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NoneEven in outwardly inclusive workplaces, LGBTQ+ employees face ‘invisible’ challenges Issues around travel, after-work social events and fertility challenges can cause LGBTQ+ individuals to feel unsafe and alone Ilana Belfer, Special to The Globe and Mail Dec 13, 2024 1:30 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message While most organizations in North America have anti-discrimination policies in place, Ottawa-based talent and brand specialist Lindsay Moorcroft says that doesn’t necessarily mean those policies are sufficient. Marvin Meyer/Unsplash Listen to this article 00:07:52 From Pride employee resource groups to a recurring wave of rainbow logos each June, LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces can feel more like the rule than the exception in 2024. Yet, while corporate leaders pat themselves on the back, many queer employees across Canada are still quietly navigating challenging workplace dynamics tied to their sexual orientations and gender identities. For these employees, true equity and inclusivity goes beyond gender-neutral bathrooms and company-sponsored Pride events. It means addressing deeper, often overlooked issues that remain largely invisible to those outside the LGBTQ+ community. It’s an issue that Nate Shalev, an inclusivity speaker and adviser based in Brooklyn, N.Y., feels strongly about. They posted about some of those barriers in a LinkedIn post, where they are ranked as one of the U.S. and Canada’s Top LGBTQIA+ Voices. “When I was told I would have to travel for work, my immediate reaction would be panic,” they wrote. “I was concerned about booking travel with my legal name and risking my team calling me by a name I no longer use, getting through TSA as a trans person with my dignity intact ... [and] navigating queer and transphobia at hotels or in taxis, or anywhere, in front of my co-workers.” Through their consultancy, Revel Impact, Shalev draws on past experiences with “really bad bosses” to help build more inclusive workplaces, educating companies on the barriers their LGBTQ+ team members may be facing – on top of simply getting their jobs done. Barriers like: “Is the conference you asked me to go to safe? What about that client meeting? The whole team is going for a happy hour, but this bar isn’t LGBTQ-friendly. Should I leave? Would that make me look like I wasn’t a part of the team?” Shalev says these sorts of concerns are routinely dismissed or there’s no clear channel through which to handle them since they don’t rise to a legal level of discrimination, despite having negative affects. Gaps for parents trying to conceive While most organizations in North America have anti-discrimination policies in place, Ottawa-based talent and brand specialist Lindsay Moorcroft says that doesn’t necessarily mean those policies are sufficient. “Unless you’re building your programs and policies with the [affected] people in the room, there’s always the possibility for something to be forgotten,” Moorcroft says, reflecting on a previous job at a small startup where she was the only out queer employee. “Pronouns weren’t being asked in meetings. They weren’t shared in e-mail signatures. There was no option to even talk about that. So then it’s like, do I want to be the person who brings it up?” she says. For Kaitlin Geiger-Bardswich, a communications and advocacy director in Ottawa, the risk of speaking up paid off. Although she works for a national non-profit she calls “progressive” and “feminist,” bereavement leave didn’t include pregnancy loss until she advocated for it after experiencing a miscarriage herself. “Even if it’s not a miscarriage, when a fertility treatment doesn’t work, when an embryo transfer doesn’t work, there is that grief,” she says. Fertility issues aren’t specific to the LGBTQ+ community, but “gay couples, by definition, typically need to access fertility treatment of some kind,” as Geiger-Bardswich says. “So it’s more likely that if you have gay employees who are interested in parenting, they’re going to have to navigate this.” According to Fertility Matters Canada , more than half of Canadian employers don’t provide fertility benefits, including drugs and treatment costs. And only seven provinces provide public funding to cover partial costs of fertility treatment. In Geiger-Bardswich’s case, she and her wife relied on limited OHIP coverage when trying to conceive, while paying thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for medication and donor sperm. She says she was grateful to have flexibility in her work hours, which made it easier to attend doctor’s appointments throughout the in-vitro fertilization process without fear of repercussions. Flexible work arrangements, including remote work, can also benefit transgender employees who are transitioning or who are repeatedly misgendered at the office, says Shalev. Geiger-Bardswich notes that as anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric increases around the world, it adds another layer of concern for queer Canadians. She points to Italy’s push to remove non-biological parents from birth certificates as an example. “I hope that’s not going to happen in Canada,” she says. “But with how things are happening around the world, there is nervousness around the legal benefits and legal situations for parents like us.” ‘Ask folks for what they need’ So, what can workplaces do to achieve real, meaningful inclusivity? Shalev says it’s about taking a pro-active, rather than reactive, approach. This could look like ensuring there’s space for preferred names on all applications, forms and other communications. Before international trips, a systematic pretravel questionnaire might allow queer employees to request extra security, a travel companion, a NEXUS membership or a car service to make the experience safer and smoother, Shalev says. “It doesn’t have to feel complicated. Actively create spaces for these conversations to happen. Ask folks what they need,” says Shalev, noting that this has been more difficult in recent years with LGBTQ+ issues growing increasingly politicized. “Because queer issues have been politicized so much, there’s this sense that it’s a taboo topic. That’s a big shift I’ve seen, versus it just being inclusion work and wanting to support colleagues. Trans folks aren’t politics. We’re people.” One organization that appears to be embracing a pro-active approach is Moorcroft’s current employer, ecobee, a home automation company headquartered in Toronto. The company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offerings include an LGBTQ+ allyship group, a private social channel for LGBTQ+ employees and a policy-focused working group. Most importantly, Moorcroft says, a variety of voices are in these rooms alongside her, including those of senior leadership. “DEI means nothing if the top of the company is not supporting it, and it’s not in their [budget],” she says. Inclusion that benefits all Every organization has different needs and resources, which is why Shalev says, “It’s not one-size-fits-all.” Pride at Work Canada and Great Place to Work provide toolkits for organizations looking to improve inclusion, with strategies ranging from collecting data on employee demographics to administering queer mentorship programs. While certain measures may seem niche, “LGBTQ+ inclusion benefits us all,” Shalev says. “When I do workshops, of course I know there are other queer folks in the room. But then there are the parents of trans kids, or somebody with a partner who’s trans. Our workplaces are microcosms of our larger society, and if we create better workplaces, we can also create better communities and [and better] worlds.” Interested in more perspectives about women in the workplace? Find all stories on The Globe Women’s Collective hub here , and subscribe to the new Women and Work newsletter here . Have feedback? E-mail us at [email protected] . See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Human Resources & Education Am I entitled to any pay if my employer cancels my shift last minute? Dec 12, 2024 1:30 PM Toxic workplaces are on the rise, experts say, and it starts at the top Dec 10, 2024 7:00 PM I’m considering a leap to another industry. How can I do this in a smart way? Dec 10, 2024 1:30 PM

Exploring the Coal Market's Future: USD 2.1 Trillion Worth at a 4.4% CAGR by 2031 | TMREC3 and Bryan Danielson have both acknowledged that they “cheated” during EC3’s run on the competition version of NXT, and EC3 says it was because no one cared. EC3 competed on the fourth season of the show in 2010 and 2011, with Danielson (then Daniel Bryan) as his “pro,” with the two having previously acknowledged that they rigged the “How Well do you know your Pro?” game. EC3 spoke about the matter in an interview with Fightful , noting that they were just trying to entertain themselves. “Define cheat,” EC3 began. “Okay. The heat is on. Here’s the thing. Are you definitely staring at me? I can feel your eyes burning a hole in me? I cheated on NXT ‘cause nobody gave a s**t and so we were trying to pop ourselves. What do you think?” He continued, “Here’s the thing, too. It naturally got over. I’ll use the terminology. It got over and people were interested and invested. We did things that raised the number of people watching it, which good employees do, good talent do. They build the brand. They make people want to see it and I severely get punished for it. Weird run I had, twice.” EC3 worked in WWE as Derrick Bateman and made it to the final three on season four, before coming back on season five which was dubbed “NXT Redemption.” He was never eliminated because the competition never concluded, running 67 episodes without a winner before the brand transitioned to the more traditional brand it is today.

NoneFACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup

NEW HOPE, Pa. (AP) — Dayle Haddon, an actor, activist and trailblazing former “Sports Illustrated” model who pushed back against age discrimination by reentering the industry as a widow, has died in a Pennsylvania home from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities in Bucks County found Haddon, 76, dead in a second-floor bedroom Friday morning after emergency dispatchers were notified about a person unconscious at the Solebury Township home. A 76-year-old man police later identified as Walter J. Blucas of Erie was hospitalized in critical condition. Responders detected a high level of carbon monoxide in the property and township police said Saturday that investigators determined that “a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system caused the carbon monoxide leak.” Two medics were taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide exposure and a police officer was treated at the scene. As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also appeared in about two dozen films from the 1970s to 1990s, according to , including 1994’s “Bullets Over Broadway,” starring John Cusack. Haddon left modeling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but then had to reenter the workforce after her husband’s 1991 death. This time she found the modeling industry far less friendly: “They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable,’” in 2003. Working a menial job at an advertising agency, Haddon began reaching out to cosmetic companies, telling them there was a growing market to sell beauty products to aging baby boomers. She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estée Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company’s anti-aging products for more than a decade. She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s “The Early Show.” “I kept modeling, but in a different way,” she told The Times, “I became a spokesperson for my age.” In 2008, Haddon founded WomenOne, an organization aimed at advancing educational opportunities for girls and women in marginalized communities, including Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.’ Haddon was born in Toronto and began modeling as a teenager to pay for ballet classes — she began her career with the Canadian ballet company Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, . Haddon’s daughter, Ryan, said in a social media post that her mother was “everyone’s greatest champion. An inspiration to many.” “A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she said.An online spat between factions of supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire and fellow entrepreneur and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world’s richest man who has , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes. Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

Nominations Open for 2025 Defense IT Summit Flywheel AwardsWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. severely lags behind China in shipbuilding capacity, lawmakers and experts have warned, as the Biden administration tries to build up the country’s ability to develop and produce weapons and other defense supplies to fend off war. Speaking at a congressional hearing Thursday, Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said the country lacks the capacity to “deter and win a fight” with China and called for action. “Bold policy changes and significant resources are now needed to restore deterrence and prevent a fight” with China, Moolenaar said. China’s navy is already the world’s largest, and its shipbuilding capacity, estimated to be 230 times larger, dwarfs that of the U.S . Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, told Fox News last week that “for every one oceangoing vessel that we can produce, China can produce 359 in one single year.” The U.S. government has come to see China as its “pacing challenge,” and officials have warned that Beijing is pursuing the largest peacetime military buildup in history, raising concerns about how the U.S. would respond and ensure victory in case of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where tensions are high in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea . RELATED COVERAGE Paraguay kicks out a visiting Chinese envoy for urging its lawmakers to turn their backs on Taiwan Indonesia arrests a Chinese man wanted by Beijing over money laundering charges Chinese online retailer Temu suspended in Vietnam Krishnamoorthi on Thursday warned that a weak military industrial base could invite aggression and argued that strengthening it is necessary to avoid war with China. “History tells us we need a healthy defense industrial base now to deter aggression and make sure the world’s dictators think again before dragging the U.S. and the world into yet another disastrous conflict,” Krishnamoorthi said. National security adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “generational project” to fix the problem after the American shipbuilding industry had its “bottom fell out” in the early 1980s. “Part of it is we don’t have the backbone of a healthy commercial shipbuilding base to rest our naval shipbuilding on top of,” Sullivan said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington. “And that’s part of the fragility of what we’re contending with and why this is going to be such a generational project to fix.” The challenge in shipbuilding has been “especially immense,” stemming from the hollowing-out of the U.S. manufacturing base where its workforce shrank and suppliers left, Sullivan said. And it is part of the broader problem of a weakened U.S. military industrial base, as manifested in the weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sullivan said, when Kyiv in eight weeks “burned through a year’s worth of U.S. 155-millimeter artillery production.” “Decades of underinvestments and consolidation had seriously eroded our defense industrial base, and there was no way around it,” Sullivan said. The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, warned last month that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East were eating away at critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and could hamper the military’s ability to respond to China should a conflict arise. He said providing or selling billions of dollars worth of air defenses to both Ukraine and Israel were hampering U.S. ability to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific. “It’s now eating into stocks, and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” he told an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Nov . 19. Several researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said China’s rapid military buildup could allow the country to prevail over the U.S., especially in case of a prolonged conflict. “China’s massive shipbuilding industry would provide a strategic advantage in a war that stretches beyond a few weeks, allowing it to repair damaged vessels or construct replacements much faster than the United States,” the researchers wrote in June. On Thursday, the congressional panel heard suggestions from experts who said it would take time to rebuild the defense industrial base, but for quicker fixes, the U.S. could innovate to make low-cost and autonomous systems and tap resources of its allies. “We need to look at co-production of whether it’s munitions in Australia or shipbuilding in Korea,” said William Greenwalt, a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute. “We need to get numbers as fast as we can,” he said.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan gave athletic director Warde Manuel a five-year contract extension Thursday on the heels of the Wolverines' upset over rival Ohio State and a strong start to the basketball season. Manuel, who has held the position since 2016, signed through June 30, 2030, the school announced. Manuel is also chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee. “During Warde’s tenure as director, Athletics has put a structure in place where our student-athletes compete for Big Ten and national championships, excel in the classroom, and proudly graduate with their University of Michigan degrees,” university President Santa J. Ono said in the announcement. Michigan had a disappointing football season, finishing 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten), but a 13-10 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State took some pressure off of the program. The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points, the widest point spread for the rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Wolverines won the national championship last year in their final season led by coach Jim Harbaugh, whose tenure at the school involved multiple NCAA investigations for recruiting and sign-stealing allegations. Manuel supported Harbaugh through those processes. In basketball, the women's team made its season debut (No. 23) in the AP Top 25 this week. The men are 7-1 a season after firing coach Juwan Howard, who lost a school-record 24 games in 2023-24 as Michigan plummeted to a last-place finish in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967. Michigan has won 52 Big Ten championships since 2020. “Every day, I am thankful to work at this great institution and to represent Michigan Athletics," Manuel said in a statement. "I especially want to thank the student-athletes, coaches and staff who compete for each of our teams and who have helped us achieve unparalleled success athletically and academically. I am excited to continue giving back to a university that has provided me with so much over my career.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballAzincourt Energy (CVE:AAZ) Trading 50% Higher – Still a Buy?Franklin Templeton Canada Announces Final Valuations for Terminating ETFs

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2024-- On December 10, 2024, Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) received a letter from the NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American” or the “Exchange”) stating that the staff of NYSE Regulation has determined to commence proceedings to delist the Company’s class A common stock, units, and redeemable warrants (collectively, the “Company Securities”), pursuant to Sections 119(b) and 119(f) of the NYSE American Company Guide because the Company failed to consummate a business combination within 36 months of the effectiveness of its initial public offering registration statement, or such shorter period that the Company specified in its registration statement. As a result of the determination, trading of the Company Securities on NYSE American has been suspended. As indicated in the letter from NYSE American, the Company has a right to a review of the delisting determination by the Listings Qualifications Panel of the Committee for Review of the Board of Directors of the Exchange, provided that the Company submits a written request for such review no later than December 17, 2024. The Company is working towards consummating its previously announced business combination with Ace Green Recycling, Inc. If the Company Securities are delisted from NYSE American, the Company intends to seek a listing of the Company Securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC in connection with the consummation of the Company’s proposed initial business combination. About Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE American: ATEK.U, ATEK, ATEK WS), incorporated in Delaware, is a special purpose acquisition company incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. ATEK is the third SPAC founded by Isabelle Freidheim, who also serves as its Chief Executive Officer, with Kirthiga Reddy as President and Jennifer Calabrese as Chief Financial Officer. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this press release are not historical facts but may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the “safe harbor” provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” “intend,” or continue or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology or expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on the current expectations of the Company’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s ability to consummate its previously announced business combination and to list the Company Securities on Nasdaq in connection with the consummation of the proposed business combination. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on, by any investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic, political and business conditions; the number of redemption requests made by the Company’s stockholders in connection with a potential business combination; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company; the risk that the approval of the Company’s stockholders for a potential transaction is not obtained; expectations related to the timing of a potential business combination; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of a business combination; the risk that a business combination may not be completed by the Company’s business combination deadline; costs related to a business combination; and other risks that will be detailed from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on September 27, 2024 and in subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive. There may be additional risks that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements provide the Company’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. And while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. Nothing herein should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that the results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213050198/en/ CONTACT: Bevel PR Athena@bevelpr.com KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE SOURCE: Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/13/2024 03:56 PM/DISC: 12/13/2024 03:57 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213050198/enSouth Carolina looks to steady ship against South Carolina Upstate

Bitcoin races past $100,000, fueled by post-election rallyWhile the TSX index is hovering near record highs, ( ) is a Canadian stock that has grossly underperformed the broader markets. Down close to 80% in 2024, the has fallen 98% since its initial public offering in May 2021. Currently valued at a of $105 million, Lion Electric designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles in North America. Its product portfolio includes battery systems, bus bodies, and truck cabins. Let’s see why Lion Electric stock is struggling to win investor confidence and if it can stage a comeback in the next 12 months. Lion Electric recently published its third-quarter (Q3) results, which disappointed investors. While the long-term electric vehicle transition story remains intact, Lion Electric reported a 62% year-over-year decline in Q3. Its revenue fell to $30.6 million while reporting a net loss of $33.9 million. Moreover, vehicle deliveries totalled 89 units in Q3, down from 245 vehicles in the year-ago period. What’s a matter of concern for investors is that the company ended Q3 with $27 million in total liquidity, which suggests it will soon need to raise additional capital to support its cash-burn rate. In the September quarter, Lion Electric reduced inventory by $15 million while implementing initiatives to reduce costs by $65 million annually. However, the company included a “going concern” warning in its quarterly report, emphasizing the need to secure additional funding and restructure debt covenants as soon as possible. Lion Electric is like a homeowner who needs to refinance the mortgage and secure a new line of credit, all amid a falling revenue base. These struggles highlight a crucial reality impacting several companies in the electric vehicle segment. It’s evident that having great technology and strong demand is not enough to fund operations through the growth phase. Automobile manufacturing is capital-intensive, and companies must significantly expand production capabilities to benefit from economies of scale. Lion Electric ended Q3 with an order book of 1,590 vehicles valued at $420 million. Comparatively, the company is forecast to end 2024 with revenue of $148 million, down from $253 million in 2023. Lion Electric claimed it is seeing strong vehicle interest through government initiatives such as the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) program, which has translated to 275 orders. At the same time, Lion Electric’s long-term opportunity remains appealing as it is part of a growing market with strong regulatory tailwinds. Alternatively, current financial risks make LEV stock a highly speculative investment. Lion Electric represents both the promise and the peril of investing in the EV transition. While it has a proven technology and notable customer interest, ongoing financial challenges highlight the risks of scaling up manufacturing operations in a capital-intensive industry. For risk-tolerant investors who believe in the long-term electrification of commercial vehicles, Lion Electric might be worth watching, especially if it can shore up profit margins over the next 12 months. LEV stock trades at a discount of 50%, given consensus price target estimates. While analysts expect the TSX stock to rebound in 2025, I would recommend a more cautious approach and wait until the company showcases an ability to improve the bottom line.NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: LEHI, Utah and SHERMAN, Texas , Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) (Nasdaq: TXN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce today announced an award agreement of up to $1.6 billion in direct funding through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, following the preliminary memorandum of terms announced in August 2024 . The funding will help support three of TI's new 300mm wafer fabs currently under construction in Texas and Utah. Support from the CHIPS Act, including the 25% investment tax credit, will help TI provide a geopolitically dependable supply of essential analog and embedded processing semiconductors. "As the largest analog and embedded processing semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., TI is uniquely positioned to provide dependable, low-cost 300mm semiconductor manufacturing capacity at scale," said Haviv Ilan, president and CEO of Texas Instruments. "The increasing number of electronic devices in our lives depend on our foundational chips, and we appreciate the support from the U.S. government to make the semiconductor ecosystem stronger and more resilient." The CHIPS Act direct funding will support TI's investments through 2029 for three large-scale 300mm wafer fabs in Sherman, Texas (SM1 and SM2), and Lehi, Utah (LFAB2). Together, these fabs will manufacture tens of millions of analog and embedded processing chips every day that are critical to a variety of end markets, including automotive, industrial, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. Specifically, the CHIPS Act direct funding will be distributed upon completion of project milestones, supporting: These connected, multi-fab sites in Texas and Utah will benefit from shared infrastructure, talent and technology sharing, and a strong network of existing suppliers and community partners. Combined, TI's three new fabs in Texas and Utah will create 2,000 company jobs, along with thousands of indirect jobs for construction, suppliers and supporting industries. TI is also investing in building its future workforce. As part of the CHIPS Act award agreement, TI will also receive up to $10 million for workplace development efforts in Texas and Utah . Consistent with TI's longstanding commitment to responsible, sustainable manufacturing and environmental stewardship, the company's 300mm wafer fabs will be entirely powered by renewable electricity. Additionally, TI is committed to reducing overall water consumption across its operations, endeavoring to achieve a 70% water reuse capability in Sherman, Texas , and Lehi , Utah. All of TI's new 300mm fabs are also designed to meet LEED Gold standards for structural efficiency and sustainability. Learn more: Notice regarding forward-looking statements This release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as TI or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe TI's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. See Item 1A of TI's most recent Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. If we do update any forward-looking statement, you should not infer that we will make additional updates with respect to that statement or any other forward-looking statement. About Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN) is a global semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and sells analog and embedded processing chips for markets such as industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. At our core, we have a passion to create a better world by making electronics more affordable through semiconductors. This passion is alive today as each generation of innovation builds upon the last to make our technology more reliable, more affordable and lower power, making it possible for semiconductors to go into electronics everywhere. Learn more at TI.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/texas-instruments-announces-award-agreement-for-chips-and-science-act-funding-302337541.html SOURCE Texas Instruments