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Dow, S&P 500 kick off July with gains, but tech fizzles

by Loknath Das April 5, 2024

written by Loknath Das

Stocks are up ahead of America’s birthday.

U.S. stocks on Monday closed the first day of trading in July and the second half of 2017 in positive territory—though off the day’s best levels—on the back of a rally in energy and financials, but tech shares lagged behind.

Gains accelerated in an abbreviated session ahead of the Fourth of July holiday on Tuesday, after an upbeat report on manufacturing.

Read: Which markets are closed for the Fourth of July?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.61% climbed 129.64 points, or 0.6%, closing at 21,479.27, finishing well off its intraday record of 21,562.75. Blue chips were aided in part by a rally in shares of Walt Disney Co. DIS, +1.14% on speculation that the entertainment giant might strike a deal with Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +0.76%

Sharp advances in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, +2.42% J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.JPM, +2.04% and Chevron Corp. CVX, +1.89% were the main contributors to the Dow’s Monday upswing.

The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.23% rose 5.61 points, or 0.2%, at 2,429.02, led by 2% gain in energy and a 1.3% rise in financial shares, but limited by a 0.9% slump in tech.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Transportation Average DJT, +0.79% closed at a record at 9.639.63, marking the indicator’s first all-time high since March 1. The small-cap Russell 2000 index RUT, +0.80% also notched a record close at 1,426.68. Some market experts consider records in the transports benchmark and the Dow industrials at the same time, along with records in small-cap shares, as a bullish sign of Wall Street health.

Lagging behind the benchmarks, however, was the Nasdaq Composite IndexCOMP, -0.49% down 30.36 points, or 0.5%, to end at 6,110.06. The tech sector has been among the more volatile segments of the market after a number of popular stocks, including Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.48% in early June, hit records, raising concerns that valuations were getting rich.

“I think what we have here is an environment that is reasonably good,” said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management. Manley said the investment atmosphere continues to be a good one and that earnings may further bolster confidence, if results are better than expected.

“The environment is not a bad environment and I look around and say valuations are high but they are kind of on the low end of high, but if nothing unexpectedly bad happens, it probably is not going to matter,” said Manley.

David O’Malley, CEO of Penn Mutual Asset Management, also maintains a bullish outlook. He said recent reflation in bonds, with the 10-year Treasury offering a yield of 2.34%, compared with 2.22% at the same time last week, is helping the overall market because higher yields are a positive to financials, which are the linchpin to economic health. “If the banks start outperforming that could really deliver a lift to the market,” he said.

The New York Stock Exchange ended trading at 1 p.m. Eastern on Monday, while government-bond markets wrapped up at 2 p.m.

See: Stock market poised to kick off July 4 week with fireworks of its own

On Friday, the S&P 500 and Dow closed modestly higher as the second quarter came to an close, while the tech-laden Nasdaq finished slightly lower for the session. The S&P and Dow have advanced for seven straight quarters, while the Nasdaq has gained for four quarters in a row.

Economic news: On the data front, ISM’s manufacturing index rose to 57.8 in June, compared with 54.9 in the prior month, marking its highest level since 2014. A reading of 50 indicates expansion. A separate report from IHS Markit showed manufacturing PMI falling to 52.0 in June from 52.7. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a reading of 55.5% for the ISM gauge.

Meanwhile, May construction spending was flat, compared with a reading for April that was lifted by the Commerce Department.

In other data, vehicle sales slumped in June as prices increased.

Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar

Other markets: Oil futures CLQ7, -0.21% traded higher, as crude booked its eighth positive session in a row—marking its longest streak in seven years. European stocks SXXP, -0.11% gained, while Asian equity markets closed mixed. Gold futuresGCQ7, +0.40% pulled back, and a key dollar index DXY, +0.08% advanced.

Stocks to Watch: Shares in Tesla Inc. TSLA, -2.49% slipped 2.5% after Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, said production for its Model 3 electric car should start this Friday. The $35,000 vehicle has “passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule,” Musk said on Twitter.

Shares of EQT Corp. EQT, +1.98% rose 2% in early trade after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Jana Partners took a 5.8% stake in the energy-and-production company.

[“Source-marketwatch”]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

£500,000 to fund school holiday lunch and fun clubs

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Children eating a school meal

Funding of £500,000 will go to summer holiday school lunch and fun clubs, the Welsh education secretary has said.

The money will be offered to councils in the most deprived parts of Wales to help provide play schemes and meals over the long break.

Kirsty Williams said there would be elements of education in the clubs and Welsh universities would be involved.

“These clubs will offer a positive environment for all our children during the summer holidays,” she said.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat AM added: “The reality is for some of our young people the school summer holidays can be a difficult time.

“Children who benefit from free school breakfasts and lunches often miss meals and go hungry once their school closes for the holidays, while the lack of free play schemes and sports activities can have an impact on those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Five local authorities in Wales already run similar schemes and the Welsh Government said councils would be able to access funding for new ventures in the 2017-18 financial year.

The cash will be distributed in conjunction with the Welsh Local Government Association, with further details announced later in the year.

Katie Palmer, Sustainable Food Cities co-ordinator for Food Cardiff, described it as “an important step in tackling health inequalities”.

“We are thrilled with this news. Last summer, Food Cardiff worked with the Welsh Local Government Association to develop the Food and Fun model across Wales, in partnership with local councils and health boards,” she said.

“The model, based on our pilot in Cardiff during summer 2015, delivered free school meals, food education and fun physical activities to children during the school break.”

Commitment

Fiona Kinghorn, interim director of Public Health for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, one of Food Cardiff’s partners, also welcomed the announcement.

“Some children experience inadequate nutrition during the school holidays and there is also the potential for loss of learning and social isolation,” she said.

“We have long recognised that addressing these issues requires a collaborative, coordinated response at local level, underpinned by national policy.

“Therefore we welcome this news from Welsh Government, which sees a commitment to deliver support where it is most needed.”

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Female graduates earn £6,500 less than male equivalents, government report warns

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Top female employees earn an average of £6,500 a year less than their male counterparts five years after leaving university, latest government figures have revealed.

Women’s salaries are marked at £31,000 on average across a range of graduate professions – 18 per cent lower than men, who earn an average of £37,500.

The findings, from the Department for Education’s Longitudinal Education Outcomes report have prompted fresh concerns over a widening gender pay gap.

Analysing data from 236,630 men and women who graduated in the 2008-09 academic year, the statistics are the first of their kind to track university leavers and their wages according to gender.

While men and women were found to be earning the same or similar pay during the first year after graduatation, the gap increased with each year of employment and was particularly noticeable in the upper wage range industries.

By year three, high earning women were found to be earning almost 15 per cent less – £26,500 compared to £31,000 for men.

Five years after graduating, the lowest earning men were found to have overtaken women completely – earning an average of £20,000 compared to £17,500.

The DfE report also noted that Black and Asian British-Pakistani graduates earned the lowest average salaries five years after graduation.

Commenting on the figures, Fawcett Society Chief Executive, Sam Smethers, called the gender pay gap a “huge waste of potential”.

She said: “We have the best educated female workforce that we have ever had but these figures show that we are just not getting them into the right roles at the right levels.

“The pay gap is a productivity gap. We need to end occupational segregation and open up senior roles to flexible & part-time work.”

Asking students to estimate their starting salary post-graduation, the National Student Money Survey reported that women expect to make over £3,300 a year less than their male equivalents, indicating they may be “primed” to expect lower earnings from a young age.

A Trade Union Congress (TUC) report earlier this year also found that women earn less than their male peers at every stage of their careers.

TUC head, Frances O’Grady, said the figures suggested the UK was almost half a century off achieving equal pay.

A Government spokesman said: “No woman should be held back just because of her gender. We now have the lowest gender pay gap on record, and we are working to get more women into the top jobs at our biggest companies.

“But we know there’s more to do – that’s why we are requiring employers to publish their gender pay and gender bonus gap for the first time from April and we are working to get more girls studying science, technology, engineering and maths subjects so that they get into more lucrative professions when they are older.”

[Source:- independent]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Female graduates earn £6,500 less than male equivalents, government report warns

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

We need to end occupational segregation and open up senior roles to flexible & part-time work.”

A Trade Union Congress (TUC) report earlier this year also found that women earn less than their male peers at every stage of their careers.

TUC head, Frances O’Grady, said the figures suggested the UK was almost half a century off achieving equal pay.

[Source:- independent]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Almost 1,500 school pupils in Aberdeen given anti-weapons lessons

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Almost 1,500 secondary pupils across Aberdeen have been given anti-weapons lessons in the wake of the killing of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne.

Bailey, 16, was stabbed during a fight with a fellow pupil at Cults Academy.

The schoolboy’s killer is serving nine years for culpable homicide.

An independent review into the death of Bailey in October last year found his death was “potentially avoidable” if teachers had known his attacker carried a knife.

The sessions will be rolled out next year to P7 pupils in Aberdeen.

‘Tragic incident’

Critics have questioned whether pupils would report their friends.

PC Seb Cook, of Police Scotland, told one S1 class at Aberdeen’s Hazlehead Academy: “You’ll have heard about the tragic incident that happened a year ago in Aberdeen.

“We never, ever want anything like that to happen again.

“You guys will never need to take anything sharp or dangerous into school.”

Police talk on weapons — Image captionTalks about weapons have been held at Hazlehead Academy and other schools

Hazlehead head teacher Jim Purdie said: “It’s not just about carrying weapons or blades, it’s about the legal aspect of that, and then the consequences for the pupils, for their families, for their friends.

“There’s an expression we often use, which is if we don’t know things are happening we can’t do anything about them. We are constantly reminding our children to take responsibility.

“If there’s something that is upsetting them, they know who to tell.”

‘Think of consequences’

One pupil, asked what they would do if they knew someone had a weapon, told BBC Scotland: “I would probably just go up to a teacher, maybe even up to the person and just say ‘why are you doing that, think of the consequences’.”

Another said: “People say don’t grass up a mate, but if it’s serious I think you should.”

Police Scotland was asked about incidents involving weapons in schools.

Supt Andy McKay, of Police Scotland Safer Communities, said: “Police Scotland relies on local authorities to report all incidents of weapon possession so that accurate figures can be collated.

“Following the report into Bailey Gwynne’s death, Aberdeen City have been working closely with Police Scotland to ensure each and every incident of weapon possession is reported, however it will be up to other local authorities to consider this recommendation moving forward.

“As a result, the figures collated to date may not offer a true reflection of the national picture in relation to possession of weapons in schools due to inconsistent reporting and recording methods.

“Figures represent a snapshot in time, and may not accurately portray a divisional or national perspective.”

A strategy aimed at preventing knives and weapons getting into Aberdeen schools was approved last month.

Staff will be provided with clarity on the recording of incidents in schools, pupil searches and when and how to confiscate weapons, including knives.

Other actions approved by the council include providing professional learning opportunities to teachers in order that they can deliver anti-weapon and knife crime lessons.

A review, conducted by child welfare professional Andrew Lowe, made 21 recommendations.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

Rs. 500, 1000 Ban: Amazon Resumes Cash on Delivery Service for Online Shoppers

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Rs. 500, 1000 Ban: Amazon Resumes Cash on Delivery Service for Online Shoppers

E-commerce giant Amazon Friday said it has resumed cash on delivery (CoD) service for customers, two days after it had halted the option following the government’s move to demonetise Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes.

Apart from cash, Amazon India will allow customers to pay using credit and debit cards at the time of delivery of the order.

“As of November 11, we are re-introducing CoD to enable options to pay at the time of delivery. This accommodates customers who face challenges of paying online, but are still able to use electronic instruments at delivery,” an Amazon India spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the delivery agents have been trained to help customers who opt for card payments at the time of order delivery or valid currency notes, including the newly introduced Rs. 500 and 2,000 notes.

About digital payments on the platform, the spokesperson said electronic payments at doorstep have gone up by a factor of 10x in the past two days.

“This clearly indicates that customers are able to adapt to electronic payment methods when cash is constrained. We continue to focus on incentivising and helping people shift to making payments electronically online, aligned with the government’s focus,” the spokesperson added.

The company has launched a new offer to incentivise customers to make cashless transactions.

Customers can load their Amazon gift card balance and get an incentive of 15 percent/ Rs. 300 (maximum) discount at checkout.

Following the government’s decision to demonetise, firms like Amazon and Paytm temporarily halted the cash on delivery facility for customers.

Some companies like Uber and BigBasket have issued advisories urging customers to pay in lower denominations while others like Flipkart and Snapdeal set limits to the value of orders that can be delivered through CoD.

According to industry estimates, about 70 percent of the shoppers opt for cash while buying a product.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

Rs. 500, 1000 Notes Banned: Snapdeal Offers 10 Percent Instant Discount on All Card Transactions

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Rs. 500, 1000 Notes Banned: Snapdeal Offers 10 Percent Instant Discount on All Card Transactions

In a bid to promote cashless transactions post Prime Minister Modi’s announcement of demonetising Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, Snapdeal is offering 10 percent ‘Instant Discount’ on all Credit and Debit cards on its Web and mobile sites, valid till November 10. The offer is available on most products, expect for a few smartphones.

Snapdeal has provided steps to avail the discount on its website. After selecting the mode of payment ie. Debit/ Credit Card in the ‘Make Payment’ section, the 10 percent discount offer will be displayed under ‘Bank Offers’. Selecting the offer and hitting ‘Apply’ will effectively slash 10 percent off your product. However, Snapdeal mentions that the maximum discount applicable is Rs.500. So products worth more than Rs. 5,000 or more will receive a maximum of Rs. 500 off.

Apart from this, Snapdeal earlier announced new payment option called Wallet on Delivery. Through this, buyers will be able to make cashless purchases through Snapdeal-owned FreeCharge wallet.

Paytm, one of the most successful digital payment companies in India, is happily on board with the government’s new announcement. The platform has seen over 400 percent growth in traffic since the announcement took place, the company said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Following Snapdeal’s ‘Wallet on Delivery’ service, Paytm also announced it was working on a similar service, called ‘Paytm on Delivery’.

Since the new announcement, major e-commerce sites like Amazon have suspended ‘Cash on Delivery (CoD)’. Flipkart and Snapdeal have limited CoD to items priced above Rs. 2,000.

Snapdeal’s 10 percent ‘Instant Discount’ offer is valid only on Thursday. The offer is also valid on EMI purchases made through Debit or Credit cards.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Tuition fees heading over £9,500

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

University

A second wave of tuition-fee rises has been signalled, which will apply to all standards of university in England.

This will take tuition fees over £9,500 for students beginning university courses in autumn 2018.

The government has said higher fees will be linked to teaching quality – but plans released on Thursday suggest that all three quality bands can apply the same increase.

This will include those “significantly below benchmark in one or more areas”.

The government has already announced an increase to £9,250 for autumn 2017 – if the Houses of Parliament approve plans to lift the current cap of £9,000.

‘Quality standards’

The Department for Education says the fee increases for 2018 will be a second “trial year” before a system with different levels of fees based on teaching quality.

“Universities will not be able to increase their fees unless they pass rigorous quality standards,” said a Department for Education spokeswoman.

“We have always been clear that as the framework develops it will become increasingly robust, with additional criteria, such as university’s retention and graduate employment rates, introduced into the judging process.”

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said a further rise in fees was “unacceptable” and asked: “Where does it end?”.

The process for deciding quality will be the “teaching excellence framework” – and for the first year, while it is being set up, the government has allowed an across-the-board increase to £9,250 from autumn 2017.

The Department for Education has now published plans for how it will be implemented – and universities will be classified in three grades – gold, silver and bronze.

But the proposals say that for courses starting in autumn 2018, “all those achieving a rating of bronze, silver and gold will receive the full inflationary uplift”.

The forecast for inflation for 2018-19 from the Office for Budget Responsibility is 3.2% – which would push the cost of fees above £9,500.

The specifications for bronze standard says these universities will be of “satisfactory quality” but they are “likely to be significantly below benchmark in one or more areas”.

It says students at these universities will be “occasionally engaged with developments from the forefront of research, scholarship or practice, and are occasionally involved in these activities”.

But the universities in this quality range – which will be decided next year – will be able to charge the same basic tuition fee in 2018 as those in the higher quality bands.

Beyond 2018, there could be different levels of fees charged, based on these assessments of quality.

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: “By setting out clear incentives for universities, the framework will drive up quality in the sector at the same time as improving student choice and crucially, graduate outcomes – so that we can be confident we have the skills employers need now and for the future.

“The framework will also give students clear, understandable information about where the best teaching is on offer and for the first time, place teaching quality on a par with research at our universities.”

But Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “Higher education needs to be funded sustainably but for Government to continue to let fees creep up year on year, so students are unable to get a clear picture of the debt they might face, is unacceptable.”

David Phoenix, chair of the MillionPlus group of new universities, said it would be important for the teaching assessments to “take proper account of the diverse range of universities and higher education students”.

But Prof Phoenix said he remained “concerned about the timetable for implementation and the link with fees”.

Dame Julia Goodfellow, president of Universities UK, said: “Universities have increased investment in teaching and learning following the funding reforms and student satisfaction rates are at record levels.”

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

Yahoo 2014 Hack Steals Personal Information From at Least 500 Million Accounts

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Yahoo 2014 Hack Steals Personal Information From at Least 500 Million Accounts

Computer hackers swiped personal information from at least 500 million Yahoo accounts in what is believed to be the biggest digital break-in at an email provider.

The massive security breakdown disclosed Thursday poses new headaches for beleaguered Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer as she scrambles to close a $4.8 billion (roughly Rs. 32,500 crores) sale to Verizon.

The breach dates back to late 2014, raising questions about the checks and balances within Yahoo – a fallen internet star that has been laying off staff and trimming expenses to counter a steep drop in revenue during the past eight years.

At the time of the break-in, Yahoo’s security team was led by Alex Stamos, a respected industry executive who left last year to take a similar job at Facebook.

Once more unto the breach
Yahoo didn’t explain what took so long to uncover a heist that it blamed on a “state-sponsored actor” – parlance for a hacker working on behalf of a foreign government.

The Sunnyvale, California, company declined to explain how it reached its conclusions about the attack for security reasons, but said it is working with the FBI and other law enforcement. Yahoo beganinvestigating a possible breach in July, around the time the tech site Motherboard reported that a hacker who uses the name “Peace” was trying to sell account information belonging to 200 million Yahoo users.

Yahoo didn’t find evidence of that reported hack, but additional digging later uncovered a far larger, allegedly state-sponsored attack.

“We take these types of breaches very seriously and will determine how this occurred and who is responsible,” the FBI said in a Thursday statement.

Most accounts ever stolen
The Yahoo theft represents the most accounts ever stolen from a single email provider, according to computer security analyst Avivah Litan with the technology research firm Gartner Inc.

“It’s a shocking number,” Litan said. “This is a pretty big deal that is probably going to cost them tens of millions of dollars. Regulators and lawyers are going to have a field day with this one.”

Yahoo says it has more than 1 billion monthly users, although it hasn’t disclosed how many of those people have email accounts. In July, 161 million people worldwide used Yahoo email on personal computers, a 30 percent decline from the same time in 2014, according to the latest data from the research firm comScore.

The data stolen from Yahoo includes users’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, scrambled passwords, and the security questions – and answers – used to verify an accountholder’s identity. The company said the attacker didn’t get any information about its users’ bank accounts or credit and debit cards.

Security experts say the Yahoo theft could hurt the affected users if their personal information is mined to break into other online services or used for identity theft. All affected users will be notified about the theft and advised how to protect themselves, according to the company.

Yahoo also is recommending that all users change their passwords if they haven’t done so since 2014. If the same password is used to access other sites, it should be changed too, along with any security questions similar to those used on Yahoo.

The Verizon impact
News of the security lapse could cause some people to have second thoughts about relying on Yahoo’s services, raising a prickly issue for the company as it tries to sell its digital operations to Verizon.

That deal, announced two months ago, isn’t supposed to close until early next year. That leaves Verizon with wiggle room to renegotiate the purchase price or even back out if it believes the security breach will harm Yahoo’s business. That could happen if users shun Yahoo or file lawsuits because they’re incensed by the theft of their personal information.

Verizon said it still doesn’t know enough about the Yahoo break-in to assess the potential consequences. “We will evaluate as the investigation continues through the lens of overall Verizon interests, including consumers, customers, shareholders and related communities,” the company said in a statement.

Delay of sale
At the very least, Verizon is going to need more time to assess what it will be getting into if it proceeds with its plans to take over Yahoo, said Scott Vernick, an attorney specializing in data security for the law firm Fox Rothschild.

“This is going to slow things down. There is going to be a lot of blood, sweat and tears shed on this,” Vernick said. “A buyer needs to understand the cybersecurity strengths and weaknesses of its target these days.”

Investors evidently aren’t nervous about the Verizon deal unraveling yet. Yahoo’s stock added a penny Thursday to close at $44.15. But the Verizon sale represents a sliver of Yahoo’s total market value, which primarily consists of a stake in Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group currently worth $42 billion (roughly Rs. 2,80,434 crores).

[Source:- gadgets. ndtv]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

Indian Digital Payments Market to Reach $500 Billion by 2020: Google

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Indian Digital Payments Market to Reach $500 Billion by 2020: Google

Digital payments market size in the country is expected to touch $500 billion (roughly Rs. 33,63,762 crores) by 2020, accounting for about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a report said on Monday.

The ‘Digital Payments 2020’ report, jointly published byGoogle and Boston Consulting Group, projects that non-cash contribution in the consumer payments segment will double to 40 percent.

“The smartphone explosion will usher in a new era in digital payments in India over the next few years that will see digital payments exceed $500 billion by 2020 and non-cash transactions exceed cash transactions by 2023,” said Alpesh Shah, Senior Partner and MD, Boston Consulting Group.

He also said contribution of digital payments would be 15 percent to the country’s GDP.

The report notes that 81 percent of existing digital payment users prefer it to any other non-cash payment methods. “It is telling that half of India’s Internet users will use digital payments and that the top 100 million users will drive 70 percent of the gross merchandise value,” Rajan Anandan, VP South East Asia and India, Google, said.

Online shopping, payment of utility bills and buying movie tickets have emerged as the top three user activities.

The report also said 90 percent of Indian consumers are likely to use digital payments for both online and offline points of sale such as unorganised retail, eateries and transport.

Micro-transactions will form a substantial portion of the industry with over 50 percent of person-to-merchant transactions expected to be under Rs. 100, the report added.

The value of remittances and money transfer that will pass through alternative digital payment instruments will double to 30 percent by 2020, it said.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

April 4, 2024 0 comment