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Fed Minutes Show Officials Were Wary About Inflation at May Meeting 2024-05-22 18:47:57+00:00 - Federal Reserve officials were wary about the recent lack of progress on inflation and remained willing to lift interest rates if conditions made it necessary as of their two-day meeting that ended on May 1. Minutes from the gathering, released Wednesday, showed that “many” officials expressed uncertainty about how much today’s interest-rate setting — 5.3 percent, up sharply from near zero in early 2022 — was weighing on the economy. Officials have been clear that they expect to leave interest rates unchanged for now, hoping that they are tapping the brakes on economic growth enough to quash inflation over time. And central bankers have repeatedly emphasized that they expect the next move on interest rates to be a reduction, not an increase. But policymakers have stopped short of ruling out a future rate increase, allowing that it’s a possibility if inflation proves surprisingly rapid. The minutes underscored that caveat.

The Guardian view on free trade: an idea whose time has gone | Editorial 2024-05-22 18:46:00+00:00 - The biggest shift in American politics has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen, Fox News or golf courses. Indeed, its author is not Donald J Trump. Yet the implications stretch far beyond this year’s presidential elections, and affect countries across the world. The era of free trade is dying, and the man bringing down the guillotine represents the party that in the past three decades has been evangelically pro-globalisation: the Democrats. Last week, Joe Biden imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese-made goods. Electric cars produced in China will now be hit with import tax of 100%, chips and solar cells 50% and lithium-ion batteries 25%. These and other tariffs on goods worth an estimated $18bn a year amount to a rounding error in the giant US economy. And in an election year, Mr Biden, who hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is fretting about support not only in his home state but across the country’s industrial heartland, gutted by decades of free trade. Yet, what matters is not the what or the why, but the who. When, in 2019, Donald Trump hit Beijing with tariffs across $300bn of goods, his Democrat rival tweeted: “Trump doesn’t get the basics. He thinks his tariffs are being paid by China. Any freshman econ student could tell you that the American people are paying his tariffs.” Mr Biden vowed to repeal them. Five years later, they not only remain in place, but he is piling on more. For the best part of 40 years, free trade and free finance were so orthodox among Democrats and Republicans that they were key to what’s been dubbed the Washington consensus. It was Bill Clinton who signed into law the Nafta deal with Mexico and Canada, and who successfully lobbied for China to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Now his successor has turned towards subsidies for American clean-technology businesses and protectionism. This is as significant a shift in US foreign policy as Nixon flying to Beijing. The classic case for free markets is that they lower prices and force businesses to sharpen up. Tony Blair thought that “the competition can’t be shut out; it can only be beaten”. From now on, the WTO and other global institutions that safeguard competition may need to show greater flexibility. But as the economist Ha-Joon Chang notes: “All of today’s rich countries, including Britain and the US – the supposed homes of free trade and free markets – have become rich through combinations of protectionism, subsidies and other policies that today they advise the developing countries not to adopt.” Perhaps the more pressing question is whether the US can catch up. The Chinese now dominate the production of electric cars and have the lock on battery production. But few Chinese vehicles are sold in the US. Mr Biden could have concentrated on the installation of green technologies and retrofitting homes – jobs that cannot be traded away. Free trade is no longer seen as an economic inevitability, but what it always was: a political choice. That comes too late for many. Interviewed by the Observer last Sunday, the singer-songwriter Richard Hawley recalled his boyhood in Sheffield, as it was hollowed out by global market forces. “As a steelworker’s son, who watched my father’s entire generation get thrown on a scrapheap, I was determined never to work for the man. Never … Thirty-four years in the steelworks and you get treated like that at the end?” Quite.

Things can only get better? For Sunak and the UK economy, this might be as good as it gets 2024-05-22 18:35:00+00:00 - When you are 20 or so points behind in the opinion polls calling an election before you need to do so is a high-risk strategy. Yet Rishi Sunak has decided that holding on until the autumn is an even bigger gamble. The economy decides elections, and as far as the prime minister is concerned, this could be as good as it gets. Sunak has only come to this view recently. After sliding into a shallow recession at the end of 2023, the economy has only just returned to growth. Living standards – which took a hammering during the cost of living crisis – have been picking up. Inflation has fallen from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2.3%, only just above its target. But the economy has only just turned the corner and there was a strong case for playing it long so that the government could point to further evidence of recovery. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, certainly thought as much, and the Treasury was already working on plans for a pre-election autumn statement. Plan A was for the chancellor to announce a cut in national insurance contribution (NICs) in September, allowing Sunak to announce the date of a November election at the Conservative party conference. That plan has now been junked. Plan B involves convincing voters that a fledgling recovery is for real and that Britain’s “hard-won stability” (a phrase Sunak will use repeatedly during the election campaign) will be jeopardised by a Labour victory. So what’s changed? First, some of the recent news has been better than expected. Growth in the first three months of 2024 was 0.6% and surveys have suggested improvement will continue into the second quarter. Both business and consumer confidence have picked up. In its annual assessment of the state of the economy, the International Monetary Fund said a deep recession had been avoided and a soft landing was in prospect. Second, the latest annual inflation figures – while showing a sharp fall from 3.2% in March to 2.3% in April – were not as good as the Bank of England and the financial markets were expecting. Headline inflation is expected to remain close to the government’s 2% target for the next few months but is likely to start rising gently in the autumn. Service sector inflation, which is closely monitored by the Bank as a proxy for price pressures generated by the domestic economy, is proving harder to shift, and is running at 5.9%. As a result, the Bank is likely to be cautious about cutting interest rates. A speech this week by Ben Broadbent, one of its deputy governors, was seen as pointing to a cut in the cost of borrowing in June, but the release of the inflation figures altered the mood. The City now sees little chance of a rate cut next month and thinks there is only a 50% chance of one at the next meeting of the Bank’s monetary policy committee in early August. That will have a knock-on effect on mortgage rates, hurting those whose fixed-rate mortgages expire this year. The longer Sunak delays the election, the more households will be affected. Third, the state of the public finances means there is no real room for tax cuts this autumn. Although the IMF had some good news for the government, it also said there was no scope for giveaways and indeed pointed to a looming £30bn hole that needed to be filled. 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 The IMF’s warning was given added weight by the latest Office for National Statistics figures showing the government borrowed more than £20bn in April – more than in April last year and more than the independent Office for Budget Responsibility predicted at the time of the March budget. To sum up, hopes of households benefiting from multiple pre-election cuts in mortgage rates have faded. Hunt has been forced to recognise that there is no money for tax cuts. The economy, by recent standards, has been doing tolerably well. So why wait?

Bark Air, a new airline for dogs, set to take its first flight 2024-05-22 18:33:00+00:00 - Bark Air, a new airline that puts dogs before their human companions, will take its first flight Thursday. Bark, a pet company founded in 2011 that sells dog food and other products, announced the new aviation experience for canines in April. It's the second air travel service to market itself as catering to pets before human passengers, recognizing how stressful and uncomfortable commercial air travel can be for animals. United Kingdom-based public charter operator K9 jets also lets passengers' pets travel next to them in the aircraft cabin, versus in crates in commercial aircraft cargo holds. "We are excited to take the insights we've learned over the years to create an experience that is truly dog-first, which is drastically different from just accepting dogs – from the ground to the skies," Bark co-founder and CEO Matt Meeker said in April. "We believe this initiative will elevate awareness of our brand's mission and values, introduce more dog lovers to the Bark family, and help enrich the lives of dogs and their people around the world." The first flight from New York to Los Angeles Thursday is sold out, according to Bark's booking website. The company said it launched the air travel experience to make long-distance travel more comfortable for dogs that don't fit under the seats in front of passengers on commercial aircraft. "Too often, dogs are denied travel, confined to a duffle bag, or endure the stress of flying in cargo," the company said in announcing the flights in April. A golden retriever boards a test flight ahead of Bark Air's first scheduled commercial flight on Thursday, March 23, 2024. Joe GALL Bark Air says it will offer "white paw service" to its canine customers — who'll even get to socialize with other dogs in what the company calls a "dog-centric" cabin configuration. Like first-class human passengers, dogs on board will be offered treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, a beverage of their choice and other surprises, the company said. Initially, the service will fly between the New York City metro area and Los Angeles, as well as from New York to London. More routes will be added soon, the company said. Bark Air will operate as a public charter service, flying on spacious Gulfstream G5 jets. It does not own or operate any aircraft. Each dog ticket comes with a pass for one human. Families may also purchase additional passes. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted aboard. There are no size or breed restrictions for dogs. The Gulfstream G5 aircraft Bark Air uses accommodate 15 passengers, but the carrier only sells 10 tickets per flight. Joe GALL The service doesn't come cheap. A one-way flight from New York to Los Angeles in June costs $6,000 for one dog and one human. A New York to London ticket costs $8,000. Meeker acknowledged the service's high cost in a May letter, but said he expects prices to come down as demand climbs. "This is cost-prohibitive for most families, but less expensive than most options today. And this is also how most innovative products and services began," he said. "Televisions, telephones, VCRs and DVD players, to automobiles, train and boat travel, and, yes, even human air travel — all of these started with very high prices until demand was proven and the costs could be brought lower by serving the masses."

Virgin Money shareholders vote for Nationwide takeover by big majority 2024-05-22 18:31:00+00:00 - Virgin Money shareholders have voted in favour of a £2.9bn takeover by rival lender Nationwide Building Society, helping clear the path for the biggest UK banking deal since the financial crisis. Just over 89% of voting shareholders said yes to the deal at a general meeting on Wednesday, while nearly 11% rejected the move. The resolution required at least 75% backing to pass. There had been some uncertainty over the size of opposition that Virgin Money might face, after Australian fund manager Allan Gray, which holds a 10% stake, hit out at the 220p a share offer, saying earlier this month that they were “disappointed” with the price, and that the takeover was “likely to sell shareholders very short”. However, Virgin Money secured backing from its largest investor, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group confirmed early on that it would back the takeover, which will result in a £724m windfall for the billionaire businessman. That sum includes the sale of Branson’s 14.5% stake in the bank, which he founded in 1995, as well as £310m for the privilege of using – and eventually disposing of – the Virgin brand. Nationwide will pay £15m in annual royalties to Virgin Group to use the brand name over the first four years, before paying £250m to exit the contract, and eventually phase out Virgin Money’s name entirely. The shareholder vote clears a notable hurdle for the takeover, though it will still require formal approval from City regulators the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The lenders will also need signoff from the Competition and Markets Authority, and Virgin Money will have to cancel listings on the London and the Australian stock exchanges, with the deal likely to be completed in the final three months of the year. 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 Nationwide has stopped short of offering its own members a vote on the deal – citing regulations including the 1986 Building Societies Act, which does not require a society to hold a vote if it is buying a business that looks roughly like its own. It has said its hands are also tied by UK takeover rules that suggest a bidder cannot make an offer that would hinge on it holding a vote it is not required to. The acquisition will solidify Nationwide’s position as the UK’s second-largest mortgage lender, led by chief executive Debbie Crosbie. Crosbie already has links to the takeover target, having previously served as chief operating officer at the bank, which was previously known as Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group before the lender bought Virgin Money for £1.7bn, and started using its name, in 2018.

The biggest problem with Apple Music’s '100 Best Albums' list 2024-05-22 18:19:14+00:00 - Apple Music put together a list of the "100 Best Albums," and it did not follow its old advice to "Think Different." The list, which was released in chunks culminating with the announcement of the top 10 Wednesday, would not look out of place in Rolling Stone, Time, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, New Music Express, The Source, Spin or any of the myriad other publications that have taken a stab at this idea over the years. "Nevermind"? No. 9. "What’s Going On"? No. 17. "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"? No. 34. For connoisseurs of the list-making genre, it's more fun to parse it carefully to see the tough calls Apple inevitably faced as it made the list "with the help of artists and experts." Did the list-makers give extra weight to double albums? (Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” is at No. 6, The Clash’s “London Calling” at No. 35, Prince's "Sign o' the Times" at No. 51 and The Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” at No. 53.) Which Beatles album ranks highest? (They put "Abbey Road" at No. 3 and "Revolver" at No. 21 and skipped "Sgt. Pepper's" entirely.) How diverse is the list? (About a third of the artists are women and about 40% are Black.) Apple's choices are as mysterious as its decision to keep changing the design of the power cords on the MacBook. Then there's the bigger picture, which is where Apple's choices are as mysterious as its decision to keep changing the design of the power cords on the MacBook. First, what exactly is the list measuring? Most outlets that try their hand at a list like this limit it in some way, like the Best Rock Albums, the Best Hip-Hop Albums or the Best Albums of the 2010s, but Apple chose to just call this the "100 Best Albums," saying it was "the definitive list of the greatest albums ever made." Are they supposed to be the best thematically? The best collections, song by song? The most important historically? Apple doesn't say. And what kinds of albums are we talking about? While hip-hop and rock are pretty well represented, the list gives only token nods to other genres, with one reggae album (Bob Marley's "Exodus" at No. 46), one country album (Kacey Musgraves' "Golden Hour" at No. 85), one folk album (Joni Mitchell's "Blue" at No. 16), two punk albums ("London Calling" at No. 35 and Patti Smith's "Horses" at No. 83) and three jazz albums (Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" at No. 25, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" at No. 54 and Nina Simone's "I Put a Spell on You" at No. 88). There's no blues, no gospel, no world music and no live albums. By comparison, R&B did pretty well, with nearly a dozen entries, but fans were still not happy about the absence of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, among others. Legendary producer Jermaine Dupri criticized the list on Tuesday, writing on the social media site X that it was "sad" and "not worthy" and "the disrespect to R&B is CRAZY!!!!!" (To be fair, his tweet came out before the final 10, which put "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" at No. 1.) A few years ago, music critics would have debated whether a list like this had fallen victim to "rockism," the belief that pop music is not as important as four guys with guitars and black leather jackets. That prejudice was shown most vividly by Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner, who recently managed to write an entire book about rock music in which he interviewed only white men. Wenner then defended that choice by arguing that Black artists were not in his "zeitgeist" and women artists were not "articulate enough on this intellectual level." But the problem here is deeper than rockism. Like Rolling Stone itself, the entire concept of an album, much less a list of best albums, is a relic of an earlier era in music. The LP (for younger readers, that stands for "Long Play") was invented in 1948 and quickly became a popular format for classical music (not on Apple's list), Broadway cast recordings (also not on the list) and especially jazz (barely on the list), where it arguably transformed the genre by allowing artists such as Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to stretch out their arrangements on recordings to match what they were doing in concert. The concept of an album was pioneered by artists as diverse as Woody Guthrie ("Dust Bowl Ballads"), Frank Sinatra ("Songs for Swingin' Lovers") and Ray Charles ("Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music") — none of whom made the Apple list. The album's real heyday came in the 1960s, when rock bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys elevated it over the single. But the album's real heyday came in the 1960s, when rock bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys — all included on Apple's list — elevated it over the single. Wenner and other critics of the era took it from there, arguing over whether "Highway 61 Revisited" was better than "Blonde on Blonde," which albums should make the cut in the yearly list and who should be literally canonized with the annual inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. (Though a co-founder, Wenner was removed from the museum board after his comments on Black and women musicians.) The album remains important, with artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift using the format to make a statement, explore a different genre or mark a new era in their personal life. But albums themselves are no longer a juggernaut, as music is now mostly streamed on services like Spotify and Apple Music, where algorithms, user-created playlists and professionally curated "Essentials" are the most common listening experience. Ironically, Apple wrote that its list was meant to be "a modern love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in today," but it may be closer to a eulogy for a lost era of music, given by one of its killers.

Federal Reserve minutes: Policymakers saw a longer path to rate cuts 2024-05-22 18:06:15+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — After several unexpectedly high inflation readings, Federal Reserve officials concluded at a meeting earlier this month that it would take longer than they previously thought for inflation to cool enough to justify reducing their key interest rate, now at a 23-year high. Minutes of the May 1 meeting, released Wednesday, showed that officials also debated whether their benchmark rate was exerting enough of a drag on the economy to further slow inflation. Many officials noted that they were uncertain how restrictive the Fed’s rate policies are, the minutes said. That suggests that it wasn’t clear to the policymakers whether they were doing enough to restrain price growth. High interest rates “may be having smaller effects than in the past,” the minutes said. Economists have noted that many American homeowners, for example, refinanced their mortgages during the pandemic and locked in very low mortgage rates. Most large companies also refinanced their debt at low rates. Both trends have blunted the impact of the Fed’s 11 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023. Such concerns have raised speculation that the Fed might consider raising, rather than cutting, its influential benchmark rate in the coming months. Indeed, the minutes noted that “various” officials “mentioned a willingness” to raise rates if inflation re-accelerated. But at a news conference just after the meeting, Chair Jerome Powell said it was “unlikely” that the Fed would resume raising its key rate — a remark that temporarily boosted financial markets. Since the meeting, though, the latest monthly jobs report showed that hiring slowed in April, and an inflation report from the government showed that price pressures also cooled last month. Those trends have likely even further reduced the likelihood of a Fed rate increase. On Tuesday, Christopher Waller, a key member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, largely dismissed the prospect of a rate hike this year. In a statement issued after the May 1 meeting, the Fed officials acknowledged that the nation’s progress in reducing inflation had stalled in the first three months of this year. As a result, they said, they wouldn’t begin cutting their key rate until they had “greater confidence” that inflation was steadily returning to their 2% target. Rate cuts by the Fed would eventually lead to lower costs for mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer and business borrowing. Powell also said then that he still expected inflation to further cool this year. But, he added, “my confidence in that is lower than it was because of the data we’ve seen.” From a peak of 7.1% in 2022, inflation as measured by the Fed’s preferred gauge steadily slowed for most of 2023. But for the past three months, that gauge has run at a pace faster than is consistent with the central bank’s inflation target. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices rose at a 4.4% annual rate in the first three months of this year, sharply higher than the 1.6% pace in December. That acceleration dimmed hopes that the Fed would soon be able to cut its key rate and achieve a “soft landing,” in which inflation would fall to 2% and a recession would be avoided. On Tuesday, Waller also said he would “need to see several more months of good inflation data before” he would support reducing rates. That suggests that the Fed wouldn’t likely consider rate cuts until September at the earliest.

Police are investigating where the ketamine in Matthew Perry's body came from 2024-05-22 17:54:53+00:00 - Police are investigating the circumstances around actor Matthew Perry's death, more than six months after his body was found in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration have launched a joint probe into the source of the ketamine that was found in his body, NBC News reported. The U.S. Postal Service is also involved in the investigation. Perry’s sudden death in October led to a wave of grief across Hollywood and among his fans. The 54-year-old “Friends” actor had long struggled with addiction, which he wrote candidly about in his well-regarded 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” Perry's autopsy report had stated the primary cause of his death as "acute effects" of ketamine, with drowning and coronary artery disease listed as contributing factors. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident, and no foul play was suspected. Ketamine, an anesthetic, is increasingly used as an alternative treatment for depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Perry himself had been using ketamine infusion therapy, and the last dose he received was a week-and-a-half before his death, according to the autopsy. Still, the levels of ketamine found in his body were higher than usual, especially since the drug takes hours to metabolize. Police have said that no illicit drugs were found at his home.

Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions 2024-05-22 17:49:18+00:00 - A federal judge has signed off on the $600 million class action settlement over last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio, but many people who live near East Palestine are still wondering how much they will end up with out of the deal. Preliminary approval for the settlement came late Tuesday, so now lawyers involved in the case will return to the community to answer more questions about the deal Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern agreed to this spring. “Our pitch to the community is please give us time to explain why we think this is fair,” said Mike Morgan, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs. Morgan said the settlement will resolve claims against the railroad and other defendants in the lawsuit, such as the rail car owners and chemical manufacturer that made the vinyl chloride released and burned after the derailment. Neither the Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the cleanup, nor any other government entity was a defendant, but there has been significant confusion about whether possible future lawsuits against them could be affected because broad language in the fine print of the agreement mentions that “governmental agencies, entities, and authorities, whether federal, state, county, or local, their employees, officers, agents, members, and volunteers” are among the released parties. Morgan said that language isn’t designed to prevent all lawsuits against the government, which might be difficult to pursue anyway because of limits on government liability. “I just don’t understand why they’re trying to make us sign away rights that we have,” said Jami Wallace, who left her home after the derailment. Pending lawsuits filed by the EPA and Ohio against the railroad aren’t affected by the settlement. The agreement is designed to address all damage claims against the companies within a 20-mile (32-kilometer) radius of the derailment and, for residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of the derailment. But the lawyers involved say there is no way at this point to address potential future health costs if someone were to develop cancer down the road under appellate court rulings in the region. Residents can decide to accept money for property damage without taking the personal injury payment. Fears about the potential long-term health implications of the chemical exposure after the crash are a major concern for the community. Many people are still reporting respiratory problems, unexplained rashes and other symptoms more than a year after the derailment while others have no health complaints. The amount people receive from the settlement will vary based on how close they lived to the derailment and how it affected them. Documents filed in court suggests that a family living within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the derailment might receive only $70,000 for property damage and another $10,000 for injuries. Someone who lived farther away will get considerably less — maybe only $250 for families more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away. Many residents question whether the deal will provide enough compensation once the money is divided up. But Morgan said the ultimate amount families receive could be significantly larger once a claims administrator considers individual factors. The attorneys are expected to receive up to $162 million in legal fees out of the settlement if the judge approves. The final amount residents receive will be affected by how much assistance they took from Norfolk Southern, which provided $21.4 million in direct assistance to families who had to temporarily relocate after the derailment. The amount families received from the railroad will be deducted from the settlement they get, but that money won’t be refunded to Norfolk Southern. Instead, the money will be returned to the settlement fund to be distributed to the community. A dedicated claims center to help people request their share of the settlement will open in East Palestine now that the agreement has received preliminary approval, and the lawyers plan to hold more community meetings. Residents who don’t think the settlement provides enough have until July 1 to opt out of the deal and preserve their right to file an individual lawsuit later. That means they will have time to read the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the derailment that will be released at a June 25 hearing in East Palestine. Previously, the proposed opt-out deadline was the day before that hearing. The NTSB has said that the crash was likely caused by an overheating bearing on one of the cars on the train that wasn’t detected soon enough by the network of detectors the railroad has alongside the tracks. The head of the NTSB also said that the five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride didn’t need to be blown open to prevent an explosion because they were actually starting to cool off even though the fire continued to burn around them.

M&S’s revival is the real deal – don’t mess it up again 2024-05-22 17:47:00+00:00 - It is three years exactly since Archie Norman, the chair, said he’d spotted “green shoots” of recovery at Marks & Spencer, and, after a delay caused by the cost of living blight, a bloom has indeed appeared. Pre-tax profits rose 41% last year to £672m (or 58% to £716m ignoring “adjusting” items). Chief executive Stuart Machin, switching the metaphors from botanical to nautical, reckons there is “wind in our sails”. The performance is definitely radically improved. The only real blemishes were in the international division, where the collection of overseas franchises and partnerships seems to have been an afterthought to the self-help programme at home, and at the joint venture with Ocado in food, which is producing the familiar sight of lively sales growth but bottom-line losses. The rest, though, is flying. After the hard grind of fixing logistics and so forth under his predecessor, Machin has sharpened the prices and the product offer. Market share in food, home and clothing is on the up. It also helps that M&S finally accepted years ago that it had to get out of so many underperforming second- and third-tier stores in the age of online shopping. Such “full-line” outlets used to number 320, are now down to 240 and the eventual target is 180, with relocations to better sites also being part of the mix. All the while, the number of food-only venues continues to be expanded. Very good: the shares rose 5% to 288p as City analysts upgraded profit forecasts. But before M&S shareholders get too carried away, they should remember that their company has had at least two moments in its 25-year struggle for re-invention when the bosses of the time thought they’d cracked it. Back in 2007, profits of £1bn were briefly glimpsed again and chief executive Stuart Rose said M&S was “once again setting the pace” in UK retailing. The post-2008 recession crushed that illusion. Then, in 2016, Marc Bolland bowed out by claiming to have “done the heavy lifting” when he hadn’t. Two years later, Norman was talking about being on “a burning platform”. There are, though, a few reasons for thinking the latest revival is the real deal. First, M&S has now clocked up 12 consecutive quarters of sales growth in food and non-food, which suggests a genuine turning point was reached. Second, Debenhams has disappeared from high streets and John Lewis’s recovery has barely begun. Third, M&S’s ongoing store “rotation” programme should continue to be a benefit. Fourth, the balance sheet – the strongest since 1997, reckons the company, after two years of strong cashflow – can plainly deal with any minor relapses. Fifth, Machin is frank that M&S still needs to invest more in its digital operations. Sixth, the international headaches look fixable. 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 None of which guarantees a multi-year winning run, but a bracing encounter with a true crisis in the Covid period, when the shares dipped below 100p, may have been beneficial ultimately. It seemed to produce greater commercial ruthlessness on costs and prices, for example. It should have happened years ago.

Anglo American rejects BHP’s third takeover offer of £38.6bn 2024-05-22 17:02:00+00:00 - Anglo American has rebuffed a third takeover attempt by BHP after the Australian company sweetened its offer in an attempt to create a global mining titan. BHP said it had submitted an “increased and final” bid of £31.11 a share for Anglo, which values the FTSE 100 company at £38.6bn, earlier this week. Anglo had already rejected two previous offers from BHP: the first, in April, valued it at £31bn and the second, which was snubbed last week, put it at £34bn. The attempted BHP takeover, the largest ever in the mining sector, would create a global player in markets for commodities including copper, iron ore, potash and metallurgical coal used for steelmaking. Copper in particular is in high demand as a raw material in the transition to low-carbon energy as it is used in manufacturing components for electric vehicles and renewable energy projects. Anglo’s key assets are copper mines in Chile and Peru. After the two previous rejections, BHP said it had been “engaging with Anglo American and its advisers” to allay concerns over the deal and that it was hopeful that resolution would be reached in the next seven days. Mike Henry, the chief executive of BHP, said: “The revised proposal is underpinned by BHP’s disciplined approach to mergers and acquisition and our focus on delivering long term fundamental value. “BHP’s revised proposal will offer immediate value for Anglo American shareholders and allow them to benefit from the long-term value generation of the combined group.” BHP’s attempt to snap up Anglo could still be gatecrashed by a rival. The Swiss mining company Glencore has reportedly been considering its own approach. BHP’s terms require that Anglo sells its stakes in Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore, returning cash to shareholders as part of the deal. Even if BHP is unsuccessful, Anglo’s chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, has pledged to break up the business and sell its platinum division and its De Beers diamond arm. Stuart Chambers, the chair of Anglo American, said: “The board considered BHP’s latest proposal carefully, concluded it does not meet expectations of value delivered to Anglo American’s shareholders, and has unanimously rejected it.” 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 Chambers said its board was “confident in Anglo American’s standalone future prospects” and that BHP had not addressed the board’s concerns about the complex terms of the takeover. “Multiple engagements with the BHP team have not yet been able to resolve the concerns on these issues,” he said. Anglo received a boost this week when one of its largest shareholders, Legal & General Investment Management, backed the FTSE 100 miner’s break-up plan, calling it a “radical but attractive strategy”. The South African government is Anglo’s largest shareholder through its Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and home to many of its mines. The PIC has so far been unimpressed by BHP’s takeover attempts and said on Wednesday before the latest bid was made that the previous offer needed “meaningful revision”. BHP had until 5pm on Wednesday to make an improved offer or walk away for six months under City takeover rules. Anglo said the deadline has now been extended until 29 May.

Why did Trump reverse course on possible contraception restrictions? 2024-05-22 16:59:01+00:00 - Even those who’ve come to expect weird rhetoric from Donald Trump were surprised yesterday when the former president confirmed — out loud, on camera, and on the record — that he was “looking at” possible restrictions on contraception. Since we discussed this in some detail yesterday, it seemed only fair to do a follow-up item, noting that he soon after said the opposite, which made the whole thing even more curious. To briefly recap, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee sat down with Jon Delano, a political analyst for KDKA in Pittsburgh, who asked an entirely straightforward and unambiguous question: “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?” Instead of saying, “Of course not,” Trump replied, “We’re looking at that.” Pressed further on the possibility of some states banning forms of birth control, the former president wouldn’t answer directly, but claimed he and his team would release more information about his secret-for-now position “within a week or so.” For Democrats eager to paint the former president as a far-right radical — on reproductive rights, among other issues — the on-camera comments were an unexpected gift. That said, just as the public started to learn of Trump’s stated position, the GOP candidate pushed back in the opposite direction by way of his social media platform. This was the entirety of his online message: “I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives. This is a Democrat fabricated lie, MISINFORMATION/DISINFORMATION, because they have nothing else to run on except FAILURE, POVERTY, AND DEATH. I DO NOT SUPPORT A BAN ON BIRTH CONTROL, AND NEITHER WILL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!” To be sure, it’s easy to understand why Trump was so eager to appear on the side of the American mainstream. Not only is contraception use common, but the latest national survey from KFF, released in March, found that one in five adults believes the right to contraception is now in danger. With data like this in mind, it’s not surprising that the presumptive GOP nominee published a hysterical message online, rejecting the very idea of birth control restrictions. But that leaves us with a question with no obvious answer: If Trump is all-caps certain that he’s against contraception restrictions, why didn’t he just say so during his interview with KDKA? His online message called the controversy “a Democrat fabricated lie,” but all Democrats did was quote Trump and promote his on-air comments. He wasn’t taken out of context; there were no deceptive edits; the video was not manipulated to make the Republican look bad; and his critics didn’t need to make anything up. So what happened? Trump was asked, “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?” He said, “We’re looking at that.” In the next breath, he went on say, “I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting.” If the former president’s online tirade was right, and he will “never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control,” why not just say so? We’ll probably never know for sure, but my best guess is that he got confused and forgot what “contraception” means. This post updates our related earlier coverage.

Nvidia reports a 262% jump in sales, signals continuing AI boom 2024-05-22 16:56:00+00:00 - Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Nvidia reported fiscal first-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat expectations for sales and earnings, and provided a strong forecast for the current quarter. Nvidia's results have become a way for investors to gauge the strength of the AI boom that has transfixed markets in recent months. Its strong results on Wednesday suggest that demand for the AI chips Nvidia makes remains strong. The stock rose 6% in extended trading. Nvidia said it was splitting its stock 10 to 1. Nvidia shares hit a record on Tuesday, closing at $953.86, before slipping Wednesday. Based on the after-market move, the shares are poised to reach a fresh high on Thursday. Earnings Per Share : $6.12 adjusted vs. $5.59 adjusted, per LSEG consensus estimates. : $6.12 adjusted vs. $5.59 adjusted, per LSEG consensus estimates. Revenue: $26.04 billion vs. $24.65 billion expected by LSEG Nvidia said it expected sales of $28 billion in the current quarter. Wall Street was expecting earnings per share of $5.95 on sales of $26.61 billion, according to LSEG. Nvidia reported net income for the quarter of $14.88 billion, or $5.98 per share, compared with $2.04 billion, or 82 cents, in the year-ago period. In the past year, Nvidia sales have skyrocketed as companies such as Google , Microsoft , Meta , Amazon and OpenAI buy billions of dollars of Nvidia's GPUs, which are advanced and pricey chips required for developing and deploying artificial intelligence applications. The company's largest and most important business is its data center sales, which includes its AI chips as well as many of the additional parts needed to run big AI servers. Nvidia said its data center category rose 427% from the year-ago quarter to $22.6 billion in revenue. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said in a statement that it was due to shipments of the company's "Hopper" graphics processors, which include the company's H100 GPU. "A big highlight this quarter was Meta's announcement of Lama 3, their latest large language model which used 24,000 H100 GPUs," Kress said on a call with analysts. She added that large cloud providers comprised about "mid-40%" of Nvidia's data center revenue.

Graceland sale halted by judge in Tennessee after Elvis Presley's granddaughter alleges fraud 2024-05-22 16:53:00+00:00 - A Tennessee judge on Wednesday blocked the auction of Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley, by a company that claimed his estate failed to repay a loan that used the property as collateral. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction that had been scheduled for Thursday this week. "The court will enjoin the sale as requested because, one, the real estate is considered unique under Tennessee law. And in being unique, the loss of the real estate would be considered irreparable harm," Jenkins said, according to CBS affiliate WREG-TV. Jenkins' injunction essentially keeps in place a previous ruling that he had issued after Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough filed a lawsuit to fight off what she said was a fraudulent scheme. "As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best in class experience when visiting his iconic home," a spokesperson for Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. said Wednesday. A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre estate in Memphis posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Keough, an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough, on behalf of the Promenade Trust, alleged in her lawsuit that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023. Neither Keough nor lawyers for Naussany Investments were in court Wednesday. Keough, who starred in last year's hit show "Daisy Jones and the Six," is the heir to the estate. In a lawsuit, Keough claims Naussany Investments "appears to be a false entity created for the purpose" of defrauding her family. The lawsuit also says Keough's mother "never borrowed money" from the company, or gave them a deed of trust to Graceland, and further alleges that documents claiming otherwise "are forgeries." Elvis bought Graceland in 1957, at the age of 22, for $102,500. At the time he purchased it, the mansion was 10,266 square feet, and Elvis also bought 13.8 acres of the farm around the house. The mansion has since been expanded to 17,552 square feet. Graceland, where Elvis died in 1977, was named to the American National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Over 600,000 people visit Graceland — named after Grace, an aunt of one of the original owners — each year.

Sam Bankman-Fried Transferred From Brooklyn Jail 2024-05-22 16:49:14+00:00 - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy, was transferred out of a Brooklyn detention center on Wednesday morning, his spokesman said. Mr. Bankman-Fried’s final destination wasn’t clear, his spokesman, Mark Botnick, said. Before the transfer, Mr. Bankman-Fried, 32, told people close to him that he expected to be moved to a federal correctional facility in Mendota, Calif., a person with knowledge of the matter said. A representative for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on Mr. Bankman-Fried, citing “privacy, safety and security reasons.” A spokesman for the prosecutors who oversaw Mr. Bankman-Fried’s case did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a court filing on Wednesday afternoon, Lewis A. Kaplan, the judge overseeing his case, said the court “recommends” that the Bureau of Prisons keep Mr. Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Mr. Bankman-Fried had asked to remain there while he worked on an appeal challenging his conviction.

Meta's Oversight Board flooded with comments about ‘from the river to the sea’ debate 2024-05-22 16:36:00+00:00 - More than 2,300 people and organizations have submitted comments to Facebook and Instagram’s independent Oversight Board on whether the apps should continue allowing the pro-Palestinian phrase “from the river to the sea,” a board spokesperson said. The board, which functions as a quasi appeals court for content moderation on the Meta-owned apps, agreed two weeks ago to consider whether the phrase qualifies as hate speech because some people interpret it as a call for the elimination of Israel. The board has been accepting public comment to help with its deliberations, with a deadline of Tuesday night. The thousands of comments are the second-most that the board has received on a matter, the board said in a statement to NBC News. Only the case related to former President Donald Trump, whose accounts on Facebook and Instagram were suspended after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, received more feedback, with 9,666 people and organizations weighing in then. The phrase “from the river to the sea” has seen a surge in interest since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. A spokesperson for the Oversight Board said in a statement: “Conflicts create unique content moderation challenges for social media platforms, where these situations are heavily debated, protested and reported on. The Board is deliberating three cases regarding this phrase because of the resurgence in its use after October 7 and controversies around its meaning. The Board will issue its decisions and may, as is typical in its cases, provide additional recommendations to Meta.” The Oversight Board, created in 2019 by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has 22 members from around the world. They include law professors, former government officials, journalists and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Tawakkol Karman of Yemen. The board is evaluating three instances in which people on Facebook used the phrase “from the river to the sea.” In all three cases, Facebook left up the phrase after users reported it. The users who opposed the phrase then filed appeals. The Oversight Board asked for public comment on an array of different questions including the origin of the phrase, how people use it, any trends in usage online, any harm caused by the phrase and how universities and other institutions have responded to the use of the phrase. The board says it aims to issue a decision within 90 days of announcing a new case, per its bylaws. The board’s decisions about individual posts are generally binding on Facebook and Instagram. The board also sometimes recommends policy changes, which Meta can accept or reject. Meta said it welcomed the board’s review. “While all of our policies are developed with safety in mind, we know they come with global challenges and we regularly seek input from experts outside Meta, including the Oversight Board,” the company said in a statement. “As we’ve said previously, we continually assess our policy guidance to better understand potential impacts on different communities. This work is ongoing, and we look forward to the board’s decision and recommendations,” it said. The phrase refers to the contested region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The area includes Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Pro-Palestinian slogans and chants often include the phrase online and at protests across the country, and it has long been a point of controversy. Some interpret it as a general appeal to Palestinian nationalism, while others, including Hamas, have used it to call for a Palestinian state over the entire area, meaning Israel would not exist as an independent state. A spokesperson for the Oversight Board said the board was not immediately able to share a breakdown of how many comments supported the phrase or opposed it. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish anti-hate organization, submitted a comment calling the phrase antisemitic hate speech because it implies “the dismantling of the Jewish state.” “Usage of this phrase has the effect of making members of the Jewish and pro-Israel community feel unsafe and ostracized,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote in the letter, according to a copy provided by the ADL. “There are many ways to advocate for Palestinian justice and rights, including a Palestinian State, without resorting to using this hateful phrase, which denies the right of the State of Israel to exist,” he wrote. Greenblatt cited a poll commissioned by a University of California, Berkeley, professor, finding that many college students who embrace the phrase didn’t know which river or sea the phrase refers to. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, submitted a comment in defense of the phrase, which it said is a call for advancing Palestinian human rights. “Most Palestinian, Jewish, and other activists who use the phrase have explained that they are calling for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in a single state with equal rights for all,” wrote Robert McCaw, CAIR’s director of government affairs, according to a copy provided by CAIR. “No reasonable person would call this antisemitic, even if they disagree with that proposed solution,” he wrote. McCaw added that the Likud Party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had used similar wording in its original 1977 party platform, saying: “between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” Some Jewish students have also been vocal about their belief that the phrase isn't antisemitic. In February, one student wrote an opinion piece for Dartmouth's student paper, arguing, "as a Jewish American grandson of a Holocaust survivor, I fully reject the undertones of racism and Islamophobia within the idea that the phrase 'river to sea' is antisemitic." Meta’s apps have been at the center of several controversies related to the war in Gaza. Some human rights advocates have accused the company of censoring pro-Palestinian voices, while Instagram in particular has been a go-to platform for many Palestinian journalists and photographers. Others have claimed that Meta has censored pro-Israel content.

Aileen Cannon holds hearings in a case she's keeping from trial 2024-05-22 16:35:55+00:00 - With Donald Trump’s New York trial heading to summations next week, a hearing in his classified documents prosecution is a reminder that the hush money case may be his only criminal one that gets tried before the election — and possibly ever. When it comes to the classified documents case, the delay is due in large part to how U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has handled it. In fact, the federal case in Florida had been set to start trial this week, before Cannon postponed it indefinitely. Like Trump’s other federal case over his alleged 2020 election interference, it could have been tried by now, or could have been on its way to being tried, instead of mired in uncertainty. If Trump wins the presidential election in November, he could order his federal cases dismissed or try to pardon himself. Any pending action in his two state cases could be delayed — with the Georgia one’s fate already unclear on pretrial appeal — even if as president he can’t pardon himself for them. Wednesday’s hearing is to deal with defense dismissal motions, including Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta’s vindictive prosecution claim. However Cannon resolves these contested motions, that she’s potentially entertaining them risks further needless delay. Given the Trump-appointed judge’s leisurely handling of the case so far, it won’t be surprising if she takes a while to resolve those issues. But what’s being discussed Wednesday represents just a small fraction of the issues pending in the case against the former president and presumptive GOP nominee on allegations he hoarded sensitive government documents and obstructed efforts to retrieve them. (Trump and his two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.) Indeed, in a recent New York Times op-ed, a former CIA lawyer explained how Cannon “has made almost no progress over the past 11 months” since Trump was charged. That lawyer, Brian Greer, noted how Cannon still hasn’t addressed the biggest issues, including how classified evidence can be used at trial, and that she won’t even start doing so until at least August. “The world is watching, and Judge Cannon is proving that she is not fit for this moment,” the lawyer concluded. It’s difficult to disagree. Every motion is important, including the ones Cannon is considering Wednesday, especially because ruling for the defense would throw the case into even further chaos. But that aside, given Cannon’s slow-walking combined with the unknown outcome of the 2024 election, it remains to be seen whether this case will still be a case next year. (Because this question naturally arises, I’ve explained that, despite Cannon's actions and inaction, I don’t think that special counsel Jack Smith would succeed in pushing to remove the judge, which may be why he hasn’t tried.) Even if Trump loses another election, Cannon will still have the power to cause all sorts of mischief up through and during any trial. Her moves to date all but guarantee that such a trial won’t happen before the four-times indicted defendant possibly becomes president again. 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.

TJX Companies Can Hit New Highs; Double-Digit Upside to Follow 2024-05-22 16:27:00+00:00 - Key Points TJX Companies had a solid quarter, outperforming the bottom line and raising profit guidance. All segments produced growth and contributed to the strength. The trend in analysts' sentiment is positive, leading the market to a new high. 5 stocks we like better than TJX Companies TJX Companies NYSE: TJX industry-leading position in off-price retail and quality operations will soon lead its stock price to new heights. Like Walmart NYSE: WMT, TJX Companies benefits from the high inflation and interest rate environment because shoppers are still flush but turning more to value and opportunity than ever before. The Q1 results are not robust but show growth compared to contraction, as was reported by Target NYSE: TGT, and margin strength to drive capital returns. The takeaway is that TJX Companies' business is progressing normally; it’s growing, paying its dividend, repurchasing shares, and driving shareholder value. Get TJX Companies alerts: Sign Up TJX Companies Advances on Mixed Results TJX Companies Today TJX TJX Companies $101.12 +3.42 (+3.50%) 52-Week Range $75.65 ▼ $104.98 Dividend Yield 1.48% P/E Ratio 26.20 Price Target $107.56 Add to Watchlist TJX Companies Q1 results are mixed relative to the analysts' consensus reported by Marketbeat, but in that special way the market likes, where tepid top-line data is offset by bottom-line strength. Revenue was as expected at $12.48 billion, driven by a 3% systemwide comp. All segments contributed to the positive comp, with Marmaxx up 2%, HomeGoods up 4%, Canada up 4%, and International up 2%. HomeGoods is the strongest segment, with positive sales growth compared to last year’s contraction. Margin news is also favorable. The company reported a wider gross and operating margin due to lower freight costs and favorable mark-up. The net result is a 22% increase in GAAP earnings, more than triple the top-line growth, and a cash build on the balance sheet. Guidance is also mixed. The company held its revenue targets steady but increased the outlook for earnings. The only bad news is that the $4.03 to $4.09 in GAAP earnings forecast for the year aligns with the analysts' consensus and would not normally be a positive catalyst. However, the cash flow, cash build, and capital returns help to offset it and have the market moving higher premarket after the release. TJX Companies' Robust Capital Returns are Safe and Reliable TJX Companies' dividend isn’t all that impressive, with a yield near 1.5%, but it is above the market average, reliable, and compounded by share repurchases. Share repurchases more than double the effective yield and are significant to shareholders because the company retires shares to reduce the count. Repurchasing activity lowered the share count by an average of 1.5% diluted in Q1 and is expected to continue at a robust pace this year. The roughly $500 million spent in Q1 is 20% of the FY target, suggesting the pace will increase as the year progresses. TJX Companies Dividend Payments Dividend Yield 1.45% Annual Dividend $1.50 Dividend Increase Track Record 4 Years Annualized 3-Year Dividend Growth 77.79% Dividend Payout Ratio 38.86% Next Dividend Payment Jun. 6 See Full Details Analysts See TJX Companies Forecast at New Highs Quarterly cash flow was insufficient to cover the capital return, but the annualized outlook is solid. The company’s strongest quarters are still ahead, and strength is seen in the balance sheet, reflecting the impact of last year’s results. Despite the deficit, the company’s cash position increased compared to last year, and other balance sheet details are favorable. The inventory is down, aiding the cash build, but it is still solid and total assets are up. Liabilities are flat, debt is flat, and equity is up 17%. Leverage is very low at less than 0.5X equity, leaving the company in a lean, nimble shape to pursue this year's retail opportunity The trend in analysts’ sentiment is bullish and unlikely to change with these results. The seventeen analysts tracked by Marketbeat have the stock pegged at Moderate Buy and see it trading near $107. That’s worth a 10% upside from the prerelease levels and puts the market at a new high. Because the freshest targets are above consensus. The $107 target is a minimum for this market. The post-release price action is favorable. The market is up more than 2.0% on the news, confirming support at the 30-day moving average and a long-term uptrend. The move has the market on track to retest the current high soon, and a new high could be set. In that scenario, the new high could trigger an influx of capital to drive this market up to the high end of the analyst's range near $130, another 20% upside from consensus. Before you consider TJX Companies, 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 TJX Companies wasn't on the list. While TJX Companies currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

The union plan to unleash a cash tsunami for Biden 2024-05-22 15:58:24+00:00 - Monday marked the final day of Mary Kay Henry’s 14-year run as the head of the Service Employees International Union. Her tenure has been filled with triumphs. Over that time, the Fight for 15 movement, which was largely incubated and funded by SEIU, went from quixotic pipe dream to reality in many states. Unions surged in popularity to highs not seen in almost 60 years. And many experts consider Joe Biden’s presidency the most union-friendly administration in almost 100 years. Yet despite Biden’s record, many polls show waning support among union members for the president’s re-election bid. I reached out to Henry, whose union endorsed Biden for re-election this year, to ask what could be explaining this kind of disconnect. The SEIU will spend $200 million between now and November on outreach to its members and other working-class voters in swing states. Henry expressed confidence that union workers will turn up for Biden — as long, that is, as unions continue not just to make the case for his re-election but also aggressively organize to get their members and others to vote. “I can tell you from the polling we’ve done in SEIU that our members’ support for President Biden has not fallen off. The concern we have is whether our members are enthusiastic enough about the November election to just go vote.” If the enthusiasm isn’t there, it won’t be for lack of trying on the part of unions. The SEIU will spend $200 million between now and November on outreach to its members and other working-class voters in swing states, making the case for Biden. Other unions have announced their own efforts. North America’s Building Trades Unions plans to target its own membership in swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In Nevada, the politically powerful Culinary Workers Union recently announced it would undertake an extensive outreach campaign in the fall. There’s plenty in the former president’s record with which these unions can make their case. Former President Donald Trump’s popularity among working-class voters is, to be blunt, a triumph of bluster over substance and presentation over reality. The former president says — in his usual smashmouth way — he is a friend of the common man. His actions demonstrate he is anything but. Trump’s administration was a wrecking ball when it came to worker rights, rolling back multiple safety initiatives. His Supreme Court nominees were instrumental in a major ruling weakening public-sector unions. His appointees to the National Labor Relations Board made it harder for workers to unionize. During his administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration even removed the names of people who died in workplace accidents from the front page of its website. And since he left the White House, he has fought with the United Auto Workers and urged its members to stop paying their dues. Biden’s strong pro-worker actions are a 180-degree turn from Trump’s record. He marched on a picket line last year with striking UAW members (a first for a sitting president) and met with Starbucks labor organizers. His NLRB appointments are more likely to back workers over employers. And he has been an aggressive advocate for nonunion workers. His administration’s ban on almost all non-compete agreements will most likely both increase entrepreneurial efforts and give America’s workers a wage boost of more than $500 a year. And, yes, the names of workers killed in workplace accidents are back on OSHA’s front page. It’s all too easy to get discouraged and check out entirely. Nothing highlights the difference between Trump’s and Biden’s attitudes toward working Americans better than how they both handled overtime compensation. Trump abandoned an Obama administration initiative to double the salary threshold under which workers would be eligible for mandatory overtime pay. Biden’s administration didn’t just restore the Obama-era rule; it raised the threshold to just over $56,000 annually, adding roughly 4 million new workers. These differences need to be highlighted over and over and over again. Unfortunately, says Henry, many Democratic politicians are reluctant. “They don’t talk about the attack on unions and the need to allow workers to join together as a key part of their message,” she says. She adds that Democrats need to talk more about popular pocketbook issues like the federal minimum wage — still stuck at $7.25 an hour in many Southern and Midwestern states — and champion union rights and Biden’s accomplishments more strongly. Henry’s not wrong. According to The New Republic’s Tim Noah, a recent review of databases tracking Democratic candidate statements, social media posts and campaign ads during the 2022 election revealed relatively few House and Senate candidates emphasized kitchen table economics or Biden legislative achievements like the infrastructure bill or the Inflation Reduction Act. That is borderline political malpractice. These issues and achievements mean a lot to voters. But they won’t sell themselves. People, I’ve learned over decades of reporting on these issues, lead busy lives: They don’t spend their days thinking about political gains and losses. They are upset about inflation and the rising cost of living but aren’t aware of what Biden — or any politician, really — is doing (or not doing, as the case may be when it comes to Trump) to make their financial lives better. It’s all too easy to get discouraged and check out entirely. Unions have a unique ability to counter that information void and inertia, reframe the narrative and get people engaged — and, sometimes, enraged — politically. As Henry told me, “It takes organizing and leadership to help working people understand why they need to show up [at the polls] in historic numbers.” And she and the SEIU are committed to doing just that.

Zoom Stock’s Earnings Volatility Picked Up a Lot of Buyers 2024-05-22 15:43:00+00:00 - Key Points Zoom's earnings showed investors why management is willing to buy back up to $2.4 million in stock and why Mizuho doubled its stake. Analyst price targets and projections give investors a clear path to squeeze further upside from Zoom's discount to peers today. Post-earnings price action shows Main Street how willing buyers were to come to rescue the initially falling stock. 5 stocks we like better than Twilio After reporting its first quarter 2024 earnings report, shares of Zoom Video Communications Inc. NASDAQ: ZM shook markets by initially plummeting as much as 4.6% from their closing price and swiftly rising back to show a 2.5% premium to the day’s end. To put this price action simply, a significant amount of buying orders could have come in as Zoom stock hit its bottom in the after-hours. While nothing regarding price action can be taken as fact, investors can dig into the quarter's actual results to find a more substantial—more justifiable—basis for considering adding Zoom stock to their watchlists today. As it will soon become apparent, investors should tread carefully around the business services sector and be pickier with their selected stocks. Get Twilio alerts: Sign Up Compared to peers like Workday Inc. NASDAQ: WDAY and Twilio Inc. NYSE: TWLO, Zoom remains a top choice for Wall Street analysts. It’s got everything to do with the company’s fundamentals. Before investors jump into the details behind Zoom’s results (and future expectations), here’s why the company could still be relevant in the years to come. A Shift in The Economy Zoom Video Communications Today ZM Zoom Video Communications $64.38 +0.52 (+0.81%) 52-Week Range $58.87 ▼ $75.90 P/E Ratio 24.02 Price Target $76.67 Add to Watchlist After sending out expansionary readings consecutively monthly since 2020, the ISM services PMI index suddenly turned to the downside, giving markets a surprising contraction reading for April. Now that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate slowed to 1.6% for the past quarter, investors could be worried that this contraction may become a consistent trend for the sector. However, not all hope is lost. Because the services sector has been responsible for pushing out most of the economic growth since 2020, as the ISM manufacturing PMI index has been in contraction for the past 15 months, it is unlikely that the Fed will let it go down in flames. The Fed’s proposed interest rate cuts could aid this sector, allowing cheaper – and more accessible – financing for technology stocks looking to grow. What better way to streamline the new hybrid work environment than to add Zoom’s services? As one of the top choices in the market, Zoom now holds up to 57% of the video conferencing software market. Because of this wide adoption rate and market penetration, the company made it to the desks of a few Wall Street analysts. Is there any Upside Left for Zoom Stock? Those at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. saw fit to boost Zoom’s price target to $80 a share, directly daring the stock to rally by as much as 25% from its current price. As bullish and optimistic outlooks are often contagious, analysts at Mizuho Financial followed along with a $90 valuation for Zoom, a bolder stance calling for a 40.4% upside from today’s price. However, Mizuho went even a step further in their view of Zoom. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) Price Chart for Wednesday, May, 22, 2024 Over the past quarter, Mizuho doubled its stake in Zoom stock, bringing the bank’s total investment in the company up to $2.4 million today. Considering that the stock trades at 84% of its 52-week high, a bullish bet on top of already bullish momentum must be driven by fundamentals. A Stellar Start to The Year Zoom trades at a P/E valuation of 31.3x today, which offers investors a discount of up to 37.6% to Workday’s 50.2x P/E ratio. Because Twilio has no net profit, investors can use its future earnings expectations, which trade at a forward P/E ratio of 19.6x today. Comparing this valuation to Zoom’s 12.9x forward P/E, investors get another 34% discount on Twilio’s. Now, taking advantage of these discounts, here’s where investors can lean to get a solid footing. In the first quarter, Zoom generated up to $588.2 million in free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures), a 40.6% increase from the previous year. With this new free cash flow, management immediately looked to deploy up to $2.4 million into buying back stock, crystalizing that the stock seems cheap today even in the face of insiders themselves. The company’s financials show a gross profit margin of up to 76.3%, which is characteristic of software companies. In this fashion, management has ample room to stay on track for further quarters of positive free cash flow, allowing for more significant shareholder returns. Over the past 12 months, Zoom generated return on equity (ROE) rates of 5.2%, which grew from 2.5% by the end of 2023. Keeping this expansion rate, Mizuho could be proven right in their bullish bets on Zoom stock. Before you consider Twilio, 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 Twilio wasn't on the list. While Twilio currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here