Quanterix Announces Receipt of Expected Notice from Nasdaq
With nearly all of the votes counted, left-leaning Mr Milanovic won 49% while his main challenger Dragan Primorac, a candidate of the ruling conservative HDZ party, trailed far behind with 19%. Pre-election polls had predicted that the two would face off in the second round on January 12, as none of the eight presidential election contenders were projected to get more than 50% of the vote. Mr Milanovic thanked his supporters but warned that “this was just a first run”. “Let’s not be triumphant, let’s be realistic, firmly on the ground,” he said. “We must fight all over again. It’s not over till it’s over.” Mr Milanovic, the most popular politician in Croatia, has served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, the 58-year-old has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and continuous sparring between the two has been a recent hallmark of Croatia’s political scene. Mr Plenkovic has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and Nato. He has labelled Mr Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing. “The difference between him (Mr Primorac) and Milanovic is quite simple: Milanovic is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Mr Milanovic has criticised the Nato and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, thought it is a member of both Nato and the EU. Mr Milanovic has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a Nato-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war”. His main rival in the election, Mr Primorac, has stated that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East”. However, his bid for the presidency has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia’s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. Trailing a distant third in the pre-election polls is Marija Selak Raspudic, a conservative independent candidate. She has focused her election campaign on the economic troubles of ordinary citizens, corruption and issues such as population decline in the country of some 3.8 million. Sunday’s presidential election is Croatia’s third vote this year, following a snap parliamentary election in April and the European Parliament balloting in June.Jimmy Carter had the longest post-presidency of anyone to hold the office, and one of the most active. Here is a look back at his life. 1924 — Jimmy Carter was born on Oct. 1 to Earl and Lillian Carter in the small town of Plains, Georgia. 1928 — Earl Carter bought a 350-acre farm 3 miles from Plains in the tiny community of Archery. The Carter family lived in a house on the farm without running water or electricity. 1941 — He graduated from Plains High School and enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus. 1942 — He transferred to Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. 1943 — Carter’s boyhood dream of being in the Navy becomes a reality as he is appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 1946 — He received his naval commission and on July 7 married Rosalynn Smith of Plains. They moved to Norfolk, Virginia. 1946-1952 — Carter’s three sons are born, Jack in 1947, Chip in 1950 and Jeff in 1952. 1962-66 — Carter is elected to the Georgia State Senate and serves two terms. 1953 — Carter’s father died and he cut his naval career short to save the family farm. Due to a limited income, Jimmy, Rosalynn and their three sons moved into Public Housing Apartment 9A in Plains. 1966 — He ran for governor, but lost. 1967 — Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s fourth child, Amy, is born. 1971 — He ran for governor again and won the election, becoming Georgia’s 76th governor on Jan. 12. 1974 — Carter announced his candidacy for president. 1976 — Carter was elected 39th president on Nov. 2, narrowly defeating incumbent Gerald Ford. 1978 — U.S. and the Peoples’ Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations. President Carter negotiates and mediates an accord between Egypt and Israel at Camp David. 1979 — The Department of Education is formed. Iranian radicals overrun the U.S. Embassy and seize American hostages. The Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty is signed. 1980 — On March 21, Carter announces that the U.S. will boycott the Olympic Games scheduled in Moscow. A rescue attempt to get American hostages out of Iran is unsuccessful. Carter was defeated in his bid for a second term as president by Ronald Reagan in November. 1981 — President Carter continues to negotiate the release of the American hostages in Iran. Minutes before his term as president is over, the hostages are released. 1982 — Carter became a distinguished professor at Emory University in Atlanta, and founded The Carter Center. The nonpartisan and nonprofit center addresses national and international issues of public policy. 1984 — Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter volunteer one week a year for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps needy people in the United States and in other countries renovate and build homes, until 2020. He also taught Sunday school in the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains from the mid-’80s until 2020. 2002 — Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 2015 — Carter announced in August he had been diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain. 2016 — He said in March that he no longer needed cancer treatment. 2024 — Carter dies at 100 years old. Sources: Cartercenter.org, Plains Historical Preservation Trust, The Associated Press; The Brookings Institution; U.S. Navy; WhiteHouse.gov, GallupBeginning New Year’s Day, Illinois workers making minimum wage will see wages rise by $1 and tipped workers will see their paychecks bump to $9 an hour. Youth workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours a year will have a $13 minimum wage. The final increase, ending a six-year ramp which began with the minimum wage rising from $8.25 to $9.25 on Jan. 1, 2020, puts a bow on Gov. JB Pritzker’s first major legislative victory. He signed the wage increase in February 2019 about a month after being sworn in for his first term, checking off a top campaign promise. “Since day one of my administration, I’ve made it my mission to build an economy that works for everyone and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour fulfills that promise to our working families,” Pritzker said in a statement. “This increase honors the workers who power our state and ensures they can better support their families, bringing us closer to a stronger, more equitable economy for all.” Illinois will be one of 10 states with a minimum wage of $15 or greater, according to the National Employment Law Project. Twenty-two other states are also increasing their wages on Jan. 1. The minimum wage increase is one of many economic changes that have happened since 2019, including effects of the pandemic, Illinois Chamber of Commerce CEO Lou Sandoval told Capitol News Illinois. He said those have caused businesses to adjust their operations in a variety of ways, such as increasing automation. “I think you’re starting to see businesses pivot in terms of how they’re adjusting,” Sandoval said. “You’re seeing this at the national chains.” Some restaurants, for example, are “moving away from larger sit-down areas into grab-and-go.” Illinois job growth has been slow since October 2019, according to a November report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The state has seen a net increase of 28,700 jobs from October 2019 through October 2024. That’s a growth rate of 0.5%, compared to the national rate of 4.9%. The rate of new job postings by businesses at the beginning of the year will shed some light on how the jump to $15 on Jan. 1 is impacting business operations, Sandoval said. To help small businesses with the change, the state provides a tax credit through 2027 to businesses with 50 or fewer employees for wages paid to minimum-wage workers. The 2019 minimum wage law marked the first increase since the wage hit $8.25 in 2010. Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, introduced a bill to raise it to $15 an hour in 2017 that was passed by the General Assembly and vetoed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Lightford sponsored the initiative again in 2019. “As a state, we have helped countless workers make ends meet, reduce financial stress, and provide a more solid foundation for their futures,” Lightford said in a statement. “The $15 minimum wage is a testament to our commitment to economic justice and our belief that everyone who works full time deserves a living wage.” The value of a $15 minimum wage, however, has changed since lawmakers acted in 2019. A person making $8.25 in February 2019 would need to earn $10.30 today to have the same buying power after inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index. A $15 hourly wage today has the buying power that $12.02 had in February 2019. A person would need to make an $18.72 wage today to have the same buying power that $15 had in February 2019. Top Democrats didn’t say if they will push for new increases. “As a Senator of 25 years, history has shown my commitment of fighting to ensure workers are paid a living wage. That commitment still holds strong today,” Lightford said in an email statement. Pritzker said he supports ideas that will help workers make more money, but didn’t commit to supporting any plan to raise the minimum wage further when pressed about it at a news conference Dec. 11. “We always are thinking about how do you balance the need for higher wages with the needs that businesses have to hire people and do it affordably. But I think we did it the right way when we did it back in 2019,” Pritzker said. The new $15 wage equates to a 40-hour-per-week annual salary of $31,200 before taxes. That equals the federal government’s poverty level for a four-person household. The poverty level is $15,060 in a single-person household. But according to calculations in a national project by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, $15 hourly still doesn’t equate to a “living” wage in Illinois, based on U.S. Census Bureau cost of living and other cost estimates provided by federal agencies adjusted for inflation. A single adult with no children needs a $22.86 hourly salary to make a living wage in Illinois, while a two-parent household with two working adults and three children would each need to earn $31.69. In a two-parent household with one working adult and one child, the worker needs $36.49 to make a living wage, according to the MIT project. Inflation is making it hard for workers to benefit from wage increases, Sandoval said, adding rising wages also cause businesses to raise prices. “They might get the wage increase on one side, but their cost of living goes up accordingly,” Sandoval said.
George Kresge Jr., who wowed talk show audiences as the The Amazing Kreskin, diesA new month is here, so what better time to make some new additions to your investment portfolio. If exchange traded funds ( ) are on your radar, then it could be worth taking a look at the three listed below. They provide investors with exposure to groups of companies from a range of sectors and locations. Here's why they could be top options in December: For investors interested in the cryptocurrency industry but hesitant to own coins directly, the offers an alternative pathway. This ASX ETF is designed to provide exposure to the broader crypto ecosystem, capturing the growth of the industry without the need for direct involvement in individual cryptocurrencies. The fund's portfolio includes a diverse mix of companies with significant ties to the crypto market. These includes pure-play crypto companies and those with at least 75% of their balance sheets held in crypto-assets. In addition, the ETF includes diversified companies actively engaged in crypto-centric operations, such as payment platforms, mining, or blockchain development. If the cryptocurrency market thrives and adoption continues to accelerate, the companies within this ETF stand to benefit significantly from their important roles in the ecosystem. Another ASX ETF worth considering for your portfolio in December is the . It was recently by BetaShares as a top option for investors right now. The fund provides exposure to a globally diversified portfolio of approximately 8,000 stocks. Its holdings span large, mid, and small-cap companies across Australia, the US, developed markets, and emerging markets. This could make it an attractive option for investors aiming to build wealth over the long term while capitalising on the growth potential of leading companies worldwide. A third ASX ETF to consider in December is the . This ETF offers investors easy access to some of the most prominent and innovative technology companies in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan. The fund is designed to tap into Asia's rapidly expanding tech sector, driven by a growing middle class and a tech-savvy population. Many of the companies in this fund appear well-positioned for long-term growth, as they cater to the increasing demand for e-commerce, digital services, and advanced technologies across the region. Among its holdings are leading names such as e-commerce giant and . The latter is the parent company of Temu and Pinduoduo. These companies are at the forefront of Asia's tech revolution and are benefiting from the region's transformation into a global technology hub.
Qatar tribune Agencies Intel announced on Monday its Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger stepped down less than four years after taking the helm of the company, handing control to two lieutenants as the faltering American chipmaking icon searches for a permanent replacement. Gelsinger, who resigned on Dec. 1, left the company before the completion of an ambitious and costly four-year plan to restore the company’s lead in making the fastest and smallest computer chips, a crown it lost to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which makes chips for Intel rivals such as Nvidia. Gelsinger is retiring after a career spanning more than 40 years. He also stepped down from the company’s board. He started at Intel in 1979 at Intel and was its first chief technology officer. He returned to Intel as chief executive in 2021. While Gelsinger has assured both investors and U.S. officials, who are subsidizing Intel’s turnaround, that his manufacturing plans remain on track, the full results will not be known until next year, when the company aims to bring a flagship laptop chip back into its own factories. “While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence,” Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board, said in a release. Shares of the company rose nearly 5% in premarket trading. The stock has lost more than half of its value this year, and was replaced last month by Nvidia on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Copy 03/12/2024 1012 Communication Services Stocks Moving In Wednesday's Pre-Market Session
Punjab Haryana leaders condole demise of Manmohan SinghThe highest-rated offense in the NBA belongs to the New York Knicks as they put on a clinic to begin a four-game home stand. Mikal Bridges bounced back remarkably, and the Knicks continued terrific passing, compiling 30 assists against the Pelicans. Karl-Anthony Towns is off to the best season of his career, and setting the tone on the defensive end made all the difference, as New Orleans didn’t even score 90 points on this occasion. Mikal Bridges finds his groove for the Knicks The 28-year-old shooting guard had his best game of the season against the Pelicans. Bridges scored 31 points with seven made threes on 63% from the field and 58% from beyond the arc. The social media outrage from basketball fans and media personalities regarding Bridges’s play this season has been at an all-time high, and it’s tremendous on Mikal for putting that talk to rest. Four of the five players in New York’s starting five have had a 30-point game this season. Following Josh Hart’s comments after the previous contest, teammates looked for uncomplicated looks that Bridges could execute that would maximize the Knicks’ offense. The defenses lost a little respect for Bridges amongst the all-star starting five and were detected sleeping on multiple occasions while Bridges got easy cuts and layups to the rim. This contest showed the chemistry of the Knicks, making sure Bridges got going offensively. Following the win, he spoke with Ian Begley about his game and teammates, “ Josh my guy. He knows me. My whole life’s surrounded by basketball. Everything I do–at home, off days–just to be ready for our games. He knows I put so much work into it.” Karl-Anthony Towns one of the best bigs in the league The Knicks boast a top three big man in the league with Towns . The big man is top-15 in scoring, and top-3 in rebounds while shooting an impressive 45% from beyond the arc. Against the Pelicans, Towns set the tone tremendously on defense as he played the lane more and locked in defensively in the post. A massive block in the second quarter saw KAT looking imposing defensively, right on time for the soon-to-be return of Precious Achiuwa . Towns continuing to be tenacious on the boards while stretching the floor for the Knicks will continue to be a matchup disaster for the opposition as KAT has the best season of his career. The games within the game An increased pace will allow New York to be even more lethal in transition, and the Knicks have shown incredible results when logging 30+ assists. Having the ball on a string and keeping the defense on edge leads to easy buckets for the offense. New York is ranked last in possession per game, but increasing the tempo will add value to the quality of shots the Knicks will find. An array of high-IQ players can get the job done, and it should be an integral component in maximizing the offense every game. The defensive rating of New York remains one of the worst in the league but continues to show tremendous potential. Stringing together the defense played against the Pelicans is easier said than accomplished, yet if Towns continues his efforts displayed in a 14-point and 19-rebound occasion, while Anunoby remains prolific as a monster two-way player, then the best has yet to come for the defense of the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa will return soon, and it looks like the Knicks will vastly afford their added production defensively. Takeaways New York’s tendency to look like ‘The Avengers’ one night and then mediocre the next is a gimmick grown stale amongst Knicks fans. Setting championship standards for a team that holds them for themselves means criticism will be constant, and until the Knicks can string together a convincing winning streak, nothing will change. The good news is the Knicks have the personnel to alter the narrative to fuel media expectations of them as real contenders. One game down on a four-game homestand, the highly talented Orlando Magic are up next. A valid test of the legitimacy of the Knicks as the Magic have been one of the best defenses in the league. This article first appeared on Empire Sports Media and was syndicated with permission.