Bigger Picture: Community Givers
Musk, Ramaswamy ‘DOGE’ confidence in Supreme Court may be tested
Former US president and Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian Jimmy Carter dies aged 100BEIRUT — Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials claimed they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Bulldozers remove the rubble of a destroyed building Monday that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations also expressed cautious optimism Monday about possible progress on a ceasefire. “Knock on wood,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said as he opened the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome. “We are perhaps close to a ceasefire in Lebanon," he said. "Let's hope it's true and that there's no backing down at the last-minute.” A ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon was foremost on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, outside Rome, that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Biden administration. For the first time, the G7 ministers were joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League. Thick smoke, flames and debris erupt Monday from an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon. Meanwhile, massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday. The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians, and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel claims to have killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. Destroyed buildings stand Monday in the area of a village in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding ceasefire negotiations. The country's deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because "we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire." Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were "close to a deal." "It can happen within days," he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. A member of the Israeli security forces inspects an impact site Sunday after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. "Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force. Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel demands the right to strike in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government says such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country's sovereignty. On paper, being more sustainable and eco-friendly while shopping sounds great—so why don't more people do it? There is growing consumer consciousness about the environmental impact of where people choose to shop and the sustainability of the products they buy. According to McKinsey, over 60% of individuals surveyed in 2020 said they would be willing to pay more for a product that is packaged in an eco-friendly way. Since 2019, products marketed as being environmentally sustainable have seen a 28% growth in revenue compared to 20% for products with no such marketing, a 2023 McKinsey and NielsenIQ report found. Much of this is thanks to the preferences and attitudes of Gen Z, who, on average, care more than their older counterparts about being informed shoppers. The younger generation also has more social justice and environmental awareness altogether. Shoppers are willing to spend around 9.7% more on a product they know is sourced or manufactured sustainably, with 46% saying they would do so explicitly because they want to reduce their environmental footprint, according to a 2024 PwC report. Sustainable practices consumers look for from companies include production methods, packaging, and water conservation. But despite the growing consciousness around being more environmentally responsible, consumer actions don't always align with their values. In psychology, this is defined as the "say-do gap": the phenomenon wherein people openly express concern and intention around an issue, but fail to take tangible action to make a change. According to the Harvard Business Review in 2019, most consumers (65%) say they want to buy from brands that promote sustainability, but only 1 in 4 follow through. So why don't people actually shop sustainably, despite how much they express a preference for eco-friendly products—and how can we close the gap? The RealReal examined reports from the Harvard Business Review and other sources to explore why some shoppers want to buy sustainably but struggle to follow through. This lack of action isn't due to a lack of caring—in many cases, it's hard to know how to be a sustainable consumer and other factors are often outside of shoppers' control. But the more people shop sustainably, the easier and more accessible that market will be for everyone—making it much easier for folks to buy aligned with their values. There are many obstacles preventing shoppers from upholding eco-friendly habits as much as they may want to—but not all of these barriers are necessarily real, or accurately understood. Shopping sustainably simply isn't convenient or accessible for many. Those who live in apartment buildings are 50% less likely to recycle , according to Ipsos. Reasons for this can vary from lack of space to buildings being excluded altogether because of recycling contamination issues. Many believe that sustainable products are too expensive or of a lower quality. The former is often true, which does create a hurdle for many: The manufacturing processes and materials for sustainable products are pricey. For instance, organic cotton requires an intensive production process free of certain chemicals or pesticides; by definition, true eco-friendly products can't be mass-produced, further upping their price tag. Using recycled materials for packaging, or obtaining an eco certification, can also be expensive. However, although the narrative of eco-friendly products being more expensive is true, there is often more of an effort to use better quality materials that last longer than their noneco-friendly counterparts. This could end up saving consumers money in the long run: By paying more upfront, they can get more wear out of sustainable fashion, for instance. There is also undeniable political rhetoric surrounding eco-friendly products—however, despite many Conservative politicians decrying sustainable products, members of all generations are increasingly choosing to prioritize shopping sustainably regardless of their political affiliation, according to research from NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business . This finding shows a trend toward seeing sustainability as a nonpartisan subject everyone can benefit from, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum. Some might think eco-friendly clothing, in particular, is not fashion-forward; after all, many of the top clothing retailers in the world partake in fast fashion. However, brands are increasingly being recognized as 'cool' and 'trendy' for supporting environmentally ethical practices, particularly as younger generations prioritize sustainability, as noted before. Many increasingly popular online stores are taking advantage of this paradigm shift by offering secondhand shopping options that are not only fashionable, but also more affordable, like ThredUp or Poshmark. Additionally, many legacy large-name brands are hopping on the sustainability movement and are gaining appreciation from loyal customers. Amazon's Climate Pledge Friendly program partners with third-party certification bodies to make it easier for shoppers to identify eco-friendly products as they browse the website. H&M's newly launched H&M Rewear program debuts a resale platform that allows the resale of all clothing brands—not just their own. Similarly, Patagonia's Worn Wear program allows shoppers to trade in and buy used gear and clothing. The federal government is also working to close this gap. The Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice program is attempting to make sustainable shopping easier for consumers and companies alike. It includes a directory of certified products, a list of safer chemicals to look out for on labels, a "Safer Choice" label that products can earn to denote they are eco-friendly, and resources for manufacturers looking to adopt more sustainable practices. Most of all, though, the biggest way shoppers can shift toward sustainable shopping is through their behaviors and attitudes amongst their peers and communities. Studies show that humans largely care what others think of their actions; the more shoppers make environmentally conscious shopping the norm, the more others will follow suit. From an economic perspective, the more consumers shop eco-friendly, the more affordable and accessible these products will become, too: Sustainable products are currently more expensive because they are not in high demand. Once demand rises, production rates and prices can lower, making these products more accessible for all. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. This story originally appeared on The RealReal and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 25, 2024-- Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) (the “Company”) today announced, as required under the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) Listed Company Manual, that it received a notice (the “NYSE Notice”) from the NYSE on November 19, 2024 that the Company is not in compliance with Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of its failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) prior to November 18, 2024, the end of the extension period provided by Rule 12b-25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The NYSE Notice has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company’s common stock on the NYSE. On July 19, 2023, the Company disclosed that beginning around mid-2007, the Company incorrectly classified certain credit card accounts into its highest merchant and merchant acquirer pricing tier (the “card product misclassification”). Based on information available as of June 30, 2023, the Company recognized a liability of $365 million that was accounted for as the correction of an error. The Company determined that the revenue impact was not material to the consolidated financial statements of the Company for any of the impacted periods. While it was therefore determined that it was not necessary for the Company to restate any previously issued interim or annual financial statements, the cumulative misstatement was deemed material to the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 condensed consolidated financial statements, and therefore the Company determined that adjustment of the full $365 million only through 2023 earnings was not appropriate. Therefore, the $365 million liability (the “Initial Liability”) was recorded as of June 30, 2023 with offsetting adjustments to merchant discount and interchange revenue and retained earnings, along with consequential impacts to deferred tax accruals. Comparable corrections were made for all prior periods presented in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended June 30, 2023 and September 30, 2023 and subsequently in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. On February 19, 2024, Discover and Capital One Financial Corporation (“Capital One”) jointly announced that they entered into an agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock transaction (the “Merger”). In the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024, the Company disclosed that it had determined to increase its liability to $1.2 billion (the “Liability Increase”) through a charge to other expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024, to reflect the total amount the Company then expected was probable to be disbursed in relation to the card product misclassification. The Company determined the Liability Increase was appropriate based on its experience through that date with remediation efforts, discussions through the first quarter of 2024 with its regulators, Board of Directors and other stakeholders, the pending Merger, which was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors during the quarter, and a desire to advance resolution of the matter more quickly to mitigate further risk. As part of the review of the Company’s historical financial statements by the Staff of the SEC (the “Staff”) undertaken in connection with the Staff’s review of the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by Capital One in connection with the Merger (and the preliminary joint proxy statement/prospectus contained therein) (the “Registration Statement”), the Staff provided comments to the Company relating to the Company’s accounting approach for the card product misclassification. The Company has responded to these comments and has engaged in several verbal discussions with the Staff. The Staff has indicated that it disagrees with the Company’s application of revenue recognition guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in connection with the Company’s recording of the Initial Liability. The Staff has, however, indicated that it would not object to an approach whereby the Company determined the cumulative revenue error related to the card product misclassification to be the maximum amount agreed to be paid by the Company in restitution in respect of the card product misclassification (excluding interest and legal expenses) (the “Alternative Approach”). This amount is approximately $1,047 million. On November 25, 2024, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”), acting on the recommendation of management, and after discussion with Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”), the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, concluded that (i) the Company’s audited financial statements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and (ii) the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q previously filed with the SEC for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2023, June 30, 2023, September 30, 2023, March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024 (collectively, the “Prior Periods”), should no longer be relied upon and should be restated to reflect the Alternative Approach. In addition, the Audit Committee concluded that management’s report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 and Deloitte’s report on the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023 as well as Deloitte’s report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, should no longer be relied upon. In order to implement the Alternative Approach in the Restated Financial Statements (as defined below), approximately $600 million of the Liability Increase will be reallocated from being recorded as other expense in the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024 to a revenue error correction in prior periods. In addition, $124 million of the Liability Increase representing interest that the Company committed to pay as part of its counterparty restitution plan will also be reallocated from the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024 to the third and fourth quarters of 2023. Cumulative historical earnings, capital and the aggregate amount of the counterparty restitution liability will not be affected by application of the Alternative Approach. However, separate work being done to validate the remediation methodology with a third-party consultant has resulted in the identification of approximately $60 million of incremental overcharges, which will be reflected in the Restated Financial Statements. As a result, the Company expects the Restated Financial Statements to reflect the following approximate impacts: as of December 31, 2023, (i) an increase in assets of $190 million, (ii) an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $783 million, and (iii) a decrease in retained earnings of $593 million. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, pre-tax income would be reduced by approximately $190 million to $3,636 million and $77 million to $5,641 million, respectively. For the third quarter of 2024, pre-tax income would decrease by approximately $6 million to $1,282 million while pre-tax income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 would increase by approximately $700 million to $4,462 million (as compared to the pre-tax income reported in the financial information with respect to the quarter ended September 30, 2024 in the exhibits furnished with the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 16, 2024). Amendments to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Form 10-K/A”), and the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-Q/As” and together with the Form 10-K/A, the “Restated Financial Statements”), are expected to be filed prior to or concurrently with the filing of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024 in order to reflect the Alternative Approach and the other modifications described above to the Prior Periods. The Company is working expeditiously to file the Restated Financial Statements as soon as reasonably practicable. The Company currently expects to complete the filings prior to year-end, however there can be no assurance of the actual timing. The Company expects that Capital One will file a pre-effective amendment to the Registration Statement promptly following the Company’s filing of the Restated Financial Statements, and that as soon as practicable following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and the mailing of the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus contained therein to each company’s stockholders, each company will hold its respective special meeting of stockholders for purposes of obtaining the requisite stockholder approvals of the Merger. Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a digital banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The Company issues the Discover® card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal loans, home loans, checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking business. It operates the Discover Global Network® comprised of Discover Network, with millions of merchants and cash access locations; PULSE®, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International®, a global payments network with acceptance around the world. For more information, visit . This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, which speak to our expected business and financial performance, among other matters, contain words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "aim," "will," "may," "should," "could," "would," "likely," "forecast," and similar expressions. Other forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. Such statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication and there is no undertaking to update or revise them as more information becomes available. Actual future events could also differ materially due to numerous factors that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, among other things, risks relating to the final impact of the restatements on the Company’s financial statements; the impact of the restatements on the Company’s evaluation of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; delays in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and/or the declaration of effectiveness of the Registration Statement; the risk that additional information will come to light that alters the scope or magnitude of the restatement; the risks and uncertainties set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q; and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in any subsequent reports that the Company files with the SEC from time to time. Although the Company has attempted to identify those material factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Given these uncertainties, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Capital One has filed the Registration Statement with the SEC to register the shares of Capital One’s common stock that will be issued to the Company’s stockholders in connection with the Merger. The Registration Statement includes a preliminary joint proxy statement of Capital One and the Company that also constitutes a preliminary prospectus of Capital One. The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of each of the Company and Capital One in connection with the Merger. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by the Company or Capital One through the website maintained by the SEC at or by contacting the investor relations department of the Company or Capital One at: Discover Financial Services Capital One Financial Corporation 2500 Lake Cook Road 1680 Capital One Drive Riverwoods, IL 60015 McLean, VA 22102 Attention: Investor Relations Attention: Investor Relations (224) 405-4555 (703) 720-1000 The Company, Capital One and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of each of the Company and Capital One in connection with the Merger. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of the Company and Capital One and other persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of the stockholders of the Company or of Capital One in connection with the Merger will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus related to the Merger, which will be filed by Capital One with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of the Company and their ownership of the Company common stock can also be found in the Company’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 15, 2024, as supplemented by the Company’s proxy statement supplement, as filed with the SEC on April 2, 2024, and other documents subsequently filed by the Company with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Capital One and their ownership of Capital One common stock can also be found in Capital One’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 20, 2024, and other documents subsequently filed by Capital One with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents regarding the Merger filed with the SEC when they become available. View source version on : CONTACT: Investor Contact: Erin Stieber, 224-405-4555 Contact: Matthew Towson, 224-405-5649 KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ILLINOIS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE SOURCE: Discover Financial Services Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/25/2024 06:06 PM/DISC: 11/25/2024 06:06 PMNone
First Illini opt for transfer portal
Johnson scores 33 as Tennessee Tech knocks off NAIA-member Milligan 95-75UN General Assembly overwhelmingly demands immediate Gaza ceasefire
Jimmy Carter dies at 100: Peanut farmer, president, Nobel Peace Prize winner, humanitarianVenezuelan man wanted out of Colorado arrested at Peace Bridge