There are certain things in life you should never skimp on: beds, toilet paper, and desk chairs, to name a few. We spend so much of our lives sitting down at our desks, so it is important to get a chair that supports us properly. That said, you don't need to take out a loan or buy a super high-end ergonomic chair or office chair (unless that's what you're looking for) to be comfortable all day. There are plenty of chairs made for gamers specifically, and one of our top picks right now is the Razer Enki X. We recently updated our list of the best budget gaming chairs , and the Razer Enki X won the title of 'most comfortable gaming chair.' The Enki X is a good chair even at full price, but now you can save $100 as part of Amazon's Black Friday sale . Get the Razer Enki X Gaming Chair for $299 IGN's most comfortable gaming chair on a budget One of the best things about the Razer Enki X is that it's easy to put together, only taking a few minutes to assemble when it arrives (I always hate spending tons of time before I can enjoy my things). It can tilt from 90 to 160 degrees, and the seat can adjust in height from 17.7-21.6". It's got built-in lumbar support, which is going to come in handy for longer gaming sessions at your desk. It sports a mixture of faux leather and fabric so it breathes well, too. While the upgraded Razer Enki is the focus of our full review , we also mentioned the Enki X among our best gaming chairs list . The only difference between the Enki and Enki X is that the latter doesn't come with a magnetic neck pillow, and the functionality of the armrests is more limited. The Razer Enki has armrests which can be moved forward or back, heightened or lowered, and even have the angle adjusted. With the Enki X, you can only move them up or down in their fixed position. Not a huge deal, but something to consider. The big brother Enki is also on sale on Amazon , but the discount isn't nearly as good. Is It Worth Buying at This Price? Yes, it's a good time to get the Razer Enki X. Gaming chairs typically go for several hundred dollars, but they aren't all made of quality components (the Enki X has a metal frame that supports up to 300 pounds), they aren't all comfortable (this model got our award for comfort), and without going to a physical store, it's hard to get a sense of whether it's even a good chair or not. Personally, I wouldn't even use the magnetic pillow or the fancy armrests on the more expensive Enki (as I type this, I'm not even using my own armrests), so getting the less expensive Enki X would be my move. Knocking $100 off that already decent price puts it firmly in the 'good decision' camp, but you need to decide how important those extra features are to you. If you don't want to spend this much even with the sale price in mind, there are even less expensive options below, but I would say it's easily worth spending at least $150 in order to get a solid chair. More Gaming Chair Deals While $299 is a lot cheaper than the high-end ergonomic chairs you can get, there are affordable alternatives still to consider. More Black Friday Deals There are tons of Black Friday deals available now, including early Amazon Black Friday deals , not to mention the Walmart deals , Target sales , and Best Buy deals , too. If you are brave enough to open the firehose, check out our massive list of all our favorite Black Friday deals in 2024. Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN , GameSpot , & Kotaku. You can get more than your fair share of him on Bluesky & Backloggd , & enjoy his absurd video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts .

MUNICH (AP) — Manuel Neuer was sent off for the first time and Bayern Munich crashed out of the German Cup in the third round with a 1-0 loss at home to defending champion Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. The 38-year-old Neuer was never before sent off over a long career including 124 games for Germany, but the Bayern captain was shown a straight red card in the 17th minute for taking out Jeremie Frimpong with a body check when the Dutch winger was almost through on goal after a long pass from Johnathan Tah. Bayern’s players protested but there had been no attempt from Neuer to play the ball. Leverkusen needed patience to take advantage against a riled-up Bayern team that created better chances in the first half. The home team was without Harry Kane, injured over the weekend against Borussia Dortmund. Bayern confirmed a right hamstring injury and said the England captain will be out “for the time being.” Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso sent on Patrik Schick for the second half, but the in-form Czech forward limped off with what looked like a left calf injury after less than 15 minutes. Nathan Tella replaced Schick in the 61st, then scored eight minutes later with a header to Álex Grimaldo’s perfectly positioned cross. “The first title of the season is gone, and that hurts,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said. Alonso, a former Bayern midfielder, has never lost in five games against his former club while Leverkusen coach. Bayern was knocked out in the second round last season. Also, Werder Bremen defeated second-division side Darmstadt 1-0. Earlier, 2022 finalist Freiburg was knocked out in a 3-1 loss at third-division team Arminia Bielefeld, and Stuttgart won 3-0 at Jahn Regensburg. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tight race for the North Carolina Supreme Court is heading to another recountNeuer gets sent off for 1st time and Bayern Munich exits German Cup early againThe investigation into Nvidia comes amidst a broader crackdown on tech companies in China, as authorities seek to rein in monopolistic behavior and promote fair competition in the marketplace. In recent years, Chinese regulators have taken a series of actions against tech giants, including imposing hefty fines, introducing new regulations, and conducting antitrust investigations.

Stock market today: Wall Street rises toward records despite tariff talkFormer Department of Human Services secretary Kathryn Campbell (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch) It is something of a miracle that we are even here now... because none of the sclerotic checks and balances built into the system of governance in Australia worked to stop this rapacious scheme. Not the public servants who received the original legal advice before it even became a policy proposal, advice that flatly declared the approach unlawful; not the Commonwealth Ombudsman, whose credulity was exploited by wilfully deceptive bureaucrats. Freedom of information laws, once a serviceable transparency mechanism but now devolved into a clerical blockade, were rendered tautological. Critical information was imprisoned with the stroke of a pen, forever, and not even an eventual class action lawsuit in the Federal Court could obtain the damning documents needed to expose what had actually happened. Two Senate inquiries could not pry robodebt from the grip of secrecy, the information commissioner failed and even the appeals tribunal decisions — with only a few notable exceptions — were either limp or flat-out wrong. The lawyers got around to fighting robodebt, but only once they’d found their perfect victims. It’s hardly their fault that test case law requires the unblemished “good” victim to prove how monstrous a regime is, but the suffering continued while the search was on. The national audit office overturned rocks and found nothing of substance. What tiny criticisms of process were made were swatted away with a grim and well-practised administrative athleticism. NACC shouldn’t exist if it’s going to dog its remit by ignoring robodebt Read More Nothing stuck. Not even the initial media storm that blew in around Christmas 2016 and lasted a few months was enough to end robodebt. It is an appalling fact of this story that the largest number of people fed into the robodebt machine and the biggest dollar value of debt raised by this illegal program happened in the 2018-19 financial year, long after the fatigue of fighting it set in. But who am I to judge. I missed it, too. A tiny and dedicated band of reporters led by Christopher Knaus at the Guardian Australia and Ben Eltham at New Matilda , and building on a grassroots online campaign sparked by the seemingly omnipresent digital rights activist Asher Wolf, caught this sick thing for what it was. I was too naive, too credulous, to understand that Centrelink could really be that horrific. Wasn’t it just more of the same bastardry I’d seen them try on for decades? As a boy raised by a single mum, I’d been forced to watch her on the phone to Centrelink, begging and bartering for our financial security. What struck me, even as an eight-year-old, was that the support system was itself abusive. It left people like my mum exhausted and afraid. That kind of brutality leaves a mark. But it also rendered me immune to just how much worse things could get. This is what institutional power looks like. No agency or authority managed to lay so much as a glove on robodebt for years. We can deploy all of the usual excuses: resourcing, cowardice, incompetence. These defects are far from unique, but in robodebt they met, quite uniquely, the “dogmatic and authoritarian” secretary Kathryn Campbell who, on this particular policy, had more than most to lose. When she briefed Scott Morrison on December 30, 2014, some people in her department knew there was already legal advice in the sister policy department of Social Services categorically rejecting the lawful basis for any such proposal. Whether or not she knew about this advice at the briefing with Morrison in Sydney remains unsettled. But there is no doubt she later learned of the seismic policy and legislative consequences such a policy proposal, if it were ever taken to cabinet, would represent. How could she go back and tell this powerful new minister that he couldn’t have the idea about which he was “most excited”, and that she’d been premature in even mentioning it? Did she tell him? This is the woman who, according to her peers, “gets satisfaction from proving people wrong”. It would have been an unbearable realisation. “Not only was it so much money it would balance the [department’s] books but it punished welfare seekers, it was just a perfect, golden idea,” a source with knowledge of briefing arrangements between departments and ministers says. “And then when she found out that it would require amendment to the legislation, otherwise it’d be unlawful, she so did not want to have to tell him that. If she had never mentioned it to him, and if he hadn’t already said ‘Yes, I want that,’ it wouldn’t have been a problem. But she had. And that golden light that was falling on her for being the person who came up with it would all have been ruined.” These dynamics are not the result of vivid imaginations. Secretaries lived and died by the patronage of their minister. That they could be fired by these ministers (since changes to the public service in the 1990s) was well known, but the Coalition governments from late 2013 onwards had mutated the expectations of public servitude so greatly as to usher in a new era of weakness. Top servants were not praised for being frank and fearless so much as they were encouraged to be dishonest, one-dimensional vessels of an unchecked political desire. Whether this worked for the politicians depended very much on the senior executive at the top of their agency. Some told the ministers what they wanted to hear and then worked against them. Others were frozen out for being insufficiently “responsive”. We’ve ensured another robodebt will happen Read More In fact, it could get even worse. During the Coalition term, there was one secretary who fell so out of favour with their minister that they were literally ignored. The head of an entire department was no longer welcome to brief the minister. They had to find out what the minister wanted from their deputy secretaries. It was a situation that was untenable. Their career, at least under that government and quite possibly forever, was doomed. While Campbell was in the Middle East on her Joint Task Force 633 deputy command deployment, she gave an interview to The Australian newspaper about the competing dualism of her twin roles. “I’ve found it very useful in my public service career to have that leadership and command training that the military provides, to always see people as a key determinant of achieving objectives,” she said. “My military experience gave me at a very young age a focus on leadership and working with people and decision-making that I may not have got from my public service career.” The insignia of the Joint Task Force is a scorpion crawling through the stars of the Southern Cross, its tail aloft. This army-first mode of operating infected every element of her life in the public service. An executive officer in Kathryn Campbell’s secretarial office at DHS, Ben Keily, responded to simple requests from his boss with the quasi-military term “wilco”, short for “will comply”. In March 2017, after the public furore over robodebt finally revealed the nature of the degrading program to a mainstream consciousness, Campbell appeared before Senate estimates to defend the public release of private Centrelink data belonging to people who had complained about debts in the media. One of these people had already been named and minister Alan Tudge had shopped their personal details to journalists to discredit their complaints. It was an eye-popping exercise in government loathing and, as the royal commission would eventually find, it was an “abuse” of the enormous power that rested with the minister. When Ben Eltham wrote up Campbell’s calm defence of the whole episode before the Parliament, he drew her military career into the copy. Campbell, who monitored the daily media alerts and often chided teams when they were late, saw the article almost immediately and rushed to alert her colleagues at the Department of Defence. “Sir,” she emailed a senior figure in the military establishment. “Please find attached an article which unfortunately drags the Army into the Centrelink Privacy Data issue. I saw CA [chief of army] at a breakfast this morning and he is aware of the Centrelink Privacy Data issue.” She sent this just 16 minutes after getting the media alert. This was the issue that had her full attention. Campbell sent an update the next morning — a Saturday — at 7.42am, having scanned the newspapers and morning bulletins for anything that might drag the military into further disrepute. Never mind the thousands harmed by the robodebt disaster; never mind that presumably one of the chief attributes of the Australian Defence Force is an ability to defend itself (here against the most milquetoast of public criticism that was not really about them but about Kathryn Campbell’s conduct); and never mind that precisely nobody cared, not even at the ADF. Campbell was concerned with her own status with respect to the institution she most admired: the Army. Didn’t they realise there was a war going on? “Sir ... mainstream media does not appeared [sic] to have picked this up so no risk to Army,” she wrote. This is an extract from Rick Morton’s Mean Streak (HarperCollins). Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au . Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say . We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.Manulife cautions investors regarding New York Stock and Bond LLC offer for shares

While Messi and Ronaldo may no longer be the undeniable choices for the Best XI, their legacies as two of the greatest players to ever grace the football pitch are secure. Their impact on the game, their records, and their rivalry have shaped the modern era of football and will be remembered for generations to come.Furthermore, Zong Ze's company was found to be engaging in false advertising by making exaggerated claims about the health benefits of its products. Through misleading marketing tactics, such as exaggerating the nutritional value of the beverages and making unsubstantiated health claims, Zong Ze and his company deceived consumers into believing that their products were superior to competitors'. This not only deceived consumers but also posed a potential health risk by promoting false information about the products' benefits.

However, with the latest update, all of that has changed. Players can no longer summon creatures by throwing Pokeballs. Instead, they must now rely on a new, simplified summoning mechanic that requires only a simple tap of a button. This drastic shift in gameplay has left many players feeling disoriented and disillusioned.

O ur country is known around the world for its tolerance and decency. British justice is renowned as the benchmark that other nations aspire to. If only they knew. This country once wrestled with appeasement, rejected it and taught the world a vital lesson in standing up for what is right. Now, appeasement is the dominant political doctrine. Over the past year we have watched our cities transformed, as supporters of barbaric Islamist terrorist organisations march through the streets calling for “intifada” while our police forces arrest or harass those who stand up to them. Who can forget the images of men standing in London chanting for “jihad” while the Met debated on social media whether they might be calling for scholarly introspection? Or the sightThis season in the English Premier League has been full of excitement and outstanding individual performances. One particular statistic that has caught the attention of football fans and experts alike is the average successful dribbles per game leaderboard. At the top of this list is Mikel Arteta's protégé Bukayo Saka, recording an impressive 3.8 successful dribbles per game. The young winger has been dazzling spectators with his quick feet and ability to weave through opposition defenses with ease.Former Manchester United and Olympique Lyonnais defender Rafael da Silva has officially announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 34.

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 6:06 p.m. EST

Here’s the Average TFSA Balance for Canadian Parents in Their 40sNASSAU, Bahamas — Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made a few long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead Saturday over golf's best player going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver — a little more than an inch longer than normal — that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance. But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69. Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet. He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day. Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one. Scheffler missed birdie chances on the last two holes from the 10-foot and 15-foot range, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last. "I had a stretch at 13, 14, 15 where I felt like I lost a shot or two there, but outside of that I did a lot of really good things today," Scheffler said. Thomas hasn't won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn't count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order. "I'm driving it great. I've had a lot of confidence with it," Thomas said of his longer driver. "I feel like I've been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I'm still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that's golf and we're always going to say that." Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title. Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined Thursday when he was 3 over through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62. He had a shot at the course record — Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round when he won at Albany in 2017 — until Kim found a bunker and took two shots to reach the green in making a double bogey on the par-3 17th. Even so, he was only two shots behind. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back. "Feel like I've been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that's all I can do," Thomas said. "I can't control everybody else or what's going on, I've just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it's enough come Sunday."

C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945 TORONTO , Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by New York Stock and Bond LLC (New York Stock and Bond) to purchase up to 50,000 Manulife common shares, or less than 0.003% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of USD$12.50 per share. Manulife is in no way associated with New York Stock and Bond and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer. Manulife cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below the current market price for Manulife shares. The offer represents a discount of approximately 60.76% and 60.80%, respectively, below the closing prices of Manulife common shares on the TSX and NYSE on November 27, 2024 , the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of 61.43% and 61.42%, respectively, below the closing prices on the TSX and NYSE on December 6, 2024 . Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities. The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price." Shareholders should carefully review the New York Stock and Bond offer documents and current market price for Manulife shares, and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Manulife shares. Manulife has stock transfer agents providing shareholder services in Canada , the United States , Hong Kong and the Philippines . These local agents provide services directly to our registered shareholders and can provide information on share account management, direct deposit of dividends, dividend reinvestment and share purchase plans. Please email manulifeinquiries@tmx.com for more information. Manulife requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to New York Stock and Bond's mini-tender offer for Manulife common shares. About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada , we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada , Asia , and Europe , and primarily as John Hancock in the United States . Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2023, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 35 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto , New York , and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' in Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-cautions-investors-regarding-new-york-stock-and-bond-llc-offer-for-shares-302326646.html SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

The Medicare Advantage trap: What they don’t tell you

NoneIn conclusion, the recent drop in oil prices to "innovative lows" in December has generated optimism among market participants, who are hopeful that prices could see further declines in the near future. However, the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain, with multiple factors at play that could influence the direction of prices in the coming months. As the global economy continues to navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic, the trajectory of oil prices will remain a key area to watch for investors, consumers, and policymakers alike.