It's no secret that the Boston Red Sox are in pursuit of multiple starting pitchers this offseason, both in free agency and on the trade market. One starting pitcher trade target has drawn more attention from teams than any other, and that is Garret Crochet of the Chicago White Sox. Crochet's market has been the source of speculation for some time, with some MLB insiders saying the White Sox's asking price continues to rise. With the Red Sox holding four top prospects that the front office and fans have little-to-no interest in trading away, what would a trade for Crochet look like? "Based on what the White Sox are saying, I think a package of (Triston) Casas, (Wilyer) Abreu and Connor Wong probably gets close to landing Crochet," wrote Jim Bowden of The Athletic. "The Red Sox could then replace Abreu with prospect Roman Anthony in right field, replace Connor Wong with Kyle Teal at catcher, move (Rafael) Devers to first base and sign either Alex Bergman or Wily Adames in free agency." Casas was formerly ranked as the Red Sox's No. 1 prospect, first debuting in September 2022. Since then, the 24-year-old has slashed .250/.357/.473 with an OPS of .830 (125 OPS+) in 222 games. Parting ways with Casas would be a polarizing decision as the first baseman has quickly become a fan favorite for his outspoken personality, his unique approach to the game, and his poise and power at the plate. The White Sox have reportedly set the asking price for any potential Crochet trade high, but if the Red Sox are not willing to part ways with one of their four coveted prospects, it could mean a very tough decision on the future of a homegrown slugger under team control until 2029. More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Eye Signing Not One, But Two Premier Free Agent Aces(The Center Square) – Eleven states, led by Texas, have sued the three largest institutional investors in the world for allegedly conspiring to buy coal company stocks to control the market, reduce competition and violate federal and state antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and demands a trial by jury. It names as defendants BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group, Inc., which combined manage more than $26 trillion in assets. The companies were sued for “acquiring substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” in order to gain “power to control the policies of the coal companies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. According to the 109-page brief , defendants own 30.43% of Peabody Energy, 34.19% of Arch Resources, 10.85% of NACCO Industries, 28.97% of CONSOL Energy, 29.7% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, 24.94% of Vistra Energy, 8.3% of Hallador Energy, 31.62% of Warrior Met Coal and 32.87% of Black Hills Corporation. Under the Biden administration, in the past four years, “America’s coal producers have been responding not to the price signals of the free market, but to the commands of Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO, and his fellow asset managers,” the brief states. “As demand for the electricity Americans need to heat their homes and power their businesses has gone up, the supply of the coal used to generate that electricity has been artificially depressed – and the price has skyrocketed. Defendants have reaped the rewards of higher returns, higher fees, and higher profits, while American consumers have paid the price in higher utility bills and higher costs.” Consumer costs went up because the companies “weaponized” their shares to push through a so-called green energy agenda, including reducing coal output by more than half by 2030, the lawsuit alleges. In response, publicly traded coal producers reduced output and energy prices skyrocketed. The companies advanced their policies primarily through two programs, the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling “their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans” nationwide, Paxton said. The firms also allegedly deceived thousands of investors “who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits,” Paxton said. “Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.” While they allegedly directly restrained competition among the companies whose shares they acquired, “their war on competition has consequences for the entire industry,” the brief states. “Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.” The lawsuit alleges the companies’ actions violated the Clayton Act, which prohibits any acquisition of stock where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition;” and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, 15 U.S.C. § 1 in a conspiracy to restrain trade. It also alleges the companies violated state antitrust laws of Texas, Montana and West Virginia; Blackrock also allegedly violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code by committing “false, deceptive, or misleading acts.” It asks the court to rule that the companies violated the federal and state statutes, provide injunctive and equitable relief and prohibit them from engaging in such acts. It requests that civil fines be paid, including requiring Blackrock to pay $10,000 per violation. Joining Paxton in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk are serving as outside counsel. The companies have yet to issue a statement on the lawsuit. The lawsuit follows one filed by 25 states led by Texas against the Biden administration asking the court to halt a federal ESG policy that could negatively impact the retirement savings of 152 million Americans. It also comes after Texas has listed hundreds of companies and publicly traded investment funds, including Blackrock, on its divestment list for advancing ESG and anti-oil and natural gas policies.
Newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and four other election commissioners will take oath at the Supreme Court today. Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed will administer the swearing-in ceremony at the Judges' Lounge, Supreme Court Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan told The Daily Star. President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed former secretary Nasir as the new CEC and four others as election commissioners under article 118 (1) of the constitution. The four new election commissioners are former additional secretary Md Anwarul Islam Sarker, former district and sessions judge Abdur Rahmanel Masud, former joint secretary Begum Tahmida Ahmad and Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah. The Election Commission (EC) had been vacant since September 5 when members of the previous commission, led by Kazi Habibul Awal, resigned. The EC had never been vacant for this long since it was founded in 1972. Awal and the other commissioners were about halfway through their five-year tenure. On October 29, the government formed a six-member search committee led by Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury of the Supreme Court's Appellate Division to come up with the names of two individuals for each EC membership. The interim government, formed after the ouster of the previous Awami League regime in August, has constituted six commissions to bring reforms to the election system and other fields. As political parties have for weeks been asking when the election will be held, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on November 17 said the government would issue a roadmap to the election as soon as decisions on electoral reforms were made.Hurry! $80 off this awesome Star Wars Lightsaber this Cyber Monday but stocks are running low
The week before Thanksgiving is usually extra busy at La Casa Garcia Restaurant in Anaheim as they prepare for their annual We Give Thanks feast. Owner Frank Garcia cooked up the tradition of feeding those in need a hot Thanksgiving meal. Veronica Garcia, Frank's daughter said, her dad started the tradition 39 years ago because he's a giving person. The We Give Thanks meal first fed about 3,000 people but it's evolved into a massive event at the Honda Center feeding up to 15,000. "It is an honor to say that that's my dad and he's a blessing to us." Ahead of the feast's milestone 40th anniversary the Garcia Family announced on social media they would stop hosting the community meal due to health reasons. Veronica said, "It's very important for us to take care of my parents right now." She said Frank is in need of a surgery and her mom, Sylvia, recently suffered a medical emergency. "We almost lost her and it's so hard to see what she's going through," Veronica said. "She was in the hospital for seven weeks. We brought her home on Monday." Loyal customers like Cheryl Melugin said the holiday meal has helped thousands and it will be missed. "I hope somebody else steps in and does this because I just feel for all the people that rely on his food, his everything," Melugin said. "Now it's time for them to be together and them to be a family and have that love and support in the family." The Garcia Family believes after nearly four decades it's time to pass the torch to someone else. "I think it's time for my dad and my mom to just relax and enjoy," Veronica said. Even though they're focused on family this year the Garcia's still plan to help the community in a different way. They're helping sponsor a turkey giveaway this weekend and another event on Thanksgiving Day.
The Milwaukee Brewers are likely going to lose one of their star players this offseason in MLB free agency. Willy Adames is one of the best free agents available and there are a lot of teams planning to pursue him. Assuming he does end up leaving town, he will be missed in a big way. While there is still a chance that the Brewers could get aggressive and find a way to re-sign Adames, that does not seem to be terribly likely at this point in time. Milwaukee Brewers Could See New York Yankees Steal Star Free Agent There is a long list of teams who would love to land Adames in free agency. However, there is a team lurking as a sleeper landing spot who could pivot if they lose one of their own free agents to swoop in and steal Adames away. That team is none other than the New York Yankees. MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today has noted that if the Yankees are unable to re-sign Juan Soto, they could make a strong push to sign Adames. “If the New York Yankees don’t re-sign Juan Soto, one back-up plan floating around is signing free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, sign either Willy Adames or Alex Bregman to play third, shift Jazz Chisholm to second base, trade for Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger, and then use the extra money to sign Burnes, Fried or Snell.” Adames would make a ton of sense for New York if they do lose Soto. He would help ease some of the offensive firepower. During the 2024 MLB season with the Milwaukee Brewers, Adames ended up playing in 161 games. He hit 32 home runs to go along with 112 RBI, while also slashing .251/.331/.462. At 29 years old, Adames has a lot of great baseball left ahead of him. He would be a cornerstone piece of the Yankees’ lineup for years to come. Fans may be holding out hope that the Milwaukee Brewers will be able to figure out a way to re-sign Adames. Unfortunately, his market is going to be very expensive and teams like New York potentially jumping in with big money offers will likely result in him leaving town. This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.Richard Drury It's a holiday-shortened Thanksgiving week, so over the next few days, we plan on writing about some of the stocks that investors can be most thankful for. In this post, we're highlighting the 25 best-performing stocks in the S&P 1500 on
Pakistan partially stops mobile and internet services ahead of pro-Imran Khan protest