apex slot casino Uber Technologies, Inc. ( NYSE:UBER – Get Free Report )’s share price dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $60.02 and last traded at $60.60. Approximately 3,973,309 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 19,188,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.56. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UBER shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Uber Technologies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Uber Technologies from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Uber Technologies in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Uber Technologies from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Uber Technologies from $99.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Uber Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.51. Read Our Latest Analysis on Uber Technologies Uber Technologies Stock Performance Uber Technologies ( NYSE:UBER – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The ride-sharing company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $11.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Uber Technologies had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Uber Technologies, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling at Uber Technologies In related news, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 27,780 shares of Uber Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $2,025,162.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 107,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,821,368.10. This trade represents a 20.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Uber Technologies Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Uber Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,087,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Uber Technologies by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 321,726 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $24,180,000 after purchasing an additional 13,433 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Uber Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,302,000. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Uber Technologies during the third quarter worth $1,041,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Uber Technologies by 9.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,752,471 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $432,356,000 after buying an additional 512,591 shares in the last quarter. 80.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Uber Technologies Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Uber Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Uber Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Fostering Pacific unity | Insights from the Papua-Fiji Dialogue Forum

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BUCHAREST, Romania -- A top Romanian court on Friday annulled the first round of the country's presidential election, days after allegations emerged that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. The Constitutional Court’s unprecedented decision — which is final — came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia organized thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. The court, without naming Georgescu, said that one of the 13 candidates in the Nov. 24 first round had improperly received “preferential treatment” on social media, distorting the outcome of the vote. Georgescu denounced the verdict as an “officialized coup” and an attack on democracy, as did the second-place finisher, reformist Elena Lasconi of the center-right Save Romania Union party. Despite being an outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner who was to face Lasconi in a runoff on Sunday. Some 951 voting stations had already opened abroad on Friday for the runoff for Romania’s large diaspora, but had to be halted. Iohannis said he would remain in office until a new presidential election could be rerun from scratch. On Dec. 1, one week after the first round of the presidential race, Romania also held a parliamentary election , which saw pro-Western parties win the most votes but also gains for far-right nationalists. Iohannis said that once the new government is formed, the date of the new presidential vote would be set. On Wednesday the president had released intelligence files from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunication Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In a televised statement Friday, Iohannis said he was “deeply concerned” by the contents of the intelligence reports. “Intelligence reports revealed that this candidate’s campaign was supported by a foreign state with interests contrary to Romania’s. These are serious issues," he said. The Constitutional Court in its published decision cited the illegal use of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, as well as the use of “undeclared sources of funding.” It said one candidate received “preferential treatment on social media platforms, which resulted in the distortion of voters’ expressed will." Georgescu slammed the verdict as putting “democracy is under attack.” “I have only one pact ... with the Romanian people and God,” he said in a video statement. “We are no longer talking about fairness but rather about a mockery that betrays the principles of democracy ... It is time to show that we are a courageous people who know that the destiny and rights of the Romanian nation are in our hands.” Lasconi also strongly condemned the court's decision, saying it was “illegal, immoral, and crushes the very essence of democracy" and that the second round should have gone forward. “Whether we like it or not, from a legal and legitimate standpoint, 9 million Romanian citizens, both in the country and the diaspora, expressed their preference for a particular candidate through their votes," she said. “I know I would have won. And I will win because the Romanian people know I will fight for them, that I will unite them for a better Romania,” she added. Some 9.4 million people — about 52.5% of eligible voters — had cast ballots in the first round in this European Union and NATO member country. The president serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in national security, foreign policy and judicial appointments. Most surveys had predicted the top candidate would be Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the ruling center-left Social Democrats. They indicated that second place would be claimed by either Lasconi or the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, George Simion. As the surprising results came in with Georgescu on top, and Lasconi narrowly beating Ciolacu, it plunged the political establishment into turmoil. The same court last week ordered a recount of the first-round votes, which added to the myriad controversies that have engulfed a chaotic election cycle. Following a recount, the court then validated the first-round results on Monday. Many observers have expressed concerns that annulling the vote could trigger civil unrest. The court said Friday that its decision was meant “to restore citizens’ trust in the democratic legitimacy of public authorities, in the legality and fairness of elections.” Simion, of the far-right party, said the development was a “coup d’état in full swing” but urged people not to take to the streets. “We don’t let ourselves be provoked, this system has to fall democratically,” he said. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said the court's decision amounts to a “crisis mode situation for Romanian democracy.” “In light of the information about the external interference, the massive interference in elections, I think this was not normal but predictable, because it’s not normal times at all, Romania is an uncharted territory,” he told The Associated Press. “The problem is here, do we have the institutions to manage such an interference in the future?” Georgescu’s surprising success left many political observers wondering how most local surveys were so far off, putting him behind at least five other candidates before the vote. Many observers attributed his success to his TikTok account, which now has 6 million likes and 541,000 followers. But some experts suspected Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while Romania’s top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates. In the intelligence release, the secret services alleged that one TikTok user paid more $381,000 (361,000 euros) to other users to promote Georgescu content. Intelligence authorities said information they obtained “revealed an aggressive promotion campaign” to increase and accelerate his popularity. Georgescu, when asked by the AP in an interview Wednesday whether he believes the Chinese-owned TikTok poses a threat to democracy, defended social media platforms. “The most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media,” he said.

(Photo by Kampus Production via Pexels) By Stephen Beech Employees are suffering "techno-strain" as a result of digital systems making it difficult to switch off from work, warns a new study. Tile used Department of Transportation data from the 2023 and 2024 summer travel seasons to see which airlines are getting worse at luggage handling. Click for more. These airlines are getting worse at baggage handling Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. (Photo by Tara Winstead via Pexels) (Photo by Thirdman via Pexels)

The scenarios for the 49ers to make the playoffs are complicated and unrealistic . What I’m asking the 49ers to do in Sunday’s game with the Bears is simple and achievable: Show some pride. This might not be a team that can compete for the championship (or even make the tournament) but that doesn’t mean anyone should roll over. This isn’t the NBA, after all. No, in the NFL, there is still plenty to play for, even if the season’s original goals have gone up in smoke. Sunday is the perfect spot for San Francisco to get right. They’re facing a Chicago team with a rookie quarterback, a head coach in his first game, and the general stench of chaos around them. Don’t get me wrong, the Bears have many admirable qualities, and they can absolutely win Sunday’s game, which should be called the MiseraBowl . But surely the Niners — for all their faults and fumbles — aren’t as bad as these guys. Right? Say what you will about the Niners (I’ve said it all by now), but at least they’re not possibly starting former Seahawk special teamer Travis Homer at running back Sunday—no, they’ll have rookie Issac Guerendo in the backfield. And while Bears fans wondered if interim head coach Thomas Brown (who was promoted to offensive coordinator 17 days prior) would fulfill his new gig from the booth, the Niners haven’t dealt with coaching-from-the-booth issues for over a year. And instead of wondering if their quarterback is “the guy” to stake the franchise, like the Bears with rookie Caleb Williams, the Niners are trying to figure out how much to pay the quarterback on whom they’ll stake the franchise. That’s totally different! But, hey, the Niners will be at home on Sunday. That has to count for something. Ok, the margins between these two teams might be tighter than initially expected, but this Niners’ season still matters. If not the quixotic quest for the playoffs, then as a testament to quality for players and coaches and a momentum starter for the 2025 season. “Just flush the things that have happened. Don’t worry about what has happened in the past,” George Kittle said this week. “Flush it, try to be your best self, and just move forward because we still have a lot of great players on this team that can all make really special plays. And all it takes is a spark to get the boys going, and then after that, we’ll see what can happen.” This is the beauty of the NFL — every game has meaning, even if neither team should have any interest in actually playing the game. And for all the conversation around the Niners tanking for a good draft pick, wouldn’t it be better to pull it together and play — for the first time all season — some solid football final weeks, making the Seahawks and Cardinals — who need a playoff berth more than the Niners — sweat until the very end, and put a dent in the notion that this team’s stock is in a tailspin? This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, after all. Lesser teams have earned more reputation from less than what is being asked of the Niners. Draft picks? That can all be sorted out in the spring. And it’s not like the Niners need to position themselves for a quarterback at the top of the first round. (We saw how that worked out last time.) No, the Niners need both quality and quantity this upcoming offseason. They’ll need to build up both lines and their defense with young and cheap players. But this team isn’t tearing things down to the foundation—this isn’t a full-on rebuild. No, call it a restructuring. It’s one part a penance for trying to run back the same team that went to the Super Bowl in 2023, another, the natural autophagy of a football team. It’s a crucial offseason, no doubt, and wouldn’t it be better if the Niners entered it with a reason to believe they are still a team to beat in the NFC? The Niners built a stars-and-scrubs roster and were decimated by bad injuries to those stars. They played with fire and were burned. After a season as disappointing as this one, the Niners have to prove that their window of contention for that long-sought sixth Lombardi Trophy is still open. That this team isn’t done, even if this season is. Beating the Bears won’t reverse this campaign’s trend or give the Niners a leg up in 2025, but losing to Chicago certainly wouldn’t help the cause. Whatever lie the 49ers need to tell themselves to get up for this game needs to be said. The Niners’ best might not be all that great anymore, but it’s time for that best to show itself. Great players and teams are self-motivated, after all. Consider this the 2025 preseason, folks. What the Niners do on Sunday and in the final four games of the season will give us a great hint as to what we can expect next year.Using public funds for trips to the 2022 Gator Bowl, consistent overspending and “questionable” financial transactions by a University of South Carolina office and its affiliates, are among findings in a critical new report by the state’s Legislative Audit Council . The University of South Carolina in Columbia. The audit — which investigated USC’s Office of Economic Engagement and its work with the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator and the South Carolina Research Foundation — was performed at the request of a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2022. An investigation spanning 26 months found that the university’s Office of Economic Engagement had misspent $1.7 million of grant money and potentially violated state ethics codes. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement , which is a self-proclaimed intersection of industry, research and policy with the goal of innovating and meeting industry needs, had other problems, too, the audit showed. The incubator’s role is to support Columbia-area businesses. Though connected, the incubator is independent from the university. The USC office failed to comply with federal grant regulations, failed to disclose a conflict of interest, consistently exceeded its budget by thousands of dollars and spent taxpayer money on football bowl games and golf tournaments for an employee, according to the Dec. 5 report . Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. And despite receiving more than $10 million in grant funding between 2018 and 2023, the office never had a grant administrator to properly manage its money, instead relying on other university factions, like the College of Engineering and Computing. But the university doesn’t agree with all of the audit’s findings, including the time it took to perform the audit and “the methodology employed, and a number of the findings and recommendations contained in the (report),” USC President Michael Amiridis wrote, as the university had already moved to correct many of the problems identified in the report. South Carolina received $48,467,924 in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds by the U.S. Department of Education to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, $6 million of which was given to USC to establish Apple computer labs statewide. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement was responsible for the project, and the S.C. Department of Administration was supposed to monitor any expenditures. The university did open eight computer labs in across the state, though the audit said it failed to consider counties will less access to reliable broadband internet. But about $1.7 million of the that money was spent on “questionable” transactions, the report found. $400,000 for marketing the labs, some of which was spent in 2023 to market the office itself $286,553 for salaries and benefits for eight office employees who said they never worked on the grant, despite previously signing reports that they had $237,500 for a computing systems membership, which benefited USC, instead of the computer labs for which the money was intended $149,835 for a research database and expert portal that was not fully accessible as of June 2024 $4,589 for Apple Watches for 11 staff members of USC’s Palmetto College. According to the report, the money USC spent on marketing was through a contract with a public relations firm whose chairman and former CEO was a friend of the Office of Economic Engagement’s management. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement was also consistently over budget, the audit found. In five of the six years studied, the office had expenses that exceeded its funding, with deficits as high as $846,647 one year. It would have topped $1 million, if it hadn’t been for the governor’s emergency funding, the audit said. The report also noted that six of 162 travel reimbursements paid to office employees from 2019 through 2023 were for one employee to attend two galas and four sporting events, including golf tournaments and the 2022 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The office claimed that the gala trips were “reasonable travel expenses” for outreach and networking for USC; that the golf tournament trips promoted corporate and industry engagement; and that the trip to the Gator Bowl was justified because the employee had hosted a businessperson and their family to discuss internship opportunities and potential partnership at the university’s future health sciences campus. According to the report, that businessperson denied attending the 2022 Gator Bowl. Five other reimbursements were paid to an employee who lived out-of-state to attend meetings in Columbia. The university said it will follow-up on the audit’s conclusions regarding this spending. USC and the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator have worked together since 2015, via a partnership of shared ideas, resources and personnel time, according to the audit, and used memorandums of understanding. Agreements between the two led to “vague” financial boundaries, allowing them to transfer money to each other without sufficient oversight, including two instances of the Incubator’s incorrect use of USC procurement cards. Employee compensation and responsibilities between the two were also murky. The report was also critical of the incubator’s practices, and claimed it had little oversight by its board of directors and had a “poor graduation rate” of its member businesses. The incubator, according to the report, failed to comply with nonprofit best practices and IRS guidelines. And its tax filings have been consistently filed late, have missing information and discrepancies. The incubator’s facilities also fell into disrepair and the city of Columbia terminated its lease. Member businesses complained of health and safety issues like rats, faulty wiring, broken smoke alarms, mold, loiterers and “human excrement” outside of building. The university has “disengaged” with the incubator for the time being. The State has reached out to the incubator for comment. Despite the issues found in the audit, the council concluded that USC’s Office of Economic Engagement does not need to be eliminated. In a six-page letter dated Dec. 4, Amiridis wrote that while the university welcomes reviews of its practices to identify potential waste or abuse of taxpayer resources, the university disagreed with some of the findings. The university argued that the grant expenditures questioned in the audit were “permissible and appropriate,” and that many of the recommendations in the report apply to outside organizations, not USC itself. Between the time Amiridis began his tenure as USC’s president in July 2022 and when the audit was requested that September, he had already implemented new leadership and changes to the business practices of the Office of Economic Engagement. More than half of the audit’s recommendations did not apply directly to the university, the university pointed out. “Regardless, USC accepts responsibility for and has already resolved the issues giving rise to the substance of (the Legislative Audit Council’s) Recommendations,” Amiridis wrote. University spokesman Jeff Stensland declined to comment further on the report, citing the president’s letter as the university’s official response. “The University of South Carolina is committed to prudent use of taxpayer funds,” Amiridis wrote. “The important work of (the Office of Economic Engagement) in forging new business partnerships and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship is essential to the University’s mission of serving the State.” Amiridis wrote that necessary changes had already begun prior to the audit, and new leadership is working to make the office “more efficient and more productive.” Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.