Republicans fume as GOP absences help Democrats move judicial nominees
Republicans fume as GOP absences help Democrats move judicial nominees
Senate Republicans aired frustrations Tuesday after Vice President-elect Vance and other party members skipped votes Monday, greasing the skids for Democratic-backed judicial nominees to be greenlighted as part of a final push to fill the bench with lifetime appointees before President-elect Trump takes office.
Republicans on Monday attempted to slow down an effort by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to advance more than a dozen judicial nominees, which Democrats have prioritized before ceding power at year’s end.
However, they were unable to stop them as a handful of their GOP colleagues did not show up to the Capitol for votes, which stretched until close to midnight.
Headlining that group were Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the State Department, angering GOP members during their weekly Tuesday policy luncheon.
“If we don’t show up, we lose,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who was visibly frustrated by the lack of attendance and spoke out at lunch. “I don’t care what the reasons were. We have fewer than 15 scheduled legislative days. You have to show up. *******. End of story. There’s nothing more important.”
“We’ve got potentially dozens we could have shoved down our throat — except for us being here,” he continued, pointing specifically to a 4th Circuit nominee that could make it through if *********** absences continue. “We’ve got to talk to these folks like adults and show up.”
The group of nominees includes Embry Kidd, who was confirmed to serve on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 49 to 45 vote, despite Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) voting against his nomination.
If all Republicans had shown up and Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) absence held, the GOP would have defeated the nomination temporarily. If all senators had shown up, including Fetterman, it would likely have forced a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Harris.
Adding to the drama, Harris left Washington for Hawaii on Tuesday, depriving Democrats of a potential ability to break a 50-50 tie.
Despite the math, GOP members were incensed at the no-shows, which stretched into Tuesday as Vance did not show up for the morning vote.
Other senators, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), tagged along with Trump to the SpaceX Starship launch in Brownsville, Texas, further exacerbating the situation as Schumer prepared to hold another long night of nomination votes on Tuesday.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, a 12,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) when asked about his level of frustration at the situation. “Because a number of President Biden’s nominees, particularly at the courts of appeal, they think they’re qualified to be a federal judge if they’ve seen ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ and I don’t agree with them.”
“Their performance in committee demonstrated that none of them were Oliver Wendell Scalia,” he continued, combining the names of a pair of Supreme Court giants. “They did horrible jobs in committee, and we had the votes to prevent them from being confirmed, but some of the folks on our side couldn’t be here, and it’s frustrating.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also panned those who were absent and allowed Kidd to make it through the upper chamber, writing on the social platform X that his confirmation means the people of Florida, Alabama and Georgia “will suffer the consequences.”
Vance, who missed all of Monday night’s votes in addition to the first one on Tuesday, received the lion’s share of criticism.
The outgoing Ohio senator initially defended his decision, saying that he was meeting with Trump as part of interviews for potential candidates to become FBI director and for other slots.
“I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” he added.
However, he backtracked and deleted his post on X. He also showed up for the pair of Senate votes during Tuesday’s afternoon session.
“If we’re going to be effective, we’ve got to show up, and I think that’s the frustration for those of us who did show up and stay,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), adding that the message at lunch was to “try to figure out how to get everybody there.”
“I think there’s going to be a lot of outreach to the folks who weren’t there, like the vice president-to-be and others,” said Capito on the way up to the first vote of the Tuesday afternoon session.
When told that Vance was upstairs and voting, Capito responded that she was pleased by the development.
“He must have gotten my message,” she said.
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The best gifts for cyclists in 2024
The best gifts for cyclists in 2024
The Sena Pi cycling headset lets you and a partner talk comfortably as you cycle. Just clip the earpiece onto your and a partner’s helmet head straps (it fits most), pair them through an app and enjoy a relaxed chat on your next bike ride — no shouting needed, and you both can ride at your own separate paces
Sena has been making Bluetooth devices since 1998 and motorcycle helmet intercoms since 2010. Its experience shows in the Pi’s terrific wind and ambient noise reduction — a necessity for this product type. I tested the intercom while riding on e-bikes at a 20mph clip without any noticeable wind feedback. Since it rests outside of your ears, it doesn’t interfere with your environmental awareness either. Voices sound clear and crisp through the mics. You can also listen to your phone’s audio, but its sound profile works much better for podcasts or audiobooks than music.
Once paired, the devices have a range of up to a quarter mile, so you can get separated a bit without losing the connection. There’s no push-to-talk requirement either: The intercom stays on once you pair them. But you can temporarily shut off the mics by holding a button for one second if you need privacy. And fortunately, there’s no need to detach the Pi once you set it up. I’ve left mine on my helmet, and I forget it’s there when riding alone. — Will Shanklin, Contributing Reporter
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Digital Catapult hails shared infrastructure as route to decarbonisation for logistics sector
Digital Catapult hails shared infrastructure as route to decarbonisation for logistics sector
Digital Catapult claims that encouraging transport and logistics firms to collaborate more and share digital infrastructure could help the sector to collectively cut its carbon emissions and reduce its overall environmental impact.
This finding is based on the results of a successful pilot project overseen by Digital Catapult geared towards investigating whether encouraging firms in this sector to collaborate more closely and share information about their truckloads could help to reduce the number of empty vehicles on *** roads.
Digital Catapult enlisted the help of AF Blakemore & Son, the parent company of the SPAR convenience stores, to see if deploying a shared digital infrastructure could streamline the organisation’s vehicle slot filling, routing and tracking procedures.
The setup involved the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and internet of things (IoT) devices, combined with an algorithm developed by project partner Fuuse, to optimise route planning and truck use.
In turn, this allowed the organisation to match vehicle transport capacity with shipment needs across multiple *** organisations, resulting in a 37% decrease in transport costs and a 9% improvement in vehicle fill rates for the company.
Based on the results of this trial, Digital Catapult estimates deploying similar technology throughout the transport-logistics sector could cut its carbon emissions by 15-30% overall.
The project forms part of Digital Catapult’s wider Logistics Living Lab (L3) initiative, which is funded by the *** Research and Innovation (UKRI) organisation, and is looking at ways technology can help reduce the carbon emissions generated by the £163bn transport-logistics sector.
According to figures shared by Digital Catapult, the sector is responsible for generating 31% of all *** transport emissions, while data from the Department for Transport suggests that 30% of trucks on *** roads have empty loads.
Tim Lawrence, director of Digital Catapult’s digital supply chain hub, which is focused on using technology to make supply chains smarter, said the pilot’s success highlights the wider benefits its work could bring to the transport-logistics sector.
“When we launched the Made Smarter Innovation Digital Supply Chain Hub three years ago, we knew the potential of deep technologies for *** supply chains, but as we begin to see the results of the flagship projects like the Logistics Living Lab, we can start to realise potential into impact,” said Lawrence.
“The solutions built through this unique industry collaboration deliver a triple benefit to the *** logistics sector by empowering the organisations that make up our complex supply chains, to become more efficient, reduce costs to improve their bottom line and make a lasting environmental difference to positively contribute to the future of the planet.”
Phil Roe, president at trade association Logistics ***, said that the logistics industry is under great pressure to decarbonise, and pilots such as this highlight a way to achieve that.
“Decarbonisation is the biggest challenge of the age and the pressure on the logistics sector to play our part is significant,” he said. “We must deliver this in line with our efforts to overcome challenges in trade, insufficient infrastructure and a shortage of skills.
“What the Logistics Living Lab project has demonstrated is that digital technologies and close industry collaboration can play a crucial role in accelerating the journey to net zero, allowing *** logistics businesses to focus on optimising their operations to contribute to boosting growth for the *** economy.”
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This Stock Could Pop 239% (Again!) on Jay Powell’s ‘Revenge Tour’
This Stock Could Pop 239% (Again!) on Jay Powell’s ‘Revenge Tour’
Six summers ago, Donald Trump lamented privately to *********** donors that he expected Jay Powell to be a “cheap money” Fed chair. To the President’s chagrin, Powell had recently raised interest rates. Thus, making money more expensive.
Most real estate guys like Trump are allergic to high rates. Back in 2018 they were certainly no bueno for his growth-focused agenda. The President told Fox Business the was his “biggest threat.”
He even admitted to the Wall Street Journal he “maybe” regretted appointing Powell. Appointer’s remorse! Then came Trump’s biggest zinger of them all:
“The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch—he can’t putt!”
Powell the three-putter. Ouch.
Fast forward to now and we have a rematch brewing between the still-Fed chair and the President-Elect. There appears to be no love lost. Will Powell blink first? A reporter asked him if he will step down if requested by Trump.
“No,” replied Powell firmly.
Can he demote you? “Not permitted under the law,” the defiant Fed head replied.
Powell’s quotes made the headlines, but beneath the surface Powell may have already ***** an “Easter egg” that is ready to break and ooze yolk on Trump’s high-growth agenda.
No touch? Hold my *****, Mr. President-Elect.
have rocketed since Powell cut rates in September. Wait—what?
That’s no typo. The yield has been on a tear since Jay Powell first cut the Fed Funds Rate. The three-putter still has the touch!
On September 18, Powell cut rates by 50 basis points. However, this was only the “short end” of the yield curve. The 10-year yield meanwhile (the “long end”) popped from 3.7% to 4.5% in a matter of weeks!
Oh, the irony! Bond investors laughed at Powell. Why are you cutting rates when inflation is not ***** yet? They demanded more return for their 10-year investments as a result.
How did Powell respond to this hint? He cut rates again.
Does the Fed chair have the yips? Is he missing putts on purpose to zing his old/new boss? Or is he simply bad at interpreting inflation data?
The US economy grew by 2.8% in the third quarter. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates it will expand by 2.7% in the fourth.
These are hardly numbers deserving of rate cuts. Meanwhile inflation, as predicted right here at Contrarian Outlook, is proving to be stubbornly sticky. Year-over-year the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.6% in October, an increase from 2.4% in September.
Powell says 2% inflation is his goal. He’s never going to hit it if he keeps easing. Plus, we have three pillars of Trump 2.0 on the way: economic growth, tariffs and lower immigration. Three more boosts for higher prices.
The rearview mirror (GDP and CPI) points to a need for higher rates for longer. The road ahead (Trump 2.0) hints that long rates will rise. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed from 1.9% on Election Night 2016 to an eventual high of 3.2%, a big move that upset the bond market (because when rates rise, especially longer-duration rates, bonds drop).
If history rhymes then bonds, especially the vanilla kind issued by the US Treasury, will not appeal to investors this time around either. Would you want to lend to Uncle Sam for a decade at just 4.5% annually given the backdrop we just discussed?
Fortunately, we contrarians can be more creative than basic investors. The outlook for bonds points to an increase in volatility, which is bullish for bond-trading platform MarketAxess Holdings (NASDAQ:).
MKTX returned 239% during Trump 1.0. The company hiked its payout four times for a cumulative 100% gain—that’s right, a quick dividend double!
This stock hasn’t been discovered by the AI automation fanboys—yet. MKTX was founded in 2000 by financial technology (“fintech”) entrepreneur Rick McVey. Rick smartly saw that closing bond trades via phone calls was crazy. He brought fixed-income trading into the twenty-first century with a suite of automated tools to modernize bond trading.
I love buying technology companies that are still run by their founders. Entrepreneurs, by nature, always look ahead. They innovate anticipating, not following, the next move.
Wall Street operates on a quarterly treadmill cycle. It’s often a slow ****** for companies led by run-of-the-mill managers. The quarterly calls are a necessary evil, but they aren’t where future bread (profits) is buttered. That comes from innovation.
Last year, Rick and his team launched Adaptive Auto-X. It’s the latest in fixed-income technology, an algorithmic-driven trade ********** tool.
Auto-X should help MarketAxess capture more market share in bond trading. The company’s market share has grown from 20% to 20.9% over the past twelve months. Meanwhile, trade volume continues to grow:
And just wait until Powell and Trump start dueling again. Will bond traders want more speed or less? Obviously more, which means increased trading, which brings ******* profits for MKTX! This dividend grower may return 239% again—no matter how many putts it takes Powell to get inflation right (or wrong).
While the future looks bright for MKTX, the same should not be said for any old dividend stock.
In fact, most dividend stocks trade like bonds, which means they will be in serious trouble if interest rates head to the moon. Many retirement portfolios will be crushed in the process!
Instead of blindly buying bonds and stocks that trade like them, we should smartly consider “dividend magnets” that will be pulled higher with the Trump 2.0 agenda. This is the time to make our fortune.
Disclosure: Brett Owens and Michael Foster are contrarian income investors who look for undervalued stocks/funds across the U.S. markets. Click here to learn how to profit from their strategies in the latest report, “7 Great Dividend Growth Stocks for a Secure Retirement.”
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Delta CEO says Trump regulation stance could be ‘breath of fresh air’
Delta CEO says Trump regulation stance could be ‘breath of fresh air’
Ed Bastian, chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines Inc., during an interview in New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the Trump administration’s approach to regulation could be a “breath of fresh air.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of Delta’s investor day, Bastian noted that President-elect Donald Trump campaigned saying he would take a “fresh look” at regulation and bureaucracy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation under Secretary Pete Buttigieg has issued a host of rules aimed at protecting consumers, some of which the airline industry has bristled at, including one this year that requires carriers to provide automatic cash refunds to travelers when an airline cancels a flight.
Bastian said the industry has seen a “level of overreach” over the past four years.
The department is also looking into airlines’ lucrative loyalty programs, which brings in billions of dollars for carriers, helping to keep them afloat. The current DOT leadership is seeking information about how airlines can unilaterally change the value of frequent flyer points.
Delta on Wednesday said it expects to grow sales and profits in the months and years ahead, pointing to resilient consumer demand and sharp growth in household wealth since the pandemic.
Trump tapped former U.S. congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his pick to lead the department. Duffy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other U.S. airline CEOs have expressed enthusiasm for the incoming administration and urged incoming officials to make sure the industry has enough resources to improve air traffic control, which falls under the Federal Aviation Administration, and other key pieces of infrastructure.
“We have to invest in this industry,” ********* Airlines CEO Robert Isom said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas last week. He said there is more work ahead to approve more visas so people can visit the U.S.
In an interview last week, Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker said: “We just need stability and resources at the DOT.”
Industry members and analysts also expect the incoming administration to be more open to mergers and consolidation.
Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines without pushback from President Joe Biden’s administration this year. However, Biden’s Justice Department won court challenges to block two airline deals: a proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, by JetBlue Airways and a partnership between JetBlue and ********* Airlines in the Northeast, which had been approved in the last days of the first Trump administration.
“Perhaps this administration would have a different stance,” said Sun Country’s Bricker. “It certainly can’t get more against it.”
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Brand-New Backyard Sports Title In Development, And Backyard Soccer ’98 Returns Soon
Brand-New Backyard Sports Title In Development, And Backyard Soccer ’98 Returns Soon
Earlier this year, Playground Productions and Mega Cat Studios announced the revival of the Backyard Sports franchise, which began with a remaster of Backyard Baseball ’97 in October. While there are more remasters are on the way, Playground and Mega Cat have revealed that a brand-new Backyard Sports game is now in development, too.
Additional details about the new Backyard Sports game–or even which sport will be in the spotlight–weren’t disclosed. Playground noted in a press release that Mega Cat will develop the title, which will include “all the original characters alongside a few new additions.” The announcement also stated that it will have “the comedy, diversity, accessibility, and fun that made the original titles timeless classics.” It’s unclear if the new title will only be on PC or if the game will be available on consoles as well.
The new Backyard Sports game doesn’t currently have a release date, but the next retro remaster is arriving soon. Backyard Soccer ’98 is currently on Steam’s wishlist, and it will be launching on November 27. The game will feature six-on-six matches between the Backyard Sports kids, with a total of eight kids on each team. Players have the option of choosing pick-up games or League Play, which allows the assembled team to compete in division play before going on to the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament.
Backyard Soccer ’98’s return was announced in October alongside four other upcoming remasters from the history of the franchise. The remaining titles include Backyard Football ’99, Backyard Basketball ’01, Backyard Baseball ’01, and Backyard Hockey ’02. Although none of those games currently have release dates, their wishlist pages are active on Steam.
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2 Tech Stock Bargains Offering Buy the Dip Opportunities
2 Tech Stock Bargains Offering Buy the Dip Opportunities
Pinterest is a leading social commerce platform that saw 17.7% YoY revenue growth in Q3 2024.
Pinterest’s AI models generate 400 billion predictions per second to personalize user engagement.
Block is comprised of merchant and P2P payment processing, bitcoin trading, BNPL, digital lending and money transfer ecosystems generating a network and cumulative financial effect.
Every earnings season has its share of sell-the-news reactions that punish good stocks despite reporting solid earnings reports. The market is known to overreact as selling begets more selling, just as buying begets more buying. When the smoke clears, some stocks become buy-the-dip opportunities after looking under the hood and beyond the initial reaction.
Here are two stocks in the computer and technology sector that are offering buy-the-dip entries as the market overreacts with sell-the-news reactions.
1. Pinterest: A Grower, Not a Show-er
Social commerce platform Pinterest (NYSE:) stock sold off 14% on an otherwise solid third-quarter 2024 earnings report. Pinterest had the unlucky timing of reporting earnings after the bar was raised by strong earnings performance from social media platforms Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:), Alphabet (NASDAQ:)L and even Snap (NYSE:).
Solid Growth and Profits in Q3
In its third quarter of 2024, Pinterest reported EPS of 40 cents, beating consensus estimates by 6 cents. GAAP net income was $31 million, while adjusted EBITDA was $243 million. Revenues rose a healthy 18% YoY to $898.37 million, beating consensus estimates for $896.89 million. Global monthly active users (MAUs) rose 11% YoY to a record 537 million.
AI Is a Pay-Now-and-Gain-Later Investment
Pinterest continues to invest in AI capabilities to boost user engagement and smoothen their buying experience. Average revenue per user (ARPU) grew 5% YoY to $1.70. Pinterest’s platform is unique in that people go to the site to discover new ideas and often spend money on items that embody them. It’s a frictionless soft sell that organically materializes, and advertisers are keen on it.
However, Pinterest noted that ad pricing had declined due to its monetization efforts in international markets. Also, international ARPU at $1.70 is a mere fraction of the ARPU in the US and Canada at $7.31. The 150 bps drop in adjusted EBITDA margin results from its AI investment.
Here’s How AI Generates More Engagement and More Advertising
The investment will pay off, as new capabilities will help extend user engagement and improve the customer journey. Pinterest continues to grow its Gen-Z user base, which is the most likely to be positively impacted by AI enhancements as they are the real digital nomads. Of weekly Gen-Z pinners, 66% claim that Pinterest is their go-to site to shop first, which is up 54% YoY.
AI Models Generate 400 Billion Predictions Per Second
Utilizing billions of user interactions such as clicks, saves, and searches, Pinterest’s AI models generate over 400 million predictions to develop personalized recommendations that enable them to discover emerging trends and new brands. So far, it has translated to a 300 bps improvement in actionable engagements.
This has directly resulted in taking a larger share of the advertising budget spent with brands and agencies. Pinterest also has the potential as an acquisition target for a larger e-commerce player or social media platform looking to bolster its social commerce segment.
2. Block Inc: Multiple Ecosystems Generating a Financial Cumulative Effect
Digital ecosystems holding company Block (NYSE:) shares initially tumbled 11% following its Q3 earnings release but rebounded quickly, aided by the surge in spot bitcoin prices. Block is comprised of mainly two ecosystems: the Square payment processing network of merchants and sellers and CashApp peer-2-peer (P2P) money transfer network with financial services including a digital bank, digital lending with the Cash App Borrow service, digital wallet, debit card, bitcoin trading and Afterpay, its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service that competes with Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:).
The Cash App Ecosystem Is Still the Growth Engine
Block reported Q3 2024 EPS of 88 cents, matching consensus estimates. Revenues rose 6.4% YoY To $5.98 billion, falling short of $6.24 billion consensus estimates. Square ****** payment volume (GPV) rose 7.5% YoY to $59.6 billion. US markets GPV grew 4.9% YoY, and international markets grew 20% YoY. Cash App Card active users rose 11% YoY to 24 million.
Impressive Afterpay Metrics Uncovered
Afterpay users who have been on the platform for five or more years transact 31x per year on average compared to the 4X for those joining in the past year. This underscores how customers become more engaged with Afterpay as they use the service and get familiar with it over time.
Afterpay has also driven more than 460 million leans to merchants and has become a key driver of advertising revenue for Block, driven by 138 million consumer visits to the Afterpay app. Block shares can see a surge into 2025 on the bitcoin rally and the holiday shopping season boosting Afterpay’s business.
Block CEO Jack Doherty commented on the cumulative effect in their shareholder letter, “We believe our approach to lending is unique in the industry. Square Loans, Afterpay, and Cash App Borrow are powerful ideas that work for customers and investors.
Taken together, we believe they provide Block with a lending ecosystem that can increase access to multiple customer types and grow both sides of the counter, all at a scale that’s unmatched in the industry.”
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Virtually no aid has reached north Gaza in 40 days, UN says
Virtually no aid has reached north Gaza in 40 days, UN says
AFP
*******’s military says its offensive in Beit Lahia and other areas of northern Gaza targets regrouping ****** fighters
Palestinians are “facing diminishing conditions for survival” in parts of northern Gaza under siege by ******** forces because virtually no aid has been delivered in 40 days, the UN has warned.
The UN said all its attempts to support the estimated 65,000 to 75,000 people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia this month had been denied or impeded, forcing bakeries and kitchens to shut down.
Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there was a strong likelihood that famine was imminent in areas of northern Gaza.
The ******** military has said its six-week-long offensive targets regrouping ****** fighters, and that it is facilitating civilian evacuations and supply deliveries to hospitals.
Hundreds of people have been ******* and between 100,000 and 130,000 others have been displaced to Gaza City, where the UN has said essential resources like shelter, water and healthcare are severely limited.
UN agencies had planned 31 missions to the besieged areas of North Gaza governorate between 1 and 18 November, according to the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Twenty-seven were rejected by ******** authorities and the other four were severely impeded, meaning they were prevented from accomplishing all the work they set out to do.
“This is happening when the IPC Famine Review Committee said just 11 days ago that parts of northern Gaza face an imminent risk of famine – and that immediate action is needed in days, not weeks,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
“The result is that bakeries and kitchens in North Gaza governorate have shut down, nutrition support [for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women] has been suspended, and the refuelling of water and sanitation facilities has been completely blocked.”
Mr Dujarric said access to the three barely functional hospitals there also remained severely restricted, amid what he called “desperate shortages” of medical supplies and fuel.
On Sunday, a World Health Organisation-led mission to Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia was able to deliver 10,000 litres of fuel and transfer 17 patients, three unaccompanied children and 22 caregivers to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
However, Mr Dujarric said the aid workers were forced to offload all the food supplies and some of the medical supplies they were transporting at an ******** military checkpoint before reaching the hospital.
The director of Kamal Adwan, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, warned on Wednesday that the situation there was becoming “even more catastrophic”.
Gaza’s ******-run health ministry cited him as saying that the hospital had 85 patients receiving “the minimum level of healthcare” and that it needed children’s food and infant formula to treat an increasing number of malnutrition cases.
Since Tuesday, 17 children had arrived at the emergency room showing signs of malnutrition and an elderly man had ***** due to severe dehydration, he added.
There was no immediate comment from the ******* Defense Forces (IDF).
But data from the ******** military body responsible for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, Cogat, said 472 aid lorries had entered northern Gaza via the Erez West crossing as of 17 November, without specifying whether any of that aid was allowed into the besieged areas.
Cogat also said it was continuing to work with international partners to “facilitate broad humanitarian responses for the civilian population in Gaza”.
AFP
******** aircraft dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia on Sunday ordering the evacuation of all residents
On Monday, a boy from Beit Lahia told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today programme that he and his family had fled to Gaza City after the ******** military dropped leaflets from a quadcopter, ordering their immediate evacuation.
“The road from Beit Lahia to Gaza [City] was rough and bumpy with no transport available for us. When we arrived, we didn’t find anything… neither food nor drink. We headed to the schools, but there was no space left because the number of displaced… was huge,” he said.
“As a result, we were thrown into the streets and didn’t know where to go. We are six families living in the streets, sitting on sand, dirt and debris.”
The IDF said in a statement on Monday that its forces had ******* “dozens of terrorists in close-quarters encounters and through targeted strikes” in the Beit Lahia area over the past week.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the ******-run Civil Defence agency told AFP news agency that a drone had ******* two people, including a 15-year-old girl, at a school sheltering displaced families in Beit Lahia.
The agency’s first responders had also recovered the bodies of seven people ******* in an overnight ******** strike on a house in Jabalia, he added.
******* launched a campaign to ******** ****** in response to the group’s unprecedented ******* on southern ******* on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were ******* and 251 others were taken ********.
More than 43,980 people have been ******* in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
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Microsoft Ignite: A $4m zero-day reward plus $349 thin client
Microsoft Ignite: A $4m zero-day reward plus $349 thin client
During the opening session of Microsoft’s annual Ignite conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reaffirmed the company’s ongoing commitment to improving the security of the its products.
The focus on security includes the principles of secure by design, secure by default, and what Nadella refers to as “secure by operations”. Describing the company’s commitment to the continuous improvement of IT security, he said: “This is not just a destination. It will never be done. We’re only as good as our ability to defend against the next novel *******.”
He also announced a $4m Zero-Day Quest – a new hacking event focused on securing cloud and artificial intelligence (AI).
Also revealed at Ignite was the $349 Windows 365 Link, a secure purpose built device for Windows 365. The company introduced the Cloud PC, which streams the Windows desktop to any device, three years ago, and Nadella said the Windows 365 Link builds on this, adding: “It’s adminless and passwordless, and security configurations are enabled by default and cannot be turned off.”
Nadella said that Windows 365 Link Cloud PCs will enable users to connect directly to their productivity tools in the cloud, with no data or information left on the client device. It also supports dual 4K monitors, and is equipped with four USB ports, an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.
In a blog post discussing Link, Microsoft product marketing manager Anthony Smith wrote that the device was aimed at shared workspace scenarios: “It’s compact, lightweight and designed to maximise productivity with its highly responsive performance. It takes seconds to boot and instantly wakes from sleep, allowing users to quickly get started or pick up where they left off on their Cloud PC.”
Smith said that the device uses a locked-down operating system with no local data or apps and no local admin users: “By eliminating local data and apps, as well as admin rights, Windows 365 Link significantly reduces the ******* surface, making it more difficult for malicious actors to compromise the device.”
Passwordless authentication is provided using Microsoft Entra ID, which supports multifactor authentication using either the Microsoft Authenticator app or a cross-device passkey using a QR code, or a FIDO USB security key.
According to Nadella, in the age of AI, even the devices are fundamentally getting transformed right in the cloud, with both AI and cloud. “Think of all of this as one continuous distributed computing fabric,” he said.
The Windows 365 Link device is one part of this heterogenous device mix, which include Copilot+ devices that are optimised for artificial intelligence (AI), regular PCs and Cloud PC devices.
Looking at the security involved in AI governance, Nadella said: “We’re introducing updates to prevent oversharing and risky use of AI, such as malicious intent detection, prompt injections and misuse of protected materials.”
While it will be available with Windows 365 Enterprise, Windows 365 Frontline, and Windows 365 Business, Microsoft said that Windows 365 Government is not currently supported. The company plans to work with manufacturers to bring more devices to market that can run as Windows 365 Link Cloud PC devices.
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******** influx prompts temporary housing in some ********* cities
******** influx prompts temporary housing in some ********* cities
A significant increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers in Canada has prompted some cities to start building temporary housing for new arrivals.
The city of Ottawa is working to establish what’s known as a sprung structure that serves as both a temporary shelter and a centre to provide settlement services such as language training and employment assistance.
These centres are meant to house refugees only for their first few weeks in the city before they move on to more suitable housing in Ottawa’s settlement infrastructure.
The city has identified two potential locations for these centres, both in the city’s west end. Planning documents describe them as “modular tension fabric buildings.”
The planned locations for these structures have been a point of tension in the affected neighbourhoods. The city’s first proposed location was cancelled following significant resident pushback. It then came up with two new options, and rallies were held in both spots last weekend both for and against the idea of putting the structures there.
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Many residents complained they were not adequately consulted on the location.
One of the planned spots is a parcel of land owned by the federal government near the Nepean Sportsplex, which serves about 1.5 million people annually, according to city data. The other is near a public transit park and ride lot in the western suburb of Kanata.
City Councillor Sean Devine, whose ward includes the sportsplex site, said residents have a lot to say about the issue.
“A lot of it is coming from the fact that it would have been preferable if the city of Ottawa had communicated the information sooner, perhaps in advance of the recommendations,” he said in an interview.
Devine said Ottawa has seen a spike in the amount of refugees coming to the capital in the last two years. This aligns with national trends in both ******** and asylum seeker rates.
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Canada had nearly 250,000 ******** claims in the ****** as of Sept. 30, 2024 and had approved more than 33,000 claims between January and the end of September.
In all of 2023, Canada accepted 37,000 ******** claims, and in 2022, it accepted 28,000.
Devine said the city has been using two community centre gymnasiums filled with bunk beds to help temporarily house some claimants before they go on to other types of housing.
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The Ottawa Mission said in a statement published in September that it began to notice a significant increase to the number of refugees occupying its shelter beds in the summer of 2023. By that October, 61 per cent of the beds were being used by refugees, an all-time high.
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The new structures will be funded through the federal interim housing assistance program, through which municipalities and provinces can bill the feds for costs incurred for temporarily housing asylum claimants.
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Just over $1 billion has been distributed since 2017, primarily in Ontario and Quebec, with the city of Ottawa receiving $105 million so far.
Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds, who represents the Ottawa riding of Kanata-Nepean, said she is disappointed with how the plans have been communicated with residents.
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After the city announced the two new chosen locations, Sudds said she has been talking with constituents and city officials because one of the proposed locations is in her riding.
“Frankly what I’m hearing is a lot of frustration that they are just learning about this without the opportunity to be consulted or provide input. And also hearing a lot of *****, frankly, and I think that is stemming from a void of information,” Sudds said.
With the planned opening for these welcome centres about a year away, Sudds also questions the use of a sprung structure, instead wanting to see a facility that can offer a more “dignified” start in Ottawa.
“We’re a city of a million people. We have always welcomed newcomers to our city using different ways and methods, and I think we need to put the challenge out to our city, to the people who live in this city on how we accommodate and set these folks up for success because I have no doubt that we would get some fabulous suggestions,” Sudds said.
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This response from Sudds caught Devine by surprise, as he said the city is working “hand-in-hand” with the federal government on these plans.
“The city of Ottawa is working resolutely to implement effective solutions to an urgent crisis in a timely matter, and the best thing that our federal partners can do is provide the resources and support we need,” he said.
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Louisa Taylor, executive director of settlement service organization 613 ********, has been working with the city in co-ordinating resources for settlement services at the future centres. She said she’s “cautiously excited” about the plans.
“The excitement is that they are trying to create a formal pathway for ******** claimants into housing and into accessing services from the moment that they arrive in our city. Very few, if any, other ********* cities have this,” she said.
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Taylor said the high number of refugees in an Ottawa homeless shelter is what spurred her and 613 ******** to organize a recent rally in support of the structure.
“For several years now, hundreds of ******** claimants have been living, sleeping on bunk beds and cots in community centres and arenas in different parts of the city. No one has been out protesting about that. What they’re protesting is the idea of having a facility in their community that they don’t know enough about,” she said.
The Peel region in the Greater Toronto Area opened a similar facility earlier this month to address the same issues.
Mississauga Councillor Natalie Hart, whose ward hosts the reception centre near Pearson Airport, said the region needed to open a dedicated facility for refugees and asylum seekers to ease the pressure on other social services.
Hart said the Peel region and Toronto have seen a “sharp increase” in refugees coming to the GTA since spring 2023.
“It’s been pretty much unprecedented, far exceeding the norm that we’ve normally had in Peel. They’re coming from ******** countries who have fled their homes at a ***** of persecution and ****** and these asylum claimants are arriving with very minimal resources,” she said.
1:23
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The Mississauga centre is based in a former four-storey office park, which the Peel region signed a 10-year-lease on earlier this year to act as a ******** reception centre.
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The first floor is currently the only one that’s open, and Hart said it now has 88 beds. Construction is nearing completion on the remainder of the building, and is expected to be fully open early next year.
She said the location in a light industrial area was chosen due to its proximity to transit and other services like employment agencies.
The Ottawa city planning document references similar sprung structures being used in California and Oregon. They are not entirely new to Ottawa either, as the Ottawa Hospital currently uses a sprung structure to accommodate overflow with their emergency response centre.
“If in a few years there is no longer a need then they could be repurposed to fill some other need. They could be relocated to serve a different kind of recreational need somewhere else,” Devine said.
“But knowing that we can’t predict the future, we better ***** well prepare for the present. I think getting some kind of manageable, effective solution in places is a responsibility that all levels of government have to address.”
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Troye Sivan leads awards charge at ARIAs
Troye Sivan leads awards charge at ARIAs
2024 ARIA AWARDS WINNERS
* Album of the year: Troye Sivan – Something To Give Each Other
* Best solo artist: Troye Sivan – Something To Give Each Other
* Best group: Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN
* Michael Gudinski breakthrough artist: Teen ****** and the Jean Teasers – I Love You
* Best pop release: Troye Sivan – Something To Give Each Other
* Best dance/electronic release: Dom Dolla – Saving Up
* Best hip-hop/rap release: 3% – ***** THE *****
* Best soul/R&B release: Tkay Maidza – Sweet Justice
* Best independent release: ****** McMahon – Light, Dark, Light Again
* Best rock album: Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN
* Best ****** contemporary album: Emily Wurramara – NARA
* Best country album: Troy Cassar-Daley – Between The Fires
* Best hard rock/heavy metal album: SPEED – Only One Mode
* Best blues & roots album: Mia Dyson – Tender Heart
* Best children’s album: Bluey – Dance Mode!
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS
* Best video: Dance With Me – Tones And I, Nick Kozakis and Sela Vai
* Best *********** live act: Missy Higgins – The Second Act Tour 2024
* Song of the year: G Flip – The Worst Person Alive
* Most popular international artist: Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
* ARIA Music Teacher Award: Nathaniel Miller – Bulman School, Arnhem Land, NT
ARTISAN AWARDS
* Best cover art: Daniel Boyd and Nomad Create for ***** THE ***** – 3%
* Engineer – best engineered release: Chris Collins for Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN
* Producer – best produced release: Chris Collins for Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN
FINE ARTS AWARDS
* Best classical album: Sophie Hutchings – A World Outside
* Best jazz album: Mildlife – Chorus
* Best original soundtrack or musical theatre cast album: Various Artists – Faraway Downs
* Best world music album: DOBBY – Warangu; River Story
* Best use of an *********** recording in an advertisement: ******* Council & The *********** Government: End The Trend
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US sanctions freeze Huawei’s Ascend AI chips on older 7nm process node that’s eight years behind TSMC, stalling progress until at least 2026
US sanctions freeze Huawei’s Ascend AI chips on older 7nm process node that’s eight years behind TSMC, stalling progress until at least 2026
Huawei’s ambitions for the AI market have faltered as the chipmaker struggles to procure bleeding-edge EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) equipment from ASML – leaving its Ascend AI chips stuck at 7nm for many years, a significant disadvantage versus Nvidia, per Bloomberg. This major setback for China also portends that the technological gap will only widen in the coming years. To put this in perspective, while not entirely directly comparable, TSMC’s 7nm node debuted back in 2018. SMIC’s 7nm came to market in 2021, several years behind TSMC, and the rumored extension of 7nm into 2026 leaves it serving for five years as its leading-edge process node, an eternity in chip manufacturing.
Huawei’s Ascend AI chips recently saw a third iteration – the Ascend 910C – fabbed using an aging 7nm node from SMIC. Manufacturing wafers at sub-7nm levels requires the incorporation of EUV technology from companies like ASML. Recent sanctions have barred China and its respective chipmakers from securing EUV machines. Thus, domestic players have to fall back to local, sub-par equipment and resort to techniques such as quadruple patterning – which is resource-intensive and prone to alignment issues, resulting in poor yields.
The report suggests that a few undisclosed individuals close to the matter revealed that in light of these sanctions, Huawei’s flagship Ascend chips will be limited to 7nm technology until 2026 – while TSMC is gearing up to debut its 2nm-class N2 node next year. This also affects Huawei’s Mate lineup of phones – now powered by its in-house Kirin chips, which compete against Qualcomm and MediaTek. It is plausible to infer that we might not see a 5nm Kirin SoC, at least in the near future.
Rubbing salt in the wound, SMIC—China’s homegrown rival to TSMC—is allegedly unable to meet rising demands and maintain a steady supply of its existing 7nm-class wafers. This casts a shadow over China’s ventures into the semiconductor world, which are fueled by massive government-backed incentives. However, you’d be naive to think that China’s the only country with high aspirations since Japan is prepping to ink a massive $65 billion plan to revive its chip industry.
Huawei has been poaching TSMC employees – offering nearly 3x higher salaries to secure their expertise. Last month, TSMC revealed that Huawei was using a proxy to bypass US-led export restrictions for the Ascend 910B AI chip. China must overcome the EUV barrier if it wishes to keep up with the rest of the world, as its chip designers like Huawei depend on local manufacturers like SMIC.
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UN watchdog meets to discuss condemning Iran over nuclear program, AP explains
UN watchdog meets to discuss condemning Iran over nuclear program, AP explains
Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency seen by The Associated Press. The AP’s Stephanie Liechtenstein explains.
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Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Orbiter Avoided Collision With Danuri Spacecraft in September, Reveals ISRO
Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Orbiter Avoided Collision With Danuri Spacecraft in September, Reveals ISRO
India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter performed a manoeuvre in September to prevent a close encounter with the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), officially known as Danuri, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The adjustment carried out on September 19, 2024, was necessary to avoid a potential collision between the two orbiters, which was projected for two weeks later if no changes were made to Chandrayaan-2’s trajectory.
Following this, on October 1, 2024, another orbital modification was implemented to maintain separation from other lunar orbiters, including NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), as per an ISRO report.
Frequent Collision Risks Among Lunar Orbiters
Around the lunar poles, orbiters such as Chandrayaan-2, Danuri, and LRO share a similar near-polar path, increasing the likelihood of close approaches. Over the past 18 months, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which operates Danuri, reported having received over 40 collision alerts for interactions among Danuri, Chandrayaan-2, and LRO. These alerts, referred to as “red alarms,” underscore the growing risk of accidental collisions as multiple international agencies operate missions in close proximity around the Moon.
Previously, in 2021, Chandrayaan-2 reportedly avoided a similar situation by shifting its path, preventing a close pass by LRO that would have brought the two within just three kilometres. Danuri itself has performed at least three orbital adjustments since it entered lunar orbit in December 2022, including avoiding both LRO and Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).
Lack of Unified Collision Protocols in Lunar Operations
At present, no globally coordinated protocol exists for managing collision risks around the Moon. Space agencies like ISRO, KARI, and NASA rely on direct communication, sharing spacecraft position data through email and teleconferences. However, according to Soyoung Chung, a senior researcher with KARI’s strategy and planning team, difficulties such as network security barriers and a lack of personnel contact information have, at times, complicated communication.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory provides the Multimission Automated Deep-Space Conjunction Assessment Process (MADCAP) software, which estimates and warns of collision risks. Still, experts like Chung have suggested the need for a formal international framework for managing close approaches around the Moon.
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Object storage, VM offerings emerge for HPE GreenLake
Object storage, VM offerings emerge for HPE GreenLake
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is looking to further push into the virtualization platform market and introduce new object storage hardware offerings.
Company executives said at the HPE Discover Barcelona conference this week its Linux kernel-based virtual machine platform will be available as standalone software called HPE VM Essentials. The software will be available starting in December.
But who might benefit from VM Essentials is murky, according to Ray Lucchesi, president and founder of Silverton Consulting.
Customers looking to depart VMware following licensing and pricing changes will likely seek similarly capable and featured platforms such as Nutanix, he said. Others might seek open source alternatives, such as Proxmox, to avoid software and hardware lock-in, especially if outside support services are available.
“It’s not vSphere, and it’s not VMware,” Lucchesi said. “How many customers are going to latch onto that? It’s not a completely plug-and-play solution.”
The vendor also unveiled HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000, an object storage server meant to complement existing Alletra block and file storage offerings in GreenLake, its portfolio of hybrid cloud services. HPE Alletra Storage MP is the vendor’s multi-protocol disaggregated storage appliance, managed through GreenLake.
HPE also plans to release disconnected GreenLake management capabilities for air-gapped operations with Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnect and HPE Alletra Storage MP Disconnected.
Virtualization for all
HPE began offering its VM capabilities this summer as part of the GreenLake private cloud platform, limiting its availability to those already deep in HPE’s hardware and software ecosystem.
However, HPE VM Essentials can operate on HPE’s ProLiant and Alletra server hardware and third-party hardware both on-premises and in the cloud, said Hang Tan, hybrid cloud chief operating officer at HPE.
Customers can convert to HPE’s virtualized infrastructure using included tools or manage existing VMs from other vendors, according to Tan. The platform is built using the IP and technology HPE acquired with the purchase of Morpheus Data this summer, he said.
“When customers are choosing a virtualization technology, they’re not choosing it in isolation, they’re making a platform choice,” Tan said.
The software will be priced per socket rather than per core, a deviation from a model used by VMware, according to Tan. Per socket pricing charges for each processor placed in a server socket versus each core, which can exist within an individual processor.
But analysts covering the virtualization market question if HPE’s entrance is too little, too late due to the diversity of alternatives already available.
Marc Staimer, president and founder of Dragon Slayer Consulting, said having a VM platform as part of the larger GreenLake ecosystem makes sense for all-inclusive customers to connect GreenLake’s cloud services with the virtualization platform, but less so as a stand-alone offering.
Breaking away from GreenLake connectivity puts HPE in direct competition with other clouds and enterprise virtualization offerings from Nutanix, which offers a deeper partner ecosystem. Many open-source offerings also have premium, enterprise-focused support services available for easier adoption over HPE’s offerings.
“I think they’ll have a hard time successfully selling that as a standalone,” Staimer said.
The specifics of how or why customers should switch might ultimately be a secondary concern to HPE over keeping hybrid cloud customers away from hyperscalers, according to Sid Nag, an analyst at Gartner.
Having a standalone software option might only target a handful of enterprise buyers, but those customers might be the most receptive to GreenLake’s private cloud pitch.
“[HPE] doesn’t want customers to move to the cloud, so they’re creating stopgap solutions,” he said.
The software could also be part of HPE’s own R&D to break away from relying on VMware or other virtualization platforms, Nag said, which means the software helps to solve a business problem while also becoming a marketable product.
Hardware and disconnected software
The HPE Alletra MP X10000 is the latest all-flash storage server in HPE’s Alltera line, adding object storage support for the first time to the line and developed internally by HPE, according to Jim O’Dorisio, senior vice president and general manager of storage at HPE.
The Alletra line has historically supported only file and block storage. HPE used Scality’s object storage software through an OEM deal, and its file storage technology is a white-label version of Vast Data.
The MP X100000, which releases next month, will support data protection and data lake creation, according to HPE, with partnerships in the works with Cohesity, Commvault and Veeam for data protection services.
Object storage is becoming a popular option for AI and ML model creation and training, Lucchesi said.
“It’s a play to get more involved with the AI space,” he said.
Customers looking for a GreenLake experience without an open internet will have several options with HPE Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnected and HPE Alletra Storage MP Disconnected, both launching in the first half of 2025.
Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnected offers an air-gapped private cloud experience while Alletra Storage MP Disconnected provides block storage using a cloud-like interface without the need for the internet.
********* customers will also have the option to create sovereign private clouds through the HPE Partner Ready Vantage Program, also launching in the first half of 2025.
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for TechTarget Editorial covering cloud and data storage.
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Delta forecasts sales growth in 2025 thanks to ‘resilient economy’
Delta forecasts sales growth in 2025 thanks to ‘resilient economy’
A Delta aircraft at the airline’s hangar in Atlanta
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Delta Air Lines on Wednesday said sales would grow in 2025, citing a “resilient economy” for strong travel demand and credit card spending, especially for higher-end offerings. It also said it expects to grow earnings in the coming years.
Delta forecast revenue growth in the mid-single digit percentage points next year compared with 2024, in line with the roughly 6% growth analysts were expecting.
In an investor day presentation, the carrier said it would expand flying by 3% to 4% next year from 2024. Delta also reiterated its fourth-quarter outlook. Longer term, it said it expects to grow adjusted earnings by 10% a year over the next three to five years.
Delta is the most profitable U.S. airline and its leaders tout its strong partnership with ********* Express and high demand for pricier seats toward the front of aircraft as part of its success. ******* Airlines, however, has made inroads in growing profits and capturing high-end travelers. Delta’s shares are up 60% so far this year through Tuesday’s close, while *******’s are up 128%. Both are outpacing the broader market and other carriers.
Delta said just 43% of its revenue this year comes from main cabin tickets, with 57% of it generated by premium seats and its lucrative loyalty program. That’s up from a 60% share of revenue from the main cabin in 2010.
The carrier has spent years working to get customers to pay up for first class, seats it largely gave away in years past.
Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, told reporters that about 15 years ago, about 12% of Delta’s first-class seats were paid for and the rest were upgrades for frequent flyers. Now, more than 70% of those seats are purchased, including buy-ups after booking. He said the change at first was “trauamtic” to some travelers.
Hauenstein said Delta is looking for new ways to segment its cabins after the carrier — and rivals — spent years breaking coach-class into options like premium economy, extra-legroom seats and basic economy. While it didn’t provide detail, it’s also considering more options for travelers sitting in the front of the plane too, Hauenstein said.
During its presentation, the airline’s executives could face questions about future demand, controlling costs and steps the airline has taken to avoid another repeat of the massive impact from the CrowdStrike outage last July.
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DOJ wants Google to sell Chrome
DOJ wants Google to sell Chrome
The Department of Justice is . It’s in response to a 2020 lawsuit filed by the DOJ and several US states that was finally ruled upon in August. Google has, naturally, said such a ***** would be a terrible idea and would harm ********* competitiveness in the tech industry. I’m more curious about how much inherent value Chrome has without the backing of its parent company.
— Dan Cooper
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News in Brief
And view a new trailer for its forthcoming movie.
Merlin Entertainments
The company behind Legoland is teaming up with Mojang to build Minecraft theme parks in the US and ***. . The announcement came on the same day as the , another sign of the game’s growing cultural dominance. Given I can’t move in my own home without hearing famous Minecraft YouTuber Aphmau screech-shouting at the top of her lungs, I can’t wait to grind my teeth into powder taking my kids to enjoy both.
i.e. The thing it should have had from the start.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Someone at Sony has finally noticed the PlayStation Portal was shipped without its raison d’être: cloud streaming. . It only took them a whole ***** year to get around to it.
Finger pointing is happening.
Over the weekend, two undersea data cables in Europe were cut, with one ******* politician claiming sabotage. . Both Germany and Finland, two of the countries affected, say a thorough investigation is in progress.
A guide for the perplexed.
Sonos
Sonos hasn’t had a great year, but one highlight has been the Arc Ultra soundbar, the first model to debut its Sound Motion technology. . He’ll talk you through what it’s good for, why Sonos spent $100 million to own it and what it means for the future of your home audio.
These games deserve better than this.
Blizzard Entertainment
I’ve got fond memories of playing Warcraft II as a ****, with “They’re destroying our city!” a regular rallying cry in me and my friend Shane’s playground games. Sadly, it looks like Blizzard phoned this one in, prompting Igor to look a little closer at what’s going on.
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Delta CEO: Projecting we generate $50 billion of operating cash over next 3-5 years
Delta CEO: Projecting we generate $50 billion of operating cash over next 3-5 years
Ed Bastian, Delta CEO, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss how Delta will achieve sustained higher profits going forward, why investors should believe Delta is a good stock to invest in, and what Bastian has learned from the trying times this year.
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********* Central Banks warns of trade tension risks to financial stability
********* Central Banks warns of trade tension risks to financial stability
Rising global trade tensions present a risk to the euro area economy, the bloc’s central bank found in its biannual Financial Stability Review out on Wednesday.
The ********* Central Bank also said weak growth was now a ******* threat than high inflation in the 20-nation euro zone.
The latest figures recorded euro zone economic growth at a two-year high of 0.4% in the third quarter, while headline inflation hit 2% in October.
The ECB said financial markets had experienced a “resurgence of volatility” since the release of its previous report back in May, noting that further fluctuations were “more likely than usual” due to stretched valuations and risk concentration.
“Rising global trade tensions and a possible further strengthening of protectionist tendencies across the world raise concerns about the potential adverse impact on global growth, inflation and asset prices,” the Financial Stability Review said.
While Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election is not specifically mentioned in the ECB release, countries around the world are bracing for his plan to impose blanket 10% tariffs on all imports to the U.S., which also proposes much higher rates for some nations, such as China. Economists say the knock-on impact of implementing these measures could drag on the euro, if a slowdown in exports spurs the ECB to cut interest rates further and faster.
Speaking to CNBC, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said the Trump presidency will pile more uncertainty onto the ********* outlook.
“I think that it is very important to stress the evolution of inflation has been positive. But simultaneously, the growth outlook is not very good,” De Guindos told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Wednesday. According to ********* Commission forecasts, euro area growth will be below 1% in 2024 and a little above 1% in 2025, he said.
“In terms of activity, we have a very fragile situation. Consumers are not increasing consumption.”
“And on top of that, you have a lot of uncertainties. You have geopolitical risks, the situation of Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and you know, the policies that the new U.S. administration might implement, pursue in the future, that it’s another layer of uncertainty with respect to the future of the ********* economy.”
The report also flags concerns rising sovereign debt service costs and the weak fiscal fundamentals of several euro zone member countries. Other concerns include high borrowing costs and weak growth dragging on corporate balance sheets, as well as credit risks for small- and medium-sized companies and lower-income households, if growth slows more than expected.
“In a context of elevated macro-financial and geopolitical uncertainty, there could be a sudden sharp reversal in risk sentiment, given high asset valuations and concentrated risk exposures in the financial system,” the report states.
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Microsoft Apologises for Flight Simulator 2024 Server Issues
Microsoft Apologises for Flight Simulator 2024 Server Issues
Microsoft has apologised to users who were facing login issues during the Flight Simulators 2024 launch.
Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Jorg Neumann apologised during the Developer Launch Day Update video uploaded to their official YouTube channel.
“Unfortunately, the excitement, we knew the excitement was high for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, but frankly, we completely underestimated how was high and it has really overwhelmed our infrastructure,” he said.
He later continued, “Again, while it was a great launch day, we know a lot of people are frustrated, we are really sorry, we want to apologise, this video, we made it to be as transparent and as honest as possible.”
Asobo’s Sebastian Wloch went into more detail on the issues, citing that the team had tested up to 200,000 concurrent players, but that launch day exceeded that player count.
“We are doing our best and going as fast as we can to make sure everybody can go in,” he said. Even players who do make it into the game may find that some content, such as specific planes, is missing and this is connected to the same server issues, Wloch continued.
You can watch the full explanation of the launch day issues on the official YouTube channel below.
Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PC and Xbox Series X|S as well as via Xbox Game Pass. What do you think of Flight Simulator 2024? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news about the *********’s Creed Syndicate 60 FPS update
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Alexa AI hasn’t launched yet because it’s too slow to respond to questions, insiders claim
Alexa AI hasn’t launched yet because it’s too slow to respond to questions, insiders claim
Alexa AI latency problems are a “critical issue”
Leaked memo claims Alexa AI has missed three 2024 launch dates
Amazon wants to give Alexa supercharged skills
Generative AI updates from Google and Apple have made their artificial assistants more useful in a number of ways – giving them new features, and generally making them easier to instruct – but one big name in the smart assistant world has been noticeably absent from the upgrade list: Alexa. Amazon is reportedly working on rolling out an Alexa AI, but it’s just too slow to respond to queries to be launched yet.
Fortune has shared leaked internal documents highlighting a few critical flaws with Alexa, with the big one apparently being latency – the AI takes way too long to respond when given an instruction or asked a question.
This issue has reportedly led to low satisfaction scores from testers. Before launch Amazon reportedly wanted to achieve an average satisfaction score of 5.5 out of 7, but testers rated the AI service at just 4.57. This is why it appears Amazon has missed its three target launch dates in 2024 – the most recent being November 14.
Another concern, not one not labeled a “critical issue” like latency but still a concern, is that the Alexa AI may be incompatible with some older models which could force a lot of users to upgrade their tech to access the new AI. Admittedly, this isn’t a major surprise given that for many phones only the latest models are getting some AI improvements, but Amazon might ***** it’ll upset customers who have been wanting this kind of update for years only to miss out when their ‘smart’ assistant finally gets a brain.
One thing that is noticeably absent from the leaked memo is any mention of Claude AI. Athropic’s Claude is seen as one of the best ChatGPT alternatives but it lacks a voice mode; a partnership with Amazon when it was teased by leakers therefore made a lot of sense as it would give Amazon a leg up in the AI race and Anthropic assistance in teaching Claude to communicate with a voice.
It could mean the Claude ***** was false, or perhaps the partnership was decided on after this memo was published as a way to resolve the issue. Either way it highlights that as with all leaks these details should be taken with a pinch of salt; as such issues such as Alexa AI’s latency could be in a much better state now than when the memo was written.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Teaching an old Alexa new Skills
Beyond Alexa AI delays, the ***** also teases upgrades to Alexa services involving Amazon’s partners like GrubHub, Ticketmaster and Uber (via Business Insider, behind a paywall). While these services already had Alexa skills Amazon wants to alter their relationship with the smart assistant.
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Specifically it wants its AI enhanced Alexa to perform more of the task itself, rather than handing things over to a third-party app on your phone as it does with some skills. So you could instruct the smart speaker to call you a ride to the movie theatre, or reorder that takeout you had last week and it could – using data from your linked accounts – perform those tasks for you without any manual input from you.
It’s certainly an intriguing idea, but this strategy’s success will come down to whether users trust the AI to get their request completely right, and trust it not to accidentally reorder a takeout because of something it overhears from your TV. It’s one thing for Alexa to play the wrong song, it’s another thing entirely if it spends your money on the wrong thing.
We’ll have to wait and see what Alexa AI has in store for us when it eventually launches. All signs point to a 2025 release, that is assuming it doesn’t face any more bumps in the road.
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Delta CEO says Trump regulation stance could be ‘breath of fresh air’
Delta CEO says Trump regulation stance could be ‘breath of fresh air’
Ed Bastian, chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines Inc., during an interview in New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the Trump administration’s approach to regulation could be a “breath of fresh air.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of Delta’s investor day, Bastian noted that President-elect Donald Trump campaigned saying he would take a “fresh look” at regulation and bureaucracy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation under Secretary Pete Buttigieg has issued a host of rules aimed at protecting consumers, some of which the airline industry has bristled at, including one this year that requires carriers to provide automatic cash refunds to travelers when an airline cancels a flight.
Bastian said the industry has seen a “level of overreach” over the past four years.
The department is also looking into airlines’ lucrative loyalty programs, which brings in billions of dollars for carriers, helping to keep them afloat. The current DOT leadership is seeking information about how airlines can unilaterally change the value of frequent flyer points.
Delta on Wednesday said it expects to grow sales and profits in the months and years ahead, pointing to resilient consumer demand and sharp growth in household wealth since the pandemic.
Trump tapped former U.S. congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his pick to lead the department. Duffy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other U.S. airline CEOs have expressed enthusiasm for the incoming administration and urged incoming officials to make sure the industry has enough resources to improve air traffic control, which falls under the Federal Aviation Administration, and other key pieces of infrastructure.
“We have to invest in this industry,” ********* Airlines CEO Robert Isom said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas last week. He said there is more work ahead to approve more visas so people can visit the U.S.
In an interview last week, Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker said: “We just need stability and resources at the DOT.”
Industry members and analysts also expect the incoming administration to be more open to mergers and consolidation.
Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines without pushback from President Joe Biden’s administration this year. However, Biden’s Justice Department won court challenges to block two airline deals: a proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, by JetBlue Airways and a partnership between JetBlue and ********* Airlines in the Northeast, which had been approved in the last days of the first Trump administration.
“Perhaps this administration would have a different stance,” said Sun Country’s Bricker. “It certainly can’t get more against it.”
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