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Worries are rising about inflated profit expectations on Wall Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Corporate profits may have already hit bottom: After falling for much of the last year, S&P 500 companies are expected to report 0.2% profit growth for the summer.While that sounds anemic, it would be the first quarter of growth in a year, according to FactSet.For three straight quarters, profits have fallen from year-ago levels due to pressure from higher costs and a fragile global economy. Hopes for a return to growth are crucial for the stock market to extend this year’s rally.“Now, the bull case is shifting to one premised on reaccelerated earnings,” says Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, of the narrative driving the market.One problem though: Inflation remains high, even if it’s eased since last summer’s peak, and it’s continuing to eat into companies’ profits.Several big airlines have recently warned of the hit they’ll take to profits for the summer because of higher fuel costs in particular.American Airlines,...

Bank of England joins US Fed in keeping interest rates unchanged after inflation declines

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England on Thursday paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises.In a development that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%. It comes to the relief of millions of homeowners who are facing higher mortgage rates.Central banks worldwide appear to be near the end of an aggressive rate-hiking cycle meant to curb an outburst of inflation triggered by the bounceback from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. Federal Reserve also left rates unchanged Wednesday.Clearly influencing the U.K. bank’s decision was news Wednesday that inflation unexpectedly fell to 6.7% in August, its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.Four of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for a hike. The five who voted to keep rates on hold said inflation had been ...

England and Arsenal player Leah Williamson calls for equality in soccer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — When England soccer player Leah Williamson addressed the United Nations in New York this week, she spoke of her recent visit to Za’atari in Jordan, the world’s biggest Syrian refugee camp. She spoke of the power of sport — soccer in particular — to change lives after witnessing the work being done by Save The Children and The Arsenal Foundation within the camp. Girls, she says, became empowered after being introduced to the sport, while male attitudes were changed as a result. Williamson’s message, however, goes beyond one laudable project with refugees in Jordan. She is using her status to challenge gender stereotypes that she says continue to hold women and girls back and is calling for parity in soccer.“The world has been the way it has been for a long, long time,” she told The Associated Press before her address on Tuesday. “Not only do we face the stereotype from these sort of archaic beliefs that women are only meant to be a certain...

Rested Argentina versus rushed Samoa in key Rugby World Cup pool match

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

Argentina is one of 12 fortunate teams at the Rugby World Cup to have a long break of 12-14 days between games at some point during the pool stage.Samoa is not one of them.Manu Samoa and Los Pumas meet in a key Pool D clash on Friday in Saint-Etienne.Argentina goes into it after a 13-day break — timely, considering all of the issues revealed in the dismal 27-10 defeat to England on the opening weekend.Samoa, though, will operate on a six-day turnaround after beating Chile 43-10 last Saturday.The tournament schedule was a lot more sympathetic to tier two teams than previous Rugby World Cups — when four- and five-day turnarounds were common — and the schedule was released more than 2 1/2 years ago, so Samoa has known what to expect. But that doesn’t make it any easier to manage.“We waited a couple of weeks to play our first game and then I felt like we blinked and we are straight into the second game,” Samoa coach Seilala Mapusua said.The future doesn’t get any easier for ...

Denver has some of the best coffee in the nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Americans drink almost 500 million cups of coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association. But not every cup of Joe consumed is perfectly brewed. Luckily, Denver has one of the best coffee scenes in the country. This Colorado city has one of the longest commutes in the nation WalletHub compared 100 of the largest cities in the U.S. using Google search traffic, Google ratings, coffee shops per capita, and nine other metrics. Overall, Denver ranked in the top 20 for best coffee cities in America.Best coffee citiesSan Francisco, CaliforniaPortland, OregonSeattle, WashingtonOrlando, FloridaHonolulu, HawaiiTampa, FloridaAustin, TexasOakland, CaliforniaNew Orleans, LouisianaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaSan Diego, CaliforniaMiami, FloridaLas Vegas, NevadaAtlanta, GeorgiaLong Beach, CaliforniaDenver, ColoradoBoston, MassachusettsLos Angeles, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaDallas, TexasAccording to WalletHub's findings, Denver is the 16th best city for coffee and t...

A manhunt is underway for a homicide suspect who was accidentally released from an Indianapolis detention center, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

(CNN) — A manhunt is underway for a suspect in a 2021 killing who was accidentally released from a detention center in Indianapolis last week, a sheriff’s office said Tuesday, asking for the public’s help finding him.Kevin Mason, 28, was “mistakenly released” from an adult detention center in Marion County on September 13, two days after his arrest, “due to a faulty records review” by staff, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.It’s unclear whether he’s still in the county, sheriff’s Col. James Martin said in a news conference Tuesday.Mason was arrested in Indiana on September 11, having been sought on three Minnesota warrants, including one asking he be held on suspicion of murder in connection with a 2021 shooting in Minneapolis, the sheriff’s office said. The other warrants relate to an alleged parole violation and firearms possession, Martin said.He was released after a Marion County sheriff’s clerk thought she was correcting duplicate bookings for the ...

No injuries reported following Amazon warehouse incident in Opa-locka

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

First responders were on the scene after a call of a potential fire at an Amazon warehouse in Opa-locka. The incident occurred at 8:07 a.m. Thursday at 14000 NW 37th Ave. where multiple fire units were dispatched. When firefighters arrived they discovered smoke emanating from a piece of mechanical equipment within the warehouse. Quick and efficient action by the fire crews led to the situation being swiftly brought under control.All occupants of the building were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the smoke. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Lionel Messi will miss another game for Inter Miami after leaving Toronto match early

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi returned to Inter Miami’s lineup on Wednesday night. It was a short-lived comeback, and now he’s sidelined again.Messi was subbed off in the 37th minute of Inter Miami’s match against Toronto, after spending a few minutes laboring with what appeared to be a leg issue. Miami came up big without him, winning 4-0 to move within five points of the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.Robert Taylor, who came on for Messi, had two goals and an assist. But Messi’s status overshadowed everything, and Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said after the game that the Argentine star will miss Sunday’s game at Orlando.“He had an old injury that had been bothering him,” Martino said, as relayed through a team official who translated his remarks from Spanish to English.In an earlier answer that was not translated, Martino said Messi would miss at least one more match. The 36-year-old Messi ...

Bulgaria kicks out Russian church boss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

Bulgarian authorities have expelled the head of the Russian church in the country over what they say is a “threat to national security,” Russian diplomats told Moscow’s state-run news agency TASS.Archimandrite Vasian, who headed the Russian Orthodox Church in the country, was on Thursday booted out along with two employees of the St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker church in Sofia, according to a further statement by the Russian embassy in Bulgaria.“We are outraged by the fact and form of the decision taken by the Bulgarian side,” the embassy said on its Facebook page. “It is obvious that the current leadership of Bulgaria has set itself the task of destroying not only the socio-political, cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries, but also to break the relations between the sister Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches and to embitter the Russian and Bulgarian peoples against each other,” it added.POLITICO has contacted the Bulgaria...

UK to charge 5 Bulgarian nationals with spying for Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:03:56 GMT

LONDON — Five Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia in the U.K. will face criminal charges, British prosecutors announced Thursday.The three men and two women “will be charged with conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023,” said the Crown Prosecution Service in a statement. The defendants — Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29 — will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.In February, officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Operations Unit arrested the five on suspicion of an offense under the U.K.’s Official Secrets Act.