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☆ We spent over $54,000 renovating our house — but these 5 cheap upgrades actually made the biggest difference
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Melissa Noble | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Go to newsletter preferencesSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewWhen we purchased a three-bedroom fixer-upper in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017, we couldn't wait to move in and get started renovating. Over the course of three years, we spent just over $80,000 Australian dollars, about $54,000, transforming it into our dream home. Here are five fairly low cost upgrades that really boosted our property's appeal and got many compliments from friends and family. AdvertisementIt only cost about AU$200 to make, but it really added to the property's street appeal.

Persons: —, Cameron Church Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Melbourne, Australia

☆ Child-free spaces, dirty looks on planes and ‘breeders’: Why people seem so annoyed by kids in public
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —In some corners of society, there appears to be a shift in the way people talk about kids. Every so often, a provocative social media post sets off predictably polarizing discourse about the presence of children in daily life. The implication (joking or otherwise) is that children are a nuisance and adults shouldn’t have to endure them if they don’t want to. The people behind them aren’t part of some organized movement nor are they actually lobbying for the exclusion of children from public spaces. Rather, Berg understands online disdain for kids partly as a performative response to rhetoric from political and religious conservatives.

Persons: snarkily, ”, shouldn’t, Mariah Maddox, —, Elinor Burkett, Boon, “, Lisa Belkin, Jason Lancaster, Anastasia Berg, Rachel Wiseman, Berg, JD Vance’s, Pope Francis, aren’t, Jessica J, June Carbone, Carbone, ” Carbone, Yolanda Williams, glared, ” Williams, Lauren Kavan, She’s, Kavan, ‘, ’, Jessica Calarco Organizations: CNN, Friendly, New York Times Magazine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, “, tote Locations: Ohio, Nebraska, Berg

☆ I moved from the US to Scotland. My social life looks much different here.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Sophia Mitrokostas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I've noticed that the British "stiff upper lip" is a real thing. The British "stiff upper lip" often refers to stoicism. Pawal Libera/Getty ImagesI feel like most people in the UK are employed in a collective national campaign against making a scene. It's become a bit of a cliché, but the stoic "stiff upper lip" that is often used to describe Brits seems to hold some truth. When I'm emotional, I like to talk about it.

Persons: I've, Pawal, It's

☆ The world’s best hotels for 2024 revealed
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In eighth place, Soneva Fushi in the Maldives was also winner of the Lost Explorer Best Beach Hotel Award 2024. 46 respectively and Raffles London at The OWO (No. 16 and was named Best Hotel in North America. The Calile, a stylish and airy urban resort in the lively James Street area of Brisbane, Australia, was named Best Hotel in Oceania, ranking at No. Passalacqua, which was the winner of the first-ever Best Hotel prize in 2023, dropped to second this year.

Persons: John Blanco, Capella, Josephine, Blanco, “ Covid, Thais, Soneva, Cheval Blanc, Lana, Chablé, James, Royal Mansour, Aman, Hôtel de Crillon, Borgo, Rosewood São, São, Mount Nelson, Carlyle, Eden, Suján, Brando Organizations: London CNN, Capella, Capella Bangkok didn’t, CNN Travel, Rosewood, Rosewood Hong, Capella Bangkok, Raffles, Singapore Sling, Le Bristol, Raffles London, Aussie, Tasman, Royal, American, Atlantis, Bulgari, Hyatt Kyoto, Madrid, Capella Singapore, Surf, Bel, Le Bristol Paris, Singita, Park, Kokomo Locations: Capella Bangkok, London, Charoenkrung, Thailand’s, Bangkok, London’s Guildhall, Thailand, Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Harbor, Rosewood Hong Kong Asian, Thai, Chao, Siam, Hong Kong, Raffles Singapore, Maldives, Tokyo, Lake Como, Paris, of, Connaught, North America, Brisbane, Australia, Oceania, Hobart, Marrakech, La, Istanbul, Bosphorus, Italy, Aman Tokyo, Soneva Fushi, Dubai, Wanokaka, Indonesia, Claridge’s, Chao Phraya, Chocholá, Mexico, Du, Antibes, France, Florence, Amalfi, Bali, Bulgari Tokyo, São Paulo, Brazil, Kyoto, Japan, Cape Town , South Africa, Puerto Vallarta , Mexico, New York, Mamounia, Morocco, Miami, Los Angeles, Barths, York, Sri Lanka, Auchterarder, Scotland, Umbria, Suján Jawai, Rajasthan, India, South Africa, Oman, French Polynesia, Tulum, Tasman, Fiji

☆ These are the '50 best hotels' in the world for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

That's the collective view of 600 anonymous global voters, comprising travel journalists, hoteliers and seasoned travel specialists, which determined the results of " The World's 50 Best Hotels ," announced Tuesday in London's historic Guildhall. Capella Bangkok is the new "best hotel" in the world, according to the 50 Best organization. It has long produced rankings in the culinary world, releasing "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" since 2002, and 'The World's 50 Best Bars' since 2009. The Art of Hospitality Award went to Morocco's Royal Mansour, and the Best Beach Hotel Award went to Soneva Fushi in The Maldives. Members of the 50 Best organization "do not vote and do not control the composition of the list," Emma Sleight, head of content for The World's 50 Best Hotels told CNBC.

Persons: Mauro Colagreco, Bangkok's Chao, John Blanco, it's, Josephine Ping, It's, Hong Kong Cheval, Singapore Aman, Japan Soneva, France Chablé, Italy Borgo, São, Japan Mount, Carlyle, Eden, Royal Mansour, Lisciano, Italy Suján, India Singita –, Brando, Tetiaroa, Mount Nelson, Bulgari, Morocco's Royal Mansour, Soneva, Aman, Sonia Cheng, Emma, — Organizations: Michelin, Capella, CNBC, Italy Rosewood, Hong Kong Raffles, Maldives Atlantis, Thailand Raffles, UAE Rosewood, Hyatt Kyoto, Seasons Madrid, Spain Capella Singapore, Surf, Bel, Scotland, Kruger, Park, Australia Kokomo, Asia — Capella, America Rosewood, Oceania, Raffles London, Atlantis, Hospitality, Morocco's, Eco, luxe, Rosewood Hotel, Hotels Locations: London's, Capella Bangkok, Kings, Italy's Lake Como, Bangkok, Thailand, Lake Como, Italy, Italy Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Cheval Blanc , Paris, France, Hong Kong Raffles Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Aman Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, Japan Soneva Fushi, Maldives, Dubai, UAE, Sumba, Sumba Island, Indonesia Claridge's, London, Thailand Raffles London, Chao Phraya, Crillon, Paris, Chocholá, Mexico, Antibes, Maya, Florence, Amalfi, Bali, Indonesia, Lana, Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brisbane, Australia, Siam, Kyoto, Japan Mount Nelson, Cape Town , South Africa, Riviera Nayarit, Carlyle , New York, U.S, Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco, Madrid, Spain, Surfside, Los Angeles , U.S, St, Barths, Caribbean Aman New York , New York, Galle, Sri Lanka, Bristol, Auchterarder, Lisciano Niccone, Italy Suján Jawai, Rajasthan, India, South, Zighy, Oman, Connaught, UK, Polynesia, Tulum, Tasman, Hobart, Yaukuve Levu, Fiji, Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, Oceania, South America, Asia — Capella Bangkok, America, Yucatan, America Rosewood Sao Paulo, New York, Bulgari Tokyo, Istanbul, The Maldives

☆ How real estate's Alexander brothers got away with decades of alleged sexual assault: 'They are a menace.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

Even as teenagers, the three Alexander brothers were notorious for being predatory, according to multiple people who knew them at the time. AdvertisementHofeldt said she'd seen the Alexander brothers around at parties before she met them during the 2003-2004 school year. Several months after the assault, Hofeldt invited the brothers' friend Julian Cohen to her house in the middle of the night. Oren Alexander and Howard Lorber at a party at Sir Ivan's Castle in the Hamptons in July 2011. The Alexander brothers have been accused by multiple people of assaulting women in tandem on numerous occasions.

Persons: she'd, Oren, Alon Alexander, Alon, —, Aaron Davidson, Alexander, Tal, Douglas Elliman, Kate Whiteman, Rebecca Mandel, Whiteman, Mandel, Angelica Parker, Renée Willett, Evan Torgan, Hunter Abrams, James, Shlomy, Orly, Michael M, Abby Hofeldt, choo, Rae Rae, Hofeldt, clotheslined, Gavin, they'd, Hofeldt's, Margo Hofeldt, Abby, Julian Cohen, Felix Cohen, Shlomy Alexander, Elliman, Douglas, Howard Lorber, Lorber, Oren Alexander, Steven Henry, Sir Ivan, Howard, Howard's, Oren's, James Ferraro, Ferraro, Ken Griffin, Bart's, Dina Goldentayer, Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan, Barbara Fox, Beckford, Fox, Douglas Elliman's Erik Schneider, Jeff Miller, Brown Harris Stevens, Ken Griffin's, Griffin, Tal didn't, Douglas Elliman's, Gary Hershorn, Tal masturbated, texted Oren, Oren didn't, hadn't, Justin Ross Lee, he'd, Scott Roth, Lee, Matthew Peyton, Beth, Alon messaged Beth, Instagram, Beth messaged Alon, Beth Beth's, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Conor McGregor, Michael Stern, Stern, Mayweather, McGregor, Marc Patrick, what's, Sara Militello, Nicole Oge, Deanna Paul, Daniel Geiger Organizations: East Hampton, Business, Getty, Deal, FBI, Street Journal, Kent Security, Krop, High School, North Miami Beach, Miami Country Day, Miami Country Day School, Bacardi, University of Colorado, University of Maryland, Hofstra University, Sir, Hamptons, Manhattan, Forbes, Miami Beach, Douglas Elliman's, Real, New York Fashion, Art Basel, Vogue, Bath Club Estates, New York, Fox Residential, Board, New, Faena, Street, BI, Miami Herald, Tal, Peaceman Productions, UFC, Las Vegas, JDS, Brooklyn Tower, Stern of JDS, New York Post Locations: Long, Florida, Soho, Las Vegas, New York City, New York, Miami, South Florida, Orly Alexander, Israel, North Miami, Krop, Aventura, Hofeldt, Boulder, Sir Ivan's, Manhattan, Dominican Republic, Malibu, St, Brazilian, Elliman, Bath, New, Corcoran, Southampton, Water, East Hampton, Instagram, Teterboro , New Jersey, Las, Vegas, Teterboro, Brooklyn, what's

☆ Cheaper Mortgages and Car Loans: Lower Rates Are on the Horizon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Karl Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Cheaper Mortgages and Car Loans: Lower Rates Are on the HorizonThe costs of 30-year mortgages and new car loans have been inching down in recent months, welcome news for borrowers who have endured years of high prices and high interest rates. When the Fed lowers its benchmark rate, it is ultimately trying to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. Read more about what lower interest rates could mean for five areas of your financial life. That has raised questions about whether the Fed waited too long to begin lowering rates. And the costs of many household items, big-ticket purchases and crucial services remain high for many people.

Persons: Read, Wednesday’s Organizations: Federal Locations: U.S

☆ I paid an extra $114 for a premium ticket on the Alaska Railroad. The value of my 4-hour train ride was incredible.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Molly O'Brien | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I bought a premium ticket for my four-hour ride on the Alaska Railroad from Denali to Fairbanks. My GoldStar premium seat was roomy, the views were great, and I got a three-course meal. The $114 I paid to have this premium ticket instead of the standard one was well worth it. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . One highlight in particular was my four-hour ride on the Alaska Railroad from Denali National Park to Fairbanks.

Persons: — Organizations: Alaska Railroad, Service, Business Locations: Denali, Fairbanks, Alaska

☆ Charts suggest traders should wait before they keep chasing utilities — the hottest trade of the year
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Frank Cappelleri | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Traders instantly react to the data (sometimes wildly so), especially when the actual numbers are distinctly different than estimates. Thus, historically, XLU has been correlated with the direction of treasury bonds (which move in the opposite direction of bond yields). Here's a chart with XLU and the TLT 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF, which we're using since it's the most widely traded treasury bond ETF. From 2022 through 2023, XLU and TLT moved in the same direction more often than not. Another reason is simply that investors are aggressively seeking yield producing instruments, with the understanding that bond yields were destined to fall.

Persons: XLU, That's, TLT, We're Organizations: Federal Reserve, PPI, Utilities, Treasury Bond ETF, Bollinger, CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL Locations: XLU

☆ Chinese American family meets descendants of the Black couple who rented to them when no one would
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Lynda Lin Grigsby | Lynda Lin Grigsis A Freelance Journalist | Editor Who Writes About The Intersections Of Race | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

CORONADO, Calif. — Standing on their lawn, members of the Dong family waited to meet the great-grandkids of a Black couple who rented a home to them a generation ago, when laws favored white residents. In 1939, Gus and Emma Thompson, a Black entrepreneurial couple, agreed to rent and eventually sell the house they owned to the Dongs, a Chinese American family. Alan Nakkash for NBC NewsThe Dong family is donating the proceeds of the house sale to support the Black community. Alan Nakkash for NBC NewsThe Dong family wanted the Thompson family descendants to tour the storied home before selling. Nearby, Kemp leaned in to repeat words he first said at their meeting at the Coronado house.

Persons: —, Dong, Gus, Emma Thompson, Ron Dong, Emma, “, Janice Dong, Ron’s, Ballinger Gardner Kemp, Lauren Kemp Few, Alan Nakkash, ”, Thompsons, Lloyd Dong Jr, Dong Jr, Lloyd Jr, Lloyd Sr, Jackie, Margaret, Jeanette Dong, Lloyd Dong Sr, Ron Dong’s, Margaret ., Gus Thompson, Kemp, Thompson, Kevin Ashley, Ashley, Christopher Manning, Grace Lee Bogg’s, Manning Organizations: San, Black Resource, NBC, NBC News, Historical, Coronado, SDSU, Coronado Historic Resources Commission, Central California —, Del Locations: CORONADO, Calif, San Diego State, Kentucky, California, Central California, Coronado, Del Coronado

WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will vote Wednesday on a six-month stopgap funding bill linked to legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote — the same package he abruptly pulled off the floor last week amid growing GOP opposition. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, spent the weekend calling members and trying to flip GOP defections to the yes column. "Mr. Speaker Johnson, you know as well as everyone else that your plan is a no-go as currently written. A six-month CR with poison pills is not going to fly in a narrowly divided government," Schumer said. "If the hard right thinks that we will willingly give them leverage to ram Project 2025 down the American people's throats early next year by agreeing to a six-month CR, they are dreaming," he added.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, ” Johnson, “, ”, he'll, I'm, Chuck Schumer, Schumer Organizations: Louisiana Republican, ’, Democratic, “ Locations: Louisiana

☆ A 30-year-old man built muscle and burned fat in 4 months with a time-saving workout technique
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewA busy office worker said he transformed his physique in four months thanks to an efficient workout plan. AdvertisementIn theory, researchers and trainers say, the combos allow one muscle group to rest while you're working a different muscle group with another exercise, tapping into the benefits of rest without added time. A superset involves performing exercises back-to-back without a break, and can save time by allowing one muscle group to rest while another is working. Using supersets, you can create a full-body plan, and work out harder, because you're not exhausting any one muscle group. Doing a few sets per muscle group more frequently allowed him to make each set count by adding more weight and pushing himself harder, he said.

Persons: —, Andre Frade, Adam Enaz, Enaz, bro, that's, Frade Organizations: Service, Business Locations: London

☆ Harris can chart her own path with the top regulators — and Big Business hopes she's on their side
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Chris Larsen, the billionaire founder of blockchain payments company Ripple who is among the execs to endorse Harris, told Business Insider he wants her to make different appointments if she wins. "The way that they have already been interacting with business leaders is a compelling indication of where things could go in the future," Levie told Business Insider. Kovacic previously told Business Insider that Harris' relationship to economic progressives like Warren remains unclear. "It's not as though they think she will simply be an agent of Big Tech," he previously told Business Insider. "In the next four years, we'll be dealing with major policy subjects that relate to the next many decades of innovation," he told Business Insider.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, hamstrung, he'd, Sen, Elizabeth Warren of, Biden, Warren, Warren's, Lina Khan, Gary Gensler, Kamala Harris, Khan, William Kovacic, That's, Harris, Adam Kovacevich, Elizabeth Warren, Kovacevich, Kamala Harris doesn't, Politico, winced, Aaron Levie, Arati Prabhakar, Chris Larsen, Larsen, Catalini, Gensler, Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban, Levie, Kovacic, Obama, Douglas Farrar, we'll Organizations: Service, White, Democratic, Business, Federal Trade Commission, Securities, Exchange, George Washington University, of, Consumers Bank Association, Science, Technology, Bloomberg, MIT Cryptoeconomics, SEC, Dallas Mavericks, FTC, Democratic Party, Warren, Biden, Big Tech, Harris Locations: Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Biden's, Harris, California, Gensler

☆ A polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Ella Nilsen | Bill Weir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Becker, Minnesota CNN —The smokestacks on the aging Sherco coal power plant tower over gleaming solar panels that stretch across thousands of acres of farmland. The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. A view of Sherco power plant, which has been operating since the 1970s and is slated for full retirement by 2030. But the reality is, it’s there.”From super-polluters to clean energy juggernautsThe answer to supercharging clean energy could lie inside some of the most polluting power plants in the US.

Persons: Becker, Julian Quinones, CNN Xcel Energy's Ryan Long, Evelio Contreras, ”, Ryan Long, Xcel, Umed Paliwal, Rob Gramlich, “, ” Gramlich, Sherco, Bill Weir, Sonia Aggarwal, that’s, ” Long, we’ll, ” Julian Quinones, Pete Wyckoff, ” Wyckoff, ” It’s, Tim Walz, ” Wykoff, “ We’re Organizations: Minnesota CNN, CNN, University of California, UC Berkeley, Disney, Energy, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Commerce, Democratic Locations: Minnesota, Upper Midwest, University, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, White, Illinois, Virginia, Becker , Minnesota

☆ Biden becomes a top Harris surrogate as they split up on the campaign trail
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Kayla Tausche | Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In battleground Pennsylvania, a must-win state for Harris, Biden spoke to a Philadelphia conference attended by leaders of historically Black colleges and universities. The divided ground game by the vice president and her boss-turned-top surrogate, aides say, is all part of a plan. Even watching Harris do what he failed disastrously to do during his own debate with Trump, Biden has evinced only pride in his vice president, not bitterness. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore sought distance from scandal-marred President Bill Clinton as he campaigned against George W. Bush. Biden is now one of several high profile surrogates the Harris campaign will seek to deploy.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Harris, Biden, who’s, ” Biden, “, Kamala, ” Harris, “ We’ve, –, she’s, Joe ”, Harris ’, Donald Trump – Harris, “ She’s, ‘, ’, Donald Trump, ”, he’d, Trump, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, George W, Barack Obama –, Josh Shapiro, Obama, Michelle, Bill, Hillary Clinton, “ Kamala, We’ll Organizations: Washington CNN —, Democratic, Teamsters, CNN, Biden, Joint Base Andrews, Congressional Black Caucus, Phoenix, Labor, Pittsburgh, Republican, White, Trump, JW Marriott Essex House, East, Keystone State, White House Locations: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Russia, Pittsburgh, New York

“I’ve been battling this for over 20 years,” Belk, 68, said of his medical debt. The burden of medical debt has contributed to financial anxiety among voters and has become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. Guill, who has multiple sclerosis, lives in Aiden, North Carolina, a rural community just south of Greenville. She volunteers with a nonprofit called Down Home North Carolina to help her neighbors gain access to Medicaid. “We have a ton of people with medical debt in the state because our insurance plans didn’t cover our medical bills,” she said.

Persons: “ I’ve, ” Belk, KFF, ”, Berneta Haynes, Terry Belk's, Mike Belleme, “, it’s, don’t, Cynthia Fisher, they’ve, PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Darcy Guill, Darcy Guill Guill, Harold Miller Organizations: National Consumer Law Center, U.S, NBC, Atrium Health, Health, American, of Public Health, Nonprofit, Affordable, The Commonwealth Fund, Urban Institute, Center for Healthcare Locations: South Dakota, Mississippi, North Carolina, American, Charlotte, N.C, United States, U.S, Aiden , North Carolina, Greenville

As hosts of the next World Cup, the U.S. automatically qualifies for the tournament. In the 2022 World Cup, the U.S. was knocked out by the Netherlands in the round of 16. Asked by host Roger Bennett on the “Men in Blazers” podcast what success means for the U.S. in the upcoming World Cup, Pochettino was unequivocal. “We win the World Cup,” Pochettino responded. “I think we need to dream that we are going to win the World Cup.

Persons: Mauricio Pochettino, who’s, ”, Matt Crocker, ” Crocker, Pochettino, Germain, Christian Pulisic, “, Gregg Berhalter, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Pochettino’s, haven’t, ” Pochettino, Berhalter, Berhalter’s, Paris Saint, Kylian, Lionel Messi, ’, Todd Boehly, They’ve, Messi, Roger Bennett Organizations: Argentine, Soccer Sporting, Copa America, Chelsea, Paris Saint, Tottenham, Milan, Christian, U.S, English Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham vacillated, UEFA Champions League, Spurs, English League, Champions League, Liverpool, Premier League, Manchester City, men’s, “, Pochettino’s Spurs, Borussia Dortmund, League, Arsenal, PSG, Real Madrid, MLS, Columbus Crew, South, Blazers Locations: U.S, Paris, Manhattan, Argentine, Uruguay, Netherlands, City, Liverpool, American, France, South American

☆ Auto parts and dollar store execs warn that low-income Americans are stretched thin and running on borrowed time
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementBut Americans are not a monolith, as Jefferies consumer strategist Carey Kaufman pointed out in a note to clients Tuesday. Heading into the autumn, a considerable number of those in the bottom quintile appear to be running on borrowed time. Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, reported similar consumer headwinds during its quarterly earnings this month. "What we noticed was an even tighter core consumer at the very last week of each of the months in Q2," he said. "While that's always a tighter week of the month for our core consumer, it was by far the weakest."

Persons: —, Carey Kaufman, Ted Vasos, Vasos, David Bellinger, Ryan Grimsland, Will Stengel, Ally, Russell Hutchinson, paychecks aren't, that's, Bellinger Organizations: Service, Walmart, Costco, Business, Jefferies, Goldman, Global Retailing, Mizuho, Reuters, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S

☆ S&P 500 rallies back to old highs, setting up Fed meeting to be make or break moment
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The market's turn toward treating good economic news as positive for stocks is pictured here in a chart from Citi strategists, showing the three-month correlation between the S & P 500 and the Citi U.S. Economic Surprise index has turned sharply higher. The S & P 500's low for the week was Wednesday morning, right at the 5400 level where it previously hit a low a week ago Friday after a tepid employment report. Forward 12-month S & P 500 earnings forecasts continue to rise smartly, now approaching $270. But, thanks to the past two months of sideways churn, that's down from 21.7 when the S & P first hit its current level in July. And the rally last week could well have front-run any potential positive inference from the Fed's move next week.

Persons: Ally Financial, Ed Hyman, Loretta Mester, William Dudley, John Kolovos Organizations: Citi, Citi U.S, Fed, Ally, CPI, Wall Street, Financial Times, Treasury, National Association of Active Investment, American Association of

☆ Just Stop Oil demanded climate action. Their protests have landed them in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Kara Fox | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Just Stop OilThe laws were purpose-built to target protest groups like Just Stop Oil. ExxonMobil told CNN that they do not currently fund Policy Exchange or American Friends of Policy Exchange, but did not answer questions about past funding. The UK’s lengthy jail terms stand out globally, but the creeping clampdown on disruptive climate protest is also happening elsewhere. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesThe Just Stop Oil case amplifies the near erasure of legal defenses available to protesters who take part in disruptive demonstrations. The same report compared Just Stop Oil to “terror groups” and recommended their actions be banned.

Persons: Cressie Gethin, “, — Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw, Lucia Whittaker, Abreu, Roger Hallam, —, ” —, ” Gethin, Michael Forst, “ ’, ’ ” Cressida Gethin, Jodie Beck, Toby Melville, Rishi Sunak, ” Sunak, Gethin, ”, ALEC, Exxon’s, Stephanie Keith, UN’s Forst, Leon Neal, ” Tim Crosland, — Lord Walney, John Woodcock —, Israel . Woodcock, Henry Nicholls, Beck, ” Beck, she’s Organizations: London CNN, Prosecutors, CNN, HMP, Airport, Big Oil, Conservative, International Energy Agency, Labour, London, Police, Amnesty International, Liberty, Stop, ExxonMobil, Exchange, Atlas Network, of Policy, London Metropolitan Police, Met Police, Global, US Civil Rights, Climate Rights International, International Center, Profit, Dakota Access Pipeline, American Legislative Exchange Council, Chevron, Energy, Center for Media, Democracy, Dakota, Pipeline, Oil, Palestine, British, Reuters Locations: North, London, HMP Bronzefield, London’s, —, US, Germany, France, Australia, Mandan , North Dakota, United Kingdom, Israel, England, Northern Ireland

☆ Israeli military says it has hit Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in several areas of Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The Israeli military says it targeted Hezbollah “weapons storage facilities” in multiple airstrikes across Lebanon on Saturday. Another of the strikes hit “empty shops” in the town of Sareen in Baalbek, reported the state-run Lebanese news agency NNA. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed carrying out strikes in the Beqaa and Baalbek areas, saying it had targeted Hezbollah weapons storage facilities. It said it had also struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in seven other areas of Lebanon, in the south. The strikes follow what the IDF described as a barrage of 55 projectiles being fired from Lebanese to Israeli territory earlier on Saturday morning.

Persons: CNN’s Benjamin Brown, Eyad Kourdi Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, IDF Locations: Lebanon, Al, Baalbek, Hermel, Sareen, Lebanese, Galilee, Iran, Yiftach Eliklit, Lake Tiberias, “, Israel, Gaza

☆ A big Fed meeting looms in the week ahead as economic concerns percolate
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Federal Reserve is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday — and is is widely anticipated to make its first interest rate cut after embarking on a hiking campaign in March 2022. As it is, stocks are headed for a winning week ahead of the meeting. On Friday, the CME FedWatch tool showed markets were split how big the rate cut would be. Investors will also watch what Fed policymakers will signal in its summary of economy projections regarding future policy moves. He worries that stocks will rally heading into the central bank meeting, with investors possibly selling the news afterward.

Persons: It's, disinflation, Chadha, CNBC's, Dave Sekera, Giuseppe Sette, Sette, BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky, Morningstar's Sekera, Bank Asset Management Group's Bill Northey, Mills, homebuilder Organizations: Federal, Deutsche Bank, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Morningstar, U.S, Bank Asset Management Group's, Olive, Darden, FedEx, Index, Retail, Manufacturing, Housing, Philadelphia Fed Locations: U.S, Olive Garden, NAHB

☆ Swallowed eels escape via predator fish’s gills
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Dark sleeper fish (Odontobutis obscura) can gulp down young Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) whole, but the swallowed eels can wriggle back up through the digestive tract and out of the stomach, swimming to freedom through the bigger fish’s gills, scientists recently discovered. “Witnessing the eels’ desperate escape from the predator’s stomach to the gills was truly astonishing for us.”A Japanese eel exhibits circling behavior along a predator's stomach wall in this X-ray video footage. But while they observed swallowed eels wriggling tailfirst from dark sleepers’ gills, “we had no understanding of their escape routes and behavioral patterns during the escape because it occurred inside the predator’s body,” Hasegawa said via email. Once a predator swallowed an eel, the sated fish was quickly moved to a special tank where the X-ray video camera was ready to roll. On average, it took about 3 ½ minutes for a swallowed eel to reappear and swim away.

Persons: ”, Yuha Hasegawa, Yuuki Kawabata, ichthyologist Kory Evans, “, ” Evans, ’ Hasegawa, Kazuki Yokouchi, Nagasaki University —, ” Hasegawa, Prosanta, Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Graduate School of Fisheries, Environmental Sciences, Japan’s Nagasaki University, “, biosciences, Rice University, Japan Fisheries Research, Education Agency, Nagasaki University, Louisiana State University, LSU Museum of Natural Science, Scientific Locations: Anguilla, Houston

SAN ANTONIO — In the three weeks since Texas’ attorney general executed raids at the homes of several Latino election activists, the state’s oldest civil rights organization has been marshaling members to step up voter registration for what they say is a stand against voter suppression. A voter at news conference to respond to allegations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, on Aug. 26 in San Antonio. A contingent of LULAC members and other Hispanic activists attended the hearing in support of Medina. Texas LULAC President Gabriel Rosales said in a phone interview that along with the fear, the raids “kind of lit a fire from Hispanics around Texas. “Councils have been doubling their efforts to engage Latino voters across Texas and across the country,” Proaño said.

Persons: ANTONIO —, “, ”, Juan Proaño, Paxton, Ken Paxton, Eric Gay, Juan Manuel Medina, Geoffrey Goldstein, ” Medina’s, Medina, Lidia Martinez, Martinez, ” Martinez, Gabriel Rosales, ” Rosales, Houston, LULAC, Proaño, ” Proaño, Lidia Organizations: ANTONIO, League of United Latin American, Texas, NBC, Tejano Democrats, LULAC, American GI, Latinos Locations: Texas, South Texas, Frio County, county's, San Antonio, Medina, America, “, Mexican

WASHINGTON — Two brothers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey who allegedly assaulted a New York Times photographer and stole her camera after they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were arrested by the FBI on Thursday. The men the FBI identified as the Walker brothers, as seen pointing at a New York Times photographer before her assault. “Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry. Two men the FBI identified as the Walker brothers, seen on the right in face masks, after assaulting a New York Times photographer. Reached Thursday, Schaff referred NBC News to a New York Times spokesperson, who said the paper is grateful to authorities "for their persistence in pursuing justice in this case."

Persons: Philip Walker, David Walker, Walker, Erin Schaff, Schaff, Brian Mock, antifa, “, ”, Nancy Pelosi’s, Danielle Rhoades Ha, sleuths, —, Donald Trump, “ Trump, Trump, Jan Organizations: WASHINGTON, New York Times, U.S, Capitol, FBI, The New York Times, NBC, NBC News, U.S . Capitol, Boys, Trump, pitchfork Locations: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Upper Chichester , Pennsylvania, Delran , New Jersey, Trump

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