Online shoppers bombarded with scam shipping notifications this holiday seasonKazakhstan has solidified its position as the leading investment destination in North and Central Asia, drawing USD 15.7 billion in new projects in 2024, as per the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report released on Dec. 25. This marks an 88 per cent year-on-year surge, with Kazakhstan accounting for 63 per cent of the region's total investments, The Astana Times reported. The region witnessed a 27 per cent rise in overall foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, totaling USD 24.8 billion in 2023. ESCAP highlighted Qatar's UCC Holding as a significant contributor to Kazakhstan's FDI growth, with USD 11 billion committed to the development of critical gas infrastructure projects. "The growth in Kazakhstan now sees it attracting 63 per cent of the region's total FDI in thus far 2024, led by investments totaling USD 11 billion from Qatar's UCC Holding to establish two gas processing plants, a new compressor station, and two additional trunk gas pipelines throughout the country," stated the report. The projects include gas processing plants with annual capacities of one billion and 2.5 billion cubic meters, aimed at optimising raw gas usage. Agreements for these initiatives were formalised between QazaqGas, the national gas company, and Qatar's UCC Holding during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Qatar. Additional developments encompass the construction of the Aktobe-Kostanai gas pipeline and the expansion of the Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent pipeline, which is anticipated to enhance Kazakhstan's energy infrastructure. ESCAP emphasised the pivotal role of proactive investment strategies in sustaining such momentum, particularly for emerging markets. "In this context, proactive investment promotion by line ministries and investment promotion agencies (IPAs) becomes increasingly crucial, particularly in sectors contributing to sustainable development. For emerging investment destinations, success depends not only on creating the right policy environment but also on offering investors a comprehensive suite of support services and aftercare," the report noted. While Kazakhstan led the subregion, Uzbekistan secured USD 4 billion in FDI, followed by the Kyrgyz Republic with USD 2.1 billion, Azerbaijan with USD 1.2 billion, Turkmenistan with USD 339 million, Georgia with USD 126 million, and Armenia with USD 67 million, reported The Astana Times. Despite robust inflows into certain countries, outward investments from North and Central Asia declined significantly in 2024, with total outflows falling by 58 per cent to USD 2.3 billion. Russia accounted for 90 per cent of these outflows, channeling USD 847 million into India and Belarus's coal, oil, and gas sectors. The broader Asia-Pacific region recorded USD 292 billion in FDI between January and September 2024, down from USD 339 billion during the same period in 2023. India led the region with USD 76 billion in inflows, followed by Australia at USD 38 billion, China at USD 28 billion, and Japan at USD 25 billion. ESCAP attributed the decline to global economic uncertainties and geopolitical shifts. "The landscape of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia-Pacific continues to evolve rapidly amid global economic uncertainties, geopolitical shifts, and technological transformations. While 2024 has witnessed some moderation in investment flows following the record-breaking announcements of 2023, the region has demonstrated remarkable resilience and maintained its position as a premier destination for international capital," the report highlighted. The report identified several factors reshaping investment patterns, including the acceleration of digital economy investments post-COVID-19, heightened energy security concerns, and supply chain restructuring influenced by geopolitical tensions. Experts also noted a transition in investment pace as projects announced in 2023 moved into implementation. The services sector continued to dominate FDI inflows in the Asia-Pacific, accounting for 55 per cent of the total, while manufacturing contributed 41 per cent. The share of the primary sector declined to 4 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024, compared to 9 per cent during the same period in 2023. Within manufacturing, semiconductors, electronic components, and metals attracted the highest investments, with USD 28.2 billion, USD 19 billion, and USD 12.5 billion, respectively, in the first three quarters of 2024. However, metals investments saw a steep 61 per cent decline compared to 2023 due to weakened global steel demand, falling prices, increased Chinese exports, and reduced domestic consumption, The Astana Times reported. Kazakhstan's remarkable performance in attracting FDI underscores its growing appeal as a hub for regional development and international collaboration. The investments, driven by strategic agreements and infrastructure projects, signify the nation's proactive approach to fostering economic growth and sustainable development. Disclaimer: This is a syndicated feed, except for the headline the article is not edited by the FPJ editorial team.
Bank of America signs again with FIFA for US-hosted Club World Cup that still has no TV dealsNone
Indian Prairie School District 204 is seeing rapid growth in the number of students who qualify for language services, officials told the district’s Board of Education recently. In the last 10 years, the number of students who qualify for language services has increased by over 3,000 despite the district’s total student population falling by around the same amount, according to a presentation given by Director of English Language Learner Services Rafael Segarra and English Language Learner Coordinator Traci Wiegel. Now, the district has over 4,200 students in the program, the presentation showed. Just 2.5% of Indian Prairie School District 204’s students qualified for language services in the 2005-06 school year, but during the 2024-25 school year, that number has risen to 15.8%, Wiegel said during the presentation. That’s getting close to the state average of 16.4% of students who need language services, she said. About a third of the increase has happened since 2020, with around 1,000 more students qualifying for language services in the 2024-25 school year than they did in the 2021-22 school year, the presentation showed. The district’s English Language Learning Program has two parts: English as a Second Language, which is often shortened to ESL, and bilingual education, Segarra said during the presentation. The ESL portion of the program is for students who attend a school where less than 20 students need language services within a certain language group, he said. According to the district’s website, the goal of the ESL program is to develop English skills while still learning the content they would in their grade. The program looks to develop both social and academic language across listening, speaking, reading and writing, the website says. Schools with 20 or more students who need language services within the same language group are required by the state to provide bilingual services. Like the ESL program, this Transitional Bilingual Education program looks to teach students English and grade-appropriate content, but it also provides native language instruction and support while transitioning to English, according to the district’s website. Although it used to be a much smaller number years ago, 22 of the district’s 34 schools now qualify for the bilingual program, Segarra said. Those schools include Prairie Preschool, Brookdale Elementary, Brooks Elementary, Cowlishaw Elementary, Georgetown Elementary, Gombert Elementary, Kendall Elementary, Longwood Elementary, McCarty Elementary, Owen Elementary, Peterson Elementary, Steck Elementary, Watts Elementary, Welch Elementary, White Eagle Elementary, Fischer Middle, Granger Middle, Hill Middle, Scullen Middle, Still Middle, Metea Valley High and Waubonsie Valley High schools, according to the presentation. Of those schools, 11 offer bilingual education in a language other than Spanish. In addition to an increase in the number of students who need language services, the district is also seeing an increase in the number of languages spoken in the district, according to the presentation. In the 2021-22 school year, around 109 languages were spoken throughout the district, but that number has risen to 126 this year, the presentation showed. These languages represent all students in the district, not just those who need language services, Wiegel said. While Spanish is the top language spoken by students needing language services, which is 986 students, that number has actually gone down slightly since last school year, the presentation showed. The district is, however, seeing notable increases in the number of students in the English Language Learning Program who speak Russian, Uzbek and Ukrainian, according to Wiegel. The presentation showed that almost 100 more Russian-speaking students are enrolled in the program over last year, while Uzbek saw an increase of 50 students and Ukrainian saw an increase of almost 25 students. As the number of students enrolled in the English Language Learning Program has increased over the past four years, the number of district staff dedicated to the program has risen at a slower rate, according to the presentation. The district had 90 staff members for the program in the 2021-22 school year; now, it has just over 110 full-time equivalent positions, the presentation showed. In fact, the district has slightly less full-time equivalent positions than it did last year because Segarra rearranged some staff across the district to provide as many services as possible without impacting the budget, he said. “We are doing the best job we can with our kids based on what is available in terms of our resources,” he said. However, the number of students who need language services is growing daily, and caseloads are growing faster than is feasible for staff to handle, according to Wiegel. Based on staffing, the average caseload is around 56 students per teacher, she said. To increase the amount of time that teachers have with students, the department is looking for ways to decrease paperwork, Segarra said. An outside company is being considered to help with this problem, he said. The department is also looking at ways to use grant funds to hire more staff, but it is struggling to find certified teachers in languages like Russian, Uzbek, Ukrainian, Telugu and Arabic, according to the presentation. Weigel said the department is looking to hire teacher assistants who speak those languages to help, but “clearly the support from a teaching assistant is not the same as the support from a certified teacher.” In addition to needing more teachers, the department’s administrative team is also “well understaffed” compared to other departments in the district and in neighboring districts, according to the presentation. Another challenge for the department is that some buildings do not have enough space for language services to work effectively, the presentation stated. Some schools have very large populations but small spaces, forcing teachers to only meet with six or eight students at a time, which limits instructional time, Weigel said. However, the recently passed $420 million bond referendum may help this situation, she said. Despite challenges with staffing levels and instructional spaces, students are exiting the program because of their English proficiency level at much higher rates than the state average, the presentation showed. In 2024, 575 students exited the program, which is a 16.7% exit rate, Weigel said. The state’s exit rate was 6.2% in 2024, she said. While the exit rate is great, the percentages sometimes dip year-to-year because the number of students who need language services is growing, according to Segarra. Weigel said the demographics of the program are also changing as the district sees more and more “newcomers,” which are students who were born outside of the U.S. and arrived here within the last year or two. To help these students and their parents, the district formed a Newcomers Committee last year, Segarra said. Because of that committee, the district now has a guide for newcomers, which is set to soon be published in Spanish and Russian, along with professional development and a toolkit for general education teachers, he said. However, most of the students who need language services were born in the continental U.S., according to Segarra. The presentation showed that the district currently has over 2,400 students in the English Language Learning Program that were born in the U.S. rsmith@chicagotribune.comChina to cut import tariffs on certain goods to expand domestic demand
VanTrust Real Estate Acquires Strategically Located Salt Lake County Site to Build Four New Industrial WarehousesTrump is named Time's Person of the Year and rings the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors Thursday for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. At the stock exchange, Trump was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day and raised his fist. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Whales with a lot of money to spend have taken a noticeably bullish stance on Lam Research . Looking at options history for Lam Research LRCX we detected 8 trades. If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 50% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 37% with bearish. From the overall spotted trades, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $1,398,938 and 3, calls, for a total amount of $284,388. Predicted Price Range After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $67.0 and $90.0 for Lam Research, spanning the last three months. Volume & Open Interest Trends Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Lam Research's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Lam Research's whale trades within a strike price range from $67.0 to $90.0 in the last 30 days. Lam Research Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview Biggest Options Spotted: Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume LRCX PUT TRADE BULLISH 01/16/26 $13.5 $13.3 $13.3 $80.00 $861.8K 2.8K 698 LRCX PUT SWEEP BEARISH 02/21/25 $4.35 $4.3 $4.35 $74.00 $217.9K 6.4K 8 LRCX CALL SWEEP BEARISH 06/20/25 $6.5 $6.4 $6.4 $85.00 $208.0K 367 326 LRCX PUT SWEEP NEUTRAL 06/20/25 $4.4 $4.3 $4.35 $67.00 $188.8K 1.2K 438 LRCX PUT TRADE BULLISH 01/17/25 $1.9 $1.83 $1.84 $72.00 $92.0K 4.7K 15 About Lam Research Lam Research is one of the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment manufacturers in the world. It specializes in deposition and etch, which entail the buildup of layers on a semiconductor and the subsequent selective removal of patterns from each layer. Lam holds the top market share in etch and holds the clear second share in deposition. It is more exposed to memory chipmakers for DRAM and NAND chips. It counts as top customers the largest chipmakers in the world, including TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and Micron. Present Market Standing of Lam Research With a trading volume of 4,135,291, the price of LRCX is down by -2.88%, reaching $75.98. Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought. Next earnings report is scheduled for 41 days from now. What The Experts Say On Lam Research In the last month, 3 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $82.0. 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 .* An analyst from Bernstein persists with their Market Perform rating on Lam Research, maintaining a target price of $85. * Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Wells Fargo continues to hold a Equal-Weight rating for Lam Research, targeting a price of $83. * An analyst from Morgan Stanley persists with their Equal-Weight rating on Lam Research, maintaining a target price of $78. Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely. If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Lam Research, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
NEW YORK (AP) — If you're planning on ringing in the new year quietly at home, you're not alone. A majority of U.S adults intend to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research . “As I’ve gotten older over the last few years, it’s like if I don’t make it to midnight, it’s not a big deal, you know?” says Carla Woods, 70, from Vinton, Iowa. Nearly 2 in 10 will be celebrating at a friend or family member’s home, and just 5% plan to go out to celebrate at a bar, restaurant or organized event, the poll found. But many U.S. adults will celebrate the new year in a different way — by making a resolution. More than half say they'll make at least one resolution for 2025. There's some optimism about the year ahead, although more than half aren't expecting a positive change. About 4 in 10 say 2025 will be a better year for them personally. About one-third don’t expect much of a difference between 2024 and 2025, and about one-quarter think 2025 will be a worse year than 2024. Relaxed New Year's Eve plans for many Kourtney Kershaw, a 32-year-old bartender in Chicago, often fields questions from customers and friends about upcoming events for New Year's Eve. She said this year is trending toward low-key. “A majority of who I’ve spoken to in my age range, they want to go out, but they don’t know what they’re going to do because they haven’t found anything or things are just really expensive,” she said. “Party packages or an entry fee are like a turnoff, especially with the climate of the world and how much things cost.” As expected, younger people are more interested in ringing in the new year at a bar or organized event — about 1 in 10 U.S. adults under 30 say they plan to do that. But about 3 in 10 older adults — 60 and above — say they won’t celebrate the beginning of 2025 at all. Anthony Tremblay, 35, from Pittsburgh, doesn't usually go out to toast the arrival of the new year, but this year he's got something special cooked up: He and his wife will be traveling through Ireland. “I don’t do anything too crazy for New Year’s, usually. So this is definitely a change,” he said. “I wanted to do something unique this year, so I did.” Woods will be working New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. She answers calls on The Iowa Warmline, a confidential, noncrisis listening line for people struggling with mental health or substance use issues. “Holidays are really hard for people, so I don’t mind working,” she said. “I’m passionate about it because I have mental health issues in the family and so being able to help people is rewarding to me.” Younger Americans are more likely to make a resolution Every New Year's also triggers the eternal debate about resolutions. A majority of U.S. adults say they intend to make a New Year’s resolution of some type, but millennials and Gen Z are especially likely to be on board — about two-thirds expect to do so, compared to about half of older adults. Women are also more likely than men to say they will set a goal for 2025. Tremblay hopes to lose some weight and focus more on self-care — more sleep, meditation and breathing exercises. “It’s probably a good year to focus on mental health,” he said. Many others agree. About 3 in 10 adults choose resolutions involving exercise or eating healthier. About one-quarter said they'll make a resolution involving losing weight and a similar number said they'll resolve to make changes about priorities of money or mental health. Woods' resolutions are to stay social and active. As a mental health counselor, she knows those are key to a happy 2025 and beyond: “Probably one of my biggest resolutions is trying to make sure I stay social, try to get out at least once a week — get out and either have coffee or do something with a friend. That’s not only for the physical but also for the mental health part.” Kershaw, the bartender, says weight loss and better health are the top resolutions she hears people make. “Mental health is the new one, but I think it’s high up there as well as with regular health,” she said. She prefers more goal-oriented resolutions and, this time, it's to do more traveling and see more of the world: “I don’t know if that’s really a resolution, but that’s a goal that I’m setting.” And how will she welcome the arrival of 2025? Usually, she takes the night off and stays home watching movies with plenty of snacks, but this year Kershaw has a different plan, maybe one of the most Chicago things you can do. This die-hard sports fan will be at Wrigley Field on Tuesday watching the Chicago Blackhawks take on the St. Louis Blues. “Hockey’s my favorite sport. So I will be watching hockey and bringing in the new year,” she said. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,251 adults was conducted Dec. 5-9, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. ___ Sanders reported from Washington. Mark Kennedy And Linley Sanders, The Associated PressCanucks players, Amazon provide assist to Greater Vancouver Food Bank
A Tory baroness faces a three-week suspension for making an offensive remark to a British-Asian peer during a visit to Rwanda. Baroness Catherine Meyer was found to have breached harassment rules with her behaviour towards Lord Dholakia during a visit to Rwanda with the Joint Committee on Human Rights. The 63-year-old called Lord Dholakia "Lord Poppadom" during a taxi ride on the trip. Lady Meyer initially denied the allegation, but faced with witness evidence she admitted she said it. She said the incident took place at the end of a long day when she had drunk "possibly three glasses of wine". The Lords' Conduct Committee recommended suspending Lady Meyer for three weeks over her comments, which amounted to harassment "related to race". In a separate incident on the same visit in February, Conservative Lady Meyer complimented MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy's hair and asked her if she could touch it, without waiting for a reply or permission. The facts of the incident involving the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill were not disputed, the committee said. Ms Ribeiro-Addy said it had made her feel "extremely uncomfortable" and "as if she could just do whatever she wanted". She said: "The idea I would do that to another woman, particularly a white woman, ask her if it's hers, ask to touch it and make a big deal out of it, it just wouldn't happen." In response to Ms Ribeiro-Addy's complaint, Lady Meyer said she had intended a friendly gesture, and had been unaware it would be unwelcome. "Oh gosh, I did the wrong thing," she said immediately after understanding the MP's body language. The report noted Lady Meyer had apologised for her actions in both cases The Conduct Committee said in the report: "We have carefully considered the Commissioner's report and his proposed sanction. Taking all the relevant factors into account, we endorse his recommended sanction, and accordingly recommend to the House that Baroness Meyer be suspended from the service of the House for three weeks, and that she undertake bespoke behaviour training." The commissioner said: "Due to the significance of Baroness Meyer's breach of the Code of Conduct and the impact of her behaviour on the complainants, I consider a short suspension to be justified in the circumstances. "Accordingly, I recommend that Baroness Meyer be suspended from the House for three weeks. In determining the length of suspension, I considered incident 1, where Baroness Meyer twice referred to Lord Dholakia as 'Lord Poppadom', to be the more serious of the two breaches, given the racial element to it. The recommended suspension is because of this breach. "I also consider behaviour training would be beneficial for Baroness Meyer, to address the specific behaviour in this case. I therefore recommend Baroness Meyer undertake bespoke behaviour training provided by an approved external provider."Wendy’s employees in Palestine showed up for work Thursday, Dec. 26, and were told the fast-food restaurant had been permanently closed. The Palestine location is one of 140 of the chain's restaurants to be closed, according to the company. Wendy’s President and CEO Kirk Tanner said on an earnings call in November the company would close 140 of its restaurants that were “outdated and underperforming,” but would open an equal number of new locations in areas it believes it can generate better business. The company did not provide a list of locations it would be closing. Wendy’s conducted a previous round of closures in May, shutting 100 locations at that time. The company has just over 6,000 restaurants in the United States and 1,156 internationally and has reported it is building between 250 to 300 new technologically advanced locations.New limb-lengthening breakthrough for young children in Finland
Zayn Malik cancels concert just minutes before he was due on stage
King attends Royal Variety Performance alone after Queen pulls outVance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump’s most contentious picks
Locally, Leading Tech Solution Bridging Online and Offline Retail, Announces First Omni-Seller Marketplace In Partnership with Trek BicycleMulti-Role AI, Technology and Finance Company on Track for NASDAQ Listing and $1 Billion Annual Revenue Goal: iQSTEL, Inc. (Stock Symbol: IQST)