UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New YorkUnveiling 4 Analyst Insights On UdemyHeavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights
Golden Knights coach becomes team’s winningest coach
Man arraigned on murder charges in NYC subway death fanned flames with a shirt, prosecutors sayDocuSign shares surge 18% on earnings beat and strong guidanceIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. It’s been a while since we heard from Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, best known as the creator of the global battle royale hit . But now, Greene’s studio, PlayerUnknown Productions, is detailing what it’s working on — and there are multiple games in the works, all pointing toward a big final project. First up is a game called , described as a “single-player open-world emergent game within the survival genre,” . The big hook, it seems, is technical, as the game is being built with “machine-learning-driven terrain generation technology, allowing the instant creation of millions of maps.” is expected to launch in early access on Steam in 2025, following a series of playtests. To showcase what players can expect, the studio is launching a free tech demo on Steam today called . You can check it out . According to the studio, these games are building blocks on the way to a more ambitious game currently codenamed “Artemis,” which will be a “massive multiplayer sandbox experience.” Greene previously talked about Artemis back in 2022; , though today’s announcement has no mention of NFTs. Here’s Greene on what players can eventually expect as the studio builds toward its big game: — it was known under the name “PUBG Special Projects” — and two years later announced that he was leaving parent company Krafton to go independent. “Today, I’m excited to take the next step on my journey to create the kind of experience I’ve envisaged for years,” he said at the time. /
Australian lender ANZ names Nuno Matos as new CEOInmates should help train prison guards as part of a “radical transformation” of the role, a report has recommended. The Prison Reform Trust (PRT), a charity that was led by Lord Timpson until he was appointed prisons minister in July, said that prisoners should be involved in both the design and delivery of officer training and development programmes, while former prisoners should help to recruit officers and support them during their induction. Detailed interviews with prisoners in jails across the country found that inmates consistently identified building rapport as the most crucial skill for effective prison officers. However, the report warned that the prison service stands at a “crucial turning point”, with only a minority of current staff having direct experience of the traditional relationship-based model of prison management that has historically characterised the system in England and Wales. It said there should be more opportunities for prisoners and staff to build relationships through shared activities such as cooking, a recommendation widely backed by the inmates consulted as part of research.
Mumbai: At least 66 companies from the BSE 500 index could potentially return ₹99,100 crore to shareholders based on their FY24 cash and cash equivalent levels, according to a study by corporate governance firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS). HCL Technologies , Bharat Electronics , LTI Mindtree, Siemens , and Sun TV Network are the top five companies with the largest estimated excess cash reserves, said the report. The IiAS assessment, drawn from FY24 financial statements, also accounts for acquisitions and announced capital expenditures after the balance sheet date. Excess cash is the cash and cash equivalent a company holds beyond its immediate operational and other needs. This cash can be seen as surplus liquidity. Companies with excess cash exceeding ₹500 per share include Honeywell Automation , Bosch , and ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems. Firms with surplus cash exceeding 75% of their on-balance-sheet cash include Oracle Financial , ZF Commercial, Sun TV Network, Pfizer , Finolex Cables , Graphite India, and Abbott India. Agencies "Given the changed external environment, boards believe in the need to build a war chest for growth and resilience, while the question remains 'how much is enough?," IiAS said. "While these 66 companies have been returning cash to investors, the pace of cash build-up appears to be higher than the pace at which these companies are utilising or distributing cash." Stock Trading Value & Valuation Masterclass By - The Economic Times, Get Certified By India's Top Business News Brand View Program Stock Trading Market 104: Options Trading: Kickstart Your F&O Adventure By - Saketh R, Founder- QuickAlpha, Full Time Options Trader View Program Stock Trading Technical Analysis for Everyone - Technical Analysis Course By - Abhijit Paul, Technical Research Head, Fund Manager- ICICI Securities View Program Stock Trading Stock Markets Made Easy By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading Renko Chart Patterns Made Easy By - Kaushik Akiwatkar, Derivative Trader and Investor View Program Stock Trading Market 101: An Insight into Trendlines and Momentum By - Rohit Srivastava, Founder- Indiacharts.com View Program Stock Trading Markets 102: Mastering Sentiment Indicators for Swing and Positional Trading By - Rohit Srivastava, Founder- Indiacharts.com View Program Stock Trading Dow Theory Made Easy By - Vishal Mehta, Independent Systematic Trader View Program Stock Trading Market 103: Mastering Trends with RMI and Techno-Funda Insights By - Rohit Srivastava, Founder- Indiacharts.com View Program Stock Trading ROC Made Easy: Master Course for ROC Stock Indicator By - Souradeep Dey, Equity and Commodity Trader, Trainer View Program Stock Trading Heikin Ashi Trading Tactics: Master the Art of Trading By - Dinesh Nagpal, Full Time Trader, Ichimoku & Trading Psychology Expert View Program Stock Trading RSI Made Easy: RSI Trading Course By - Souradeep Dey, Equity and Commodity Trader, Trainer View Program Stock Trading Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By - Dinesh Nagpal, Full Time Trader, Ichimoku & Trading Psychology Expert View Program Company boards must consider returning the excess cash to shareholders in the form of dividends or buybacks, said the proxy advisory firm. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel )Ministers Joly, LeBlanc travel to Florida to meet with Trump's teamTORONTO - Canada’s main stock index edged higher in trading on Wednesday, helped by strength in the technology sector, while U.S. stock markets also rose. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 5.45 points at 25,641.18. The index took a “breather” Wednesday ahead of key labour market indicators set to be released both in Canada and the U.S. this week, said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. Statistics Canada will report the latest data from the national labour force survey on Friday, the same day the November jobs report is due in the U.S. “That’s the last important data point for the Bank of Canada before they meet next week,” said Kourkafas. November was a strong month for equities, he said, so it isn’t surprising that investors are digesting the gains while they await new data. He said it’s expected that Statistics Canada will report an acceleration of job gains after last month brought a “relatively weak reading,” with job gains at about half of what analysts were expecting. While Canada’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate a fifth straight time on Dec. 11, the size of the cut could depend on that jobs data, he said. “We’re now looking at a rebound, but as the Bank of Canada deliberates between a quarter point cut versus half a percentage point cut, I think what we are going to see in terms of unemployment rate and the base of job gains is going to have a say into that,” said Kourkafas, adding that wage growth is another important metric to watch. “If we see steady job growth and slowing wages, that can potentially tilt the Bank of Canada towards a larger cut.” In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 308.51 points at 45,014.04. The S&P 500 index was up 36.61 points at 6,086.49, while the Nasdaq composite was up 254.21 points at 19,735.12. U.S. markets were propelled by strength in the technology sector, said Kourkafas, highlighting strong results in quarterly earnings released this week by Salesforce Inc. and Marvell Technology Inc. “I think today’s results highlight that there is still a long runway and still enthusiasm, excitement about artificial intelligence and kind of that multi-year adoption cycle,” he said. The Canadian dollar traded for 71.09 cents US compared with 71.14 cents US on Tuesday. The January crude oil contract was down US$1.40 at US$68.54 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$3.04 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was up US$8.30 at US$2,676.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.20 a pound. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
ECB To Start Buying French Government Bonds?
Building a gaming PC is too expensive, and GPUs really aren't helpingNEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. Then Wednesday's targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight. Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business. As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company's highest-paid executives. The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at PwC and had little name recognition beyond the health care industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company's face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress. When Thompson did occasionally draw attention, it was because of his role in shaping the way Americans get health care. At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company's shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy rather than focusing on treating them once sick. “Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the ... family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.” Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms. “Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change. Thompson, who lived in a Minneapolis suburb and was the married father of two sons in high school, was set to speak at an investor meeting in a midtown New York hotel. He was on his own and about to enter the building when he was shot in the back by a masked assailant who fled on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, the New York Police Department said. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson's social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. "He did not have a security detail.” AP reporters Michael R. Sisak and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.
BELLVILLE — DJ Sanders doesn’t like attention. But as the Bellville senior stood in front of a packed gym on Wednesday morning to sign to play college football during the early signing period, all eyes were on the 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive lineman. Interview after interview, phone call and texts after another, Sanders maintained himself. He’s been that way through the entire recruiting process, Bellville head coach Grady Rowe told the crowd. “If you know DJ Sanders, you know what I mean,” Rowe said to a student body of 741 in a town with a population of 4,200. Ultimately, Sanders signed with Texas A&M on Wednesday. The four-star prospect has been committed to the Aggies since August. He’s A&M’s highest-rated defensive lineman in the Aggies’ 24-member 2025 class, which is ranked eighth nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings. A late push to flip his pledge came from rival Texas, though. The Longhorns stayed on him all the way up until Wednesday morning when he got a call from a staff member in Austin. Sanders told the Texas coach he was going to stick with A&M because he’s a man of his word. Sanders admits it was hard to keep, but he stayed strong. A&M announced he had signed at 8:30 a.m. “My family, they always say be true to your word,” Sanders said, “so I had to stand by that.” A&M head coach Mike Elko said Wednesday that Sanders was a player who was heavily sought after during the recruiting process as Sanders held more than 20 offers. Elko and his staff were excited when Sanders put pen to paper on Wednesday. “We had a lot of kids in this class who committed to us early that we set out to get early, DJ certainly is one of them, that a lot of schools never stopped [recruiting],” Elko said. “I think as the process goes on, it becomes a money grab. You see people throwing more and more and more to try to get kids to try and change their mind. We want kids that are about value. We want kids that are about a little bit more than that. “I think it validates when all of those kids sign with us that we picked the right character kids, the right character families. You have a group of kids that are committed to coming here to play at Texas A&M to win championships, to go to the NFL. I think finding kids that that is the main focus in this day-and-age with all of this is really critical and I think we were able to do that.” The biggest kid in the room Sanders has always been a big kid. After all, he was born 10 pounds, 8 ounces. Howard Bryan, Sanders’ maternal grandfather, coached DJ and his younger brother, DD Murray, who signed to play running back at Arkansas State on Wednesday, for youth football and basketball. “If it’s a dream, we don’t want to wake up,” Bryant said. “It’s been wonderful. It means a lot, something we talked about with the boys when they were like 8 years old.” Rowe first noticed Sanders had special talent when he watched him dribble a basketball in elementary school. Sanders hit a growth spurt in middle school. His mother, Connie Sanders-Franklin, said she was surprised how big and tall Sanders got. When Sanders reached high school, Rowe spoke with his family and had a simple message: Get ready. It’s going to get crazy. Soon after in a scrimmage, Bellville was missing a defensive end. Rowe called up Sanders. When Sanders beat a Navasota offensive tackle like there was nobody there, Rowe turned to his coaches and told them, “Boys, we got one.” Bellville’s field is nicknamed “The Pasture of Pain.” Sanders made it painful place for his opponents to play. As a four-year letter winner, he had over 300 tackles, 42.5 tackles for loss and 36.5 sacks. Bellville won four straight district titles and made a Class 4A Division II state championship game appearance in 2023. It was during Sanders’ sophomore year of high school that Bryant realized his grandson was becoming a special talent. He noticed the way Sanders loved the game. “He loved being around it and that’s what he wanted to do," Bryant said. A hectic process Although Rowe anticipated Sanders’ recruitment would get crazy, he said nobody in Sanders’ circle was aware how crazy it would actually get, right down to the wire. Rowe recalled how from the beginning though, Sanders was clear on one thing: When he committed, that was the school he was going to attend. When A&M hired Elko last November, the Aggies’ new head coach showed up to Bellville during his first week on the job and made it clear that Sanders was a priority target. Over the coming months, Sanders built relationships with A&M’s defensive line coaches — Tony Jerod-Eddie and Sean Spencer — that were different from other coaches. Sanders-Franklin said A&M was the school her son visited the most throughout the process. Bryant was there for every one of them. Sanders took an official visit to A&M in June. Mom shared advice along the way. “Don’t go where the money takes you,” Sanders-Franklin said. “Go where you’re happy, where you’ll have fun and enjoy college years. That’s what I really instilled in him." When Sanders announced his commitment on Aug. 7, he texted Sanders-Franklin early in the day that he had made a decision. She immediately went home and asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this. He did. A simple announcement came via social media at around 10 p.m. that night. “A guy that didn’t want to be live-streamed when he committed and just didn’t want all the attention on him is rare,” Rowe said. “It’s special. He had college coaches not knowing what was going on, and then you throw in the media that goes along with it, at times it was kind of fun because they couldn’t figure anything out and I would tell them, ‘Hey, there’s nothing to figure out. This is DJ.’” The battle was far from over, though. Schools sought Sanders for the next four months up until Wednesday. “They didn’t back off until the very end,” Sanders-Franklin. “They kept it going. They didn’t give up.” But Sanders never wavered. “Up until the last minute,” Rowe said, “he stuck to his guns when there were reasons possibly not to.” A hard-working family man During A&M’s in-house signing day show, Jerod-Eddie said Sanders is built like a brahma bull, but is light on his feet like a ballerina. He added that Sanders moves with grace and has versatility. “This guy’s got tremendous upside,” Spencer added. “Humble kid, great family. Mrs. Connie, Mr. Howard, it’s just a great family and really built for the Aggies.” Sanders projects to play defensive tackle at A&M. He said he likes the way Elko and the Aggie defensive coaches move players around the line. “He’s going to be a guy that’s going to line up, next play, go, then go to the next play and he’s going to give them all he has, but you’re not going to see a whole bunch of me, me, me stuff,” Rowe said. Nothing comes before family to Sanders’ kin. Sanders-Franklin was born and raised in Bellville. Her family lives all over the place, but she stayed in Bellville because of her boys. They wanted to grow up and play football there. More than a dozen of them gathered inside the Bellville High School gym on Wednesday to not only celebrate Sanders, but Murray as well. After dozens of pictures were taken with family, friends, coaches and classmates, Sanders shared he was excited to be done with the process. Sanders-Franklin said she thought her son made the right decision for himself. Sanders described himself as a leader and faithful. He stayed faithful to the Aggies on Wednesday. Not doing so would have brought attention upon himself. And that’s not DJ Sanders. “Let his word be his word,” Bryant said. “That’s what he promised and that’s what he did.”