Stocks shook off a choppy start to finish higher Monday, as Wall Street kicked off a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 ended 0.7% higher after having been down 0.5% in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also recovered from an early slide to eke out a 0.2% gain. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get our free email newsletters — latest headlines and e-edition notifications.
The air around us contains a powerful solution for making agriculture more sustainable. Researchers at Stanford University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia have developed a prototype device that can produce ammonia—a key fertilizer ingredient—using wind energy to draw air through a mesh. The approach they developed, if perfected, might eliminate the need for a century-old method that produces by combining nitrogen and hydrogen at high pressures and temperatures. The older method consumes 2% of global energy and contributes 1% of annual carbon dioxide emissions from its reliance on natural gas. The study, Dec. 13 in , involved the first on-site—rather than in a lab—demonstration of the technology. The researchers envision someday integrating the device into , enabling farmers to generate fertilizer directly from the air. "This breakthrough allows us to harness the nitrogen in our air and produce ammonia sustainably," said study senior author Richard Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. "It's a significant step toward a decentralized and eco-friendly approach to agriculture." A cleaner alternative In preparation for designing their device, the researchers studied how different environmental factors—like humidity, , salt levels, and acidity—affect ammonia production. They also looked at how the size of water droplets, the concentration of the solution, and the contact of water with materials that do not dissolve in water impact the process. Lastly, they tested the best mix of iron oxide and an acid polymer with fluorine and sulfur to determine the ideal conditions for producing ammonia and understand how these interact with water droplets. The Stanford team's process makes ammonia cleanly and inexpensively and utilizes the surrounding air to get nitrogen and hydrogen from water vapor. By passing air through a mesh coated with catalysts to facilitate the necessary reaction, the researchers produced enough ammonia with a sufficiently high concentration to serve as a hydroponic fertilizer in greenhouse settings. Unlike traditional methods, the new technique operates at room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure, requiring no external voltage source to be attached to the mesh. Farmers could run the portable device onsite, eliminating the need to purchase and ship fertilizer from a manufacturer. "This approach significantly reduces the carbon footprint of ammonia production," said study lead author Xiaowei Song, a chemistry research scientist at Stanford. In laboratory experiments, the team demonstrated further potential by recycling water through a spraying system, achieving ammonia concentrations sufficient to fertilize plants grown in a greenhouse after just two hours. By incorporating a filter made from a microporous stone material, this approach could produce enough ammonia to support broader agricultural applications. A future without fossil fuels The device is two to three years away from being market-ready, according to study co-author Chanbasha Basheer of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. In the meantime, the researchers plan to use increasingly large mesh systems to produce more ammonia. "There is a lot of room to develop this," Basheer said. Ammonia's importance extends beyond fertilizers. As a clean energy carrier, it can store and transport renewable energy more efficiently than hydrogen gas due to its higher energy density. The innovation positions ammonia as a linchpin in decarbonizing industries like shipping and power generation. "Green ammonia represents a new frontier in sustainability," Zare said. "This method, if it can be scaled up economically, could drastically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels across multiple sectors."
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its all-time high set on Friday to post a record for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that's been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared 28.7% to lead the market. Following allegations of misconduct and the resignation of its public auditor, the maker of servers used in artificial-intelligence technology said an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or by the company's board. It also said that it doesn't expect to restate its past financials and that it will find a new chief financial officer, appoint a general counsel and make other moves to strengthen its governance. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up the market. Gains of 1.8% for Microsoft and 3.2% for Meta Platforms were the two strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. Intel was another propellant during the morning, but it lost an early gain to fall 0.5% after the chip company said CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired and stepped down from the board. Intel is looking for Gelsinger's replacement, and its chair said it's "committed to restoring investor confidence." Intel recently lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia, which has skyrocketed in Wall Street's frenzy around AI. Stellantis, meanwhile, skidded following the announcement of its CEO's departure. Carlos Tavares steps down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales and an inventory backlog at dealerships. The world's fourth-largest automaker's stock fell 6.3% in Milan. The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 likewise fell, including California utility PG&E. It dropped 5% after saying it would sell $2.4 billion of stock and preferred shares to raise cash. Retailers were mixed amid what's expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record and coming off Black Friday. Target, which recently gave a forecast for the holiday season that left investors discouraged, fell 1.2%. Walmart, which gave a more optimistic forecast, rose 0.2%. Amazon, which looks to benefit from online sales from Cyber Monday, climbed 1.4%. All told, the S&P 500 added 14.77 points to 6,047.15. The Dow fell 128.65 to 44,782.00, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 185.78 to 19,403.95. The stock market largely took Donald Trump's latest threat on tariffs in stride. The president-elect on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. Trump said he wants the group, headlined by Brazil, Russia, India and China, to promise it won't create a new currency or otherwise try to undercut the U.S. dollar. The dollar has long been the currency of choice for global trade. Speculation has also been around a long time that other currencies could knock it off its mantle, but no contender has come close. The U.S. dollar's value rose Monday against several other currencies, but one of its strongest moves likely had less to do with the tariff threats. The euro fell amid a political battle in Paris over the French government's budget. The euro sank 0.7% against the U.S. dollar and broke below $1.05. In the bond market, Treasury yields gave up early gains to hold relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed above 4.23% during the morning before falling back to 4.19%. That was just above its level of 4.18% late Friday. A report in the morning showed the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted again last month, but not by as much as economists expected. This upcoming week will bring several big updates on the job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy. Economists expect Friday's headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October's lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes. "We now find ourselves in the middle of this Goldilocks zone, where economic health supports earnings growth while remaining weak enough to justify potential Fed rate cuts," according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. In financial markets abroad, Chinese stocks led gains worldwide as monthly surveys showed improving conditions for manufacturing, partly driven by a surge in orders ahead of Trump's inauguration next month. Both official and private sector surveys of factory managers showed strong new orders and export orders, possibly partly linked to efforts by importers in the U.S. to beat potential tariff hikes by Trump once he takes office. Indexes rose 0.7% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai.Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report findsCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Margaret Sanchez is the new president and CEO of Esperanza, a Cleveland nonprofit that focuses on education in the Hispanic/Latinix communities. Sanchez previously served as the vice president of development at YWCA Greater Cleveland, a statement from Esperanza said. Throughout her career, she has advocated for minority communities, through her work at various nonprofits, such as Hispanic Unity of Florida and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, Esperanza added. She was chosen after a yearlong search. She serves as a board member for the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Business Center, the Latin American Presidential Mission and on the city of Cleveland Hispanic Advisory Board. Pamela Hobe, Esperanza’s board president, said in a statement that the organization was “fortunate to find the ideal candidate right here in Northeast Ohio.” “Margaret’s broad experience, unique perspective, understanding of our community and collaborative leadership style will foster growth and lead us to the future,” Hobe said. Sanchez replaces Victor Ruiz, who announced in December 2023 that he was stepping down as president and CEO after 15 years . The organization worked with Koya Partners, a firm that specializes in executive searches and recruiting, particularly for mission-driven roles, on the national search for the new president and CEO. “Her passion for Esperanza’s mission and her diverse experience makes her the ideal leader to drive strategic solutions for our growing Latino community and successfully expand support services to learners of all ages,” he said. Esperanza offers programs for kids, adult learners and post-secondary students. It also has a Hispanic youth and leadership program, mentoring and a STEAM summer camp for students interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. It provides over 100 scholarships to local students.Indaptus Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: INDP ) announced proposed resale of up to 1.94M shares by selling shareholders. The company will not receive any proceeds from the sale. Souce: SEC Filing More on Indaptus Therapeutics Indaptus Therapeutics announces $2.135M registered direct offering Indaptus Therapeutics signs clinical supply agreement with BeiGene Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Indaptus Therapeutics Historical earnings data for Indaptus Therapeutics Financial information for Indaptus Therapeutics
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