Major stock indexes on Wall Street drifted to a mixed finish Friday, capping a rare bumpy week for the market. The S&P 500 ended essentially flat, down less than 0.1%, after wavering between tiny gains and losses most of the day. The benchmark index posted a loss for the week, its first after three straight weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%, ending just below the record high it set on Wednesday. There were more than twice as many decliners than gainers on the New York Stock Exchange. Gains in technology stocks helped temper losses in communication services, financials and other sectors of the market. Broadcom surged 24.4% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street’s profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. The company also raised its dividend. The company's big gain helped cushion the market's broader fall. Pricey stock values for technology companies like Broadcom give the sector more weight in pushing the market higher or lower. Artificial intelligence technology has been a focal point for the technology sector and the overall stock market over the last year. Tech companies, and Wall Street, expect demand for AI to continue driving growth for semiconductor and other technology companies. Some tech stocks were a drag on the market. Nvidia fell 2.2%, Meta Platforms dropped 1.7% and Google parent Alphabet slid 1.1%. Among the market's other decliners were Airbnb, which fell 4.7% for the biggest loss in the S&P 500, and Charles Schwab, which closed 4% lower. Furniture and housewares company RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, surged 17% after raising its forecast for revenue growth for the year. All told, the S&P 500 lost 0.16 points to close at 6,051.09. The Dow dropped 86.06 points to 43,828.06. The Nasdaq rose 23.88 points to 19,926.72. Wall Street's rally stalled this week amid mixed economic reports and ahead of the Federal Reserve's last meeting of the year. The central bank will meet next week and is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third time since September. Expectations of a series of rate cuts has driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year . The Fed has been lowering its benchmark interest rate following an aggressive rate hiking policy that was meant to tame inflation. It raised rates from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by the middle of 2023. Inflation eased under pressure from higher interest rates, nearly to the central bank's 2% target. The economy, including consumer spending and employment, held strong despite the squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. A slowing job market, though, has helped push a long-awaited reversal of the Fed's policy. Inflation rates have been warming up slightly over the last few months. A report on consumer prices this week showed an increase to 2.7% in November from 2.6% in October. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures index, will be released next week. Wall Street expects it to show a 2.5% rise in November, up from 2.3% in October. The economy, though, remains solid heading into 2025 as consumers continue spending and employment remains healthy, said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY. “Still, the outlook is clouded by unusually high uncertainty surrounding regulatory, immigration, trade and tax policy,” he said. Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.40% from 4.34% late Thursday. European markets slipped. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%. Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in October, following a 0.1% decline in September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Asian markets closed mostly lower.Let me cite The Rising Nepal’s masthead motto proclaimed so prominently: All be happy, all be well. When Pakistan’s ambassador to Nepal, Abrar H. Hashmi, called on him on Tuesday, Prime Minister KP Oli reiterated Nepal’s emphasis on the constructive role the eight member-states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) can contribute to reactivate the world’s most-populous but developing region. On the occasion, Ambassador Hashmi predictably conveyed that Pakistan was ready to host the regional summit, while also dwelling upon the prospects of increased bilateral cooperation with Nepal on various issues and areas. Although the broad areas in which mutual cooperation could benefit both the countries were dwelt upon during the meeting, the thrust on the long-impending SAARC summit was clearly a highlight. The statement issued by the PM’s Office seems to suggest so. Formally launched on December 8, 2024, SAARC completes 40 years next December. But the grouping, which represents a fifth of humanity, is conspicuous by its state of stalemate. The 19th summit, originally scheduled to be held in Islamabad in 2016, was abruptly cancelled when India decided to boycott it. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, sent notices to the hosts about their decisions not to attend the top-level regional gathering. A terrorist attack on an army camp at Uri in the disputed region of Kashmir triggered the drastic decision. Islamabad strongly denied New Delhi’s accusation of engineering the attack. In any case, the earlier collective commitment to holding summits at least every two years have not been complied with echoing the deep differences in member states. Loss for all Nepal thus has the inconvenient — rather not so easy task of chairing the grouping for a record-long period of 10 years without any immediate sight of the long-stalled Islamabad summit date. How long is the non-summit going to last? Nepal has regularly reiterated its keen interest in giving the required impetus to the SAARC process. Since its inception, SAARC, originally comprising seven countries before the addition of Afghanistan in 2005, has failed to make expected progress, largely due to the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Some non-South Asian powers might be keenly looking for openings to fish in the troubled SAARC waters at a time when the world witnesses the not-so-slow but sure process of a new order in the making. Any vacuum created by a less than active SAARC would give an added impetus to big power rivals to push their agendas, whatever the consequences for South Asians in general. It is no secret that the running Indo-Pakistani feud has created a cold war that has adversely affected the prospects of consensus on any meaningful achievement for a full decade. India’s initiative in creating the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), too, is having a rough ride. With India, Bangladesh, Bhutan Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand as its members. Thailand decided to postpone the hosting of the 6th BIMSTC summit that was scheduled for September. BIMSTEC’s creation was seen by some analysts as an attempt at sidelining Pakistan from South Asian mainstream. A review on this might be in order against the background of its scope, reach and potential matching neither SAARC’s nor China’s larger Belt and Road initiative. India, which nurses the hope of securing a permanent seat at UN Security Council, has also focused on Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN), consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, in an approach that excludes Pakistan. SAARC is all the more relevant today, given the aggressive manner in which nationalist stance and regional strategies are being coordinated and espoused directly or in semi-disguises. The protracted delay in summit meeting puts a brake on its prospects of accelerated pace. However, all is not lost. Despite running bilateral tensions over border dispute, India and Pakistan have attended SAARC’s Council of Ministers’ meetings, which have helped keep the organisation breathing. At the time of its launch in Bangladesh’s capital decades ago, development experts and economists had compared SAARC’s economic prospects with those of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU). In an emerging multipolar world, the need and significance of regional organisations should gear SAARC members to infuse a sense of urgency for the much-needed boost to South Asian desire for collective economic self-reliance. Its success would lead to greater bilateral understanding, expanding the range of cooperation and demonstrating South Asians do not engage in debilitating conflicts and but in mutually beneficial endeavours that could be emulated by other developing regions, too. Public first No one denies that leaders and governments have to level with the public. Defined as independent, conscientious and bias-free view of consistently credible section of society, public opinion is the life blood of a successful democratic governance. South Asians without any exception have many strides to take for an average quality of life that advanced economies in democratic systems recorded several decades ago. Inequalities in different forms and at various levels of social units are persisting issues begging to be addressed. Coping with the long-festering challenges is an onerous but by no means an impossible task. Dwelling upon them with meticulous planning and unflinching dedication should steer a nation on an even keel. South Asia today has definitive potential for gaining fast strides in development that visibly reflect on the living standards of an average individual. Collective efforts, based on firm commitment and supported by equally appropriate and unwavering action can fetch the designed outcomes. SAARC, when reactivated in real earnest, will deliver the goods that have eluded the member states. As such, Prime Minister Oli’s renewed emphasis on setting the regional organisation on a befitting track and speed for the collective good of a region that hosts the single-largest concentration of poverty-stricken people should nudge all concerned at all levels to undertake the necessary without any more delay. This can be attained with the collective efforts of all without any hint of one upmanship among member states. Quiet, persistent and determined efforts should bring about enduring results. And New Delhi can play a major role in rolling back the SAARC into meaningful action. (Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL), today announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock payable on January 30, 2025 to shareholders of record as of January 10, 2025 . About Marvell To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we're building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world's leading technology companies for over 25 years, we move, store, process and secure the world's data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers' current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we're ultimately changing the way tomorrow's enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better. Marvell® and the Marvell logo are registered trademarks of Marvell and/or its affiliates. For further information, contact: Ashish Saran Senior Vice President, Investor Relations 408-222-0777 ir@marvell.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marvell-technology-inc-declares-quarterly-dividend-payment-302331636.html SOURCE MarvellHallmark Fave Andrew Walker Goes Inside His Skincare Line and Shares Holiday Plans (VIDEO)
Kaidon Salter, Liberty QB, announces plans to enter transfer portal
TORONTO — Canada's main stock index moved lower Monday, weighed down by weakness in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed on the first trading day of December. Tech stocks rallied south of the border as the bullish sentiment that marked November continues into the final month of the year, said Ryan Crowther, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Canada. “I think it’s just continued optimism in the market,” he said. “It feels like the sentiment of the market right now is, if there’s nothing to worry about, then it’s a green light for stocks to keep moving higher.” Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted new records, with the latter gaining almost one per cent. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 128.65 points at 44,782.00. The S&P 500 index was up 14.77 points at 6,047.15, while the Nasdaq composite was up 185.78 points at 19,403.95. Meanwhile, Canadian markets took on a different tone Monday as tech darling Shopify saw its stock drop almost two per cent. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 57.67 points at 25,590.33. Shopify’s Black Friday numbers seemed pretty good, said Crowther, but perhaps some investors thought they weren’t strong enough. The company’s real-time map of sales showed a new record for Black Friday, with global sales reaching US$5 billion. However, Crowther noted Shopify shares have been riding high recently, so “there’s room for it to take a breather.” This week, Canada’s biggest banks are set to cap off earnings season. “As far as the credit situation for Canadian banks, we should be nearing the peak for loss provisions at this point and so far, things haven't been as bad as some would have feared,” said Crowther. “The investor outlook for 2025, if market strength continues, could include an improved capital markets backdrop, a potential return of IPOs into the picture, so that would be something that people will be thinking about this week as we digest the Canadian bank earnings.” Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada are set to announce one more interest rate decision this month. Markets in the U.S. are currently leaning toward expecting a quarter-percentage-point rate cut from the Fed, according to CME Group. Meanwhile, “I think the conditions in Canada are still amenable for further rate cuts,” said Crowther, with an outsized half-percentage-point cut still in the cards for this month. The Canadian dollar traded for 71.14 cents US compared with 71.38 cents US on Friday. The January crude oil contract was up 10 cents at US$68.10 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down 15 cents at US$3.21 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down US$22.50 at US$2,658.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down a penny at US$4.13 a pound. — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) Rosa Saba, The Canadian PressIND vs AUS 4th Test: Melbourne Cricket Ground's Record Attendance Breaks 87-Year-Old All-Time RecordRuud van Nistelrooy admits he was “hurt” at having to leave Manchester United last month. Van Nistelrooy returned to Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag’s assistant in the summer and had a four-game interim spell in charge following his compatriot’s sacking in October. He left the club in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s appointment but was only out of work for two weeks after being appointed Leicester’s new manager on a deal until 2027. The 48-year-old had a glittering playing career with United and was disappointed his return had to end so soon. “The moment I took over the interim job what I said was I’m here to help United and to stay to help United, and I meant it,” he said. “So I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt I had to leave. “The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. “But in the end I got my head around it because I also understand the new manager. I’m in football long enough, and I’ve managed myself, that you can think of a situation, me being there, I understand. “I spoke to Ruben about it, fair enough to him, the conversation was grateful, man to man, person to person, manager to manager, and that helped a lot to move on and straightaway get into talks with new possibilities which of course lifted my spirits.” The Dutchman takes on a difficult job at the King Power Stadium as he is tasked with keeping Leicester in the Premier League. He inherits an influential dressing room, which has seen a number of managers come and go over the last few years. Ruud's here for his first press conference as our Manager 😃 pic.twitter.com/A4Juixvorb — Leicester City (@LCFC) December 2, 2024 Van Nistelrooy revealed he has done his due diligence and also let the players know as well. “It’s the only way you can work. It’s mutual respect. I also mentioned to the players yesterday that I looked at the squad and started to make phone calls about players, because in football everyone knows everyone,” he said. “With two or three phone calls you hear stories about 20 players and for me it was important that you hear there are good characters there. That’s important, that there are good people there. “I look at the players how they play. I obviously don’t know them but I got general information and the individuals that they are a good bunch of people. That was important for me to get in.”
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Government to block incinerators that do not contribute to green plans
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck on Saturday announced his plans to enter the NFL draft, five days after having season-ending elbow surgery . Beck, a fifth-year senior, made his NFL plans official on social media. He suffered a right elbow injury in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 7 in Atlanta. Beck had surgery on Monday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Beck is expected to begin throwing next spring. He could have returned for a sixth season but instead will enter the NFL draft. Beck posted on Instagram: “The past five years at the University of Georgia have been nothing short of a dream come true and I will forever cherish the memories that have been made.” Gunner Stockton, who took over for Beck in the second half against Texas, will make his first start for Georgia on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Beck has started every game of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was 24-3 as a starter. Beck passed for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 2023 but had more difficulties with turnovers this season as he passed for 28 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards before his injury in the SEC championship game. Georgia coach Kirby Smart stuck with Beck despite a midseason string of eight interceptions in three games. “Obviously, you look at the stats and they aren’t the same stats as the year before,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said Saturday when reflecting on Beck's career. “The goal in this league is to win the SEC championship. And he was the quarterback of that team that got us to that game and put us in that position.” Added offensive guard Tate Ratledge: “I think Carson should be remembered as a great player. He’s who got us to this point of the season.” Stockton, a sophomore, completed 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards with one interception against Texas. He signed with Georgia as a highly recruited in-state player from Rabun County High School, where he broke Trevor Lawrence's state high school record for most career touchdown passes and Deshaun Watson's state record for combined rushing and passing touchdowns in a career. “Obviously when he was in high school, he was one of the best to ever do it in Georgia,” Bulldogs linebacker Chaz Chambliss said of Stockton before adding that he “just has that fire in him.” Georgia was preparing to start Stockton before announcing Beck's season-ending injury. Stockton will attempt to join a short list of quarterbacks who have been promoted from backup jobs to win national championships. The list includes Georgia's Stetson Bennett, who began the 2021 season as the backup to JT Daniels before taking over the starting job in October. Lawrence took over for Kelly Bryant during Clemson's 2018 championship season. The best comparison to Stockton's challenge during the CFP era may be Cardale Jones on the 2014 Ohio State national championship team. Jones' first start was the Big Ten championship game following an injury to J.T. Barrett, who began the preseason as the expected backup before Braxton Miller's injury. Stockton led Georgia to a touchdown on his first drive against Texas and has had extra practice time during the Bulldogs' break after receiving a first-round bye in the playoff. “To see his growth since he’s been here, he’s been waiting patiently, he’s been sitting and putting his time in and he’s been working while he was waiting,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks said Friday. “And now he gets a chance to go out there and prove what he can do. And, you know, I believe in him 100%.” Starks, who is from Jefferson, Ga., often faced Stockton's Rabun County teams in high school. “He’s always been, you know, that guy, you know, since I’ve been growing up,” Starks said. “He’s an easy guy to follow. I mean, Gunner is a great guy, you know, very respectful, great parents. I mean, he’s the guy that you want to lead. And a lot of guys have confidence in him. And I think you saw it during games in the SEC (championship game), how much the guys believed in him.” ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football Charles Odum, The Associated Press