Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, October 27, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Sunday as investors readied for the first trading of November.
Market participants are gearing up for another week of corporate earnings, a key Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday and October’s jobs report.
Dow futures rose 80 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.25% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.25%.
Stocks closed out the month of October on Friday and all three major averages closed at record highs. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq clinched their best months since November 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.8% in October. The S&P 500 rallied 6.9% last month and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite added 7.3% in October. The month marked a rebound from September, where the major indexes declined.
Corporate earnings season dominated October amid solid earnings even with global supply chain concerns. About half of the S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results and more than 80% of them beat earnings estimates from Wall Street analysts, according to Refinitiv.
As earnings season continues this week, investors will also be monitoring the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to announce that it will begin to unwind its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases and end the program entirely by the middle of next year.
Investors will also be looking for the Fed’s comments on rising prices as inflation has been running at a 30-year high.
“The Fed is part of a global move to remove accommodation, and the market drives right past that,” Bleakley Advisory Group CIO Peter Boockvar said. “In a way, the stock market is playing a game of chicken, with this inflation move and interest rates and the response from central banks.”
The other big event for the week will be October’s October employment report Friday, which could show some improvement in hiring, as new cases of Covid-19 continued to decline.
“The change in nonfarm payrolls is expected to be a robust 450K which is likely to again lower the unemployment rate,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Leuthold Group. “Key to the report will be how much wage inflation rises and whether the labor force participation rate finally picks up after so many recently came of extended unemployment benefits.”
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson lauded his side’s all-round performance after their comprehensive eight-wicket victory over India in the 28th match of the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
The 31-year-old said he believes that adapting to spin-bowling conditions remains critical in such high-pressure tournaments. Their spinner, Mitchell Santner, returned with figures of 4-0-15-0, while the other slow bowler, Ish Sodhi, was awarded the Player of the Match for claiming the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, while also going for a measly 17 from his four overs.
Even in the 2016 edition of the tournament, New Zealand had beaten India with the help of a spin strategy in Nagpur. Ish Sodhi and Santner had picked up seven wickets among them as the Kane Williamson-led side had bowled out India for 79.
“There’s always planning going into games, but this was a fantastic all-round performance against a formidable Indian outfit that puts up an incredible fight. Today most things went our way, and we were very clinical on all facets. We were able to build pressure on a surface where it wasn’t easy to find a rhythm, and then the openers came out and set us the platform for the chase.
“It’s just about adapting [spin attack] to the conditions as well we can. For us, both the spinners lend balance to the attack, and they both were outstanding today. I think the collective unit was impressive, the way they kept passing the baton. We saw some very good signs in our first match as well, which was a tight one, and we built on that,” said Kane Williamson in the post-match presentation ceremony.
New Zealand won the toss and applied pressure on the Indian batters, who were struggling for rhythm since the loss against Pakistan. They managed only 110, which the New Zealand batters chased down with 33 balls to spare.
New Zealand defeat India on Halloween by scoring a Nelson (total 111) runs in Devil’s Number (87) balls. Scary.
New Zealand defeat India on Halloween by scoring a Nelson (total 111) runs in Devil’s Number (87) balls. Scary.
Kane Williamson lauds Ish Sodhi
Calling him an outstanding white-ball bowler, Kane Williamson highlighted the importance of the experience that Ish Sodhi gained from playing in various leagues across the world.
“Ish is an outstanding white-ball bowler. He has been a big part of our side for a long period. He’s very experienced in playing T20 cricket, having played in different leagues all over the world. In these conditions, spin plays a big part,” added Kane Williamson, who scored an unbeaten for a 31-ball 33.
Ish Sodhi, who turned 29 on Sunday, now has 19 wickets against India at an average under 18, at 7.25 an over. He’s also New Zealand’s most successful T20I bowler in 2021. He has picked up 21 wickets from nine matches and averages 12.6 with the ball this year.
The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side will next play Scotland in Dubai on Wednesday. Later that day, India will face Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
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Ish Sodhi named Player of the Match with vital wickets in the middle overs in Dubai. Sodhi finished with 2-17 from his four overs with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. #T20WorldCup
Ish Sodhi named Player of the Match with vital wickets in the middle overs in Dubai. Sodhi finished with 2-17 from his four overs with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. #T20WorldCup https://t.co/TFEwxaWXcL
Edited by S Chowdhury
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Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput are one of the most adorable couples we have. Shahid took to Instagram to share a video in which he is smiling. The video also has Mira who is trying to wear an outfit properly. “Legend @mira.kapoor,” read his caption. It seems Mira didn’t like the video much as she commented, “The hell! Just wait and watch.” We think Mira must be planning a good comeback for this. Also Read – From Salman Khan to Shehnaaz Gill: 5 celebs who got BRUTALLY trolled this week
On the work front, Shahid will next be seen in Jersey which is scheduled to release on December 31, 2021. The film’s release has been delayed due to the pandemic. After fishing the film, Shahid had written, “It’s a film wrap on #jersey …. 47 days of shoot during covid. Just unbelievable. I am so proud of the entire team. It’s nothing short of a miracle. I want to thank each and every one from the unit for coming to set every day, putting themselves at risk and doing what we all love doing. Telling stories that touch hearts and make a difference. Jersey is a story that speaks of a Phoenix rising from the ashes. The triumph of an indomitable spirit. If there was ever a time I could connect with the underlying spirit of a film this was it. As we all fight through this pandemic. Let’s always remember. This shall pass too. Here’s to my best filmmaking experience yet. Here’s to Jersey … we shall overcome !!!! @gowtamnaidu @mrunalofficial2016 @geethaarts @amanthegill @srivenkateswaracreations” Recently, Shahid had spoken about the same and said, “God has been kind. I am fortunate to be an actor. It was a far off dream. Ambition is to do justice to every opportunity and every character I play. Dil se kaam karna hai (I want to work wholeheartedly). That’s it.” Also Read – Karwa Chauth 2021: Mira Rajput, Padmini Kolhapure and others celebrate the festival at Anil Kapoor’s residence
The film also stars Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur in key roles. Also Read – Karwa Chauth 2021: Get inspired from these Bollywood actresses and look stylish on the auspicious day
Stay tuned to BollywoodLife for the latest scoops and updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, South, TV and Web-Series. Click to join us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram. Also follow us on Facebook Messenger for latest updates.
After more than a year of lockdowns, with limited access to nature, Magdalena Begh was delighted when her six-year-old daughter came home from forest school and informed her she had found three rat skeletons. One of them, Alia told her, was “pretty fresh”. “These little observations are very crucial to their learning – it’s amazing,” says Begh.
Since Alia and her sister Hana, nine, started going to the Urban Outdoors Adventures in Nature after-school club in north London in June, they have used clay, learned about insects and made campfires, marmalade and bows and arrows.
They are part of a wave of children across the UK who have joined forest schools since the start of the pandemic, many since September.
Of more than 200 forest schools surveyed by the Forest School Association (FSA), about two-thirds said demand for their services had increased since March 2020. Among the reasons cited were increased awareness of the benefits of the outdoors, especially in relation to stress and anxiety, Covid safety, and dissatisfaction with the school syllabus after months of pandemic homeschooling.
“I don’t think it’s ever been more popular,” says Gareth Wyn Davies, chief executive of the FSA, who expects demand to keep increasing. But it’s still got some way to go. “It’s a fairly young sector, just over 20 years old. And it’s a grassroots moment – it doesn’t have that top-down government attention yet.”
Forest schools, which centre around unstructured play, exploration and intrinsic motivation, arrived in the UK in 1993. Inspired by the outdoors culture – or friluftsliv – of Scandinavia, sessions are usually held either entirely or mostly outdoors and are intended to supplement, rather than replace, traditional education.
State schools are increasingly putting on forest school sessions for pupils within the school day because they are considered to be beneficial to mental and physical health, behaviour and academic attainment – as well as being relatively “Covid-proof”.
Begh says that, having grown up in a village amid nature, she was always keen on signing her daughters up to forest school. So when she heard about one nearby, she put their names down straight away. “After the first session they were very excited – I’ve never seen them so happy after doing any after-school club like that.”
Abby Sutcliffe, director of Urban Outdoors Adventures in Nature. Photograph: Andy Hall/the Observer
Abby Sutcliffe, director of Urban Outdoors Adventures in Nature forest school, which works with 100 children a week in after-school clubs, and 60 pupils in schools, says there has been a “massive uptake” in the last year. “It’s a combination of the lockdowns and people realising that being outdoors is actually quite good for your mental health.”
During the first lockdown, they ran free sessions for local children, and they have just finished a year-long youth programme including bushcraft, blacksmithing and herbalism. While some forest schools are held on National Trust land or private woodland, as an urban forest school, Sutcliffe’s is run in public spaces including a nature reserve and a canal-side park. The mental health and wellbeing benefits are “palpable”, she says.
Schools are turning to forest school to teach children social, emotional and physical skills that have become rusty during lockdown, says Vicki Stewart, who is director of Brightwood Training near Swindon. She says forest school is also being used to meet the needs of children, which have been changing since the 1990s but have been particularly accelerated by the pandemic.
“Children are indoors using technology to talk to their friends rather than going outdoors, and they have relied more and more on technology – since Covid that has happened even more.”
She teaches children old-fashioned group games such as hide-and-seek, tag and grandmother’s footsteps because they don’t know how to play them – in part, she says, due to Covid but also because of safety fears about playing outside, and pressure to achieve academically.
But while forest schools take children away from technology, it still “creeps in” via their imaginations, says Kent-based forest-school leader Anna Bell. “When a child now makes a camp, not always, but a lot of the time, there’ll be a flatscreen TV which is a piece of wood, there’ll be a remote control, there’ll be an Xbox or something.”
Lockdowns were “a chance to get off the treadmill” for families, says Lewis Ames, co-director of Devon-based forest school Children of the Forest. They’ve seen a rise in applications since the start of the pandemic, with about 150 families on their toddler-group waiting list, and 50-60 children on the waiting list for their forest school for home-educated children.
“That pause gave a lot of families time to think and go, ‘actually is this working? Or are we just surviving and getting through?’” Ames says. “Which then prompted a lot of the families that started with us to go ‘actually no, it isn’t quite right’.”
At no point did the jurors suggest that any of Mr. Khan’s treatment was illegal. Their letter noted that Mr. Khan, who never attained U.S. citizenship, was held as an “alien unprivileged enemy belligerent,” a status that made him eligible for trial by military commission and “not technically afforded the rights of U.S. citizens.”
But, the officers noted, Mr. Khan pleaded guilty, owned his actions and “expressed remorse for the impact of the victims and their families. Clemency is recommended.”
The jury foreman, a Navy captain, said in court that he took up a request by Mr. Khan’s military defense lawyer, Maj. Michael J. Lyness of the Army, to consider drafting a letter recommending clemency. It was addressed to the convening authority of military commissions, the senior Pentagon official overseeing the war court, a role that is currently held by Col. Jeffrey D. Wood of the Arkansas National Guard.
Unknown to the jurors, Colonel Wood had reached an agreement with Mr. Khan to evaluate his cooperation with the government and reduce his sentence. In exchange, Mr. Khan and his legal team agreed to drop their effort to call witnesses to testify about his torture, much of it most likely classified, as long as he could tell his story to the jury.
The jurors were also sympathetic to Mr. Khan’s account of being drawn to radical Islam in 2001 at age 21, after the death of his mother, and being recruited to Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11 attacks. “A vulnerable target for extremist recruiting, he fell to influences furthering Islamic radical philosophies, just as many others have in recent years,” the letter said. “Now at the age of 41 with a daughter he has never seen, he is remorseful and not a threat for future extremism.”
The panel was provided with nine letters of support for Mr. Khan from family members, including his father and several siblings — American citizens who live in the United States — as well as his wife, Rabia, and daughter, Manaal, who were born in Pakistan and live there.
Although rarely done, a military defense lawyer can ask a panel for letters endorsing mercy, such as a reduction of a sentence, for a service member who is convicted at a court-martial. But this was the first time the request was made of a sentencing jury at GuantΓ‘namo, where accused terrorists are being tried by military commission.
Chris Harvey’s reign as the year’s biggest bull won’t extend into next year.
The Wells Fargo Securities head of equity strategy, whose 2021 S&P 500 target is 4,825, predicts Wall Street will stage a vibrant year-end rally and then see a losing 2022.
“You’re going to bring equities to a level that they can’t sustain. We’ll have the equity market melt-up,” he told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “We’ll bring stocks to a level where the fundamentals and valuations don’t support them.”
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow ended the week in record territory. The S&P and Nasdaq were up 7% in October while the Dow gained 6%.
“What we’re seeing from a lot of individuals and investors is they feel like the market is unbreakable at this point in time. We’ve had several pullbacks. You’ve bent it, but you’ve never broken,” said Harvey. “That brings another level of FOMO [fear of missing out], and that brings in a level of confidence.”
Harvey lists strong economic fundamentals, better-than-expected earnings, low capital costs and massive cash on the sidelines as fuel for gains.
“It’s late in the bull market,” he said. “Now is a period where irrationality becomes much more rational. Things you don’t expect to happen can happen, and most likely will.”
Harvey contends momentum names, which include banks, will be major drivers into year-end. He calls financials a “stealth leadership play” that will get traction from the Federal Reserve’s taper plans.
Don’t go bottom fishing
“That will put upward pressure on rates, and that’s good for banks,” said Harvey. “We want to buy things that are working. We don’t want to go bottom fishing. We don’t want to buy broken stories.”
He suggests playing the iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF.
“The funny thing here is a lot of people believe these are high tech and all tech-type stocks,” he noted. “If you look at the momentum index and the Momentum ETF, 20% of it is in banks and three of the top ten names in the momentum ETF are banks. So, you have pretty good diversity.”
Harvey estimates the market melt-up will last three to six months. In next year’s second quarter, he expects a more hawkish Fed, decelerating growth and uncertainty surrounding the mid-term elections to start creating headwinds that could cause a 10% correction.
“I hate this comment, but I’m going to give it to you anyway. I think it is a ‘sell in May and go away,'” said Harvey. “By the time you get into late spring, early summer, you really want to turn more defensive.”
It’s still considered early for firms to deliver next year’s S&P targets. Harvey’s target is 4,715. The more bullish estimates so far include Credit Suisse’s Jonathan Golub, who has a 5,000 S&P target.
After the enormous success of Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson’s #TeamTrees campaign in 2019, he has managed to raise a huge $7 million amount for the #TeamSeas campaign in less than a week.
In 2019, MrBeast had raised over $23 million for the Arbor Day Foundation, which promised to plant a tree for each dollar donated. On October 29, 2021, MrBeast launched the TeamSeas campaign with the aim to raise $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash from the Earth’s oceans.
The campaign intends to locate, remove, and recycle the trash from seas and oceans via river interceptors, locally-organized cleanups, ghost-gear removal efforts, and professional expeditions. MrBeast has raised around $7 million in donations within days of the campaign, which amounts to more than 20% of the desired target.
MrBeast raises almost $7 million for #TeamSeas campaign, plans to remove 30 million pounds of trash from oceans
The TeamTrees campaign is still live and has managed to raise more than $23.5 million to date. MrBeast set out an ambitious target of $30 million by January 2022 for the TeamSeas campaign and will be pleased with the progress so far. According to the official website, the campaign has now raised more than $6.9 million.
On October 29, MrBeast announced the TeamSeas campaign alongside friend and fellow YouTuber Mark Rober, who was also involved in the TeamTrees campaign.
According to MrBeast, YouTube Originals made the first official donation of around $400k. Since then, multiple popular content creators such as PrestonPlayz & Brianna and Milad Mirg, along with musician Alan Walker, have all donated to the campaign.
The highest donation so far of around $1 million was made by the Bikoff Foundation, a charitable organization headquartered in New York.
The TeamSeas campaign aims to clean up 30 million pounds of trash from oceans, beaches, and rivers. The campaign will include locally-organized cleanups and professional expeditions to areas where teams can have the most significant conservational impact.
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It will use advanced river interceptors and aims to remove discarded fishing and diving equipment from oceans and rivers as well. For further information, the official TeamSeas website can be visited. The website also includes an online store with TeamSeas merchandise, with the campaign already having gone live.
Dylan Penn celebrated Halloween in a bright blue costume from ‘Dumb and Dumber’, and was seen locking lips with a mystery woman.
Sean Penn and Robin Wright‘s mini-me daughter Dylan stepped out for Halloween celebrations on October 30 in a costume from Dumb & Dumber. The 30-year-old stunned in a blue two-piece set reminiscent of Jeff Daniels‘ character’s costume in the movie, while she locked lips with a mystery woman who wore an orange suit similar to Jim Carrey‘s character. The blonde beauty donned a pair of silk pants with a stripe down the leg, and a sleeveless blue v-neck top.
Dylan with a mystery woman. Image: BACKGRID
Meanwhile, her brunette companion cut an equally chic figure for the West Hollywood outing, pairing her orange pants and matching jacket with white Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers and a bright orange top hat. It comes just a couple of months after the actress was seen with her parents en route to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, ahead of the release of their new film Flag Day.
Flag Day marks the first movie that Dylan has starred in with her A-list father, and the duo recently opened up to Variety about the “intensity” of working together. “Rarely have I ever had an actor’s face dominate what I was reading on the first read of the script, and Dylan’s face was imprinted on it by page 30,” Sean told the outlet.
Dylan Penn. Image: BACKGRID
Dylan chimed in, “The intensity was what I expected, but the playfulness of working with him as a director and as a co-star was really surprising and a relief at the same time.” She continued, “Playing off of him as another actor is really easy because he gives you a lot to work with.” Sean revealed that he and Dylan infused parts of their dynamic as an IRL father-daughter duo into the otherwise serious roles.
“We have parallels in the humor of their dynamic and in the flaws — in particular, myself as a father,” the actor said. “In the end, what was the most common was that I love my kids until the end of the earth, and I believe that John Vogel did too in his own messed up way.”
Japan’s ruling conservative party held on to power in Sunday’s election, but gains by the opposition parties weakened prime minister Fumio Kishida’s authority as he attempts to steer the economy out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, together have won 274 seats as of late Sunday, with about 40 seats still undecided, in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan‘s two-chamber Diet, public broadcaster NHK reported. The LDP has also won a single majority at 247 seats, with Komeito taking 27 seats, according to NHK.
Their combined strength has exceeded a parliamentary majority of 233 and also “an absolute majority” of 261 seats – a level that allows the ruling bloc to control all parliamentary committees and easily ram through legislation. But it also showed a loss from 305 seats previously.
The Constitutional Democratic party of Japan, the biggest opposition group, was expected to pick up seats, as was the rightwing populist Japan Innovation party, whose traditional base is in the western city of Osaka.
Sunday’s projected result was uncomfortably close for Kishida and the LDP, which has governed Japan almost uninterruptedly since the mid-1950s and last lost a lower house election in 2009.
Officials of the election administration committee count ballot papers for Japan’s general election in Tokyo on Sunday. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Kishida, who became prime minister last month after his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, decided not to run in the LDP leadership race, has said he will prepare Japan’s health service for a possible wave of winter Covid-19 cases and tackle income inequality as he attempts to revive the pandemic-hit economy with a multi-trillion yen stimulus package.
The 64-year-old centrist had hoped that his focus on a vaguely defined “new capitalism” that would redistribute wealth to Japan’s struggling middle classes would help his party retain its healthy majority in parliament.
But analysts said Kishida had been damaged by his association with Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister last year, and his protege Suga, who stepped down in September after a disastrous year in office. Kishida had promised a more responsive leadership and to address criticism of Abe’s “arrogance” – even when confronted by major scandals – an approach adopted by Suga.
Unusually for an incoming leader, Kishida did not enjoy a political honeymoon, with approval ratings around 50%, the lowest in two decades for a new administration in Japan.
The LDP’s narrow victory, and Kishida’s lacklustre ratings, could trigger a period of uncertainly and a return to the days of revolving-door prime ministers, which ended with Abe’s eight years in office.
“Revolving-door prime ministers is a weakness that many outside of Japan fear,” Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a blog post. “Prime minister Kishida will need a unified party and a strong electoral showing on Oct. 31 if he is to successfully tackle Japan’s difficult national agenda.”
The LDP had hoped to emerge with a clear win after a tumultuous year, said Michael Cucek, assistant professor of Asian studies at Temple University. “The fact that they are still having to fight so hard is, for them, highly embarrassing,” Cucek said shortly before the vote. “If (Kishida) leads the party into a loss of seats, a clock starts ticking in the minds of his rivals in the party, saying ‘maybe he is only a one-year prime minister’.”
The opposition parties capitalised on unusually close cooperation, with five of them, including the communists, agreeing before the campaign began 12 days ago not to compete against each other in marginal constituencies in an attempt to consolidate the anti-LDP vote.
They called for more help for low-income families, as well as to allow married couples to use separate surnames and for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, all of which Kishida opposes.
“I focused on the candidates’ policies on same-sex marriage and LGBT issues. I have many friends in gay or lesbian couples. I hope public understanding on these issues will deepen,” said Eko Nagasaki, an 18-year-old woman who voted for the first time.
Several polls had indicated that Kishida, a softly spoken former banker whose rise has been met with indifference by many voters, lacked the profile to lead the LDP to a convincing victory. Last month he defeated three rivals to become party president – effectively securing him the premiership – including Taro Kono, a reformist whose popularity among voters was not shared by many party MPs.
Kishida, who had delayed a decision on his attendance at Cop26 summit until the election results were in, is under pressure to offer more details of his plans for the world’s third-biggest economy, as well as ensure that Japan’s medical infrastructure is better able to cope with a possible rise in Covid-19 cases.
On the foreign policy front he will have to convince dovish colleagues in Komeito to back plans to dramatically raise defence spending in response to an increasingly uncertain security environment in north-east Asia.
The LDP included in its election platform a pledge to double defence spending to 2% of GDP, citing rising tensions between China and Taiwan and North Korea’s resumption of ballistic missile tests.
Japan, whose postwar “pacifist” constitution forbids it from using force to settle international disputes, has traditionally kept spending on defence to within 1% of GDP. Any attempt to break through that symbolic barrier would encounter resistance at home and spark protests from Beijing.
Shinji Asada, a Tokyo voter in his 40s, was among those who were hoping for a change in government, despite Kishida’s promise to listen more closely to voters than his predecessors.
“I didn’t think anything would change under Kishida after seeing his cabinet,” he said. Posts in Kishida’s cabinet largely went to party factions that had supported his leadership election.
Chihiro Sato, a Tokyo woman with a young child, said: “The economy is suffering because of the coronavirus, so I looked at how the different politicians planned to respond to that.”
Climate advocates said it’s imperative to deliver tangible new commitments in Glasgow.
“The G20 leaders’ call to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is very significant,” said Ulka Kelkar, climate director for the India office of the World Resources Institute. The Glasgow conference “now needs to back it up with measures to cut emissions rapidly in this decade and urgently scale up climate finance.”
Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, was more blunt. “If the G20 was a dress rehearsal,” she said, for the United Nations summit in Glasgow, “then world leaders fluffed their lines.”
In their statement, the G20 leaders said, “Keeping 1.5 within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways.”
But in a first for the G20, members agreed to take steps to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. “We acknowledge that methane emissions represent a significant contribution to climate change and recognize, according to national circumstances, that its reduction can be one of the quickest, most feasible and most cost-effective ways to limit climate change and its impacts,” they wrote.
Shoppers fill a Target Store on a Black Friday in Chicago.
John Gress | Corbis Historical | Getty Images
“Buy now, pay later” has become a popular payment tool among young consumers, replacing standard bank credit cards. And this year, the largest retailers are adapting to the trendy payment option for the holiday shopping season. But it comes with a warning: defaults on “BNPL” payments have been rising and experts worry BNPL can be a recipe for overspending.
More than half of all consumers plan to use BNPL in the next year, and that’s good news for merchants. Shoppers tend to spend more per purchase when they use BNPL, according to McKinsey.
The spending option is being offered for purchases large and small.
In September, Amazon struck a deal with Affirm that would allow consumers to split purchases of $50 or more into smaller monthly payments, a trend that Dan Dolev, Mizuho analyst, told CNBC’s “TechCheck” is growing. “The big trends we are looking at is the move toward lower ticket items,” Dolev said. “And we are seeing that in the Amazon deal with Affirm.”
Everyday spending items, like a pair of shoes, is a BNPL space retailers want to accommodate, according to Dolev, because of the frequency and low risk of the purchases. “You aren’t going to go bankrupt on a pair of shoes.”
Fintechs Square and Paypal bought into the BNPL space recently too.
Macy’s, Amazon and Walmart are among the biggest retailers that have begun offering “buy now, pay later” payment options. In October, Target announced it would adapt to BNPL ahead of the holiday shopping season to make shopping “more flexible and personalized to guests’ needs, right in time for the holiday season,” the company said in a statement.
Target said its partnership with BNPL firms Sezzle and Affirm will let consumers pay at a pace that best suits them. “It’s a handy option during the busy holiday season and all year long,” the company said.
Sezzle will break each small purchase, like festive party supplies or holiday PJs, into four interest-free payments over six weeks. The retailer also suggests consumers pay off big ticket items like electronics or new furniture sets with Affirm because of its longer payment period options.
Holiday retail sales have inclined steadily over the last decade. In 2000, holiday retail spending totaled to $400 billion. Comparably, and despite being in the peak of a global pandemic, 2020 holiday sales reached near-$800 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, which is predicting the sales will set a new record again this year.
In 2021, consumer spending is up, the economy is reopening, and consumers are ready to shop for the holidays.
1 in 3 Americans expect to take on debt this holiday shopping season, according to an October Credit Karma survey. But no matter how people plan to purchase their holiday items, consumers should be mindful of their spending, and any interest or late fees that may be part of credit card or BNPL models.
The booming financial tool offers consumers installment options on instant purchases.
Whether the purchase is through a BNPL service or a credit card, “consumers should fully understand the transaction,” said a spokesperson for Affirm.
“People tend to lose their minds financially speaking, right around Black Friday,” said John Ulzheimer, a credit expert. “So, when you combine a higher delinquency rate with more debt, which is what happens at the end of the year, because of holiday shopping activities, you are combining two things that are pretty dangerous.”
BNPL draws consumers in with its zero-interest financing, but to guarantee no interest and no fees, consumers must meet certain terms, such as making payments on time and in full.
Klarna, a fintech company based out of Sweden, makes money by charging retailers to offer BNPL to clients. But if a scheduled payment is past-due, a late fee of up to $7 — capped at a maximum of 25% of the past-due amount — is issued to the consumer.
Affirm has no late fees, but charges interest to consumers, though it only approves customers for the amount they’re looking to purchase on their terms, which they can choose to pay off over three, six, or 12 months, and they are only charged interest on the principle amount (no compounding of interest over time as is common with credit cards when not paid off in full.) Affirm does note that making late payments can affect a consumer’s ability to get future loans.
In a Credit Karma survey released in September, 44% of respondents said they had used BNPL services, and 34% had fallen behind on one or more of those payments. Further, more than half of the young consumers included in the survey said they have missed at least one BNPL payment: “25% of millennials have missed one payment, while 30% of Gen Z respondents have missed two,” according to the survey.
Klarna says less than 1% of its users never pay off what they owe. Similarly, Affirm’s delinquencies of 30+ days were about 1% for the year, according to the Affirm spokesperson. A Klarna spokesperson said that if shoppers miss a payment, the company restricts the use of its services so they can’t accumulate debt.
Regulation of BNPL is increasing in countries including the U.K. and that has led firms like Klarna to become more strict with lending requirements.
Historically, young consumers begin building credit in their early twenties by paying off credit cards and bills in their name. Credit cards report to credit agencies and paying those down in time translates to good credit for the consumer. That credit becomes important for consumers when applying for loans or mortgages. But not all BNPL transactions are reported to credit agencies, a factor which Ulzheimer said can seriously dent the value of the financial approach. Affirm, for example, does not report shorter-term, interest-free loans. Its interest rates range from 0% to 30%.
Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com says if the consumer is responsible and if BNPL works in their budget it could be a useful tool, but in the end just like credit cards it can also be a slippery slope. “If you overspend, pay late and rely too much on it, [buy now pay later] could be bad.”
He says consumers should think of it as “more of a steppingstone.”
“This could be used kind of selectively, but I wouldn’t put all my eggs in this basket long term because then you’re missing out on other benefits.”
Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has stated that his side’s batters made a conscious effort to play more strokes against New Zealand so that they could provide the cushion of extra runs to the bowlers. However, Bumrah lamented that the approach did not come off as stroke-making was rather difficult in the first half.
Sent into bat after losing the toss in a must-win T20 World Cup 2021 clash in Dubai on Sunday, India could only accumulate 110 for 7 in their 20 overs. New Zealand chased down the target in 14.3 overs to strengthen their chances of making the semis.
Speaking after the match, Bumrah explained that the batters’ plan was to try and score some extra runs, keeping the dew factor in mind. At a post-match press conference, Bumrah elaborated:
“We knew that, in the second innings, dew does play a massive factor. As a batting unit, we tried to give ourselves some cushion. We wanted to get some extra runs that could give us the advantage in the second innings. In the process, we played a lot of attacking shots and that didn’t come off today. But that was the approach as a batting unit. In the second innings, batting does get easier, so we wanted to give that cushion to the bowlers.”
Bumrah, who was India’s best bowler on the day with figures of 2/19, conceded that batting became a lot easier in the second innings compared to the first. He stated:
“When we bowled length balls in the second innings, it wasn’t holding in the pitch. But, in the first innings, as you must have seen, the pick up and pull shots weren’t coming off and shot-making was really difficult.”
The 27-year-old further revealed that the team had a discussion over how to approach batting in the first innings after dew impacted their first match against Pakistan. Bumrah specified:
“We had a discussion over the fact that in the last game as well the wicket got better in the second innings. That’s why we wanted those extra 20-25 runs so that we could cover for the change in conditions and bowlers could get some margin. The toss became a very crucial factor and that’s why we were keen on scoring as many as we could.”
India could never get going with the bat and had lost half their side for 70 by the 15th over. Cameos from Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja ensured they crossed three figures.
“We try to adapt but sometimes bio-bubble fatigue does creep in” – Jasprit Bumrah
Before the T20 World Cup, the Indian players were part of the IPL, which ended just a couple of days before the start of the ICC event. Before that, some of the players were also in England as part of the Test series.
Bumrah admitted that bio-bubble fatigue does tire the players mentally at times, but added that there was nothing the players could do about it. Bumrah emphasized:
“Absolutely, sometimes you need a break. You miss your family sometimes, you have been on the road for six months. All of that, at times, plays on the back of your mind. But, when you are on the field, you don’t think about all of those things. You don’t control the scheduling. Obviously, staying in a bubble for such a long period of time does play a role on the players’ minds. But this is the time we are living in, there’s a pandemic going on. We try to adapt but sometimes bio-bubble fatigue does creep in. It is the way it is, you cannot control a lot over there.”
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Following losses to Pakistan and New Zealand, India only have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Their next game will be against Afghanistan on November 3.
Bigg Boss 15 is turning out to be rather boring. There seem to be three main reasons for the same. The contestants look rather image-conscious and are continuously in the game mode. Moreover, some of them are not getting any visibility. Thirdly, their imagination and drive to win is rather low. Another interesting thing is the presence of the two women, Tejasswi Prakash and Shamita Shetty. Both of them are leading the house though it does not come across very evidently. The game of the other contestants seem to revolve around the two. While Shamita Shetty is sought after as an advisor by many, Tejasswi Prakash has been part of the plotting and planning since day one. She has been one of the most active members of the Jungle waasis. Also Read – Bigg Boss 15: Umar Riaz fans upset with Salman Khan’s condescending behaviour; say, ‘Why is he behaving so low?’ – read tweets
Tejasswi Prakash is one of the contestants who is more clued in than the others. While some of her decisions might not have been very brilliant, she is more aware than others. Shamita is also the leader of the Bigg Boss OTT. Karan Kundrra has tried to be the leader of the junglewaasis and mobilise them but it is evident that it too revolves around Shamita Shetty and Tejasswi Prakash. There is a semi-romantic angle going on with Tejasswi while he has said that he likes Shamita too. Also Read – Bigg Boss 15, Weekend Ka Vaar, October 31, 2021, Live Updates: Akasa Singh is eliminated from the house
Even Salman Khan pointed out in the weekend ka vaar that the men only seem to listen to either Tejasswi Prakash or Shamita Shetty. The only person who does not follow them is Pratik Sehajpal. And somehow he has come across as the lone wolf of Bigg Boss 15. Take our poll and let us know if you feel the same way…. Also Read – Bigg Boss 15: Tejasswi Prakash, Karan Kundrra, Jay Bhanushali — meet the 5 most popular contestants of the season
The two ladies are coming across strongly and getting immense screen time on the show. Do you feel they are dominating the show in reality?
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The pandemic has broken many things, and among them are habits of a lifetime. Some people forged new norms, and discovered in lockdown new routines (working from home, gardening, baking, exercise, petcare), a tendency only underlined by the repetitiveness of the days themselves. The evident popularity of some new habits, such as cycling, will persist. Repeat something once a day for weeks and it begins to feel automatic – a habit, in other words. But the scale of the loss is unprecedented.
Some habits were good to lose. It is interesting, for instance, that breaking the habit of going to badly paid, exploitative jobs has meant that far fewer people are willing to go back to them, while others have found respite from drinking or overspending. But many would be missed, especially the habit of spending time with others (including family and friends); the habit of enjoying art – going to the cinema, galleries and, for believers, the habit of worship. Pre-Covid about 15 million people a month went to the cinema, while London theatres attracted the same number every year. Then all of these places went dark. Now they are open again, the challenge is to see whether those routines can be rebuilt.
At the most basic level, we need habits in order to cope. “The skeleton of habit alone,” wrote Virginia Woolf in her X-ray of 1920s English high society, Mrs Dalloway, “upholds the human frame.” Almost two centuries before, the philosopher David Hume argued that “custom … is the great guide of human life. It … makes us expect, for the future, a similar train of events with those which have appeared in the past.” The repetition of cause and effect builds our trust in the world, in other words, and, further, builds a world as it does so; breaking habits breaks that world.
This insight has been buttressed by recent empirical research. Neuroscientists suggest humans are on autopilot up to 43% of the time. Wendy Wood, a professor of social psychology and author of Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick argues that one reason lockdown was so unsettling was because it threw everyone back into full decision mode. Aspects of the world were broken, and we had to rewire them.
There are of course many types of habit, from those acquired through deliberate practice (playing a musical instrument) to those succumbed to (gambling); those acquired through social responsibility (mask-wearing), or those partly social but also driven by an intangible need for something deeper and richer (theatre-going). Some newly acquired obsessions might be better for the human spirit than previously acknowledged: last year, researchers at the University of Oxford reported the surge in playing video games in lockdown could be good for mental health.
The good news is that, for the most part, we can actively choose to remake habits we want or need. More than 10 million people went to the cinema in August. A festival of musical theatre in London attracted thousands. Putting to one side, for a short hopeful moment, the current resurgence in Covid cases, this is surely proof that we can rebuild our worlds, one habit at a time.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Saturday that it had reached a deal to roll back tariffs on European steel and aluminum, an agreement that officials said would lower costs on goods like cars and washing machines, reduce carbon emissions, and help get supply chains moving again.
The deal, which comes as President Biden and other world leaders meet at the Group of 20 summit in Rome, is aimed at easing trans-Atlantic trade tensions that had worsened under former President Donald J. Trump, whose administration initially imposed the tariffs. Mr. Biden has made clear he wants to repair relations with the European Union, but the agreement also appears carefully devised to avoid alienating U.S. labor unions and manufacturers that have supported Mr. Biden.
It leaves some protections in place for the American steel and aluminum industry, by transforming the current 25 percent tariff on European steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum into a so-called tariff rate quota, an arrangement in which higher levels of imports are met with higher duties.
The agreement will put an end to retaliatory tariffs that the European Union had imposed on American products including orange juice, bourbon and motorcycles. It will also avert additional tariffs on American products that were set to go into effect on Dec. 1.
“We fully expect this agreement will provide relief in the supply chain and drive down cost increases as we lift the 25 percent tariffs and increase volume,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Ms. Raimondo, in a briefing with reporters, said the deal had allowed the United States and European Union to establish a framework to take carbon intensity into account when producing steel and aluminum, which could allow for them to manufacture “cleaner” products than the ones produced in China.
“China’s lack of environmental standards is part of what drives down their costs, but it’s also a major contributor to climate change,” Ms. Raimondo said.
The tariffs were imposed on dozens of countries, including those in the European Union, after the Trump administration determined that foreign metals posed a national security threat.
Mr. Biden vowed to work more closely with Europe, which he has described as a partner in efforts to combat climate change and compete against authoritarian economies like China. But he has been under pressure from American metal manufacturers and labor unions not to entirely remove the trade barriers, which have helped protect the domestic industry from a glut of cheap foreign metal.
The deal marks the final step for the Biden administration in dismantling Mr. Trump’s Trans-Atlantic trade war. In June, U.S. and European officials announced an end to a 17-year dispute over aircraft subsidies given to Airbus and Boeing. In late September, the United States and Europe announced a new partnership for trade and technology, and earlier this month they came to an agreement on global minimum taxes.
Under the new terms, the European Union will be allowed to ship 3.3 million metric tons of steel annually into the United States duty-free, while any volume above that would be subject to a 25 percent tariff, according to people familiar with the arrangement. Products that were granted exclusions from the tariffs this year would also temporarily be exempt.
The agreement will also place restrictions on products that are finished in Europe but use steel from China, Russia, South Korea and other countries. To qualify for duty-free treatment, steel products must be entirely made in the European Union.
Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said that the deal removed “one of the biggest bilateral irritants in the U.S.-E.U. relationship.”
Metal unions in the United States praised the deal, which they said would limit European exports to historically low levels. The United States imported 4.8 million metric tons of European steel in 2018, a level that fell to 3.9 million in 2019 and 2.5 million in 2020.
In a statement, Thomas M. Conway, president of the United Steelworkers International, said the arrangement would “ensure U.S. domestic industries remain competitive and able to meet our security and infrastructure needs.”
Mark Duffy, the chief executive of the American Primary Aluminum Association, said that the deal would “maintain the effectiveness” of Mr. Trump’s tariffs, “while allowing us to support continued investment in the U.S. primary aluminum industry and create more American aluminum jobs.”
He said the arrangement would support the American aluminum industry by limiting duty-free imports to historically low levels.
Other countries remain subject to U.S. tariffs or quotas, including Britain, Japan and South Korea. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has opposed the metal tariffs, said the deal did not go far enough.
Myron Brilliant, the executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the agreement would offer “some relief for American manufacturers suffering from soaring steel prices and shortages, but further action is needed.”
“The U.S. should drop the unfounded charge that metal imports from the U.K., Japan, Korea and other close allies represent a threat to our national security — and drop the tariffs and quotas as well,” he said.
US President Joe Biden addresses the media with President of the European Commission during the G20 of World Leaders Summit on October 31, 2021 at the convention center “La Nuvola” in the EUR district of Rome.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden convened a summit on Sunday during the annual gathering of G-20 leaders to address supply-chain challenges and other disruptions affecting global commerce.
“Supply chains are something that most of our citizens never think twice about until something goes wrong. And during this pandemic, we’ve seen delays and backlogs of goods from automobiles to electronics, from shoes to furniture,” Biden said in his debut at the G-20 since becoming president.
“Ending the pandemic is the ultimate key to unlocking the disruptions we’re all contending with. But, we have to take action now, together with our partners in the private sector, to reduce the backlogs that we’re facing,” he said. “Now that we have seen how vulnerable these lines of global commerce can be, we cannot go back to business as usual.”
Biden, alongside leaders from 14 other countries and the European Union, agreed to “foster greater international cooperation on near-term supply-chain disruptions,” according to a White House readout of the meeting. The leaders also plan to strengthen and diversify the entire supply-chain ecosystem from reliance on certain raw materials to manufacturing to shipping and distribution.
The world’s supply chain is continuing to bear the brunt of a relentless pandemic, surging consumer demand, labor shortages and overseas manufacturing delays, which has led to higher transportation costs and inflation.
In an effort to address the U.S.’s own supply-chain issues, Biden also announced the following domestic measures:
An Executive Order aimed at streamlining American stockpiling efforts by delegating authority to the Department of Defense to make material releases from the National Defense Stockpile. The measure will allow for a more rapid response to material shortfalls within the defense industrial base.
Two initiatives to promote international supply-chain resilience among U.S. partners and allies. First, the State Department will grant additional funding to provide technical assistance to Mexico and Central America counterparts to alleviate supply-chain disruptions and bottlenecks. Second, millions of dollars in funding for new U.S.-ASEAN initiatives. Both of these initiatives will improve and simplify customs and clearance procedures, reducing delays and encouraging sustainable and efficient supply chains.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will hold a multi-stakeholder summit next year along with their foreign counterparts. The summit will be a follow-on dialogue to establish the next steps among these parties to build greater global supply-chain resilience.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration unveiled a plan to run operations 24/7 at the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which account for 40% of sea freight entering the U.S.
Last week, the twin ports announced new fines on carriers at the nation’s busiest port complex in order to abate the intensifying logjam of cargo ships.
Once loaded off vessels, containers moved by trucks will have nine days before fines start accruing. Containers scheduled to move by rail will have three days.
In accordance with these deadlines, carriers will be charged $100 for each lingering container per day starting Nov. 1.
Manchester United rode Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliance to secure a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday. The Portuguese opened the scoring with a superb strike before setting up Edinson Cavani for the second.
Meanwhile, Roy Keane has asked Manchester United players to shoulder Cristiano Ronaldo’s defensive duties. Elsewhere, The Red Devils are locked in battle with Barcelona for a Bayern Munich star.
On that note, here’s a look at the key Manchester United transfer stories as on 31st October 2021
Roy Keane wants Manchester United players to shoulder Cristiano Ronaldo’s defensive duties
Roy Keane wants Manchester United players to shoulder Cristiano Ronaldo’s defensive duties.
Roy Keane wants Manchester United players to shoulder added defensive responsibilities to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo in the team. The Portuguese showed his pedigree against Tottenham Hotspur, scoring an outstanding volley to give the Red Devils the lead.
Manchester United started with Cristiano Ronaldo alongside Edinson Cavani in a 3-5-2 formation against Spurs. The Portuguese teed up Cavani to double the away side’s lead after the break.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has received criticism for his off-the-ball work in recent games. But Keane believes the team has to help him out. Speaking after the game, the former United captain praised Ronaldo and pointed out that he wasn’t in the team to close people down.
“Obviously they have Cavani next to him to share the load, but Ronaldo was never going to be closing people down – that was never his strength. They say the modern teams need to have 11 players sprinting, well you don’t. You can have one or two geniuses on your team and go, ‘Listen, you do the business.’ said Keane.
“Look at that (Ronaldo first goal), that’s not even half a chance and a major goal. Ronaldo is a genius. If you have him at your club, it can only be a plus,” said Keane.
Red Devils to battle Barcelona for Kingsley Coman
Manchester United are ready to battle Barcelona for the services of Kingsley Coman.
Manchester United are ready to battle Barcelona for the services of Kingsley Coman, according to The Hard Tackle via Fichajes. The Bayern Munich star’s future continues to hang in the balance, with his current deal set to expire in June 2023. However, Coman is planning to leave the Allianz Arena in search of a new challenge.
The Red Devils are ready to invest in the Frenchman, despite breaking the bank for Jadon Sancho this summer. However, United will have to see off competition from Barcelona to land their man.
Manchester United backed to end contract talks with Paul Pogba
Frank McAvennie believes Manchester United will end contract talks with Paul Pogba.
Ex-West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie believes Manchester United will end contract talks with Paul Pogba. The Frenchman’s current deal expires next summer, but talks of an extension haven’t reached a conclusive end so far.
Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie claimed the Frenchman was a problem at Old Trafford. He said that he doesn’t expect United to hand Pogba a new bumper contract.
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“So often he (Paul Pogba) goes missing or doesn’t turn up. Aren’t Man Utd meant to be paying him some huge new contract? I can’t see that happening,” said McAvennie.
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