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Trump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staffTrump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staff
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL TO ANNOUNCE FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2024 RESULTS ON FEBRUARY 4, 2025ST. LOUIS — Top city officials are pushing a plan to put the vast majority of the Rams relocation settlement — about $277 million — into a series of funds dedicated to fixing streets and water pipes, developing affordable housing and small businesses, and trying to reduce the cost of child care and college education for city families. Officials cast the move as their plan to turn the loss of the city’s NFL team and the windfall it yielded into fuel for solutions to the city’s most pressing problems, with benefits for every resident. In a draft bill set to be filed later this week, officials talk about the child care and scholarship plans as ways to bring families back to a city that lost a quarter of its school-age population from 2010 to 2020 . They're hoping the money for infrastructure, housing and business grants will bring back residents after decades of flight. And they're adding money to help pay city workers to get degrees or learn new skills, which would boost recruiting and help with staffing shortages that have hobbled city services in recent years . “From Delmar to Dutchtown to Downtown, every neighborhood deserves to benefit from this investment,” Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in a statement. A spokesperson for Jones declined to comment further Tuesday. Jones and Aldermanic President Megan Green are scheduled to hold a press conference on the bill Wednesday morning. The plan shrugs off business leaders who pushed hard for more immediate spending focused more tightly on infrastructure and development, with $100 million earmarked for downtown and $130 million for struggling neighborhoods north and south. Jason Hall, the outgoing leader of Greater St. Louis, Inc., the region's main business lobby, promised the private sector would match the investment downtown. But key officials were skeptical. Hall did not immediately return a call seeking comment. But Alderwoman Pam Boyd, who is sponsoring a bill following Greater St. Louis's proposal, blasted the new plan. “They're throwing money everywhere, but they're not trying to collaborate with anybody,” she said. Regardless, the proposal from Jones and Green, two of the city's three most powerful officials, marks a likely turning point in a three-year debate that began almost immediately after the city settled with the NFL for $790 million in late 2021. In November 2022, St. Louis, St. Louis County and the authority that owns the Dome at America’s Center divvied up the $519 million remaining after the attorneys' cut, And aldermen have spent much of the interim surveying residents, debating ideas and holding hearings with experts to sound them out. The plan filed Tuesday borrows liberally from the results of those surveys, which said residents' top priorities were fixing water mains, making streets safer, increasing pay for city workers and reducing the cost of child care. The plan, which Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier will carry at the board, puts the largest chunks of money, $70 million and $60 million, into endowments for building housing and fixing streets and sidewalks, two broadly popular ideas in a city that could use help with both . Another $40 million would go into a pot for the city’s water system, which is struggling with a maintenance backlog after going more than a decade without a rate increase until last year. About $37 million would be made available to subsidize childcare for city residents, with first priority given to parents who are city workers. The last $70 million would be split between three other priorities: paying for city workers to go back to school or get additional training, helping city high school graduates pay for college or trade school, and building up struggling neighborhoods, perhaps with grants to businesses or neighborhood organizations. Officials are hoping to get more bang for their buck by putting the money into investment funds, inviting private interests to donate to the causes, and banking the principal of the funds dedicated to housing, small businesses and child care. The proposal says only the interest could be spent from those funds. Officials could give out low-interest loans to developers or businesses, for instance, but they would have to pay it back into the fund over time.
The recent state visit to Nigeria by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, sent me careering down to my kidhood days in faraway Kumasi, Ghana. My first experience with India was through their movies. Indian movies dominated the cinema space in the sprawling Ashanti City run by the Lebanese who built structures where movies were shown. Indian and American cowboy movies competed for my attention. For those who loved romantic songs, gyration and good-looking actors and actresses, Indian movies were unmissable. But cowboy movies were a different kettle of fish. No songs; no dancing. Only shooting and exchange of blows. When I wanted to feed my eyes with beauty, I turned to Indian films. Whereas, cowboy movies were laced with actions... never a dull moment from start to finish. At times, I found Indian songs rather soporific. This is not to say that Indian movies were not laced with actions. Their swordsmanship often fascinated me. Abu Raja was an accomplished swordsman and I never missed any of his movies. His fighting skills and the smiles on his face were uncommon. But the combative nature of Indian actors was nothing compared to the cowboy versions. There was this exceptionally pretty Indian actress named Shekira or something like that I fell madly in love with. A close buddy of mine who also had an eye for beauty also rooted for her. We dragged the matter for long until one evening when we decided to settle it boy to boy... once and for all. In the corridor of our compound, a fight broke out between us. As a more experienced movie goer, I swiftly went for his jugular, while grinding my teeth. His eyes popped out as I tightened my grip on his neck, expecting him to surrender Shekira to me. He did not. Instead, he used his number six by jabbing my mid-section with his tiny fingers to tickle me. I responded with an involuntary giggle as my hands flew off his neck. Freed from my killer grip, he took off like a cheetah and I went after him so fast you would think my feet were not touching the ground. He thought he had escaped as he disappeared into their apartment after shutting the door behind him. He was shocked to find me in the parlour as if I was there before him. I wrestled him to the ground, punctuating every punch with an order for him to surrender Shekira. Then, suddenly, I began to float in the midair. At first, I thought I was going on rapture! Not exactly. The boy’s dad had emerged from the inner room, grabbed me by the waistline with one hand and hurled me into the compound head first. I landed on the concrete floor with a thud. A motley crowd of tenants immediately gathered. When we were asked to explain what caused our beef, we simply panted away. How could we tell them we were fighting over an Indian lady who did not even know we ever existed. My best friend distanced himself from me for weeks. But one day, I approached him for reconciliation. He was shocked. After the fight, I read about Delilah’s betrayal of Samson, the strongman in the Bible. I told my friend he could have Shekira to himself and wished him the best of luck. I did not give him my reason. And it took me several years to come out of the Delilah Syndrome, having pigeonholed every woman as a potential betrayer and wicked. Looking back now, I shudder at the thought of being tried and convicted for friendtricide had my buddy answered his final summons as a result of the vicious choke hold. And come to think of it, in my innocence, if I had Shekira at that time, would l know what to do with her the way I would have done today? The answer is blowing in the wind. Sorry for the digression. Now, back to the topic of the day. Nigeria and India have a lot in common. They were both colonised by Britain... lndia gained its political freedom in 1947. Thirteen years later, Nigeria also became an independent nation. India is the most populous nation in the Asian axis housing about 1.4bn souls. Nigeria is home to more than 200 million folks, making it the most populous nation in Africa. The Indians have been around long before our independence. The colonial masters used them to build our railways. Today, the system is working seamlessly in India, boasting of a track length of 132,310 kilometres. About 96.59 per cent of broad gauge is electrified. The system has 1.2m employees on its payroll, making it the second largest employer of labour in that country. Our own railway system collapsed some decades ago. No thanks to operators of high-capacity transportation business. Efficient rail system was a threat to their emerging enterprises. So, they connived to run it aground so their business could thrive. All the infrastructure and massive assets of the Nigeria Railway Corporation have been vandalised across the length and breadth of the country. And our roads have been bearing the brunt, pounded by heavy duty vehicles doing what the rail transportation was meant to do. Efforts by successive administrations to revive the system are like attempting to empty the Atlantic Ocean with a teaspoon! Bandits and criminal elements have not helped matters as evidenced by the attacks on passenger trains. They roll away rail tracks when they are not raiding the trains to harvest kidnap materials. India, Nigeria’s senior brother, is also an industrialised nation. It is the world’s 6th largest manufacturer, contributing 2.6 per cent of manufacturing output. In Nigeria, our manufacturing sector has been run aground. As recently as the early 80s, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector was a pride of the nation. Many firms have either shut down or relocated to neighbouring countries where their economic climate is salubrious. The driving force, so to speak, was the poor electricity supply, the critical oxygen that powers the economy. It is such a huge shame that despite billions of cash in hard currencies sunk into the power sector by the successive administration over the years, Nigeria can hardly feed its electricity consumers with more than 3,000MW at a go. Whereas, that is the quantum of power that Heathrow International Airport alone consumes. Even at that, the national grid has become obsolete to cope. Today, manufacturing locations across the country have become industrial cemeteries or taken over and converted to churches where millions of jobless Nigerians go to pray for jobs and miracles. Sad! India also occupies the 4th position as the largest car producer and 3rd in heavy duty manufacturer. Its total vehicle production stood at 28.43 million units as at 2004. Its biggest auto export markets include Latin America, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa. Among made-in India cars are Kia Smet, Nexon, Brezza, Volkswagen Vitrus, Honda City, Skoda Kushaq, Hyundai, Scorpio, Jeep Compass and MG Hector. In Nigeria, we used to have Styre Motors, Leyland, Volkswagen, Anamco and Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN). While the first three have vanished, PAN is gasping for oxygen. The government could not protect it from the asphyxiation by imported cars and SUVs. India relies majorly on coal for its electricity generation. Coal accounts for 49.3% or 205.235MW... just as we have abundance of coal in Enugu but long abandoned. Gas provides 24.824MW and hydro supplies 46,850MW. Other sources include solar, wind, biomass, natural gas and electricity. India is also an oil producing country. Its output stands at 728,000 per day but imports 82 % of its oil need. India oil reserves stand at 5 billion barrels compared to Nigeria’s 37.5 billion, making it the 10th largest in the world and second in Africa. Nigeria also has 209trn cubit feet of proven natural gas, making it the 8th largest gas reserve holder in the world and the largest on the continent. Nigeria caught the vision to become an industrial giant on the continent and went on to establish the Ajaokuta Steel Complex during the Shagari era. Today, that bedrock of our industrustrialisation is now a monument of shame. Shagari’s was sacked in 1983 and that sounded the death knell of the complex. All the steel rolling mills set up to feed from the complex became orphans destined to die sooner or later. Efforts to breathe life into the Ajaokuta complex by successive governments have remained a political reverie because the equipment has either become obsolete or in a state of desuetude. India is fortunate to have good leaders. It has also enjoyed political stability after the assassination of one of its iconic leaders, Indira Ghandi, in 1984. Nigeria is not that fortunate. Until 1999, Nigeria had not enjoyed any stability. There were frequent regime changes that became the bane of our development. What is more, our democracy has attracted all manner of criminalities such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, among other allied crimes. Modi’s visit and the progress his country has made 77 years after independence is food for thought for our leaders. India was ahead of us by just 13 years at independence but in terms of technological development and in other spheres of human endeavours, it is 130 years ahead of us today.AUSTIN, Texas , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindglobal, a leading provider of innovative Telecom Expense Management (TEM) solutions, is proud to announce its recognition in the 2024 Gartner ® Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services, Global. We believe this recognition underscores Mindglobal's commitment to delivering exceptional value and cutting-edge solutions to enterprises worldwide. Managing millions of mobile devices across more than 54 countries, Mindglobal continues to redefine how organizations optimize their telecom expenses and streamline operational efficiency. "We feel that being recognized in the Gartner Market Guide report is a testament to the value we deliver to our clients every day," said David Wise , co-CEO at Mindglobal. "In our view, our inclusion in the 2024 Market Guide reflects our dedication to innovation, sustainability, and providing client satisfaction. We remain committed to advancing TEM solutions that empower enterprises to manage their telecom investments effectively while contributing to a sustainable future." For more information about Mindglobal and its award-winning services, please visit https://www.mindglobal.com . Gartner, Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services, Global, By Matt Baldino , Katja Ruud , Danellie Young , 18 November 2024 . GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About Mindglobal Mindglobal is a leading Telecom Expense Management provider headquartered in Austin, Texas . Specializing in global telecom lifecycle management, Mindglobal empowers businesses with innovative solutions to streamline telecom operations, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiency. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mindglobal-recognized-in-the-2024-gartner-market-guide-for-telecom-expense-management-services-global-302330699.html SOURCE Mindglobal
Liz Earle's 'cosy' £62 perfume slashed to under £10 in Black Friday weekend deal stackHisense, an electronics and home appliances brand, has announced a strategic partnership with Reliance resQ, the service arm of Reliance Retail, to enhance its after-sales service capabilities across India. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the customer experience by combining Hisense's cutting-edge technology with Reliance resQ's extensive service network and expertise. Key highlights of the partnership Faster service: Reduced turnaround times for installations and repairs, ensuring quicker resolution of customer issues. Enhanced service coverage: Access to Reliance resQ's vast network, covering over 19,000 pin codes across India, ensures wider reach and improved service accessibility in even the most remote locations. Improved efficiency: Leveraging Reliance resQ's technology infrastructure, including an integrated consumer app, engineer app, and workforce management system, will streamline service operations. Increased transparency: Greater visibility and transparency in service processes, providing customers with real-time updates and improved communication. Enhanced customer satisfaction: Focus on customer satisfaction through initiatives like extended service hours (10 AM to 10 PM), free pick-up and drop services, periodic product health check-ups, and ISO 9001 certified quality standards. Pankaj Rana, CEO of Hisense India, stated, "This partnership with Reliance resQ is a crucial step in our commitment to providing exceptional customer service. By combining their expertise with our innovative technology, we are creating a service ecosystem that prioritizes speed, transparency, and customer satisfaction." Looking ahead Hisense plans to launch the "Hisense Care Hub" in collaboration with Reliance resQ in 2025, a premium service platform designed to deliver personalized support and elevate the overall customer experience. This partnership underscores Hisense's commitment to expanding its market share in India through a strong focus on customer satisfaction and a robust service network. By leveraging Reliance resQ's expertise and its own innovative product portfolio, Hisense aims to establish itself as a leading player in the Indian consumer electronics and home appliances market.
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) Trading 1.9% Higher – What’s Next?TOKYO — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger that would form the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Automakers in Japan have lagged behind their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China’s BYD and EV market leader Tesla devour market share. Honda’s president, Toshihiro Mibe, said Honda and Nissan will attempt to unify their operations under a joint holding company. Honda will lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. They aim to have a formal merger agreement by June and to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026, he said. No dollar value was given and the formal talks are just starting, Mibe said. There are “points that need to be studied and discussed,” he said. “Frankly speaking, the possibility of this not being implemented is not zero.” A merger could result in a behemoth worth more than $50 billion based on the market capitalization of all three automakers. Together, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would gain scale to compete with Toyota Motor Corp. and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG. Toyota has technology partnerships with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month, with unconfirmed reports saying Taiwan iPhone maker Foxconn was seeking to tie up with Nissan by buying shares from the Japan’s company’s other alliance partner, Renault SA of France. Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida said Foxconn had not directly approach his company. He also acknowledged that Nissan’s situation was “severe.” Even after a merger Toyota, which rolled out 11.5 million vehicles in 2023, would remain the leading Japanese automaker. If they join, the three smaller companies would make about 8 million vehicles. In 2023, Honda made 4 million and Nissan produced 3.4 million. Mitsubishi Motors made just over 1 million. “We have come to the realization that in order for both parties to be leaders in this mobility transformation, it is necessary to make a more bold change than a collaboration in specific areas,” Mibe said. Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi earlier agreed to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to electrification. Nissan has struggled following a scandal that began with the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets, allegations that he denies. He eventually was released on bail and fled to Lebanon. Speaking Monday to reporters in Tokyo via a video link, Ghosn derided the planned merger as a “desperate move.” From Nissan, Honda could get truck-based body-on-frame large SUVs such as the Armada and Infiniti QX80 that Honda doesn’t have, with large towing capacities and good off-road performance, Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, told The Associated Press. Nissan also has years of experience building batteries and electric vehicles, and gas-electric hybrid powertrains that could help Honda in developing its own EVs and next generation of hybrids, he said. But the company said in November that it was slashing 9,000 jobs, or about 6% of its global work force, and reducing its global production capacity by 20% after reporting a quarterly loss of 9.3 billion yen ($61 million). It recently reshuffled its management and Uchida, its chief executive, took a 50% pay cut while acknowledging responsibility for the financial woes, saying Nissan needed to become more efficient and respond better to market tastes, rising costs and other global changes. “We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base,” Uchida said. Fitch Ratings recently downgraded Nissan’s credit outlook to “negative,” citing worsening profitability, partly due to price cuts in the North American market. But it noted that it has a strong financial structure and solid cash reserves that amounted to 1.44 trillion yen ($9.4 billion). Nissan’s share price also had fallen to the point where it is considered something of a bargain. On Monday, its Tokyo-traded shares gained 1.6%. They jumped more than 20% after news of the possible merger broke last week. Honda’s shares surged 3.8%. Honda’s net profit slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the April-March fiscal year from a year earlier, as its sales suffered in China. The merger reflects an industry-wide trend toward consolidation. At a routine briefing Monday, Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he would not comment on details of the automakers’ plans, but said Japanese companies need to stay competitive in the fast changing market. “As the business environment surrounding the automobile industry largely changes, with competitiveness in storage batteries and software is increasingly important, we expect measures needed to survive international competition will be taken,” Hayashi said.
Stirista Climbs to #4 on San Antonio Business Journal's 2024 Fast Track AwardsIndia’s new central bank head is a detail-oriented bureaucrat known for working long hours. That discipline will come in handy as he looks to reverse India’s growth slowdown and keep price rises in check. Sanjay Malhotra , the Princeton-educated revenue secretary and three-decade veteran of India’s civil service, is the second career bureaucrat in a row to lead the Reserve Bank of India , replacing Shaktikanta Das after six years in the post. Colleagues and other officials describe Malhotra, 56, as a savvy communicator and a meticulous administrator, known for working late, drinking lots of coconut water and going into the weeds on India’s byzantine tax laws — at times demonstrating more knowledge in meetings than the subject-matter experts reporting to him. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s appointment of Malhotra came as a last-minute surprise to many in the government. Described by officials as a “dark horse” whose appointment was like “pulling a rabbit out of the hat,” Malhotra comes with a low profile and a history of shunning the spotlight — qualities that likely worked in his favor with an Indian leader known for his preference for team players over outspoken challengers. While Malhotra’s precise views on monetary policy remain something of a mystery, analysts and officials say his years in the Finance Ministry have given him a consensus-building approach that prioritizes economic growth and revenue generation. Officials also say he won the confidence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Modi. 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In one of his few public appearances ahead of Monday’s announcement, he told tax officials to keep economic growth in mind and avoid saddling businesses with overly large tax demands. “Revenue comes in only when there is some income,” he told officers at the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, according to local media reports. “Therefore, we have to be very cautious so that we do not, as they say, kill the golden goose.” As the head of India’s central bank, Malhotra inherits the management of an economy beset with the dual challenge of rising prices and slowing growth. Last month, the RBI said the economy expanded at a seven-quarter low of 5.4% between July and September, putting pressure on the bank to reduce what other top officials in Modi’s government have said are overly high borrowing costs. At the same time, the inflation rate remains well above the government-mandated target of 4%, with price gains accelerating to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, lifted by volatile food prices. While the combination leaves the new central banker with a difficult balancing act, several analysts said they expect Malhotra to take an accommodative approach to India’s monetary policy in the months ahead. Economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. said they expect a quarter-point cut to the central bank’s benchmark interest rate at the next meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee in February, projecting a total cut of one percentage point to 5.5% by the end of next year. “A rate cut at the February MPC meeting is now likely cemented (and also warranted, in our view),” the economists, Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi, wrote in a note to clients. Dhiraj Nim, economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp., also forecast a February rate cut of a quarter-point. Still, he said it was too soon to form a full picture of Malhotra’s views. “We don’t know much about the new governor’s views on growth, inflation and the rupee,” Nim wrote. He added: “It may not be prudent to categorize him strictly as a dove or a hawk just yet.” Another challenge facing Malhotra will be overseeing a six-person policy committee in the midst of major turnover. Three new members joined in October alone, and Deputy Governor Michael Patra is due to step down in January. Like his predecessor, Malhotra is not a trained economist and doesn’t come with a history of vocal positions on fiscal or monetary policy. This may make him more closely aligned with the central government on policy matters while avoiding any outward public spats — at least at first, economists said. While at the Finance Ministry, he worked to expand the adoption of India’s more simplified tax regime, intended to boost revenue by easing the compliance burden for ordinary Indians. He was a key driver of an online gaming tax of 28% and was instrumental in leading the global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF’s evaluation of India. He was also credited with managing the backlash to changes by the government earlier this year to India’s long-term capital gains tax. Known for a long schedule sometimes running from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Malhotra could often be found working late into the night tweaking press releases and social-media posts, while also helping to ease concerns from stakeholders, officials said. Another asset, they said, was his methodical approach to problems, coming to a decision after hearing out all views. That quality will likely prove useful at a central bank staffed with a large number of senior executives, they said. “One has to understand the turf, all perspectives and do what’s the best for the economy,” Malhotra told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday. Nominations for ET MSME Awards are now open. The last day to apply is December 15, 2024. Click here to submit your entry for any one or more of the 22 categories and stand a chance to win a prestigious award. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
