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jj7777 NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks are pulling Wall Street toward another record amid mixed trading on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in afternoon trading after closing its best month of the year at an all-time high . The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 86 points, or 0.2%, with a little more than an hour remaining in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared 31.1% to lead the market. Following accusations 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 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 2.9% 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 1.1% 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 3.7% 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 1.6%. Walmart , which gave a more optimistic forecast, rose 0.3%. Amazon, which looks to benefit from online sales from Cyber Monday, climbed 1.3%. 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. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.What Mikel Arteta learned as Arsenal win and overtake Chelsea in Liverpool chase

Online auction of confiscated booze features hard-to-find bottles of Kentucky bourbons

Leo – (23rd July to 22nd August) Daily Horoscope Prediction says, You are a happy bird today Have a happy love life and ensure you are productive at work today. Look for smart investments for a prosperous tomorrow. Health will be at your side. Keep the pressure in the personal life under wraps. Take up new tasks in the office to prove your mettle. No major medical issues exist and health is also fine today. Leo Love Horoscope Today Today is good to fix a date and you may also propose to get a positive response. Express your feelings and this will help you cool down the emotions. Your caring attitude will be a major factor in the love affair. Shower both affection and care and watch how they change the relationship. Single Leos will be fortunate to fall in love. Your ex-flame may be back into life and this can reignite your love. However, married people should be careful to not break the marital relationship. Leo Career Horoscope Today There can be issues associated with office politics and you must be careful to avoid arguments. Be innovative at team meetings but do not be emotional while having disagreements. This can impact your professionalism. Update the profile on a job portal and expect interview calls. You will receive them before the day ends. Architects, civil engineers, designers, SEO persons, animators, and automobile engineers will prove their potential today. Businessmen can be serious about taking the trade to new territories. Leo Money Horoscope Today A previous investment will bring in a good return. This will help you buy electronic appliances or furniture. Some Leos will pick the day to resolve a monetary issue with a friend. You may also inherit a part of the family property while female Leos will be happy to try the fortune in the stock market. A medical emergency will also come up today and you must ensure you have enough money in the coffer. Leo Health Horoscope Today Do not let mental stress impact your health. Some females will have skin-related issues while Leos will also develop oral health issues. Minor allergies or infections can also impact routine life. You should also be careful while driving at night. Avoid drinking cold drinks and alcoholic beverages as they cause problems on the health front. Leo Sign Attributes Strength: Generous, Loyal, Energetic, Enthusiastic Weakness: Arrogant, Luxury seeker, Careless, and Self-complacent Symbol: Lion Element: Fire Body Part : Heart & Spine Sign Ruler : Sun Lucky Day : Sunday Lucky Color: Golden Lucky Number : 19 Lucky Stone : Ruby Leo Sign Compatibility Chart Natural affinity: Aries, Gemini, Libra, Sagittarius Good compatibility: Leo, Aquarius Fair compatibility: Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, Pisces Less compatibility: Taurus, Scorpio By: Dr. J. N. Pandey Vedic Astrology & Vastu Expert Website: www.astrologerjnpandey.com E-mail: djnpandey@gmail.com Phone: 91-9811107060 (WhatsApp Only)

Timberwolves’ Edwards gets fined again, docked $75K by NBA for officiating complaints and profanityPresident-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the in mid-January until after his inauguration. Trump filed a brief on Friday urging the top court to give him time to "pursue a political resolution" before agreeing to ban the social media app. In April, Congress passed a that established a nine-month deadline for TikTok's Chinese parent company to divest from the app or be barred from US app stores. Neither TikTok nor Trump's lawyers immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment. BI also reached out to the Supreme Court. In the Friday filing, Trump's lawyers highlighted the president-elect's "consummate deal-making expertise," suggesting Trump has the "political will" to negotiate a resolution that would simultaneously "save the platform" and address the national security concerns highlighted in the Congressional bill. The nine-month deadline is officially up on January 19, which is one day before Trump assumes office for a second time. Trump previously but appeared to change his mind in recent months. He met with the app's earlier this month and said he had a "warm spot" in his heart for TikTok. Legal experts previously told BI that to try to keep the app running in the US, including asking his Department of Justice to ignore the divest law or trying to rework strategic interpretations of the law. Trump and his lawyers also argue that the president-elect has a mandate from American voters to protect their free-speech rights, including those who use TikTok. "Moreover, President Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific, and influential users of social media in history," the file said. "Consistent with his commanding presence in this area, President Trump currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok with whom he actively communicates, allowing him to evaluate TikTok's importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech," lawyers added. Read the original article on

ARSENAL put in a sublime away performance to beat Sporting 5-1. The Gunners dominated the first 45 minutes and were excellent as the Portuguese giants failed to lay a glove on them. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel were amongst the goals in a brilliant first-half from Mikel Arteta's side. But Sporting upped it after the break and got a goal back - only for Arsenal to show their class and manage the game well as Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard put the game to bed. Here is how SunSport rated the Arsenal players' performances. David Raya - 6 Did not have much to do besides a save from Morten Hjulmund. Good distribution and catches from crosses. Jurrien Timber - 8 A great low cross into the box for Arsenal's opener. Very solid at right-back all game. Most read in Football FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS William Saliba - 7 Dealt with Viktor Gyokeres well. Did not get drawn into fouling him and held his ground before timing the tackle well. Gabriel - 8 Scored his trademark back-post crashing goal from a corner. A great leap and powerful header once again. Defended Gyokeres by being physical and on the front foot against him. But the tactic led to giving away a cheap free-kick in a dangerous area that went unpunished. Riccardo Calafiori - 5 Sporting attacked a lot down Arsenal's left in the first-half and Francisco Trincao caused him a few issues. Lost his man and ended up on the deck as Goncalo Inacio headed in from a corner. Thomas Partey - 8 A sensational ball over the top of the Sporting defence to put Saka through on goal for the second. Was a real calming influence in possession. Declan Rice - 6 His first game back from injury. Was perhaps the reason why his display was not as good as usual and was taken off early. Fantastic delivery for the corner. Martin Odegaard - 9 Pulls the strings for the Gunners and has the ability to pick passes that carve open defences from the edge of the box, particularly combining well with Saka. Such a huge difference between performances with and without him in the team. Absolutely incredible. Bukayo Saka - 8 Simply brilliant. A constant threat down the right as always, twisting and turning defenders inside out. His penalty was exceptional and came at a time when Arsenal were a little up against it. Whipped into the inside side netting. Kai Havertz - 8 Was in the right place at the right time for the goal. Intelligent runs and movement from him as he often dropped deep to receive the ball. Gabriel Martinelli - 7 Was incredibly lively in the opening period, working hard defensively and causing Sporting a problem with his directness. Good movement for the goal, going on the blind side of defender Geovany Quenda. But Martinelli faded and did very little after a positive start. Subs: Leandro Trossard (for Martinelli, 70 mins) - 7 Scored the fifth goal. Another in the right place as the ball dropped. Mikel Merino (for Rice, 70 minutes) - 7 Assured cameo in midfield. Oleksandr Zinchenko (for Calafiori, 78 minutes) - 6 Calm on the ball after coming on. Ethan Nwaneri (for Odegaard, 78 minutes) - 6 Oozes class and came close to scoring/ READ MORE SUN STORIES Jakub Kiwior (for Gabriel, 84 minutes) - 5 Got done by the pace of Gyokeres in the latter stages.Joe Burrow is no longer talking about the playoffs after another loss by the high-scoring BengalsBank of America analysts shared a positive outlook for stocks in 2025 during Monday’s conference call on the economic and market forecast. According to the bank, the S&P 500 Index—as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY —will climb to 6,666 by the end of 2025 , marking a 10% increase from current levels. The forecast underscores confidence in productivity gains, resilient corporate earnings, and strategic sector rotation. 16 Years Of S&P 500: From 666 To 6,666 "We are expecting another good year for equities," said Savita Subramanian , head of U.S. equity strategy at Bank of America. "Our forecast is basically a move from 666 in 2009 to 6,666 in 2025." This translates to an annualized return of approximately 10%, driven by robust earnings growth and broader participation across sectors. The equity outlook for 2025 leans heavily on a projected 13% corporate earnings growth. "Although we do believe that 2025 will be a year of rotation rather than just buy the index," Subramanian indicated, hinting at a focus on cyclical stocks as investors seek opportunities beyond mega-cap tech. Read Also: Morgan Stanley Sounds Alarm For Markets In 2025: ‘S&P 500 Is Extremely Expensive’ Sector Rotation and Valuation Themes Bank of America's analysis points to cyclicals, particularly financials, energy, and consumer sectors, as key outperformers in 2025. Subramanian said that “the average stock is more attractive than the overall index,” citing the sharp gap between equal-weighted and cap-weighted S&P 500 valuations. Analysts at Bank of America highlighted opportunities in large-cap value stocks – as broadly tracked by the Vanguard S&P 500 Value ETF VOOV – which they view as well-positioned to weather inflation and interest rate uncertainties. “The key risk under Trump 2.0 is the potential for higher inflation and higher long term interest rates. Our favorite cohort of the S&P 500 is large cap value,” Subramanian said. Small caps are expected to outperform large-cap counterparts during the first year of Donald Trump ‘s second term. “We think the narrative on small caps as the biggest potential outperform,” analyst Jill Carey Hall said. However, she indicated that if tariffs and immigration policies are enacted as proposed, especially with a front-loaded approach, they could pose a significantly greater risk to small-cap stocks. “Recently proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico could be a 7% hit to Russell earnings,” the analyst added. Productivity and Economic Growth Economist Aditya Bhave continues to predict a strong U.S. economy, with productivity gains driving GDP growth to around 2% in 2025. "Productivity has accelerated," Bhave said. "We're now on a faster trend growth rate since the start of the pandemic than we were in the previous cycle." While inflation is moderating, Bank of America warned of persistent risks. "We expect a few tenths extra inflation from tariffs and underlying inflation even setting aside policy changes as being a little bit sticky," Bhave stated. Fed Policy And Risks The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates three times in 2025, bringing the terminal rate to 3.75-4%, according to Bank of America. However, Bhave cautioned about uncertainties tied to inflation and trade policy, particularly the potential impact of tariffs. "Tariffs could add a few tenths to inflation, particularly against China, though FX could offset some of the impact," Bhave said. Read Next: Stellantis Market Value Halves In 2024: Why CEO Tavares’ Exit Could Take Things From Bad To Worse Photo: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Honda and Nissan Officially Pursuing a Merger

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Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger that would form the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors has also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Automakers in Japan have lagged their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China’s BYD and EV market leader Tesla devour market share. Nissan has been fighting to survive. Credit: Bloomberg Honda’s president, Toshihiro Mibe, said Honda and Nissan will attempt to unify their operations under a joint holding company. Honda will lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. They aim to have a formal merger agreement by June and to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026, he said. No dollar value was given, and the formal talks are just starting, Mibe said. There are “points that need to be studied and discussed,” he said. “Frankly speaking, the possibility of this not being implemented is not zero.” A merger could result in a behemoth worth more than $US50 billion ($80 billion) based on the market capitalisation of all three automakers. Together, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would gain scale to compete with Toyota Motor and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG. Toyota has technology partnerships with Japan’s Mazda Motor and Subaru. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month, with unconfirmed reports saying Taiwan iPhone maker Foxconn was seeking to tie up with Nissan by buying shares from the Japan’s company’s other alliance partner, Renault SA of France. Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida said Foxconn had not directly approached his company. He also acknowledged that Nissan’s situation was “severe.” We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base Even after a merger Toyota, which rolled out 11.5 million vehicles in 2023, would remain the leading Japanese automaker. If they join, the three smaller companies would make about 8 million vehicles. In 2023, Honda made 4 million and Nissan produced 3.4 million. Mitsubishi Motors made just over 1 million. “We have come to the realisation that in order for both parties to be leaders in this mobility transformation, it is necessary to make a more bold change than a collaboration in specific areas,” Mibe said. Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi earlier agreed to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to electrification. Nissan has struggled following a scandal that began with the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets, allegations that he denies. He eventually was released on bail and fled to Lebanon. Speaking Monday to reporters in Tokyo via a video link, Ghosn derided the planned merger as a “desperate move.” From Nissan, Honda could get truck-based body-on-frame large SUVs such as the Armada and Infiniti QX80 that Honda doesn’t have, with large towing capacities and good off-road performance, Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, told The Associated Press . Nissan also has years of experience building batteries and electric vehicles, and gas-electric hybrid powertrains that could help Honda in developing its own EVs and next generation of hybrids, he said. Honda chief Makoto Uchida (left) and Nissan chief Toshihiro Mibe at a joint press conference. Credit: Bloomberg But the company said in November that it was slashing 9000 jobs, or about 6 per cent of its global workforce, and reducing its global production capacity by 20 per cent after reporting a quarterly loss of 9.3 billion yen ($61 million). It recently reshuffled its management and Uchida, its chief executive, took a 50 per cent pay cut while acknowledging responsibility for the financial woes, saying Nissan needed to become more efficient and respond better to market tastes, rising costs and other global changes. “We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base,” Uchida said. Fitch Ratings recently downgraded Nissan’s credit outlook to “negative,” citing worsening profitability, partly due to price cuts in the North American market. But it noted that it has a strong financial structure and solid cash reserves that amounted to 1.44 trillion yen ($15 billion). Nissan’s share price also had fallen to the point where it is considered something of a bargain. On Monday, its Tokyo-traded shares gained 1.6 per cent. They jumped more than 20 per cent after news of the possible merger broke last week. Honda’s shares surged 3.8 per cent. Honda’s net profit slipped nearly 20 per cent in the first half of the April-March fiscal year from a year earlier, as its sales suffered in China. The merger reflects an industry-wide trend toward consolidation. At a routine briefing Monday, cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he would not comment on details of the automakers’ plans, but said Japanese companies need to stay competitive in the fast changing market. “As the business environment surrounding the automobile industry largely changes, with competitiveness in storage batteries and software is increasingly important, we expect measures needed to survive international competition will be taken,” Hayashi said. Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. AP