DEADLINE ALERT: Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Investigates Claims On Behalf Of Investors Of ASML HoldingShort Interest in HUYA Inc. (NYSE:HUYA) Drops By 18.8%A federal judge temporarily halts the proposed supermarket merger of Kroger and Albertsons A federal judge has temporarily halted a proposed merger between supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons, an action that could scuttle the deal. U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued the ruling Tuesday after holding a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon. Kroger and Albertsons in 2022 proposed what would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. But the Federal Trade Commission sued earlier this year, asking Nelson to block the $24.6 billion deal until an in-house administrative judge at the FTC could consider the merger’s implications. Former chairman of state-owned bank China Everbright Group jailed for 12 years for corruption BEIJING (AP) — Chinese official broadcaster CCTV says a former chairman of the state-owned bank China Everbright Group has been jailed 12 years for embezzlement and bribery. Tang Shuangning, who had also held senior posts at the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, was arrested in January, part of a wider wave of prosecutions of senior officials accused of financial crimes. A court in the city of Tangshan, about 100 miles east of Beijing, found him guilty of taking advantage of his position at the state-owned bank in “seeking convenience for others” in jobs and loans, in exchange for illegal payments. The court said he had accepted illegal property with a total value of more than $1.5 million. US defense secretary in Japan to support alliance as Osprey aircraft safety causes concern TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with officials in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington's commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea. Austin’s visit on Tuesday also came amid growing concerns over the safety of Ospreys. The military aircraft have been grounded in the United States following a near crash at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico last month. The incident was caused by weakened metal components. It was similar to a fatal crash off southwestern Japan last year. The U.S. measure prompted the suspension of Ospreys operated by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. Trustee over Infowars auction asks court to approve The Onion's winning bid A trustee who oversaw the bankruptcy auction of Alex Jones’ Infowars is asking a judge to approve The Onion’s winning bid for the conspiracy-filled platform. Trustee Christopher Murray took the stand Tuesday in the second day of testimony at a hearing where a judge is scrutinizing the satirical news outlet’s winning offer. He told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston that he was there asking a court to approve the sale of Infowars’ parent company to The Onion’s parent company. It is not clear how quickly Lopez will rule. The Onion wants to turn Infowars’ website and social media accounts into parodies. Small businesses plan events, start marketing earlier to deal with shorter holiday shopping season The holiday shopping season is underway, and this year small businesses have less time to capitalize on the busy shopping period. Only 27 days separate Thanksgiving and Christmas — five fewer than last year. But there are still ways to make the most of a shorter season. One key strategy is for owners to promote deals to customers wherever they can, from social media to physical ads. The National Retail Federation predicts that retail sales will rise between 2.5% and 3.5% compared with same period a year ago. Online shopping is expected to grow too. Adobe Digital Insights predicts an 8.4% increase online for the full season. 10 notable books of 2024, from Sarah J. Maas to Melania Trump NEW YORK (AP) — Even through a year of nonstop news about elections, climate change, protests and the price of eggs, Americans still found time to read. Sales held steady according to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the print market. Many chose the release of romance, fantasy and romantasy. Some picked up the tie-in book to Taylor Swift’s blockbuster tour, which had the best opening week of 2024. Others sought out literary fiction, celebrity memoirs, political exposes and a close and painful look at a generation hooked on smartphones. Boeing is building new 737 Max planes for the first time since workers went on strike Boeing is resuming production of its bestselling plane, the 737 Max. It's the first time that Max jets have moved down the assembly line since September, when about 33,000 workers went on strike for higher pay. Boeing said Tuesday that work on the Max has resumed at its factory in Renton, Washington, near Seattle. Both the Max and another Boeing plane, the 787 Dreamliner, have been plagued by manufacturing problems in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration is limiting Boeing’s production of Max jets until the agency is convinced that Boeing has corrected quality and safety issues during manufacturing. Stock market today: Wall Street slips to a rare back-to-back loss NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Tuesday for its first back-to-back losses in nearly a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite also fell 0.3%. Oracle dragged on the market after reporting weaker growth than analysts expected. Treasury yields rose in the bond market ahead of Wednesday’s inflation report, which will be among the final big pieces of data before the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates next week. Alaska Airlines will spread its wings by flying to Tokyo and Seoul beginning next year NEW YORK (AP) — Alaska Airlines says it will launch service from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul next year as part of a plan to boost international flying in the next several years. Alaska announced the new routes as it prepared to hold an investor day Tuesday. The airline raised its fourth-quarter profit outlook and publicized a plan to boost profit by $1 billion over three years. And Alaska Airlines is announcing a plan to spend $1 billion buying back its own stock. Share buybacks are often popular with investors because they make existing shares more valuable. A Southwest jet and a small plane wound up on the same runway after being cleared to land WASHINGTON (AP) — A Southwest Airlines jet and a small plane wound up on the same runway in California in October after an air traffic controller cleared both planes to land on the same runway. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the planes came within 900 feet of each other before the smaller plane taxied away. The incident happened Oct. 19 at the airport in Long Beach, California. It's the latest in a number of recent cases in which planes came unnecessarily close due to errors by air traffic controllers or pilots.President Jimmy Carter may have only had one term in the White House , but he remained a familiar figure on the world stage long after clearing his desk at the Oval Office. Despite a resounding defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the Democrat forged a new path promoting causes such as electoral probity abroad, social justice and drives to rid the world of medical conditions. His first foreign visit as president was to the UK where then prime minister James Callaghan, as well as the usual visits in London , took his guest to the North East with a visit to Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington – the village bearing the name of the first ever president. Mr Carter delighted crowds in the North East by saying “Howay the lads” during a speech to the assembled throng. He also received a miner’s lamp from 12-year-old Ian McEree in Washington. The 39th US president also carried out more traditional presidential duties, including meetings with western European leaders during his time in London while the Cold War was still ongoing. The practising Baptist continued his globetrotting ways after leaving power, even without Air Force One as his vehicle. He was also part of the Elders, a group of experienced statesmen and women drawn from all corners of the world.
Explained: What is the controversy regarding Magnus Carlsen, Freestyle Chess and FIDE?ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief” and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America’s dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise” speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter’s diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” ___ Contributors include former AP staffer Alex Sanz in Atlanta. Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands (AP) — Javohn Garcia scored 16 points as McNeese beat Illinois State 76-68 on Friday. Garcia also contributed seven rebounds for the Cowboys (3-2). Brandon Murray shot 4 of 10 from the field and 5 for 7 from the line to add 13 points. Sincere Parker shot 4 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.GRAPEVINE, Texas, Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) ("GameStop” or the "Company”) today released financial results for the third quarter ended November 2, 2024. The Company's condensed and consolidated financial statements, including GAAP and non-GAAP results, are below. The Company's Form 10-Q and supplemental information can be found at https://investor.gamestop.com. THIRD QUARTER OVERVIEW NON-GAAP MEASURES AND OTHER METRICS As a supplement to the Company's financial results presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP”), GameStop may use certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted SG&A expenses, adjusted operating loss, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted earnings (loss) per share, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors in evaluating the Company's core operating performance. Adjusted SG&A expenses, adjusted operating loss, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted earnings (loss) per share and adjusted EBITDA exclude the effect of items such as certain transformation costs, asset impairments, severance, as well as divestiture costs. Free cash flow excludes capital expenditures otherwise included in net cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities. The Company's definition and calculation of non-GAAP financial measures may differ from that of other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplementing, and not as an alternative or substitute for, the Company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain of the items that may be excluded or included in non-GAAP financial measures may be significant items that could impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows and should therefore be considered in assessing the Company's actual and future financial condition and performance. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS - SAFE HARBOR This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon management's current beliefs, views, estimates and expectations, including as to the Company's industry, business strategy, goals and expectations concerning its market position, strategic and transformation initiatives, future operations, margins, profitability, sales growth, capital expenditures, liquidity, capital resources, expansion of technology expertise, and other financial and operating information, including expectations as to future operating profit improvement. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and actual developments, business decisions, outcomes and results may differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual developments, business decisions, outcomes and results to differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements: economic, social, and political conditions in the markets in which we operate; the competitive nature of the Company's industry; the cyclicality of the video game industry; the Company's dependence on the timely delivery of new and innovative products from its vendors; the impact of technological advances in the video game industry and related changes in consumer behavior on the Company's sales; interruptions to the Company's supply chain or the supply chain of our suppliers; the Company's dependence on sales during the holiday selling season; the Company's ability to obtain favorable terms from its current and future suppliers and service providers; the Company's ability to anticipate, identify and react to trends in pop culture with regard to its sales of collectibles; the Company's ability to maintain strong retail and ecommerce experiences for its customers; the Company's ability to keep pace with changing industry technology and consumer preferences; the Company's ability to manage its profitability and cost reduction initiatives; turnover in senior management or the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; potential damage to the Company's reputation or customers' perception of the Company; the Company's ability to maintain the security or privacy of its customer, associate or Company information; occurrence of weather events, natural disasters, public health crises and other unexpected events; risks associated with inventory shrinkage; potential failure or inadequacy of the Company's computerized systems; the ability of the Company's third party delivery services to deliver products to the Company's retail locations, fulfillment centers and consumers and changes in the terms the Company has with such service providers; the ability and willingness of the Company's vendors to provide marketing and merchandising support at historical or anticipated levels; restrictions on the Company's ability to purchase and sell pre-owned products; the Company's ability to renew or enter into new leases on favorable terms; unfavorable changes in the Company's global tax rate; legislative actions; the Company's ability to comply with federal, state, local and international laws and regulations and statutes; potential future litigation and other legal proceedings; the value of the Company's securities holdings; concentration of the Company's investment portfolio into one or few holdings; the recognition of losses in a particular security even if the Company has not sold the security; volatility in the Company's stock price, including volatility due to potential short squeezes; continued high degrees of media coverage by third parties; the availability and future sales of substantial amounts of the Company's Class A common stock; fluctuations in the Company's results of operations from quarter to quarter; the Company's ability to incur additional debt; risks associated with the Company's investment in marketable, nonmarketable and interest-bearing securities, including the impact of such investments on the Company's financial results; and the Company's ability to maintain effective control over financial reporting. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those reflected or described in the forward-looking statements can be found in GameStop's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings made from time to time with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov or on the Company's investor relations website (https://investor.gamestop.com). Forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws. Condensed Statements of Operations (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited) November 2, 2024 October 28, 2023 Consolidated Statements of Operations (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited) November 2, 2024 October 28, 2023Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries, which includes India; demands ‘commitment’