Four International Artists Explore an Unsustainable Future in Permission to Bloom
AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:42 p.m. ESTArticle content It was a huge year for the business of sport, with Caitlin Clark and the WNBA leading the charge in a game-changing year for women’s basketball. She’s not alone but she is clearly the poster child for the new economic reality for women’s team sports. Clark is making everyone around her wealthier. Explosive growth in media rights fees and overall revenues reaching the stage where several North American pro sports teams posted more than 30 per cent increases in franchise valuation, year-over-year. The television juggernaut that is the National Football League — which we’ve dubbed the new social network — closes out 2024 with an average franchise value of US$5.7 billion according to Forbes magazine. When your weakest links are still worth $4 billion and have grown by about 70 per cent since the pandemic, there’s no one to feel sorry for. That’s especially true when recent streaming deals will only drive more NFL revenue and audience in the years to come. Amazon Prime paid $100 million for the Black Friday stream last month while Netflix offered up $150 million for the NFL Christmas Day doubleheader that averaged 24 million, peaked at 27 million for a Beyonce half-time show and rallied more than 65 million unique viewers for at least part of the two games played on Wednesday of this week. Also having bullish years in 2024: Alternate telecasts, stadium design, podcasts and collectibles. More to come on those fronts in 2025. It was already an historically bad year for the Chicago White Sox, the Major League Baseball franchise that set an all-time mark for futility despite having the advantages of operating in the third largest market in the U.S. Yet leave it to the Chicago Bears of the NFL to give them a run for the money as one of the biggest losers in the business of sport this year. The Bears (6-3 losers to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football this week) have now lost a record 10 straight games after starting the season at 4-2. Outside of deep playoff runs by the New York Yankees, New York Mets and New York Red Bulls, the Big Apple has been largely rotten in 2024. The biggest media market in North America has not one but two also-rans in the NFL (the 2-13 Giants in the NFC and the 4-11 Jets in the AFC), not to mention the New York Rangers, who are an absolute mess at the Christmas break despite being the second-richest franchise in the NHL according to both Forbes and Sportico. Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics are no more after one of the messiest and protracted break ups in North American team sport. After more than two decades of on-again, off-again talks about a new stadium in Oakland finally collapsed, the Athletics will play in Sacramento for three seasons while they work with Las Vegas stakeholders to fund and construct a new ballpark at the site of the Tropicana Hotel. Once one of the most storied blue collar sport markets in North America, Oakland is now a shell of its former self, with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA now playing at the Chase Center in San Francisco, the Oakland Raiders in Las Vegas and the old California Seals long ago morphed into the Cleveland Barons, merged with the Minnesota North Stars and ultimately relocated to Dallas in 1993.
This city is home to prestigious universities — and to young, rich Americans fleeing the chaos of big metrosManipulated and Betrayed: How Andhra Pradesh Used Citizen Data to Deny Aid and Control VotesNEW YORK — Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size. The S&P 500 fell 66.75 points, or 1.1%, to 5,970.84. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 333.59 points, or 0.8%, to 42,992.21. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 298.33 points, or 1.5%, to 19,722.03. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 2.1%. Microsoft declined 1.7%. Each has a market value above $3 trillion, giving the companies outsized sway on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 1.5% and Best Buy slipped 1.5%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. Energy stocks held up better than the rest of the market, with a loss of less than 0.1% as crude oil prices rose. “There’s just some uncertainty over this relief rally we’ve witnessed since last week,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. The S&P 500 gained nearly 3% over a 3-day stretch before breaking for the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, the index posted a small decline. Despite Friday’s drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish . The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024. Even though inflation has come closer to the central bank’s target of 2%, it remains stubbornly above that mark and worries about it heating up again have tempered the forecast for more interest rate cuts. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market’s path ahead and shifting economic policies under incoming President Donald Trump. 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. Amedisys rose 4.7% after the home health care and hospice services provider agreed to extend the deadline for its sale to UnitedHealth Group. The Justice Department had sued to block the $3.3 billion deal, citing concerns the combination would hinder access to home health and hospice services in the U.S.
Justin Trudeau taking the time to reflect following Freeland departure
Gaetz’s withdrawal from attorney general consideration a good move, Ryan, Molinaro say
Border plan features round-the-clock aerial surveillance, drug detection supportIndia is considering cutting income tax for individuals making up to 1.5 million rupees ($17,590) a year in February’s budget to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption as the economy slows, two government sources told Reuters. The move could benefit tens of millions of taxpayers, especially city dwellers burdened by high living costs, if they opt for a 2020 tax system that strips exemptions like housing rentals. Under that system, annual income of 300,000 rupees to 1.5 million rupees is taxed at between 5% to 20%. Higher income draws 30%. Indian taxpayers can choose between two tax systems – a legacy plan that allows exemptions on housing rentals and insurance, and a newer one introduced in 2020 that offers slightly lower rates, but does not allow major exemptions. The sources, who did not want to be named because they were not authorised to talk to the media, said they had not decided on the size of any cuts. A decision would be taken closer to the budget on Feb.1, they said. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The sources declined to share revenue loss of any tax cut but one said reducing tax rates would make more people choose the new system that is less complicated. India gets a bulk of its income tax from persons earning at least 10 million rupees, the rate for which is 30%. More money in the hands of the middle class might help rev up the economy, the world’s fifth-biggest and which grew at its slowest pace in seven quarters between July and September. High food inflation is also biting into demand for goods ranging from soaps and shampoos to cars and two wheelers, particularly in urban areas. The government has also been facing political heat from the middle class over high taxes, and as growth in wages is unable to catch up with the pace of inflation. Source: Reuters
Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78
Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78