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NOVAGOLD Announces Date of its 2024 Virtual Annual General Meeting of Shareholders - Novagold Resources (AMEX:NG) 2024-04-25 22:06:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... NOVAGOLD's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") will be held virtually on May 16, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. PST Shareholders may vote on matters before the Meeting by proxy, join the virtual Meeting and vote, and submit questions either during the webcast or in advance by email Following the Meeting, Chairman Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan and President and CEO Greg Lang will host a virtual presentation centered on the Donlin Gold project, a premier Tier 1 gold development project1 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. ("NOVAGOLD" or the "Company") ((NYSE American, TSX:NG) will hold the Company's 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders virtually on May 16, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. PST (4:00 p.m. EST). On this occasion, Shareholders will set the number of Directors at ten, elect Directors for the ensuing year, appoint external auditors, and cast a non-binding advisory vote on the Company's executive compensation program. Following the official Meeting, Chairman Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan and President and CEO Greg Lang will provide an overview of NOVAGOLD's 2023 achievements and provide their outlook for the remainder of 2024. NOVAGOLD EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO RETIRING DIRECTOR ANTHONY WALSH Anthony Walsh has chosen to retire after many years of dedicated service as the Company's Independent Lead Director and Chair of the Audit Committee. "On behalf of the Board of Directors of NOVAGOLD, I wish to express our most sincere appreciation for Tony's dedicated and thoughtful guidance over the past 12 years with our company," said Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan, NOVAGOLD's Chairman. "We are all immensely grateful for his leadership, particularly in the key roles of independent Lead Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, where he helped shape the company's signature reputation for transparency and best practices. It has been nothing short of a pleasure to work with Tony during his tenure and we all wish our friend great success in his future endeavors." NOVAGOLD VIRTUAL MEETING AND SHAREHOLDER PARTICIPATION NOVAGOLD's 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held virtually. Shareholders may cast their vote in advance by proxy and participate from any geographic location with internet connectivity. We believe this constitutes an important step to enhance shareholder accessibility to our annual Meeting and help reduce the carbon footprint of our activities. Please refer to NOVAGOLD's Management Information Circular dated March 22, 2024, for detailed instructions on voting. Shareholders may view a live webcast of the Meeting and registered shareholders as well as duly appointed proxyholders may submit questions digitally during the Meeting at: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/NG2024. Questions may also be submitted to management and to the Board of Directors prior to the Meeting via email at info@novagold.com. Shareholders are encouraged to log in to the Meeting 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Please make sure to have the 16-digit control number from your voting materials available when logging in to the Meeting. Shareholders may contact Kingsdale Advisors, the Company's strategic advisor, by telephone at 1-866-228-8818 (toll-free in North America) or 1-416-623-2514 (text and call enabled outside North America), or by email at contactus@kingsdaleadvisors.com. To obtain information about voting your NOVAGOLD Common Shares, please visit www.novagoldagm.com. NOVAGOLD's Management Information Circular dated March 22, 2024 and Annual Report to Accompany the Management Information Circular are available on the Company's website, www.novagold.com/investors/mic/, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Loading... Loading... NOVAGOLD Contacts: Mélanie Hennessey Vice President, Corporate Communications 1-604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227 ________________________________ 1 NOVAGOLD defines a Tier One gold development project as one with a projected production life of at least 10 years, annual projected production of at least 500,000 ounces of gold, and average projected cash costs over the production life that are in the lower half of the industry cost curve.

Mark Zuckerberg's net worth plummets by more than $18 billion in Meta stock drop 2024-04-25 21:48:00+00:00 - Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about the Facebook News feature at the Paley Center For Media in New York on Oct. 25, 2019. Mark Zuckerberg's net worth plunged by $18 billion Thursday after comments from the Meta CEO on the company's earnings call sent its stock price to its steepest decline since October 2022. Meta beat expectations on revenue and profit but delivered a lighter-than-expected revenue forecast. Zuckerberg told investors that the company would continue to spend billions of dollars investing in areas such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse, even though Meta counts on advertising for 98% of its revenue. "We've historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook where we're investing in scaling a new product but aren't yet monetizing it," Zuckerberg said on the call. Zuckerberg owns around 345 million Class A and B shares. With the stock falling by $52.12 on Thursday, the value of his stake sank by about $18 billion to $152 billion by the close of trading. The 39-year-old programmer founded the company in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, and rebranded it from Facebook to Meta in 2021, signaling to investors his plan to focus on the nonexistent metaverse. Meta's Reality Labs division, which houses the hardware and software for developing the metaverse, has posted cumulative losses of $45 billion since 2020, when the company first separated the unit in its financials. Meta said it plans to spend $35 billion to $40 billion on capital expenditures this year, an increase from its prior forecast. Zuckerberg's fortune has swung up and down through the years, as his company's stock has been particularly volatile. His net worth fell by around $100 billion in 2022. In early 2023, he announced Meta would embark on a "year of efficiency," a move that helped the stock price triple for the year, bringing Zuckerberg's net worth up with it. Thursday wasn't the worst day ever for Zuckerberg's bank account. In early 2022, he lost almost $30 billion in a single day, when his company's stock price tumbled 26% on weak earnings and disappointing guidance. WATCH: Meta's AI venture is a good long-term investment

Rise in all-cash transactions turbocharge price gains for luxury homes 2024-04-25 21:47:00+00:00 - In 22 states, homebuyers need 6-figure salaries to afford a home In 22 states, homebuyers need 6-figure salaries to afford a home 01:06 Well-heeled home shoppers are increasingly paying cash, helping turbocharge price gains for the most expensive U.S. homes. The median sale price of luxury homes — valued in the top 5% of the market nationally — hit an all-time high $1.23 million in the first quarter, an increase of 8.7% from the same period last year, according to an analysis by Redfin. That's almost twice the increase seen in non-luxury homes. For homes valued in the middle-third of the market, the median sale price rose 4.6% from a year ago to $345,000, according to the report. Redfin didn't factor in price trends for homes with an estimated value in the bottom third of the market. One reason for the diverging sales data is that wealthy home shoppers are more likely to have the financial flexibility to bypass financing hurdles by paying in cash. The trend is helping accelerate the growth in home sale prices among the most high-end homes at a faster clip than less expensive properties. Consider, some 46.8% of luxury homes were bought entirely with cash in the three months ended February 29, according to Redfin. That's the highest share of all-cash luxury home purchases in at least a decade and it's up from 44.1% from a year earlier. Prices for the most expensive homes have kept climbing even as the inventory of high-end properties has increased sharply this year. All told, the number of luxury homes on the market jumped 12.6% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, while new listings surged nearly 19%, Redfin said. In contrast, the inventory of homes in the middle-third of the market fell 2.9% in the January-March period from a year earlier. Home prices are growing more unaffordable for the average American, in part because inventory has been low. Homeowners have been hesitant to sell because they would then face buying another property at today's higher mortgage rates. Some homeowners have also watched their home equity grow in value, making them even more reluctant to walk away from that wealth growth. Sales of luxury homes rose 2.1% in the first quarter versus a year earlier, while sales of properties in the middle-third of the market fell 4.2%, according to the report. Buying a house is costlier than anytime in at least the last decade, with property buyers hit with the double whammy of rising mortgage rates and home prices, Redfin has said.

Paramount and Skydance inch closer to a merger as key hurdle looms 2024-04-25 21:44:00+00:00 - Paramount Global and Skydance Media are making progress on a deal that would merge the media companies and buy out controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. Paramount Global’s special committee and David Ellison’s Skydance Media, backed by private equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners, are narrowing in on how to value Skydance’s assets as part of a merger, as well as how much equity to add to the company as part of a recapitalization, according to people familiar with the matter. The sides are close to agreeing on a value for Skydance. The entertainment company will be valued at around $5 billion and merged with Paramount Global, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Ellison and the private equity firms plan to raise roughly $4.5 billion to $5 billion in new equity. Some of that — about $2 billion — will be used to pay Redstone, and another substantial portion will be used to pay down debt. The buyers would ideally like to get a deal done in May, said the people. Three of the people said that Paramount Global was slow to open a data room to the Skydance consortium, which has slightly pushed back the timeline on a deal. The exclusivity window on merger talks ends May 3, but the Skydance consortium wants to extend it by two weeks, said the people. Skydance plans to name Ellison as CEO of Paramount Global and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell as the president, said two of the people. Current Paramount CEO Bob Bakish would depart the company, the people said. Separately, Apollo and Sony have held preliminary discussions about teaming up for a deal that would buy out all Paramount Global shareholders at a premium, according to people familiar with the matter. The special committee hasn’t received concrete details on that offer and isn’t viewing it as a competitive bid to Skydance’s interest, two of the people said. Still, the committee had more details on an initial offer made by Apollo, which it chose to ignore in favor of exclusive talks with Skydance. The special committee favored Skydance’s offer over Apollo’s in part because it offered shareholders future upside by keeping the company public with a cleaner balance sheet, one of the people said. Spokespeople for Apollo, the Paramount Global special committee, Paramount Global, and Skydance’s consortium declined to comment. Last big hurdle One significant hurdle that remains is Paramount Global’s renewal agreement with Charter Communications for CBS and its cable networks. That deal is relevant to the value of Paramount Global, which could take a hit if Charter drops the networks or agrees to a lower carriage rate, the people said. The deadline for that agreement is April 30. Paramount Global reports first-quarter earnings one day earlier, on April 29. Paramount Global is still dependent on its traditional TV business, which accounts for about two-thirds of the company’s total revenue. There are signs Charter could prove to be a tough negotiator with Paramount Global: Last year the cable provider, the second-largest in the U.S., briefly stopped carrying Disney’s networks when renewal negotiations between those two companies faltered. (The parties reached a deal 10 days later.) Paramount’s cable networks are far less popular than Disney’s ESPN, which may put Bakish in a position of weakness. The timing of the renewal and the deal talks set up an awkward dynamic, where Bakish, who would ultimately leave the company under a Skydance merger, will control Paramount Global’s fate with Charter. Thus far, Bakish has always reached renewal deals with the major pay-TV distributors since taking over as CEO, dating back to his time running Viacom, beginning in 2016. Bakish has privately argued against the Skydance deal because it dilutes common shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter. Several Paramount Global investors have also publicly written letters to the company’s board urging directors not to move forward with a Skydance deal, arguing it gives Redstone a massive premium for her controlling shares while leaving common shareholders out in the cold. Under the terms of the deal, nearly 50% of the company will be owned by Skydance and its private equity partners, CNBC reported earlier this month. The rest of the company would be owned by common shareholders, and the company will continue to trade publicly. “At Paramount, we’re always looking for ways to create shareholder value. And to be clear, that’s for all shareholders,” Bakish said during his company’s most recent earnings call in February. Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

Alphabet's new dividend is helping reassure Meta-spooked tech investors 2024-04-25 21:27:30+00:00 - Alphabet is joining its tech peers like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta in the dividend club. Its $0.20 dividend is its first ever, and it also authorized an additional $70 billion in buybacks. The news could ease concerns of some tech investors spooked by Meta's earnings Wednesday. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement Alphabet is becoming a member of the dividend club. In its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday, Google's parent company said it's issuing a $0.20 per share dividend, its first ever. It'll be paid on June 17 to stockholders of record as of June 10, and Alphabet plans to pay quarterly dividends in the future, the earnings release said. The company also authorized an additional $70 billion in stock buybacks. Related stories Its earnings also helped buoy the shares. It reported total revenue of $80.54 billion in the first quarter, beating estimates. That's about a 15% year-over-year increase. Advertisement Following the news, Alphabet's stock rose roughly 13% in after-hours trading. It joins fellow tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta in issuing dividends. Meta announced a dividend of $0.50 per share, also its first ever, in February, as well as its own buyback boost of $50 billion. Alphabet's announcement — and that of Microsoft, which also beat estimates — could help ease tech investors spooked by Meta's earnings call earlier this week. Despite its earnings beat, Meta's shares fell 11% on Thursday after the company issued weak revenue guidance for Q2. Advertisement The earnings report showed Meta is going to spend more than expected this year, too, due to AI investments as well as higher infrastructure and legal costs. On Wednesday's earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned investors it could be a while before the company's AI investments pay off. Meantime, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in its earnings release that "our leadership in AI research and infrastructure, and our global product footprint, position us well for the next wave of AI innovation."

Snap shares soar 27% as company beats on earnings, shows strong revenue growth 2024-04-25 21:09:00+00:00 - Snap reported first-quarter results on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates and showed a return to double-digit revenue growth. Shares soared more than 27% in extended trading. Here's how the company did: Earnings per share: 3 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 5 cents expected by LSEG 3 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 5 cents expected by LSEG Revenue: $1.19 billion vs. $1.12 billion expected by LSEG $1.19 billion vs. $1.12 billion expected by LSEG Global daily active users : 422 million vs. 420 million expected, according to StreetAccount : 422 million vs. 420 million expected, according to StreetAccount Average revenue per user: $2.83 vs. $2.67 expected, according to StreetAccount Revenue for Snap's first quarter increased 21% from $989 million in the same period last year. The company is growing at an accelerated clip, after it had previously reported six straight quarters of single-digit growth or sales declines. Snap has been working to rebuild its advertising business after the digital ad market stumbled in 2022, and it's starting to pay off. In its investor letter, Snap said revenue growth was primarily driven by improvements in the company's advertising platform, as well as demand for its direct-response advertising solutions. Advertising revenue came in at $1.11 billion in the first quarter. Snap's "Other Revenue" category, which is primarily driven by Snapchat+ subscribers, reached $87 million, an increase of 194% year over year. Snap reported more than 9 million Snapchat+ subscribers for the period. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $46 million, far surpassing the $68 million loss expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount. In its investor letter, Snap said adjusted EBITDA "exceeded our expectations" and was primarily driven by operating expense discipline, as well as accelerating revenue growth. "Given the progress we have made with our ad platform, the leadership team we have built, and the strategic priorities we have set, we believe we are well positioned to continue to improve our business performance," Snap wrote in the letter. Though Snap's growth accelerated, it still fell behind that of Meta , which reported 27% growth in its better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday. Meta shares plunged anyway after the company issued a light forecast and spooked investors with talk of its long-term investments. Snap's net loss for the quarter narrowed to $305.1 million, or a 19 cent loss per share, from $328.7 million, or a 21 cent loss per share, the year prior. For its second quarter, Snap expects to report revenue between $1.23 billion and $1.26 billion, up from the $1.22 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount. Snap said adjusted EBITDA will fall between $15 million and $45 million, compared to Wall Street's expectations of $15.5 million. Snap reported 422 million daily active users (DAUs) in the first quarter, up 10% year over year. The company expects to report around 431 million DAUs in its second quarter, up from the 430 million expected by StreetAccount. The company also provided a forecast for its full-year 2024 cost structure. Snap said quarterly infrastructure costs per DAU will fall between 83 cents and 85 cents for the rest of the year. "We will continue to assess our infrastructure investment levels based on what is in the best long-term interest of our business," Snap said. Snap said the amount of time users spent watching content grew year over year, primarily due to engagement with Spotlight and Creator Stories. The company said time spent watching Spotlight, which aggregates content from users, increased 125% year over year. In February, Snap announced it would lay off 10% of its global workforce, or around 500 employees. The company said Thursday that headcount and personnel costs will "grow modestly" through the rest of the year.

Intel shares fall after providing weak forecast for the current quarter 2024-04-25 21:07:00+00:00 - Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, holding an Intel chip, speaks during the 54th Annual Meeting of The Semafor 2024 World Economy Summit in Washington, DC, on April 17, 2024. Intel reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations for earnings per share, but came up light in sales. Intel gave a weak forecast for the current quarter. The stock fell 8% in extended trading. Here's how Intel did versus LSEG consensus expectations for the quarter ending in March: Earnings per share : 18 cents adjusted vs. 14 cents expected : 18 cents adjusted vs. 14 cents expected Revenue: $12.72 billion vs. $12.78 billion expected For the second quarter, Intel expects earnings of 10 cents per share on revenue of $13 billion at the midpoint. That forecast compares to analysts' expected earnings per share of 25 cents, on $13.57 billion in sales. In the first quarter, Intel reported a net loss of $400 million, or 9 cents per share, versus a net loss of $2.8 billion, or 66 cents per share, last year. Revenue was $12.7 billion versus $11.7 billion a year ago, a 9% year-over-year increase. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told investors on an earnings call to focus on the company's long-term potential. "We are one of two, maybe three companies in the world, that can continue to enable next generation chip technologies," Gelsinger said. Intel's report was the first since the company revealed that it had restructured its financial reports to make its chip manufacturing business, called Intel Foundry, a separate line item with its own costs and sales. Intel's Foundry business reported $4.4 billion in revenue during the quarter, which was down 10% year-over-year, the company said. The unit reported a $2.5 billion operating loss during the March quarter. Intel said last month that it had reported a $7 billion operating loss in its foundry in 2023. Intel's biggest business remains the chips it makes for PCs and laptops, which is reported as Client Computing sales. Those chip sales totalled $7.5 billion, up 31% on an annual basis. Intel also makes central processors for servers, as well as other parts and software, which are reported in its Data Center and AI business. That line saw sales rise 5% to $3 billion, even as Intel continues to fight for server dollars against AI chips made by companies like Nvidia. Earlier this month, Intel said that it would release a new AI processor for servers called Gaudi 3, intended to compete against Nvidia's popular GPUs, although it won't ship until later this year. Intel said it expected more than $500 million in sales from its Gaudi 3 chips in the second half of the year.

Cost of buying a home in America reaches a new high, Redfin says 2024-04-25 21:06:00+00:00 - Buying a house is costlier than anytime in at least the last decade, with property buyers hit with the double whammy of rising mortgage rates and home prices, according to real estate company Redfin. The average interest rate on a fixed 30-year home loan rose to 7.1%, marking the first time this year rates have topped 7%, according to Freddie Mac. Meanwhile, the median asking price for U.S. home — what homeowners hope their property will sell for — jumped to a record $415,925 for the four weeks ended April 21, Redfin said. The median U.S. home sale price — what buyers actually paid for a property — also hit a record in April, reaching $383,725, Redfin said, with its data going back to 2015. Sale prices combined with current mortgage rates pushed the median mortgage payment to a record $2,843, up nearly 13% from a year ago, it added. That may also mean the cost of buying a home is at a historic high, although property buyers in the 1980s dealt with mortgage rates that were significantly higher than today's loans. Mortgage rates reached a peak of 18.6% in October 1981, although home prices were considerably lower, even on an inflation-adjusted basis, than today's values. The elevated costs add to the challenges facing homebuyers amid the spring home-buying season. Real estate activity tends to pick up in the spring, as homeowners traditionally list their properties during the season and buyers venture to open houses amid warmer weather and longer days. Americans are expected to buy 4.46 million existing homes this year, a 9% increase from 2023. Even so, many would-be buyers have been priced out of the market, economists say. "[E]levated mortgage rates and high home prices have been keeping some buyers on the sidelines this spring," Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in an email. "First-time homebuyers are having the hardest time." Buying a home remains a primary wealth-building tool for U.S. households, but rising home prices have placed homeownership increasingly out of reach for the average American. To comfortably afford a typical home, Americans today must have household income of $106,500 — up sharply from $59,000 just four years ago, according to Zillow research. Home prices have escalated in part because of a lack of available for-sale properties. Construction companies haven't kept pace to meet housing demand, while homeowners have been hesitant to sell because they don't want to give up their mortgages, with some having secured rates below 3% during the pandemic. The rising cost of homeownership means sellers and buyers should enter today's market with lowered expectations, said Redfin economic research lead Chen Zhao. "Even though sellers are getting top dollar at the moment, they should price competitively to attract buyers from the start and avoid having to drop their price as stubbornly high mortgage rates eat into buying budgets," Zhao said in the report. Zhao added, "My advice for serious buyers who can afford today's costs is to shop for your dream home and accept that this year is probably not the time to find a dream deal."

Net neutrality is back: FCC bars broadband providers from meddling with internet speed 2024-04-25 20:57:00+00:00 - What to know about net neutrality as FCC weighs restoring it Net neutrality: What to know before FCC vote Net neutrality: What to know before FCC vote Internet service providers can no longer fiddle with how quickly — or not — customers are able to browse the web or download files, the Federal Communications Commission ruled Thursday. The 3-2 vote to adopt net neutrality regulations, which block wireless companies from selectively speeding up, slowing down or blocking users' internet traffic, restores a policy that was discarded during the Trump administration. The reversal also paves the way for a legal fight with the broadband industry. The development is the latest in a years-long feud between regulators and ISPs, with the former arguing that protections are necessary to ensure all websites are treated the same, and the latter rejecting the rules as government overstep. In first proposing the revived rule in September, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency wanted to expand high-speed internet access and protect personal data. Net neutrality was first passed by the agency in 2015, but was later rescinded in 2017 under then-FCC Chair Ajit Pai. Consumer advocates cheered the reversal, with advocacy group Fight for the Future calling it a win for activists and civil rights groups who have argued that the regulation is needed to ensure telecom companies treat customers equally. For instance, companies won't be able to impose additional fees for some sites to load faster than others, akin to toll lanes on the internet, under net neutrality. "People from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly agree they don't want their phone company to dictate how they use the Internet," said Fight for the Future director Evan Greer in a statement. "We are thrilled that the FCC is finally reclaiming its responsibility to protect consumers from the worst harms of big telecom." USTelecom, however, blasted the FCC vote, with the trade group's president and CEO, Jonathan Spalter, calling net neutrality a "nonissue for broadband customers, who have enjoyed an open internet for decades." Republican commissioners at the FCC also derided the new rules, with one, Brendan Carr, declaring "the internet in America has thrived in the absence of 1930s command-and-control regulation by the government."

Southwest says it's pulling out of 4 airports. Here's where. 2024-04-25 20:57:00+00:00 - Southwest Airlines is suspending service at some airports across the U.S. as it slows its growth, in part because of Boeing aircraft delivery delays. The airline is set to receive just 20 of the 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes it was expecting in 2024, Southwest said Thursday. The delays mean slower growth for the airline, which is looking for ways to cut costs as it reported a quarterly loss of $231 million, or 39 cents per share. "Achieving our financial goals is an immediate imperative. The recent news from Boeing regarding further aircraft delivery delays presents significant challenges for both 2024 and 2025. We are reacting and replanning quickly to mitigate the operational and financial impacts while maintaining dependable and reliable flight schedules for our customers," Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said on the company's first quarter earnings call Thursday. One cost-cutting measure includes pulling out of "underperforming markets," he said. Southwest will end service at the following airports on August 4: George Bush International Airport in Houston Bellingham International Airport in Bellingham, Washington Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York Cozumel International Airport on Cozumel island, Mexico The carrier will also make significant changes to its operations in other markets, including cutting the number of flights at both Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Airlines generally withdraw from regional airports and cut unprofitable or less-profitable routes to save on labor costs, or add capacity to more profitable routes and generate more revenue. In March, JetBlue said it was cutting unprofitable routes and exiting two U.S. cities altogether after a judge blocked its $3.8 billion bid for Spirit Airlines earlier this year. JetBlue cited limited aircraft as one driver of the cuts, which allow the airline to operate more flights on its busiest routes. Additionally, Southwest said Thursday that it is exploring making improvements to its plane cabins and seating options. The low-cost carrier does not charge customers seat-selection fees, which have become a growing source of revenue for its competitors.

Google parent reports another quarter of robust growth, rolls out first-ever quarterly dividend 2024-04-25 20:34:40+00:00 - Google’s corporate parent Alphabet Inc. on Thursday released a quarterly report showing it’s still reaping double-digit revenue gains from its digital advertising empire while sowing potentially lucrative new ground in artificial intelligence. The results for the first three months of the year provided the latest evidence that Google has regained its momentum after an unprecedented downturn in 2022 coming out of the pandemic. Alphabet punctuated its renewed vigor by also disclosing plans to begin paying shareholders a quarterly dividend for the first time since since Google went public 20 years ago. It’s something that two older technology powerhouses, Microsoft and Apple, have been doing for years. Alphabet’s quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share will be paid June 17. Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro praised the decision to pay a dividend as “a breath of fresh air for the tech market” that should also make investors more likely to support the increased amounts that Google will likely need to spend on developing AI products that could take years to pay off. In the January-March period, Alphabet’s revenue rose 15% from the same time last year to $80.54 billion, which surpassed the projections of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research. It marked the fourth consecutive quarter of accelerating year-over-year revenue growth for the Mountain View, California, company. Alphabet earned $23.66 billion, or $1.89 per share, a 57% increase from last year’s comparable quarter. The earnings per share also eclipsed the analyst estimates that steer investors. “We are incredibly well set up, given the innovation path we are on,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told analysts during a Thursday conference call. The company’s stock price soared by nearly 13% in Thursday’s extended trading after the news came out. That reaction was a stark contrast to how investors responded to a report covering the same quarter from Facebook’s parent. Meta Platforms also reported a surge in ad revenue but provided a disappointing outlook for the April-June period, while also warning its profits would be squeezed by increased spending on AI technology. If Alphabet’s shares move in a similar trajectory during Friday’s regular trading session, the stock will hit a new all-time high that will push the company’s market value above $2 trillion. As has been the case since throughout the company’s history, most of the money came in through a digital advertising network anchored by Google’s dominant search engine. Google’s ad revenue totaled $61.66 billion in the first quarter, up 13% from last year. Despite the ongoing success, Google is facing dual threats that could threaten its future growth. The U.S. Department of Justice is taking aim at its search engine a lawsuit alleging the company has abused its power by negotiating lucrative deals with Apple and other companies to give it an unfair advantage over potential rivals, stifling innovation as well as competition. After a two-month trial last fall, the closing arguments in the biggest U.S. antitrust case in a quarter are scheduled to unfold next week and a federal judge is expected to rule whether Google has been breaking the law by the end of this year. People also may not need to rely as much on Google’s search information to answer their questions and find other information as the artificial intelligence technology that Google, Microsoft and other industry stalwarts are building becomes more sophisticated. If AI gradually supplants the role that Google’s search engine has filled for the past quarter century, Alphabet’s ad sales also could dwindle. For now, AI is helping to fuel rapid growth in Google’s cloud computing division, which saw its first-quarter revenue climb 28% from last year to $9.57 billion. But the cloud division also has become a tinder box for Google management as dozens of employees have staged protests over a $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government that includes AI technology as part of Project Nimbus. The protesting employees believe Project Nimbus is being lethally deployed by the Israeli military in the Gaza war — a contention Google has denied. The divisive issue came to head earlier this month during an employee sit-in at Google offices in Sunnyvale, California, and New York that resulted in more than 50 workers being fired. Alphabet ended March with nearly 181,000 employees, a decrease of nearly 10,000 workers from the previous year. Management has cycled through several rounds of mass layoffs to help boost profits while Google ramps up its spending on AI technology.

The British Royal Family's Secret 'Operation Menai Bridge' 2024-04-25 20:33:58+00:00 - Operation Menai Bridge is code for the plans related to King Charles' death. Though details about the plan are tightly guarded, his passing will trigger immediate changes in both the monarchy and the UK. Here's what will happen.

Paramount and Skydance inch closer to a merger as key hurdle looms, sources say 2024-04-25 20:32:00+00:00 - Paramount Global and Skydance Media are making progress on a deal that would merge the media companies and buy out controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, according to people familiar with the matter. Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and David Ellison's Skydance Media, backed by private equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners, are narrowing in on how to value Skydance's assets as part of a merger, as well as how much equity to add to the company as part of a recapitalization, the people told CNBC. The sides are close to agreeing on a value for Skydance, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The entertainment company would be valued at around $5 billion and merged with Paramount Global, they said. Skydance CEO Ellison and the private equity firms plan to raise roughly $4.5 billion to $5 billion in new equity, the people said; some of that — about $2 billion — would be used to pay Redstone, and another substantial portion would be used to pay down debt. The buyers would ideally like to get a deal done in May, said the people. Three of the people said that Paramount Global was slow to provide data during due diligence to the Skydance consortium, which has slightly pushed back the timeline on a deal. The exclusivity window on merger talks ends May 3, but the Skydance consortium wants to extend it by two weeks, said the people. Skydance plans to name Ellison as CEO of Paramount Global and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell as president, said two of the people. Current Paramount CEO Bob Bakish would depart the company, the people said. Separately, private equity firm Apollo Global Management and Sony have held preliminary discussions about teaming up for a deal that would buy out all Paramount Global shareholders at a premium, according to people familiar with the matter. The special committee hasn't received concrete details on that offer and isn't viewing it as a competitive bid to Skydance's interest, two of the people said. Still, the committee had more details on an initial offer made by Apollo, which it chose to ignore in favor of exclusive talks with Skydance, one of the people said. The special committee favored Skydance's offer over Apollo's in part because it offered shareholders future upside by keeping the company public with a cleaner balance sheet, the person said. Spokespeople for Apollo, the Paramount Global special committee, Paramount Global, and Skydance's consortium declined to comment.

Microsoft Reports Rising Revenues as A.I. Investments Bear Fruit 2024-04-25 20:31:00.945000+00:00 - Microsoft gave more signs on Thursday that its hefty investments in artificial intelligence were beginning to bear fruit, as it reported a 17 percent jump in revenue and a 20 percent increase in profit for the first three months of the year. Revenue was $61.9 billion, up from $52.9 billion a year earlier. Profit hit $21.9 billion, up from $18.3 billion. The results beat Wall Street’s expectations. A year after Microsoft began its push to put A.I. into everything it does, the company said sales of its flagship cloud computing product, Azure, had grown 31 percent. That included seven percentage points from its generative A.I. services, which are primarily selling access to technology developed by its partner, OpenAI. In recent quarters, Microsoft’s A.I. push has helped it gain market share from Amazon, the leading cloud services provider. In January, the company said 53,000 customers were using its cloud A.I. services, with a third of them new to Azure.

Microsoft quarterly profit rises 20% as tech giant pushes to get customers using AI products 2024-04-25 20:21:40+00:00 - Microsoft on Thursday said its profit rose 20% for the January-March quarter as it tries to position itself as a leader in applying artificial intelligence technology to make workplaces more productive. The company reported quarterly net income of $21.93 billion, or $2.94 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $2.82 a share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $61.86 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 17% from the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $60.86 billion for the quarter. Microsoft doesn’t spell out how much money it makes from AI products, including its flagship Copilot chatbot that can compose documents or generate images. But it has infused the technology into its main lines of business, such as cloud computing contracts and subscriptions for its email and other online services. Quarterly revenue from Microsoft’s cloud computing business segment grew to $26.7 billion, up 21% from last year’s January-March quarter. Revenue from the company’s productivity services – such as its Office line of products – rose 12% to $19.6 billion. Businesses pay Microsoft $30 per employee each month to add Copilot to a workplace subscription for its package of services that includes email and spreadsheets. Gartner analyst Jason Wong said many of Microsoft’s customers have shown a strong interest in giving generative AI a try but don’t all have a solid plan for a practical use that justifies the cost. “It’s still very early,” Wong said. Microsoft’s generative AI products rely heavily on its multibillion-dollar investments in business partner OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Microsoft also unveiled a new set of leaner homegrown AI language models called Phi-3 earlier this week and has been partnering with other startups — such as France’s Mistral — to offer a variety of AI systems through Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. Some of those partnerships are under regulatory scrutiny in Europe and the U.S. over concerns they might thwart competition in the AI industry. While Microsoft continues to try to build enthusiasm for an AI-driven future, it still has challenges in shoring up its legacy computer services. A federal cybersecurity safety board issued a scathing report earlier in April saying “a cascade of errors” by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts of senior U.S. officials. The report cited shoddy cybersecurity practices, a lax corporate culture and a lack of sincerity about the company’s knowledge of the targeted breach. It concluded that “Microsoft’s security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul” given the company’s vital role in the global technology ecosystem. Companies that rely on Microsoft for email and other workplace services are looking closely at how it responds, Wong said. “Certainly there are clients that are interested in understanding how Microsoft goes forward to be more careful about their own internal policies when it comes to security,” he said. Microsoft’s personal computing business, centered on licensing its Windows operating system, made $15.6 billion for the quarter, up 17% from last year. Microsoft stock rose about 5% in after-hours trading Thursday.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warns of the Oval Office turning into a 'crime center' if Trump gets the sweeping immunity he wants 2024-04-25 20:20:20+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was animated on Thursday when she discussed the potential of what could happen to the presidency if the Supreme Court were to grant presidents the sweeping immunity former President Donald Trump is seeking. "The most powerful person in the world with the greatest amount of authority could go into office knowing there would be no potential penalty for committing crimes," Jackson said during oral arguments. "I'm trying to understand what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country." This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Trump's lawyer, John Sauer, argued for sweeping absolute immunity for former presidents that would shield Trump from special counsel Jack Smith's prosecution related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. As multiple justices outlined during oral arguments, the issues in the case could have major implications for the future of the presidency. Related stories Jackson appeared alarmed that some of her colleagues, especially some of the court's conservatives, seemed more afraid of limiting presidential immunity the court would neuter by the presidency by forcing future leaders to question if a political rival would try to prosecute them after they left office. Advertisement Instead, Jackson said there should be at least equal consideration given to the possibility that by granting sweeping immunity, the nation's highest court would give a green light to presidential criminality if a future president could even tangentially tie criminal actions to carrying out the job of leading the nation. "Presidents from the beginning of time have understood that that's a possibility," Jackson said later of how past leaders understood they could be prosecuted after leaving office. "That might be what has kept this office from turning into the kind of crime center that I'm envisioning." Jackson repeatedly underlined her points when questioning Sauer, underlining how far future presidents could push the envelope. She seemed particularly drawn to a brief filed by Georgetown Law School professor Martin Lederman that outlined how presidents with immunity could commit perjury, destroy or conceal documents, or bribe other public officials. Jackson's concerns are based on another element of Trump's arguments, which propose that a president could not be charged with a crime unless the law they are accused of violating specifically mentions that it applies to the presidency. Advertisement The court's newest justice has considered Trump's conduct and the power of the presidency before. As a Circuit Court judge, Jackson torched the Trump White House for arguing that former White House counsel Don McGahn didn't have to cooperate with Congress' investigation. "Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings," Jackson wrote in 2019. "Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Supreme Court justices dance around question of whether Trump could pardon himself if he wins reelection 2024-04-25 20:11:13+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Before leaving the presidency, Donald Trump considered whether to pardon himself. "I was given an option to pardon myself. I could've pardoned myself when I left," Trump once told NBC News. "People said, 'Would you like to pardon yourself?' I had a couple of attorneys that said, 'You could do it if you want.'" Trump opted against it. But that was before he was the subject of four criminal prosecutions. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. The Supreme Court has never ruled on whether such a move would be permissible. But in oral arguments on Thursday, they danced around the question. Advertisement None of the justices tipped their hand on how they might decide the issue. But two conservative justices — Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — demonstrated that they were taking the question seriously. The purpose of the hearing was for the Supreme Court to hear arguments over whether Trump should be immune from criminal prosecution for his conduct as president. Trump's lawyers have argued that the high court should recognize a form of immunity that would shield him from Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith's indictment over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. If Trump were to pardon himself, he would be able to get rid of the case, as well as another case brought by Smith, over his hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency. Advertisement Gorsuch, himself a Trump appointee, entertained hypothetical questions about what presidents might do if they had to live with the constant worry that their successors would pursue criminal cases against them. He asked whether the dynamic would be an incentive for presidents "to try to pardon themselves" before leaving office. "Perhaps, if he feels he has to, he'll pardon himself every four years from now on," Gorsuch said. Related stories Gorsuch appeared cautious about tackling the subject. "We've never answered whether a president can do that," Gorsuch said. "Happily, it's never been presented to us." Advertisement Alito, on the other hand, seemed eager to dig into the subject. He told Michael Dreeben, the lawyer representing Smith's team, that the question might be crucial as the Supreme Court deliberates the scope of presidential immunity. If the court decides former presidents could be prosecuted, then the obvious next step would be that they'd all try to pardon themselves, Alito said. "Don't you think we need to know at least the Justice Department's position on that issue in order to decide this case?" Alito asked. "Because if a president has the authority to pardon himself before leaving office, and the DC Circuit is right that there is no immunity from prosecution, won't the predictable result be that presidents on the last couple of days of office are going to pardon themselves from anything that they might have been conceivably charged with committing?" Dreeben referred to a 1974 memorandum from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel deeming "that there is no self-pardon authority," while noting the courts haven't decided the issue. But, he said, self-pardoning would "contradict a bedrock principle of our law that no person shall be the judge in their own case" and come with "political consequences," like the political fallout former President Gerald Ford experienced after giving Richard Nixon a blanket pardon. "Those are adequate deterrents, I think, so that this kind of dystopian regime is not going to evolve," Dreeben said. Advertisement If Trump wins the 2024 election over President Joe Biden, he could find other ways to scuttle the two Justice Department indictments against him without necessarily pardoning himself. As the leader of the executive branch, he may be able to order the Justice Department to withdraw the indictments, although that may not insulate him from the cases being revived under another administration. Trump is currently on trial in New York under state criminal charges alleging he falsified business documents. Because those aren't federal charges, a pardon couldn't make that case go away, but it could introduce complications. Advertisement The Manhattan district attorney's office has alleged that Trump faked documents in order to cover up federal election laws, keeping secret an affair with Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. In Georgia, where Trump faces another set of state-level charges, immunity is similarly out of reach. In order to obtain a pardon, he would have to be convicted and serve at least five years of a sentence.

This job perk is like a 'cash bonus' — but you need a long-term strategy, experts say 2024-04-25 20:09:00+00:00 - When you receive equity compensation from an employer, it typically requires a comprehensive financial plan — and restricted stock units are no exception. In 2000, only 20% of public companies granted restricted stock or restricted stock units, primarily for senior executives or higher, according to the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. That percentage, however, has jumped to 94%, and most public companies now extend grants to at least middle managers, the organization's most recent survey from 2021 found. From a tax perspective, "it's very similar to a cash bonus," said certified financial planner Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, chief financial planning officer for Zenith Wealth Partners in New York. More from Personal Finance: Here's what to know before opting into your employee stock purchase plan Incoming college students may owe $37,000 in loans by graduation, report finds The rise of the 'tradwife' — why some women say they are opting out of work However, once the shares vest, you'll have to decide whether to sell or continue holding company stock, she said. That could hinge on several factors, including your short- and long-term financial goals, how much company stock you already own and how you feel about the company's growth potential.

Black and Latino workers die on the job at disproportionate rates, new report shows 2024-04-25 20:08:00+00:00 - Black workers’ job fatality rates are the highest they’ve been in nearly 15 years, and Latino workers die on the job more than any other group, according to a new report from the AFL-CIO, a coalition of dozens of unions representing 12.5 million people. In 2022, the most recent data available, 734 Black workers died while working — largely in transportation accidents, homicides or exposure to harmful substances or environments — up from 543 in 2003, with 2022 recording the most fatalities in 19 years. Meanwhile, the number of Latino worker deaths went from 794 in 2003 to 1,248 in 2022. Sixty percent of Latinos killed on the job were immigrants. “The alarming disparities in workplace fatalities among workers of color are unacceptable, symptomatic of deeply ingrained racial inequity and the need to pay increased attention to the dangerous industries that treat workers as disposable,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. The death rates on the job by race are in stark contrast with the racial breakdown of the American workforce. As of 2021, the most recent data available, white people made up 77% of the United States’ workforce, while Latino workers made up 18% and Black employees 13%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “This report exposes an urgent crisis for workers of color and reaffirms what we’ve long known: When we talk about justice for workers, we must prioritize racial equity.” The report’s researchers point to Republican-led efforts to deregulate and pass legislation that shift responsibility for safety from employers to individuals. In 2023, conservatives passed a handful of laws, like the REINS Act, introduced by Florida Rep. Kat Cammack, and the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, by Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, that essentially limit the federal government’s involvement in work-related regulations. Cammack said the REINS Act would limit “executive overreach” and “save the American people trillions each year in compliance costs.” Gosar shared similar sentiments about the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, writing that it would “restore the separation of powers and rein in an over-reaching executive branch.” Progress “has become more challenging as employers have opposed workers’ rights and protections,” Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO’s safety and health director, told NBC News in an interview. “Those attacks on workers’ safety rules have really grown and intensified. There’s really been an aggressive assault against issuing worker protections.” Reindel applauded the Biden administration for the president’s efforts to protect workers by issuing worker protection rules and strengthening the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Meanwhile, Reindel said, “workplace violence is getting worse.” Despite making up a fraction of the workforce, Black and Latino workers were killed on the job at disproportionate rates. Of the 524 workplace homicides recorded in 2022, 175 victims were Black and 92 were Latino. “Workplace homicides, this is a big problem,” Reindel said. She noted that the number of Black workers killed on the job is climbing. “The highest number before this year was 160, and that was in 2019. This number is climbing.” Labor movements seemed to be gaining momentum last year as unions went on strike and workers called for better protections and pay. And laws that took away worker protections sparked backlash, with Houston officials calling it “unconstitutional.” Last summer, Texas passed a bill that bars construction workers in Dallas and Austin from taking water breaks every four hours or resting in the shade while on the job. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed the law around the time Texas was experiencing a record-breaking heat wave. Meanwhile, UPS workers won hard-fought pay raises and heat safety protections in a headline-making deal after workers threatened to strike. But labor efforts were dealt a devastating blow when, in early January, UPS announced it would cut 12,000 jobs, citing higher costs and lower demand. For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter

Biden campaign stays on TikTok after he signs law that could ban it 2024-04-25 20:07:29+00:00 - President Joe Biden signed a bill Wednesday that could lead to a ban on TikTok, the popular social media app that U.S. lawmakers have said is susceptible to data manipulation by the Chinese Communist Party — and a platform that Biden's own re-election campaign is using to reach young voters. The bill gives TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, up to one year to sell the app or be banned from the U.S. Yet despite the looming court fight over ByteDance's divestment and the persistent cries from lawmakers that the app is a "threat" to national security, Biden's campaign indicated it had no plans to quit TikTok during the election. “A fragmented media environment requires us to show up and meet voters where they are — and that includes online,” a Biden campaign official told NBC News on Wednesday. “TikTok is one of many places we’re making sure our content is being seen by voters.” The campaign first made its debut on TikTok under @BidenHQ during the Super Bowl. The account posts content designed for a younger audience, using slang like “cooked” and employing memes to mock former President Donald Trump and praise Biden. (Trump and his campaign are not on TikTok, but the former president was against TikTok before he was for it, as my colleague Steve Benen has documented.) Some Republican lawmakers criticized the account at its launch; Biden banned TikTok from government-issued devices in 2022, and his campaign’s use of the app has seemed out of step with how the White House expects government agencies to approach using it, which is not at all. The potential TikTok ban has exposed deeply conflicting sentiments about the app between lawmakers and large portions of the public. TikTok’s detractors pointed to issues with the app like its opaque collection of user data (a widespread practice among major tech companies), its exposure of users to harmful content (which is a huge problem across social media platforms), and the CCP's potential use of the app to influence American users (which the U.S. government has also done abroad via other platforms). Biden's campaign told NBC News that it intends to keep using “enhanced security measures” when using TikTok. But now that the U.S. government has officially started the countdown clock on its sale, the Biden campaign’s continued use of the app is likely to draw renewed accusations of hypocrisy.