Buddhist heritage of Pakistan: A bridge to peace and harmonyHow the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbersHow the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers
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President-elect Donald Trump on Monday held a wide-ranging news conference in which he said he would preserve access to the polio vaccine but equivocated on other vaccines, pledged to look at bringing down the costs of pharmaceuticals and expressed doubts that his daughter-in-law might be Florida's next senator. Trump held forth for over an hour, the first time he took questions from reporters since winning the election. The event harkens back to his long-winding news conferences from his first term and is a stark contrast from President Joe Biden , who doesn't often take questions from reporters. Here's a look at some of what he touched on: Trump defended his choice for health secretary, prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , but said he personally is a “big believer” in the polio vaccine and would preserve access to it. “You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine," he said. “That’s not going to happen.” Over the weekend, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, spoke out in defense of the polio vaccine after a recent report disclosed that one of Kennedy's advisers filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine in 2022. Kennedy has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Trump seemed to question whether there’s a link, saying “We’re looking to find out,” and remarked on the rising cases of autism being diagnosed. “There’s something wrong, and we’re going to find out about it,” he said. There are no blood or biological tests for autism; instead, a doctor bases the diagnosis on a child’s behavior. While the autism diagnosis has been available for at least 80 years, the definition gradually expanded to include milder cases, which are more common. A study last year found that about a quarter of kids with autism — about 110,000 in the U.S. — have the most severe version of the developmental disability, which has left them unable to speak or with an IQ below 50 or both. Of Kennedy, “He’s going to be much less radical than you would think," he said. "I think he’s got a very open mind, or I wouldn’t have put him there.” Trump described a dinner he had this month with Kennedy; Dr. Mehmet Oz , a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru whom he's tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and top pharmaceutical executives in which they discussed drug prices. Trump heaped praise on the companies — the same ones that Kennedy has routinely argued profit off of Americans unfairly — but said the high cost of health care was a focus of their dinner. “What came out of that meeting is that we’re paying far too much,” Trump said. Trump also hit pharmaceutical benefits managers, calling them “horrible middlemen” who drive up the cost of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have been aggressively lobbying Congress to restrict the role of pharmaceutical benefit managers, which help health insurance companies’ biggest clients decide how and what prescription drugs will be covered in their insurance plans. “I don’t know who these middlemen are, but they are rich as hell," Trump said. The press conference was Trump’s most extensive public appearance since his victory six weeks ago — a rare absence from the public stage for the former reality star. But it also underscored how even while president-elect, Trump has seized the spotlight from Biden, who still has a month left on his term in office. Biden has not held a press conference in months and has had a limited public schedule. While Trump was addressing some of the top-of-mind issues of the day -- including sightings of drones flying over the Northeast -- Biden himself has been silent, leaving it to aides to try to calm the public. Trump seemed skeptical that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would appoint his daughter-in-law to be a Florida senator, taking the seat held by Marco Rubio, who has been nominated for secretary of state. Asked whether he expected DeSantis to name Lara Trump to replace Rubio, Trump said, “I probably don’t, but I don’t know.” Trump recently spoke with DeSantis at a memorial for Florida law enforcement officers. Trump's allies have been pushing DeSantis to nominate Lara Trump, who is married to Trump's son, Eric, and served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee this year. “Ron’s doing a good job with his choice," Trump said, without elaborating. He lavished praise on Lara Trump, including for her work at the RNC, where part of her duties involved focusing on “election integrity,” a priority of Trump's after he falsely claimed fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Trump indicated he would look at intervening in the potential ban of TikTok in the U.S. The popular social media platform must cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January under a federal law. He didn't offer specifics, but Trump credited the platform with helping him win the election. His campaign saw it as a bridge to reach younger, less politically engaged voters, particularly when clips circulated showing him with celebrities at UFC fights. “We’ll take a look at TikTok,” he said. “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok." Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term but changed his mind and pledged to “save” TikTok. Once he takes office, his Justice Department would be tasked with enforcing the new federal law against TikTok. Trump on Monday was meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club, according to two people familiar with the president-elect’s plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Trump noted the differences between the first time he was to take office eight years ago and today, saying executives now want to meet with him. He said they were “hostile” back then. “Everybody was fighting me,” he said about his first term. “This term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don’t know. My personality changed or something.” While he left office in 2021 ostracized and angry, Trump has had a stunning turnaround leading to his election win. Last week, he was honored by being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. His meeting with the TikTok executive was part of a string of meetings he's had with Silicon Valley billionaires and other technology leaders since becoming president-elect. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have all flown to Trump's club to meet with him. He revealed Monday that he had also met with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will meet with him this week, Trump said. “We have a lot of great executives coming in — the top executives, the top bankers, they’re all calling," he said. "It’s like a complete opposite from the first one.” With multiple wars going on, Trump has sought to insert himself back on the world stage. He said he is working to get Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be released and had a “very good talk” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But on Monday he seemed to buffer expectations about his promise to solve the Russia-Ukraine war even before taking office, describing the conflict as a “tough one” and a “nasty one." “We are trying to get that war stopped, that horrible, horrible war” he said. “It’s a tough one. It’s a nasty one. It’s nasty. People are being killed at levels that nobody’s ever seen.” Russia's invasion of Ukraine is Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides. Trump declined to say whether he's spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since winning the election. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris this month when he visited for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Trump's incoming press secretary has said that Trump invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other world leaders to his Jan. 20 inauguration, but Trump said Monday that Zelenskyy was not among them. “If he'd like to come, I'd like to have him," Trump said. Trump said Xi has not yet said whether he is coming. He described the Chinese leader as “a friend of mine” and “an amazing guy” but acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their relationship. “It was a bridge too far for me,” he said. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Amanda Seitz in Washington and Colleen Long in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.President-elect on Monday held a wide-ranging news conference in which he said he would preserve access to the polio vaccine but equivocated on other vaccines, pledged to look at bringing down the costs of pharmaceuticals and expressed doubts that his daughter-in-law might be Florida's next senator. Trump held forth for over an hour, the first time he took questions from reporters since winning the election. The event harkens back to his long-winding news conferences from his first term and is a stark contrast from President , who doesn't often take questions from reporters. Here's a look at some of what he touched on: Trump defended his choice for health secretary, prominent vaccine skeptic , but said he personally is a “big believer” in the polio vaccine and would preserve access to it. “You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine," he said. “That’s not going to happen.” Over the weekend, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, after a recent report disclosed that one of Kennedy's advisers filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine in 2022. Kennedy has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Trump seemed to question whether there’s a link, saying “We’re looking to find out,” and remarked on the rising cases of autism being diagnosed. “There’s something wrong, and we’re going to find out about it,” he said. There are no blood or biological tests for autism; instead, a doctor bases the diagnosis on a child’s behavior. While the autism diagnosis has been available for at least 80 years, the definition gradually expanded to include milder cases, which are more common. A study last year found that about a quarter of kids with autism — about 110,000 in the U.S. — have the most severe version of the developmental disability, which has left them unable to speak or with an IQ below 50 or both. Of Kennedy, “He’s going to be much less radical than you would think," he said. "I think he’s got a very open mind, or I wouldn’t have put him there.” Trump described a dinner he had this month with Kennedy; Dr. , a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru whom he's tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and top pharmaceutical executives in which they discussed drug prices. Trump heaped praise on the companies — the same ones that Kennedy has routinely argued profit off of Americans unfairly — but said the high cost of health care was a focus of their dinner. “What came out of that meeting is that we’re paying far too much,” Trump said. Trump also hit pharmaceutical benefits managers, calling them “horrible middlemen” who drive up the cost of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have been aggressively lobbying Congress to restrict the role of pharmaceutical benefit managers, which help health insurance companies’ biggest clients decide how and what prescription drugs will be covered in their insurance plans. “I don’t know who these middlemen are, but they are rich as hell," Trump said. The press conference was Trump’s most extensive public appearance since his victory six weeks ago — a rare absence from the public stage for the former reality star. But it also underscored how even while president-elect, Trump has seized the spotlight from Biden, who still has a month left on his term in office. Biden has not held a press conference in months and has had a limited public schedule. While Trump was addressing some of the top-of-mind issues of the day -- including sightings of drones flying over the Northeast -- Biden himself has been silent, leaving it to aides to try to calm the public. Trump seemed skeptical that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would appoint his daughter-in-law to be a Florida senator, taking the seat held by Marco Rubio, who has been nominated for secretary of state. Asked whether he expected DeSantis to name Lara Trump to replace Rubio, Trump said, “I probably don’t, but I don’t know.” Trump recently spoke with DeSantis at a memorial for Florida law enforcement officers. Trump's allies have been Lara Trump, who is married to Trump's son, Eric, and served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee this year. “Ron’s doing a good job with his choice," Trump said, without elaborating. He lavished praise on Lara Trump, including for her work at the RNC, where part of her duties involved focusing on “election integrity,” a priority of Trump's after he falsely claimed fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Trump indicated he would look at intervening in the in the U.S. The popular social media platform must cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January under a federal law. He didn't offer specifics, but Trump credited the platform with helping him win the election. His campaign saw it as a bridge to reach younger, less politically engaged voters, particularly when clips circulated showing him with celebrities at UFC fights. “We’ll take a look at TikTok,” he said. “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok." Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term but changed his mind and pledged to “save” TikTok. Once he takes office, his Justice Department would be tasked with enforcing the new federal law against TikTok. Trump on Monday was meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club, according to two people familiar with the president-elect’s plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Trump noted the differences between the first time he was to take office eight years ago and today, saying executives now want to meet with him. He said they were “hostile” back then. “Everybody was fighting me,” he said about his first term. “This term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don’t know. My personality changed or something.” While he left office in 2021 ostracized and angry, Trump has had a stunning turnaround leading to his election win. Last week, he was honored by being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. His meeting with the TikTok executive was part of a string of meetings he's had with Silicon Valley billionaires and other technology leaders since becoming president-elect. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have all flown to Trump's club to meet with him. He revealed Monday that he had also met with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will meet with him this week, Trump said. “We have a lot of great executives coming in — the top executives, the top bankers, they’re all calling," he said. "It’s like a complete opposite from the first one.” With multiple wars going on, Trump has sought to insert himself back on the world stage. He said he is working to get Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be released and had a “very good talk” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But on Monday he seemed to buffer expectations about his promise to solve the even before taking office, describing the conflict as a “tough one” and a “nasty one." “We are trying to get that war stopped, that horrible, horrible war” he said. “It’s a tough one. It’s a nasty one. It’s nasty. People are being killed at levels that nobody’s ever seen.” Russia's invasion of Ukraine is Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides. Trump declined to say whether he's spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since winning the election. He this month when he visited for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Trump's incoming press secretary has said that to his Jan. 20 inauguration, but Trump said Monday that Zelenskyy was not among them. “If he'd like to come, I'd like to have him," Trump said. Trump said Xi has not yet said whether he is coming. He described the Chinese leader as “a friend of mine” and “an amazing guy” but acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their relationship. “It was a bridge too far for me,” he said. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Amanda Seitz in Washington and Colleen Long in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
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Nine of the dreamiest Aussie dining venues to add to your 2025 bucket listNoneVeterinary Telemedicine Market Overview, Latest Trends, Growth Drivers, Opportunities, Key Segments, Leading Players, and Recent Developments 12-16-2024 11:22 PM CET | Health & Medicine Press release from: ABNewswire The major players in the veterinary telemedicine market include Vettriage (US), JustAnswer (US), Airvet (US), PetDesk (US), Pawsquad (UK). FirstVet (Sweden), Vetster (Canada), TeleVet (US) Browse 125 market data Tables and 38 Figures spread through 178 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Veterinary Telemedicine Market by Type (Telephone, Internet), Component (Software & Services, Hardware), Application (Diagnosis & Treatment, Prescription, Follow-up, Consultation, Education), Animal Type (Companion, Livestock) - Global Forecast to 2028 Veterinary Telemedicine Market [ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/veterinary-telemedicine-market-84791668.html?utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=paidpr ] in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $530 million in 2023 and is poised to reach $1,230 million by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 18.3% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets Trademark . Growth in this market can primarily be attributed to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases in pets which led to a growing demand for veterinary telemedicine as a valuable tool for managing these conditions. Telemedicine enables remote monitoring of pets' chronic conditions through wearable devices and remote communication, allowing veterinarians to assess their condition and adjust treatment plans as needed. Regular virtual check-ins help veterinarians address concerns, answer questions, and ensure effective management of chronic diseases. Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=84791668 [ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=84791668&utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=paidpr ] The internet segment holds the major share of the veterinary telemedicine market. Based on type, the veterinary telemedicine market is segmented into telephone and internet. The internet segment holds the major share of the veterinary telemedicine market. A large share of the internet segment can be attributed to the simple image and video transmission, which can provide veterinarians with more information about the pet's health. The software & services segment holds the major share of the veterinary telemedicine market. Based on component, the veterinary telemedicine market is segmented into software & services and hardware. The software & services segment holds the major share of the veterinary telemedicine market. A large share of the software & services segment can be attributed to the growing demand for cloud-based and on-demand services. Cloud computing and on-demand services have several advantages over traditional software and services, including cost effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility. North America segment accounted for the largest share of the veterinary telemedicine market. The global veterinary telemedicine market is segmented into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2022, North America dominated the veterinary telemedicine market in 2022. The large share of North America in the global market is attributed to the convenience of telemedicine. Telemedicine can be a more affordable option for pet owners, especially those who live in rural areas or who have difficulty traveling. Telemedicine allows pet owners to get veterinary care without having to leave their homes. This can be especially convenient for busy people. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=84791668 [ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=84791668&utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=paidpr ] Veterinary Telemedicine Market Dynamics: Drivers: * Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases in animals Restraints: * High costs associated with the services Opportunities: * The advancement of technology Challenges: * Lack of reimbursement Key Market Players: The major players in the veterinary telemedicine market include Vettriage (US), JustAnswer (US), Airvet (US), PetDesk (US), Pawsquad (UK). FirstVet (Sweden), Vetster (Canada), TeleVet (US), Anipanion (US), VitusVet (US), Whiskers Worldwide (US), WellHaven Pet Health (Canada), AskVet (US), Petriage (US), BI X GmbH (Germany), GuardianVets (US), TeleTails (US), Activ4Pets (US), BabelBark (US), Linkyvet (France), VetChat (Australia), VetCT (US), VetoClock (Spain), VetNow (US), Vetsource (US). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=84791668 [ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=84791668&utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=paidpr ] Media Contact Company Name: MarketsandMarkets Trademark Research Private Ltd. Contact Person: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar Email:Send Email [ https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=veterinary-telemedicine-market-overview-latest-trends-growth-drivers-opportunities-key-segments-leading-players-and-recent-developments ] Phone: 18886006441 Address:1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 City: Florida State: Florida Country: United States Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/veterinary-telemedicine-market-84791668.html This release was published on openPR.The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here’s a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball’s Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year’s spurt of 24.2%. The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It’s been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump’s election. He’s turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he’s named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Gold’s rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It’s also benefited from the Fed’s cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. It’s a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it’s also a threshold that Tesla’s stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk’s close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. That’s how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia’s chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia’s worth to more than $3 trillion in total. GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . That’s how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody’s. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. That’s the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024’s home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.
BBC, Dec 26: Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has died at the age of 92. Singh was one of India's longest-serving prime ministers and he was considered the architect of key liberalising economic reforms, as premier from 2004-2014 and before that as finance minister. He had been admitted to a hospital in the capital Delhi after his health condition deteriorated, reports say. Singh was the first Indian leader since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after serving a full first term, and the first Sikh to hold the country's top post. He made a public apology in parliament for the 1984 riots in which some 3,000 Sikhs were killed. But his second term in office was marred by a string of corruption allegations that dogged his administration. The scandals, many say, were partially responsible for his Congress party's crushing defeat in the 2014 general election. Singh was born on 26 September 1932, in a desolate village in the Punjab province of undivided India, which lacked both water and electricity. After attending Panjab University he took a master's degree at the University of Cambridge and then a DPhil at Oxford. While studying at Cambridge, the lack of funds bothered Singh, his daughter, Daman Singh, wrote in a book on her parents. "His tuition and living expenses came to about £600 a year. The Panjab University scholarship gave him about £160. For the rest he had to depend on his father. Manmohan was careful to live very stingily. Subsidised meals in the dining hall were relatively cheap at two shillings sixpence." Daman Singh remembered her father as "completely helpless about the house and could neither boil an egg, nor switch on the television". Consensus builder Singh rose to political prominence as India's finance minister in 1991, taking over as the country was plunging into bankruptcy. His unexpected appointment capped a long and illustrious career as an academic and civil servant - he served as an economic adviser to the government, and became the governor of India's central bank. In his maiden speech as finance minister he famously quoted Victor Hugo, saying that "no power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come". That served as a launchpad for an ambitious and unprecedented economic reform programme: he cut taxes, devalued the rupee, privatised state-run companies and encouraged foreign investment. The economy revived, industry picked up, inflation was checked and growth rates remained consistently high in the 1990s. Singh was born in Gah, an underdeveloped village in what is now Pakistan 'Accidental PM' Manmohan Singh was a man acutely aware of his lack of a political base. "It is nice to be a statesman, but in order to be a statesman in a democracy you first have to win elections," he once said. When he tried to win election to India's lower house in 1999, he was defeated. He sat instead in the upper house, chosen by his own Congress party. The same happened in 2004, when Singh was first appointed prime minister after Congress president Sonia Gandhi turned down the post - apparently to protect the party from damaging attacks over her Italian origins. Critics however alleged that Sonia Gandhi was the real source of power while he was prime minister, and that he was never truly in charge. Critics said Mr Singh always played second fiddle to Sonia Gandhi Critics said Mr Singh always played second fiddle to Sonia Gandhi The biggest triumph during his first five-year term was to bring India out of nuclear isolation by signing a landmark deal securing access to American nuclear technology. But the deal came at a price - the government's Communist allies withdrew support after protesting against it, and Congress had to make up lost numbers by enlisting the support of another party amid charges of vote-buying. A consensus builder, Singh presided over a coalition of sometimes difficult, assertive and potentially unruly regional coalition allies and supporters. Although he earned respect for his integrity and intelligence, he also had a reputation for being soft and indecisive. Some critics claimed that the pace of reform slowed and he failed to achieve the same momentum he had while finance minister. The biggest triumph during Mr Singh's first five-year term was to bring India out of nuclear isolation by signing a landmark deal with the US When Singh guided Congress to a second, decisive election victory in 2009, he vowed that the party would "rise to the occasion". But the gloss soon began to wear off and his second term was in the news mostly for all the wrong reasons: several scandals involving his cabinet ministers which allegedly cost the country billions of dollars, a parliament stalled by the opposition, and a huge policy paralysis that resulted in a serious economic downturn. LK Advani, a senior leader in the rival BJP party, called Singh India's "weakest prime minister". Manmohan Singh defended his record, saying his government had worked with "utmost commitment and dedication for the country and the welfare of its people". Pragmatic foreign policy Singh adopted the pragmatic foreign policies pursued by his two predecessors. He continued the peace process with Pakistan - though this process was hampered by attacks blamed on Pakistani militants, culminating in the Mumbai gun and bomb attack of November 2008. He tried to end the border dispute with China, brokering a deal to reopen the Nathu La pass into Tibet which had been closed for more than 40 years. Singh with his daughter Upinder Singh (R) and his wife Gursharan Kaur (L) Singh increased financial support for Afghanistan and became the first Indian leader to visit the country for nearly 30 years. He also angered many opposition politicians by appearing to end relations with India's old ally, Iran. A low-profile leader A studious former academic and bureaucrat, he was known for being self-effacing and always kept a low profile. His social media account was noted mostly for dull entries and had a limited number of followers. A man of few words, his calm demeanour nevertheless won him many admirers. Responding to questions on a coal scandal involving the illegal allocation of licences worth billions of dollars, he defended his silence on the issue by saying it was "better than thousands of answers". In 2015 he was summoned to appear in court to answer allegations of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and corruption related offences. An upset Singh told reporters that he was "open for legal scrutiny" and that the "truth will prevail". After his time as premier, Singh remained deeply engaged with the issues of the day as a senior leader of the main opposition Congress party despite his advancing age. In August 2020, he told the BBC in a rare interview that India needed to take three steps "immediately" to stem the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic, which had sent the country's economy into a recession. The government needed to provide direct cash assistance to people, make capital available for businesses, and fix the financial sector, he said. History will remember Singh for bringing India out of economic and nuclear isolation, although some historians may suggest he should have retired earlier. "I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in parliament," he told an interviewer in 2014. Singh is survived by his wife and three daughters.LoanDepot director Anthony Hsieh sells $195,613 in stockShares of Nvidia fell Monday after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief news release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be focusing on Nvidia’s $6.9 billion acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox in 2019. Nvidia shares about 3% Monday. They are still up 179% so far this year. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Nvidia’s shares have surged this year along with the California company’s revenue and profit due to AI demand. According to data firm FactSet, about 16% of Nvidia’s revenue comes from China, second only to its U.S.-generated revenue. A spokesperson for the company based in Santa Clara, California, said in an emailed statement that Nvidia is “happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.” In its most recent earnings release, Nvidia posted revenue of $35.08 billion, up 94% from $18.12 billion a year ago. Nvidia earned $19.31 billion in the quarter, more than double the $9.24 billion it posted in last year’s third quarter. The earnings release did not break out revenue from China. The company’s market value rocketed to $3.5 trillion recently, passing Microsoft and briefly overtaking Apple as the world’s most valuable company. China’s antitrust investigation follows a report this summer by technology news site The Information that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating complaints from rivals that Nvidia was abusing its market dominance in the chip sector. The allegations reported include Nvidia threatening to punish those who buy products from both itself and its competitors at the same time. David Bieri, an international finance expert at Virginia Tech, said that China’s investigation is “not about what Nvidia is doing in China, per se” but rather a signal to the incoming Trump administration. China, Bieri said, is looking to set the tone of future relations. The Chinese government, he said, is telling the U.S. “don’t mess with us, because all of your darling corporations that your version of capitalism needs to prosper have entanglements” with China. Nvidia will have to revise its strategy in China or come up with provisions in their budgets for the type of uncertainty business with China will bring, Bieri said. “I don’t think this is something that they can shake off,” he said. “I also have a tremendous amount of faith in the brilliance of the management strategy of a corporation like Nvidia to not only pay attention to credit risk, market risk and operational risk, but also to political risk.” Nvidia’s invention of graphics processor chips, or GPUs, in 1999 helped spark the growth of the PC gaming market and redefined computer graphics. Last month, it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ending the pioneering semiconductor company’s 25-year run on the index. Unlike Intel, Nvidia designs but doesn’t manufacture its own chips, relying heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an Intel rival. ___ Associated Press Technology Writer Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles contributed to this report.