Kevin De Bruyne sets Man City challenge as Liverpool drop points in Premier League title raceNo one’s mourning Wicked – it is a wonderful movie that near-flawlessly adapts one of the greatest musicals of all time, and it deserves its box office glory. However, its drab, needlessly grounded aesthetic left me with... what’s this feeling? Loathing, unadulterated loathing. I never doubted Jon M. Chu. Sure, he’s had some misses (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Jem and the Holograms), but he also directed Step Up 2: The Streets (one of the most underrated movies of the 2000s), Now You See Me 2 (absolutely preposterous, but undeniably slick), and Crazy Rich Asians (an all-timer rom-com). However, I was worried about the cinematic translation of the show, especially after Chu made the bold decision to split Wicked into two films ; when Part 2 comes out, its total runtime could be twice the length of the original production. Thankfully, Part 1 assuaged those concerns: it is a thrillifying adaptation worth rejoicifying over, complete with two extraordinary performances courtesy of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, superbly choreographed numbers, and most importantly, it is astonishingly well-paced. By the time ‘Defying Gravity’ hits – and boy, it hits – you won’t realize that almost three hours have flown by. Alas, it makes one huge misstep: for the most part, its flat lighting and horrendible color grading are more befitting of a car commercial than a big-budget musical movie. Pinks aren’t that pink, greens aren’t that green, and scenes are relentlessly backlit to their detriment; ‘Dancing Through Life’ is a particularly frustrating offender. Speaking to the Globe and Mail , Chu was asked why the movie looks so desaturated. In his eyes, “there’s color all over it.” Related: “I think what we wanted to do was immerse people into Oz, to make it a real place. Because if it was a fake place, if it was a dream in someone’s mind, then the real relationships and the stakes that these two girls are going through wouldn’t feel real,” he explained. It gets worse: because we’ve seen Oz as a “matte painting” and “video game digital world” before, he wanted the audience to “feel the dirt... I want to feel the wear and tear of it.” Ah, yes, because that’s what people want from Oz: realism! As Glinda sang, “I hope you’re happy how you’ve hurt your cause forever, I hope you think you’re clever.” To give Chu some credit, he also said the color contrast “goes up over time because that is what Elphaba brings to this world.” This rings true in the movie’s final scene, particularly as Elphaba belts out her final, tear-jerking note and hovers high in the sky with lightning crackling all around her. It’s the best shot of the film (it should have cut to the ‘To be continued’ card straight after), but it isn’t representative of everything that comes before. I also understand his point: he wanted his film to have a unique visual perspective of Oz and the Emerald City. He accomplishes that with CGI (the monkeys look incredible, and the effects are generally spectacular), but it’s so much harder to appreciate when: 1) it fails to evoke the magic of its wondrous setting and 2) its iconic predecessor is one of the best-looking movies ever made, and it came out 85 years ago. The Wizard of Oz showcased the irreplaceable beauty of Technicolor in all of its splendor. It was mostly abandoned by the ‘70s, mostly due to its expense and complexity (especially the three-strip process), and the technology is now considered obsolete, if not lost altogether. However, that doesn’t mean movies can’t mimic its aesthetic; Pearl, La La Land, The Love Witch, and even Quentin Tarantino’s films pulled it off. Wicked was never going to escape comparisons to The Wizard of Oz, so it should have leaned into its legacy, at least a little bit; I didn’t need it to look that good. I just wished it looked better. Keep up to date with Wicked’s box office , when to pee during Wicked , where to stream Wicked , and what we know about Wicked: Part 2 so far.First-year Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey understands his team’s recent shortcomings in pursuing some of baseball’s biggest and most iconic names. The Giants, as many know, always seem to find themselves in the race for MLB’s superstar free agents and international prospects but never end up landing them in San Francisco . Watch NBC Bay Area News 📺 Streaming free 24/7 In appearing on The Athletic’s “Starkville” podcast with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville, Posey explained the lessons the Giants have learned from missing out on free agents such as Shohei Ohtani , Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa in recent offseasons. “I think for me, the lesson is -- or maybe it’s not even a lesson -- if you have an opportunity to after that type of caliber player -- what’s the alternative, right? If you’re not going after them, then you’re definitely not getting them at that point,” Posey told Stark and Glanville. “I know there’s a sense with the fanbase, some frustrations on not being able to go land those guys. But from my seat [and] what I can tell the last couple years is really putting a strong foot forward. “I think ownership -- again, from my vantage point -- made it very clear the priority to try to target those types of players. And unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. So, we look at this, we’re trying to build a complete team. [We] go into this offseason looking at some areas where we feel like there might be holes. I’m a big believer in pitching and defense...” Posey didn’t point any fingers at his predecessor, Farhan Zaidi, but the retired catcher remained honest. San Francisco has tried to contend for MLB’s stars and it just hasn’t worked out thus far. Last offseason, the Giants signed third baseman Matt Chapman , pitcher Blake Snell , center-fielder Jung Hoo Lee and slugger Jorge Soler . But San Francisco’s acquisitions didn’t match that of their NL West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto en route to their 2024 World Series victory. Superstar right fielder Juan Soto , followed by pitchers Corbin Burnes , Roki Sasaki and Snell, of course, headline the current free-agent class. Posey made it clear that his phone is on at all hours, and his eyes are monitoring the globe for upgrades. “You’re exploring all avenues and angles,” Posey said. “There’s unquestionably an immense amount of talent coming from the international side, so there’s no question we want our hat in the ring there, and we’re going to try our best to convince those great talents to come to San Francisco.” Despite the Giants’ 80-82 record in 2024, Posey also is confident in what the current roster offers. He cited San Francisco’s pitching, particularly the youngsters, as something the Giants laboriously will ride next season. “I’m really excited about some of the young arms we have,” Posey said. “Obviously, [Logan] Webb leading the way; Robbie Ray’s not a young arm at this point, but I think we’re expecting big things from him coming back this year, being a couple years removed from injury; Hayden Birdsong , Landen Roup , Kyle Harrison , we got Keaton Winn , Tristan Beck ; there’s some really quality arms. “I think for us to make a big leap, we’re going to have to rely on some of these younger arms to carry some of the bulk for us.” Perhaps Posey will focus internally on pitching upgrades. Still, all options are on the table for San Francisco and its first-year decision-maker. And recent shortcomings with big-time free agents won’t keep Posey and the Giants from shooting their shot and staying invested. San Francisco very well could look different come Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season. Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast
SMCI Rallies 16% As AI Stock Recovers From Setbacks. 'They're Back,' Says Analyst. - Investor's Business DailyIvelinRadkov CLSE strategy Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF ( CLSE ) is an actively managed long-short ETF with a current net long exposure close to 65%. CLSE was launched on 12/29/2009 and listed as an ETF on 2/22/2022. Available historical data start on Quantitative Risk & Value (QRV) provides you with risk indicators and data-driven, time-tested strategies. Get started with a two-week free trial now. Fred Piard, PhD. is a quantitative analyst and IT professional with over 30 years of experience working in technology. He is the author of three books and has been investing in data-driven systematic strategies since 2010. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMZN, GOOGL, META, CSCO either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
PARIS — Howling winds couldn’t stop Notre Dame Cathedral ’s heart from beating again. With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a specially designed crosier carved from fire-scorched beams, the monument roared back to life Saturday evening. For the first time since a devastating blaze nearly destroyed it in 2019 , the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches.
Zifa Normalisation Committee chairman Lincoln Mutasa says they are on course for the eagerly awaited Zifa elections after unveiling the road map in Harare on Monday. The elective congress, which is the last item on the Fifa-appointed committe’s bucket list, will mark the end of its mandate on January 25, 2025. Addressing a press conference in Harare, Mutasa, who was flanked by Normalisation Committee members Rosemary Mugadza and lawyer Nyasha Sanyamandwe, said they have achieved results on the six points in their revised mandate. “We have put a roadmap for the upcoming elective congress, which will be held in January. As the NC, we had six points to fulfill,” he said. “We have covered most of them, that is running the affairs of Zifa, restructuring the secretariat, review of the Zifa statutes. We also signed an MOU with the SRC, which is a collaborative agreement where we sort of agreed with them on the modus operandi and areas of cooperation, in particular paying attention to the issue of sexual harassment. “Another part of the mandate was the hand-over of the audited finances to the incoming executive committee. “At the AGM we had last month, we managed to get the 2021 and 2022 audited accounts handed over and we are hoping that by the time of the elective congress, we would have the 2023 audited accounts completed, as well as the 2024 accounts put together. “Our final mandate was to act as the electoral committee to conduct the elections for the incoming Zifa executive committee. This we feel is an important role and an important milestone towards bringing our football back to normalcy,” said Mutasa. Source: HeraldSC bares anonymous disbarment bid vs VP over ‘exhumation’ threatNew Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has brought in a significant expansion of consumer credit among the underserved borrowers who had no credit history, a study said. Since its launch in 2016, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed financial access in India, enabling 300 million individuals and 50 million merchants to perform seamless digital transactions. By October 2023, 75 per cent of all retail digital payments in India were through UPI, according to a study titled Open Banking and Digital Payments: Implications for Credit Access. UPI is a payment system built as an interoperable protocol that allows third-party vendors to build apps to provide payments as a service to all customers of participating banks. It has enabled underserved groups, including subprime and new-to-credit borrowers, to access formal credit for the first time as transaction data was available before the lenders which enabled them to make credit decisions, it said. UPI is the earliest implementation of an open-banking-based payment infrastructure that is free for customers and enables them to create verifiable digital financial footprints in real time. Importantly, customers own their data and can share their UPI transaction history across financial intermediaries, it said. Taking advantage, it said, fintech lenders scaled rapidly, increasing their loan volumes 77 times, far outpacing traditional banks in catering to smaller, underserved borrowers. The study noted that the affordability of digital technology played a critical role, enabling widespread UPI adoption in rural and urban areas alike. A 10 per cent increase in UPI transactions led to a 7 per cent rise in credit availability, reflecting how digital financial histories enabled lenders to assess borrowers better, the report said. Despite the credit surge, default rates did not rise, showing that UPI-enabled digital transaction data helped lenders expand responsibly, it said. India's success with UPI offers a replicable model for other nations, showcasing how combining public digital infrastructure with open banking policies can reduce financial exclusion, foster innovation, and promote equitable economic growth, it suggested.
UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New YorkWisconsin officer grabbing Donovan Raiola's arm a 'misunderstanding,' UW police sayShares of Hanesbrands ($HBI) were up 5.6% as of 1:08 p.m. ET following a rating upgrade by UBS, but retail sentiment stayed neutral. UBS upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ raising the price target to $11 from $9. It based the upgrade on expectations of a positive shift in the company’s fundamentals, which in turn could lead to a growth in earnings per share (EPS), TheFly.com reported, citing a UBS analyst who reportedly called it a “turnaround stock.” The analyst expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 24% in EPS after the current fiscal. That growth rate could lead to upward revisions to EPS forecasts, said the report. Earlier in the month, Barclays analyst Paul Kearney raised the firm's price target to $7 from $6 and kept an ‘Equal Weight’ rating following its Q3 report. “Stabilization and a refocus of the core innerwear business” along with paying down debt into next year were cited as considerations, TheFly reported citing the analyst. Hanesbrands has a consensus price target of $7.2 based on the ratings of 10 analysts. Retail sentiment on the stock has been ‘neutral’ over the past day. Message volume was also tepid in the ‘normal’ zone. For the most recent quarter, the apparel company's operating profit increased 27% to $103 million and the operating margin increased 255 basis points to 11.0% as compared to the prior year. Its EPS and revenues for the quarter beat consensus estimates, coming in at $937.1 million and $0.15 respectively. Hanesbrands, based in Winston-Salem, NC, employs 65,300 people internationally. Its stock has more than doubled year-to-date and has outperformed the broader indices. For updates and corrections email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com