a genuine ******* to protect the community and the other is ferocious independence, who wants to keep things in order by any means, making for rich character development and tense drama.
With Henry Cavill’s star power and acting range, coupled with this fresh narrative focus, the show could become a truly innovative take on the Warhammer 40K universe. Not only would it bring layers of emotional depth to the story, but it would also offer a unique experience for both longtime fans and newcomers.
In the end, the show has the opportunity to subvert expectations by choosing a narrative that’s more personal, more intimate, and more morally complex than the typical battles for galactic supremacy.
Which arc from the expansive Warhammer 40K lore do you think would make the best fit for the TV series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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What investors need to consider when choosing a dividend-paying fund
What investors need to consider when choosing a dividend-paying fund
Jamie Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images
For investors who want income, dividends may provide an answer.
Dividends are corporate profits that companies pay to shareholders in the form of either cash or stock.
In comparison to other income-paying investments — such as certificates of ********, bonds or Treasurys — dividends may provide the opportunity for more appreciation, said Leanna Devinney, vice president and branch leader at Fidelity Investments in Hingham, Massachusetts.
“Dividends can be very attractive because they offer the opportunity for growth and income,” Devinney said.
Dividend investment options may come in the form of single company stocks or dividend-paying funds, like exchange-traded funds or mutual funds.
More from ETF Strategist
Here’s a look at other stories offering insight on ETFs for investors.
With individual stocks, it’s easy to see the dividend a company may offer in exchange for owning its share, Devinney said. Notably, not all companies pay dividends.
However, dividend-paying funds like ETFs or mutual funds may provide a broader exposure to dividend securities, often at lower costs, she said.
For investors who are considering putting a portion of their portfolios in dividend-paying strategies to fulfill their income-seeking goals, there are some things to consider.
What kind of dividend-paying fund fits my goals?
Generally, there are two types of dividend funds from which to choose, according to Daniel Sotiroff, senior analyst for passive strategies research at Morningstar.
The first group focuses on high dividend yield strategies. Dividend yield is how much a company pays in dividends each year compared to its stock price. With high-yield strategies, the investor is trying to get higher income than the market generally provides, Sotiroff said.
High-yield dividend companies tend to have been around for decades, like Coca-Cola Co., for example.
Alternatively, investors may opt for dividend growth strategies that focus on stocks expected to consistently grow their dividends over time. Those companies tend to be somewhat younger, such as Apple or Microsoft, Sotiroff said.
To be clear, both of these strategies have trade-offs.
“The risks and rewards are a little bit different between the two,” Sotiroff said. “They can both be done well; they can both be done poorly.”
If you’re a younger investor and you’re trying to grow your money, a dividend appreciation fund will likely be better suited to you, he said. On the other hand, if you’re near retirement and you’re looking to create income from your investments, a high-yield dividend ETF or mutual fund is probably going to be a better choice.
To be sure, some fund strategies combine both goals of current income and future growth.
How expensive is the dividend strategy?
Another important consideration when deciding among dividend-paying strategies is cost.
One dividend fund that is highly rated by Morningstar, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, is well diversified, which means investors won’t have a lot of exposure to one company, he said. What’s more, it’s also “really cheap,” with a low expense ratio of six basis points, or 0.06%. The expense ratio is a measure of how much investors pay annually to own a fund.
That Vanguard fund has historically provided a yield of about 1% to 1.5% more than what the broader U.S. market offers, which is “pretty reasonable,” according to Sotiroff.
While investors may not want to add that Vanguard fund to their portfolio, they can use it as a benchmark, he said.
“If you’re taking on higher yield than that Vanguard ETF, that’s a warning sign that you probably have exposure to incrementally more volatility and more risk, Sotiroff said.
Another fund highly rated by Morningstar is the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, which has an expense ratio of 0.06% and has also provided 1% to 1.5% more than the market, according to Sotiroff.
Both the Vanguard and Schwab funds track an index, and therefore are passively managed.
Investors may alternatively opt for active funds, where managers are identifying companies’ likelihood to increase or cut their dividends.
“Those funds typically will come with a higher expense ratio,” Devinney said, “but you’re getting professional oversight to those risks.”
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Russian doctor jailed for spreading ‘fakes’ about army
Russian doctor jailed for spreading ‘fakes’ about army
A Russian court has sentenced a Moscow paediatrician to five and a half years in a penal colony, state news agency TASS says, after the mother of one of her patients publicly denounced her for comments she made about Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Prosecutors last week requested Nadezhda Buyanova, 68, be jailed for six years for spreading “fakes” about the Russian army.
More than 1000 people have been criminally prosecuted in Russia for speaking out against the war, according to rights project OVD-Info, while about 20,000 have been detained for protesting.
Buyanova’s case is part of a wider trend in Russia of people denouncing each other for alleged political *******.
OVD-Info has recorded 21 such ********* prosecutions in the more than two and a half years since the start of the conflict.
Eva Levenberg, a lawyer for the rights group, told Reuters a further 175 people had faced lower-level administrative cases for “discrediting” the Russian army as a consequence of people informing on them, and 79 of these had been fined.
Reuters has requested comment from the Russian Justice Ministry about the OVD-Info data and the use of denunciations to support prosecutions, including Buyanova’s.
The case against her was personally launched in February by the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles serious *******.
It was prompted by a complaint from a mother of a seven-year-old boy who had taken him to see Buyanova at her clinic.
The boy’s father, from whom the woman was divorced, had been ******* while fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The woman, Anastasia Akinshina, recorded a video in which she said that Buyanova had referred to her child’s father as a “legitimate target of Ukraine”.
The video was posted by Mash, a Telegram channel with about 3 million subscribers.
Buyanova denied making the statements.
She was placed in pre-trial detention in April.
A group of Russian doctors wrote an open letter in Buyanova’s defence, calling the denunciation a “disgrace”.
A petition for her release has garnered more than 6000 signatures.
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[REDACTED] Review | TheSixthAxis
[REDACTED] Review | TheSixthAxis
TSA writes: Redacted takes the world of The Callisto Protocol, smashes it together with Hades and brings a distinctive characterful twist to the Roguelike action.
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TechScape: Will Elon Musk ***** a third of the US government? | Elon Musk
TechScape: Will Elon Musk ***** a third of the US government? | Elon Musk
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian. In this week’s newsletter: Elon Musk and Donald Trump want to create a “Department of Government Efficiency”, crypto wins big across the board, and a modern equivalent of Lysistrata takes hold on TikTok. Thank you for joining me.
Trump, president-elect of the US, said he wants to appoint Musk, the world’s richest man, as the country’s “secretary of cost-cutting” to reduce bureaucracy in the federal government by an order of $2tn, roughly a third. Trump announced in September that he would create a “Department of Government Efficiency”. Musk had pushed for the idea and has since relentlessly promoted it, emphasizing the acronym for the agency: Doge, a reference to a meme of an expressive Shiba Inu. Trump said the agency will be conducting a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government, and making recommendations for drastic reforms”.
In a video posted on X two days after the election, Trump said he would “immediately re-issue my 2020 executive order, restoring the president’s authority to remove rogue bureaucrats”. He wants to “clean out the deep state”. His promises echo his slogan on The Apprentice: “You’re fired!” Project 2025, an influential and controversial blueprint for Trump’s second term, lays out ways to make bureaucrats fireable.
The billionaire does not seem to be under illusions of what will happen after his proposed cuts.
Musk has extensive experience slashing corporate spending and he’s promised to cull federal payrolls in much the same way. He cut staff at X, formerly Twitter, by 80% after buying it in 2022, a move he said prevented a $3bn shortfall, but has not otherwise paid off. Revenue is in steep decline and advertisers have absconded, making a comeback seem unlikely. As the CEO of SpaceX, though, he has garnered a reputation for launching rockets more cheaply than competitors by negotiating with suppliers and keeping operations lean.
The billionaire does not seem to be under illusions of what will happen after his proposed cuts, admitting that reducing spending “necessarily involves some temporary hardship”. Americans do want to spend less – of their own money. Do they want austerity and less financial assistance from the federal government? Do they want the world’s richest person admonishing them to cut their expenses?
Musk has already asked Trump to appoint SpaceX employees to top government positions, the New York Times reports. The president-elect promised to ban bureaucrats from taking jobs at the companies they regulate. Such a rule would seem to bar SpaceX’s lieutenants from the Pentagon’s door. But the president-elect has never shied away from cronyism. The two are not trying to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest: Musk’s role in the government will be structured so that he can maintain control of his companies, the Financial Times reports.
In his first term, Trump and his team struggled to fill the thousands of government appointments needed to run the federal government. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said the administration never fully recovered from its ******** to find those appointees. Perhaps adding Musk to the equation is meant to prevent a repeat of such laggardliness. In an extreme version of the new administration, Trump and Musk simply eliminate any position for which they can’t find a friendly appointee. In John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer-winning 1980 novel A Confederacy of Dunces, the ****** hero, tasked with organizing an intractable pile of files at his new job, eradicates the company’s mess. Ignatius J Reilly is no genius of organization, though; he is just throwing cabinets full of records away. It is easy to imagine Trump and Musk following his example.
What will stand in Musk’s way, however, is one of his sworn enemies: labor law. Tesla is the only major US carmaker that does not employ a unionized workforce. The billionaire CEO wants to keep it that way. Federal government employees, by contrast, enjoy strong employment protections that would hinder Musk’s slash-and-***** approach to cost-cutting and possibly render it impossible. For all the different companies he runs, Musk has little experience managing public sector employees. He may find them less pliable lions than he is used to taming.
Read more about the remarkable four months that saw Elon Musk go from refusing to endorse a candidate to becoming perhaps the most powerful man in ********* politics after Donald Trump. And read more about how a second Trump term could enrich Musk.
Crypto companies poured $135m into US elections – what did they get for it?
Crypto companies spent $10m to ******* Katie Porter, a proponent for more stringent cryptocurrency laws, in the California senate primary. Porter lost. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
Quite a lot, it seems. In 48 races that saw donations by cryptocurrency’s biggest Pac, Fairshake, every candidate backed by the industry has won, Bloomberg reports. More than 60% of that cash supported Republicans or opposed Democrats, per Bloomberg.
The industry placed its biggest bet in Ohio, where *********** Bernie Moreno faced off against popular incumbent Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. Moreno received $40m from cryptocurrency companies. Brown chaired the Senate banking committee and wanted tighter regulation on digital currency. Earlier this year, crypto companies spent $10m to ******* Katie Porter, a proponent for more stringent cryptocurrency laws, in the California senate primary. Porter lost. Protect Progress, another pro-crypto Pac, spent $10m each on Senate races in Arizona and Michigan where crypto wasn’t much of an issue. Both its favored candidates had voted in support of the industry on key bills, though.
In addition to the long-term benefits of a friendly, less restrictive regulatory environment, the crypto industry has made immediate financial gains. Bitcoin is trading at record highs, breaking $75,000 late Tuesday night.
Fairshake did not make a contribution in the presidential race but stands to benefit from its outcome anyway. Trump sells his own cryptocurrency now and supports the industry with his full throat, reversing his position on crypto from his first term. Musk has acted as a hype man for cryptocurrency, particularly Dogecoin, years before it was popular. (Harris neither embraced nor rejected the crypto.)
Musk especially seems amenable to one of crypto’s highest priorities – the ******* of Gary Gensler, the securities and exchange chair.
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Coinbase, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, gave Fairshake $25m. Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, wrote the day after the US election: “DC received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career.” He may be right. The industry is second in political contributions only to fossil fuel companies, according to the consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen.
This week on my iPhone
In the wake of Trump’s victory, 4B is on ********* women’s minds. Composite: Getty Images; TikTok; Guardian Design
I’m watching a dystopian coffee shop comedy on Instagram and reading about why the South Korean 4B movement – a modern, real-life Lysistrata – is going viral on TikTok. My colleague Alaina Demopoulos writes:
The basic idea: women swear off ************* marriage, dating, **** and childbirth in protest against institutionalized misogyny and ******. (It is called 4B in reference to these four specific no-nos.) The mostly online movement began around 2018 protests against revenge ***** and grew into South Korea’s #MeToo-esque feminist wave.
In the wake of Trump’s victory, she writes, 4B is on ********* women’s minds.
Read the full story here.
The wider TechScape
AI companies are psyched for less red tape. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
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****** Ops 6 Gets A Free Bundle For Veteran’s Day
****** Ops 6 Gets A Free Bundle For Veteran’s Day
From today, ****** Ops 6 players can redeem a free bundle celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.), a non-profit foundation that helps veterans in the US and ***. The C.O.D.E. Anniversary bundle is being released on the 11th, which marks Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in the ***.
The bundle contains a themed animated emblem, a sticker, and the “Strong Salutes” animated calling card. ****** Ops 6 players will receive the bundle automatically when they log in, and will be able to claim it any time until December 31st. The bundle will also come to Warzone when Season 1 goes live on November 14.
The anniversary is also being celebrated in ****** Ops 6 with a themed deployment timer celebrating C.O.D.E.’s 15 years of veteran impact.
The Call of Duty Endowment is also giving away a custom themed Xbox in a sweepstakes contest that opens on November 12. Check the contest page here for more details when it launches.
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization co-founded by former Activision head Bobby Kotick, along with veteran General James L. Jones Jr. The foundation works to help place veterans in high-quality jobs, and now works with veterans in both the US and ***. Since the organization was founded on November 11, 2009, it has helped 140,000 veterans into high-quality careers.
Call of Duty has had a number of C.O.D.E.-themed packs in the past across various titles, with the proceeds going towards the Endowment.
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Our favorite productivity mouse, Logitech’s MX Master 3S drops to $78 for a limited time
Our favorite productivity mouse, Logitech’s MX Master 3S drops to $78 for a limited time
A favorite productivity mouse for some of Tom’s Hardware’s editors, the MX Master 3S is a comfortable, ergonomically designed mouse that has improved over several generations of the MX Master mouse range. This version of the MX Master is the 3S and comes with quiet switches that don’t annoy you or your colleagues while you’re busy clicking away doing your work. Today’s deal features not only the MX Master 3S mouse, but also a free travel case for the mouse, there are a few hoops to jump through to get this deal, but luckily nothing too taxing.
Head to Logitech’s website to get this limited-time deal on Logitech’s MX Master 3S mouse for just $78 – reduced from the usual $99 MSRP. This is a great price for this productivity mouse favorite, and it also comes with a free travel case with this offer. To get the $78 total you first have to add the mouse (pick your favorite ******) to the Cart. You’ll notice that a free MX Travel Case has been added, and then while in the Cart add the “Complimentary Subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud” for $20 off the total.
The MX Master 3S is not only the daily driver for some of our editors but was originally awarded an Editor’s Choice Award when we reviewed the Logitech MX Master 3S. Featuring a mouse wheel that can switch between a ratcheted feel or a smooth feel, customizable buttons, amazing comfort, and great build quality.
There’s plenty of connectivity, with the MX Master 3S able to connect to up to three different devices via either Bluetooth or the proprietary Logitech Logi Bolt USB receiver that comes with it. The MX Master 3S is of course a wireless mouse, but when it comes to recharging the mouse you can still keep going while the mouse charges over its USB-A to USB-C cable.
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Trump-Driven Rally: Position Your Portfolio with These 2 Sectors
Trump-Driven Rally: Position Your Portfolio with These 2 Sectors
Defensives are out, animal spirits are in… again. Or so the latest rotation among US equity sectors suggests, based on a set of ETFs through Monday’s close (Nov. 11).
The () has reversed in recent days while prices have surged for communications services () and financials (), which are now neck and neck as the top-performing equity sectors year to date.
What’s changed? Donald Trump’s election victory last week.
“The stock market loved the election outcome. But there is nervousness in the bond market. It’s more worried about the size of deficits and the possibility of inflationary tariffs,” says David Kotok, co-founder and chief investment officer at investment management firm Cumberland Advisors.
Ark Invest CEO/CIO Cathie Wood wrote on X yesterday: “Deregulation (defanging the SEC, FTC, and others), government spending cuts (making room for the private sector), tax cuts, and a focus on technologically enabled innovation are likely to turbocharge the US economy more powerfully than during the Reagan Revolution.”
Meanwhile, Yardeni Research president Ed Yardeni predicts the will surge by two-thirds by the end of the decade.
“We’re just seeing a more pro-business administration coming in that undoubtedly will cut taxes,” Yardeni tells Yahoo Finance. “And not only for corporations but also for individuals. Lots of various kinds of tax cuts have been discussed. And in addition to that, a lot of deregulation.”
Changes in sector leadership appear to be on board with the bullish attitude adjustment. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF Fund (XLC), which holds the consumer-driven likes of Meta (NASDAQ:), Alphabet (NASDAQ:) and Netflix (NASDAQ:), gapped up in recent days and is now up a sizzling 34.2% this year, fractionally ahead of financials (XLF) and well ahead of the broad market () and utilities (XLU).
What could go wrong? A the top of the list of troublemakers: fiscal and inflationary headwinds may dent if not derail some of Trump’s plans for policy.
“The top priority is extending the Trump tax cuts and the signature part of his program. I think that should be easy to pass in Congress, particularly if the Republicans control the House as well,” says former Donald Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
The challenge is that tax cuts and other policy priorities that Trump advocates – raising tariffs and deporting millions of immigrant workers – could juice inflation. Add in heightened concerns about the US government’s deepening budget deficit and it’s fair to say that Trump and Republicans face a tricky path next year in terms of reaction in the bond market, which is growing concerned about inflation and fiscal risk.
Another potential concern for the market is the politicalization of monetary policy. Trump believes he should have a degree of influence over the Federal Reserve.
“I think I have the right to say, ‘I think you should go up or down a little bit [for interest rates,’” the president-elect said at the Chicago Economic Club last month. “I don’t think I should be allowed to order it, but I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether or not the interest rates should go up or down.”
For the moment, the stock market is paying little if any attention to the recent pop in Treasury yields. The has increased 70 basis points since mid-September to 4.31%. That’s still well below the 5% peak for this cycle to date reached in late-2023. But if the benchmark rate continues to approach its previous high, the bond market could take away the punch bowl at the stock market’s party.
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British-******* painter ***** aged 93
British-******* painter ***** aged 93
Frank Auerbach, the British-******* painter who fled ***** Germany as a child, has ***** aged 93, his representatives have announced.
Considered one of the greatest painters of his age, Auerbach ***** peacefully at his home in London on Monday morning.
Geoffrey Parton, the director of Frankie Rossi Art Projects, said: “We have lost a dear friend and remarkable artist but take comfort knowing his voice will resonate for generations to come.”
Auerbach’s acclaimed career spanned seven decades and his works were displayed at major galleries around the world.
Born in Berlin in 1931, Auerbach came to England in 1939, arriving in London as a ******** from ***** Germany as one of six children sponsored by the writer Iris Origo.
From 1948 to 1955 he studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London.
Frankie Rossi Art Projects said Auerbach had lived and worked in the same north London studio since 1954, and worked on his art 364 days a year.
His first retrospective exhibition was held at London’s Hayward Gallery in 1978 and Auerbach was awarded the Golden Lion prize at the 1986 Venice Biennale.
Earlier this year, another exhibition of his work, The Charcoal Heads, was staged at the capital’s Courtauld Gallery.
Auerbach was known for his portraiture, along with street scenes of Camden in north London, where he was based.
In its obituary, the Telegraph remembered him as “an artist of remarkable intensity whose use of thick paint gave his work the quality of sculpture”.
“All his work was abstracted reality, with the energy of the artist written across the surface in broad, thick swathes of paint, often applied straight from the tubes.”
He once estimated that 95% of his paint ended up in the bin, and told the Guardian: “I’m trying to find a new way to express something… So I rehearse all the other ways until I surprise myself with something I haven’t previously considered.”
The painter is survived by his son Jacob Auerbach.
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How to unlock Maelstorm in ****** Ops 6 & Warzone
How to unlock Maelstorm in ****** Ops 6 & Warzone
Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 and Warzone are getting a new Shotgun in Season 1 known as the Maelstorm, which looks to dominate close-quarters combat with rapid-*****.
Here’s how you can unlock the new Maelstorm Shotgun when it arrives in the Season 1 update for ****** Ops 6 and Warzone.
How to get Maelstorm in BO6 & Warzone
We don’t know the exact unlock requirement for the Maelstorm in ****** Ops 6 and Warzone, but the Shotgun will be a reward for an event that will arrive in the mid-season update according to the official CoD blog.
We expect the mid-season update to arrive around December 12, 2024, as seasons tend to be about 8 weeks long, and so that date is the halfway point from the season’s start (November 14) to its end, which could be January 9. This is just guess work, so take it with a pinch of salt, as some Call of Duty seasons have been a week shorter or longer in the past.
Players will likely have to complete some sort of challenge or progress through a reward tracker in order to unlock the ****, so as soon as we know the exact unlock requirement and event details, we’ll be sure to update this piece with all the details.
Credit to Activision.
Maelstorm details
The Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 Maelstorm is a fully automatic Shotgun with 3 mags and 10 shots per mag. It has 34 ******* levels to progress through, which will unlock the ****’s attachments. The ******* can be kitted out with a varity of attachments – Optic, Muzzle, Barrel, Underbarrel, Magazine, Rear Grip, Stock, Laser, ***** Mods.
It lacks in power, but it more than makes up for that with its fully automatic ***** rate. You’ll want to get up close and persol with the Maelstorm, as it has a lot of recoil and a large spread, but once you’re in its effective range, it can be absolutely devastating.
Well, there you have it, that was everything we know so far about the new Maelstorm Shotgun arrving in ****** Ops 6 and Warzone Season 1. Speaking of new guns, the Saug and Krig C are two new weapons arriving in the new season’s Battle Pass, meaning you can unlock them right away. Be sure to sign up to the weekly Insider Gaming newsletter for all the latest ****** Ops 6 guides.
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Neos, Vorboss enhance enterprise fibre connectivity for London
Neos, Vorboss enhance enterprise fibre connectivity for London
Business connectivity provider Neos Networks has struck a deal with Vorboss to offer its customers competitive high-capacity last-mile connectivity options in London, and address growing demand for affordable and reliable high-capacity connectivity in the metropolitan area.
Neos Networks claims to offer the ***’s largest business-dedicated network, with over 600 points of presence and 90 datacentres nationwide, delivering high-capacity critical connectivity for businesses encompassing telecoms and energy to banking and emergency services.
Part of the Fern Trading Group, and advised by Octopus Investments, Vorboss owns and manages its own fibre network across central London and offers connections up to 100Gbps. It has invested £250m to build a fibre network connecting businesses across the *** capital.
The deal will see Vorboss offer Neos Networks customers Ethernet services up to 10Gbps. In January 2024, Neos announced a major upgrade of its Managed Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service to provide capacities up to 10Gbps as standard. Previously available up to 1Gbps, the upgrade was intended to provide a fully managed, enterprise-grade fibre offering for *** organisations grappling with ever-increasing bandwidth demand and the need for reliable access to the internet.
Neos and Vorboss said they shared both an operational and cultural alignment, focusing on high-bandwidth services and fast lead times. They added that they are contributing to the ***’s digital infrastructure goals by enhancing the country’s core network capacity and reach. In particular, they asserted that through their partnership, they are increasing the availability of high-capacity backhaul and last-mile connections in the capital, which will help the *** government’s nationwide broadband coverage target.
“We’re excited about our collaboration with Vorboss, which builds on our long-standing commitment to delivering high-capacity, reliable connectivity across the ***,” said Neos Networks CEO Lee Myall.
“By combining our extensive nationwide network with Vorboss’s advanced London infrastructure, we’re increasing the options for businesses demanding top-tier connectivity. This deal allows us to extend our reach in the capital, providing more organisations with access to the robust, secure networks they need.”
Neos Networks customers can now access the Vorboss network on its Livequote platform to clearly see the prices of available services that meet their requirement.
“Enabling the London last-mile for Neos will pitch our network directly against the legacy players in London and will show just how strong we are in performance, delivery timeframes, and value,” said Vorboss CEO Tim Creswick. “The Neos Livequote portal is a great tool for giving a transparent view of the services available, and we look forward to competing on that basis.”
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Tuesday’s biggest Wall Street analyst calls like Nvidia
Tuesday’s biggest Wall Street analyst calls like Nvidia
Here are Tuesday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Loop initiates NXP Semiconductor as buy The firm said it’s bullish on the semiconductor company. “We are initiating coverage of NXP Semiconductor (NXPI) with a Buy rating and $300 PT. Like other automotive-levered semiconductor companies/stocks, NXPI has been a consensus short since the end of 2023, or once automotive tier-ones began bringing down days of inventory held.” Loop initiates On Semiconductor as buy Loop said the chipmaker has a “low valuation.” “Like most automotive levered semiconductor names, ON has been a consensus short since late 2023, or once automotive tier-ones began bringing down days of inventory held. This occurred against a backdrop of flattening light vehicle production.” Mizuho reiterates Nvidia as buy Mizuho said it’s bullish heading into earnings on Nov. 20. “Reiterating Outperform, raise ests/PT to $165 (prior $140) as NVDA ******** our Mizuho Top Pick, dominating the AI accelerator market.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Walmart as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $89 per share from $82 ahead of earnings next week. “Stock should remain supported provided that WMT continues to penetrate high-income cohorts, leverage critical mass in eCommerce and further propel the high-margin Advertising/Marketplaces flywheel.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said it’s sticking with the stock heading into a Trump administration. “As we look ahead to FY25 (and over the next 4 years), we expect to see TSLA’s TAM [total addressable market] aperture expand to far wider domains, many of which are not included in buy-side or sell-side financial models for the company.” Morgan Stanley upgrades International Flavors to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of International Flavors that the fragrance and spice company is undervalued. “We believe the recent share-price pullback is a very good opportunity to re-enter the shares, as we are more positive than the market on 4Q/FY25 growth. Upgrade to Overweight.” Morgan Stanley upgrades Viking to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it sees an attractive entry point for the cruise company. “We upgrade VIK to OW with ~10% upside to our revised $49 12-m PT. VIK has rallied recently but lagged peers, resulting in more attractive relative valuation.” Redburn Atlantic Equities initiates Nvidia as buy Redburn said in its initiation of the stock that it has a “competitive moat.” ” Nvidia is particularly well positioned. It has the largest installed base of highparallelism processors (graphics processing units – GPUs), a dominant software interface (Compute Unified Device Architecture – CUDA) and the largest installed base of application libraries.” Citi downgrades Ross to neutral from buy Citi said it sees too much uncertainty for the off-price retail store. “We are downgrading ROST from Buy to Neutral. After having more time to digest the upcoming mgmt transition at ROST (with a CEO coming from outside the off-price industry), the combination of a mgmt change (that brings increased uncertainty to the story) and a relatively high multiple we no longer view the risk/reward as favorable.” Citi upgrades C.H. Robinson to buy from neutral The firm said the shipping company’s valuation is more reasonable now. “Upgrade CHRW, CNI; focus on value and quality with more muted expectations — Against the backdrop of elevated valuations and lofty investor expectations, we prefer to focus on areas that have diversified macro exposure and where valuations appear more reasonable.” Deutsche Bank upgrades Sentinel One to buy from hold Deutsche said the cyber security company is well positioned. “We are upgrading shares of SentinelOne to Buy from Hold as we believe the company is not only benefitting from positive organic momentum, but also some disruption within the endpoint market post July 19.” Bank of America adds Wells Fargo to the US1 list The firm added the stock to its top picks list. “We are adding Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) to the US 1 list.” Wells Fargo upgrades Twilio to overweight from equal weight Wells said the cloud communications company is ******* on all cylinders with exposure to AI. “View TWLO as a derivative call on AI agents, front office, and dig. transf. given positioning as a pick-and-shovel in the build cycle, further supported by TWLO’s dev mindshare & re-focused efforts on capturing the ISV [independent software vendors] channel, incl. AI natives.” Leerink upgrades Bristol Myers to outperform from market perform Leerink says it likes the biotech company’s pipeline. “We are upgrading BMY shares from Market Perform to Outperform and raising our PT from $55 (7.5x ’25E EPS of $7.29) to $73.” MoffettNathanson reiterates Meta and Alphabet as buy The firm said both stocks are underappreciated. “Over the recent long run, both Alphabet and Meta have been incredible strong stocks to own due to an enviable combination of double-digit compounding earnings growth and reasonable relative valuations. We have been pleased to recommend both.” Bank of America reiterates Apple as buy The firm said it’s sticking with its buy rating on the stock. “We maintain Buy on Apple given margin expansion from silicon roadmap and growth in Services, with rev for Mac expected to increase +8% y/y in C24.” Deutsche Bank downgrades Okta to hold from buy The firm said value creation is still “several quarters away” for the IT identity access services management company. “Aligning with our most recent thinking and inputs from the field, we are downgrading shares of Okta to Hold from Buy. While not an explicit call on F3Q results, feedback on Okta has been more mixed of late and we think the path to realizing value here may still be several quarters away, perhaps making it more interesting deeper into next year.” D.A. Davidson reiterates Snowflake as buy The firm added the stock to its “Gold Trophy” best ideas list. ” Snowflake is the leading cloud data warehousing platform, allowing its customers to run analytics on data that is stored within their database. As more enterprises shift their data to the cloud from on-premise servers, Snowflake offers their customers the ability to gain valuable insights into their data in an easy, and intuitive manner.”
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