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Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his ambassador to the UK . In a message on his Truth Social platform, the president-elect described the banker as “one of the most successful businessmen in the country” before describing the UK as among its “most cherished and beloved Allies”. Mr Stephens, 67, is a Republican donor who previously campaigned against Mr Trump, before financially backing him at this year’s election. It is a prestigious posting for the Republican donor who has no experience in government but whose contributions this year included $2 million (£1.6 million) to a Trump-backing super PAC donations vehicle. He will replace Jane Hartley, the current ambassador to the UK appointed by Joe Biden, after Mr Trump’s inauguration in January. The Senate is required to confirm the choice. Mr Trump wrote: “I am pleased to announce that Warren A Stephens, one of the most successful businessmen in the country, has been nominated to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St James’s, a role in which he will act as our representative to the United Kingdom. “Over the last 38 years, while serving as the president, chairman, and CEO of his company, Stephens Inc, Warren has built a wonderful financial services firm, while selflessly giving back to his community as a philanthropist. “Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top diplomat, representing the USA to one of America’s most cherished and beloved allies.” Mr Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father. Mr Trump has already named many of his nominees for his Cabinet and high-profile diplomatic posts, assembling a roster of staunch loyalists. Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. During his first term, Mr Trump selected Robert “Woody” Johnson, a contributor to his campaign and the owner of the New York Jets football team, as his representative to the United Kingdom.
An Official works at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Dec. 27. Yonhap The Korean currency dipped further against the U.S. dollar to its lowest level in nearly 16 years Friday amid a deepening political crisis following President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration and the subsequent impeachment. The Korean won was quoted at 1,467.5 won per dollar, down 2.7 won from the previous session. It was the lowest level since March 13, 2009, when the currency was quoted at 1,483.5 won in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The won opened at 1,467.5 won per dollar Friday and had fallen markedly to as low as 1,486.7 won during intraday trading. The stock market also tumbled on heavy foreign and institutional selling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 1.02 percent to end at 2,404.77. A political crisis has intensified in South Korea as the National Assembly was set to vote on a motion to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo over his refusal to appoint Constitutional Court justices that will adjudicate President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial. Earlier, parliament voted to impeach Yoon for his shocking, albeit short-lived, imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. This photo shows a currency exchange counter in Seoul, Dec. 24. Yonhap Following the martial law fiasco, the currency has been well above the closely watched level of 1,400 won, and Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong has said the currency is forecast to stay around that level for the time being. "Volatility has grown amid the thin year-end trading. Under such circumstances, authorities' efforts to settle the market would have little market impact," said Kwon Ah-min, an analyst from NH Investment & Securities. The won-dollar exchange rate is forecast to return to normal next month, though there is also a possibility of the won's further weakening to breach the 1,500 won level or lower should political risks prolong, the expert added. The won's weakness also came in line with the continued strengthening of the U.S. dollar, as concerns have deepened over the impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's new tariff policy on South Korean industries and the broader economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve's indication of scaling back the number of rate cuts it anticipated in 2025 to two from the initial four has hammered the won and other Asian currencies. Financial authorities have vowed to inject unlimited liquidity and implement all measures available to settle the market. (Yonhap) To remove this article -
Optoma inputs for Year Ender Story 2024NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner has been fined $2,000 for embellishment during a recent game against the New York Rangers, the NHL said Monday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner has been fined $2,000 for embellishment during a recent game against the New York Rangers, the NHL said Monday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner has been fined $2,000 for embellishment during a recent game against the New York Rangers, the NHL said Monday. Skinner was issued a warning after a diving/embellishment incident in an Oct. 22 game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the league said. His second citation, which triggered the fine, came in the second period of a 6-2 victory over the Rangers on Nov. 23. Skinner was being followed by Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller as he had the puck along the boards in the New York zone. Skinner lost his footing and the puck despite minimal contact from Miller. The Oilers forward looked toward the referee as he got up but no penalty call was made on the play. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. ___ AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL Advertisement
Universal Corporation Receives NYSE Notice Regarding Filing of Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended September 30, 2024An online petition calling for another general election to be held has surpassed 1 million signatures after thousands more signed it every minute. The call to action was started by small business owner Michael Westwood four days ago. Mr Westwood told the Express he thinks voters feel "betrayed" by Labour and that the "promises that were told" ahead of the July election "looking nothing like" the reality. Described as the Britain's fastest-ever growing petition by commentators, the campaign has been backed by a number of political figures including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage , who said he had "never seen anything like it" after watching 750,000 signees add their names in just 24 hours. After the petition reached one million signatures, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Robert Jenrick said: "One million people express their anger that Labour lied". Elon Musk responded to a post on X stating that the petition had "broken the record for the fastest time to reach 100k signatures", describing it as "interesting". Deputy leader of Reform UK Richard Tice also backed the movement, saying: "Let's make this the biggest petition ever in the UK - sign, share and spread the word." The account behind Jeremy Clarkson 's popular TV series Clarkson's Farm also posted a link to the campaign, and Rupert Lowe MP urged people to: "Register your discontent, register your anger, register your disgust with this Labour government." He added that signing the petition would "send Starmer a message". The government must respond to petitions that get over 10,000 signatures and those that accrue above 100,000 are considered for debate in parliament. Mr Westwood, whose previous claim to fame was running Britain's 'cheapest pub', the Wagon and Horses, said: “I think people have had enough, people have seen what’s happened over in America as well, and I think that’s had a knock on effect that, actually, if people stand together and vote then we can make a change. “It’s about fighting back against all the increases in taxes and the cost of inflation. “As a small business we’ve got to fight back and try and help the people around us and the community.”
New Delhi In a turnaround development, the government is unlikely to make a policy or regulate artificial intelligence (AI) as the new thinking is that there are enough existing legal safeguards to penalise wrongdoers. Instead, the government is likely to come up with a voluntary compliance code for different players, top level government sources said. “We don’t believe that right now there is a need to actually legislate on AI. There are three elements here which are covered in the existing legal frameworks or frameworks which are under creation. One is data – how personal data is treated (through Digital Personal Data Protection Act). Second is the issue which relates to misrepresentation and deep fakes. Third, is the question of what happens with copyrights,” a senior official at Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) told businessline . In terms of misrepresentation, it is not the question of regulation because misrepresentation is covered under existing law, the official said adding that the only issue is the speed with which a misrepresentation can be discovered. “That is more technological issue on how quickly you are able to detect it and how quickly are you able to address the issue moving forward. For copyrights , there is a law and now you also have a case (Open AI vs ANI). So, the copyright part of it has to be administered under the existing law,” said the official. Recently, the Asian News International (ANI) agency of India filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for using ANI news content to training its AI chatbot. All of these elements in different ways are getting covered, and for the remaining issues, a voluntary compliance code can be evolved which can work to begin with, he said. Having said that, the official also added that the government at some point in time may legislate on AI. “We will watch the situation and at an appropriate stage if there is a need , we will legislate, that’s all. So, I think that is the stance. It’s a sovereign function, the government can legislate at any point if there is a need on a case to case basis. We are discussing with stakeholders on this voluntary code and things...some discussions are going on,” he said. For instance, the government is discussing AI Safety Institutes that it is planning to set up. Discussions are going on about what needs to happen there, he added. Earlier this year, AI regulation was a much-debated topic, especially after deep fake videos of actors and citizens surfaced and AI systems like Google’s Gemini showed inconsistencies in responses about political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There were also reports of MeitY drafting a legislation which could be a standalone law requiring social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X to include watermarks and labels on AI-generated content. MeitY was also exploring legal frameworks to mandate companies developing large language models to train their systems on Indian local languages and context-specific content. Comments
Trump promises 'hell to pay' if Gaza hostages not promptly releasedBNY Wealth is bullish about US stocks and economic growth heading into 2025. Investors may be overestimating the dangers of Donald Trump's tariff policy on the stock market. A top strategist recommends five places investors should consider putting their money now. A top strategist at $2.1 trillion BNY Wealth is pushing back against the widely held concern that tariffs will trouble the US economy in 2025. Sinead Colton Grant, who's the chief investment officer at BNY Wealth, is once again upbeat about the US economy and stocks. Economic and earnings growth should keep outpacing their international counterparts in the year ahead, the firm's recently published outlook said. "One of the key themes in our outlook is, equities have room to run, and specifically with that, we mean US equities," Colton Grant said in a recent interview with Business Insider. Stocks will be buoyed by a low-double-digit increase in corporate profits, which will stem in part from tax cuts, and a healthy economic backdrop marked by steady growth and lower inflation, Colton Grant said. The high end of her year-ahead S&P 500 price target is 6,600, which would be an 8.4% gain from today's levels. Many other strategists agree with those points and have conjured up similarly bullish targets . Some investment chiefs see the S&P 500 rocketing even higher to the 7,400 mark. The market may be misreading the threat of tariffs There's a strong sense in markets that US equities could fall flat if Donald Trump's proposed tariff policy sparks another series of trade wars. The president-elect has floated tough tariffs on imports from top trade partners like China, Canada, and Mexico, as well as countries in emerging markets that he sees as opponents of the US . Related stories The consensus among mainstream economists is that tariffs can do more harm than good. Although these taxes on imports can generate revenue for the government while boosting a country's industries and narrowing the trade deficit, they can prompt counter-tariffs that weigh on exports, slow economic growth, and lead to higher prices that are borne by consumers. However, Colton Grant thinks that the widely held view lacks nuance. Tariffs are a highly complex economic instrument, she said, and it's impossible to fully game out their ensuing impact. "What seems to be happening across the industry is a straight read across, from 'tariffs equals higher prices equals inflation,'" Colton Grant said. "It's much more complicated than that." While Trump has threatened steep tariffs, the actual policies may end up having a more limited scope, Colton Grant said. She thinks the US will go hard after China, whose trade practices have been widely panned as unfair , though other import taxes may be less strict — if they happen at all. "When it comes to tariffs, we think that the day one priority of the administration will be China — tariffs on China — and that's also because of the intertwined national security implications," Colton Grant said. "The subsequent broader tariffs we anticipate are likely to have more negotiations with individual economies, and that will ultimately result in a more muted impact." It's also possible that Trump is bluffing , at least with tariffs on allies. Other countries know how much mutual harm a trade war could cause, so the businessman-turned-politician may use tariffs as a threat to accomplish other administration goals. But even if tariffs cause price growth to pick up again, that doesn't mean the world is in for a repeat of the multi-decade-high inflation from the early 2020s. Colton Grant said the economy should be able to bear a modest uptick in prices, and stocks could continue to hold up as well. "Rather than inflation long-term settling at the 2% Fed target, it's probably more likely in the 2.5% to 3% area," Colton Grant said. "That is very, very different than inflation at 8%, 9%. Equity markets do very well under those conditions. And so we think inflation probably settles at a slightly higher level than it did in the 2010s decade, but we actually viewed the 2010s as being more of an aberration." While economists would say that tariffs are a net negative for the US as a whole, certain industries could thrive under protectionist policies. One example Colton Grant cited is the US automobile industry, which struggles to compete with Chinese electric vehicles. Companies in the People's Republic have been known to employ " predatory pricing ," meaning that goods are artificially cheap due to either superior scale or exceptionally cheap labor. Once competitors fold, the predatory prices can then charge more. But it's worth considering that the US is also dependent on Mexico and Canada, which are in the tariff crosshairs. "There can be positive impacts that come through too," Colton Grant said. "But ultimately, the end impact is also going to be as a result of the other policies that the administration puts in place. It really seems to be focused on more of a supply-side orientation to the market." 5 places to invest whether or not tariffs take hold Regardless of what happens on the tariff front, Colton Grant and her colleagues at BNY Wealth see several sound investing opportunities in equity markets. The firm is especially bullish on large caps , which have performed admirably in recent years. Valuations for that cohort are elevated but not out of whack, in the firm's view, given their ability to consistently expand margins. Those looking for a less expensive investment may want to consider mid caps , which are preferable to their small-cap counterparts since they have less floating-rate debt in a world of elevated interest rates. As far as sectors are concerned, Colton Grant highlighted a trifecta of economically sensitive groups that stand out: financials , industrials , and energy . Financials have been among the best performers since Trump's win, due to Wall Street's outlook for fewer regulations, more deal activity, and a healthy economy. Industrials would also make sense if economic growth remains robust or even picks up. And energy is a growth beneficiary and a hedge against inflation, which may be helpful if the consensus view is correct.
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