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We're tapping our large cash pile to buy more of this newer portfolio stock 2024-04-16 19:13:00+00:00 - We are buying 100 shares of Best Buy at roughly $75.28. Following the trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 900 shares of BBY, increasing its weighting to roughly 2.15% from 1.94%. We're making a third buy on Tuesday. Our general investing discipline is to put spare cash to work when the S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator is oversold. Earlier we added to our positions in Coterra Energy and Constellation Brands . This purchase will bring our cash position to slightly below 9%, leaving us with plenty of protection should the market pullback resume after Tuesday's pause. As Jim Cramer put it on the Morning Meeting, " We do not need to scramble' in this sell-off thanks to our large cash position. Instead, we can greet the lower prices as buying opportunities. Our purchase of Best Buy is part of our gradual scaling up in this newer position. As we pointed out Monday in our trade alert , Best Buy shares have fallen since our March 27 initiation alongside most of the market and many other retailers due to concerns about inflation, but the data points surrounding our investment thesis remain positive. We've been buying Best Buy in anticipation of a rebound in the PC market as pandemic-era purchases near their replacement or upgrade windows. The launch of artificial intelligence-powered devices further strengthens that catalyst. A broader consumer electronic replacement cycle could follow. We received confirmation that a new PC growth cycle was on track when IDC earlier this month said global PC shipments returned to growth in the first quarter. As we wait for comparable same-store sales growth to inflect later this year, we will get paid for our patience by collecting hefty dividends. The recent pullback has brought Best Buy's yield to nearly 5%, a level we find attractive even in this higher-for-longer interest rate environment. Any relief in Treasuries, which would mean lower yields, will make that dividend look even better. In addition, Best Buy management increased the payout by 2.2% this year — a good sign of confidence in the company's future. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long BBBY. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

What did Mayorkas do? Nothing worth impeachment. And Republicans know it 2024-04-16 19:10:07+00:00 - Sometime later this week, but likely tomorrow, the Republican impeachment crusade against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will die in the Senate. The charge against him will almost certainly be dispatched without a trial, rejected by a simple motion to dismiss and allowed to expire with a last feeble gasp, like a guppy thrown from its tank by a careless child. The demise of the campaign against Mayorkas will, briefly, be attended by the outraged wails of a few Republican senators and the parade of far-right self-promoters. The demise of the campaign against Mayorkas will, briefly, be attended by the outraged wails of a few Republican senators and the parade of far-right self-promoters appointed by the House caucus to prosecute the case as managers. All will pronounce themselves deeply saddened and gravely offended that Senate Democrats treated with such disrespect the House’s exercise of its solemn constitutional responsibility to exercise its “sole power of impeachment.” But one cannot respect a congressional action if the action itself so clearly disrespects both the Constitution and the proper role of Congress within the constitutional structure. The plain fact is that House Republicans are impeaching Mayorkas because he is the public face of Biden administration immigration policy with which Republicans disagree, and against which they and Donald Trump want to run in this fall’s election. As I testified during the first Homeland Security Committee impeachment hearing against Mayorkas, at no point during the truncated impeachment process did the Republicans prove that he had committed any of the transgressions traditionally accepted as impeachable “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Republicans did not, because they could not, show that Mayorkas committed any crime (high or otherwise), acted corruptly, abused his power, betrayed the nation’s foreign policy interests or subverted the Constitution. Republicans have repeatedly maintained that Mayorkas violated the law through his interpretation of immigration statutes. But as I and others have repeatedly demonstrated, that is not true. Republicans could not even show that the secretary has culpably neglected his duties in some way inasmuch as their true complaint is that he has been a diligent and effective executant of Biden administration policies they simply do not like. But if there is one point on which 237 years of American precedent is clear, it is that neither presidents nor Cabinet members should be impeached over mere policy disagreements. That understanding persisted unchallenged until rejected by today’s Republicans because employing impeachment as an ordinary tool of political combat violates the basic constitutional principle of separation of powers. And that is the most compelling reason for the Senate to give the Mayorkas impeachment no countenance whatsoever. If the Republican House majority wishes the Senate to respect its actions, it must respect the most basic principles governing its own constitutional role. If there is one point on which 237 years of American precedent is clear, it is that neither presidents nor Cabinet members should be impeached over mere policy disagreements. The primary job of Congress is to legislate. And by legislating to dictate both the general policy of the federal government and the permissible means of carrying out that policy. If Congress, or one chamber of it, disapproves of presidential policy or of the way a president’s administration is interpreting laws passed by prior Congresses, then its core constitutional responsibility is to legislate changes in policy. That, by constitutional design, requires entering into negotiations among the two parties, the two chambers and the president to produce mutually acceptable language that will then become law. As is by now notorious, the Biden administration entered into such negotiations with a bipartisan team of senators and produced significant immigration legislation embodying multiple conservative priorities that, if introduced in both houses, would certainly have passed. But Trump ordered his acolytes to reject this beneficial, democratic, constitutional compromise. Republican senators cowered and backed away from their own accomplishment. And House Republicans refused even to consider the bill. What House Republicans gave the Senate instead — and then only after two tries marked by rebellion within their own ranks — was the Mayorkas impeachment, a piece of performative trivia, constitutionally groundless and utterly unworthy of any respect whatsoever. When the Senate unceremoniously dispatches the Mayorkas impeachment, it will not be disrespecting a solemn constitutional act by a serious legislative body. Rather, it will be doing the country a great service by reminding us that the powerful weapon of impeachment bestowed on Congress by the Constitution must be employed with respect and reserved for the great occasions and grave constitutional offenses for which it was designed.

Middle East conflict risks sharp rise in oil prices, says IMF 2024-04-16 19:09:00+00:00 - An escalating Middle East conflict risks leading to higher oil prices, a reversal of the recent fall in inflation and a puncturing of the optimistic mood in financial markets, the International Monetary Fund has warned. The Washington-based IMF said it was closely monitoring events in the region after Iran’s missile strike on Israel at the weekend and stressed the possibility that a war between the two countries could lead to higher interest rates. Senior IMF officials used the launches of two reports – the World Economic Outlook (WEO) and the Global Financial Stability Review (GFSR) – to highlight the risks that a broader conflict would pose at a time when financial markets assume there will be a soft landing for the global economy comprising lower inflation, falling interest rates and the avoidance of recession. In London, anxiety over the Middle East crisis, and concerns that central banks will not cut interest rates soon, combined to drive UK shares lower. Previous wars in the Middle East have led to a sharp increase in oil prices and Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s economic counsellor, said the fund was evaluating the possibility of another commodity shock from the region. Gourinchas said: “The increased inflation that would come from higher energy prices would trigger a response from central banks that would tighten interest rates in order to secure inflation coming back to target, and that would weigh down on activity. “It would do so in a context in which, in some countries, activity and growth is already fairly weak, so that might also have a strong effect there.” Gourinchas said the impact of a 15% rise in oil prices and the higher shipping costs from a conflict that was not contained would lead to a 0.7% increase in inflation, and would also damage business confidence and investment. Tobias Adrian, the IMF’s financial counsellor, said at the release of the GFSR: “We are very concerned about developments in the Middle East.” Explosions seen over Israel and West Bank after Iran launches drones and missiles – video Adrian said there had been a fall in share prices even before Iran launched its missile strikes on Israel, and while oil prices are stable there is a risk that they could rise. “In such a scenario that leads to upward pressure on inflation,” Adrian said. “Higher interest rates could come back into play. Our key message to central banks is to make sure inflation is durably back to target and not to cut interest rates prematurely.” Adrian used a blog that accompanied the release of the GFSR to caution financial markets against assuming there would be no fresh setbacks after the series of shocks to the global economy in recent years. “A sense of optimism has pervaded financial markets in recent months, amid investor confidence that the fight against inflation is entering its ‘last mile’ and that central banks will ease monetary policy in the coming months. Stock markets around the world have risen substantially this year.” However, he said there were “likely to be bumps along this last mile” and that geopolitical tensions could “weigh” on investor sentiment. 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 concerns over tensions in the Middle East hit financial markets in London on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 closed down 145 points, or 1.8%, at 7820 – the biggest drop in points since 6 July 2023. The fall marked a three-week low, and a significant change in market sentiment since 12 April when the index almost hit its record high of 8,047 points. Adrian added that there had been evidence from some countries – including the US – that the trend towards lower inflation had stalled. Higher-than-expected readings could challenge the “last-mile” narrative, potentially leading to a re-pricing of financial assets. Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, expressed confidence that the UK was on its way to lower rates despite the recent events in the Middle East. Interviewed in Washington, Bailey said the UK was “disinflating at full employment”. He said: “There is strong evidence the process is working its way through. Our judgment on interest rates is how much do we need to see before we are confident of the process.” In the WEO report, the IMF said Britain’s households would endure a second year without an improvement in their living standards in 2024 as the effects of high inflation would take time to abate. Growth per head – one of the key measures of living standards – was expected to remain flat this year after a 0.3% drop in 2023, the report said.

Smartmatic and OAN Settle Defamation Suit 2024-04-16 18:48:24+00:00 - The voting technology company Smartmatic reached a settlement on Tuesday in its defamation lawsuit against One America News Network, a far-right broadcaster, over the amplification of election falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election. The terms of the settlement were confidential. Smartmatic filed the lawsuit in 2021, accusing OAN of airing baseless claims that Smartmatic had been involved in rigging the presidential election through its voting machines. On Tuesday, a filing for a dismissal of the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be retried, was submitted by Smartmatic’s lawyers to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Lawyers for Smartmatic and OAN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. OAN was one of several right-wing cable networks that broadcast conspiracy theories pushed by supporters of former President Donald J. Trump in the wake of his defeat in 2020, including claiming without evidence that vote tallies in critical states had been tampered with in order to help President Biden win. In its original complaint, Smartmatic said that it had been a victim of the network’s “decision to increase its viewership and influence by spreading disinformation” as it attempted to siphon off viewers from Fox News. OAN repeatedly linked Smartmatic to a nationwide vote-rigging conspiracy, the complaint said, despite knowing there was no evidence and that Smartmatic’s technology and software had been used only in Los Angeles County during the election.

Counterfeit Botox blamed in 9-state outbreak of botulism-like illnesses 2024-04-16 18:46:00+00:00 - Biden administration investigating counterfeit botox injections in Florida, eight other states Biden administration investigating counterfeit botox injections in Florida, eight other states 01:13 Dangerous counterfeit versions of botulinum toxin — better known as Botox — are being linked to an outbreak that has sickened 19 people in nine states, causing nine hospitalizations, federal safety officials are warning. In a Tuesday alert to consumers and health care providers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said unsafe counterfeit versions of Botox had been found in multiple states and administered to people for cosmetic purposes. The products "appear to have been purchased from unlicensed sources" and could be misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective and/or unsafe, the FDA said. Two states — Illinois and Tennessee — last week reported half a dozen cases involving botulism-like symptoms following shots of potentially phony products. Since then, another 13 cases have been reported in an additional seven states, with all involving women injected with phony Botox by licensed and unlicensed individuals in non-medical settings, such as at homes or spas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People reported experiencing botulism symptoms including blurred or double vision, drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, slurred speech, difficulty breathing and fatigue. The cases occurred in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Washington. Image of counterfeit package. U.S. Food and Drug Administration The FDA is working with Botox manufacturer AbbVie to identify, investigate and remove suspected counterfeit Botox products found in the U.S. Currently, there's nothing to indicate the illnesses are linked to the company's FDA-approved Botox, with the genuine product safe and effective for its approved uses, the FDA noted. Image of counterfeit Botox. U.S. Food and Drug Administration "In partnership with public health authorities, we have confirmed the security of our Botox and Botox cosmetic supply chain as well as the safety, quality, and efficacy of all products we manufacture and distribute," AbbVie subsidiary Allergan told CBS MoneyWatch on Friday. How to avoid counterfeit Botox If you're considering Botox for medical or cosmetic reasons, the CDC advises asking whether the provider, clinic or spa is licensed and trained to give the injections, and if the product is FDA approved and purchased from a reliable source. Some states have a look-up tool that can be used to check on licensing, according to the agency. Those in doubt should not get the injection and those who experience symptoms of botulism should seek medical care or go to an emergency room immediately, the CDC said. Approved for cosmetic use more than 20 years ago, Botox is a popular drug to smooth wrinkles and appear younger, with injections typically costing around $530, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The effects of a shot last three to four months on average, so additional shots are needed to remain wrinkle-free. Federal officials have previously cracked down on unregulated Botox and other cosmetic treatments. In 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Ohio intercepted such fillers that had been shipped from Bulgaria, China, Korea and Spain.

UK households face second year without improved living standards, says IMF 2024-04-16 18:43:00+00:00 - Britain’s households will endure a second year without an improvement in their living standards in 2024 as the effects of high inflation take time to abate, the International Monetary Fund has revealed. In its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Washington-based IMF said it was forecasting modest 0.5% UK growth this year – but only as a result of a rising population. Growth per head – one of the key measures of living standards – is expected to remain flat this year after a 0.3% drop in 2023. The IMF said there would be a pick-up in the economy as 2024 wore on – something the government is banking on to reduce its opinion poll deficit with Labour – but it would not be until 2025 that the cost of living crisis would be over. Although official figures due out on Wednesday are expected to show a fall in the UK’s annual inflation rate to about 3%, the IMF believes the Bank of England will be cautious about cutting interest rates, and has pencilled in only two 0.25 percentage point cuts in official borrowing costs this year. The tightness of the UK’s labour market – dating back to before the arrival of Covid – might explain why inflation had been higher than in the US or eurozone after the onset of the pandemic, it said. “Growth in the UK is projected to rise from an estimated 0.1% in 2023 to 0.5% in 2024, as the lagged negative effects of high energy prices wane, then to 1.5% in 2025, as disinflation allows financial conditions to ease and real incomes to recover.” Overall, the WEO found a marked divergence between the faster-growing US and the sluggish performance of the UK and other European economies. While the US is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2024, the eurozone is predicted to expand by 0.8%. Germany is on course to be the slowest growing member of the G7 group of big developed nations, with the IMF projecting growth of 0.2%. France and Italy are expected to grow by 0.7%, Japan by 0.9% and Canada by 1.2%. As in the UK, the IMF says growth will be weaker across much of the G7 once population changes are taken into account. US per capita growth is projected to be 2.1%, Germany 0.1%, France 0.5%, Italy 0.8%, Japan 1.3% and Canada -1.1%. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s economic counsellor, said the US overperformance relative to other rich countries might not last, since it was in part due to unsustainable tax and spending policies by the federal government. 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 exceptional recent performance of the United States is certainly impressive and a major driver of global growth, but it reflects strong demand factors as well, including a fiscal stance that is out of line with long-term fiscal sustainability,” he said. “This raises short-term risks to the disinflation process, as well as longer-term fiscal and financial stability risks for the global economy since it risks pushing up global funding costs. Something will have to give.” Gourinchas said growth in the eurozone would pick up from “very low levels” during 2024, while China was being held back by the downturn in its property sector. World output is expected to grow by 3.2% in both 2024 and 2025 – unchanged on 2023. “The global economy remains remarkably resilient, with growth holding steady as inflation returns to target,” Gourinchas said. The half-yearly WEO was completed before last weekend’s attacks on Israel by Iran, but the report stressed a broader Middle East conflict was one of the downside risks to its forecasts. “The conflict in Gaza and Israel could escalate further into the wider region. Continued attacks in the Red Sea and the ongoing war in Ukraine risk generating additional supply shocks adverse to the global recovery, with spikes in food, energy, and transportation costs,” it said. The UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said: “The IMF’s figures today show that the UK economy is turning a corner. Inflation in 2024 is predicted to be 1.2% lower than before, and over the next six years we are projected to grow faster than large European economies such as Germany or France – both of which have had significantly larger downgrades to short-term growth than the UK.”

Internet customers in western North Carolina to benefit from provider’s $20M settlement 2024-04-16 18:27:51+00:00 - RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Western North Carolina residents could see improved internet access over the next few years after a major service provider agreed to invest millions of dollars in the region. The state Attorney General’s Office and Frontier Communications of America have reached a settlement agreement that requires Frontier to make $20 million in infrastructure investments in the state over four years, Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Tuesday. Frontier is the sole internet option for parts of western North Carolina, according to a news release from Stein’s office. Stein’s office had received consumer complaints that Frontier’s internet service “was slow or failed entirely,” according to the settlement, and that their internet operated at much slower speeds than what the provider promised. Frontier denied those claims, and the settlement does not say it violated the law. The company did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment. After a federal court in 2021 dismissed North Carolina’s claims in a civil complaint filed by other states and the Federal Trade Commission, the state continued its investigation until the settlement was reached, the news release said. The agreement calls for Frontier to make a $300,000 restitution payment within 60 days that will be used to help customers affected by slower speeds. The settlement also enforces other actions the company must take, such as advertised internet speed disclosures and options for customers to cancel their internet service when the advertised speed isn’t reached.

Arizona GOP’s anti-abortion document shows how the party is willing to mislead voters 2024-04-16 18:26:57+00:00 - Arizona Republicans are considering several options to counter a proposed constitutional amendment to expand abortion access that may appear on the state ballot in November. Their strategy document, which was obtained by NBC News, reveals how lawmakers cook up anti-abortion measures — and how they pitch them to voters. Arizona Republicans have been under pressure after the state Supreme Court revived a near-total Civil War-era abortion ban last week. The ruling is deeply unpopular among voters nationally and has even received pushback from Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. It also has further galvanized support for the initiative to enshrine abortion rights into the state Constitution. The Arizona GOP’s strategy document outlines ideas for the party, which has control over the state Legislature, to weaken support for the abortion amendment. Such measures would be couched under titles like “Protecting Pregnant Women and Safe Abortions Act” or “Arizona Abortion and Reproductive Care Act,” the PowerPoint document says. “Phase 1” of the plan suggests offering “reasonable protections to voters” — but not a right to an abortion — that courts could consider “when interpreting the constitutional right to abortion” in the ballot initiative. Such measures would be couched under titles like “Protecting Pregnant Women and Safe Abortions Act” or “Arizona Abortion and Reproductive Care Act,” the PowerPoint document says. In the second phase, Arizona Republicans would offer voters — via referrals by the GOP-controlled Legislature — two constitutional amendments that “conflict with” the abortion rights initiative: a “15-week Reproductive Care and Abortion Act” and a “Heartbeat Protection Act.” Interestingly, the document concedes that the former would be “a 14-week law disguised as a 15-week law because it would only allow abortion until the beginning of the 15th week.” And listed as one of the cons for Phase 2 is that a constitutional amendment “transfers regulation of abortion from the Legislature to voters.” In a statement, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma said: The document presents ideas drafted for internal discussion and consideration within the caucus. I’ve publicly stated that we are looking at options to address this subject, and this is simply part of that. If nothing else, the document sheds light on how Arizona Republicans push for extreme abortion measures while misleading voters about their true intentions.

Powell Suggests Interest Rates Could Stay High for a Longer Period 2024-04-16 18:02:54+00:00 - The Federal Reserve is likely to wait longer than initially expected to cut interest rates, given stubborn inflation readings in recent months, the central bank’s top two officials said Tuesday. Policymakers came into 2024 looking for evidence that inflation was continuing to cool rapidly, as it did late last year. Instead, progress on inflation has stalled or even reversed by some measures. “The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said at an event in Washington on Tuesday. In a separate speech on Tuesday, Philip N. Jefferson, the Fed’s vice chair, also said the central bank should be prepared to delay rate cuts if inflation remains hot. “While we have seen considerable progress in lowering inflation,” Mr. Jefferson said in a speech at a Fed research conference in Washington, “the job of sustainably restoring 2 percent inflation is not yet done.”

Dr Martens investors should be kicking themselves 2024-04-16 17:32:00+00:00 - Unfortunately for headline-writing purposes, the chief executive of Dr Martens has not been given the boot after issuing the company’s fifth – yes, fifth – profits warning in its three years as a listed company. Kenny Wilson has merely decided of his own accord to leave and, indeed, may take his time about it. He could be in post until next March before he hands over to Ije Nwokorie, a former Apple executive who became the chief brand officer earlier this year. Wilson’s survival is more remarkable for the fact that Tuesday’s latest warning was a full 16-hole version with snazzy laces: the company’s “worst case scenario” for pre-tax profits this financial year is a fall of two-thirds, versus the market’s previous expectation for a slight improvement to £108m. The shares slumped by a third on Tuesday’s warning and are now 80% down from 2021’s float price. What’s Wilson’s secret? Well, he’s an open and engaging guy, which helps, but it’s probably more his pre-float record. He became the boss in 2018 and the number of pairs of boots and shoes sold by Dr Martens every year has more than doubled in that time. That may help in keeping the support of the private equity group Permira, which didn’t cash in all its chips at the float and is still the largest shareholder with a 38% stake. Even so, it’s remarkable that a boss can chalk up quite so many warnings in such a short period. Dr Martens can’t do anything about the slump in demand in the US market, which genuinely seems to be affecting direct competitors too. Yet the company still made its own headaches worse via a botched warehouse move in Los Angeles last year, for which it is still incurring extra costs. Europe and Asia are unaffected but a portion of the US pain is self-inflicted. But the real moral of this tale is this: never trust a private equity-backed company that comes to market with a pitch that years of easy expansion lie ahead. If it were that easy, the backers wouldn’t be selling. By way of reminder, Dr Martens’ projection in 2021 was for “mid-teens” revenue growth into the middle distance thanks to the potential in the US and Asia markets. Tuesday’s forecast for the “transition” year of 2024-25 now imagines “revenue declines by single-digit percentage”. The company is miles off its original schedule. In the process, it may also have discovered the limit of its pricing power now that the classic boot costs £170 in the UK; the company anticipates no price rises this 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 The fools, of course, are the fund managers who piled in that priced-for-perfection float at 370p, or £3.7bn, and those who bought in following months at levels as high as 500p. The share price now is 67p and Permira is surely obliged to sit on its rump holding and accept that it’s in for the long haul. Dr Martens remains cash-generative and the brand name is strong, so an eventual recovery looks more than plausible. But the kicking received by investors will not be forgotten for a very long while.

Participant, Maker of Films With Social Conscience, Calls It Quits 2024-04-16 17:29:09+00:00 - For 20 years, Participant Media has been Hollywood’s pre-eminent maker of activist entertainment, backing socially conscious films like “An Inconvenient Truth,” a climate change cri de coeur, and “Wonder,” about a boy with birth defects. Its movies have won 21 Academy Awards. But the company never quite managed to do good while also making money, at least not consistently. Matt Damon in a fracking drama (“Promised Land,” a 2012 Participant effort) has a hard time competing with “Avengers: Infinity War” in 3-D. On Tuesday, the company’s founder and financial lifeline, the eBay billionaire Jeff Skoll, pulled the plug — a decision based, at least in part, on the atrophying entertainment business. Participant relies on studios and streaming services to distribute its content, and those partners are cutting back — especially on the “niche” films and shows in which Participant specializes — as they contend with continuing weakness at the box office, higher labor costs and increased profit pressure from Wall Street. Streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix have started to sell ads, and advertisers prefer all-audience, apolitical content. Eat-your-broccoli documentaries and dramas that explore underrepresented communities (both Participant sweet spots) are harder to sell than ever.

Why didn’t Trump’s trial start years earlier? Blame Bill Barr 2024-04-16 17:16:34+00:00 - A couple of hours before the start of his first criminal trial, Donald Trump posed a question by way of his social media platform. “Why didn’t they bring this totally discredited lawsuit 7 years ago???” the former president asked. “Election Interference!” For now, let’s not dwell on the Republican’s obvious errors of fact and judgment, including the fact that the criminal case has only been “totally discredited” in his active imagination. Let’s also brush past the fact that the defendant took a variety of steps to try to delay these proceedings further, leaving Trump in a position in which he believes the case is happening both too slowly and too quickly. Let’s instead consider his question on the merits. After all, it’s easy to imagine some fair-minded observers wondering the same thing. The alleged misconduct in this case is unrelated to the 2024 election cycle and the 2020 election cycle, and stems from actions Trump allegedly took in 2016 and 2017. So why is it that the case against the presumptive GOP nominee is only reaching a courtroom now? As it turns out, we know the answer — though it isn’t one Trump likes to talk about. To briefly recap, as Election Day 2016 approached, Trump and his political operation were concerned about the public learning about his alleged sexual encounter with a porn star who goes by the name Stormy Daniels. With those fears in mind, the then-candidate and his team created a shell company, which Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen, used to pay off Daniels, effectively buying her silence. Soon after, Trump, according to prosecutors, falsified business records while making incremental payments to Cohen, reimbursing the lawyer for the scheme. These are the same payments that ultimately sent Cohen to prison, which leads to the obvious question of why he, and not his former client — identified as “Individual 1” in court documents — faced serious consequences. After all, Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes he committed in coordination with Trump, and he produced evidence of Trump-signed checks. As Rachel explained on last night’s show, the federal prosecutor overseeing the Southern District of New York at the time was Geoffrey Berman — a lifelong Republican, who worked on the Trump campaign and the Trump transition team, and who was chosen by Trump for the office. It was Berman who later wrote a book about his experiences, shedding light on what transpired in the Cohen case. In fact, according to Berman, after his office secured Cohen’s guilty plea, officials from the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., started intervening in matters in New York City, effectively trying to make the Trump/Cohen mess go away. Berman went so far as to claim that once Bill Barr became Trump’s attorney general, Barr “not only tried to kill the ongoing investigations, but — incredibly — suggested that Cohen’s conviction on campaign finance charges should be reversed.” Berman’s office was told to “cease all investigative work” on the allegations until Barr and his team were satisfied that there was a legal basis to the campaign finance charges to which Cohen had already pleaded guilty. The prosecutor wondered at the time about whether the then-attorney general was trying to shield Trump from possible legal liabilities after he was out of office. All of which is to say, Barr and his team directly intervened in an ongoing federal criminal investigation that implicated the then-president, who’d appointed Barr. As part of this intervention, Berman’s office was also directed to remove damaging references to Trump in court filings. In case that weren’t enough, Trump’s Justice Department also directed Berman to investigate Democrats who’d committed no crimes. When the prosecutor resisted, Barr told the public that Berman had resigned. He hadn’t. Soon after, Trump fired him. But while the then-attorney general and his team interfered in a case that implicated their boss, it had the effect of delaying local prosecutors' investigation because they deferred to their federal counterparts. Eventually, Trump’s Justice Department quietly let it be known that it was no longer examining allegations in the Cohen case, and two weeks later, prosecutors in New York started issuing subpoenas. Why is the former president’s case only coming to trial now? In part because the Trump administration politicized the legal process and perverted a federal investigation without cause. The former president has the entire scandal backwards. He believes the real controversy is that the case wasn’t prosecuted sooner, when it reality, it would’ve been prosecuted sooner had partisans on his team not corrupted the process on his behalf.

Tom Cotton's tweets about violence against protesters are alarming 2024-04-16 16:43:47+00:00 - Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is facing backlash for a post on X that appears to encourage people to carry out violence against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Since Israel initiated its bombardment of Gaza, following a Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, Cotton has had no qualms airing his illiberal bigotry on the subject. The senator has advocated for Israel to “bounce the rubble” in Gaza, endorsing an indiscriminate bombing campaign by suggesting "anything that happens in Gaza is the responsibility of Hamas." And he’s called for foreign nationals to be deported from the United States if they protest Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has garnered worldwide criticism. Cotton’s disturbing rhetoric about the conflict continued with a post on X Monday night in which he encourages people “stuck behind pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic” to “take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way.” The senator said “it’s time to put an end to this nonsense.” MSNBC has reached out to Cotton's office to ask the senator to clarify how, exactly, he would propose that people "get them out of the way" and whether he supports violence against demonstrators. (His office did not immediately respond, but we'll update if and when we hear.) That is certainly how some have interpreted his remarks, as critics on X denounced the post and criticized Cotton for conflating pro-Palestinian protesters with "pro-Hamas" protesters. (Read more here about the GOP’s troubling embrace of vigilantes.) Amid that backlash, Cotton shared a video on Tuesday morning that shows men dragging protesters out of the street, to which he added “How it should be done.” In recent years, conservative governors and state legislators have passed laws to shield people from punishment if they hit demonstrators with their cars. Cotton’s post on Tuesday, indicating that he wants people to manhandle protesters who inconvenience them, is of a piece with a movement that has sought to justify — and even glorify — violence against liberal activists and other people seen as enemies to the conservative cause. Cotton has arguably become the GOP’s most outspoken congressperson on the topic of meting out punishment to protesters. In 2020, The New York Times published a controversial op-ed written by Cotton that called for then-President Donald Trump to deploy the military to quell racial justice protests that summer. Civilian crackdowns seem to be his ... thing. For that reason, I think of Cotton as a mouthpiece for the conservative movement’s violent fantasies. No Republican lawmaker in Washington has been more forthright in laying out a vision for how private citizens and government can work hand-in-hand to attack and intimidate those who oppose their agenda.

AOC, Bernie Sanders: The Green New Deal for Public Housing is a major win for America 2024-04-16 16:37:54+00:00 - It’s no secret that we as a country are facing enormous challenges. We have a national housing crisis. We’re experiencing the existential threat of climate change. Our health care system is broken and dysfunctional. And while the very rich get richer, more than 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. We’re proud to tell you that, as progressive members of Congress, we have introduced legislation in the House and the Senate that, when passed, would be a major step forward in addressing all of these issues. It’s called the Green New Deal for Public Housing. The U.S. has lost 1 in 4 public housing units to privatization, demolition and underfunding over the last decade. Let’s start with the climate crisis. The last 10 years have been the 10 hottest on record, 2023 was by far the hottest year in recorded history, and 2024 so far has been even warmer. Global deaths due to extreme heat are expected to increase by 370% in the next decade if no action is taken, according to a study published in the Lancet. The United States Forest Service predicts that sea level rise due to climate change will destroy 70 million homes worldwide over the next 30 years. As the world’s largest historical contributor to carbon emissions, the United States must be a leader in tackling climate change. This bill would electrify all public housing in this country — over 900,000 units — and eliminate public housing’s carbon pollution. This investment would slash annual carbon emissions by 5.7 million metric tons — the equivalent of taking 1.2 million cars off the road — while developing the skills and technology needed to decarbonize all housing in our country. By retrofitting the energy systems of public housing, we would also deliver energy cost savings of up to 70 percent, cutting residents’ bills by up to $613 million a year. We are also in the midst of a housing crisis. In America today, more than 650,000 Americans are homeless and there is virtually no county or state where a working-class family can afford a decent, two-bedroom apartment. We have a housing shortage of approximately 7.3 million rental homes for low-income renters. As a result, over 12 million families spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent. Meanwhile, private investment firms are buying up homes in working-class neighborhoods as they make record-breaking profits. Further, our public housing stock is badly in need of reinvestment. The U.S. has lost 1 in 4 public housing units to privatization, demolition and underfunding over the last decade. The public housing infrastructure that remains has a maintenance backlog of tens-of-billions of dollars. And to make a bad situation even worse, a little-known provision from the 1990s known as the Faircloth Amendment effectively prevents the construction of any new public housing in the United States. The Green New Deal for Public Housing addresses the severe shortage of low-income and affordable housing by building and rehabilitating millions of units of public housing. This is housing for low-income and working-class Americans, senior citizens and people with disabilities — some of the most vulnerable people in the nation. We would invest up to $234 billion over a 10-year period to rebuild our public housing stock, creating safe, comfortable homes for 1.7 million Americans and spurring investments in housing across the country. We do not have to accept the status quo, where millions of families across this country are on the brink of eviction. Low-income communities also face a variety of health issues because of pollutants in or near their housing. Low-income residents are more likely to live near pollution sources like chemical plants or incinerators and have far higher rates of asthma due to pest infestations, deteriorated asbestos, lead hazards, mold, inadequate ventilation and temperature control, or overcrowded conditions. The Green New Deal for Public Housing repairs public housing to eliminate major pollutants like mold, lead, dust and gas, and it invests in new on-site health clinics and services for public housing residents. In New York City alone, this proposal would cut asthma rates by an estimated 18 to 30 percent. If these crises weren’t enough, we are also dealing with a failed economic system. Three people own more wealth than the bottom half of our population. Even as per capita productivity has exploded, the average American worker today makes about $50 a week less than he or she did some 50 years ago after adjusting for inflation. Young people in particular struggle to find good-paying jobs. This legislation creates some 280,000 good-paying, union jobs over the next decade, jobs primarily designed to go to the young people and the working people who live in public housing. These workers would receive valuable job training not only to fix up public housing, but to be productive workers all over our economy. The bill would also create union apprenticeship programs for public housing residents, allowing them to gain the skills for high-paying, unionized careers in green energy. This legislation makes massive investments in cutting carbon emissions, protecting our climate, improving the lives of nearly 2 million people, saving public housing authorities substantial sums of money and creating over a quarter of a million jobs. This is a win-win-win bill. We do not have to accept the status quo, where millions of families across this country are on the brink of eviction and affordable social and public housing remains out of reach. We do not have to accept the fact that in the richest nation in the history of the world, more than 650,000 people go to sleep each night without a roof over their heads. We can imagine a better world, where housing is plentiful, affordable and sustainable — where all Americans have a place to call home, where public housing has community centers for our seniors, playgrounds for our children and energy sources that don’t filling up our lungs with pollution. This better world is possible. All it requires is the necessary political will.

Thames Water to add to debt mountain in bid for survival 2024-04-16 16:28:00+00:00 - Thames Water is preparing to tap debt markets within weeks in an attempt to fund a rescue plan and repair its threadbare finances, the Guardian can reveal. It is understood the embattled water company is planning to publish a revised five-year spending plan within days, before a deadline next month. Its board is expected to meet on Thursday to rubber-stamp the plan, and executives hope to release it on Friday. Sources said the company then intends to wait for up to a week before approaching lenders to fund the proposals and has sought advice from City bankers and lawyers on the debt issuance. Financiers said the proposed timing of the fresh borrowing was surprising, given huge uncertainty around Thames’s future. Britain’s biggest and most heavily indebted water company is fighting to secure its financial future, and has already said it only has cash reserves to fund its operations for the next 15 months without a substantial increase in bills. Thames’s plans to raise fresh debt come despite it labouring under a £15.6bn debt pile. Its parent company, Kemble Water Finance, missed an interest payment earlier this month, and said it will not be able to repay a £190m loan due by the end of April. Its shareholders also recently backtracked on plans to inject £500m into the business amid a standoff with the industry regulator, Ofwat. The investors, which include USS and Omers, said Thames’s original business plan was “uninvestible” (sic) and demanded Ofwat allow it to raise bills sharply, levy lower fines and pay dividends. The company plans to republish the spending plan covering 2025 to 2030, which was first submitted to Ofwat last October, to allow regulators and investors to scrutinise it. Thames then intends to give markets a few days to settle and “absorb” the information before pushing the button on the debt plan, sources said. Thames’s original plan was to raise bills by 40% to fund an £18.7bn investment programme. However, the size of its investment plan is expected to be revised upwards by between £1bn and £1.5bn, with the £1.5bn more likely. It is unclear how much of the extra funds Thames hopes to raise through issuing new debt, but sources said it would have to be sizeable given the scale of its funding needs. Sources said that Thames, which has 16 million customers across London and the Thames valley, hopes to price the bonds in late April, before issuing the debt formally in early May. Lenders signing up to the debt issuance could be taking a gamble, however, as it is unclear how much Ofwat will allow Thames to raise through higher consumer bills. Ofwat is due to publish its draft response to Thames’s plan on 12 June, with water companies’ plans not signed off until December. The Guardian revealed this week that the company had six weeks to convince the regulator that it had a credible survival plan for its business,before an Ofwat board meeting on 23 May. Ofwat is understood to be sceptical that Thames’s current business plan is viable or fair on consumers and is demanding a separate turnaround strategy for reforms to its management and governance. 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 company could be hamstrung by the relatively small pool of debt and equity investors in the UK water sector, and the high-profile concerns expressed over Thames’ future. Bonds in its parent company are trading at a steep discount after its default. Other possible scenarios include a renationalising the company, an attempt to find new shareholders – potentially through a stock market float – a debt-for-equity swap and a breakup of the company. Although Thames’s operating company has £15.6bn of debt, the wider group has borrowings of more than £18bn across in its byzantine corporate structure. Thames’s financial troubles have drawn further attention to the stewardship of the company by Macquarie, the Australian bank that previously owned the water supplier and which has been heavily criticised for building huge debts at Thames while paying dividends to shareholders. The company’s current backers include the Canadian pensions firm Omers; the UK university staff pension scheme; a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and China’s sovereign wealth fund. Thames Water declined to comment.

NPR Suspends Editor Whose Essay Criticized the Broadcaster 2024-04-16 16:09:43+00:00 - NPR has suspended Uri Berliner, the senior business editor who broke ranks and published an essay arguing that the nonprofit radio network had allowed liberal bias to affect its coverage. Mr. Berliner was suspended by the network for five days, starting Friday, for violating the network’s policy against doing work outside the organization without first getting permission. Mr. Berliner acknowledged his suspension in an interview with NPR on Monday, providing one of the network’s reporters with a copy of the written rebuke. In presenting the warning, NPR said Mr. Berliner had failed to clear his work for outside outlets, adding that he would be fired if he violated the policy again. Mr. Berliner’s essay was published last week in The Free Press, a popular Substack publication. He declined to comment about the suspension. NPR said it did not comment on personnel matters.

American Airlines pilots union warns of "significant spike" in safety-related issues 2024-04-16 15:50:00+00:00 - In a warning to American Airlines pilots, their union, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), says it's seen "a significant spike in safety- and maintenance-related problems in our operation." The union claims that among the "problematic trends" it's been tracking are tools left in wheel wells, an increasing number of collisions between aircraft while they're being towed, an increasing number of items left in the safety area near jet bridges and "pressure to return aircraft to line service to maintain on-time performance due to a lack of spares." CBS News obtained pictures of a hammer the APA says was found in an Airbus A319 wheel well on March 25 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport before Flight 1654 departed for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. According to the APA, the flight's first officer discovered it during his pre-flight walkaround and notified the captain. The captain called maintenance, who in turn inspected the aircraft and found a "Channellock style pliers and a screwdriver also located inside the wheel well." The union says there were no open maintenance actions when the tool was found. A hammer is seen being held by an American Airlines pilot after, the carrier's pilots union says, it was discovered in an Airbus A319 on March 25 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport before the flight left for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Allied Pilots Association via CBS News In a message to union members Monday, APA President Capt. Ed Sicher says, "We met with (American's) senior management earlier this month to discuss the operational hazards we have identified. ... We now have management's full attention. We secured management's commitment to involve the union earlier in the safety risk assessment (SRA) process, and we are likewise seeking a commitment that APA will have a seat at the table for the entire quality assurance process. ... Management's initial response to our concerns was encouraging." American, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, said, "Safety at any airline is a shared mission and it's especially true at American. Our robust safety program is guided by our industry-leading safety management system" that includes collaborating with regulators and its unions. While not commenting directly on the issues raised by the APA, the Federal Aviation Administration said it "requires all U.S. airlines to have Safety Management Systems (SMS) through which they identify, monitor and address potential hazards early on before they become serious problems." Complaints about mechanics being pressured to quickly return planes to service aren't new at American, as CBS News reported in 2019. United Airlines is currently the subject of an FAA audit after a series of concerning incidents that included a wheel falling off a Boeing 777 as it was taking off from San Francisco and an aerodynamic panel that flew off a 737 during a flight from San Francisco to Medford, Oregon. "While United Airlines is currently under public and government scrutiny, it could just as easily be American Airlines," the APA memo says. The union safety committee urged pilots not to rush or be intimidated "and don't be pressured into doing something that doesn't pass the 'smell test.' Just because it's legal doesn't make it safe."

Silicon Motion Proves That AI in Motion Stays in Motion 2024-04-16 15:42:00+00:00 - Key Points Silicon Motion designs and develops NAND flash memory controllers and provides mobile, data center and enterprise storage solutions. The AI boom is driving demand for NAND flash memory with its fast access and data storage capabilities. Silicon Motion faces heavy competition in the NAND controller market from Samsung, Micron Technology and Western Digital. 5 stocks we like better than Silicon Motion Technology Silicon Motion Technology Co. NASDAQ: SIMO is a fabless semiconductor company in the computer and technology sector specializing in designing and developing NAND flash memory controllers. The controllers enable solid-state drives (SSD) to operate seamlessly, managing the communications between the NAND flash memory and the computer system. The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is driving insatiable demand for memory chips, notably non-volatile NAND flash memory by Micron Technology Inc. NASDAQ: MU used in SSDs devices by giants like Seagate Technology PLC NASDAQ: STX and Western Digital Co. NASDAQ: WDC. Get SIMO alerts: Sign Up AI-Driven Demand Tailwinds The AI revolution has driven demand for high-speed storage solutions. SSDs are seeing massive demand as AI models need oceans of data to train them. Not only does AI demand data capacity, but high-speed access and transfers are a necessity. NAND memory is non-volatile, meaning it can retain data without power, unlike volatile memory like DRAM, which loses data once power is turned off. Silicon Motion derives the majority of its revenues from SSD controllers. It also generates revenues from the mobile storage used in tablets, smartphones and mobile devices. These devices utilize data embedded in universal flash storage and USB flash drives. Silicon Motion's data center and enterprise solutions segment provides storage solutions catering to big data analysis and cloud computing demands. Heavy Competition in the NAND Flash Market Silicon Motion has heavy competition in the NAND flash memory market. Its top three competitors are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. OTCMKTS: SSNLF (which has a massive scale as a developer of its own NAND flash memory semiconductors and flash controllers), Western Digital (whose SanDisk division makes it a threat in the NAND market), and Marvell Technology Inc. NASDAQ: MRVL (which specializes in NAND storage controllers for enterprise and data centers). Future Competition The demand for fast data storage and access has fostered a race to usher in the next big storage technology. While HDDs are much cheaper and have much greater storage capacity, the moving parts make them vastly slower and clunkier than SSDs. Resistive RAM, or ReRAM, is a promising technology that enables faster data write times, higher endurance and lower power consumption. Micron Technology and Samsung are two pioneers that are currently in the research phase of ReRAM technology. It hasn't materialized yet, as companies are still attempting to assemble a prototype. Daily Bull Flag The SIMO daily candlestick chart illustrates a bull flag breakout pattern reeling from a pullback to support at $74.66 the bull flag low. Shares triggered a spike up to the $83.96 peak, but the pullback threatens to break through the bull flag low. The daily relative strength index (RSI) has fallen through the 50-band. Pullback support levels are at $74.66, $71.07, $67.43 and $62.68. Solid Quarterly EPS Beat Silicon Motion reported Q4 2023 EPS of 93 cents, beating consensus estimates by 20 cents. Revenues grew 0.8% YOY and 17% QOQ to $202.38 million, beating consensus estimates for $196.52 million. eMMC+UFS controller sales rose 25% to 30% QOQ and rose 20% to 25% YOY. SSD solution sales fell % to 10% QOQ and 45% to 50% YOY. The company announced a $2.00 per ADS annual cash dividend. Non-GAAP gross margins were 44.1%, and operating margin was 13.8%. Full-year 2023 Non-GAAP net sales fell 32% YOY to $639.1 million, generating an 11.9% operating margin and $2.27 earnings per diluted ADS of $2.27. Upside Guidance Silicon Motion provided upside guidance for Q1 2024 revenues of $172 million to $182 million versus $169.19 million consensus estimates. Non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be in the high range of the original estimates of 44% to 45%. Full-year 2024 revenues were in line at $765 million to $800 million versus $767.72 million consensus estimates. CEO Insights Silicon Motion CEO Wallace Kou said, "Our fourth quarter results exceeded expectations as demand across the majority of our products increased sequentially, driven by holiday season demand and normalizing channel inventory." Kou concluded, "Both eMMC+UFS and SSD controller demand grew strongly in the quarter. We are confident that our teams' ongoing commitment to deliver controller solutions that enable our customers to service a broader range of markets will continue to drive share gains for us and be the foundation for strong growth in 2024 and beyond." Silicon Motion analyst ratings and price targets are at MarketBeat. Before you consider Silicon Motion Technology, 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 Silicon Motion Technology wasn't on the list. While Silicon Motion Technology currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Revealed: how companies made $100m clearing California homeless camps 2024-04-16 15:01:00+00:00 - This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations with support from the Wayne Barrett Project On an October morning, a small army arrived to evict Rudy Ortega from his home in the Crash Zone, an encampment located near the end of the airport runway in San Jose, California, Silicon Valley’s largest city. As jets roared overhead, garbage trucks and police squad cars encircled Ortega’s hand-built shelter. Heavy machinery operators stood by for the signal to bulldoze Ortega’s camp. As the workers closed in, Ortega grew increasingly upset. “They’re going to have to drag me out of here,” he said. The camp, one of the largest in California, was cleared between 2021 and 2023 in part by a private company named Tucker Construction. Public spending on private sweep contractors is soaring across California. In total, private firms have been paid at least $100m to clear homeless camps, an investigation by the Guardian and Type Investigations has found. The 14 municipalities and public agencies from which spending details could be obtained represent a small slice of such spending in the state. Astrid Stromberg, who oversees encampment cleanups for Tucker, said its business has expanded dramatically since 2020. The company had about a dozen laborers working full-time on encampment cleanup. Now there are 30, and its clients include roughly a dozen municipalities and public agencies across Silicon Valley. “[Tucker] basically created the industry here,” she said. “I could talk about it for hours.” View image in fullscreen Rudy Ortega, an unhoused resident living in Columbus Park, points to a trespassing notice stapled to his suitcase in 2021. Photograph: Courtesy of San José Spotlight Pete White, the founder of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, a homeless advocacy group based in Skid Row, says he’s observed a steady increase in the privatization of sweeps in recent years. “The growth of a private industry geared towards removing and dismantling informal settlements and houseless encampments has grown steadily in Los Angeles and across the country,” said White. “Not only are we seeing a growth in the loss of property, but also the loss of rights.” Litigants in ongoing or recent court cases allege that the destruction of belongings in sweeps violates the fourth amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, and the 14th amendment, which guarantees due process under the law. A case currently before the US supreme court also argues that laws banning homeless people from camping or sleeping in public spaces violate the eighth amendment, which safeguards against “cruel and unusual punishment” by government actors. Some of these cases are persuading courts. A case in San Francisco, for instance, has resulted in a city-wide injunction against sweeps while the city has a shortage of shelter beds. In a 2021 case in Los Angeles, a federal appellate court ruled that every mattress, couch and shack removed by crews must be preserved. But the issue remains a legal gray area. It’s not so much the loss of the material things, but that they are the only things you own Gabriella Aguirre Gabriella Aguirre, whose camp was removed from the Crash Zone around the same time as Ortega, rues the sweeps she has been subject to. “You feel devastated, you feel in a rush, you feel like your whole world is coming to an end,” said Aguirre, who works at a restaurant cleaning and washing dishes. During the clearance of the Crash Zone, she alleges, Tucker crews violated city policies by disposing of items she had asked to keep, including key fobs for her car and her daughter’s car. “It’s not so much the loss of the material things, but that they are the only things you own.” How sweeps became a lucrative industry The dusty fields of the Crash Zone once had houses on them, including one where Ortega’s family lived when he was born in 1976. Around this time, the neighborhood was deemed unsafe for habitation by virtue of its proximity to the runway. By the early 80s, 630 homes were bulldozed from the site through eminent domain. Ortega moved to the Crash Zone in 2015 after losing his job as a property manager. At the time, there were just a smattering of tents across the fields. When the population of the camp exploded to about 300 people in the first year of the pandemic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would withhold funding for airport improvement projects if the city didn’t clear it out. In recent years, California has approved more than $700m of funding for camp clearance, part of its strategy for grappling with a growing unsheltered homeless population of 123,000, according to a recent count. To better understand the nature of the new industry dedicated to clearing camps like the Crash Zone, and ascertain how much spending has gone to private contractors as opposed to city crews, the Guardian and Type Investigations sent public records requests to dozens of local jurisdictions and public agencies. The requests focused on the state’s five largest cities and also on Silicon Valley. The records show that firms vying for contracts to sweep encampments in California include mid-size construction companies that also do home renovations, as well as large environmental services firms that specialize in cleaning up hazardous waste and responding to public emergencies. The company Ocean Blue, for instance, says on its website it cleared out more than 300 encampments in a year in southern California. “Because of our specialty in handling hazardous wastes – bio hazardous (i.e. feces, urine, vomit, needles), oils, acids, aerosols – we now perform homeless encampment cleanups for some of the largest government agencies in Southern California,” it says. View image in fullscreen Crews remove personal belongings at an encampment under the 405 freeway in Inglewood, California, on 25 January 2022, in preparation for the Super Bowl. Photograph: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Tucker Construction was founded more than 40 years ago by a longtime San Jose resident, Mark Tucker. The company’s portfolio includes remodeling kitchens and building public works projects for the city. Stromberg said the expansion to sweeps started with a call from the city to clean out a hoarder’s house, and grew from there to include camp cleanups. Some of Tucker’s employees are formerly unhoused themselves, Stromberg said. According to public records, the city’s contracts and purchase orders with Tucker total more than $10m in the past decade. Part of this money was drawn from federal emergency funds intended to combat Covid-19. This is despite the fact that the city publicly stated it would not displace people during the pandemic, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. When asked about this use of funds, the city said some camp clearances were necessary to reduce the risk of Covid spreading among inhabitants, among other reasons. Across California, the largest single contract unearthed was a $23m deal with the Singh Group, a major construction firm, to clear camps along state-maintained roads in the cities of Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville. At the other end of the scale the city of Santa Clara, a suburb of San Jose, signed a three-and-a-half-year, $1m contract with Tucker in 2019, despite having documented only 264 unsheltered residents at the time. It can cost millions to clear a single camp. Marinship, a Bay Area construction company, received $3.4m to dismantle an unhoused community with about 200 residents. The scores of contracts reviewed do not account for spending on the city employees and police forces that typically accompany private contractors on sweeps. The police presence at one sweep in Los Angeles cost an estimated $2m. The pain – and destruction – of sweeps For homeless people, these sweeps take an enormous toll. And they allege that private companies such as Tucker are breaking, or at least skirting, rules intended to ensure they are treated fairly. Many unhoused residents report being swept over and over, often multiple times in a year. Modeling based on data collected in Boston has shown that hospitalization and death rates are expected to increase significantly among encampment residents after sweeps – researchers projected that overdoses would rise 30%, for instance. Having to go through that – it’s trauma, physically and psychologically Rudy Ortega A study of the health impacts of sweeps in Santa Clara county, where the Crash Zone is located, found that unhoused residents often lost medicines and other “health necessities” and that sweeps “drove unhoused people into hazardous, isolated, less visible spaces”. Sometimes they are even arrested and put in jail. “Having to go through that – it’s trauma, physically and psychologically,” said Ortega. “It messes you up.” While efforts are made to provide services and shelter to those being displaced, the vast majority start a new encampment nearby, their already tenuous stability upended in the process. The San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan, acknowledged in an interview that this kind of sweep is a questionable use of money. “Our goal is not to just shuffle people around the city. I think it is a terrible use of taxpayer dollars, and it is horribly disruptive for our most vulnerable neighbors.” Doing so, Mahan added, would be “the definition of insanity”. San Jose aims to get residents the shelter they need. But San Jose, like most large American cities, does not have nearly enough shelter for its unhoused residents. View image in fullscreen An encampment in San Jose in February 2022. Photograph: MediaNews Group/East Bay Times/Getty Images As well as the loss of their homes, they allege the destruction of belongings that rules are meant to protect. At the Crash Zone, a couple named Theresa and Dave lost a bike and furniture. A man named Jose lost scrap metal he sells for income. Fujio Maeda lost the tent he was sleeping in. Rudy estimates he lost about $5,000 worth of personal property. And, he said, “I lost my trust in the city.” Unhoused residents and their advocates say that the systems in place to prevent the loss of personal belongings during sweeps are often not effective. In an email, Mark Tucker, president of Tucker Construction, said his company works under the supervision of city staff during cleanups. “We collect personal property, catalogue it, load it into our trucks and deliver it to a place for storage until 90 days has expired,” he wrote. According to San Jose’s instructions to Tucker, obtained via a records request, “If there is any uncertainty regarding whether an item should be thrown away or stored, it should be stored … Unless an item is trash or poses an immediate threat to public health or safety, it should be retained for storage as potential personal property.” But the notices to vacate posted by Tucker throughout the camp defined storable items in very different terms to the city. They specify that nothing “dirty” will be kept, which in a dusty field with no running water could conceivably be applied to most things. According to the signs, nothing “broken or disassembled” is eligible for storage – which encompasses a high percentage of possessions in a community where scavenging is the norm. This includes “bike parts, pallets, or wood or other metal parts”. Yet for many residents who were interviewed, cobbling together parts from multiple non-functioning bikes was essential to their mobility. Pallets are upcycled into walls. Metal equals money at the recycling yard. A scrap of wood can be burned to cook dinner or keep residents warm at night. View image in fullscreen Tents that shelter homeless people line the sidewalk in Los Angeles on 20 January. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images In interviews with more than a dozen Crash Zone residents, no one said they were told that their belongings would be placed into storage. Nor did anyone successfully report retrieving belongings seized during a sweep in San Jose. During the Crash Zone sweep, a Tucker worker who did not provide his name shook his head when asked if any belongings were being stored. Another man sat in an unmarked pickup truck loaded with what appeared to be items from the sweep, including an acoustic guitar. He said he “sometimes” worked on the clearance crews and that he made money by selling belongings removed from the camp. Homeless residents of the camp alleged this was a regular occurrence. Both Tucker and a city spokesperson said they had not received any reports of theft by employees or former employees at sweeps. Tucker wrote in an email that these allegations were “hearsay and not factual”. One resident who goes by CL said he lost jacks, wrenches and other tools that he uses to work on cars, a source of income for him, after they had been thrown away by workers during sweeps. “Tools” are named by the city as items to be held in storage for residents. Following the instructions on eviction notices, the Guardian and Type called BeautifySJ, the city program that oversees sweeps, to ask where they could be retrieved. A week later, the city replied that the tools could not be located. The city says that it conducts sweeps within the bounds of the law and that it provides adequate oversight to ensure that contractors like Tucker abide by its policies for storing belongings. “City staff and vendors place collected personal property on tarps to identify, photograph, log and sign each item,” said Elizabeth Castro, a city spokesperson. “Once documented, items are bagged and taken to a city facility by the vendor and City staff.” The city declined to provide a tour of its storage facility, but did offer a photo showing a small room with few shelves holding about a dozen bags of belongings. Tristia Bauman, a housing attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, who has studied the criminalization of homelessness across the country, says that, “from a legal standpoint, having a storage facility that is not resulting in people having a meaningful ability to get their property back is the equivalent of permanent deprivation of the property”. Ortega sues Ortega eventually had his day in court. Unable to find a firm willing to take his case pro bono, he represented himself. He requested a temporary restraining order to prevent his belongings from being taken during an upcoming sweep. The judge granted a series of hearings and told the city to let Ortega stay put while his case was heard. View image in fullscreen Ortega in 2022. Photograph: Courtesy of KPIX 5 The once-crowded fields around him emptied out as the bulldozers swept through. Many residents escaped to a much smaller adjacent field, which quickly became a densely packed encampment, until that, too, was cleared. The judge expressed sympathy for Ortega’s situation and instructed the city to repair the secondhand camper that Ortega had obtained and tow it to a location that was not slated for active sweeping. He said the city had to ensure that any possessions that could not fit in the camper were safely stowed in a self-storage facility nearby. Ortega saw it as a small victory, but says the legal pressure doesn’t seem to have made a difference as he observes ongoing sweeps in San Jose. “They’re still doing the same thing,” he said, “just quieter.” Brian Barth is writing a book about the Bay Area’s unhoused communities

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Avoided a Collision on the Charts. (Again.) 2024-04-16 15:00:08+00:00 - In February, Taylor Swift took the stage at the Grammy Awards to accept the prize for best pop vocal album. After dutifully thanking the Recording Academy and her fans, she got down to business: “My brand-new album comes out April 19,” she said, in a surprise announcement revealing “The Tortured Poets Department.” It was a heads up for her loyal followers, as well as anyone else in the business with a spring release on the radar: If you want your new album to debut at No. 1, don’t release it on April 19. Or April 26. Or May 3, for that matter. A week later, following a teaser during a Super Bowl commercial, Beyoncé also dropped news of a new album: “Cowboy Carter” would arrive earlier than “Poets,” with breathing room, on March 29. Another pop powerhouse in the Grammy audience made her own announcement in early April: Billie Eilish will unveil her forthcoming third album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” a month after Swift’s release, on May 17. Beyoncé and Swift, the 21st century’s pre-eminent pop stars, have often been cast as competitors if not rivals, a story line partly rooted in misogyny and amplified by dueling fan armies filled with stans, or superfans.