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Less than 2% of philanthropic giving goes to women and girls. Can Melinda French Gates change that? 2024-05-29 18:55:33+00:00 - Melinda French Gates ' has a long history of supporting the women’s movement, but it’s her new eye-popping funding commitments that could finally change women’s groups’ long-running lament that less than 2% of philanthropic giving in the United States directly benefits women and girls. That 2% ceiling could be broken thanks to French Gates’ $1 billion commitment announced Tuesday and the momentum generated if others join her, said Jacqueline Ackerman, interim director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The institute has researched giving to women and girls since 2019 and found that while the overall amount has increased over the years, it’s never exceeded 2% of overall charitable dollars. In 2020, the most recent year of WPI’s analysis, women and girls received $8.8 billion out of a total $471.4 billion given to charities overall. “One donor does have the potential to make a difference,” Ackerman said. “But for that to be sustained long term, for that to change the numbers for more than just 1 or 2 years, you really do have to inspire others and be part of a movement. French Gates has been a philanthropist for decades, as a co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation twenty years ago and then, with the organization she founded in 2015, Pivotal Ventures. Ackerman said her philanthropy follows many trends of the way women give in that they are more likely to use all of their resources, including philanthropic giving, building a strong network, advocating for the causes they care about publicly, and, in French Gates’ case, for-profit investments. “Melinda French Gates has used tools like collaborative giving in the past, has used her voice and her network, and her platform to advocate for women and girls,” Ackerman said. “And so, there’s every indication that she knows this and that she does intend to use her platform to spur more giving by others.” Earlier this month, French Gates announced she would leave the Gates Foundation and as part of that departure, received $12 billion from Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and her ex-husband, for her philanthropy going forward. The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce and state governments from Pivotal Ventures. The Gates Foundation also provides funding to the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. French Gates’ latest pledge to spend $1 billion by the end of 2026 builds on previous major commitments and now years of funding organizations who work across a range of issues related to women and girls. French Gates has funded the organization Crystal Echo Hawk founded, IllumiNative, which supports the power of Native Americans through movement building and research. Earlier this month, Echo Hawk said she received an email directly from French Gates asking her to be one of 12 people who receive $20 million and donate it however they choose. As part of that, Echo Hawk will have the support of the National Philanthropic Trust, who will hold and disperse the funds, to research the landscape of opportunities to support Native women and girls. She sees that research as one of the critical and important outcomes of French Gates’ commitment, in addition to the direct financial support to her community. “This is just such an important learning opportunity,” Echo Hawk said.. “It’s not just about money. It’s about building partnerships and understanding.” French Gates has experience collaborating with other donors as she did in 2020 in a competition that gave away $40 million to four organizations to accelerate progress toward gender equality in the United States. That funding was pooled from author and billionaire MacKenzie Scott and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. She also committed more than $5 million to a matching program run by the organization, Women Moving Millions, to encourage its members to, again, give to advance women’s power and influence. “What is different is the size of actually the amount of resources she’s talking about moving,” said Sarah Haacke Byrd, CEO of Women Moving Millions. She pointed to the small percentage of funding that goes towards women’s and girls as hampering the ability of organizations and the movement to respond quickly and to enact long term strategies. Grantee organizations declined to disclose the size of the grants they received from French Gates. But across fields, from the National Domestic Workers Alliance to the Ms. Foundation for Women, the grantees described the funding as coming at a moment of great threat to the rights and power of women, but also, when activism, momentum and awareness for their movement is surging. “In our fight to protect free and fair elections, we’re up against a well-funded, well-coordinated, anti-democracy machine that’s spewing disinformation and running dangerous candidates for office,” said Joanna Lydgate, co-founder and CEO of the States United Democracy Center, another recipient of new funding from Pivotal Ventures. Ai-jen Poo president, National Domestic Workers Alliance, said she thinks it will be her generation that ushers in a new social safety net that provides paid leave to allow workers to take care of family members, creates affordable child care and pays domestic workers living wages. She sees French Gates’ commitment as a call to action and an inspiration for others to follow. “I would not be surprised, in fact I expect to see many, many more women come forward and in whatever capacity they have, rise to this moment courageously,” she said. ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Sony Music reportedly in talks to buy Queen’s music catalogue for $1bn 2024-05-29 18:55:00+00:00 - Sony Music is in talks to buy Queen’s music catalogue, which includes songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Radio Gaga, in a potential $1bn (£800m) deal, according to Bloomberg. Sony is said to be working with another investor on the transaction that would be the largest sale of its kind and include merchandising and other business opportunities, according to the Bloomberg report, which said talks were continuing and might not result in a deal. Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and the estate of Freddie Mercury are equal shareholders in Queen Productions Ltd, which reported revenues of $52m in the year ended September 2022, according to company filings. In recent years there has been a frenzy to acquire music catalogues, which have attracted billions of dollars in investments from specialist investment funds and private equity companies such as KKR and Blackstone, competing for deals against traditional music companies. Songwriting catalogues are seen as attractive investments because they can be used for decades in films, played on the radio or used for advertisements – all producing royalties for the owners of the rights. Bruce Springsteen’s back catalogue was sold to Sony in 2021 for an estimated $500m, while Neil Young and Bob Dylan have struck deals in the hundreds of millions. In 2022 Warner Music acquired David Bowie’s songbook for about $250m. This year, Sony acquired a 50% interest in Michael Jackson’s music catalogue from the late singer’s estate for at least $600m, Billboard reported. However, some investments have fared less well. The British music royalties investment fund Hipgnosis, which owns the rights to songs by artists from Beyoncé to Neil Young, agreed to a $1.6bn takeover by Blackstone, the private equity house, last month after months of turmoil over the company’s structure and leadership. Hipgnosis launched a strategic review last year to assess its business options after a revolt by shareholders over a planned catalogue sell-off. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Sleeve Notes Free weekly newsletter Get music news, bold reviews and unexpected extras. Every genre, every era, every week Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Sony Music and Disney Music Group, which owns the Queen rights in North America, have been contacted for comment. A spokesperson for Queen declined to comment.

Authorities arrest man allegedly running “likely world’s largest ever” cybercrime botnet 2024-05-29 18:54:45+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — An international law enforcement team has arrested a Chinese national and disrupted a major botnet that officials said he ran for nearly a decade, amassing at least $99 million in profits by reselling access to criminals who used it for identity theft, child exploitation and financial fraud including pandemic relief scams. The U.S. Department of Justice quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying Wednesday that the “911 S5” botnet — a network of malware-infected computers in nearly 200 countries — was likely the world’s largest. Justice said in a news release that Yunhe Wang, 35, was arrested May 24. Details about where he was detained were not available and a department spokesperson said “we are not commenting beyond our press release.” The cybercriminals used a network of zombie residential computers to steal “billions of dollars from financial institutions, credit card issuers and accountholders, and federal lending programs since 2014,” according to an indictment filed in Texas’ eastern district. The administrator, Wang, sold access to the 19 million Windows computers he hijacked — more than 613,000 in the United States — to criminals who “used that access to commit a staggering array of crimes that victimized children, threatened people’s safety and defrauded financial institutions and federal lending programs,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the takedown. He said criminals who purchased access to the zombie network from Wang were responsible for more than $5.9 billion in estimated losses due to fraud against relief programs. Officials estimated 560,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims originated from compromised IP addresses. Wang allegedly managed the botnet through 150 dedicated servers, half of them leased from U.S.-based online service providers. The indictment says Wang used his illicit gains to purchase 21 properties in the United States, China, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and St. Kitts and Nevis, where it said he obtained citizenship through investment. In its press release, the Justice Department thanked police and other authorities in Singapore and Thailand for their assistance.

‘Virtually complete’ Stegosaurus fossil to be auctioned at Sotheby’s geek week 2024-05-29 18:44:00+00:00 - The largest and most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever found is expected to fetch up to $6m (£4.7m) when it is sold as the star lot in Sotheby’s “geek week” auction this summer. At 11ft (3.4 metres) tall and more than 20ft long the “virtually complete” fossil, which has been nicknamed “Apex”, is more than 30% larger than “Sophie”, the previously most intact stegosaurus specimen which was on display in London’s Natural History Museum. Cassandra Hatton, the qglobal head of science at Sotheby’s, said: “Apex marks an incredibly important milestone, as simply one of the best fossils of its kind ever unearthed. “Stegosaurus is one of the most universally recognisable dinosaur species, whose unmistakable silhouette has been a source of fascination and wonder for generations. Through the careful process of excavation, preparation, and installation, Apex sets a new standard for all future discoveries of this magnitude, and further reinforces the enduring appeal of stegosaurus and its vaunted status in popular culture.” With an auction estimate of $4m-$6m it may become one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever sold at auction. The record is held by Stan, a T rex skeleton auctioned off by Christie’s for $31.8m in 2020. However, the dinosaur auction market was plunged into crisis in 2022 when Christie’s was forced to call off the £20m auction of another Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, called Shen, just days before it was due to go under the hammer after a well-known palaeontologist raised concerns that parts of the specimen looked too similar to Stan. View image in fullscreen Apex has a 45-inch femur and 247 fossil bone elements, which have been mounted into an aggressive attack pose. Photograph: Matthew Sherman/Sotheby’s Apex was discovered by the commercial palaeontologist Jason Cooper in the Morrison Formation, in Moffat County, Colorado, near the town of Dinosaur, in May 2022. Sotheby’s said it had “collaborated closely” with Cooper to “document the entire process, from discovery and excavation to restoration, preparation, and mounting”, ensuring that the documentation and salewas “handled with the highest standards and transparency”. Apex will be on exhibition at Sotheby’s galleries in New York before the sale in July. The Stegosaurus is the best-known member of the armoured dinosaurs (Thyreophorans), characterised by the distinctive shape and arrangement of dermal armour on its back, extending from the neck to the tail. The Apex fossil shows “no signs of combat or predation-related injuries; however, evidence of arthritis indicates that it lived to an advanced age”. It also has “an impressive femur length of 45 inches”. Sotheby’s said Cooper, the founder of Trilobites of America and the co-owner of Dinosaur Corporation, had “unearthed numerous dinosaur specimens” within the US, many of which were now “housed in institutions around the globe, with a significant number having been donated by him”.

Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis loses law license for 3 years for election subversion role 2024-05-29 18:42:04+00:00 - Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer who pleaded guilty to charges in the Georgia election interference case, has been barred from practicing law in Colorado for the next three years. A Colorado judge on Tuesday approved a deal between Ellis and the state's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel for the suspension of her law license. (Ellis, a Colorado native, was admitted to the state bar in 2011 and had occasionally practiced there.) She initially faced the possibility of disbarment, but the state agency noted in the stipulation that Ellis had recognized the harm she caused and expressed remorse for her actions, and that she acted "as an accessory, not as a principal" in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. In a letter written as part of the agreement, Ellis said that she "genuinely believed that the election challenges were made in good faith" but that she was "overly zealous" in accepting claims of election fraud. "Had I done my duty in investigating these alleged facts before promoting them as the truth, I do not believe I would be here," Ellis added. "I turned a blind eye to the possibility that senior lawyers for the Trump Campaign were embracing claims they knew or should have known were false. I just went along with it. I was wrong." Ellis was one of 19 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, indicted in the Georgia election interference case. (Trump has pleaded not guilty.) In October, Ellis pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting false statements and writings. She now joins the ranks of other former Trump lawyers who have faced professional consequences for their involvement in the various 2020 election fraud schemes. Included on that list is John Eastman, whose law license has been suspended as he fights disbarment in California, and Rudy Giuliani, whose New York law license was suspended in 2021 and who now faces potential disbarment in Washington, D.C.

Google announced a smartwatch for kids — and it looks pretty good 2024-05-29 18:29:08+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Google just announced a new smartwatch aimed at kids ages 7 and up — the Fitbit Ace LTE. The watch can call and text parents over LTE service (with a data plan), and parents can track their kids through GPS. There's also some gamified activity tracking for the kids. (It is a Fitbit, after all.) Business Insider first reported in 2022 that Google was working on a wearable device for preteens. If the idea of a kid having a smartwatch sounds ridiculous to you, you probably don't have a kid between the ages of 6 and 13. Lots of parents are looking for a way to be able to call or track their kids — without giving them an actual phone. Smartwatches have become a popular way to hold off on giving kids a full phone until they're older while allowing them some independence to roam freely. Related stories The Fitbit Ace LTE works over LTE and requires a data plan, but not an extra phone line. It can call and text up to 20 people entered as contacts into the device — but only those who have the Fitbit Ace app installed on their phones. This means that kids don't have free rein to call or text just anyone through the device (no calling for pizza delivery, for example). Only parents can access the GPS tracking, according to the specs. Advertisement It is a Fitbit, so there's some activity tracking and gamification of movement and some video games that can be played with points for achieving fitness goals. (The video game can be deactivated during "School Time" mode.) There are other smartwatches out there aimed at the not-ready-for-a-phone age demographic: the Verizon Gizmo Watch 3, the Garmin Bounce, and the Gabb Watch 3. Gabb is a company that makes devices for kids only — it also has a smartphone that is far more locked down in terms of privacy and safety for kids than the average phone (i.e., no social-media apps can be downloaded, no open internet browsing). The Apple Watch is slightly more fraught as a kid device since models with a cellular plan are more expensive, and parental controls that block social apps or internet use are more complicated to set up. The Fitbit Ace LTE is $229, which is more expensive than some of its competitors. We haven't tested this yet, but based on the features and the images of the sleek, rounded design, and the screen images of the apps — it looks really good.

Royal Mail’s foreign sale could put a 500-year-old national service in jeopardy | Phillip Inman 2024-05-29 18:29:00+00:00 - There is much to fear from the takeover of Royal Mail by a private financier. It is fair to say that over the longer term, everything about the 500-year-old institution could now be at risk. The string of commitments made by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský in his bid for the postal service’s parent group, International Distribution Services (IDS) – accepted by the board on Wednesday – will be vulnerable to renegotiation after just a few years. A relationship with 28 million households and more than 5m businesses is at risk. A central question is whether customers will still be able to afford to post a letter. Another is whether those on the periphery of the new owner’s vision – rural dwellers and elderly people – could be excluded to improve the company’s profitability. Křetínský is offering to take IDS private for £3.57bn, absorbing about £1.7bn of existing debt in the process. He says he will pay for the business with £1.2bn in cash and an extra £2.3bn in borrowed funds, meaning Royal Mail will be burdened with even more debt should the deal go through. Indebted businesses that are considered strategic by the UK government, such as Thames Water, can use those borrowings as leverage over ministers and regulators. No minister wants to consider renationalisation when the purchase includes the cost of a large debt pile. Debt is like a poison pill deterring ministers from acting decisively. Then there are the commitments to preserve Royal Mail as an identifiable entity. Křetínský promises the branding is sacred for five years, as are its UK headquarters and tax residency. A separate promise to maintain base salaries and benefits for staff will last for only two years, while a pledge not to break up the company is for three years. In the context of an organisation that traces its roots back to Henry VIII, these are micro-commitments. No doubt ministers will be told that making further demands on Křetínský will scare him off and Royal Mail, left to fend for itself, will not be viable. Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, who met Křetínský at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, has turned his back on union calls for renationalisation. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Reynolds said the Czech’s assurances that Royal Mail would “retain its British identity and safeguard its workforce” were welcome, indicating he is minded to wave through the takeover should Labour win the election. Look over the Channel to France, and the government funds a universal service to bind society with an institution that, while not beyond criticism, provides a sense of collective welfare, making sure everyone can communicate using paper for official and friendly purposes. Likewise, the US retains ownership and management of the US Postal Service. There is no doubt Křetínský’s bid for IDS is audacious. It means taking an important UK public company with a long history and strong connections to the monarch and turning it into another cog in a sprawling private empire. The next government should take a tough stance. Privatising the business and listing it on the stock exchange, where companies are forced to be transparent about much of their activities, is one thing. Selling it to a private financier whose operations are largely overseas is quite another.

Walgreens is cutting prices on 1,300 items, joining other retailers in stepping up discounts 2024-05-29 18:24:00+00:00 - Walgreens said Wednesday it is lowering prices for the summer and beyond on 1,300 items, including snacks and feminine products, joining Michaels, Target and other retailers looking to cater to inflation-weary consumers. Retailers have rolled out price cuts — some permanent, others temporary — with the stated aim of giving their customers some relief. The reductions are being introduced as inflation showed its first sign of easing this year but not enough for consumers who are struggling to pay for basic necessities as well as rent and car insurance. Walgreens is rolling out lower prices on products such as vitamins, tampons, facial cleanser, lotion, box fans and chips to help "customers are under financial strain and struggle to purchase everyday essentials, Tracey Brown, Walgreens chief customer office, said in a statement. Walgreens is the nation's second largest retail pharmacy with 9,000 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico that serve almost 9 million people daily. "Through myWalgreens loyalty program, our more than 110 million members receive personalized offerings daily. Listening to our customers and offering quality products, value, and convenience every day is our continued commitment," she said. Other major retailers are moving to ease costs for consumers: Retailers are lowering prices as the U.S. economy shows signs of slowing. Although inflation continues to ease and overall consumer spending has remained solid this year, recent economic signals suggest Americans are becoming more frugal. The median rise in monthly household spending in April fell to 4.6%, the lowest reading in three years, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The pullback in spending by budget-conscious consumers is also affecting other industries, including fast food giant McDonald's and casual-dining chains such as IHOP and Applebee's.

Propaganda outlet PragerU claims it has expanded its reach into Louisiana public schools 2024-05-29 18:22:40+00:00 - Conservative propaganda platform PragerU announced a partnership with Louisiana’s public education system Tuesday. The partnership would bring the number of states collaborating with the organization on school curricula to seven, including Oklahoma, Florida, Montana, Texas, New Hampshire and Arizona. PragerU is not, as its name suggests, an actual university. It’s actually a media company named after its founder, conservative activist Dennis Prager, who has openly admitted his goal is to “indoctrinate” American children with a right-wing worldview. Many of its critics argue that its propaganda downplays or whitewashes racist atrocities committed throughout American history, such as chattel slavery and the slaughter of Indigenous people by white settlers. PragerU announced the partnership via an exclusive interview with the right-wing conspiracy theory outlet Epoch Times. And in a video posted on PragerU’s Instagram account Tuesday, PragerU Outreach Director Jill Simonian, who hosts a children’s show for the outlet, discussed the partnership from an event called the Louisiana Teacher Leader Summit. Reached for comment about the partnership, an official from the Louisiana Education Department told MSBNC: The partnership includes our agency making a curated set of PragerU resources available as a supplemental resource for our Freedom Framework social studies standards and the state’s Celebrate Freedom Week. The resources are not mandated and are not included in the curriculum. They are an option that can be used by educators. Simonian's video hinted at what students can expect from the partnership. “We like to teach about and honor American exceptionalism and, of course, the entrepreneurial spirit that built America,” she said in describing PragerU’s materials. I suppose “entrepreneurial spirit” is one way for a propaganda outlet to describe chattel slavery, which is what quite literally built America. The assertion that PragerU’s misleading materials are "not mandated" doesn’t mean schools or individual teachers in states like Louisiana won’t feel pressured to use them. The Louisiana GOP controls all the levers of power in state politics, and it is actively trying to eliminate school diversity programs and lesson plans about racism and other forms of inequality. Beyond that, GOP lawmakers just sent a bill to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's desk to require all schools to feature posters listing the Ten Commandments. Louisiana’s already struggling education system appears to be firmly in the grips of ultraconservative Christian legislators now. And PragerU is a tool they’re using — to quote its founder — to “indoctrinate” American schoolchildren.

Hungary’s foreign minister visits Belarus despite EU sanctions, talks about expanding ties 2024-05-29 18:10:57+00:00 - TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Hungary’s top diplomat visited Belarus on Wednesday for talks on expanding ties despite the European Union’s sanctions against the country. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó declared that “our position is clear: the fewer sanctions, the more cooperation!” The EU has slapped an array of sweeping sanctions on Belarus for the repression, which followed mass protests fueled by the 2020 presidential election that was widely seen by the opposition and the West as rigged. Belarus’ isolation further deepened after authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use his country’s territory to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. While saying that “sanctions don’t work,” Szijjártó noted, however, that Hungary was “increasing economic cooperation with Belarus in areas not affected by sanctions.” “We will provide any support to develop cooperation,” he said. “We talk about this openly, we don’t hide anything.” Belarusian and Hungarian officials signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy that envisages training personnel and handling radioactive waste. “Of great importance is the agreement signed here today on nuclear energy cooperation, which allows us to use the experience Belarus gained here while constructing reactors with a similar technology,” Szijjártó said after the talks. Hungary is working with Russia on adding a new reactor to its Paks nuclear facility, which is expected to go online by the end of the decade. Belarus also has a Russia-built nuclear power plant. Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik voiced hope that Hungary taking over the EU’s rotating presidency in July would help encourage “healthy trends” in Europe. “People have grown tired of confrontation, pressure and escalation,” Aleinik said. Szijjártó previously made a trip to Belarus in February 2023, becoming the first top official from an EU country to visit Minsk after the West slapped it with sweeping sanctions following the August 2020 presidential election. The vote, which the opposition and the West say was rigged, triggered months of major protests to which Lukashenko’s government responded with a sweeping crackdown. More than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten by police. Belarus’ leading human rights group Viasna counts about 1,400 political prisoners in the country, including the group’s founder, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who challenged Lukashenko in the 2020 election and was forced to leave the country after the vote, harshly criticized Szijjártó for visiting Belarus despite the EU sanctions. “Such visits are absolutely unacceptable and immoral,” she told The Associated Press. Tsikhanouskaya suggested that instead of “pretending to do business as usual,” Szijjártó should have visited Bialiatski, who has been held incommunicado.

Nissan issues urgent warning over exploding Takata airbag inflators on 84,000 older vehicles 2024-05-29 18:10:00+00:00 - Nissan is urging the owners of about 84,000 older vehicles to stop driving them because their Takata air bag inflators have an increased risk of exploding in a crash and hurling dangerous metal fragments. Wednesday's urgent request comes after one person in a Nissan was killed by an exploding front-passenger inflator, and as many as 58 people were injured since 2015. "Due to the age of the vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators, there is an increased risk the inflator could explode during an airbag deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments which can cause serious injury or death," Nissan said in a statement. Nissan said the "do not drive" warning covers certain 2002 through 2006 Sentra small cars, as well as some 2002 through 2004 Pathfinder SUVs, and 2002 and 2003 Infiniti QX4 SUVs. Owners can find out if their vehicles are affected by going to nissanusa.com/takata-airbag-recall or infinitiusa.com/takata-airbag-recall and keying in their 17-digit vehicle identification number. The company says owners should contact their dealer to set up an appointment to have inflators replaced for free. Nissan also is offering free towing to dealers, and in some locations mobile service and loaner cars are available. "Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata airbags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries," the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. "Older model year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk, as the age of the airbag is one of the contributing factors." Nissan originally recalled 736,422 of the vehicles in 2020 to replace the Takata inflators. The company said around 84,000 remain unrepaired and are believed to still be in use. Nissan said it has made numerous attempts to reach the owners with unrepaired Takata inflators. The death was reported to NHTSA in 2018, the company said. The person killed was in a 2006 Sentra, according to Nissan. The death is one of 27 in the U.S. caused by the faulty inflators, which used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in a crash. The chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. It can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel. More than 400 people in the U.S. have been hurt. Worldwide at least 35 people have been killed by Takata inflators in Malaysia, Australia and the U.S. Potential for a dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators involved. The U.S. government says many have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding airbags sent Takata into bankruptcy. Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota and Stellantis and Mazda have issued similar "do not drive" warnings for some of their vehicles equipped with Takata inflators.

Can Trump vote in November if he's convicted of a felony in New York? 2024-05-29 17:45:00+00:00 - Former President Donald Trump could soon join the millions of Americans whose voting rights depend on their criminal record, if a Manhattan jury convicts him of felony charges in a hush money case. But experts say Trump is unlikely to be disenfranchised by a felony conviction in the New York case, noting that it will come down to whether the presumptive Republican presidential nominee goes to prison as part of his sentence. Forty-eight states prohibit some or all Americans with felony convictions on their record from voting, according to the Sentencing Project, and an estimated 4.4 million Americans — approximately 2% of the voting-age population — could not vote in the 2022 elections due to those laws. The group estimates that more than 1 million of those disenfranchised Americans live in Florida, where Trump established his official residency in 2019. Florida defers to other state laws when it comes to disenfranchising voters who are tried and convicted elsewhere. That means that Florida voters like Trump would lose their voting rights only if the state where they are convicted would disenfranchise them for the crime, too. And if the state of their conviction would restore their voting rights, so would Florida, said Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center who advocates for the end of felony disenfranchisement. New York prohibits those serving time behind bars for felony convictions from voting, and voting rights are restored as soon as the individual leaves prison. Those convicted of felonies who do not go to prison never lose their voting rights. In the New York case, “the only way he wouldn’t be able to vote is if he is in prison on Election Day,” Bowie said. The 12-person jury in Trump's Manhattan trial began deliberating prosecutors’ case on Wednesday, and could render a verdict at any point. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to a hush money payment his attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 election. Trump could face up to four years in prison if he's convicted. But experts say prison time for a first-time, nonviolent offender is less likely. And even if he were ordered to serve time, the inevitable appeals process would likely delay a sentence well past the 2024 election, allowing Trump to cast a ballot for himself in his third presidential bid. In the event of Trump losing his voting rights in Florida, there would also be avenues for him to regain them. Trump could seek clemency to restore his voting rights in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis — his former rival in the 2024 GOP presidential primary — oversees a process that allows people with felony convictions to regain their voting rights. Bowie said DeSantis typically requires those with felony convictions to complete the terms of their sentencing before applying, but has the power to change the rules. Conviction in federal court — where Trump faces charges in Washington, D.C., for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and in Florida for his handling of classified documents — could pose a greater threat to the former president’s voting rights in Florida, she added, as Trump would need to seek clemency in Florida or a presidential pardon to vote again in the state in that scenario. But it's unclear if those cases will go to trial before Election Day. Bob Libal, an organizer at the Sentencing Project, said the former president's experience is not unique. "The confusion around President Trump's eligibility to vote is representative of a confusion that a lot of people have and I think that that confusion dissuades people from voting," he said. “It can be quite complicated. We’re talking about Trump, who’s a person who has access to lots of lawyers, and even here you can tell it’s quite complicated,” Bowie added. “For the average person who doesn’t have access to attorneys, it can be almost impossible.”

Trump adds hush money trial to list of things he sees as ‘rigged’ 2024-05-29 17:17:05+00:00 - Donald Trump’s hush money case is now in the hands of jurors, who received instructions this morning from Judge Juan Merchan on how to deliberate. Soon after, the former president spoke to reporters and shared a few thoughts about the proceedings: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged. ... Something’s going on. Because I think the people of this country see that this is a rigged deal.” At this point, it’s tempting to note that a majority of “the people of this country” actually think the former president is guilty. It’s also worth noting that this is the latest example of the Republican engaging in pre-emptive expectations management: If Trump is found guilty, he’ll say, “See? It was rigged.” If he’s acquitted, he’ll declare, “My defense was so strong that I was able to overcome a rigged process.” But it’s also worth pausing to appreciate the familiarity of his choice of words — because in Trump’s mind, practically everything he dislikes deserves to be labeled as “rigged.” Ahead of the 2016 elections, for example, the then-candidate told supporters, “We’re in a rigged system, folks. This is a rigged, rigged system. ... Our system is rigged, and I was the first one to use that term.” Trump also believes polls are “rigged.” And the Republicans’ 2016 primary process was “rigged.” And the Democrats’ 2016 primary process was “rigged.” And the Commission on Presidential Debates is “rigged.” And the NFL’s schedule is rigged.” At one of the 2016 debates, Hillary Clinton told viewers: “Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is, is rigged against him. The FBI conducted a year-long investigation into my emails. They concluded there was no case; he said the FBI was rigged. He lost the Iowa caucus. He lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him. Then Trump University gets sued for fraud and racketeering; he claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him. There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row, and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him.” That’s true: He really did claim that the Emmys were “rigged.” Even after Trump won the 2016 race, he said it was “rigged,” too. While in office, the then-president said the Mueller investigation was “rigged.” And Google search results were “rigged.” And, of course, he condemned the 2020 election cycle countless times as “rigged” — before and after his defeat. This is a partial list, though we could keep going, which is precisely the problem. Trump appears to work from the assumption that he’s a brave hero, constantly having to fight valiantly to overcome a world that’s been “rigged” against him, reality be damned. In reality, his overreliance on the term has had the opposite of the intended effect: Given his track record, whenever Trump describes anything as “rigged,” the public can safely assume the opposite is true.

Home Insurance Is Clobbering Consumers. Yet It’s Barely Counted as Inflation. 2024-05-29 17:02:35+00:00 - Holly Meyer Lucas estimates that as many as 30 of the 100 houses her real estate team sold in and around Jupiter, Fla., last year were put on the market because their owners could no longer keep up with skyrocketing home insurance. “It is the housing crisis that nobody is talking about,” Ms. Meyer Lucas said. The houses sold easily, but often to well-off cash buyers who could drop the insurance altogether because they did not have a mortgage that required them to carry it. Jumping insurance rates are acute in coastal Florida, with its exposure to big risks like hurricanes and coastal erosion, but they are also a nationwide phenomenon. Last year, premium rates for owner-occupied housing were up 11.3 percent on average nationally, based on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Insurance rates have been climbing for a number of reasons: Storms have become more frequent and severe, inflation and labor shortages have driven up the cost of repairs and home values have increased, requiring larger policies. The biggest jumps occurred in Texas, Arizona and Utah, which were among 25 states in total that posted double-digit surges last year. In some places, including Florida, rates are up more than 40 percent over the past five years.

Biden admin says Israel’s deadly airstrike on Rafah doesn’t cross its 'red line' 2024-05-29 16:22:20+00:00 - The White House said that Israel's deadly airstrike on a tent camp for displaced people in Rafah over the weekend did not cross President Joe Biden's "red line," calling into question the seriousness of Biden's threat to cut off military aid. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing Tuesday that Israel’s current attacks on Rafah do not constitute the “major ground operation” that Biden had warned against and that the United States would not change its policy on Israel's war in Gaza, even after the Israeli airstrike on the tent camp in Rafah on Sunday killed at least 45 people. “A major ground operation is, you know, thousands and thousands of troops moving in a maneuvered, concentrated, coordinated way against a variety of targets on the ground,” Kirby said. Sunday's airstrike sparked a fire that killed dozens and injured at least 200 people, Gaza officials said. Horrific footage from the aftermath of the strike shows burned bodies and what appeared to be a toddler without a head. The images sparked global outrage and increased pressure on the White House to end weapons shipments to Israel. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was investigating the strike, which was aimed at two senior Hamas militants and ignited a fire that was "unexpected and unintended." NBC News reported that an Israeli official and a U.S. official separately said a fuel tank may have been struck. Yet, Israeli tanks moved into central Rafah on Tuesday, raising fears of more attacks on the besieged population, a large number of whom have been repeatedly displaced. Kirby said that the Israeli tanks were operating on a strip of land on the Egypt-Gaza border and "not in the town proper." "Everything we're seeing — and we can't see everything — but everything that we can see tells us that they are not moving in in a major ground operation in population centers in the center of Rafah," he added. Biden had said earlier this month that he would halt weapons shipments to Israel if it entered "population centers" in Rafah. Now, as Israel presses on with weeks of attacks on the densely populated city in defiance of Biden's warnings, the White House is waffling on semantics about the "red line" that he set. When asked at the briefing how many more "charred corpses" Biden has to see before considering a policy change, Kirby said he took "offense to the question." "No civilian casualties is the right number of civilian casualties, and this is not something we've turned a blind eye to," he said. Meanwhile, Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in an interview with a local public broadcaster Wednesday that he expected military operations in Gaza to continue through the end of the year at least.

Donald Trump jury has options in hush money trial deliberations 2024-05-29 15:33:50+00:00 - Now that closing arguments are done and the jury is instructed on the law, deliberations have begun in the historic criminal case of People v. Donald Trump. The natural question on everyone’s mind is whether he’ll be convicted or acquitted. But while a simple verdict is possible, it’s not guaranteed. Here’s a brief rundown of the options, with the caveats that we don’t know what will happen or how long it will take. Straight guilty verdict Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Each count corresponds to a particular record — invoices, vouchers, checks — and the jury decides each count separately. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, will be convicted on all counts if the jury agrees unanimously that the prosecution has proved each instance beyond a reasonable doubt. Mixed verdict Another option is that the jury convicts on some counts but not others. Trump will be acquitted on any individual count of the 34 if all 12 jurors agree that the prosecution failed to prove that count beyond a reasonable doubt. Or, if the jury can’t decide them, it will be a hung jury on those counts. Hung jury The jury could also hang on all counts if it’s unable to decide any of them. A hung jury wouldn’t end the case. Legally, it puts the parties back where they started before trial, meaning that we could hypothetically go through this whole thing again if Manhattan prosecutors want to retry the case. Straight acquittal While seemingly the least likely option, it’s possible that the jury fully acquits Trump on all counts. That would end the case. Though defendants can appeal convictions, prosecutors can’t appeal acquittals. It would not, however, end Trump's legal jeopardy, as he has three other, unrelated state and federal indictments pending, to which he has likewise pleaded not guilty. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

3 Black passengers sue American Airlines after alleging racial discrimination following odor complaint 2024-05-29 15:08:00+00:00 - Three passengers are suing American Airlines after alleging employees from the company removed a total of eight Black men from a flight due to a complaint about a passenger with body odor. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, claims that as American Airlines Flight 832 from Phoenix to New York was boarding in January, American Airlines employees removed eight Black men from the plane allegedly over a complaint about "offensive body odor." Video central to the lawsuit displayed a group of Black men who were not traveling together and did not know each other being removed from the flight. According to the suit, they were the only Black passengers on the flight. Emmanuel Jean Joseph, Alvin Jackson and Xavier Veal — the three plaintiffs— were on a connecting flight from Los Angeles. The three allege that at no point throughout the other flight did any employee from American Airlines say anything to them about an offensive odor. Jean Joseph told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave that as he gathered his belongings and walked to the jet bridge, he noticed that only Black men were being removed from the flight. "I started freaking out," Xavier Veal said. He decided to record the incident on his phone. The lawsuit claims that the men were held in the jetway for about an hour and then moved to the gate area where they were told they would be rebooked on another flight to New York later that day. The lawsuit alleges that an American Airlines employee indicated that the complaint about body odor came from a "white male flight attendant." A gate agent seen in the video at one point seemed to agree that race was a factor in the decision to remove the men from the flight. When another flight to New York could not be found, the men were put back on the same plane. Jackson described the experience as uncomfortable, saying, "Everybody staring at me, me and all the other Black people on the plane were just taken off." "I knew that as soon as I got on that plane, a sea of White faces were going to be looking at me and blaming me for their late flight of an hour," said Jean Joseph. The lawyer representing the three men, Sue Huhta, said that American Airlines declined to provide her clients any answers about the incident and said it seems "fairly apparent that race was part of this dynamic." "It's almost inconceivable to come up with an explanation for that other than the color of their skin, particularly since they didn't know each other and weren't sitting near each other," said Huhta. The lawsuit also cites other recent incidents where passengers have alleged discrimination by American Airlines and references a 2017 NAACP travel advisory urging members not to fly on the airline, which was lifted eight months later. CBS Legal Analyst Rikki Klieman said the lawsuit suggests that the plaintiffs might be more interested in making a public statement about racial discrimination than in financial compensation. Klieman believes the question at trial is about American Airlines' protocols and how it handled the employees after the incident. But Veal said it is his belief that if it had been a White person, the situation probably wouldn't have happened. "We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist," he said. In a statement to CBS News, American Airlines said, "We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us. Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people."

Tory national service policy would leave UK’s poorest areas worse off, IFS warns 2024-05-29 14:53:00+00:00 - Rishi Sunak’s election pledge to introduce mandatory national service would leave the UK’s poorest regions millions of pounds worse off, a thinktank has warned. The prime minister announced last weekend that if he was re-elected, every 18-year-old would have to spend time in a competitive, full-time military commission or spend one weekend a month volunteering in “civil resilience”. However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that the Conservatives’ proposal to pay for the scheme by scrapping the UK shared prosperity fund from 2028-29 would severely downgrade efforts to level up the country. Its analysis found that if the money that would have been distributed via the fund were instead redirected according to the number of 18-year-olds in each area who take part in national service, then Wales could lose £275m a year, Cornwall £72m, and the North East and Tees Valley mayoral areas a combined £46m. David Phillips, an associate director at the IFS, said the Conservatives’ plan to redirect the fund’s resources would represent a major shift in how spending was allocated across the country. “Rather than being targeted at poorer areas and aimed at levelling up, the funding would be spread across the country based on where 18-year-olds are undertaking their military or community service,” he said. “The scheme may therefore create opportunities for young people across the UK but would mean hundreds of millions less in funding for community and economic development in Wales, Cornwall and the north and Midlands of England.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Election Edition Free daily newsletter Make sense of the election campaign with Archie Bland's daily 5pm briefing, direct to your inbox. Jokes where available Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Officials claimed the policy would give young people “real-world skills, while contributing to their country and community”. Labour said the plan was a £2.5bn unfunded commitment that was only necessary because the Conservative party had hollowed out the armed forces. The shared prosperity fund is a £1.5bn a year programme that was set up after Brexit to replace EU regional economic development programmes. As such, funding allocation is particularly high in economically disadvantaged areas such as the south Wales valleys and Cornwall. Labour has not outlined plans for the shared prosperity fund but a 2022 report commissioned by Gordon Brown recommended merging the funding with other streams and devolving powers to mayors. The IFS joins a long line of critics of Sunak’s national service pledge. While Tory party officials claimed the scheme would give young people “real world skills, while contributing to their country and community”, the scheme was rubbished by military chiefs and the former Conservative defence secretary Michael Portillo. Adm Alan West, a former chief of the naval staff, said it was “bonkers” and would deplete the defence budget. Labour said the plan was a £2.5bn unfunded commitment that was only necessary because the Conservative party had hollowed out the armed forces. The Conservative party declined to comment.

Ralph Lauren Slingshots Higher as Sentiment Improves for Retailer 2024-05-29 14:40:00+00:00 - Key Points Premium consumer apparel maker Ralph Lauren saw a 6% YoY increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, which rose to two-thirds of total sales, up from 55% in the year-ago period. North American brick-and-mortar stores did the heavy lifting with 6% YoY sales growth as digital sales fell 2% in fiscal Q4 2024. Ralph Lauren guided fiscal Q1 2025 revenues slightly lower, causing shares to gap down to $159.10, but surged back over 20 points in the following days. 5 stocks we like better than Petco Health and Wellness Premium apparel maker Ralph Lauren Co. NYSE: RL reported its fiscal Q4 2024 earnings report with lowered guidance, causing a predictability gap in shares the following morning. However, the initial drop to $159.10 reversed as the market reassessed the results, turning sentiment bullish and causing shares to surge back up to $173.45 in the following days. Investors are wondering what caused the sentiment reversal and if the gains will stick. Ralph Lauren competes in the consumer discretionary sector with premium brand apparel makers like Guess? Inc. NYSE: GES and PVH Co. NYSE: PVH, maker of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Get WOOF alerts: Sign Up Premium All-American Fashion: Ralph Lauren's Legacy Ralph Lauren Today RL Ralph Lauren $183.42 +2.17 (+1.20%) 52-Week Range $103.17 ▼ $192.03 Dividend Yield 1.64% P/E Ratio 18.87 Price Target $170.50 Add to Watchlist As a brand, Ralph Lauren embodies the spirit of the American Dream premium lifestyle through its line of Polo, RLX, RL, Lauren, Chaps, Polo Sport, Black Label, and the most expensive Purple Label fragrances, clothing, and accessories for men, women, and children. Some of its Polo products can be found on rare occasions at discount retailers like Ross Stores Inc. NASDAQ: ROST. They've expanded their products to include home goods, accessories, and expensive high-end furniture. Their Ralph Lauren Writer's Chair sells for $14,180, or you might consider plunking down $36,470 for a Ralph Lauren Clivedon Tufted Bed. Their brand company even considers opening a premium hotel after inspiring many boutique hotels to adopt its designer logos. Daily Cup Pattern and Strong Q4 Performance for Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren completed a daily cup pattern, beginning at the cup lip line of $177.45 on April 2, 2024. Ralph Lauren's stock fell to a low of $156.91 on April 19, 2024. Shares rallied back to $167.31 and were chopped sideways until its fiscal Q4 2024 earnings release, which caused a gap down and squeezed back up. Ralph Lauren completed the cup pattern upon surging through $177.85 and entering the gap-fill zone. The $183.75 would complete the gap filled on the April 2, 2024, gap down. The daily relative strength index (RSI) is rising to the 70-band. Pullback support levels are at $174.82, $170.92, $167.31, and $161.81. In fiscal Q4 2024, Ralph Lauren reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.71, beating analyst estimates by 4 cents. Revenues rose 1.8% YoY to $1.57 billion, matching consensus estimates. Global direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales rose 6% YoY, driven by continued brand elevation with double-digit growth rates in average unit retail (AUR) and full-price retail performance. North American revenues rose 2% to $668 million. Comparable store sales rose 3%, and brick-and-mortar locations saw a 6% increase offset by a 4% decrease in digital sales. North American wholesale revenues fell 2% but were still ahead of expectations as the company managed to sell in alignment with consumer demand. Mixed Guidance from Petco and Ralph Lauren Petco's In-Line Guidance Petco provided in-line guidance for Q2 2024, forecasting an EPS loss of 2 cents, matching consensus analyst estimates. Revenues are expected to be around $1.525 billion, slightly beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. The company projects full-year 2024 net interest expense to be around $145 million and capital expenditures (CAPEX) to be $140 million. Additionally, Petco announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend. Ralph Lauren's Lowered Guidance Ralph Lauren offered a less optimistic outlook, guiding fiscal Q1 2025 revenues below prior-year estimates, against the consensus estimate of 3.3% growth or $1.55 billion. Despite this, the company expects revenue growth on a constant currency (CC) basis, though the outlook includes a 50 basis points negative impact from the timing of an earlier Easter, which benefited fiscal Q4 2024. For the fiscal full year 2025, Ralph Lauren anticipates revenue growth of 2% to 3% on a CC basis compared to the previous year. Ralph Lauren CEO's Insights CEO Patrice Louvet commented that fiscal 2024 marked the second year of its Accelerate Plan strategy. The company made progress in increasing the desirability of its timeless brand, which resonated with consumers of all ages. They leveraged the breadth and authenticity of their lifestyle product portfolios and made progress in their long-term strategic pivot toward the higher-margin DTC channels, which have grown to two-thirds of its total business, up from 50%. Chief Creative Office Ralph Lauren summed it up, saying, "Our brand has always been about inspiring people to live the life of their dreams. We marry elegance and style in aspirational worlds — from our recent fashion show featuring elevated classics to the vibrant home line we showcased last month in Milan — our teams around the world are delivering our vision with passion and care." Ralph Lauren analyst ratings and price targets are on MarketBeat. Before you consider Petco Health and Wellness, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Petco Health and Wellness wasn't on the list. While Petco Health and Wellness currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Determining Your Risk Tolerance - A Comprehensive Guide 2024-05-29 14:28:00+00:00 - Risk tolerance varies from person to person. Some people have no fear of parachuting out of an airline, while others won’t even ride a rollercoaster at a theme park. Everyone is a combination of their own ideas and experiences, which is why topics like risk tolerance are constantly evolving. Risk can’t be avoided entirely in investments, but the amount of risk we’re exposed to can be modified by concentrating on a few key factors. Before you invest, it's essential to understand your risk tolerance. While no one-size-fits-all investment plan exists, specific forces consistently influence our decisions. In this article, we’ll guide you through measuring your personal risk tolerance, explain the factors involved and help you identify the right assets for your risk tolerance level. Get breaking market news alerts: Sign Up What Are the Different Types of Risk Tolerance? All investments carry some risk. Even safe assets, like bonds, index funds or your primary residence, can lose value. Risk tolerance measures how much price volatility you’re willing to withstand on your asset to maximize returns. Risk-taking can be rewarded, but risky assets can also suffer prolonged drawdowns. Like Goldilocks, you’ll want to adjust the temperature of your portfolio until your asset allocation is just right. Here’s a rudimentary example of 3 different levels of risk tolerance. Aggressive Risk Tolerance For those with an aggressive investment risk tolerance, the thrill of high-volatility assets is part of the game. Aggressive portfolios often feature stocks from dynamic sectors like tech or consumer discretionary, and certain market conditions can lead to significant returns. Investors with long time horizons often opt for aggressive portfolios as they can best weather extended drawdowns. Moderate Risk Tolerance Moderate investors try to balance their portfolios with risk assets and income-producing instruments. An excellent example is the classic 60/40 portfolio, where an investor puts 60% of the capital into stocks and 40% into bonds. Conservative Risk Tolerance Sometimes, preservation is more important than accumulation. Conservative investors often prefer consistency to market-beating returns, so they prefer bank CDs, bonds or dividend-paying stocks. Retirees usually have conservative investment plans to earn steady income-based returns while spending down their nest egg. How to Determine Your Risk Tolerance Risk tolerance is a matter of personal preference. Time horizon plays a considerable role but is far from the only important factor. Two investors with similar timeframes may still have drastically different risk tolerance levels depending on their family situation, career or health. You’ll want to consult with an advisor to develop personal risk tolerance guidelines, but here are a few considerations to take into the meeting. Consider Current Investments and Goals Why are you investing in the first place? Is it to build a nest egg for retirement or a child’s education, or to save for a house down payment or exotic vacation? Your goals will significantly influence the level of risk you apply to your portfolio. For example, a vacation isn’t necessary, so you might be more comfortable taking risks in that scenario than if you were saving for something more essential like a house or college tuition. Consider Your Age and Time Horizon Market timing is tricky, but the time you spend in the market is within your control. If you’re a young investor climbing the career ladder, you have 2 huge advantages: time and physical capital. You have decades to earn income and invest that income aggressively. According to concepts like time diversification, investing in stocks over long timelines is less risky since the portfolio can be adjusted as the timeframe winds down. Investors in securities like target-date funds have their level of risk automatically toned down as their expected retirement date approaches. Older investors may not be able to afford a risky process since they no longer earn income through their jobs and depend on their investments for living expenses. Consider Your Personal Comfort Level Separating emotions from investing is complicated. Can you tolerate an extended drawdown? Are you afraid of pulling money out of risky investments at the worst possible time? Be honest with yourself when considering this factor. Only some investors can tolerate watching their portfolio drop 10-20% quickly, which is often how bear markets materialize. If the idea of losing a big chunk of your capital makes your stomach churn, you might prefer a conservative portfolio, even if you have a long time horizon. Adjusting Risk Tolerance Over Time Risk tolerance isn’t fixed; it’s a malleable trait that changes based on personal situations and timelines. This adaptability provides reassurance and flexibility in your investment journey. Age is a good barometer of risk tolerance; younger investors will naturally be able to tolerate more risk than older ones. However, risk tolerance also changes with income, family dynamics, health and economic environment. An investor with a spouse and 3 children probably won’t have the same comfort with risk as someone the same age with no dependents. Life constantly changes, and keeping up with market headlines can be difficult. Always take time to chat with an advisor if your scenario changes. Conclusion Risk tolerance is a tool to determine what assets are ideal for a specific investor’s portfolio. Understanding risk tolerance allows you to construct a portfolio that aligns with your financial goals and comfort levels, making you feel secure and prepared. Aggressive investors with long time horizons can invest in riskier asset classes like individual stocks, while risk-averse investors may prefer bonds or index funds. Several factors go into the risk tolerance equation, such as timeframes, family situations and personal comfort levels. Consider an advisor's services when deciding to change the makeup of your portfolio. Make an Informed Investment Strategy with MarketBeat You can’t escape market risk, but you can learn to mitigate it with the proper tools and research. Consider MarketBeat’s suite of services to stay on top of market headlines, economic data and company earnings reports. Click here to learn more.