Stocks drifted higher on Wall Street in midday trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped boost the market. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1%. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19 points, or 0.1%, as of 12:32 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was up less than 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.9%, Intel was up 0.7% and Apple gained 0.4%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.2%. Meta Platforms fell 0.9%, Amazon was down 0.5%, and Netflix gave up 1.4%. Health care stocks also helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.9% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3.3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.9%, Best Buy was up 2.1% and Dollar Tree gained 2.2%. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4.1% and 15.8%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.61% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.Ramadoss-Anbumani face off as PMK’s general council meeting turns stormyBetween September 14 and November 24, 1944, the Red Army carried out a massive counteroffensive in the Baltic region, with the operation involving some 1.5 mln troops, 17,500 guns and heavy mortars, 3,000+ tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces, and over 2,600 aircraft. Arrayed against them was Nazi Germany’s battle-hardened Army Group North, including over 571,500 troops, 7,000 guns and mortars, 1,200+ tanks and assault guns and 400 aircraft, plus 43,000 Hiwi SS auxiliary volunteers recruited among the local population. In battles stretching across a front up to 1,000 km in length and 400 km in depth, forces from the Leningrad Front, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts, the 3rd Belorussian Front and the Baltic Fleet smashed through heavily echeloned and fortified defenses, with the main thrust of the operation initially directed toward Riga, Latvia before being redirected toward the strategic Lithuanian Baltic Sea port of Klaipeda – a move which surprised Wehrmacht commanders and ultimately led to the pocketing of as many as 200,000 German troops from the 16th and 18th Armies in the so-called Courland Pocket, western Latvia, where they would remain trapped until the end of the war in May 1945. Soviet map of the Baltic Operation showing its progression between September and November 1944. Note the formation of the so-called Courland Pocket, which trapped hundreds of thousands of Wehrmacht troops in western Latvia. © Photo : Ministry of Defense of the USSR The Estonian capital of Tallinn was liberated on September 26, with Riga taken on October 22. Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, had been freed earlier in mid-July 1944 as part of the third phase of the summer counteroffensive. From September 29-November 24, Soviet forces engaged the Nazis in fierce fighting for the west Estonian archipelago of Moonsund. Overall German losses included over 200,000 troops, 33,500 of whom became POWs. 61,648 Soviet troops were killed, with left 218,622 injured or sick. 112 Red Army servicemen and officers were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title. 332,000 received other medals and orders. Ruins in the ancient Latvian capital of Riga, which suffered greatly in fierce street-to-street and house-to-house fighting between German and Soviet forces in September and October 1944. Significant resources were committed toward painstakingly rebuilding the Old City after the war. © Sputnik / Yan Tichonov Why Was the Baltic Operation Important? The German defeat in the Baltics opened the door to East Prussia, cut off key transport arteries and deprived Berlin of farmland, and oil shale processing plants in Estonia which provided the Nazis some 500,000 tons of petroleum products per year. Soviet and Russian historians have dubbed the Baltic Operation the eighth of “ ” – ten strategic offensives carried out in 1944 which culminated in the liberation of the western Soviet Union, and pushed the front into eastern Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary. The defeat also had important ideological implications, not least of which being Adolf Hitler’s plans to resettle the Baltics with ethnic Germans, and deport or exterminate the local population. These ambitions were based in Nazi lore of the ancient German knights’ conquest of the region in the 13th century, which reduced local populations to serfdom status. The Baltics were also key to Hitler’s “Final Solution” for Jews, Roma, Russians, and local antifascist fighters, with Latvia alone home to 23 concentration camps and 18 ghettos. Wehrmacht troops surrender en masse during the operation to liberate Vilnius. 1944. © Sputnik How is the Baltic Operation Remembered Today? While more than 200,000 ethnic Balts served in the Red Army during WWII (including over 108,000 Lithuanians, 85,000 Latvians, and up to 30,000 Estonians), their heroism, and that of the other Soviet troops who liberated the Baltics from the Nazis, has largely been forgotten by the three countries’ modern governments, whose nationalism and lionization of local SS volunteers, rewriting of history books and demolition of monuments to the Red Army have echoed processes taking place in Ukraine following the 2005 color revolution and the 2014 coup. 22 September, 15:39 GMT The modern-day Baltic states’ political class has been characterized by unparalleled disdain for Russia within the EU and NATO, and cheerleading for Kiev in the NATO-sponsored proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Their efforts have taken a heavy toll on the three nations’ welfare and even basic demographic viability, with the Baltics suffering among the highest rates of deindustrialization and depopulation among the post-Soviet republics. Between 1991 and 2023, the populations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania dropped from 1.5 to 1.3 mln (14%), 2.6 to 1.8 mln (31%) and 3.7 to 2.8 mln (25%), respectively. 14 December 2022, 13:06 GMT
Trump says Russia abandoned AssadKate Middleton is expected to take a big step to end the ongoing rift between her husband, Prince William, and brother-in-law, Prince Harry, now that she has completed her preventative chemotherapy, a royal expert has claimed. Kate, the Princess of Wales, may forgive the Duke of Sussex over his very public attacks against her and the Royal family. However, William is still "very, very angry,” said royal expert Katie Nicholl. Speaking with The Sun, the experts said Kate's experience with cancer may have given her a new perspective on life, leading her to prioritize healing the royal family's rift. “Kate’s been thrown under the bus by Harry, he’s said hurtful things about her, he’s brought the children into the narrative,” she said. “I think the Prince of Wales remains very, very angry and upset and feels very betrayed.” The expert added, “Possibly the Princess of Wales is still open to a reconciliation in some form. I still feel it’s quite early. “But I do think when you go through something like a cancer diagnosis and you go through the sort of journey that she has done, and you confront your own mortality, you realise life is short. It’s far too short for rifts and family feuds.” She continued: “And perhaps that will be a role that she will play at some point in healing that rift, because I think we look to the royal family as a symbol of unity. “We will want to see them together at Christmas, this will be the sixth Christmas that Harry won’t have been a part of. “I do think it's important. It may be that people are making these comments on social media where you’re talking about togetherness, talking about empathy, what’s going on in your own family, and they are at risk of that happening.”Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes $372,000 Position in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)
Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump’s most contentious picksMotorcar parts of america director Philip Gay buys $35,100 in stock
By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.Shopping on Shein and Temu for holiday gifts? You're not the only oneMiami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is a Cincinnati Bengals fan for the moment as he publicly hopes for them to defeat the visiting Denver Broncos and keep the Fins' playoff hopes alive. Entering Saturday, the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos occupy the final two AFC Wild Card spots at 9-6. The Dolphins, Bengals and Indianapolis Colts are all alive for the playoffs at 7-8, but they will all be eliminated Saturday if the Bolts and Broncos take care of business against the New England Patriots and Cincinnati, respectively. This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .
The Global Battle for Rare Earth MetalsFacebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. Questions about Gillian’s Wonderland finances draw angry response from Mita Absecon police detain suspect in dollar store robbery Pleasantville man accused of murdering girlfriend Northfield intersection to become four-way stop 4 Bridgeton men indicted in alleged sex trafficking ring Northfield Councilman Leeds resigns, citing concerns over Mayor Chau's criminal charges Atlantic City mayor waives first appearance on witness tampering charge Wonderland developer to pitch vision again Wednesday at Ocean City Tabernacle Former Galloway gymnastics co-owner accused of sex with minor to remain in jail These South Jersey bars and restaurants have transformed into holiday wonderlands Some Atlantic City casino workers call on union boss to resign for opposing a smoking ban Atlantic County suing NJ Juvenile Justice Commission over placement of youth offenders Longport administrator and former police chief Scott Porter dies District overspending main focus for new Atlantic City school board member Ron Bailey 9-year-old Margate boy wins tautog tourney in Ventnor: Shep On Fishing By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Osheen Jain Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China. DONNA EDWARDSAssociated Press By KATIE WORKMAN Associated Press By JESSICA DAMIANO Associated Press Brooke CainThe Bradenton Herald(TNS) The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
Live: Attorney-General declines to describe arson attack on synagogue as 'terrorism'