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Residents and officials of Temecula will greet 2025 on Tuesday night with a salute to fruit, lowering a batch of grapes from the city’s clock tower to mark the final moments of the current year — on New York time — and welcome the New Year. The annual “grape drop” celebration will begin at 6 p.m. in Town Square Park , which will undergo a temporary conversion to a Times Square-themed venue for celebrations on the last night of 2024. Unlike in previous years, this one will feature only one grape drop, coinciding with the traditional extravaganza in New York City. In prior years, there were up to three drops, joining festivities on the East Coast, in the Midwest and finally West Coast. Toward the end of the 2010s, the drops were narrowed to two, celebrating the New York ball drop, and then the arrival of midnight in California. There was no explanation for the celebration narrowing to one event. A large cluster of illuminated grapes, measuring 12-by-7 feet, will be gradually reeled down 65 feet from the third story of the Civic Center clock tower, marking the seconds before midnight eastern time, or 9 p.m. Pacific. We have launched our year-end campaign. Our goal: Raise $50,000 by Dec. 31. Help us get there. Times of San Diego is devoted to producing timely, comprehensive news about San Diego County. Your donation helps keep our work free-to-read, funds reporters who cover local issues and allows us to write stories that hold public officials accountable. Join the growing list of donors investing in our community's long-term future. The countdown celebration will be open to the public outside Temecula City Hall and will feature live music by Bad Chemistry and Groove Squad , food vendors, and children’s activities, including a “giant slide.” A local “drone show” is planned just ahead of the Times Square celebration. City officials are expected to stop by, and public safety personnel will be on hand. The party is slated to wrap at 10 p.m. Tuesday. All of the grape drop celebrations, which began over a decade ago, have been in person except for the 2020-21 event, which was entirely virtual, broadcast via the city’s social media channels, because of the COVID lockdowns. Temecula Valley is home to dozens of vintners, and grapes are the staple product. Get Our Free Daily Email Newsletter Get the latest local and California news from Times of San Diego delivered to your inbox at 8 a.m. daily. Sign up for our free email newsletter and be fully informed of the most important developments.Russia stocks lower at close of trade; MOEX Russia Index down 2.06%Kansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn't work out so well
The value of global music copyright surged to $45.5 billion in 2023, marking an 11% increase from the previous year. This reflects the growing economic strength of music rights, which were valued at $25 billion in 2014. If current trends continue, music copyright could double in value over a decade. Record Labels And Streaming: Key Drivers Of Growth According to economist Will Page ‘s annual industry report ( via Billboard), record labels accounted for the largest share of the music copyright market, generating $28.5 billion in 2023—a 21% year-over-year increase. See Also: Apple Music Launched A $450 Limited-Edition Coffee Table Book: ‘100 Best Albums’ Streaming continued to dominate revenue sources, with a 10.4% growth rate. Physical music sales also performed strongly, as vinyl sales rose 15.4%, outpacing CDs in many regions. Page predicted vinyl could become a $3 billion industry by 2028, driven by higher unit prices and global demand. Major publicly traded record labels such as Universal Music Group NV UMGNF , Warner Music Group Corp WMG , and Sony Group Corp ‘s SONY Sony Music Entertainment were among the primary beneficiaries of these trends. UMG, for instance, reported $3.2 billion in Q3 2024 revenue, showing strong performance fueled by streaming and physical sales. Shifting Dynamics In Songwriter Royalties Moreover, collective management organizations (CMOs), which collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers, saw revenues rise by 11% to $12.9 billion in 2023. Digital collections from CMOs have now surpassed those from broadcast and radio, reflecting the dominance of streaming platforms over traditional media. However, publishers are increasingly turning to direct licensing agreements, bypassing CMOs to avoid administrative delays and fees. "A song that spikes in mid-March, for example, takes 201 days to pay the artist and 383 days to pay the songwriter," Page explained. These delays can erode a third of songwriter revenue due to transaction costs. Music Surpasses Cinema The music industry's recovery following the pandemic has enabled it to overtake cinema in terms of economic output. In 2023, music was 38% larger than cinema, a stark contrast to 2019 when cinema led by 33%. Music copyright figures reflect trade revenue that benefits rights holders, while cinema's $33.2 billion box office revenues are divided between distribution and production. Companies like Live Nation Entertainment LYV , which operate in recorded music and live performance sectors, have capitalized on this momentum. Streaming’s Global Trade Advantage Streaming platforms have created new opportunities for artists from regions with lower royalty rates. North America and Europe, which account for 80% of streaming revenue growth, provide significantly higher payouts compared to Latin America and Asia. For example, Colombian artists like J. Balvin and Shakira earned nearly $100 million from U.S. streams in 2023, six times what they would have generated in their home country. Publicly traded streaming platforms such as Spotify Technology SA SPOT and Tencent Music Entertainment TME play a crucial role in this dynamic. Spotify benefits from premium subscription revenues in high-value markets, while Tencent Music caters to large audiences in Asia with a range of streaming and social entertainment services. Read Next: Spotify Stock Climbs Despite Q3 EPS Miss, Revenue Beat (CORRECTED) Cover image made using artificial intelligence via Dall-E. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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Fans speculate there could be a secret new Strictly Come Dancing couple after pair share sizzling Instagram postTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there's one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That's because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn't been enforced since 2018. Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldn't touch it. “Kansas did that 10 years ago,” said Schwab, a Republican. “It didn’t work out so well.” Steven Fish, a 45-year-old warehouse worker in eastern Kansas, said he understands the motivation behind the law. In his thinking, the state was like a store owner who fears getting robbed and installs locks. But in 2014, after the birth of his now 11-year-old son inspired him to be “a little more responsible” and follow politics, he didn’t have an acceptable copy of his birth certificate to get registered to vote in Kansas. “The locks didn’t work,” said Fish, one of nine Kansas residents who sued the state over the law. “You caught a bunch of people who didn’t do anything wrong.” Kansas' experience appeared to receive little if any attention outside the state as Republicans elsewhere pursued proof-of-citizenship requirements this year. Arizona enacted a requirement this year, applying it to voting for state and local elections but not for Congress or president. The Republican-led U.S. House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the summer and plans to bring back similar legislation after the GOP won control of the Senate in November. In Ohio, the Republican secretary of state revised the form that poll workers use for voter eligibility challenges to require those not born in the U.S. to show naturalization papers to cast a regular ballot. A federal judge declined to block the practice days before the election. Also, sizable majorities of voters in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and the presidential swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin were inspired to amend their state constitutions' provisions on voting even though the changes were only symbolic. Provisions that previously declared that all U.S. citizens could vote now say that only U.S. citizens can vote — a meaningless distinction with no practical effect on who is eligible. To be clear, voters already must attest to being U.S. citizens when they register to vote and noncitizens can face fines, prison and deportation if they lie and are caught. “There is nothing unconstitutional about ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, the leading sponsor of the congressional proposal, said in an email statement to The Associated Press. After Kansas residents challenged their state's law, both a federal judge and federal appeals court concluded that it violated a law limiting states to collecting only the minimum information needed to determine whether someone is eligible to vote. That's an issue Congress could resolve. The courts ruled that with “scant” evidence of an actual problem, Kansas couldn't justify a law that kept hundreds of eligible citizens from registering for every noncitizen who was improperly registered. A federal judge concluded that the state’s evidence showed that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote from 1999 through 2012 — an average of just three a year. In 2013, then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who had built a national reputation advocating tough immigration laws, described the possibility of voting by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as a serious threat. He was elected attorney general in 2022 and still strongly backs the idea, arguing that federal court rulings in the Kansas case “almost certainly got it wrong.” Kobach also said a key issue in the legal challenge — people being unable to fix problems with their registrations within a 90-day window — has probably been solved. “The technological challenge of how quickly can you verify someone’s citizenship is getting easier,” Kobach said. “As time goes on, it will get even easier.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Kansas case in 2020. But in August, it split 5-4 in allowing Arizona to continue enforcing its law for voting in state and local elections while a legal challenge goes forward. Seeing the possibility of a different Supreme Court decision in the future, U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt says states and Congress should pursue proof-of-citizenship requirements. Schmidt was the Kansas attorney general when his state's law was challenged. "If the same matter arose now and was litigated, the facts would be different," he said in an interview. But voting rights advocates dismiss the idea that a legal challenge would turn out differently. Mark Johnson, one of the attorneys who fought the Kansas law, said opponents now have a template for a successful court fight. “We know the people we can call," Johnson said. “We know that we’ve got the expert witnesses. We know how to try things like this.” He predicted "a flurry — a landslide — of litigation against this.” Initially, the Kansas requirement's impacts seemed to fall most heavily on politically unaffiliated and young voters. As of fall 2013, 57% of the voters blocked from registering were unaffiliated and 40% were under 30. But Fish was in his mid-30s, and six of the nine residents who sued over the Kansas law were 35 or older. Three even produced citizenship documents and still didn’t get registered, according to court documents. “There wasn’t a single one of us that was actually an illegal or had misinterpreted or misrepresented any information or had done anything wrong,” Fish said. He was supposed to produce his birth certificate when he sought to register in 2014 while renewing his Kansas driver's license at an office in a strip mall in Lawrence. A clerk wouldn't accept the copy Fish had of his birth certificate. He still doesn't know where to find the original, having been born on an Air Force base in Illinois that closed in the 1990s. Several of the people joining Fish in the lawsuit were veterans, all born in the U.S., and Fish said he was stunned that they could be prevented from registering. Liz Azore, a senior adviser to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said millions of Americans haven't traveled outside the U.S. and don't have passports that might act as proof of citizenship, or don't have ready access to their birth certificates. She and other voting rights advocates are skeptical that there are administrative fixes that will make a proof-of-citizenship law run more smoothly today than it did in Kansas a decade ago. “It’s going to cover a lot of people from all walks of life,” Avore said. “It’s going to be disenfranchising large swaths of the country.” Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 21, 2024-- Sunny Health & Fitness , a trailblazer in cardio equipment for over 20 years, is entering an exciting new phase of innovation and evolution. As a leader in the fitness industry, Sunny is not only enhancing its cardio offerings with cutting-edge technology to elevate users' fitness journeys but is also expanding into a comprehensive, one-stop lifestyle brand. With the launch of the Sunny Strength Line , the brand is redefining strength training with a sleek, high-performance collection designed for the fit, design-conscious consumer. This marks a bold new chapter in Sunny’s growth, delivering style, power, and innovation to home gyms everywhere at an affordable price. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241221265768/en/ From Strength to Strength - Unveiling the Sunny Strength Line (Photo: Business Wire) Strength, Style, and Innovation—Designed for the Modern Home Gym The Sunny Strength Line represents the perfect fusion of power and aesthetics. Whether you're an emerging athlete or just someone who values top-quality fitness gear at home, this collection delivers both superior performance and eye-catching design. From heavy-duty machines like racks, benches, and smith machines to stylish free weights, dumbbells, bars, and accessories, every product is engineered to meet the needs of those who want to build muscle and enhance strength, all while maintaining the sleek, modern look of their living spaces. Explore the Sunny Strength video to see how power meets style in this new strength training equipment line: https://youtu.be/j7KcpKa1iyE . Sunny Health & Fitness understands that today’s fitness enthusiasts demand equipment that not only performs but also complements their lifestyle. The Sunny Strength Line was created with versatility, functionality, and design in mind, giving you everything you need to take your strength training to the next level without compromising on the aesthetic of your home gym. With a thoughtfully curated color palette, this is strength training that combines exceptional performance with stunning design. Performance-Driven Strength Training for Every Fitness Journey Building muscle and enhancing strength are cornerstones of living a healthy and active lifestyle, and the Sunny Strength Line is specifically designed to support individuals in achieving these goals. Whether you’re a beginner or want to train like a pro, the line’s diverse range of products ensures there’s an ideal solution for every fitness level and training style. This equipment is built to deliver maximum performance, allowing users to progress efficiently in their strength training and take their fitness to new heights. Sunny Health & Fitness is committed to helping people not only get stronger but also get smarter about their fitness journey. The SunnyFit app , a key part of their digital transformation, offers personalized workout plans, fitness tracking, and progress monitoring—guiding users as they level up their performance. With this seamless integration of high-quality equipment and cutting-edge technology, the Sunny Strength Line provides everything you need to build muscle, boost endurance, and achieve long-term success. About Sunny Health & Fitness For more than two decades, Sunny Health & Fitness has been a leader in the fitness industry, providing affordable, high-quality solutions for home and commercial gyms alike. With its expanding range of strength equipment and digital tools like the SunnyFit app , the company is dedicated to helping individuals reach their fitness goals with style, innovation, and performance. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241221265768/en/ CONTACT: Hanna Kim (626) 968-1000 hannak@sunnyhealthfitness.comVisit website:SunnyHealthFitness.com Download SunnyFit now:SunnyFit.com KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE MEN LIFESTYLE SPECIALTY CONSUMER ELECTRONICS CONSUMER APPS/APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY FITNESS & NUTRITION RETAIL WOMEN HEALTH HOME GOODS SOURCE: Sunny Health & Fitness Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/21/2024 06:00 PM/DISC: 12/21/2024 06:00 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241221265768/en
How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 11/25/2024NEW YORK — More shoppers than ever are on track to use 'buy now, pay later' plans this holiday season, as the ability to spread out payments looks attractive at a time when Americans still feel the lingering effect of inflation and already have record-high credit card debt. The data firm Adobe Analytics predicts shoppers will spend 11.4% more this holiday season using buy now, pay later than they did a year ago. The company forecasts shoppers will purchase $18.5 billion worth of goods using the third-party services for the period Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, with $993 million worth of purchases on Cyber Monday alone. Buy now, pay later can be particularly appealing to consumers who have low credit scores or no credit history, such as younger shoppers, because most of the companies providing the service run only soft credit checks and don't report the loans and payment histories to the credit bureaus, unlike credit card companies. This holiday season, buy now, pay later users can also feel more confident if a transaction goes awry. In May, the CFPB said buy now, pay later company must adhere to other regulations that govern traditional credit, such as providing ways to demand refunds and dispute transactions. To use a buy now, pay later plan, consumers typically sign up with bank account information or a debit or credit card, and agree to pay for purchases in monthly installments, typically over eight weeks or more. The loans are marketed as requiring no or low interest, or only conditional fees, such as for late payment. Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm are three of the biggest buy now, pay later companies. But consumer advocates warn that shoppers who sign up for the payment plans using a credit card can be hit with more interest and fees. That's because individuals open themselves up to interest on the credit card payment, if it's carried month to month, on top of any late fees, interest, or penalties from the buy now, pay later loan itself. Experts advise against using a credit card to pay for these plans for this reason. Consumer watchdogs also say the plans lead consumers to overextend themselves because, for example, not paying full price up front leaves, in the shopper's mind at least, more money for smaller purchases. They also caution consumers to keep careful track of using multiple buy now, pay later services, as the automatic payments can add up, and there is no central reporting, such as with a credit card statement. "Buy now, pay later can be an innovative tool for purchases you're going to make anyway," said Mark Elliott, chief customer officer at financial services company LendingClub. "The challenge is that it does fuel overspending." For merchants, that's part of the appeal. Retailers have found that customers are more likely to have bigger cart sizes or to convert from browsing to checking out when buy now, pay later is offered. One report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York cited research that found customers spend 20% more when buy now, pay later is available. "The reality is that the increased cost-of-living and inflation have put more people in a situation where they're already relying on revolving credit," Elliott said. "The psychographics of 'buy now, pay later' may be different — people don't think of it as debt — but it is." If a consumer misses a payment, they can face fees, interest, or the possibility of being locked out of using the services in the future. Emily Childers, consumer financial expert for personal-finance technology company Credit Karma, said that internal data shows member credit card balances are up more than 50% for Gen Z and millennial members since March 2022, when the Fed started raising interest rates. "Young people are entering this holiday season already in the red," she said. "And, based on what we're seeing in the data, they're continuing to bury their heads in the sand and spend."
Level Transmitters Market Report 2024: Global Industry Trends, Market Challenges, Size Overview, Growth Strategies, and Opportunity Forecast to 2031
If there’s one buzzword that’s making waves across industries, it’s blockchain. While its roots lie in cryptocurrency, this technology has found fertile ground in forex trading, transforming how traders and brokers interact. Whether you're an experienced trader or a newcomer, understanding blockchain's role in forex could be your golden ticket to navigating this fast-moving market with ease and confidence. Blockchain is more than just a tech trend. It’s a decentralized ledger system that records transactions in a way that's transparent, secure, and tamper-proof. In the context of forex trading, blockchain addresses some of the most persistent challenges—think settlement delays, hidden fees, and a lack of transparency. One of blockchain's standout features is its ability to eliminate intermediaries. Traditional forex trading often involves banks and clearinghouses, which can slow down transaction times and drive up costs. With blockchain, peer-to-peer trading becomes a reality, allowing instant transactions. Consider this. According to a report by MarketWatch, the global forex market processes over $6.6 trillion in trades daily. Blockchain can reduce settlement times from the standard T+2 (trade date plus two days) to near-instantaneous, meaning your funds are available faster. This isn’t just a convenience—it’s a game-changer in a market where timing is everything. Ask any trader about their pet peeves, and lack of transparency will be high on the list. Blockchain fixes that with an immutable ledger. Every trade is recorded and accessible to all participants in the network, leaving no room for hidden manipulations or unauthorized alterations. Imagine knowing exactly when your trade is processed and having a clear breakdown of associated costs. This level of clarity builds trust between traders and brokers. No more worrying about invisible spreads or mysterious deductions from your profits. Blockchain also has a knack for making forex trading more cost-effective. Without middlemen taking their cut, transaction fees plummet. For traders dealing in large volumes, even a slight reduction in costs can mean a substantial increase in profitability. A study by Deloitte found that blockchain could reduce infrastructure costs for financial institutions by up to $20 billion annually. These savings inevitably trickle down to individual traders, making the forex market more accessible to a wider audience. Another fascinating development is the emergence of forex crypto pairs. Blockchain has given rise to digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins, which are now being traded against traditional fiat currencies. This opens up new avenues for diversification and hedging, adding another layer of strategy to forex trading. For example, during times of geopolitical instability, traders often seek refuge in stablecoins like USDT to protect against volatile fiat markets. Blockchain facilitates these trades seamlessly, offering traders a lifeline in uncertain times. When exploring blockchain's role in forex, it's impossible to ignore the brokers that are integrating this technology to benefit their clients. One name that’s gaining traction is Exness. Exness has leveraged blockchain to provide faster withdrawals and deposits, offering a smoother trading experience. Its emphasis on transparency aligns perfectly with the principles of blockchain. If you’ve ever wondered the following: is Exness legit , the answer lies in its growing reputation among traders who value efficiency and reliability. Security is a major selling point for blockchain in forex trading. With traditional systems, the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches is a constant concern. Blockchain’s decentralized nature significantly reduces these risks. Each transaction is encrypted and verified by multiple nodes, making it nearly impossible for hackers to alter or steal data. A report by IBM noted that blockchain-based systems are 85% less vulnerable to cyberattacks compared to centralized systems. For traders, this peace of mind is invaluable. The integration of blockchain into forex is still in its early stages, but the potential is undeniable. As technology continues to evolve, we could see fully decentralized forex trading platforms, cutting out brokers altogether. Smart contracts could automate trades based on pre-set conditions, removing the need for manual intervention and reducing human error. Regulation, of course, will play a significant role in shaping the future. As more governments recognize blockchain's benefits, the framework for its use in forex will only strengthen, paving the way for wider adoption. For years, forex trading seemed like the playground of institutional investors and hedge funds. Retail traders often faced barriers such as high entry costs, limited access to advanced tools, and a lack of transparency. Blockchain is breaking down these barriers, leveling the playing field in unprecedented ways. Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms are a prime example. These platforms, built on blockchain technology, allow retail traders to participate in forex markets directly without needing to rely on traditional brokers. By using smart contracts, traders can execute complex transactions with ease and at a fraction of the cost. Blockchain isn’t just a passing trend—it’s a technological revolution reshaping forex trading as we know it. From faster transactions to greater transparency and enhanced security, the benefits are hard to ignore. Brokers like Exness are leading the charge, proving that the marriage of blockchain and forex is not just possible but highly beneficial. If you’re yet to explore blockchain in your forex journey, now might be the time. After all, staying ahead of the curve is the hallmark of every successful trader.Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left leg
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. Related Articles Economy | Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices Economy | US applications for unemployment benefits hold steady, but continuing claims rise to 3-year high Economy | A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now? Economy | An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump Economy | How to avoid financial stress during the holiday season 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.
The Trump-Xi bromance has a chance next yearKansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn't work out so well
Waste Sorting Robots Market Forecast 2024-2031: Challenges and Strategic RecommendationsA petition calling for a general election to remove the recently installed left-wing Labour Party government has garnered nearly three-quarters of a million backers in less than a week. A call for a new general election has received over 750,000 signatures at the time of reporting in what has been described as one of the fastest-growing petitions in Britain. The petition states that the “current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election”, and therefore, the petition called for an election to be called. While Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party swept to power in July with a 174 majority with 411 seats in the parliament — the best performance for the party since Tony Blair in 1997 — the party only won just over a third of voters. Since coming to power, Prime Minsiter Starmer has seen his approval continually decline, pushing forward broadly unpopular leftist policies, such as cutting fuel aid subsidies to pensioners and seeking to expand the death tax to include family farms. A survey this week from Ipsos found that just 23 per cent of the public have a favourable opinion of Starmer, compared to 52 per cent who hold a negative view of the prime minister. Pollster John Curtice told Sky News: “We have never previously had a government starting with quite as low a share of the vote Labour got in July,” Sir John tells Sky News, referring to the party’s 174-seat majority despite a modest vote share of just 33.7 per cent . “It’s also difficult to find a government that has slipped as much in the polls as this government has so quickly.” Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has continued to rise in the polls since the election, topping the ranks of all politicians in the country at 28 per cent favourable compared to 48 per cent unfavourable. Unsurprisingly, Reform UK MPs were quick to seize on the petition calling for a new election, with Farage’s deputy, Richard Tice, saying : “Let’s make this the biggest petition ever in the UK – sign, share, and spread the word.” MP Rupert Lowe added: “Register your discontent, register your anger, register your disgust with this Labour Government... Send Starmer a message. Sign, share, and share again.” In Britain, any official petition with over 100,000 signatures must be considered for a debate in Parliament, and the government is mandated to issue a response to any petition with more than 10,000 signatures.