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☆ How Rising Profits Could Prevent the Economy From Faltering
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cyclical industries such as manufacturing often drive profit cycles. That makes a comedown for the U.S. economy seem less likely. The Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that before-tax corporate profits rose 1.1% from a year earlier in the third quarter. This compares with a decline of 6% in the second quarter. Exclude the Fed, and corporate profits rose by 6.7% in the third quarter compared with a gain of 1.6% in the second.

Persons: Brian Kaiser Organizations: Bloomberg, Commerce Department, Federal Locations: U.S

☆ The NBA Tournament’s Burning Question: Is It Worth a Parade?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Joshua Robinson | Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In the first year of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, basketball fans have become used to a few new things: purple courts, weird scheduling, the concept of a group stage. But they’re still wrapping their minds around how much they should really care about this whole competition. Now, as the inaugural event moves into the quarterfinals and gets ready for this week’s Final Four in Las Vegas, officials at eight city halls across the country are beginning to wonder the same thing. The question that at least one of them will have to answer: Is winning the in-season tournament worth a parade?

Locations: Las Vegas

☆ You Can Look Better on Video Calls Without Even Trying
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Nicole Nguyen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cold and flu season is in full swing. And so is the year-end work rush. This past week, I didn’t want to bring my runny nose to the office. But I still felt pressure to show up to video calls—with my camera on.

☆ Goods Deflation Is Back. It Could Speed Inflation’s Return to 2%
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Used cars count among the durable items that can benefit from goods deflation. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesAfter a historic run-up in inflation, Americans are now starting to see something they haven’t in three years: deflation. To be sure, deflation—that is, falling prices—is largely confined to appliances, furniture, used cars and other goods. Economywide deflation, when prices of most goods and services continuously fall, isn’t in the cards.

Persons: Justin Sullivan Locations: isn’t

☆ Why Biden Touts Jobs When Americans Care About Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Annie Linskey | Amara Omeokwe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden has built the case for a second term by saying his policies have strengthened the labor market. Photo: andrew caballero-reynolds/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—President Biden likes to talk about “jobs, jobs, jobs” when touting his economic record. The problem is that voters are far more worried about prices, prices, prices. The disconnect is one reason why his Bidenomics re-election pitch is landing flat despite a broadly resilient U.S. economy that has defied expectations. Prices have gone up by 19% since the start of the pandemic, a hard-to-forget leap that has left voters in search of someone to blame.

Persons: Biden, andrew caballero, reynolds Organizations: Agence France, Getty, WASHINGTON —

☆ The Race to Save Ketchup: Building a Tomato for a Hotter World
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Patrick Thomas | Photographs Max Whittaker For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In the heart of one of the world’s top vegetable-growing regions in California, scientists are on a mission to save ketchup. Plant breeders at the Woodland, Calif., facility of German pharmaceutical and agriculture giant Bayer are testing whether tomatoes meant for processing into pizza sauces and ketchup can survive on a fraction of their traditional water needs, without sacrificing taste or juiciness.

Locations: California, Calif

JOHANNESBURG—Wealthy nations are sending tens of billions of dollars to poorer ones for clean energy, the linchpin of a global strategy to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the developing world. But two of the most ambitious efforts yet—in South Africa and Indonesia—are now at risk of unraveling, sowing doubts about the rich world’s ability to push developing countries away from coal and other fossil fuels.

Organizations: JOHANNESBURG — Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Indonesia

☆ Nicaragua Charges Local Owner of Miss Universe Franchise With Treason, Organized Crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The charges against the beauty contest organizers are the latest attempt by President Daniel Ortega to consolidate power in Nicaragua. Photo: POOL/REUTERSMEXICO CITY—Nicaragua’s government charged the owner of the local Miss Universe franchise with treason, organized crime and inciting hatred as part of a plot to overthrow President Daniel Ortega ’s regime two weeks after the country’s first victory in the pageant. Nicaraguan police accused the contest’s local organizer, Karen Celebertti, a past beauty queen and owner of a modeling agency, her husband and son of rigging contests so that antigovernment winners would emerge at the pageants.

Persons: Daniel Ortega, Daniel Ortega ’, Karen Celebertti Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Miss Universe Locations: Nicaragua, MEXICO

☆ The Christmas Movie People Love to Hate
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Russell Adams | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/christmas-movie-people-love-to-hate-family-stone-960d9808

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Alabama Plunges College Football Into Chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Laine Higgins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide won the SEC Championship. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty ImagesATLANTA—Heading into this week’s conference championship matchups, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee looked like it could take the weekend off. The top four teams in the nation—Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Florida State—were all Power 5 schools with perfect records. Win one more game, and the final four would pick itself. Then Nick Saban’s Alabama marched into Atlanta and plunged the entire sport into chaos.

Persons: Jalen Milroe, Todd Kirkland, Nick Saban’s Alabama Organizations: Alabama Crimson Tide, SEC, Getty, College, Florida State Locations: ATLANTA, Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Florida, Atlanta

☆ The Surprise Bill Coming to Those Who Underpay Their Taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Ashlea Ebeling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rising interest rates factor into the Internal Revenue Service’s latest move on taxes. Photo Illustration: WSJ; STEFANI REYNOLDS/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesFailing to keep up with tax payments now could lead to an expensive surprise come next spring. As of Oct. 1, the Internal Revenue Service is charging 8% interest on estimated tax underpayments, up from 3% two years ago. The increase is one of the many effects of rising interest rates.

Persons: STEFANI REYNOLDS Organizations: Agence France, Internal Revenue Service

☆ Tourist Stabbed to Death Near Eiffel Tower in Suspected Terrorist Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Police in Paris secured the scene of an attack on a tourist near the Eiffel Tower late Saturday. Photo: stephanie lecocq/ReutersPARIS—A German tourist was stabbed to death on Saturday evening a few hundred yards from the Eiffel Tower in a suspected terrorist attack, a blow to authorities on high alert because of the Israel-Hamas war. The suspect, identified as a Frenchman in his 20s, was arrested shortly after the slaying, said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin . France’s counterterrorism prosecutor opened an investigation.

Persons: stephanie lecocq, Frenchman, Gérald Darmanin Organizations: Eiffel Locations: Paris, PARIS, Israel

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Gaza airstrikes, truce talks, IDF offensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Heather Chen | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Photo of Hisham Awartani, one of three Palestinian students shot in VT, with his mother, Elizabeth Price. Institute for Middle EastHisham Awartani, one of three Palestinian students who were shot while walking in Vermont is now paralyzed, his mother Elizabeth Price tells CNN. A 20-year-old junior at Brown University, Hisham was coming to terms with the “very long road he has in front of him," Price said. Price said Awartani was scheduled to be released from the hospital next week and will go on to receive rehabilitation care. Read More: One of the three Palestinian students shot in Vermont is paralyzed from the shooting, his mother says

Persons: Hisham Awartani, Elizabeth Price, Price, “ It's, it's, Hisham, ” Price, Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Trinity College –, Jon Murad, Jason J, Eaton, Read Organizations: Elizabeth Price . Institute for Middle, CNN, Brown University, Haverford College, Trinity College, Burlington Police, West Bank Locations: Vermont, Burlington, Ramallah, United States

☆ Congress Expels George Santos. Who’s Next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Instead he went to Congress. On Friday the House expelled the indicted New Yorker, but however bad Mr. Santos’s conduct, it’s a worrying precedent for a polarized age. Mr. Santos faces 23 federal charges, including fraud and identity theft. Yet he has pleaded not guilty, and even politicians get a presumption of innocence. Before Friday’s expulsion, which passed 311-114, only five people in history had been booted by the House.

Persons: Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Mark Kelly George Santos, Santos’s, it’s, Santos Organizations: New Yorker Locations: America

☆ Morningstar: The top 10 stocks to buy in December as the market rally continues into the new year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Mark Reeth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

That's a far-cry from where many Wall Street pros thought stocks would end the year. Others, like analysts at Bank of America, BMO, and Deutsche Bank believe the market could roar to new all-time highs . Rather than try to guess where the market is heading next, investors would be better off finding high-quality stocks to invest in for the long run. Thankfully, Morningstar's Margaret Giles recently compiled a list of the stocks to buy now, drawn from analysts' larger collection of the best companies to own. These stocks have "predictable cash flows and are run by management teams that have a history of making smart capital-allocation decisions," she wrote.

Persons: Taylor Swift, JP Morgan, Morningstar's Margaret Giles Organizations: Business, JP, Bank of America, BMO, Deutsche Bank

[1/2] Members of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations hold placards during a protest demanding an end to fossil fuels at COP28 World Climate Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 3, 2023. Climate-related impacts "have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century", COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber said in a statement. The World Bank on Sunday launched a new Climate and Health program to explore possible interventions and public health solutions for developing countries. "We have new tools at the lab level that decimate mosquito populations," said Gates, whose foundation supports public health research and projects for the developing world. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke on Sunday at COP28, urging reform to the world's insurance system as another key requirement to keep people safe.

Persons: Amr Alfiky, Sultan Ahmed Al, Jaber, COP28, Joseph Vipond, Storm Daniel, Bill Gates, Gates, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, Gloria Dickie, Elizabeth Piper, Alexander Cornwell, Simon Jessop, Kate Abnett, William James, Katy Daigle, Jan Harvey Organizations: International Federation of Medical, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Rights, Physicians, World Health Organization, Bank, Sunday, Health, World Bank, Microsoft, Former U.S, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, Alberta, Canada, Western, Libya, Pakistan, COP28

"We always said we will win the heartland states," BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda told Reuters. However, a 28-party opposition alliance led by the Congress party has come together to jointly fight BJP, posing a new challenge. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress. Politicians and analysts say state elections do not always influence the outcome of the general elections or accurately indicate national voter mood. Results of the last round of state elections before national elections have been misleading in the past.

Persons: Stringer, Narendra Modi, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gandhi, Supriya Shrinate, Gurmeet Chadha, Ira Dugal, Lincoln, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Telangana, Reuters, Developmental, Congress, Thomson Locations: Madhya Pradesh, Indore, India, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, Mizoram, Mumbai

☆ A physicist says it's possible to determine if our universe is a giant simulation and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund his experiment
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Melvin M. Vopson | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But another is that our universe is a computer simulation, with someone (perhaps an advanced alien species) fine-tuning the conditions. In a virtual reality, this limit would correspond to the speed limit of the processor, or the processing power limit. Similarly, virtual reality needs an observer or programmer for things to happen. AdvertisementIt is reasonable to assume that a simulated universe would contain a lot of information bits everywhere around us. Argonne National LaboratoryI have predicted the exact range of expected frequencies of the resulting photons based on information physics.

Persons: It's, Melvin M, Melvin, —, John A, Paice, John Archibald Wheeler, Nick Bostrom, Seth Lloyd, Elon Musk, Albert Einstein's, Stringer, –, John Barrow Organizations: Service, Physicists, Oxford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, Paramount, Space, Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, Creative Locations: Argonne

☆ The Who’s Who Behind the Modern Artificial Intelligence Movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

While artificial intelligence has taken the limelight over the past year, technology that can appear to operate like human brains has been top of mind for researchers, investors and tech executives in Silicon Valley and beyond for more than a decade. Here are some of the people involved in the origins of the modern A.I. lab that made the chatbot ChatGPT that went viral over the past year and ushered in recognition of the power of generative artificial intelligence. Mr. Altman helped start OpenAI after meeting with Elon Musk about the technology in 2015. At the time, Mr. Altman ran Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley start-up incubator.

Persons: Jim Wilson, New York Times Sam Altman Mr, Altman, San Francisco A.I, Elon Musk Organizations: New York Times, OpenAI, San, Elon Locations: Silicon Valley, San Francisco

☆ A boomer couple left Texas for the retirement of their dreams: 'We were brainwashed that it was the only place to be — it's not'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The couple was tired of paying high property taxes and wanted a new adventure in retirement. Sure, the state has no income tax, but when you are retired the property tax is killer. We wanted to live in a place with seasons and that was between our kids' homes in Connecticut and Texas. The county we live in has a property tax exemption for seniors on school taxes, so now we only pay $1,599 a year. Courtesy of Nancy CottonNancy: Living in Texas so long we were brainwashed that it was the only place to be.

Persons: Texans Nancy, Jim Cotton, —, Nancy, Jim, There's, Nancy Cotton Nancy, Nancy Cotton We're, It's, Austin, I've, Texas Organizations: Texans, Service, Asheville , North Carolina —, Security, Texas, iIt Locations: Georgia, Ellijay , Georgia, Texas, Connecticut, Nancy, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Asheville , North Carolina, Austin, Asheville, It's, Georgia Nancy, Ellijay, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Leander, , Georgia

These are just a few of the ways that public health has been impacted and compounded by climate change - a focus for the first time ever at the annual U.N. climate summit COP28. Here's how climate change is harming people's health across the world today, and what countries might expect in the future. Floods in Pakistan last year, for example, led to a 400%increase in malaria cases in the country, the report said. MURKY WATERSStorms and flooding wrought by climate change are allowing other infectious water-borne diseases to proliferate as well. Diarrhoea, too, receives a boost from climate change, with increasingly erratic rainfall - resulting in either wet or dry conditions - yielding a higher risk, research has found.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Martin Edlund, Gloria Dickie, Alexander Cornwall, Katy Daigle, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, World Health Organization, WHO, Nature Medicine, American Thoracic Society, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Evros, Greece, West Nile, Brazil, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Africa, United States

☆ 60 Journalists Have Been Killed in the Israel-Gaza War. My Friend Was One of Them. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Lama Al-Arian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I was sitting in my apartment in Beirut on the evening of Oct. 13 when I read that journalists had been struck by a missile attack in southern Lebanon. My close friend, Issam Abdallah, was working in the area as a cameraman for Reuters to cover the border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah after the war in Gaza began just days earlier. I couldn’t remember the last time he let one of my calls go to voice mail. In one video, a journalist for Agence France-Presse lies in a pool of blood, screaming that she can’t feel her legs. A wave of nausea washed over me as I watched rescue workers wrap Issam and his severed leg in a white sheet, his body charred, barely recognizable.

Persons: Issam Abdallah, Issam Organizations: Reuters, Agence France, Presse Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Syria

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks during the unveiling of her portrait, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Sunday for reform of the insurance sector, where companies are increasingly withdrawing assistance against climate shocks. Lower-income countries and workers in nations most affected by climate change are struggling to access insurance to help protect them from economic shocks. "We need to rethink the insurance industry," Clinton said during a panel on women and climate resiliency. "People in the United States, Europe, they're going to wake up and say, 'What do you mean, I can't get insurance?'"

Persons: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ken Cedeno, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, it's, Valerie Volcovici, Elizabeth Piper, Katy Daigle, Jan Harvey Organizations: U.S, State Department, REUTERS, Rights, Former U.S, Insurance, Foundation Resilience, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Former, India, U.S, United States, Europe

☆ Podcast: The town threatened by a melting glacier
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Read the episode transcript. On today's episode, our correspondent travels to one remote village at the foot of a glacier in northern Pakistan to see how they are trying to defend themselves from devastating glacial flooding. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Further ReadingMountain villages fight for future as melting glaciers threaten floodsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Organizations: Apple, Google, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Pakistan

The deal, announced during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Sunday, is the first under the ADB's Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) programme, which aims to help countries cut their climate-damaging carbon emissions. "If we don't address these coal plants, we're not going to meet our climate goals," David Elzinga said on the sidelines of the conference. "By doing this pilot transaction, we are learning what it takes to make this happen," David Elzinga said. ADB also has active ETM programmes in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and is considering transactions in two other countries, it said. Reporting by Simon Jessop and David Lawder; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: we're, David Elzinga, Simon Jessop, David Lawder, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Asian Development Bank, Reuters, Transition, ADB, PT PLN, PT, Indonesia Investment Authority, INA, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Indonesia, Dubai, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesian, Jakarta

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