live casino rules The stock market rally suffered sharp, damaging losses with the major indexes falling below key levels. The Fed cut rates but policymakers see modest easing next year, with Fed chief Jerome Powell tempering even those expectations. Treasury yields jumped. But stocks rebounded somewhat on Friday. ( ) leapt on its Freight business spin-off plans while ( ) plunged on guidance. Meanwhile ( ) and ( ) dived on disappointing drug studies. ( ) fell on weak guidance. Stock Market Sells Off On Fed A less-dovish Fed rate outlook triggered a big sell-off, exacerbating preexisting market weakness. The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Russell 2000 fell through their 50-day lines and the Nasdaq fell below the 21-day line. Treasury yields hit five-month highs. But the indexes jumped Friday, paring weekly losses, on a tame inflation report. Fed Sees 'Policy Uncertainty' The phrase of the week, uttered by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, was "policy uncertainty," alluding to the agenda of the incoming Trump administration. Powell compared the Fed's job to "driving on a foggy night," adding: "You just slow down." After Wednesday's quarter-point move brought Fed rate cuts to a total of 100 basis points over three meetings, markets now see roughly 50-50 odds that the Fed only cuts by 25 basis points all of next year. Markets couldn't take comfort in the Fed's projection of 50 basis points in cuts next year, because Fed policymakers didn't base the forecast on Trump's actual plans. Most economists think that whatever combination of tax cuts, tariffs and tighter immigration emerges will be inflationary. The uncertain outlook was underscored by Fed policymakers' projections for core inflation next year, ranging from 2.1% to 3.2%. The median forecast is 2.5%. However, Wall Street did take some comfort on Friday from a cool inflation reading for November, which saw the core PCE price index rising just 0.1% on the month, holding the 12-month inflation rate at 2.8%. Meanwhile, the economy continues to power ahead. Q3 GDP growth was revised up to 3.1% from 2.8%, thanks to an upwardly revised 3.7% increase in consumer spending. Spending has remained solid in Q4, rising 0.4% in November, following October's 0.3% gain. Micron Tanks On Outlook Memory-chip leader ( ) reported slightly better-than-expected earnings on in-line sales for its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 28. But its outlook for the current quarter badly missed views, sending shares plunging. Fiscal Q1 sales for AI data centers were strong, offset by weakness in the PC and smartphone markets. Vertex Drug Can't Beat Placebo ( ) plummeted Thursday after its non-opioid killer drug showed virtually no difference from a placebo in a study of patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy, also known as LSR or sciatica. After 12 weeks, patients with LSR had a 2.02-point improvement in pain on a scale of 0 to 10. That compared to a 1.98-point improvement for placebo recipients. Vertex is still planning to move its drug, suzetrigine, into Phase 3 testing. In other biotech news, Mesoblast won FDA approval for its graft versus host disease treatment in patients as young as two months old who don't respond to steroids. Shares catapulted by double digits. ( ) crashed Friday after the Danish pharmaceutical giant reported its experimental weight-loss drug CagriSegma missed expectations in a late-stage trial. ( ) and ( ) jumped. Tesla FSD v13 Not A Game-Changer? Elon Musk has said he expects ( ) robotaxis in Texas and California by mid-2025. The EV giant's Full Self Driving v13 went out to all customers this past week. But early feedback suggests it isn't a giant leap forward for autonomous driving. Meanwhile, Tesla continued to see solid vehicle registrations in China, bolstered by year-end incentives. That's offsetting weakness in Europe and the U.S. The company needs to deliver more than 514,000 vehicles in Q4 to hit its goal of vehicle delivery growth vs. the 1.8 million from 2023. TSLA also received several more price target hikes this week. Shares hit a record high Wednesday before paring gains. Nike Turnaround Begins ( ) reported a sharp earnings drop while revenue fell 8% to $12.4 billion, but both were better than feared. The Dow Jones shoe and apparel giant saw declines across all of its brand segments and sales channels in fiscal Q2, while gross margins fell sharply. New CEO Elliott Hill said that Nike is taking "immediate action" to reposition the business around sports, with CFO Matthew Friend noting that brand momentum has resumed since Hill took over in October. Still shares fell as Nike said it would slash inventory in the near term. Elsewhere, ( ) reported fiscal Q4 EPS more than doubled as revenue grew nearly 18% to $478 million, both beating. Birkenstock guided slightly lower on fiscal 2025 revenue, but shares jumped within a base. FedEx Plans To Unload Freight ( ) just edged past fiscal Q2 EPS views with a 1.5% gain while revenue dipped 1% to $22 billion, slightly missing. The shipping giant also guided low on fiscal 2025. But FedEx jumped on plans to spin off its Freight business into a separate public company with the delivery heavyweight in cost-cutting mode. FedEx has implemented several cost-cutting initiatives in recent months, including combining its ground, air and other operations in a single company. Stock Market News In Brief ( ) reported a 22% EPS drop and a 9% revenue loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, both missing views. Guidance also was weak. Along with Treasury yields surging after the new Fed outlook, Lennar and other homebuilders sold off, extending a sharp retreat in recent weeks. ( ) reported a 21% EPS gain, slightly beating, while sales grew nearly 8%, in line with fiscal Q2 views. But the provider of uniforms and other business supplies reported a drop in direct uniform sales and warned on pricing. Cintas stock gapped below the 200-day line for the first time in two years. ( ) dropped after an analyst said some power semiconductors used with its latest Blackwell AI server chips were overheating. Shares of the power-chip maker, ( ), also fell. The issue threatens to delay the introduction of the new Blackwell systems. ( ) beat Wall Street's targets for its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 30. But the management consulting and technology services firm cut its earnings outlook for the full year ahead. Still, ACN stock advanced after the report. ( ) jumped after the electronics contract manufacturer delivered a beat-and-raise quarterly report. Jabil's business got a boost from its cloud computing and data center business, especially with customer Amazon Web Services. However, its EV and energy infrastructure businesses were a drag. ( ) jumped Friday after easily beating Q4 EPS views, with 10% revenue growth slightly topping. The cruise line operator was bullish on 2025, with Q1 guidance above consensus, but full-year goals mixed. ( ) raised its annual sales forecast, counting on higher menu prices and more people dining at LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden chains in the holiday season. Darden reported a 10% EPS increase on a 6% sales gain, an overall beat. Same-store sales rose 2.4%, also outpacing views, after three quarters of flat to negative growth. Darden stock scored a nearly 15% earnings breakaway gap. ( ) posted a 34% earnings gain, edging past views by a penny, but an 8% sales gain missed. The aircraft parts supplier tumbled. Ongoing supplier issues at ( ) and ( ) will keep a lid on new aircraft deliveries and keep demand for servicing older aircraft and engines steady, management said. But Heico's sales growth slowed for the fourth consecutive quarter. ( ) earnings surged 56%, accelerating from a 13% gain in the prior quarter. Revenue unexpectedly rose 1% after eight down quarters. The used-car seller cited "more stable" vehicle valuations that drove demand. Used vehicles are selling briskly as their prices drop and inventories improve. CarMax briefly regained a buy point in the stock market but ultimately closed lower for the week. ( ) said it is mulling a separation of its aerospace business after an activist investor pushed for a breakup of one of the few remaining U.S. conglomerates. The ( ) rival and ( ) supplier promised an update at its Q4 earnings report, due at the end of January. Mutterings about a potential merger between GE Aerospace and Honeywell's aerospace business continue. Such a combination could present a more potent challenge to ( ), which includes Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney. Honeywell stock rallied.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 20, 2024-- We are pleased with today’s decision. The jury has vindicated Qualcomm’s right to innovate and affirmed that all the Qualcomm products at issue in the case are protected by Qualcomm’s contract with ARM. We will continue to develop performance-leading, world class products that benefit consumers worldwide, with our incredible Oryon ARM-compliant custom CPUs. About Qualcomm Qualcomm relentlessly innovates to deliver intelligent computing everywhere, helping the world tackle some of its most important challenges. Our proven solutions drive transformation across major industries, and our Snapdragon ® branded platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences. Building on our nearly 40-year leadership in setting industry standards and creating era-defining technology breakthroughs, we deliver leading edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation to enrich lives, improve businesses, and advance societies. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering and research and development functions and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business. Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patents are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241220310709/en/ CONTACT: Qualcomm Contact: Clare Conley Media Relations 1-858-845-5959 corpcomm@qualcomm.comMauricio Lopez-Hodoyan Investor Relations 1-858-658-4813 ir@qualcomm.com KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOURCE: Qualcomm Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/20/2024 05:35 PM/DISC: 12/20/2024 05:36 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241220310709/enOn the heels of a resounding election victory one month ago, Nova Scotia’s premier is adopting a more measured tone when it comes to assessing his province’s relationship with the federal government. Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservatives were returned to power Nov. 26, capturing 43 of the legislature’s 55 seats after a campaign during which he attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government on a number of fronts. In fact, he justified his decision to call a snap election and ignore the province’s fixed-date election law — which had set the vote for July 2025 — by claiming he needed a strong mandate to stand up to Ottawa. But in a recent end-of-year interview with The Canadian Press, Houston was more conciliatory, saying a Dec. 9 meeting at his Halifax office with Trudeau was conducted with “a spirit of collaboration.” “We started to see right away that the tone was different,” he said, adding that whatever comes of Trudeau’s leadership of the Liberal party, Nova Scotia will retain its important relationship with the federal government. Trudeau, meanwhile, has been facing increasing pressure from inside his caucus to step down. High on Houston’s list of grievances has been Ottawa’s imposition of carbon pricing in the province and its refusal to pay the entire bill for the costly work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus, the low-lying land link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that is increasingly prone to severe flooding. During the provincial election campaign, the premier accused the federal government of shirking its responsibility for the isthmus, on occasion accusing Ottawa of “trying to rip us off.” However, his language has become noticeably less strident since the election win. “I would say they were more open-minded to looking at different ways we could finance it (the isthmus project), so I will let that unfold,” said Houston. “It’s not resolved yet, I don’t want to give that impression, but certainly we are trying to work towards a resolution that both parties can live with.” The federal government has said it is willing to pay 50 per cent of the estimated $650-million project to strengthen the dike system and rail line along the vital land corridor against rising sea levels. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are to split the other half of the cost, and the provinces have subsequently asked the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to rule on whether the responsibility for the work belongs entirely to the federal government. Houston said the legal challenge — Ottawa should file its response in January — is going ahead, with hearings scheduled to begin in March. “They haven’t filed yet and we haven’t withdrawn,” he said. “That stuff is still on the docket and I’ll keep that on the docket until there is a resolution.” Nova Scotia can’t afford to be distracted by squabbles with Ottawa as the province tries to fend off threats from the president-elect of the United States, who says he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods when he gets into office in January unless border security is improved. Houston said he is on board with Trudeau’s Team Canada approach to Donald Trump because of the vital trade relationship Nova Scotia has with its southern neighbour. According to Nova Scotia government statistics, nearly 70 per cent of the province’s exports between January and September 2024 were to the U.S. Exports were up 6.6 per cent over the same period in 2023, rising to $3.5 billion, the bulk of which range from seafood and agricultural products to lumber and tires. “We want to be part of a positive resolution ... The premiers are united on this, it’s their Number 1 priority,” said Houston, who added that meetings would probably be set up with governors from key trading partner states in the new year. As for dealing with Trump, Houston said it’s best to take him at his word regardless of whether he gets his point across on social media or through traditional channels. “He’s the president-elect of the United States so he has to be taken seriously, no matter which form he presents his ideas and thoughts,” Houston said.

Did Patriots coach Jerod Mayo finally get his wish?As another year of investing draws to a close, let's review the biggest trends in ASX . First, let's take a macro view. At the time of writing, the (ASX: XJO) is up 5.76% in the year to date (YTD). If we add the typical 4% dividend return on top, we get a total estimated return of 9.76%. The two best months of the year for share price gains have been July, when the ASX 200 , and November, when it . The has reset its all-time record high many times over throughout the year. The latest record was set on 3 December at 8,514.5 points. Meantime, the national home value rose for a 22nd consecutive month in November, according to . It's now up 5.2% YTD, with total annual returns (i.e., capital growth plus rents) tracking at 9.6%. So, there's not much competition between shares vs. property in terms of overall returns in 2024. Based on current trends, both asset classes will deliver total returns of 9% to 10%. Very satisfactory! Of course, certain ASX shares and property markets have outperformed these averages. Outperformers of 2024 In terms of best-performing ASX shares for price growth this year, ASX 200 biotech ( ) has had a rip-snorter, up 681% YTD. Buy now, pay later company ( ) has had an incredible comeback, with the share price up 356% YTD. And the relentless rise of ( ) shares has continued, with the share price up 194% YTD. In terms of property, Perth has been the clear outperformer among the capital cities. Regional Western Australia has also been the strongest regional market. The median home value in Perth is up 19% YTD to $808,090. The median home value in regional Western Australia is up 15.5% to $541,743 YTD. Shares vs. property: Key investment trends of 2024 In the share market, has been ASX shares. The (ASX: XIJ) is currently up 47% YTD. It's interesting to note that the much-lauded US Magnificent Seven this year. The has been ASX shares, with the (ASX: XFJ) up 25% YTD. The financials sector includes , insurers, and financial services companies. Big bank stocks have had a great run in 2024, so much so that the ( ) overtook ( ) as the largest stock by market capitalisation earlier in the year. In the property market, we have seen a two-tier performance in 2024. The mid-sized capitals of Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane have outperformed, with median home price gains of 19%, 12.6%, and 11.2%, respectively, YTD. On the other side of the coin, home values have fallen 2% in Melbourne and 0.1% in Hobart. The Canberra median is steady, while the Sydney median has gained just 3.1%. Why is Melbourne weak and Perth strong? Melbourne being the is a very interesting trend. Melbourne is a vibrant international city that has been t's set to become Australia's biggest city in just , a . Yet it is now our third cheapest capital city for housing. Why is that? The weak Melbourne market is partly due to Victoria building more new homes over the past 10 years than any other state or territory. So, supply is much better. Demand has also been moderated by fewer people moving to Melbourne, as well as lower investor activity due to new land taxes. Other interesting trends in the property market this year include more young families being willing to move interstate for cheaper housing, and investors adopting the same mindset for better overall returns. Western Australia has been a key beneficiary of these two trends. Australia recorded the , up 2.8%. The state economy is booming, with new jobs attracting many new residents from the East Coast. In fact, Western Australia just recorded the of all the states and territories for the first time in more than a decade, according to CommSec's latest . People are now earning better money in Perth than in Australia's two biggest city economies, Sydney and Melbourne. This creates another reason to move there—it's easier to cope with the cost-of-living crisis when you're on a higher wage. The latest from the Bureau of Statistics shows median weekly earnings of $1,500 in Perth and $1,442 in regional Western Australia. This compares to $1,450 in Melbourne and $1,416 in Sydney. (Earnings are highest in Canberra at $1,688 per week). Despite strong growth in median prices, Western Australia still offers better housing affordability than the East Coast capitals. The median house price in Perth is $842,227. This compares to $1,482,750 in Sydney, $974,396 in Brisbane, $972,753 in Canberra, and $923,422 in Melbourne. Weekly rents are also higher, and this, combined with strong capital growth, has caused a spike in investor activity. Total annual returns for all dwellings in Perth are currently tracking at a whopping 26.4%. This compares to 6.5% in Sydney, 16.6% in Brisbane, 4% in Canberra, and 1.4% in Melbourne. At the start of this year, Joe White, President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, said the state was " ". Whilst activity is now slowing down following very strong price growth, East Coast investors , White told magazine this month. As we head into 2025, Tim Lawless, CoreLogic's research director, says all capital city markets are now "losing steam". This is partly because the supply of homes for sale increased over the Spring season. At the same time, demand has waned a bit due to continuing high and costs of living.

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 has also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Automakers in Japan have lagged 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. Nissan has been fighting to survive. Credit: Bloomberg 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 $US50 billion ($80 billion) based on the market capitalisation of all three automakers. Together, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would gain scale to compete with Toyota Motor and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG. Toyota has technology partnerships with Japan’s Mazda Motor and Subaru. 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 approached his company. He also acknowledged that Nissan’s situation was “severe.” We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base 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 realisation 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. Honda chief Makoto Uchida (left) and Nissan chief Toshihiro Mibe at a joint press conference. Credit: Bloomberg But the company said in November that it was slashing 9000 jobs, or about 6 per cent of its global workforce, and reducing its global production capacity by 20 per cent 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 per cent 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 ($15 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 per cent. They jumped more than 20 per cent after news of the possible merger broke last week. Honda’s shares surged 3.8 per cent. Honda’s net profit slipped nearly 20 per cent 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. Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. AP