Photo by Pepi Stojanovski The more greenbacks flow to America’s bipartisan political system the greater influence that money has to shape domestic and foreign policies The poor and working classes in and out of America suffer the adverse consequences The donor dollars flow to Democrats and Republicans to sustain the current for-profit health care system Then the party’s corporate donors kill that change Take the policies of corporate-friendly Democratic presidents  They have paved the way to the worsening of living and working conditions for the poor and working class in America Do not fall for AOC and Bernie’s speeches of fighting the oligarchy in Red and Blue states The Democratic Party depends on the same oligarchy for its financial-political existence Sorry to be the messenger of AOC and Bernie’s inauthentic counter-narrative Their performative politics does not repair but does mask the donor-funded rot at the center of the Democratic Party It remains in and out of funding foreign wars an enemy of the global poor and working classes to give a nod to the classic tale of children’s literature the Democratic Party has been and remains an enabler of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza economically while building alliances such as the intergovernmental grouping of nations America’s economic supremacy is over Despite or because of this reality of the world economy presidents prefer to impose commercial and financial penalties on other nations A brief review of the so-called resistance party’s history of backing foreign wars and Wall Street’s thievery is in order Before the spring of 1999 U.S.-NATO attack on the former Yugoslavia President Clinton championed misnamed free trade pacts like the NAFTA It destroyed the manufacturing base of the country and its union labor force as the former governor of Arkansas maintained the opposite outcome would come to pass but it did set a precedent of ruling-class economics and politics that alienated the poor and working class from Democrats That alienation or void would become fertile soil for a GOP message of Make America Great Again ruling class and the poor and working class are all in the struggle together As if the corporate class did not direct the destruction of the U.S industrial base and its blue-collar labor union labor force The MAGA message is simple: blame foreigners from undocumented immigrants to other nations cheating Americans We are permanent victims who need a strong leader with stronger deeds and words to protect us car and tech manufacturing and food and retail industries cut their costs for labor services capitalist class shifted industrial production abroad Automation and computerization facilitated this move notably in the so-called Rust Belt regions of the country These deindustrialized areas across the Midwest and Northeast morphed into the “sacrifice zones” of America according to author and journalist Chris Hedges The social conditions for a politician to connect with an audience of former Democratic voters expanded Trump knows the vulnerability of his audience Democrats doubled down on talking left and walking right President Clinton also backed banking deregulation His policy of destroying Depression-era bank regulations created the financial conditions for the Great Recession That economic crisis led to the political bailout of the banking perpetrators and sellout of the home foreclosure victims President Obama oversaw the Great Recession home foreclosure relief policy that helped bankers and harmed homeowners His brand of “hope and change” turned into hopelessness amid the continuation of capitalist rules donor dollars buy government policies to save them when the economy breaks down the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in late 2008 the loss of working-class health and wealth from federal government policies under Democratic presidents reverberates to this day Trump’s solutions to worsening conditions for the American poor and working class That material reality is coming into sharper view with each passing day removing the actual costs of tariffs from the online giant’s prices but smaller businesses will be less likely to bend their knees and kiss the ring of Trump Chinese leaders plan to change importers to counter U.S China will adapt to Trump’s tariffs in part The Democratic Party is tone-deaf to such global economic changes the party of fake resistance remains hell-bent on pursuing a New Cold War against China all the world looks like so many nails to pound when there are profits for Raytheon and other U.S Contrast President Trump’s approach of supporting mainly white workers This center-right party of overpaid consultants celebrity spokespeople and labor union misleaders wrapped in identity politics aims to divert public attention away from the monopoly industries that fund the “lesser evil” of the political duopoly The Democratic Party controlled the House and Senate when President Biden took office in January 2021 “Nothing fundamentally will change,” to his wealthy donors before winning the White House over Trump trades at a higher 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37 versus 22.70 for Nvidia and 19.24 for AMD.Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala Kanchana Chakravarty and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Shounak Dasgupta Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Canada and Haiti welcomed 40 new Jesuit novices in 2020 at novitiates in California They have taken the initial step on their journey toward Jesuit priesthood or brotherhood known as “Jesuit formation,” which can take a total of eight to 12 years Washington and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with majors in the Program of Liberal Studies and German During his time at Notre Dame he also studied in Munich Brennan began discerning a vocation to the Society of Jesus in college after meeting a few Jesuit priests during his studies and reading several works by Jesuit authors the men will learn what it means to live in community adopt the rhythm of daily prayer and deepen their understanding of God’s call to the Society They have selflessly devoted their lives to the service of the marginalized Novices in Montreal with the novitiate team first defined the elements of Jesuit formation in his Jesuit Constitutions Jesuit novices still follow this plan today — adapted to the modern world “The novices best support the needs of the church in the modern world by preaching the Gospel in a way that all sorts of people can receive it,” says Fr novice director at the Jesuit Novitiate of St they must learn to discern God’s presence in the wide range of cultures sensibilities and human experiences that they will encounter.” Learn more about all five stages of Jesuit formation. Thus begins a comprehensive program of service methodically devised to help Jesuits grow in their relationships with Christ and identify how they can best serve him and all humankind The new Jesuits attend orientation sessions share vocation stories and visit local Jesuit ministries draws parallels between the novitiate and academics (something the Society knows a thing or two about) “I would compare entering the novitiate to starting college I think they’re pretty courageous for it,” he says “They may be anxious because they don’t know exactly where it leads they find it a very positive and human environment.” Typical days at the novitiate consist of classes taught by the director and his assistant (known as the Socius) group prayer and discussion of their spiritual journeys the novices complete a series of “experiments” to explore their vocations and help them discern the specific ways they might be called to serve the church “The purpose is to find that at the heart of our mission is a call to be with people on the margins enter the struggles of the world and find the face of Christ,” says Fr “All these experiences help the novices grow in awareness of Christ laboring with us in the world today.” Ignatius’ 30-day Spiritual Exercises silent retreat which they commonly regard as the most meaningful part of the novitiate “They’re grateful for the way they encounter God’s attention The novices aren’t the only ones on a path of discovery novice director at the Jesuit Novitiate of the Three Companions in Culver City has found his duties allow him to view the Society through each novice’s fresh eyes “I’m always impressed with their generosity compassion and desire to walk with people,” he says “They have a good sense of humor and openness to God’s grace.” novices are missioned to an assignment at a Jesuit-run organization Called a “long experiment,” this segment of the novitiate lasts several months and Canada spend one of their summers at Regis University in Denver at a conference on Jesuit history Ignatius’ life while meeting their peers at other novitiates for two years of graduate-level philosophy courses Kirschman suggests young adults “begin by looking for Christ in the suffering around you.” “Can you find Christ present in the messiness and brokenness of our world Christ might be calling you to labor with him as a companion.” let God love you and find a spiritual director you can talk to.” Do you want to learn more about vocations to the Society of Jesus? Visit beajesuit.org for more information © 2025 – Jesuits • Privacy Policy Powered by Bend Spirituality Posted by | Mar 21, 2025 | , Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler it’s up to Duke and Carolina to save the ACC UNC’s controversial invitation to the NCAA Tournament gave the ACC four teams when it was expected to get only the top three 9 Creighton after trailing by 18 until the Cardinals’ Chucky Hepburn hit a long shot just before halftime the eventual 89-75 loss in the South Region was in Lexington the 27-8 season is over for ACC Coach of the Year Pat Kelsey who was greeted with a flying water battle from the stands at Rupp Arena to end his first year in the passionate Bluegrass state If that’s not bad enough for our league rallied late after trailing by 20-plus points but lost to 12th seed McNeese State and the next N.C The Tigers’ comeback was gallant but the hole they dug was just too deep whose team missed the entire postseason before Kevin Keatts was fired who has taken three schools to the NCAA Tournament but got fired from his second “We made history!” said Wade after the Cowboys earned their first win ever in the Big Dance and what a way to go out unless they can also upset No 4 seed Purdue in the second round Saturday in Providence So the ballyhooed Blue Bloods are all that’s left from the ACC 1 seed in the East and top-ranked team in the country is an unmitigated favorite over 16 seed Mount St Mary’s Friday at 2:50 in the Lenovo Center The only drama to that game is whether Cooper Flagg will play sparingly or at all after spraining his left ankle in the ACC Tournament The Blue Devils will move on to the second round Sunday and will likely need both Flagg and Maliq Brown against either Mississippi State from the SEC or burly Baylor of the Big 12 Confidence going to Milwaukee was sky high for the team that used all the flack as motivation in scoring more points on the Aztecs than any other opponent this season the ACC needs more than one team to advance into the second round or it would underscore criticism of the fifth-ranked conference for most of the season Featured image via Associated Press/Charles Krupa Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines are dedicated to providing broad outreach regarding job vacancies at the station We seek the help of local organizations in referring qualified applicants to our station Organizations that wish to receive our vacancy information should contact WCHL by calling (919) 933-4165 FCC PUBLIC INSPECTION FILES © Copyright 2025 Chapelboro.com. All rights reserved. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona forecast first-quarter revenue in the range of $1.16 billion to $1.17 billion below estimates of $1.18 billion.Revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 31 was $1.18 billion in line with estimates.On an adjusted basis compared with estimates of $1.30.Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.03 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.It forecast first-quarter revenue of $228 million compared with an estimate of $235.1 million.Revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 31 came in at $225.5 million beating an estimate of $222.3 million.Adjusted profit per share for the fourth quarter was 4 cents versus estimates of 1 cent per share.Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi Reporting by Fernando Kallas; editing by Clare Fallon Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world The largest US department-store operator forecastBloomberg Terminal net sales in the current fiscal year between $21 billion to $21.4 billion below the average estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg That guidance includes the decrease in revenue from the closing of more than 60 Macy’s stores last year By Debra Cassens Weiss Supreme Court on Monday appeared “dour and diligent” as it considered exhaustion requirements in lawsuits for constitutional violations according to an article in the New York Times (Photo by Allison Robbert/The Washington Post) At issue is whether litigants must exhaust state remedies before suing in state courts under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. According to the New York Times the only exception to the dour atmosphere happened when Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Brett Kavanaugh smiled following a brief whispered comment The dispute arises in “a potential sleeper case,” according to an ABA Journal column by Erwin Chemerinsky the dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and a Journal contributor The New York Times combined its coverage of the case with information on a new study by Richard K He argued that Supreme Court arguments have become “abusive and sterile” as a result of rapid-fire questions by justices that give attorneys little time to speak without interruption One exception is the two minutes that lawyers are given to speak without interruption as they begin arguments Justices don’t discuss cases before deliberations stilted and compressed,” the New York Times reports try to persuade each other and behave as though they’re at an academic symposium rather than in a courtroom solving practical problems They try to persuade each other there because they have a policy forbidding private conversations among themselves about cases.” Neumann doesn’t think that political polarization causes the justices’ behavior the oral argument style may be due to the justices living “in a self-sealed bubble,” due to the influence of justices’ personalities or due to their reluctance to debate cases outside of arguments “this would quickly be seen as a dysfunctional workplace where nine people who make collective decisions refuse to converse with each other about work for which they share responsibility.” The plaintiffs suing over exhaustion requirements had experienced delays in obtaining unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic They wanted to sue under Section 1983 before waiting for a final decision by the Alabama Department of Labor The Alabama Supreme Court had ruled that the legislature banned state court jurisdiction before claimants exhausted state remedies “If the Supreme Court were to affirm the Alabama Supreme Court,” Chemerinsky wrote for the Journal “it would be a dramatic change in what the law has been for over a half-century and radically change how civil rights cases are litigated.” Although the Supreme Court could rule that exhaustion may be required in state court but not federal court suits the forum shouldn’t matter under precedent saying an exhaustion requirement is inconsistent with Section 1983 The Alabama Supreme Court had acknowledged contrary Supreme Court precedent but said Section 1983 plaintiffs can’t compel state courts to adjudicate federal claims outside the state courts’ jurisdiction, according to the cert petition Kavanaugh had cited the Supreme Court precedent and quoted from an amicus brief filed by religious groups The brief had argued that “costly and time-consuming proceedings can grind religious minority litigants into submission before they are able to have their claims heard in court.” The case on exhaustion requirements is Williams v. Washington. Neumann’s study is The Disappearance of Conversation in Oral Arguments—And What It Reveals About the Supreme Court. West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur – Premier League – London Stadium – Report Underachieving West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur played out a somewhat uninspiring 1-1 draw in a Premier League game of questionable quality at the London Stadium. “We spoke after the game about being together. It was really important for us to do that, and they have been together in training, so credit to them for that. We’ve got a big squad here and it’s not always easy to have that togetherness, but I think they’ve done it well. “We’re competitive and we want to win. And so, how the Brighton game unfolded was tough for everybody, including the players. So, the job has been to try to acknowledge the feelings that you have, with honesty, and then go from that to showing a good response in training and in the next game. “There’s no point in talking too much; it’s about showing a response. We go into Sunday, and we have to put on the right performance. We know how big the game is for our supporters, so we have to put on a show.” For Ange Postecoglou, it was a case of horses for courses, with changes plenty: “I think it’s important for us because obviously it’s a quick turnaround and we’ve had our issues this year, we continue to have issues because it’s just the way our season’s going, and at the same time, it just goes to show you how important it is that the players who are playing are ready to go, like with Biss last night. “We’ll make changes to make sure that we put in a strong performance. We want to put in a strong performance, we were disappointed with last week, but also give some players a rest and also get some players up to speed because who knows who we’re going to need for next Thursday night.” Postecoglou made eight changes to the side that had played out the first leg in N17. Meanwhile, Niclas Füllkrug and Aaron Cresswell returned to the starting line-up following West Ham’s disastrous defeat on the south coast. There was little or nothing to paper over the cracks. This has been a woeful campaign for both clubs, and although the football was honest, the fare on offer highlighted exactly why. Tottenham forged ahead following a scruffy opening quarter of an hour. Wilson Odobert with the formalities after Max Kilman had been out-muscled by Mathys Tel. West Ham huffed and puffed. Just before the half-hour mark, they restored parity. Jarrod Bowen steadied himself before slotting through Guglielmo Vicario’s legs from an acute angle after Aaron Wan-Bissaka had played him in. Richarlison fired across the face of goal as the North Londoners looked to re-establish their earlier advantage as a half, low on quality, drew to its conclusion. Tel drilled directly at Alphonse Areola immediately after the restart, while Richarlison was off-target as Tottenham created the better of the early second-half opportunities. West Ham responded. Bowen’s volley drifted wide after Kudus had picked him out. Littered with niggly fouls and poor passing, the game continued to flounder. Niclas Füllkrug nodded over after Kudus had again created from the flank, while Pape Sarr was a whisker away with a dipping strike from twenty yards. In the final stages, Vicario somehow clawed Bowen’s glancing header away, while James Ward-Prowse’s trademark free-kick wasn’t far away. Nevertheless, a sizable proportion of the audience had already headed for the exits before the final whistle, with honours even. If honours is the right term to use! West Ham United return to Premier League action on Sunday, May 11, when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford (2:15pm). Meanwhile, Tottenham now turn their attention to a UEFA Europa League semi-final second-leg clash with FK Bodø/Glimt at the Aspmyra Stadion, on West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo (Coufal 80′), Kilman, Cresswell (Mavropanos 88′), Emerson, Souček (Soler 80′), Paquetá (Ward-Prowse 80′), Bowen (Capt), Kudus, Füllkrug (Ferguson 80′) Subs not used: Fabiański (GK), Rodríguez, Luis Guilherme, Ings Booked: Kudus (foul), Lucas Paquetá (foul) Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario (Capt), Spence, Danso, Davies, Gray, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Sarr, Odobert, Tel, Richarlison (Moore 68′) Subs not used: Kinsky (GK), Udogie, Romero, Porro, van der Ven, Bentancur, Ajayi, Johnson Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & James Mainwaring About Latest Posts Brian Jeeves Email: sport@yellowad.co.uk Latest posts by Brian Jeeves (see all) Cox’s injury is a concern for Tel: 07765530245 Email: sales@yellowad.co.uk Yellow Advertiser68 Crowhill,Godmanchester,Huntingdon,PE29 9NR Tel: 07765530245 Email: mickferris@yellowad.co.uk The Business of FashionAgenda-setting intelligence analysis and advice for the global fashion community access one complimentary BoF Professional article of your choice Receive news, offers and invites from BoFOur newsletters may include 3rd-party advertising, by subscribing you agree to the Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy is the latest retailer to post better-than-expected results only to issue a downbeat annual outlook for sales and profit The largest US department-store operator forecast net sales in the current fiscal year between $21 billion to $21.4 billion, below the average estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That guidance includes the decrease in revenue from the closing of more than 60 Macy’s stores last year Macy’s also said Thursday it’s expecting sales from e-commerce and stores that have been open for at least a year to fall as much as 2 percent in 2025 versus the prior year. That puts Macy’s behind the plan set by Chief executive officer Tony Spring The company’s shares declined about 5 percent in trading before US markets opened The stock had dropped 21 percent this year through Wednesday compared to the S&P 500 Index being little changed that have reported good fourth quarters and then warned investors about weakness in the year ahead Walmart kicked off the concerns two weeks ago when it forecast lower-than-expected profit amid uncertainties around “global economic and geopolitical conditions.” Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. added to the worries earlier this week, saying consumers should expect higher prices as a direct result of the tariffs US President Donald Trump imposed on Mexico It’s all painting a picture of a retail sector challenged by sinking US consumer confidence and a volatile global trade war Macy’s is taking a “prudent approach” to its guidance for the current fiscal year to reflect “the external uncertainties the company and its customers are facing.” he pledged that comparable sales would increase by a low single–digit percentage starting in 2025 Wall Street has welcomed Spring’s focus on closing down poorly-performing Macy’s stores while hiring more staff and improving product displays at the 125 stores that he and his team think have greater potential He’s trying to shrink Macy’s footprint to adjust to the decades-long decline in demand for goods sold at department stores and also make it a more profitable company The company said on Thursday it’s expecting “fundamental improvements” in those 125 locations as well as online to be offset by weaker performance at the 225 or so stores where Macy’s hasn’t yet rolled out its new strategy or has planned to close after this year It expects to close 86 more during the next two years analysts have pointed out it’s a hard time to be implementing the changes given economic challenges such as inflation that are facing Macy’s mass-market shoppers Macy’s also said on Thursday that it expects adjusted earnings per share between $2.05 and $2.25 in the current fiscal year Despite the downbeat outlook for the year, Macy’s reported sales in the most recent quarter that were in line with analysts’ forecasts. Revenue at the company’s more upscale chains, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury Promising Signs for Macy’s Turnaround Sales fell in the retailer’s first quarter but were up at 50 stores where new ideas are being tested CEO Tony Spring tells BoF he’s just getting started For more information read our Terms & Conditions A gloomy economy probably won’t spoil the Costume Institute’s big party but the ones who do it right foster genuine customer loyalty and extraordinarily high levels of engagement The shiny new storefront on Amazon Luxury did not distract investors this week from Saks Global’s deteriorating liquidity problem The department store is searching for a permanent CEO replacement after Kohl’s Corp.’s board discovered Ashley Buchanan had directed millions of company dollars to his then-undisclosed romantic partner This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Another prominent feature of the speech was the space dedicated to Taiwan Taiwan is traditionally mentioned in the PRC’s National Day speeches as it remains central to the country’s conception of itself a whole paragraph—nearly 10 percent of the entire speech—was dedicated to the topic there was no reference to “peace” in cross-strait relations Xi instead opted for a harder line that played up the biological ties that bind Taiwan inexorably to the PRC He claimed that “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected by blood (台湾是中国的神圣领土，两岸人民血脉相连、血浓于水),” and that Taiwan is a “scared territory (神圣领土)” of China’s He also presented reunification as inevitable avowing that “the wheel of history cannot be stopped by anyone (历史的车轮谁都无法阻挡)!” While it is true that big celebrations tend to follow the rubric of “one small celebration every five years and one big celebration every ten years (五年一小庆，十年一大庆),” an anniversary as significant as the 75th would ordinarily merit more full-throated festivities Comparing Xi’s speech to the one Jiang Zemin (江泽民) made in 1999 on the Party’s 50th anniversary accentuates these points, while revealing a high degree of continuity (Reform Data Convictions of the historical inevitability of the PRC’s rise feature in both as does the certainty that socialism is the only correct model for the country to follow While many of the specific rhetorical constructs of the Xi era are missing from the earlier speech Xi echoes Jiang in allying the PRC with the countries of the global south Jiang declared that the Chinese people have made unremitting efforts to “oppose hegemonism and promote world multipolarity to push for the establishment of a just and rational new international political and economic order (反对霸权主义和推进世界多极化，推动建立公正合理的国际政治经济新秩序).” In 2024 this rhetoric might be supplemented by Xi’s three global initiatives and the “community of common destiny,” but the core substance and direction remain the same the desire to diminish the influence of the West in the world and promote the PRC’s preferences in its place the phrase that most stands out is his announcement that the development of the Chinese nation “has entered a brand-new era (进入了一个崭新的时代).” Xi’s “new era (新时代)” has apparently lost the sheen of Jiang’s “brand-new” one but it begs the question of how the current moment in the PRC’s politics should be framed While Xi maintains that the current era—over which he has reigned supreme—is new other voices have proffered alternative assessments of the PRC’s current condition “garbage time” is a colloquial term for the period toward the end of a match in which the result is clear and teams simply aim to run down the clock Hu argues that the PRC is experiencing something similar but at the national level becoming a meme in online discourse used to express exasperation at the state of the economy What “garbage time” on its own does not make explicit is the sense that a proverbial “final whistle” may be expected in the coming years This sense of an ending has been put more clearly in a blog post by the writer and social critic Li Chengpeng (李承鹏) (coincidentally a former sportswriter himself) Li Chengpeng describes the present-day PRC, by way of an analogy with the collapse of the Ming dynasty, as “the era of the sandgrouse (沙鸡时代)” (Wenxue/Li Chengpeng someone began to sell a kind of sandgrouse a bird that was native not to Beijing but to somewhere much farther north the bird usually flies as far south as the capital only when its habitat is disturbed Beijingers had a sense of what the sandgrouse portended but “no one dared to say it out loud for fear of being killed (但没有人敢说出口，怕杀头),” and so all they could do was simply continue to trade sandgrouse (只能买卖沙鸡而已).” By labeling the PRC of 2024 as the era of the sandgrouse Li suggests that the PRC might be reaching its endgame has previously been compared to Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) the founder and first emperor of the Ming dynasty By analogizing Xi’s “new era” to that of the Ming’s demise Li implicitly suggests that the “wheel of history” Xi referred to in his speech is spinning off course As the PRC reaches its milestone 75th anniversary the health of its body politic has come under scrutiny Official rhetoric from the Party continues to tell a good story the positive energy of the propaganda messaging is shot through with concerns about the path forward and the risks and challenges that lie ahead Those darker undercurrents are reflected in the characterizations of the PRC’s predicament articulated by many alternative voices The two groups have divergent views about the state of the nation this year’s National Day holds little cause for celebration A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rocky Swift (By Rocky Swift; Editing by Edmund Klamann) A month of zero gains on the stock market in April European shares little changed; trade talks European Equities May See Near-Term Pullback: Principal's Shah Monday - Friday 9am-12pm / 2pm-6pm GMT + 1 All financial news and data tailored to specific country editions Kamala Harris’s election night watch party at Howard University was the first-ever held on a college campus but it was still a watershed moment for the HBCU You have /5 articles left.Sign up for a free account or log in Supporters embrace as they watch poll results come in during an election night event at Howard University on Nov. 5 D.C.—Kamala Harris’s election night watch party at Howard University kicked off with a boisterous sense of celebration and optimism tired crowd whose dreams of putting an HBCU alum in the Oval Office appeared to be slipping away by the hour But thousands of Howard students, alumni and guests were still on hand to mark a potentially historic night for Harris and the college. The vice president spent her formative undergraduate years at Howard and used the campus as headquarters during her 2020 presidential campaign She would be the first president who attended a historically Black college or university In between booming dance music and performances from Howard student groups large monitors stationed throughout the Yard switched to CNN for live election updates As results came in and began to paint a harrowing picture of Harris’s chances the mood shifted—though Howard attendees held on to hope throughout the night Harris was slated to speak at the end of the night campaign co-chair Cedric Robinson appeared instead but would return to campus Wednesday “to address not only the HU family and her supporters “We will continue overnight to make sure every vote is counted and every voice has spoken.” A woman holds her head at an election night event at Howard University in Washington attended the watch party with other Howard faculty He said the stakes were high across the board but notably for higher education which Republicans have attacked aggressively in the four years since Trump left the White House which means that higher ed hangs in the balance for tomorrow as well,” he said he told Inside Higher Ed that he wasn’t ready to give up just yet he said the Howard community would confront the future together “Howard is where Black legends of all kinds have come … [The] names are endless Kamala Harris is one of those legendary names The campus will go on with our heads held high.” Between the packed risers and football field floodlights the tiara-clad national anthem singer and a stroll-off between the campus’s Divine Nine fraternities and sororities the event felt like a tailgate with celebrities—the Reverend Al Sharpton was in attendance and Black radio personality Charlamagne Tha God held court outside the press room Some students were nervous about the results and worried about the aftermath of an especially tense election but most were excited to be a part of a historic moment a senior and member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority who performed at the event said a Harris victory would mean the world to her and her sisters But even as her fellow Bisons danced and cheered around her because it’s definitely coming full circle She was where we are … She’s walked in the same halls as us,” she said very anxious as we get closer and closer to the results coming out.” a history professor at North Carolina A&T State University and the author of Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism said the night was a celebration of the role HBCUs can play in empowering Black students Harris’s choice to host the event at Howard was a powerful symbol of those institutions’ impact “It’s an opportunity for HBCUs to elevate their position in higher ed … [Harris] would not be where she is or who she is had it not been for the time that she spent in this incredibly powerful space which has shaped generations of African American students who sought to find their voices,” he said “You can consider this a second homecoming for Howard University I suspect there will probably be a third.” the Harris-Walz campaign said it was still optimistic the tide could turn in their favor and counting the rest of the ballots will likely take several days an alumna who graduated in the same class as Harris in 1986 and then went on to work for Howard as a general counsel later in her career said the number of applicants to Howard spiked when Harris became vice president and she expects it to skyrocket if she’s elected president “The university is a place of excellence and leadership,” she said Harris’s watch party was a “watershed moment,” Favors said not only for Howard but for HBCUs more broadly that the first election night event by a presidential campaign on a college campus would be at an HBCU Black colleges have been a place where students not only learn Latin and Greek but really how to be leaders and idealists,” he said It’s no accident that a pantheon of Black leaders have emerged from these institutions Howard president Ben Vinson III said hosting Harris on election night was an honor not just for Howard because it inspires our students and validates our educational mission,” he said “I really think of this as an important symbol.” That spirit of inter-HBCU affinity was on display Tuesday night a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia—and the recently crowned Miss Black USA—was chicken-footing and sliding with Howard alums on the yard She told Inside Higher Ed at around 8:30 p.m that she felt “a little bit anxious,” but being surrounded by fellow HBCU alumni helped boost her spirits “I was just at Hampton’s homecoming a couple weeks ago and this feels like another one,” she said [Harris] coming back to go for the presidency it just shows that your dreams are attainable.” a senior fellow at left-leaning think tank New America and the author of The State Must Provide: The Definitive History of Racial Inequality in American Higher Education Harris’s campaign was a vindication of HBCUs’ historical identity as strong alternatives to highly selective predominantly white institutions “Alabama A&T has the motto ‘start here The announcement that Kamala Harris would spend election night at her alma mater came as a surprise to some Up until it allowed the Harris campaign to set up shop for election night Howard administrators had been careful not to get directly involved in the campaign never formally endorsing their highest-profile alumna Howard’s restraint isn’t an aberration. Most higher ed institutions try to remain nonpartisan; some have even adopted a formal position of neutrality in an attempt to protect intellectual diversity especially those operating in Republican-led states taking a political stance can bring real fiscal and existential risks “HBCU leaders have historically had to work in states that have been hostile,” said Adam Harris “They have to maintain relationships across partisan lines otherwise they risk doing undue harm to their own institutions.” Harris has made a point of highlighting her ties to the institution since she first entered the race in July—and well before then “There are two things that shaped who I am today: my mother and my family and Howard University,” Harris told Harry L president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund The Biden-Harris administration has shined a spotlight on historic underfunding of public HBCUs and sent more resources to both public and private HBCUs Adam Harris said there are concrete actions a Harris administration could take that would help equalize support for HBCUs especially in states that provide far less funding to HBCUs than predominantly white institutions like using the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate them for effectively segregationary practices “Thinking about the historical discrimination that these institutions have faced one would hope that an HBCU graduate would prioritize them,” he said They’re skeptical that a second would be any different the excitement began long before the election night event kicked off Tuesday evening The security precautions caused some minor frustrations for students as they cut access to dining halls and other buildings said campus morale surged when Harris was appointed the Democratic nominee in August and it’s only amplified since the election night event was announced Blackburn cafeteria was filled to the brim with students who were there to watch,” she said Amid the excitement is a sense of apprehension Students understood Harris’s victory was far from guaranteed and after a tense campaign some feared political unrest or even violence could erupt no matter who won “I am weary about the amount of destruction on violence that could occur,” said Howard student Dasha Anorchie “I’m hoping there's not a lot of violence in general said he was worried unrest could come to Howard if Harris won considering the vice president had planted her flag there As the results continued to trickle in late into the night One of you could be president someday,’” Edwards recalled it won’t be for at least another four years A new analysis of Inside Higher Ed’s annual Student Voice survey underscores the significance of belonging a A Dear Colleague letter issued by the Department of Education announced changes that will make it easier to switch be Trump’s directive on sanctuary cities takes aim at state laws that allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuitio A week after restoring foreign students’ legal status immigration officials detailed plans for a new policy granting Examine what’s known about how today's students are engaging with AI Subscribe for free to Inside Higher Ed’s newsletters opinion and great new careers in higher education — delivered to your inbox View Newsletters Copyright © 2025 Inside Higher Ed All rights reserved. | Website designed by nclud Clear skies. Low 47F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Youssou N'Dour says he is 'still passionate' about music N'Dour is going on tour to present his new album 'Light Up The World' N'Dour gives a place of honour to traditional African instruments A rat-a-tat percussion and keyboard riff, and Youssou N'Dour's voice tore through the dark Dakar sky, as the world music legend geared up to do what he does best -- rock through the night. Youssou N'Dour says he is 'still passionate' about music N'Dour is going on tour to present his new album 'Light Up The World' N'Dour gives a place of honour to traditional African instruments With a new album out and a world tour starting this week, the Senegalese icon and Grammy Award winner -- who confesses he "couldn't live without music" -- shows no signs of slowing down despite his 45 years in show business. "Let's rock," he barked to his 12-piece band Super Etoile at around an hour to midnight, before the strains of one of their last pre-tour rehearsals rang out well into the small hours. Five years after his last album, N'Dour's latest record "Eclairer Le Monde" (Light The World) voices his commitment to human rights and gives a place of honour to traditional African instruments, a feature of his extraordinary career. "It's been nothing but a blast!" the 65-year-old told AFP of his decades in music. In that time he has cut dozens of gold discs and laid down tracks with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Sting, Manu Dibango and Neneh Cherry. After all that, why throw himself into another record and a gruelling transatlantic tour schedule taking in Paris, London, Munich and New York? Hailed as the "king of Mbalax", his own urban musical melting pot of Senegalese rhythms and Latin styles, N'Dour brought his pioneering world music to international acclaim from the 1980s onwards. His 1994 hit "Seven Seconds" with Neneh Cherry shot up the charts across the world, while his frequent collaborations saw him bridge the divide between Western and African music. "When I relisten to all the things I've had the chance to do, I regret nothing," he told AFP on the sidelines of the rehearsal in the Senegalese capital. A multi-talented musician, songwriter, producer and arranger, N'Dour possesses a bewitching vocal range, reaching spine-tingling highs as Super Etoile ran through a frenetic rendition of his song "Boul Ma Lathie". He hoped his latest album would "restore prestige" to world music. Along with the rhythm of the djembe -- a traditional drum -- the songs feature traditional instruments such as the kora, sokou, ngoni and balafon. All are "extraordinary in terms of their sound" to his ears. Another goal for his new record: to serve as a "source" for younger people working in African pop music. "Eclairer le monde" features many young musicians playing African instruments "whose knowledge has been passed down from their parents", he said. He was "enormously touched" that the music he has made still resonates today, with younger artists sampling and covering his tunes. Born in the working-class Medina neighbourhood of Dakar to an ironmonger father, the artist has a quarter-century of human rights activism behind him alongside his years of musical success. His latest album hails "universal love for one's fellow human", while on "Sa ma habiibi" (My Love) he calls for respect for women's rights and condemns forced marriage. On "Sam Fall" and "Ahmadou Bamba", his voice floats delicately above the band in tributes to Senegal's spirituality. "Music is entertainment -- we make people happy, people party to music -- but we're aware that it's a force," he said. "Culture is the beginning and the end of where peoples and generations meet. We must continue to use it to deliver messages, to push powerful ideas such as human rights and mutual respect." Ibou Cisse, N'Dour's keyboardist since 1987, put his boss's long career down to "talent, passion" and companionship as well as his commitment to social and cultural causes. On top of all that the singer is also a businessman and press mogul, has founded his own political movement and served as Senegal's culture minister from 2012 to 2014. Given his hectic schedule does he ever see himself retiring from recording and no longer playing concerts? "I'll continue playing music until my last breath," he replied.  "I saw my grandmother sing at ceremonies, christenings and weddings when she was 80 or so... when the music is in you from your birth, it will be with you until you're gone. "I couldn't live without music," he added.  "As long as there is music, there is life." there are no recent results for popular commented articles Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Trump tried to paint Harris as the candidate of the status quo but he failed because he came across as a mess To say that Kamala Harris nailed it in Tuesday night’s debate is an understatement. She knocked it out of the park. She combined civility with firmness. She made Donald Trump look and sound like the blubbering idiot he is This was Harris’s first presidential debate. It was Trump’s eighth – including his debates with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 Trump claimed that the American economy under him was better than the economy under Biden and Harris and that under Harris the economy would be ruined And Trump’s unforgivable failure to contain Covid as well as other advanced countries required massive government expenditures that fueled inflation have presided over an explosion of job growth while inflation has been tamed On the issue of abortion, Trump claimed Democrats want to kill babies after they are born. When questioned about January 6, he charged that Biden and Harris were responsible for the investigations and indictments that targeted him. answered the questions asked of her – clearly It wasn’t so much Trump’s shambolic responses that gave Harris the big win She set the tone by walking over to Trump at the start of the debate to shake his hand and introduce herself She was in command of her facts and arguments and refused to stoop to Trump’s belligerence or become rattled by it even though his mic was supposed to be muted – which is how he managed to get nine more minutes of talk than Harris 4:43The second 2024 US presidential debate for Trump the first for Harris — and factchecks - videoHarris’s most important challenge was to introduce herself to the American public as tough and competent She also understood that the only way to deal with Trump’s attacks was to hit him back harder she showed a combination of ferocity and discipline Despite a month of favorable coverage, 28% of voters in the recent New York Times/Siena College poll said they still needed to learn more about Harris compared with only 9% who said they needed to know more about Trump Her second challenge was to separate herself from Biden while also taking appropriate credit for the Biden-Harris administration’s achievements An overwhelming majority of voters say they want the next president to bring “major change” She spoke of her plans for helping small business and families She talked about how she would stand up for a woman’s reproductive freedom She was tough on foreign policy and explained the importance of Nato She was clear and forceful about strengthening American democracy and the rule of law Harris spoke of a “new beginning” for America It was her positive energy – in contrast to Trump’s overwhelming negativism – that drove home the point The “new beginning” is a new generation of leadership Free newsletterGet Robert Reich’s latest columns delivered straight to your inbox He failed because he came off as a mess of a human being Her third challenge was to goad Trump into exposing his out-of-control self In this she also succeededWhen she said Americans were ready to turn the page on the politics of the past and strive together for a better future she didn’t need to do more than make the slightest gesture toward the ageing raging fount of grievance standing on the other side of the stage She rattled Trump to the point where he couldn’t contain his nastiness He called her “the worst vice-president in the history of the country” into the dark depths of his personal malignancy – accusing her and Biden of everything Trump himself has done (such as take money from foreign governments) and everything he aims to do (such as bring down American democracy) Harris’s closing statement didn’t even mention Trump By then the choice was clear – either Trump’s bottomless negativism or Harris’s affirmative view of America and its endless possibilities Trump’s closing statement (he won the coin toss to close last) was even darker We would become a failed nation if she were elected president but what matters most is whether the few voters who before the debate were uncertain about how to vote now decide to support Harris over Trump Most pundits thought Clinton had won her three debates with Trump With election day just eight weeks away and early voting beginning within days what Americans tell one another about tonight’s debate will be determinative At least one voter named Taylor Swift decided on the basis of tonight’s debate to go with Harris In an Instagram post to her more than 283m followers Swift said: “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.” Swift signed her post “Childless Cat Lady” and included a photo of herself holding her cat, Benjamin Button who has appeared on the cover of Time magazine with her Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Dollar Tree has shuttered about 655 stores and would close 45 stores through the remainder of the year Virginia-based Dollar Tree expects annual sales between $30.6 billion and $30.9 billion compared with its prior forecast range of $31 billion to $32 billion.The company sees annual adjusted earnings per share in the range of $5.20 to $5.60 compared with its prior forecast range of $6.50 to $7 per share.Dollar Tree posted second-quarter net sales of $7.37 billion compared with analysts' estimates of $7.49 billion according to LSEG data.It reported quarterly adjusted profit of 67 cents per share below analysts' estimates of $1.04 per share.Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona Reporting by Trevor Stynes; editing by Clare Fallon This is an audio transcript of the Unhedged podcast episode: ‘Dour Fed, cheery market’ you get to wield enormous power over the economy and markets but no one likes you and idiots in the back seat always think they can do a better job than you can had his regular moment in the spotlight this week The boring bit is that the Fed kept rates unchanged The interesting bit was what Powell and his colleagues had to say about the state of the US economy we’re asking what kind of job did he do this month in outlining the risks without spooking the markets the markets and finance podcast from the Financial Times and Pushkin a markets columnist here at FT towers in a properly beautiful day in London my first set of salmon-coloured men’s trousers in the wild I’m joined down the line from New York by mi amigo Rob Armstrong from the Unhedged newsletter and by his glamorous assistant Aiden Reiter Katie MartinThe last time we did this here pod I must tell you that we had a very good time in Spain a historically catastrophic hangover the next day but I think our real mistake was the martinis at the end of the night Katie MartinI wanna talk about what they did this week I wanna talk to you about an interesting new piece of research from CEPR Their main point is public perceptions of whether or not the Fed is doing a good job depend hugely on your worldview individuals who believe the Fed shares their political commitments report higher trust lower inflation expectations and greater independence those who think the Fed is biased are sceptical about the Fed’s policy and have higher inflation expectations an organisation that goes out of its way to be as boring as possible attracts such wildly different interpretations of the same set of actions that’s consistent with the rest of what we’re seeing in the world right now partisanship in America especially doesn’t really listen to reason It’s like it’s either you’re political or you’re not I guess the biggest divide in American politics is people who follow politics and people who don’t So if you don’t follow politics and you don’t know that the Fed is meant to be super independent you just perceive it as another political institution Robert ArmstrongWhat institution is in good standing with people in general right now Aiden ReiterIt used to be the Supreme Court I think the Fed has done a pretty good job I think old Jay has done a pretty good job So the paper says — it is an interesting read and very accessible But 66 per cent of Democrats think the Fed favours Republicans 60 per cent of Republicans think the Fed favours Democrats Aiden ReiterYou’re not really giving anybody what they want That’s exactly what the Fed should be doing Katie MartinMild disgruntlement and disappointment is exactly what this podcast is after (Robert and Aiden laugh) It’s very much on brand is that we need more strategic communication from the Fed I have my doubts around whether that will actually move the dollar (inaudible) people who are just determined to dislike the Fed The stuff they have to communicate is so hard Robert ArmstrongThese are tricky things and there’s and us idiots in the back row just don’t make their life any easier Robert ArmstrongThe very interesting thing that happened was that the Fed basically brought the bad news which would have shocked the hell out of everyone The universal consensus was that there was not going to be a rate increase But if you look at what the committee in aggregate thinks which is captured in this rather arcane document called the SEP different members and the average member thinks about inflation and unemployment and etc They kind of universally thought the situation is getting worse on both axes they care about So both on the inflation axis and on the economic growth of the employment axis and we’re really uncertain about what’s gonna happen But all the uncertainty is on the bad side And we should note it wasn’t that they really changed radically all the projections upticks in inflation and slight downticks in growth they’re worried about two things: growth and inflation Now they’ve sort of cancelled each other out in terms of rate policy But it was a spooky overall picture that they painted And so it was very interesting that the markets were kind of cool with it it reflects a lot of what analysts’ notes have said to us which is it might be quote unquote mildly stagflationary so to be mildly stagflationary is strange to me Katie MartinThat sounds a little bit like being it’s just a risky state to be in because it can be self-reinforcing Katie MartinIt’s just pregnancy or stagflation Robert ArmstrongJust being a little bit pregnant tends to lead to being more pregnant behind all this was we don’t understand what is going to happen with the Trump administration’s policies we don’t know what the hell is gonna happen All of the members of the committee are confused about the outcomes he said that it’s possible that the Fed might be able to look through price rises related to tariffs should they not change the long-term inflationary outlook He didn’t say we’re gonna fight these tariffs with bayonets What central bankers like to see is long-term expectations for inflation remaining anchored if the anchor stays in place and the ship doesn’t start to drift we are prepared to look past a little bit of short-term tariff-driven inflation I think that was the most positive message that came out of that meeting the last time they tried to look through some inflation Aiden ReiterThey don’t have a great track record And that poor Jay Powell was kind of goaded into using the T word Robert ArmstrongHe actually said the word transitory to normal people listening to this podcast (Laughter) And somehow he used this word anyway they use the word transitory a lot at the beginning of the pandemic inflation because they thought it was a temporary supply shock And in classical you look through temporary supply shocks and that kind of inflation takes care of itself Inflation went to 9 per cent and everyone was very upset And there was a lot of teasing about the word transitory involved Aiden ReiterBut then also a lot of fights because there were a lot of diehards that were like There was this whole like thing where there was Team Transitory ultimately it proved to be transitory but like  Robert ArmstrongI mean what undoubtedly happened is inflation went down much faster than Team Antitransitory said it was Team Persistent got the initial very steep and fast fall in inflation wrong Aiden ReiterIsn’t that the most American way to this does not come out of central bankers’ mouths Robert ArmstrongWe do not say that word out loud But this situation where you have a stagnant economy and rising inflation So how come the market didn’t lose its marbles about this analysis Aiden ReiterIt’s possible the market and what we’ve seen in the market over the last two to three weeks has just been the market already pricing in stagflation which has not shown up in the hard data yet on the economy but people expect there will be lower growth this year even though we got a kind of OK CPI report There’s a lot of people who believe that we could have hotter inflation next month or in this month’s PCE which is the measure of inflation the Fed looks at more closely So it’s possible the Fed already kind of like just confirmed what the market was already thinking It’s chancy business you get into kind of anthropomorphising the market and saying the market thinks X or Y but just ‘cause it’s chancy doesn’t mean I’m not gonna do it Powell got up there and was very measured and reasonable Everybody in markets has been busy getting punched in the face for about a month now and they were just ready for some good news I think undoubtedly Aiden is right that the message had already been somewhat transmitted but just the fact that the Fed didn’t say anything even more aggressive about tightening in the future — Powell sounded very measured and the rates didn’t move That was enough for markets to take a little sigh of relief Katie MartinThis morning is — is it Tuesday Aiden ReiterAnd then the Treasury market barely moved And that’s because it looks like the course of rate changes is not going to be different The consensus that Rob said before is if you have a little hotter inflation and a little lower growth you keep the rates kind of where they’re going to be we don’t really have the best indication of inflation yet It seems like the Treasury market has been muted for the past month And that’s because they’re waiting for more inflation data to come out to really see what the Fed might do forward it’s got a lot of competing forces going on as well And there also was some good news yesterday from the Fed meeting which is they said they’re gonna start slowing down quantitative tightening Robert ArmstrongLet us now explain to regular human beings of whom there may be a few in our listenership Aiden ReiterIn times where the economy look like it’s gonna buckle or there are issues with financial liquidity the Fed infuses a lot of cash into the system  by buying Treasuries from the banks and from But that means the Fed has this really big balance sheet Quantitative tightening is unwinding that balance sheet So it’s allowing those Treasuries to age out That has the potential to explode on the market because you don’t really know when you have the right level of reserves and the right level of liquidity Robert ArmstrongI will dumb that down even further The Fed is either shoving cash into the system in the hopes that will make everybody remain calm or it is carefully pulling cash out of the system to restore some kind of sanity And the Fed has been taking the financial system The Fed is theoretically concerned about conversations about the US national debt and deficit which will be probably a politically contentious issue this year it looks like the Fed is concerned about having quantitative tightening coinciding with questions around the US national debt and there’s going to be some big political conversations about how we’re going to rebuild the Treasury this year When the Treasury does eventually start issuing more debt as the Fed would be pulling out cash from the system with QT So the idea is the Fed wants to avoid clashing with the Treasury when the Treasury starts to rebuild its debt later this year Robert ArmstrongThere was also an interesting point about it kind of bent over backwards a bit to say this has nothing to do with the debt ceiling or political situation or anything else the reason they said we’re gonna pull it up is explicitly because of concerns about the deficit it’s one of those things that almost always in some way means it’s the opposite when a central banker says this is a purely technical manoeuvre what they mean is this is not a purely technical manoeuvre Because otherwise they wouldn’t have to point it out Robert ArmstrongMy work has made me cynical I’m concerned what happens to you if there’s a fire in the building (Robert laughs) You’re gonna run towards a no-exit sign posting away on Truth Social after the Fed decision And I am old enough to remember when this would have been like a huge deal in markets that the president would say anything at all about Fed policy This is just like not the president’s domain at all presidents go out of their way not to interfere We have a proud tradition of presidents being awful to the chairman of the Fed board behind closed doors Aiden ReiterEven when it’s somebody they appointed as in this case where Trump appointed Jay Powell Lyndon Johnson threatening the chair with violence I think is something that may well have happened this is one of many changes in tone in the current administration which might be as far as another president might have gone Aiden ReiterWhat’s interesting as relates to what Katie mentioned earlier is people’s perception of the independence of the Fed If you ask some people in Trump’s economic circles and they also have concerns about the independence of the Fed But their point is it’s about the personnel We just don’t think the people in the Fed have an independent spirit in mind And I think looking at the donations they make there’s plenty of them who are conservative or just non-political Katie MartinHow about that for a beautiful narrative arc that takes us right back to our initial point there’s always gonna be a lot of criticism to the degree we know anything at all in economics we know that independent central bank is better for your economy than a central bank that works for the executive the people who matter believe that is happening still We are gonna be back in just one second with Long/Short that part of the show where we go long a thing we love or short a thing we hate but I’m concerned over the recent moves by President Erdoğan to imprison his chief rival no market or no economy does very well when the rule of law breaks down And there’s been problems in the past in Turkey with Erdoğan both not respecting the rule of law and not respecting economic policymakers which allowed inflation to just kick off and really a lot of people are concerned now that since he’s not respecting the opposition he will no longer respect the central bank it’s all a bit of a flashback to a very dark time in Turkish markets We all know that the value of Tesla has been falling like a stone but there was a nice story in the FT that according to its latest fundraising round now called X for reasons known only to Elon Musk for briefly it was like a $10bn company according to one valuation round Aiden ReiterBut it’s about this price that he bought it for But I think what we’ve learned is Elon Musk is getting better as a social media star and worse as a car company executive I am long of a story I’m loving today about how Europe has caught the meme stocks bug Jamie and George wrote a really fun story about how you remember how the US went nutty in that Covid period where a bunch of retail traders started trying to take down hedge funds and bet really heavily So there were people betting really heavily on stocks like GameStop that hedge funds hated There are like message boards on Reddit for like French retail traders and German retail traders who are doing stuff like piling into Luxembourg-based satellite companies and tiny German defence stocks to try and bring down the bad guys I just wanna pool some of my money to help a move away from US assets and asset managers it all kind of links back to this idea that European markets are back Aiden ReiterTake all the good and all the bad We don’t want all of your American nonsense Tuesday next time we have a podcast go out Unhedged is produced by Jake Harper and edited by Bryant Urstadt We had additional help from Topher Forhecz Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio FT premium subscribers can get the Unhedged newsletter for free A 30-day free trial is available to everyone else Robert Armstrong(Speaking in a British accent) The central banker emerges from his pupa in the spring in order to set monetary policy for the new year Comments have not been enabled for this article selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally On Wednesday Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell announced that US interest rates would remain unchanged But the monetary policy committee is clearly worried that tariffs might slow growth and increase inflation Katie Martin and Aiden Reiter try to figure out why markets weren't worried by what they heard from the Fed Also they go long Twitter (X… whatever) and short Tesla For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer You can email Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin at unhedged@ft.com Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com View our accessibility guide The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com The Federal Reserve chair said the country was on an unsustainable path Wall Street just capped off its best week of the year. In the wake of Donald Trump's election victory, all three major indexes hit new record highs, and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.72%) topped 6,000 for the first time ever many of Wall Street's prognosticators thought the S&P wouldn't even top 5,000 even with the S&P 500 at a historically high valuation a sign investors are betting on economic stimulus and an uptick in business investment and economic expansion during the second Trump administration Tariffs are also expected to be part of Trump's economic policy and the bond market responded to the election in a different way because of that showing investors are wary that deficit spending due to tax cuts and tariff-driven inflation would drive up interest rates and make it harder for the Federal Reserve to cut rates as it started doing in September Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was asked for his thoughts on large budget deficits and the rising national debt at his press conference following the rate cut decision last week they were a serious warning on the future of the U.S The level of our debt relative to the economy is not unsustainable you've got a very large deficit at -- you're at full employment at that's expected to continue It's no secret that the national debt has ballooned substantially over the last generation the national debt is about 7 times what it was in 1999 and it overtook gross domestic product (GDP) around 2010 US Public Debt data by YCharts You can see from the chart below how fast the debt-to-GDP ratio has grown Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of GDP data by YCharts The debt-to-GDP ratio has resumed its upward trajectory after a dip a few years ago as GDP recovered following the height of pandemic lockdowns You can also see from the chart that the ratio surged during the great financial crisis Powell specifically warned about the trajectory of the debt will only make the debt-to-GDP ratio accelerate higher There's no rule of thumb of how high is too high for the debt-to-GDP ratio One paper from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surmised that 200% was the limit and that the U.S would hit that level between 2040 and 2045 under current fiscal policy Louis Federal Reserve stipulates that there's no precise number and that it depends on factors like economic growth rates It also noted that the debt-to-GDP ratio in Japan is 200% though that country has a much higher household savings rate making a higher ratio less risky deficit spending and rising national debt don't seem to be a problem yet based on the investor response to Trump's victory The top central banker believes that fiscal policy and the debt are on an unsustainable path and the incoming administration seems poised to go even faster down that path and there's no risk of an immediate debt crisis but at a time when market euphoria seems to be reaching a fever pitch on hope for more deficit spending it's a good idea to plan ahead for risks that could hit the market in the coming years Jeremy Bowman has positions in MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool recommends Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy *Average returns of all recommendations since inception Cost basis and return based on previous market day close Market data powered by Xignite and Polygon.io. , opens new tab and KFC-owner Yum Brands (YUM.N), opens new tab also faced pressure from more people opting to cook their meals at home amid persistent inflation."Market share losses and a slowdown in restaurant traffic in the U.S and many of our key international markets were greater than we expected We also incurred losses related to a voluntary product withdrawal," CEO Tom Werner said.The company forecast 2025 net sales in the range of $6.6 billion to $6.8 billion the mid-point of which was below LSEG estimates of $6.79 billion.It also expects full-year earnings per share to be between $4.35 and $4.85 compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.09.The company said its volumes in the first half of the fiscal 2025 was likely to decline low-to-mid single-digits range.Its volumes fell 8% in the fourth quarter.Revenue of $1.61 billion in the quarter ended May 26 was below analysts' estimate of $1.70 billion.The company's adjusted earnings per share was at 78 cents compared with the $1.26 estimated.Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar jumped nearly 12% after the company launched a second share buyback program.Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng The big bet is that cuts in interest rates boost growth small but meaningful gestures could help soothe the public mood just 19% approve of the government’s record so far But there might just be a solution to that too Labour has decided that Truss was not wrong about everything She was right that the key that unlocks all else is economic growth she was disastrously wrong about the means and the time a period of rising interest rates and high global inflation Tax cuts mean more money in people’s pockets the Bank of England had no choice but to step in and increase interest rates That didn’t just whack homeowners on a mortgage it also increased the money the government had to shell out to service the national debt – and Labour also wants growth, but its chosen means is lower interest rates. That means creating the conditions in which the Bank will feel able to reduce them. On this, Rachel Reeves has got the timing just right. Unlike Truss, acting in a period of high inflation, Reeves has arrived in office just when the trend is in the opposite direction. Still, the surest way to nudge central bankers into lower interest rates is fiscal tightening: spending less, taxing more. The latter is partly taken care of by a large, if stealthy, set of tax rises that Reeves inherits – namely, the freezing of income tax thresholds, thereby dragging more people into higher brackets, who then pay more – and partly by the tax increases that seem likely in next month’s budget, whether on capital gains, inheritance or pension contributions. There is an extra prize in sight too. Britain with low interest rates, governed by a new, ostentatiously sensible government with an enormous parliamentary majority, will look like an island of political stability, especially as France and Germany contend with a surging far right. That will attract overseas investment, previously frightened off by the Tory follies of the Brexit years, which means yet more money in Treasury coffers available for public spending. Read moreThe risk, however, is that, until rates come down and the economy takes off, the public’s impatience will congeal first into disappointment and then disillusion. Some will say that need not matter, that the New Labour precedent suggests that governments with iron chancellors get re-elected. Except Labour won in July with just 34% of the vote. The latest polling has the party at 29% On the eve of its first conference in power the numbers for Brown and Tony Blair were in the stratosphere That would have been just the kind of bright hopeful gesture that would not have broken the bank but would have signalled that Britain had a new government and that better times were on the way it wouldn’t hurt for Labour to give the country a small reminder why Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist The link you clicked may be broken or the page may have been removed Go to homepage Send Opinion articles to - [email protected] For advertisement- [email protected] Copyright © 2025 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab Manchester City's hopes of Champions League qualification remain in the balance after a dismal derby at Manchester United ended 0-0 on Sunday United had the better of a game limited in chances as they missed out on a first league double over City since 2019/20 A point leaves City still in fifth in the Premier League which should be enough to reach next season's Champions League Pep Guardiola's men are just two points above Newcastle Never in the Premier League era have neither City or United finished in the top four but that record is under severe threat in the coming months intensity or fight summed up a dreadful season for both sides of the Manchester divide After a record four consecutive league titles City's form has fallen off a cliff to leave them at risk of not making the top four for the first time since 2009/10 United's only chance of Champions League qualification is by winning the Europa League as they are set for their worst ever Premier League finish The Red Devils have shown flashes of improvement this week but also failed to score in their 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday to underline their problem in front of goal Kevin De Bruyne started just days after announcing this will be his final season at City But the Belgian's performance was the latest example that he is now a shadow of the figure Guardiola said will be remembered as one of the Premier League's all-time greats but United were the more threatening side on the counter-attack in a pedestrian first half Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte all failed to make the most of half-chances to get a strike off inside the City box Phil Foden had the game's best chance just seconds after half-time but fluffed his lines with only Andre Onana to beat The spectacle did marginally improve after the break as Omar Marmoush's powerful effort from a corner stung the palms of Onana Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount's introduction off the bench added more thrust to the United attack in the final 20 minutes Both had a chance to win it when Zirkzee's shot was clawed away by Ederson and Rico Lewis did well to get in the way of Mount's follow-up effort There were smiles during a warm embrace between Guardiola and Ruben Amorim at full-time but those pleasantries disguised the fact that neither man can be happy with the state of their sides after a disappointing campaign.