Canada 'Freedom Convoy' leader found guilty over trucker protest roleStock market today: Wall Street hits more records following a just-right jobs reportWith Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight
A key figure in a trucker protest that jammed Canada's capital and sparked a global movement against Covid mandates was found guilty Friday for his role in the blockade. The self-styled "Freedom Convoy" of big rig drivers and protesters rolled into Ottawa in early 2022 from across Canada to express anger at government protocols imposed to contain Covid-19. After three weeks of turmoil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked rarely used emergency powers to dislodge the protesters. Pat King was among hundreds of people arrested, and the first of the protest leaders to be convicted. Two other organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber faced a separate criminal trial but those verdicts are not expected until 2025. King faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted on five charges, including mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and disobeying a court order. Acquitted of more serious charges, he smiled at a packed courtroom of supporters as the judge read the verdict. "Mr King was not merely engaging in political speech," Justice Charles Hackland said. "Rather, he was inciting the protesters to continue their ongoing blockade of downtown Ottawa." King led hundreds of big rigs and thousands of protestors to Ottawa, bringing the capital to a standstill for more than three weeks. Residents and business owners complained of incessant honking and harassment. As the demonstrators' demands expanded to a broader anti-establishment agenda, solidarity rallies popped up at Canada-US trade corridors and various places abroad. Most of the evidence at trial consisted of videos King posted on social media in which he urged his nearly 300,000 followers to rail against government overreach. "Hold the line," he said in video posts, appearing also to delight in the gridlock and misery of locals: "Pretty hilarious that people haven't been able to sleep for 10 days." Trudeau faced strong criticisms from civil liberties groups and the opposition Conservatives for invoking the Emergencies Act to dislodge the protestors. But a commission of inquiry ruled it had been "appropriate," calling it "a drastic move, but... not a dictatorial one." amc/bs/bfm
share 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hasbro has revealed two new molds as part of their Transformers Collaborative line, this time featuring a crossover with characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise. We’ve got our first proper look at Sonic and Tails in all their robot glory. Sonic comes equipped with a Mega-Man-esque blaster featuring the Autobot logo along with a shield styled to look like the iconic collectable rings from the games. Once transformed, his alt mode takes on the appearance of the sports car he drove in 2010’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and 2019’s Team Sonic Racing . Tails, on the other hand, wields a classic blaster and transforms into his iconic Tornado biplane, first introduced in 1992’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 video game, and has appeared in multiple titles since, including 2022’s Sonic Frontiers and the 2022 movie sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . Advertisement ▼ Sonic and Tails join the proud lineup of the Transformers Collaborative, a series of toys designed after characters spanning different iconic franchises, such as the Knight Rider x Transformers Autobot Agent Knight and the Transformers x TMNT Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party Wallop . The Transformers X Sonic Collaboration starts pre-orders on 10 December. It will be exclusive to Target in the US, with limited stocks available on Hasbro Pulse. The two-pack will retail at US$49.99 and is expected to launch in Summer 2025. Kevin Low Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Hasbro Hasbro Pulse sonic Sonic the Hedgehog Transformers Transformers Collaborative Another familiar face is set to enter the race. Assembling a new era of luxury collectibles. Shadow the Hedgehog is back in black — and in his best form yet.
With Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight
As it turns out, August 5 was a great day to buy bitcoin when it briefly fell below US$50,000. If you did, and held on for what turned out to be a relatively short white knuckle ride lasting exactly four months, you would have succeeded in doubling your money after bitcoin traded above US$100,000 last week to reach a new all-time high. That seems like an extraordinary outcome – and it is! Never before has the election of a US President delivered such a significant windfall to a group of investors who right now must feel like they have just experienced the trade of their lives. Since Donald Trump’s victory was confirmed one month ago, bitcoin has increased in value by an astonishing 40 percent. And bitcoin is not alone in feeling the love. Excluding stablecoins, which are designed to avoid price swings, the top 20 crypto coins have appreciated even faster, on average, than bitcoin. Dogecoin, a meme coin often promoted by Elon Musk, an ardent Trump fan-turned-adviser, has more than tripled in value since election day. It marks a stunning comeback from 2022-23, when a perfect storm sent cryptocurrencies tumbling from the peaks they had reached during the mania of 2021. Back then the US Federal Reserve was briskly raising interest rates, and in doing so cooling the speculative fever that had gripped markets in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mismanagement and fraud caused several crypto firms once deemed above board – not least FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges – to collapse, tainting the entire industry. Financial watchdogs were preparing to pounce and potentially regulate the sector almost out of existence. But then crypto found the perfect champion in Donald Trump, a convert who would not only preach the crypto gospel to his devoted flock in the runup to his eventual re-election but proclaim the word of crypto with messianic zeal few believers could have ever imagined. On any level none of it makes any sense. Why is something whose value can’t be measured worth 40 percent more than it was a month ago? But trying to explain the rise of bitcoin is a bit like trying to explain the existence of God to an atheist. You’re either a believer in cryptocurrencies or you’re not. And right now there will be many investors wishing they could believe, but just can’t bring themselves to convert, although judging by the numbers quite a few already have. Equally, there will be plenty of others, particularly techno loving trend loving Gen Zers, who in recent weeks just couldn’t resist joining the herd. After all, they’re the generation who love nothing more than jumping on board whenever something shiny catches their attention. And for those who did, they have been handsomely rewarded for their risk-taking. It all seems such an easy way to make money, particularly as the meme coin craze once again ignites in the same way NFTs (remember those) did in 2021. But search “is bitcoin in a bubble?” and you’ll find plenty of thought provoking commentary suggesting bitcoin is no different from many other bubbles that have formed previously in financial markets; though what makes this one different is the amount of serious money now backing bitcoin as a result of the emergence of crypto-focused exchange traded funds or ETFs. Recent studies on the determinants of speculative bubbles in the cryptocurrency market have produced varied results. Some researchers have pointed to herd behaviour as the key driver, while others have emphasized the influence of tweets from the likes of Elon Musk, or more recently those of President-elect Donald Trump. Other authors have put forth the argument of volume shocks. The debate surrounding the concept of a speculative bubble often centres on whether bubbles result from rational or irrational behaviour. According to the rationalist perspective, a speculative bubble is defined as an abnormal rise in asset prices not justified by intrinsic factors. This means that asset prices increase beyond their fundamental value due to speculative activity, while continuing to attract new investors until they reach the maximum rational anticipation level before abruptly falling to their fundamental value as a result of a bubble having formed. According to the irrationalist perspective, a speculative bubble occurs when security prices, particularly stocks, rise well above their actual value. This trend continues until there are no more potential buyers. Supply then becomes significantly greater than demand, leading to panic and causing prices to rapidly go into reverse. Investors are frequently driven by herd behaviour, where one buys because they see others buying, assuming the others possess the correct information. Given the significant amount of promotion of cryptocurrencies on social media channels by a range of high profile opinion leaders and so called ‘influencers’, it’s not hard to see why bitcoin has quickly gained the momentum it has, just as we saw a few years ago with the emergence of the GameStop phenomenon. More people jumping on board in turn attracts more people until some begin to start cashing in and so the pendulum eventually tips the other way. But while it is relatively straightforward to be able to value a share, or most other financial investments, valuing bitcoin requires the investor to buy into a belief system for an asset that itself has no underlying value at all. It simply relies on the buyer being willing to pay a higher price than the seller paid it for. That old trading adage “markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent” comes to mind. So could bitcoin double in value again in a years’ time? Who knows? It is just as likely to double in value as it is to halve in value. We have no idea, which indeed is the essence of its appeal to investors who love the thrill of the chase. It’s the ultimate investment for those who revel in the ‘risk-on-steroids’ aspect of bitcoin, and crypto currencies more generally. But as the value of those cryptocurrencies closes in on US$4 trillion globally, a significant correction in the price has much greater implications for global financial stability than was the case just a few years ago. It’s worth considering the global crypto market now equates to one third of the size of the entire US mortgage market and in 2008/09 we saw what happened when less than 10 percent of it went bad. Right now, it’s the believers who are calling the tune, but it may well be the non-believers who also end up paying the price for the current speculative fervour. The NZ sharemarket recorded its second biggest weekly fall for the year with the slipping almost 2 percent, following Auckland Council’s surprise decision to sell off its remaining 9.7 percent shareholding in had investors cashing up to take advantage of the unexpected buying opportunity. As the country’s only major ‘gateway’ airport, the block sale offered investors a rare chance to buy into a high quality infrastructure, with a unique monopoly, that is particularly attractive for long term fund managers. The lightening quick sale, which seemingly attracted little debate amongst Auckland’s cash-strapped councillors compared to the decision to sell the first tranche of its shareholding last year, will return at least $1.31 billion dollars for Auckland Councils Future Fund. Auckland Airport (AIA) shares ended the week up 4.6 percent at $8.12 following the completion of the sale process. Just three weeks ago AIA shares traded as low as $7.21. With its increased liquidity, AIA will now move to the number two spot on the NZX50 index from today with a weighting of 10.1 percent, while market leader , will see its weighting slightly reduced from its current 16.8 percent and will be relegated to the number 3 position with a weighting of around 9.5%. Aside from the Auckland Airport share sale, there was a noticeable weariness amongst investors at the prospect of NZ’s economic rebound potentially taking longer than had previously been expected, according to recent data. ANZ Research said the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update, which will be released on December 17, is expected to show a potential delay to achieving a surplus until 2029 at the earliest, following a more pessimistic tone from the Treasury on the economic outlook along with an expected upgrade to bond issuance guidance. Across the Tasman, Australia’s annual GDP increased 0.8 percent, below the estimate of 1.1 percent and behind the 1 percent rise in the 12 months through June. The slowing economy raised hopes that its Reserve Bank might reduce its official cash rate when it meets this week having been at a 13-year high of 4.35 percent since late last year. (THL) shares ended the week down almost 7 percent at $1.91 after announcing part of its business would be restructured. The company said it had combined the roles of chief financial and chief people officer as well as announcing the closure of its Melbourne subassembly plant with the loss of 100 jobs. THL said support office roles in the United States had also been reduced, resulting in savings of more than $500,000 a year, as part of its program of targeting $12m in cost reductions by 2027. THL continues to face difficult trading conditions in the face of a slump in recreational vehicle rentals and sales. In the US, the benchmark index closed at 6,090, yet another record high, after gaining 1 percent for the week following better than expected jobs data on Friday which showed a total of 227,000 new roles were created in November, a sharp rebound from the 12,000 positions reported in October (subsequently revised up to 36,000 in the latest release). The unemployment rate in the US rose 0.1 percent to 4.2 percent. A US appeals court on Friday upheld a law requiring TikTok’s owner ByteDance to sell the platform or face a likely ban next year in the US, dealing a major blow to the Chinese company behind the video app. The law, signed by outgoing President Joe Biden this year, orders TikTok to be banned in the country if the app does not divest from its parent by January 19 2025 — the day before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president. The unanimous ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the law — which centres on a controversial national security issue involving China and received strong bipartisan support in Congress — was constitutional and did not violate First Amendment protections for free speech, as TikTok had claimed. The “government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States,” the panel wrote in its decision. TikTok in now left in a precarious position in one of its biggest markets, although the law’s political future is uncertain. On the campaign trail before his re-election, Trump said he opposed the platform’s ban and promised to “save” the app. In an email to staff, TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew wrote that the next step would be to “seek an injunction of the ban, pending a review by the US Supreme Court.” The law requires Apple and Google to remove the social media app, which is wildly popular among younger Generation Z users, from their app stores if a divestiture does not take place before the January deadline. It also bans the app from web-hosting services. The reported the Chinese embassy in Washington said the law would have “a serious impact on the online social platform used by half of Americans” and was a “blatant act of commercial robbery”. Before his re-election, Trump said he would not ban TikTok upon his return to the White House, in an attempt to preserve “competition” in a market dominated by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, which the president-elect has described as an “enemy of the people”. International Migration & Travel (Oct) – Stats NZ
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NoneMany Black Friday deals are already live at retailers, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find today. These include PlayStation 5 Consoles, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, Elden Ring, Astro Bot, iPad (10th Generation), and more. PlayStation Console Deals Are Now Live There are many PlayStation 5 console bundles on sale today, with the start of early Black Friday deals, making this the best time of 2024 to pick up a new console. You can purchase a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for $374.99, saving $25 and scoring a free game at no extra cost. Or, you can opt for the PlayStation 5 Disc Console, which is priced at $424.99. Sony also has the PlayStation VR 2 on sale today, with the Horizon Call of the Mountain Bundle priced at $349.99 at Best Buy. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for $39.99 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of 2024's biggest games, continuing the story from 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII begin their journey outside Midgar, meeting characters like Yuffie, Vincent, and Cid alongside the way. This experience offers well over 100 hours of content, with 36 sidequests and a main story over 40 hours long. Plus, there are dozens of minigames to discover. Metaphor: ReFantazio for $49.99 Metaphor: ReFantazio is the latest game from Persona 3, 4, and 5 Director Katsura Hashino and the team at Atlus' Studio Zero. For the first time since launch, you can score the game at a discount, saving $20 this Black Friday. In our 9/10 review , we stated, "Refining the Atlus RPG formula of weaving tough turn-based combat into compelling social sim mechanics, Metaphor: ReFantazio doesn’t just send a powerful message across its political drama, it becomes a beautiful expression of the real impact storytelling can have on all of us." 50% Off SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Headset is perfect for any PC or PlayStation gamer. This model includes a wireless base station, which allows you to connect two devices at once and simultaneously switch between them. Additionally, the Arctis Pro Wireless supports hot-swappable batteries, so you can swap and continue playing with no downtime needed for charging. Elden Ring for $19.99 Elden Ring is on sale for an all-time low price today at Amazon, with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox copies available for $19.99. Additionally, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Edition is $30 off. This package includes the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. In our 10/10 review , we said "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path." Astro Bot for $49.99 Astro Bot is on sale for the first time since launch, and there has never been a better time to pick up one of the PlayStation 5's best games . Building off Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot features many new abilities and bosses to fight, with over 300 bots to rescue across the galaxy. You'll find planets modeled after beloved PlayStation games like Ape Escape and Uncharted, and even surprise third-party bots like Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2 . Ghost Cipher Special Edition Xbox Controller for $49.99 Best Buy has the Ghost Cipher Special Edition Xbox Controller for just $49.99 today. This is one of the best Xbox controllers you can buy, as it offers a unique design and maximum comfort. Not only can you use this controller with Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, but you can also pair it with a PC or mobile device. With its transparent design, this is sure to be a talking point for any Xbox fan. JBL Quantum 360 Headset for $59.95 Right now, you can save over 50% off the JBL Quantum 360 Wireless Gaming Headset. This headset features a detachable boom mic, memory foam ear cushions, and a 22 hour battery life. Plus, there is a game audio / voice chat control on the side, allowing you to get a perfect balance between the two. Both the Xbox and PlayStation editions of the headset are available on sale, so you can pick accordingly depending on your console of choice. iPad (10th Generation) for $249.99 The Apple iPad can be an incredibly useful device if you're needing something bigger than a phone. Powered by the A14 Bionic, you can sketch, create presentations, and watch content all day long, with up to 10 hours of battery life supported. The 10th Generation iPad includes support for Touch ID, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard Folio, and more.West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose found himself embroiled in a new controversy after photographs of him unveiling his statue emerged on social media. The Governor has launched elaborate celebrations to mark two years in office. As the photograph went viral, the Raj Bhawan Media Cell issued a statement saying that the statue was presented to the Governor and he did not unveil it. “In some media reports it has come out that HG (Honourable Governor) has ‘unveiled his own statue’ at Raj Bhavan on 23.11.2024. The fact is as follows: Many artists submit their artistic creations to HG. Many painters made HG’s portraits and presented to him. Similarly, a creative sculptor had created a sculpture of HG and presented to HG. This has unfortunately been described as ‘unveiling his own statue’,” the Raj Bhawan posted on social media. The development, however, sparked criticism in political circles with the ruling Trinamool Congress and Left parties criticising the Governor. Trinamool spokesperson Jayprakash Majumder described the act as “megalomania”. “Governor C.V. Anand Bose has inaugurated his own statue, which is something unheard of. He did it because he wanted some kind of publicity. But the point is, what is the next step? Will he garland his own statue? It’s a sign of a megalomania,” Mr. Majumdar said. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that the act of the Governor was “disgraceful and unfortunate”. Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said it was a “matter of shame”. This is not the first time that the Governor has found himself at the centre of a controversy. During the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Bose was accused by the Trinamool of running a “parallel electioneering system”. Earlier this year, a female employee of Raj Bhawan had accused the Governor of “sexual harassment” and had lodged a complaint with the Kolkata Police. Since the Governor enjoys constitutional protection with respect to criminal charges, the matter could not be taken up by the police. The Governor and the Chief Minister have also been at loggerheads with the former approaching the Calcutta High Court alleging defamation by the Chief Minister. Published - November 24, 2024 09:22 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit West Bengal
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to set its own record. Treasury yields eased after the jobs report showed stronger hiring than expected but also an uptick in the unemployment rate. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Friday after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation . The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and was just above its all-time high set on Wednesday. It’s rolling toward the close of a third straight winning week in what’s likely to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 108 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:51 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7%. Stocks held relatively steady as the latest jobs report strengthened expectations among traders that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. While the report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, it also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. “This print doesn’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track to deliver a cut in December,” according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 56 times so far this year. And the Fed is part of a global surge: 62 central banks have lowered rates in the past three months, the most since 2020, according to Michael Hartnett and other strategists at Bank of America. Still, the jobs report may have included some notes of caution for Fed officials underneath the surface. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, pointed to average wages for workers last month, which were a touch stronger than economists expected. While that’s good news for workers who would always like to make more, it could also keep upward pressure on inflation. “This report tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” Wren said. So, while traders are betting on a nearly 90% probability the Fed will ease its main rate in two weeks, they’re much less certain about how many more cuts it will deliver next year, according to data from CME Group. For now, the hope is that the job market can help U.S. shoppers continue to spend and keep the U.S. economy out of a recession that had earlier seemed inevitable after the Fed began hiking interest rates swiftly to crush inflation. Several retailers offered encouragement after delivering better-than-expected results for the latest quarter. Ulta Beauty rallied 10.4% after topping expectations for both profit and revenue. The opening of new stores helped it boost its revenue, and it raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for sales over this full year. Lululemon stretched 17.9% higher following its own profit report. It said stronger sales outside the United States helped it in particular, and its earnings topped analysts’ expectations. Retailers overall have been offering mixed signals on how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain amid the slowing job market and still-high prices. Target gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season, for example, while Walmart gave a much more encouraging outlook. A report on Friday suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers may be improving more than economists expected. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan's survey hit its highest level in seven months. The survey found a surge in buying for some products as consumers tried to get ahead of possible increases in price due to higher tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened. In tech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.8% for one of the S&P 500's larger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Tech stocks broadly were one of the main reasons the S&P 500 climbed this past week, as Salesforce and other big companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.16% from 4.18% late Thursday. In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% after French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to stay in office until the end of his term and to name a new prime minister within days. Earlier this week, far-right and left-wing lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion due to budget disputes, forcing Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet to resign. In Asia, stock indexes were mixed. They rallied 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6% as South Korea’s ruling party chief showed support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and then revoked that earlier this week. Yoon is facing calls to resign and may be impeached. Bitcoin was sitting a little above $101,000 after briefly bursting above $103,000 to a record the day before. ___ AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed. Stan Choe, The Associated Press10:1 Stock Split Ratio: December 17 Record Date; Buy The Small-Cap Stock?