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The government's proposed health cuts will leave more than a bruise. Photo: RNZ Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the government's proposed health cuts, the hospital rebuild, and the withered remains of the humanities. Proposed health cuts to Te Whatu Ora The Government’s proposed health cuts don’t care if you voted black and grey, blue or yellow and pink. Notice they are all colours of a bruise. If disestablishments proceed as proposed, more than 1000 people in Te Whatu Ora’s IT department will be gone. These are people working on apps to send appointment notices and reminders. They keep payroll running for more than 80,000 health workers. They troubleshoot faulty equipment — even in operating theatres. Some are the only people who know how to keep life-support running for outdated, legacy technologies much of our health service depends on. Those who remain will be left with egregious workloads to cover colleagues shown the door. If you ask health workers what’s needed to improve the system, halving the IT department is not among the first suggestions. That’s not even the question being asked — instead it’s "who can we get away with cutting without too much kickback?" These cuts are a choice. They’re being made by certain politicians to serve their own interests — not to make the health system better for families. And it’s not just the IT department. In the coming months many other Te Whatu Ora functions will lose valuable institutional knowledge when cuts are turned toward them. Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back. How will any government, of any shade, reach any health target if the people who do the work are decimated? These cuts will leave more than a bruise — they’ll be fatal. Ngā manaakitanga, nā (best wishes) Vicki Taylor Edievale Dunedin hospital I do not think that the seven-year-old quote for the above at $380m still stands. A two-bedroom house built five years ago cost $450,000; built today costs $650,000-plus. They are dreaming if they think that what will be eight years later, it is still only going to cost $380m. Be realistic with regard to current building costs. It would be better to enlarge the Auckland and Otago Schools’ intakes as soon as possible. If they carry on like the Dunedin hospital build in relation to the new proposed Waikato School, the extra doctors will have already qualified before said new medical school has even got started. A. Sarah Oamaru So Shane Reti, on behalf of the government, acknowledges the "very high degree of public interest" in the Dunedin hospital rebuild ( ODT , 13.12.24). And then says he "must also underline the significant responsibilities which come with the portfolio. . . At all times we need to carefully balance individual projects and consider broader system needs." I presume that’s why the broader system needs of the tobacco companies outweigh the needs of the South for a hospital. Ruth Chapman Dunedin Burns building A small irony in the picture of the university accompanying the professor’s attempt to defend the humanities and social sciences ( Opinion , 17.12.24); the Burns building, which houses the withered remains of Humanities, didn’t make the frame. Harry Love North East Valley Shortsighted changes As a former science teacher, I heartily commend Carol Bond’s letter (ODT, 16.12.24 ) deploring the cutting of funds to science research. This government’s mantra of "back to basics" means returning to the ignorance with which poor Galileo had to contend. Heather Grimwood Halfway Bush Privileged and disadvantaged Here we go again. Dr Anaru Eketone’s Opinion piece ( ODT , 16.12.24) is on that same old, same old vein — Pākehā being the privileged one and Māori the disadvantaged. Will this line of thought never alter? Obviously not unless everything they demand is received. Poor choices, lack of discipline and responsibility to one self are major contributors to their situation and this continual putdown of their own is certainly not helping. How do you account for the successes of many immigrants to this country? Do you see extracurricular programmes and special funds being thrown at these people to help them achieve academic and/or financial greatness? I think not. Time to move on and get over this feeling of being hard done by. To say our laws, language, culture and society is all encompassing of a Pākehā society and is of disadvantage to Māoris is so inaccurate when you see the many successes of other minority races. Time to really take a long hard look at yourself and take charge of your own destiny within this country’s society and governance. Nobody needs this separatism you seem intent on achieving above all else. Joyce Yee-Murdoch Cromwell Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
US budget airlines are struggling. Will pursuing premium passengers solve their problems? DALLAS (AP) — Delta and United Airlines have become the most profitable U.S. airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning a significant share of budget travelers. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday. Some travel industry experts think Spirit’s troubles indicate less-wealthy passengers will have fewer choices and higher prices. Other discount airlines are on better financial footing but also are lagging far behind the full-service airlines when it comes to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most industry experts think Frontier and other so-called ultra-low-cost carriers will fill the vacuum if Spirit shrinks, and that there's still plenty of competition to prevent prices from spiking. Bitcoin ticks closer to $100,000 in extended surge following US elections NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin is jumping again, setting another new high above $99,000 overnight. The cryptocurrency has been shattering records almost daily since the U.S. presidential election, and has rocketed more than 40% higher in just two weeks. It's now at the doorstep of $100,000. Cryptocurrencies and related investments like crypto exchange-traded funds have rallied because the incoming Trump administration is expected to be more “crypto-friendly.” Still, as with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is hard to predict. And while some are bullish, other experts continue to warn of investment risks. Australia rejects Elon Musk's claim that it plans to control access to the internet MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian Cabinet minister has rejected X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s allegation that the government intends to control all Australians' access to the internet through legislation that would ban young children from social media. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Friday that Musk’s criticism was “unsurprising” after the government introduced legislation to Parliament that would fine platforms including X up to $133 million for allowing children under 16 to hold social media accounts. The spat continues months of open hostility between the Australian government and the tech billionaire over regulators’ efforts to reduce public harm from social media. Parliament could pass the legislation as soon as next week. Oil company Phillips 66 faces federal charges related to alleged Clean Water Act violations LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oil company Phillips 66 has been federally indicted in connection with alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in California. The Texas-based company is accused of discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater containing excessive amounts of oil and grease. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment on Thursday. Phillips is charged with two counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act. An arraignment date has not been set. A spokesperson for the company said it was cooperating with prosecutors. US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishment U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department calls for Google to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions designed to prevent Android from favoring its search engine. Regulators also want to ban Google from forging multibillion-dollar deals to lock in its dominant search engine as the default option on Apple’s iPhone and other devices. What you need to know about the proposed measures designed to curb Google's search monopoly U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly. The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday could radically alter Google’s business. Regulators want Google to sell off its industry-leading Chrome web browser. They outlined a range of behavioral measures such as prohibiting Google from using search results to favor its own services such as YouTube, and forcing it to license search index data to its rivals. They're not going as far as to demand Google spin off Android, but are leaving that door open if the remedies don't work. Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground as it heads for a winning week NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks gained ground on Wall Street, keeping the market on track for its fifth gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% in afternoon trading Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 351 points and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts' estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called of its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. European markets were mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Crude oil prices gained ground. Apple and Google face UK investigation into mobile browser dominance LONDON (AP) — A British watchdog says Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers. The watchdog's report Friday recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year. The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker’s tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. The CMA’s report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers “the clearest or easiest option.” Apple said it disagreed with the findings. German auto supplier Bosch to cut 5,500 jobs in further sign of carmakers' woes FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's technology and services company Bosch is cutting its automotive division workforce by as many as 5,500 jobs in the next several years, in another sign of the headwinds hitting the German and global auto industries. The company cited stagnating global auto sales, too much factory capacity in the auto industry compared to sales prospects and a slower than expected transition to electric-powered, software-controlled vehicles. Some 3,500 of the job reductions would come before the end of 2027 and would hit the part of the company that develops driver assistance and automated driving technologies. About half those job reductions would be at locations in Germany. At least 15 people are sick in Minnesota from ground beef tied to E. coli recall U.S. health officials say at least 15 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 160,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat this week after Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, which can cause life-threatening infections. Symptoms of E. coli poisoning include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of dehydration.
Their ages vary. But a conspicuous handful of filmmaking lions in winter, or let’s say late autumn, have given us new reasons to be grateful for their work over the decades — even for the work that didn’t quite work. Which, yes, sounds like ingratitude. But do we even want more conventional or better-behaved work from talents such as Francis Ford Coppola? Even if we’re talking about “Megalopolis” ? If Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2” gave audiences a less morally complicated courtroom drama, would that have mattered, given Warner Bros.’ butt-headed decision to plop it in less than three dozen movie theaters in the U.S.? Coppola is 85. Eastwood is 94. Paul Schrader, whose latest film “Oh, Canada” arrives this week and is well worth seeking out, is a mere 78. Based on the 2021 Russell Banks novel “Foregone,” “Oh, Canada” is the story of a documentary filmmaker, played by Richard Gere, being interviewed near the end of his cancer-shrouded final days. In the Montreal home he shares with his wife and creative partner, played by Uma Thurman, he consents to the interview by two former students of his. Gere’s character, Leonard Fife, has no little contempt for these two, whom he calls “Mr. and Mrs. Ken Burns of Canada” with subtle disdain. As we learn over the artful dodges and layers of past and present, events imagined and/or real, Fife treats the interview as a final confession from a guarded and deceptive soul. He’s also a hero to everyone in the room, famous for his anti-Vietnam war political activism, and for the Frederick Wiseman-like inflection of his own films’ interview techniques. The real-life filmmaker name-checked in “Oh, Canada” is documentarian Errol Morris, whose straight-to-the-lens framing of interview subjects was made possible by his Interrotron device. In Schrader’s adaptation, Fife doesn’t want the nominal director (Michael Imperioli, a nicely finessed embodiment of a second-rate talent with first-rate airs) in his eyeline. Rather, as he struggles with hazy, self-incriminating memories of affairs, marriages, one-offs with a friend’s wife and a tense, brief reunion with the son he never knew, Fife wants only his wife, Emma — his former Goddard College student — in this metaphoric confessional. Schrader and his editor Benjamin Rodriguez Jr. treat the memories as on-screen flashbacks spanning from 1968 to 2023. At times, Gere and Thurman appear as their decades-young selves, without any attempt to de-age them, digitally or otherwise. (Thank god, I kind of hate that stuff in any circumstance.) In other sequences from Fife’s past, Jacob Elordi portrays Fife, with sly and convincing behavioral details linking his performance to Gere’s persona. We hear frequent voiceovers spoken by Gere about having ruined his life by age 24, at least spiritually or morally. Banks’ novel is no less devoted to a dying man’s addled but ardent attempt to come clean and own up to what has terrified him the most in the mess and joy of living: Honesty. Love. Commitment. There are elements of “Oh, Canada” that soften Banks’ conception of Fife, from the parentage of Fife’s abandoned son to the specific qualities of Gere’s performance. It has been 44 years since Gere teamed with Schrader on “American Gigolo,” a movie made by a very different filmmaker with very different preoccupations of hetero male hollowness. It’s also clearly the same director at work, I think. And Gere remains a unique camera object, with a stunning mastery of filling a close-up with an unblinking stillness conveying feelings easier left behind. The musical score is pretty watery, and with Schrader you always get a few lines of tortured rhetoric interrupting the good stuff. In the end, “Oh, Canada” has an extraordinarily simple idea at its core: That of a man with a movie camera, most of his life, now on the other side of the lens. Not easy. “I can’t tell the truth unless that camera’s on!” he barks at one point. I don’t think the line from the novel made it into Schrader’s script, but it too sums up this lion-in-winter feeling of truth without triumphal Hollywood catharsis. The interview, Banks wrote, is one’s man’s “last chance to stop lying.” It’s also a “final prayer,” dramatized by the Calvinist-to-the-bone filmmaker who made sure to include that phrase in his latest devotion to final prayers and missions of redemption. “Oh, Canada” — 3 stars (out of 4) No MPA rating (some language and sexual material) Running time: 1:34 How to watch: Opens in theaters Dec. 13, running 1in Chicago Dec. 13-19 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.; siskelfilmcenter.org Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.Quarterly net revenues were RMB539.4 million (US$76.9 million) 1 Quarterly lidar shipments were 134,208 units SHANGHAI, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hesai Group ("Hesai” or the "Company”), (NASDAQ: HSAI), the global leader in three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) solutions, today announced its unaudited financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Operational Highlights ended September 30, 2024 ended September 30, 2024 "We are thrilled to share that our business continues to thrive and advance on a strong growth path,” said Yifan "David” Li, Hesai's Co-Founder and CEO. "This quarter, we have made significant strides in the ADAS market, securing new design wins, partnerships, and development programs with key players, including a Top 3 OEM in Japan, SAIC Volkswagen, Leapmotor, and a premium EV brand backed by a leading Chinese automotive group. We also have reached a key milestone in our global expansion by successfully delivering B-sample units for our worldwide shipping programs with a leading global automotive OEM. OEMs at home and abroad have widely recognized lidar's essential safety features as a critical component in their holistic safety systems, similar to an 'active' seat belt or airbag. Furthermore, lidar's versatility, with applications in emerging areas such as industrial robotics, smart factories and logistics, continues to garner attention. Our latest flagship product, OT128, a 360° mechanical, automotive-grade long-range lidar, is designed for scalable deployment in robotaxi and industrial applications. We are actively exploring new use cases and engaging with customers across both ADAS and AM sectors, leveraging our full lineup of versatile lidars. "I am also delighted to announce that Andrew Fan has joined us as our Chief Financial Officer. Andrew brings a wealth of experience in financial strategy and corporate finance, as well as an impressive track record of driving growth and operational efficiency in dynamic industries. His insights and leadership will be invaluable as we navigate the evolving landscape and continue to strengthen our position in the global lidar industry,” Dr. Li continued. "Andrew's strategic vision aligns seamlessly with our goals, and I believe his commitment to innovation and financial rigor will help us unlock new levels of success. I am confident that with his expertise and dedication, we are well-positioned for another exciting chapter of growth and accomplishment.” Mr. Andrew Fan, Hesai's CFO, added, "Our strong third quarter financial performance was highlighted by robust operational execution across all key metrics. Quarterly shipment volume reached 134,208 units, marking our second consecutive quarter of nearly 50% sequential growth and propelling net revenues to RMB539.4 million (US$76.9 million), surpassing the upper range of our guidance. We maintained a robust blended gross margin of 47.7%, driven by effective cost management and our flywheel approach to cost and scale optimization. The margin was further bolstered by NRE revenues from our L4 lidar, which is being prepared for potential large-scale deployment by a leading global robotaxi player in the coming years. Our strong commitment to operational efficiency and financial discipline has also enabled us to consistently reduce our GAAP net loss for four consecutive quarters. Looking ahead, we're expecting a record-breaking fourth quarter, with lidar shipments projected to reach 200,000 units-an astounding volume nearly matching our total shipments in 2023. Based on our current estimates, fourth quarter net revenues are expected to soar to nearly US$100 million, delivering an estimated net profit of US$20 million and a positive operating cash flow. Additionally, we anticipate achieving full-year profitability on a non-GAAP basis for 2024, positioning us to become the first automotive lidar company worldwide to achieve this remarkable milestone. This anticipated explosive growth underscores our robust momentum as we drive toward a landmark fiscal year finish!” Mr. Fan has over 18 years of experience in accounting and corporate financing. From May 2021 to September 2024, Mr. Fan held the position of chief financial officer at a leading automotive technology company. Prior to that, Mr. Fan held senior finance-related roles at listed companies including Hailiang Education Group Inc., Aesthetic Medical International Holdings Group Limited, and Dali Foods Group Company Limited, and various roles at financial institutions including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Macquarie. Additionally, Mr. Fan has served as an independent non-executive director of Jiangsu Innovative Ecological New Materials Limited (HKEX: 2116) since 2018. Mr. Fan graduated from Tsinghua University, with bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting in 2004 and 2006, respectively. (in RMB millions, except for per ordinary share data and percentage) For the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company expects net revenues to approach US$100 million (RMB702 million). The above outlook is based on the current market conditions and reflects the Company's preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject to change. Conference Call The Company's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time on November 25, 2024 (9:00 AM Beijing/Hong Kong Time on November 26, 2024). For participants who wish to join the call by phone, please access the link provided below to complete the pre-registration process and dial in 5 minutes prior to the scheduled call start time. Upon registration, each participant will receive dial-in details to join the conference call. A replay of the conference call will be accessible approximately an hour after the conclusion of the call until December 3, 2024, by dialing the following telephone numbers: Hesai is the global leader in three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) solutions. The Company's lidar products enable a broad spectrum of applications across passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle fleets (autonomous mobility). Hesai's technology also empowers robotics applications such as last-mile delivery robots and logistics robots in restricted areas. The Company's commercially validated solutions are backed by superior R&D capabilities across optics, mechanics, and electronics. Hesai integrates lidar designs with an in-house manufacturing process, facilitating rapid product development while ensuring high performance, consistent quality and affordability. Hesai has established strong relationships with leading automotive OEMs, autonomous vehicle, and robotics companies worldwide, covering over 40 countries as of December 31, 2023. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement Hesai's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, Hesai uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC: loss from operation excluding share-based compensation expenses, net loss excluding share-based compensation expenses, net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders excluding share-based compensation, and per ordinary share net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders excluding share-based compensation. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned "Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results” set forth at the end of this release. Hesai believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity by excluding share-based compensation expenses that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. Hesai believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to Hesai's historical performance and liquidity. Hesai believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude share-based compensation expenses that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in our business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP financial measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures. Exchange Rate Information This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB are made at a rate of RMB7.0176 to US$1.00, the exchange rate on September 30, 2024, set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or U.S. dollars amounts referred could be converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will,” "expects,” "anticipates,” "aims,” "future,” "intends,” "plans,” "believes,” "estimates,” "confident,” "potential,” "continue” or other similar expressions. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC”), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's goals and strategies; the Company's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; expected changes in the Company's revenues, costs or expenditures; the trends in, expected growth and the market size of the ADAS, autonomous mobility and robotics industries; the market for and adoption of lidar and related technology; the Company's ability to produce high-quality products with wide market acceptance; the success of the Company's customers in developing and commercializing products using its solutions, and the market acceptance of those products; the Company's ability to introduce new products that meet its customers' requirement; the Company's expectations regarding the effectiveness of its marketing initiatives and the relationship with its third-party partners; competition in the Company's industry; the Company's ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the Company's industry; the Company's ability to protect its systems and infrastructures from cyber-attacks; general economic and business conditions globally and in China; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: Hesai Group Yuanting "YT” Shi, Investor Relations Director Email: [email protected] Piacente Financial Communications Jenny Cai Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677 Email: [email protected] In the United States: Piacente Financial Communications Brandi Piacente Tel: +1-212-481-2050 Email: [email protected] Source: Hesai Group UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (All amounts in thousands, except share and per share data and otherwise noted) 2023 2024
The waiting game is nothing new to Kyle Walters. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * The waiting game is nothing new to Kyle Walters. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? The waiting game is nothing new to Kyle Walters. Patience is a necessity at this time of year when you’re the general manager of a successful organization that every other franchise wants a piece of. There are dozens of balls in the air once again for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ experienced GM, who may need to navigate personnel changes in the front office and to the coaching staff before he truly begins the negotiation process with the club’s pending free agents. JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS Blue Bombers GM Kyle Walters could have a number of vacancies to fill on his coaching staff this offseason. “It’s an interesting one this year with where we’re at,” Walters said Tuesday during his 25-minute end-of-season press conference at Princess Auto Stadium. “(Head coach) Mike (O’Shea) and I have had a couple of preliminary conversations on this sort of stuff. But it’s an interesting year that until we get our staff settled... at some point we’ll have a little bit more in-depth discussions.” Potential changes on the coaching staff could come at offensive co-ordinator, as Buck Pierce is being interviewed for head coaching positions in B.C. and Edmonton. The Bombers have also given permission to the Ottawa Redblacks to interview respected defensive assistant Richie Hall for their vacant defensive co-ordinator position. Then there’s assistant GMs Ted Goveia and Danny McManus, who are reportedly both being interviewed for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM position. When the dust settles on those names, there will be 28 players in need of a new contract, and Walters will need to make several tough decisions on who stays and who goes before free agency begins Feb. 11, while staying below the CFL’s salary cap of $5.76 million. He already took care of one, signing kicker Sergio Castillo to a one-year deal last week. Another player, who Walters would not name, was offered a workout with a team in the National Football League. “This year we’re slightly better off than in years past by just the number of guys that are back and where we’re at,” said Walters, who had to navigate 36 pending free agents last off-season. “It never goes quick or smooth once the agents get involved. You may have an idea of a plan and that plan may go awry and there’s so many different discussions you have to be able to pivot depending on how things go through the next couple of months.” The biggest names include Brandon Alexander, Stanley Bryant, Liam Dobson, Tyrell Ford, TyJuan Garbutt, Evan Holm, Willie Jefferson, Tony Jones, Kenny Lawler, Eric Lofton, Patrick Neufeld, Jake Thomas and Kyrie Wilson. Ford and Holm are expected to be two of the most coveted young talents if they reach the open market. Losing Ford would be especially costly, as he is a Canadian playing a position that is traditionally occupied by an American player. The trickiest negotiations, Walters explained, can be with players who are working their back from a season-ending injury. There can be a big difference in the perceived value of the player between the organization and the agent. This year, that includes Adam Bighill, Dalton Schoen, Chris Streveler and Jamal Parker Jr. “(Head coach) Mike (O’Shea) and I have had a couple of preliminary conversations on this sort of stuff. But it’s an interesting year that until we get our staff settled... at some point we’ll have a little bit more in-depth discussions.” “Nobody’s interested in taking pay cuts. That’s the first one right there. Every single agent and every single player at the very least would expect to come back for what they’ve made. That’s the bare minimum, from their end, starting point,” Walters said. “Now, organizationally we may have a different view of, ‘At this point in your career we no longer see you at this price point, but we see you at this price point.’ And that’s when the fun starts, I guess.” There are a couple of factors that make this off-season particularly interesting for the Blue and Gold and how the team’s architects will approach it. None are greater than Winnipeg hosting the 112th Grey Cup next season. The timing of it couldn’t be better for where the organization is. The Bombers are coming off a third consecutive loss in the Grey Cup and many of its core players are on the wrong side of 30, leaving one more opportunity to run it back with its aging nucleus before transitioning to a new era. That transition already started last off-season when the club let some key veterans walk while giving raises to the likes of Schoen and Brady Oliveira. That also meant the team had to sacrifice at some critical positions such as returner, which was a sore spot all season and most noticeably during the playoffs as Lucky Whitehead fumbled in the Western Final and the Grey Cup. On that note, Walters is comfortable with the young talent in the building. He also isn’t buying the idea that there’s more pressure on the Bombers to be aggressive during a year it is hosting the big game. “The experience they got was invaluable,” said Walters. “...the thought process certainly is in our league, Canadian or American, (that) the growth from your first year of contributing to your second year is monumental. So we expect our young guys to come back and they’ll be much further along, you’re going to see that.” “There’s no secret to we’re really going to try this year because we’re hosting the Grey Cup. I mean, it’s no different from year to year and once we get settled in the offseason and start putting our roster together that we think can really win the Grey Cup,” he said, while adding the club would not exceed the salary cap next season. While Walters hinted the situation would need to align perfectly, this offseason also serves up an opportunity for the Bombers to set themselves up for an easy transition to their next era of quarterbacks. While Zach Collaros did not directly say next year would be his last, the lasting impression from last week’s player portion of end-of-season interviews was the veteran pivot would hang em’ up after 2025. With his contract expiring at the end of next season, things could align perfectly for a quarterback — young or experienced — to sit for a season before taking the reins. “It’ll be an interesting off-season from a quarterback standpoint of Tre (Ford), McLeod (Bethel-Thompson), where do all these free agents end up, and who’s kind of the odd man out in regards to a starting position,” said Walters. PETER POWER / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Finding an eventual heir for quarterback Zach Collaros is something the Bombers will be considering in the offseason. “And then can you add an experienced player maybe as a No. 2 in your room that’s won some games, that’s started some games.” Shortly after Walters’s press conference ended, news broke the B.C. Lions had traded quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to the Calgary Stampeders, toppling the biggest player domino of the offseason less than a week after the season ended. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Ideally, Walters said, the Bombers would land a younger talent that could set them up for another long run of great play at the most important position. He also believes there could be another veteran option out there for the club to target once Collaros retires. “(The) primary focus is putting a roster together to win the Grey Cup next year, and then worrying about the following year. Which is interesting in our league with all the one-year contracts. You’ve seen teams have massive turnaround on their roster. “All the frustration of one-year contracts, there is certainly the option for a quick fix for lack of a better term. It does allow you to focus year-to-year at times.” joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca X: @jfreysam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the . Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He’s reported primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports and writes a weekly real estate feature for the business section. . Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the . Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He’s reported primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports and writes a weekly real estate feature for the business section. . Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement
Cincinnati Financial Corp. stock rises Tuesday, still underperforms market
$2B+ in Data Center Projects Planned for Merrillville, Ind.
President-elect Donald Trump (Image: AP/Brandon Bell) Too bad if you’re a US company, like an automobile manufacturer, reliant on imports from Mexico. Donald Trump just promised to impose a 25% tax on your supply chain, along with everything else imported from Mexico. And Canada. The fact Trump himself negotiated and signed a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020, is apparently irrelevant. And he’s announced a 10% “just for starters” tariff on Chinese imports. In response — even though Trump won’t be inaugurated for another two months — sharemarkets fell, but the US dollar rose (sending the Australian dollar falling further). The greenback had already risen against major currencies after Trump’s victory on November 5, and will likely appreciate every time the president-elect announces new tariffs — until markets price in the full effect of the tariff wall Trump has promised to erect around America. Each appreciation of the dollar will further erode the competitiveness of US exports and improve the competitiveness of imports against American products — undermining the very point of Trump’s taxes. Given how little grasp he appears to have about who bears the costs of tariffs, Trump will possibly react by simply increasing tariffs further. Along with his promise to deport every undocumented worker in the country, inflicting serious labour shortages on industries like construction and agriculture that depend on illegal immigrants for much of their workforce, and his threats to curtail the independence of the Federal Reserve, the tariffs will make for extremely uncertain times for US business — and investors in the US. Da pacem, Domine: Why Trump is what democracy needs Read More Prominent among such investors is Australia’s Future Fund. Page 61 of the Fund’s 2023-24 annual report reveals that 43% of its $229.7 billion in assets are located in America via a heavy US weighting of listed and private equity, property, infrastructure and credit. That compares to just 27% of its assets invested in Australia, and is up from 39% in 2022-23. That’s a substantial change from before the pandemic: in 2019-20, Australia held the biggest share of the Future Fund’s assets — 39% against 31% for the US. The shift has also been lucrative for the Fund, which has benefitted from a stronger performance of Wall Street. US stocks have had a huge run since the start of 2023 with a 54% gain for the S&P 500, much of that coming from stocks like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon. That index is up 26% this year to date against a 9.8% rise for the Australian ASX 200. But what about from here? It is hard to see how Trump’s tariffs, deportations and intervention in monetary policy will do anything else than damage US investor and consumer confidence, help slow the fall in inflationary pressures both in America and globally, reduce US exports and eventually undermine stock markets. Trump’s first presidency doesn’t appear to be a reliable guide: Wall Street rose by more than 40% during his first stint in the White House, but much of that was due to a huge pandemic surge from March 2020 that had little to do with Trump. What measures and hedging is the Fund putting in place to curb the risk posed by the next Trump presidency? An update on how it views the risks of its heavy investment in the US economy would be worthwhile — especially given the government is pressuring the fund to invest more in its favoured sectors here in Australia. It would be good to know if any shifts in weightings are because of risk management, rather than being responsive to Jim Chalmers’ interference. Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au . Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say . We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.