Bengaluru to host International Millet Festival in January 2025: Agriculture Minister
Financing from Iconiq Capital and others restores Wealthsimple’s valuation to its prior high-water mark set at the peak of the pandemic tech frenzy in spring 2021. Eric Akaoka/The Globe and Mail Wealthsimple Technologies Inc. is capping off the best year since its founding a decade ago with a secondary financing valuing the online investment manager at $5-billion, making it one of Canada’s most highly valued private technology companies. San Francisco’s Iconiq Capital, the family office for tech luminaries including Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey and Chamath Palihapitiya, plus KKR & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis and James Murdoch, has bought about $100-million of stock from past and present employees. Wealthsimple said an existing investor led the deal but declined to identify the buyer other than to say it wasn’t Power Corp. of Canada or its affiliates – which own 43.6 per cent combined of its fully diluted equity – or any Canadian entity. The identity was confirmed by three sources familiar with the matter. The Globe is not identifying them as they are not authorized to discuss the deal. The financing restores Wealthsimple’s valuation to its prior high-water mark set in a $750-million financing at the peak of the pandemic tech frenzy in spring 2021. That deal saw Power Corp. of Canada and affiliated entities sell $500-million worth of their holdings. More than a dozen VC firms, including Iconiq, backed the 2021 deal alongside Canadian celebrities Drake, Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds and several sports stars. The financing comes amid a period of torrid expansion by Wealthsimple. Assets under administration (AUA) now exceed $58-billion, up $6-billion since Sept. 30 and nearly double the $31-billion level last Dec. 31. The Generation Z-focused financial services company, which positions itself as a challenger to Canadian banks, had 2.6-million investment and banking clients on Sept. 30 , up 16 per cent from a year earlier. Wealthsimple started as a “robo-adviser” offering automated wealth management services, later expanding to offer online digital stock-trading, a high-interest savings account, cryptocurrency trading, tax filing services and mortgage products. The company is testing new offerings including a Visa credit card, margin accounts and cross-border payment services. The average age of its clients has increased to the mid-30s, while the number of clients with $500,000 or more in assets with Wealthsimple has quadrupled in the past year. CEO Mike Katchen said in an interview Wealthsimple’s recent growth spurt has come across all asset classes as markets have returned to life this year. He added that November was shaping up to be a record month, with an expected $3-billion in new client deposits. IGM Financial Inc. CEO James O’Sullivan, whose Power-controlled company is Wealthsimple’s biggest investor, described its growth in May as “ballistic.” Wealthsimple also recently added two Silicon Valley veterans to its senior ranks: chief financial officer Jeff Gowen, former head of treasury at Stripe, Inc. and before that an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, and chief information security officer Justin Grudzien, who held that role at DoorDash Inc. The surge in Wealthsimple’s business comes two years after its growth stalled as interest rates spiked and markets swooned, prompting Power to cut the value of its consolidating stake to $900-million as of June 2022 from $2.1-billion six months earlier. But as Wealthsimple’s business has expanded sharply since late 2023, Power has written its holdings back up in each of the last four quarters. Power valued its consolidated stake at $2.2-billion on Sept. 30, reflecting the pricing of the impending secondary deal. Mr. Katchen said Wealthsimple is bigger “and a much higher quality business than we were” in 2021. The election of Donald Trump in the U.S. has “made people even more excited and interested in investing,” and fuelled expansion, he said. “We’re firing on all cylinders.” Mr. Katchen said Wealthsimple “has no pressure for liquidity” and the secondary deal, its first since the spring 2021 financing, “gives employees some chance to monetize” though most of its 1,000 people didn’t participate. The deal is “a great vote of confidence from someone who knows the business intimately and was willing to put a mark on it showing we’re doing well and that there’s a tremendous amount of momentum,” he said. “Very few companies have achieved or surpassed where they were in the frothy market of 2021.” Many private-capital-backed tech companies, including B.C.-based Clio , have done secondary transactions in recent quarters in which they issue little or no new equity and buyers pick up shares from employees or early investors. Secondaries don’t dilute non-participating shareholders and give flush private capital firms a chance to put cash to work. Secondaries by private tech companies were once regarded negatively as a sign insiders lacked conviction. But given the three-year drought in initial public offerings and dearth of mergers and acquisitions, they have grown in popularity as a way for holders awaiting exit transactions to realize cash for their stock and lock in financial certainty. With a report from Clare O’Hara.Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania a day after he was arrested at a McDonald’s and charged with murder. Luigi Nicholas Mangione emerged from a patrol car, spun toward reporters and shouted something partly unintelligible while deputies pushed him inside Tuesday. At the brief hearing, the defense lawyer informed the court that Mangione would not waive extradition to New York but instead wants a hearing on the issue. Mangione was denied bail. Brian Thompson, who led the United States’ largest medical insurance company, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. From wealth and success to murder suspect, the life of Luigi Mangione took a hard turn Luigi Nicholas Mangione was apparently living a charmed one: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation’s top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-od Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy.” Pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties. Now, investigators are working to piece together why Mangione diverged from a path of seeming success to make the violent and radical decision to gun down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen attack on a Manhattan street. Key details about the man accused of killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO The 26-year-old man charged in last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in New York City has appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom. Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested Monday after a worker at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, notified police that he resembled the suspect in last Wednesday's killing of Brian Thompson. While being led into court to be arraigned Tuesday, Mangione shouted something that was partly unintelligible but referred to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.” During the hearing in Hollidaysburg, Mangione was denied bail and his attorney said Mangione would not waive extradition. DA suggests unusual idea for halting Trump’s hush money case while upholding his conviction NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors are trying to preserve President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction as he returns to office, and they're suggesting various ways forward. One novel notion is based on how some courts handle criminal cases when defendants die. In court papers made public on Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books. The proposals included freezing the case until he’s out of office, or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn’t include jail time. Another idea: closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and that his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. There's no immediate response from Trump's lawyers. Middle East latest: Israel bombs hundreds of sites across Syria as army pushes into border zone Israel says it bombed more than 350 military sites in Syria during the previous 48 hours, targeting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of strikes was necessary to keep the weapons from being used against Israel following the Syrian government’s stunning collapse. Israel also acknowledged its troops were pushing into a border buffer zone inside Syria, which was established after the 1973 Mideast war. However, Israel denied its forces were advancing Tuesday toward the Syrian capital of Damascus. Life in the capital was slowly returning to normal. People celebrated for a third day in a main square, and shops and banks reopened. Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. For Trump, they were also prime trolling opportunities. Throughout his first term in the White House and his recent campaign to return there, the Republican has dished out provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. Now that’s he’s preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. Report on attempts to kill Trump urges Secret Service to limit protection of foreign leaders WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional task force looking into the assassination attempts against Donald Trump during his presidential campaign is recommending changes to the Secret Service. These include protecting fewer foreign leaders during the height of the election season and considering moving the agency out of the Department of Homeland Security. The 180-page report was released Tuesday. It constitutes one of the most detailed looks so far into the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and a second one in Florida two months later. South Korea's ex-defense minister is formally arrested over brief imposition of martial law SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's previous defense minister has been formally arrested over his alleged collusion with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in imposing martial law last week. Kim Yong Hyun resigned last week and has been detained since Sunday. He is the first person arrested in the case. Prosecutors have up to 20 days to determine whether to indict him. A conviction on the charge of playing a key role in rebellion carries the maximum death sentence. Kim is accused of recommending martial law to Yoon and sending troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting on it. Homes burn as wind-driven wildfire prompts evacuations in Malibu, California MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of Southern California residents are under evacuation orders and warnings as firefighters battle a wind-driven wildfire in Malibu. The flames burned near seaside mansions and Pepperdine University, where students sheltering at the school’s library on Monday night watched as the blaze intensified. Officials on Tuesday said a “minimal number” of homes burned, but the exact amount wasn’t immediately known. More than 8,100 homes and other structures are under threat, including more than 2,000 where residents have been ordered to evacuate. Pepperdine University on Tuesday morning said the worst of the fire has pushed past campus. It was not immediately known how the blaze started. More beans and less red meat: Nutritionists weigh in on US dietary guidelines Americans should eat more beans, peas and lentils and cut back on red and processed meats and starchy vegetables. That's advice from a panel of expert nutritionists charged with counseling the U.S. government about the next edition of the dietary guidelines. The panel did not weigh in on the growing role of ultraprocessed foods that have been linked to health problems or alcohol use. But they did say people should continue to limit added sugars, sodium and saturated fat in pursuit of a healthy diet. Tuesday’s recommendations now go to federal officials, who will draft the final guidance set for release next year.
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Tweet Facebook Mail Detectives are investigating after an 11-year-old boy was approached by an unknown man driving a white van while walking home from school in Melbourne's south-east last week. Police believe the boy was walking along Halley Street in Blackburn when a white van pulled onto the wrong side of the road and rolled down his window about 3.45pm on November 18. The man told the boy his mum had asked him to give him a lift home, according to police. READ MORE: 'Stop violence before it starts': How a simple question can help change men's attitudes towards women Police have released a computer-generated image of a man they believe may assist with their enquiries. (Victoria Police) Police are searching for a van they believe was involved in the incident. (Victoria Police) The boy refused and the van drove away. He was not physically injured and was able to walk home and notify his mum of the incident which was reported to police. Investigators have released a computer-generated image of a man they believe may assist with their enquiries. DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play .Their substitute notice, as published on Effingham Radio : Springfield, IL-( Effingham Radio )- Pursuant to the requirements of the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), 815 ILCS 530/12, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is notifying the media of an incident within IDHS State of Illinois email accounts: On April 25, 2024, IDHS experienced a privacy breach. An outside entity, through a phishing campaign, gained access to multiple employee accounts, and files associated with the accounts. The files included the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of 4,701 customers and three employees. Separately, public assistance account information (name, public assistance account number, and some combination of address, date of birth, Illinois State Board of Education Student Information System ID number, Recipient Identification Number, and cell phone number) was accessed for 1,118,993 customers. That information did not include SSNs. On May 3, 2024, IDHS, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), determined the incident was a reportable breach of security under PIPA. Upon learning of the phishing incident, IDHS worked in partnership with DoIT to investigate the extent of the breach and to determine which individuals were included. This was an in-depth forensic analysis, followed by a manual review of all compromised files to determine the nature of the breach. IDHS continues to train its employees on how to avoid and report phishing attempts. Per PIPA, IDHS is required to notify individuals affected. PIPA allows for substitute notice, rather than actual notice, when notification costs exceed $250,000, the incident affects 500,000 individuals or the State Agency does not have sufficient contact information. Substitute notice requires notice sent via email (if the Department has email addresses on file), notification to major Statewide media, and posting on the Department’s public website. In response to this incident and due to the sensitivity of the information involved, IDHS decided to complete written notice for individuals whose SSNs were involved and whose current address is on file with the Department. The written notices contained details about available resources for credit monitoring. IDHS completed substitute notices for individuals whose SSNs were accessed but whose current address is not on file with the Department. IDHS also completed substitute notices for the 1,118,993 individuals whose public assistance account information was accessed, as the information is significantly less sensitive. On October 31, 2024, IDHS sent written notice to 2,918 customers whose SSNs were accessed. The remaining 1,783 individuals will be considered noticed via the media release and website posting because IDHS does not have their current address on file. On November 21, 2024, IDHS sent email notices to the three employees whose SSNs were accessed.
SpaDeX mission: ISRO says launch vehicle moved to first launch padAshtead's wake-up call: Equipment firm's decision to switch listing to New York is a big blow to the City, says ALEX BRUMMER By ALEX BRUMMER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Updated: 17:03 EST, 10 December 2024 e-mail 1 View comments There is no disguising the fact that the loss of the primary listing of Ashtead to New York will be a big blow. The equipment-hire group, listed in London since 1986, has quietly achieved a handsome valuation of £24billion by establishing a record of expansion. Since Ashtead acquired Sunbelt Rentals in 1990, adding to it several other US buys, it has looked across the Atlantic for growth and this year projects 98 per cent of its operating profits will come from there. Nevertheless, its desertion for America is a bad precedent. Ashtead may seem an exception in that so much of its profits come from across the Atlantic. But there are many other companies quoted in London – notably big natural resources groups such as Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore – which could say the same. The hire group argues that a Wall Street listing will provide increased exposure to US investors and improve the liquidity of its shares. US bound: Equipment-hire group Ashtead, which listed in London since 1986, has quietly achieved a handsome valuation of £24bn by establishing a record of expansion There is truth to this. UK investors, particularly the pension funds, share most of the blame. British taxpayers get a generous tax subsidy for putting cash into pensions. UK retirement savings at £1.12 trillion are the third largest in the world. Unfortunately, fund managers too often choose the S&P 500 over FTSE 350. If Chancellor Rachel Reeves could bulldoze through promised reforms, it would be simpler to direct Britain’s savings towards growth companies and infrastructure. Ashtead’s press release omits an important factor behind its move. The US offers senior executives the possibility of rewards beyond the dreams of avarice. It has a wholly different, more positive approach to wealth and pay than Britain. Attitudes in the UK towards enterprise are not helped when the Government yacks on endlessly about working people. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Pound surges to highest level against the euro for more than... Trump unleashes animal spirits to turbocharge US: But UK... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account That doesn’t mean it is all over for UK plc. The expected arrival of creative group Canal+ to London is an important gain for the creative sector. The long list of Golden Globe nominees is testimony to strength in depth. It is appalling that creative firms, such as ITV, are not valued as they should be given the nation’s production strength. Other listings, such as Singapore-based fast-fashion group Shein, are on their way. With the right encouragement, the pipeline would include De Beers and Unilever’s ice cream division. Britain also should be fighting to keep online banking group Revolut in London. Landing the biggest fish and keeping Shell and Rio anchored here will only happen if our pensions managers embrace the domestic market. They need to commit to tripling or quadrupling the allocation of funds to great British equities. Water slide Any rescue for Thames Water should be rooted in the private sector. Chief executive Chris Weston is wrong to suggest that the break-up, suggested by would-be bidders Covalis Capital and Suez, would be a distraction. Hiving off businesses demonstrably has improved the performance of publicly quoted companies such as pharma group GSK. Admittedly Thames, with its terrible sewage record and a £16billion debt mountain, is in a ghastly state. Separating upstream Thames Valley customers from London would make the scale of the problems more manageable. A substantial price increase will be required if the necessary investment in better pipes, runaways and combating pollution can take place. But consumers should never be asked to pay for financial engineering, ever bigger rewards for sub-octane executives and distributions to investors in far-off tax havens. Brighter note... Sharon White has kept her peace since stepping down as chairman of John Lewis. The former senior civil servant and regulator struck a note of disappointment over Labour’s gloomy tone when she appeared before City grandees and publishers at the FT’s Business Book of the Year ceremony at the spectacular Peninsula Hotel in the heart of London. The venue is a tribute to international investment in the UK. White demanded optimism and urged action on Oxford-Cambridge links, changes to higher education, a more professional approach to competition and reform of post-privatisation regulators. The work of AI pioneers chronicled in the winning book Supremacy: AI, Chat GPT And The Race That Will Change The World by Parmy Olson will have a big role to play. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: Ashtead's wake-up call: Equipment firm's decision to switch listing to New York is a big blow to the City, says ALEX BRUMMER e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence. More top storiesCooler conditions are helping firefighters battle an out-of-control blaze in a Victorian national park that has scorched more than 74,000 hectares of bushland, roughly the size of Singapore. or signup to continue reading Difficult terrain in the Grampians National Park, coupled with dry conditions, is expected to result in the bushfire burning well into the New Year. The inferno's perimeter spans more than 360km, after Thursday brought some of the worst conditions since 2019's Black Summer, with weltering temperatures into the high 30s and wind gusts of up to 95km/h. State Control Centre spokesman Luke Hegarty said the cool change would give firefighters a chance to establish control lines, but they still had their work cut out. "We certainly know it's not over yet," Mr Hegarty told ABC Radio. The fire is expected to burn for weeks, but so far no homes have been have been destroyed, although a significant number of sheds and outbuildings have been lost. The cool change slowed the spread of the fires as temperatures plunged into Friday, as higher humidity brought limited rainfall, Mr Hegarty said. Two emergency warnings remained in place on Friday morning after peaking at eight overnight. People in Mafeking, Moyston, Barton, Jallukar, Kia Ora, Jimmy Creek and Watgania have been told to seek shelter, while those in Bellellen, Black Range and Pomonal were urged to leave immediately early on Friday morning. Emergency relief centres have been set up at Ararat, Stawell and Hamilton. About 600 firefighters and emergency services staff were working on the fire at any time, with reinforcements stationed at nearby Ballarat, between the fire and Melbourne. "We've got the four task forces, so specialist firefighters coming in from interstate," Mr Hegarty said. "They're coming online today, and so that'll give the crews a locally a bit of a hand, particularly with some of the work that needs to be done in the national park itself." Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said the Grampians fire was likely to burn for weeks even with hundreds of personnel on the ground fighting it. "(It is) very difficult terrain and very dry in there. The conditions are such that it will be extremely difficult to put out," he said. The blaze had caused significant damage to the environment, fencing, outbuildings and sheds and resulted in stock losses, Mr Nugent said. "I wouldn't be surprised at some point if we do have residential losses," he said. Hundred of Victorians were still without power on Friday after extreme heat and strong winds wreaked havoc on power lines. Despite cooler conditions on Friday, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll warned dangerous fire conditions were set to continue on Saturday. As Victorians enjoy a reprieve, the hot, dry and windy conditions are pushing into parts of central northeastern NSW, bringing extreme fire danger on Friday. Total fire bans have been declared for the Hunter, Greater Sydney, North Western and Northern Slopes regions. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. 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I want to take the plunge and be with a man – but I’m worried about what people will think
Notable quotes by Jimmy Carter