Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 1:52 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.9%, Micron Technology was up 1% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.7%, Amazon was down 0.6%, and Netflix gave up 1.1%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.9%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.7% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.8%, Best Buy was up 2.2% and Dollar Tree gained 2.7%. Retailers are hoping for a solid sales this holiday season, and the day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4% and 16%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.Ohio State football’s loss vs. Michigan raises a question: What’s next for coach Ryan Day?Danny Jones’ wife breaks down in tears on camera as she admits she struggling while he’s on I’m A Celeb
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Game-changing holiday gifts for building fires, printing photos, watching birds and moreStrictly's Shirley Ballas looks unrecognisable as she transforms into Miss Trunchbull for Musicals Week: 'Bravest judge outfit ever!' Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By SEAN O'GRADY Published: 20:08 GMT, 30 November 2024 | Updated: 20:09 GMT, 30 November 2024 e-mail 11 View comments Shirley Ballas left viewers' jaws on the floor as she transformed into Miss Trunchbull on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday. The usually glamorous head judge, 64, looked nearly unrecognisable as she came out dressed as the famous villain from Roald Dahl 's Matilda for Musicals Week. The dancer ditched her usual evening gowns for a khaki coat which she wore with a chunky brown belt and a white shirt. Most dramatically, Shirley's hair was styled into a high bun and spray painted grey and she also wore makeup to help transform her into the terrifying headmistress. Viewers quicky took to X to react to Shirley's transformation, writing: 'Shirley as Miss Trunchbull is acually sending me! Tbf they all look fab.' 'Oh my God I didn't recognise Shirley'... 'Shirley looks amazing!'... 'Shirley as Miss Trunchbull, I can't!' Shirley Ballas left viewers' jaws on the floor as she transformed into Miss Trunchbull on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday (Pam Ferris as Miss Trunchbill in Matilda, right) The usually glamorous head judge, 64, looked nearly unrecognisable as she came out dressed as the famous villain from Roald Dahl's Matilda for Musicals Week 'Send everyone else home, Shirley has won tonight'... 'Shirley as Miss Trunchbull, bravest choice of a judge outfit ever, so funny.' It comes after Shirley revealed she hates having the deciding vote as head judge and is always desperate for the other panellists to agree and save her from having to give anyone the boot - and often see her facing backlash. Shirley is often tasked with the final say if Craig Revel Horwood , 59, Motsi Mabuse , 43, and Anton Du Beke , 58, cannot come to an unanimous decision. She told Radio Times : 'I'm sitting there every weekend, thinking, Dear Lord, my saviour, please let the other three make the decision so it doesn't come down to me"'. 'But somebody has to do this job and I try to send them home with as much confidence and affection as I can. My heart does have a little cry when I see them go because I've got to know them, and see them improving'. Shirley joined the judging panel as head judge in 2017, replacing the late Len Goodman and says she has no plans on retiring. 'I want to do Strictly until I pop my clogs. I shall come in on my walking frame, because I'm married to dance!'. But Shirley considered not returning for the 2023 series after an 'overwhelming' amount of hate from vile trolls online. Viewers quicky took to X to react to Shirley's transformation, writing: 'Shirley as Miss Trunchbull is acually sending me!' The dancer ditched her usual evening gowns for a khaki coat which she wore with a chunky brown belt and a white shirt It comes after Shirley revealed she hates having the deciding vote as head judge and is always desperate for the other panellists to agree and save her from having to give anyone the boot But while she called her role the 'icing on the cake' to her career, the abuse that has come alongside it has been extremely difficult to deal with. She told the Sunday Times last year: 'I think I'm getting stronger as the years go by but the trolling got to me last year: it was bad. I think I was just overwhelmed'. 'I think I'm getting stronger as the years go by but the trolling got to me last year: it was bad. I think I was just overwhelmed. 'This year I've taken on a young man called Harry who does all my social media, which is proving to be just fabulous.' Employing someone else to manage her social media accounts means that Shirley has not been scrolling through the negative comments. Shirley Ballas Roald Dahl Strictly Come Dancing Share or comment on this article: Strictly's Shirley Ballas looks unrecognisable as she transforms into Miss Trunchbull for Musicals Week: 'Bravest judge outfit ever!' e-mail Add comment
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Trump’s promises to conservatives raise fears of more book bans in US
Bengals optimistic heading into new month, meeting vs. SteelersKing Charles has turned heads earlier this week as he sported a pair of previously banned satin breeches to an event at Buckingham Palace. The breeches, steeped in royal tradition, had been a topic of debate leading up to his coronation last year. Ultimately, the King opted for a more modernised pair of Royal Navy trousers for the historic ceremony. However, on Tuesday, he finally donned the ceremonial outfit, which boasts a storied lineage. Accompanied by Queen Camilla, Charles paired the breeches with black silk stockings and bespoke shoes crafted for his coronation by Tony Gaziano of Gaziano & Girling. The shoes, described as black opera pumps with a "family buckle", were made by the Kettering-based company, whose founder noted the King’s "delicate" feet during the fitting process. The satin breeches hold deep historical significance, having been worn by Charles’s grandfather, King George VI, as well as great-grandfather King George V and great-great-grandfather King Edward VII at their coronation ceremonies. In a nod to royal tradition, Charles, 76, also wore a garter on his left leg inscribed with the Order of the Garter’s motto, "Honi soit qui mal y pense", meaning "shame on he who thinks ill of it". Queen Camilla, 77, complemented the occasion by wearing a velvet blue gown and a sentimental piece from the late Queen Elizabeth’s collection, a diamond and aquamarine tiara previously seen on Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. Camilla paired it with matching aquamarine earrings and a necklace, as well as the King’s family order displayed on a royal blue sash. In a nod to Charles’ passion for sustainability, his likeness is believed to be painted on polymin, rather than ivory. The Diplomatic Corps reception, one of the largest annual events at Buckingham Palace , welcomed approximately 1,000 guests. Invitations were extended to ambassadors, high commissioners, past prime ministers, and other notable public figures. This year’s reception was moved to November to avoid clashing with the Emir of Qatar’s state visit in December. Prince William attended the event alongside his father and stepmother, looking dashing in a black suit and trousers as he mingled with guests. Absent from the event was Princess Catherine, who is gradually resuming royal duties after completing chemotherapy in October. The Duchess of Wales made a public appearance at Remembrance Sunday earlier this month and is reportedly preparing for her Together at Christmas carol service on December 6. This year’s carol service is themed around the Christmas story, which "encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy."
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ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 12, 2024-- Today, Luminar (NASDAQ: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, announced certain key executive updates that include Alex Fishkin joining as Chief Legal Officer, Michael Southard as Vice President of Engineering, and Marc Losiewicz appointed as Chief Business Officer and General Manager. “We’re setting Luminar up for success in 2025 with leadership enhancements to help us achieve our two main goals for next year: strong growth and increased efficiency,” said Austin Russell, Luminar Founder and CEO. “Luminar’s leading position to enable global automakers to achieve drastically improved assisted and autonomous capabilities on production vehicles continues to attract top talent in the industry.” Michael Southard joins Luminar to lead day to day LiDAR engineering activities for the company, with a focus on realizing greater efficiency and R&D leverage as the company concludes its development work on the Iris family of products, and focuses on Halo and beyond. He joins us from leading the hardware team at Block (formerly Square), and prior to that a leader in VR Hardware at Meta. He also has a long history of leading product development across a wide range of technologies at companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google. Mr. Southard’s experience and leadership come at a key inflection point in Luminar’s trajectory now that its technology is in series production, and customers are clamoring for the upcoming technologies in Luminar’s pipeline. Alex Fishkin, who previously served as Luminar’s Chief Legal Officer for three years, will return to the company. Mr. Fishkin is an accomplished business and legal executive and former engineer, with broad experience advising both public and private global technology companies. Mr. Fishkin was a professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and has held legal leadership positions at technology companies both large and small, spanning all the way back to Google prior to joining Luminar as its first General Counsel. Mr. Fishkin’s experience in operating highly efficient legal teams and advising companies to navigate industry challenges will be strong assets to the company and its growth. Marc Losiewicz will now serve as Chief Business Officer and General Manager for the company, after more than four years at Luminar. Mr. Losiewicz has previously held various senior roles, including most recently as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Business Development. Prior to Luminar, he was responsible for managing a one billion dollar P&L for the assisted driving platform at ZF, one of the largest automotive Tier 1 manufacturers, and began his career as an engineer. His wealth of experience and knowledge of the automotive and technology industries will be invaluable to helping Luminar achieve its mission. Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its various partners, ranging from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to NVIDIA and Mobileye, to develop and deploy the world's most advanced passenger vehicles. Following the launch of the Volvo EX90 as the first global production vehicle to standardize its technology, Luminar is poised to lead the industry in enabling next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit . View source version on : CONTACT: Media Relations: Milin Mehta Investor Relations: Aileen Smith KEYWORD: FLORIDA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION DATA MANAGEMENT MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY OTHER AUTOMOTIVE EV/ELECTRIC VEHICLES AUTONOMOUS DRIVING/VEHICLES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FLEET MANAGEMENT GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SOFTWARE VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING SOURCE: Luminar Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/12/2024 05:30 PM/DISC: 12/12/2024 05:28 PM
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