Retailers coax Black Friday shoppers into stores with big discounts and giveaways NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers in the U.S. have used giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts to reward shoppers who ventured out on Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving still reigns for now as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Analysts reported seeing the biggest crowds at stores that offered real savings. They say many shoppers are being cautious with their discretionary spending despite the easing of inflation. Stores are even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Online sales figures from Thanksgiving Day gave retailers a reason to remain hopeful for a lucrative end to the year. Canada's Trudeau says he had an 'excellent conversation' with Trump in Florida after tariffs threat WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he had an “excellent conversation” with Donald Trump in Florida after the president-elect’s threat to impose significant tariffs on two of America’s leading trade partners raised alarms in Ottawa and Mexico City. It's unclear, as Trudeau headed back to Canada on Saturday, whether the conversation had alleviated Trump’s concerns. Trump’s transition team hasn't responded to questions about what the leaders had discussed at their dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he said was the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. Trump and Republicans in Congress eye an ambitious 100-day agenda, starting with tax cuts WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans swept to power on Election Day and now control the House, the Senate and the White House, with plans for an ambitious 100-day agenda come January. Their to-do list includes extending tax breaks, cutting social programs, building the border wall to stop immigration and rolling back President Joe Biden's green energy policies. Atop that list is a plan to renew some $4 trillion in expiring tax cuts that were a signature domestic achievement of Republican Donald Trump’s first term as president. It's an issue that may define his return to the White House. The ruble's in a slump. For the Kremlin, that's a two-edged sword Russia’s ruble is sagging against other currencies, complicating the Kremlin’s efforts to keep consumer inflation under control with one hand even as it overheats the economy with spending on the war against Ukraine with the other. Over time a weaker ruble could mean higher prices for imports from China, Russia's main trade partner these days. President Vladimir Putin says things are under control. One wild card is sanctions against a key Russian bank that have disrupted foreign trade payments. If Russia finds a workaround for that, the ruble could regain some of its recent losses. Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the catalogs arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were scaled down to save on postage and paper. Some gift purveyors are sending out postcards. In a sign of the times, the American Catalog Mailers Association rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association. Despite no longer carrying an extended inventory of goods, industry experts say catalogs help retailers cut through the noise and still hold their own in value because of growing digital advertising costs. Iceland votes for a new parliament after political disagreements force an early election REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections. This will be Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a new era of political instability. Opinion polls suggest the country may be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement. Massachusetts lawmakers push for an effort to ban all tobacco sales over time BOSTON (AP) — A handful of Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to persuade their colleagues to support a proposal that would make the state the first to adopt a ban meant to eliminate the use of tobacco products over time. Other locations have weighed similar “generational tobacco bans.” The bans phase out the use of tobacco products based not just on a person's age but on birth year. Lawmakers plan to file the proposal next year. If approved, the bill would set a date and ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after that date forever, eventually banning all sales. Vietnam approves $67 billion high-speed railway project between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has approved the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital Hanoi in the north with the financial capital of Ho Chi Minh in the south. It is expected to cost $67 billion and will stretch 1,541 kilometers (957 miles). The new train is expected to travel at speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph), reducing the journey from the current 30 hours to just five hours. The decision was taken by Vietnam’s National Assembly on Saturday. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and Vietnam hopes that the first trains will start operating by 2035. But the country has been beleaguered by delays to its previous infrastructure projects. Inflation rose to 2.3% in Europe. That won't stop the central bank from cutting interest rates FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new U.S. tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth. The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.3 percent, up from 2.0% in October, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. However, worries about growth mean the Dec. 12 ECB meeting is not about whether to cut rates, but by how much. Market buzz says there could be a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%. Stock market today: S&P 500 and Dow post gains and close out best month of 2024 NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed with solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on one of its best months of the year. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 188 points, or 0.4%. The Nasdaq added 0.8%. Friday was an abbreviated trading day, with stocks closing at 1 p.m. ET and the bond market an hour later. Investors were looking to see how much shoppers are willing to spend on gifts for the holidays. Black Friday unofficially kicked off the holiday shopping season, although retailers had been offering early deals for weeks. Macy’s and Best Buy each gained around 2%.Snapdeal's loss narrows to Rs 160 crore in FY24mnl168 free 68 。

On Nov. 20, Nvidia reported financial results for its fiscal 2025 third quarter, showing stunning 94% year-over-year revenue growth. The business is absolutely booming, and so is the stock price. As of this writing, Nvidia stock is up close to 200% year to date. As impressive as those returns are for Nvidia, it's not the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC 0.35% ) this year. That distinction presently belongs to energy company Vistra ( VST -2.81% ) , which has gained 332% in 2024. Vistra provides residential electricity and owns power generation plants, including nuclear plants . And many investors believe that its nuclear assets set it up to meet the growing power needs of artificial intelligence (AI). However, after gaining over 300% in under a year, is it too late to buy Vistra stock? Stock market history can serve as a guide. Here's what happened with S&P 500's winners Looking at top stocks from the past can offer some useful insights. For practical reasons, I had to limit the scope of this survey by setting some parameters. First, I'm only looking at the last 10 years for the S&P 500 . Second, I've only included stocks that were members of the S&P 500 for the entire year. Companies included in the index during the year were excluded from the results. Over the last 10 years, Southwest Airlines , Netflix , Nvidia, Align Technology , AMD , Devon Energy , and Occidental Petroleum have all taken the top-stock crown at least once. Year Best-Performing Stock Return When It Was the Top Stock Return the Following Year 2014 Southwest Airlines 125% 2% 2015 Netflix 134% 8% 2016 Nvidia 224% 81% 2017 Align Technology 131% (6%) 2018 AMD 80% 148% 2019 AMD 148% 100% 2020 Nvidia 122% 125% 2021 Devon Energy 179% 40% 2022 Occidental Petroleum 117% (5%) 2023 Nvidia 239% 196%* Return data from YCharts. Table by author. *Year-to-date return as of 11/21/24. This data is actually quite surprising. After being the index's top stock, one would think it would be due for a pullback. But in reality, the past decade's annual best performers continued their winning streak the next year in eight out of 10 cases. Moreover, the average gain in the second year was huge. Investors could have made a lot of money by simply buying whichever was the best stock in the past year. Let's say an investor bought Southwest Airlines stock on Dec. 31, 2014 and held for all of 2015. And let's say that this investor sold Southwest Airlines at the end of 2015 and rolled that investment into Netflix for 2016, then did the same for Nvidia in 2017, and so on. Let's exclude trading fees and taxes for simplicity (but don't exclude them in real life because they can add up). If an investor used this strategy and started with a $10,000 investment, they'd have over $800,000 by year 10. Again, these sensational returns weren't achieved by predicting which stock would be the best in the coming year. It would have been achieved by simply buying what already had been the best stock -- no prophetic powers needed. Therefore, history suggests Vistra stock is headed higher in 2025. What does this mean for Vistra stock? Before I go further, I should note that Vistra stock was added to the S&P 500 in May. So, unlike the stocks in my example, it wasn't a part of the index for the entire year. Returns from my above strategy aren't quite as good when including mid-year additions to the S&P 500, though these stocks still went up in value the following year more often than not. However, investors need to be extremely careful with what they take away from this historical data. Rather than look at this as some surefire approach to investing, there's a far better takeaway. Stocks bounce around day by day for any number of reasons. But the longer the time horizon, the more stock movements are tied to business results. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic, positive results send shares higher , whereas poor results drop shares lower. To put this another way, it's the difference between correlation and causation. History shows that the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 tends to go up the following year as well. But that's correlation, not causation. The cause, however, is the strong underlying business results. And those business results tend to stay strong for multiple years, if not longer. For this reason, investors would do well to give Vistra stock a close look . Whether from AI or the general electrification of the grid, the company's services will enjoy growing demand in coming years. The company is leaning more into nuclear power by buying out minority investors in its Vistra Vision business. And it's a company with a history of profitability and returning cash to shareholders. So, while Vistra stock is on pace to be the top stock in the S&P 500 for 2024, this doesn't mean the stock has peaked. To the contrary, the best performers in past years have gone on to deliver even more gains because in many cases, their soaring stock prices reflected positive developments within the business that extended beyond the end of each year. And it's that core business investors should focus on, whether it's with Vistra or any another company.RJ Johnson, Daylen Berry lift Charleston Southern to surprising 83-79 victory over Miami

Wagner takes down Springfield (Mass.) 81-46

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WMU_safety, 3:41. WMU_Abdus-Salaam 31 pass from Wolff (Zurak kick), 1:50. WMU_Ja.Buckley 15 run (Zurak kick), :19. EMU_Mimms 10 run (Reese pass from Snyder), 12:02. WMU_Abdus-Salaam 22 run (Zurak kick), 6:04. EMU_Mimms 1 run (Gomez kick), 2:16. WMU_FG Zurak 25, 11:33. EMU_FG Gomez 32, 7:52. RUSHING_E. Michigan, Mimms 18-127, Mattord 8-37, Snyder 7-27, Te.Lockett 1-7, Singleton 1-4, Brown 1-1. W. Michigan, Abdus-Salaam 19-135, Ja.Buckley 19-103, Lowry 3-13, Nixon 3-(minus 4), (Team) 3-(minus 6), Wolff 3-(minus 11). PASSING_E. Michigan, Snyder 7-22-1-91. W. Michigan, Wolff 12-17-0-126. RECEIVING_E. Michigan, Allen 3-59, Mimms 2-16, Te.Lockett 1-9, Devereaux 1-7. W. Michigan, Abdus-Salaam 3-40, Toudle 3-23, Ja.Buckley 3-13, Bosma 2-33, Dieudonne 1-17. MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (AP) — Zaire Williams’ 19 points helped Wagner defeat Springfield (Mass.) 81-46 on Saturday night. Williams had five steals for the Seahawks (3-3). Ja’Kair Sanchez scored 12 points while shooting 4 for 10 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line. Tyje Kelton had 11 points and shot 4 for 5, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc. The Pride were led in scoring by Xoren Livingston, who finished with 13 points. RJ Hutt added 11 points and three blocks for Springfield. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Notable quotes by Jimmy CarterBenzinga's options scanner just detected over 17 options trades for Walmart WMT summing a total amount of $757,819. At the same time, our algo caught 3 for a total amount of 137,261. Expected Price Movements Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $80.0 to $100.0 for Walmart during the past quarter. Insights into Volume & Open Interest In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Walmart options trades today is 3538.65 with a total volume of 14,889.00. In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Walmart's big money trades within a strike price range of $80.0 to $100.0 over the last 30 days. Walmart Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days Significant Options Trades Detected: Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume WMT CALL TRADE BULLISH 08/15/25 $8.5 $8.4 $8.5 $90.00 $231.2K 1.0K 282 WMT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 03/21/25 $13.7 $13.6 $13.7 $80.00 $78.0K 4.3K 61 WMT PUT TRADE BULLISH 09/19/25 $2.41 $2.33 $2.34 $80.00 $58.5K 1.6K 257 WMT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 01/17/25 $2.55 $2.44 $2.5 $90.00 $58.2K 23.2K 499 WMT PUT SWEEP BEARISH 03/21/25 $4.45 $4.35 $4.42 $92.50 $49.9K 2.2K 113 About Walmart Walmart serves as the preeminent retailer in the United States, with its strategy predicated on superior operating efficiency and offering the lowest priced goods to consumers to drive robust store traffic and product turnover. Walmart augmented its low-price business strategy by offering a convenient one-stop shopping destination with the opening of its first supercenter in 1988.Today, Walmart operates over 4,600 stores in the United States (5,200 including Sam's Club) and over 10,000 locations globally. Walmart generated over $440 billion in domestic namesake sales in fiscal 2024, with Sam's Club contributing another $86 billion to the company's top line. Internationally, Walmart generated $115 billion in sales. The retailer serves around 240 million customers globally each week. Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Walmart, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance. Present Market Standing of Walmart With a volume of 8,861,393, the price of WMT is up 2.58% at $92.68. RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold. Next earnings are expected to be released in 58 days. What Analysts Are Saying About Walmart In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $103.2. Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access .* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Tigress Financial continues to hold a Buy rating for Walmart, targeting a price of $115. * An analyst from Evercore ISI Group persists with their Outperform rating on Walmart, maintaining a target price of $96. * An analyst from Jefferies has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Walmart, which currently sits at a price target of $111. * An analyst from Stifel persists with their Hold rating on Walmart, maintaining a target price of $94. * An analyst from Keybanc has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Walmart, which currently sits at a price target of $100. Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Walmart with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

'We need new leadership': Atlantic Liberal caucus calls for Trudeau's resignationJamaica is committed to protecting human rights as the cornerstone for ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, says Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton. The Rights-based approach focuses on creating an enabling environment for successful HIV responses and affirms the dignity of people living with, or vulnerable to, HIV. “By providing free access to HIV testing, medications and diagnostic services, we are removing barriers to care,” Dr. Tufton said in his message to mark World AIDS Day 2024 on Sunday (December 1) under the theme ‘Take the Rights Path’. “Advocacy and legal support through Government and private entities further ensures that everyone has the tools to protect and defend their rights,” he added. Stressing that communities play a vital role as allies for those at risk, affected by, or living with HIV, the Minister said “together, we can build a culture of acceptance and respect that encourages everyone to seek care without fear or stigma”. “This year, our public education campaign, PAR – Protect, Accept, Respect, amplified these values across traditional and social media platforms with support from influencers and organisations,” he noted. Dr. Tufton said there are an estimated 26,000 people living with HIV in Jamaica, 90 per cent of whom know their status; 64 per cent are on treatment, and 76 per cent are virally suppressed. “Our national goal is clear – to achieve 95 per cent in all three categories, ensuring no one is left behind,” he said. He said that as Jamaica continues to make progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the country recently gained a Certificate of Achievement from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis as a public health problem. The Minister urged Jamaicans to mark World AIDS Day 2024 by committing to action and personal responsibility. “Get tested, know your status, and encourage others to do the same. Together, with human rights at the centre, we can ensure a future where HIV is no longer a threat to public health. Let us ‘Take the Rights Path’ together,” he said.

Kings’ slumbering offense needs a jolt against Seattle

In this article WDAY Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach walks to a morning session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 14, 2023. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images Workday shares slipped as much as 11% in extended trading on Tuesday after the human resources and finance software maker issued a quarterly forecast that came in below Wall Street projections. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Workday called for an adjusted operating margin of 25% on $2.03 billion in subscription revenue. Analysts polled by StreetAccount were looking for a 25.5% margin and $2.04 billion in subscription revenue. Here's how the company performed during the fiscal third quarter in relation to LSEG consensus: Earnings per share: $1.89 adjusted vs. $1.76 expected Revenue: $2.16 billion vs. $2.13 billion expected Workday's total revenue grew about 16% year over year in the quarter ended on Oct. 31, according to a statement . Subscription revenue totaled $1.96 billion, up around 16%, consistent with the $1.96 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. The company reported net income of $193 million or 72 cents per share, up $114 million or 43 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago. The adjusted operating margin for the quarter was 26.3%. StreetAccount had expected 25.4%. In some areas, Workday continues to deal with higher scrutiny of deals, Rowe said. Now the company is looking to grow its business in the U.S. government, CEO Carl Eschenbach said on a conference call with analysts. Workday said Rob Enslin , the former Google and SAP executive who stepped down as UiPath CEO in June, was joining as president and chief commercial officer. In October Workday told employees that Doug Robinson , a co-president, will retire During the quarter, Workday acquired contract lifecycle management software startup Evisort . Workday also said artificial intelligence agents for spotting inefficiencies, filing expense reports and updating succession plans would become available in early access in 2025. Workday's finance chief, Zane Rowe, called for $8.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 subscription revenue, good for 14% growth. As of Tuesday's close, Workday shares were down 2% in 2024, while the S&P 500 index had gained 26%. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. WATCH: Slowinski: Oracle's cloud growth is strong, while Salesforce and Workday face weaker demand watch now VIDEO 3:33 03:33 Slowinski: Oracle's cloud growth is strong, while Salesforce and Workday face weaker demand. Worldwide Exchange1 2 Hyderabad: Health minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Monday said the govt would resolve disparities in detention policy , syllabus and credit system for engineering courses followed by Osmania University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) and autonomous engineering colleges in the state. Speaking in the assembly during question hour, the minister said a meeting would be called at the earliest with university authorities, managements, and students to resolve these issues. "The govt understands that different syllabi are being followed for engineering courses in OU, JNTUH and autonomous colleges. The same is the case with the credit system for subjects—theory, labs, and projects, advanced supplementary exams, readmissions, among other things," he said. Issue of credits Responding to the questions raised by AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, he said that a special committee would be formed to look into functioning of autonomous engineering colleges. Akbaruddin, who sought clarification from the govt, questioned how was it fair to have different detention policies for the same course. "A student is promoted to the next year under JNTUH if he/she secures 25% of total marks or credits. However, at OU they need a minimum of 50% credits to get promoted. When it comes to autonomous colleges, they are passing everyone irrespective of whether a student is writing anything in an exam or not," he said. He also questioned the logic behind not allowing a student who is detained. "How will a student clear papers and get promoted if he cannot come to college," he questioned and pointed out that detained students were also losing out on fee reimbursement as they need to pay the full fee once again during the time of readmission. Akbaruddin requested the govt to exempt students from detention at least for this year to protect their careers and future. "Bring in uniform rules to decrease dropout rate and safeguard interests of students," he added. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .

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