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WMB | Nishikori Pliskova crowned Brisbane International champions | Reuters Japan s Kei Nishikori overcame Daniil Medvedev in the Brisbane International final on Sunday for his first ATP title in nearly three years and the 12th of his career Last year s finalist Nishikori who prevailed 6 4 3 6 6 2 won 70 percent of points on his first serve and converted five out of 15 break point opportunities to snap a nine match losing streak in finals This week was one of the best for me Nishikori who beat Denis Kudla Grigor Dimitrov and Jeremy Chardy this week said I ve never had a week like this to start the season so it gives me a lot of confidence World number nine Nishikori started slowly trailing 3 0 in the opening set but responded in typically determined fashion to win six of the next seven games for an early advantage Medvedev saved four break points to take a 3 2 lead in the second set before dragging the match into a decider but his opponent who lost their previous meeting in last year s Tokyo final was not to be denied again Breaking Medvedev for a 3 1 lead in the third set Nishikori held firm to seal the match in a little more than two hours for his first trophy since winning in Memphis in February 2016 Great final today I lost to him last year in the final in Japan so I m happy to get revenge today Nishikori added I m really happy that finally I ve won this title it s been like seven or eight times at this tournament Earlier former world number one Karolina Pliskova battled back from a set and a break down to beat Lesia Tsurenko 4 6 7 5 6 2 and win the women s title for the second time Tsurenko served for the match at 5 3 in the second set but the tall Czech drew on all her experience to overcome her dogged opponent and regain the title she won at the Queensland Tennis Centre two years ago The Ukrainian took an injury time out after rolling her ankle while being broken in the first game of the third set and was powerless to prevent the world number eight from storming to her 12th career title I think everything was against me today I felt there is no chance I can win I felt so far away from playing good tennis tonight Pliskova who needed a pep talk from coach Rennae Stubbs to regain composure said Rennae said I am absolutely sure you can win this match which gave me some confidence and belief that I can do it I just tried to change the things around a little bit and believed I was going to get a chance I felt I was getting better with the time
Victory meant Pliskova joined Victoria Azarenka 2009 2016 and Serena Williams NYSE WMB 2013 14 as the third woman to win the Premier event twice |
WMB | WTA roundup Pliskova rallies for second Brisbane title | Fifth seeded Karolina Pliskova reeled off 14 straight points to survive a second set collapse and beat Ukraine s Lesia Tsurenko for her second career Brisbane International title on Sunday in Australia Pliskova who won here in 2017 was down a set and at 3 5 and two points away from defeat when she rallied on her serve at deuce to win the game and begin her comeback in a 4 6 7 5 6 2 victory Pliskova of the Czech Republic credited a similar match in the first round with giving her the confidence to rally I think this was a very important match I had similar one in the first round which I was losing set and break and of course when you re able to turn these matches around it gives you some extra and different confidence she said Pliskova now has a 4 2 lead in her overall series against Tsurenko who needed a medical timeout after rolling her ankle in the third set ASB Classic No 2 seed Julia Goerges of Germany ended the surprising run by Canadian teenage qualifier Bianca Andreescu beating her 2 6 7 5 6 1 in the final in Auckland New Zealand Andreescu was in her maiden final after stunning top seed Caroline Wozniacki No 3 seed Su wei Hsieh and former No 1 Venus Williams NYSE WMB The 18 year old who is 152nd in the WTA world rankings looked like she was headed for another stunner when she dominated the first set against the defending champion Goerges But Goerges opened the second set with a break and held off a late rally by Andreescu to force a third set Andreescu showing signs of wearing down was unable to find any answers in the third set falling behind by a break on her first serve and 4 1 just a few games later
It is disappointing but I can t complain I played qualifiers I wasn t supposed to make the finals Andreescu said I m really proud that mentally I was able to hang on in there Field Level Media |
VZ | AI Investment Gains Prominence 3 Telecom Stocks In Focus | With the telecom industry on the cusp of 5G boom President Trump has renewed an investment pledge to prioritize research and development efforts in Artificial Intelligence AI a key differentiator to analyze huge data troves to get meaningful information The strategic move follows similar such initiatives by other countries such as China to bridge the digital divide with the United States in this field Trump has signed an executive order in this regard to maintain the competitive edge of the country Dubbed the American AI Initiative the plan involves significant investments to seek the application of AI technology in diverse fields ranging from wars to health care It also aims to make government data and computing resources widely available to AI experts for possible data mining activities for the overall benefit of the industry AI A Key DifferentiatorWith the wide proliferation of smartphones and exponential growth in demand for data traffic telecom operators have to deal with a huge pool of heterogeneous data originating from various web and mobile applications that traces geolocation consumer profile data call detail record service usage and billing data The burgeoning customer digital footprint leaves behind a huge data trail which is time consuming and seemingly impossible to analyze by humans for data collation This is where AI techniques come into play Telecom enterprises are increasingly deploying these tools to predict and analyze consumer behavior on real time basis which can then be tapped by marketing agencies and retailers to fast track their sales AI facilitates telecom enterprises to dig deeper into the customer realm and predict the propensity of customers to buy products through holistic profiling It helps to get a cognitive insight into customer behavior thus helping to better connect with them and customize an offering for higher probability of acceptance At the same time data monetization and data mining techniques by leveraging subscribers data could help unearth new revenue opportunities for the company In addition AI enables telecom operators to deploy intelligent networks using tools that automate back end processes to lower costs and deploy additional human capital for other value added analytical work The Money Trail What Stokes Investments In addition to classification of traffic anomaly detection and network optimization and utilization AI along with Machine Learning ML techniques conflate to form the basis of numerous intelligent technologies that have redefined our daily lives A few of these developments that affect the usage of telecom networks substantially are Smart Homes AI has given shape to the concept of Smart Homes that help remote monitoring and management of Internet connected appliances and systems such as lighting and heating This provides homeowners security comfort convenience and energy efficiency by allowing them to control smart devices through a smartphone app or other networked device Self Driving Cars The growing autonomous vehicle fleet is a testament to the fact that driverless vehicles are getting closer to being a common feature on public roads This requires seamless data connectivity and AI to control vehicle speed according to road traffic and sensitive areas to prevent any road casualties Smart Cities Improving the quality of life for residents of the city reducing environmental impact and increasing operational efficiency are three prime factors that have led to the evolution of Smart Cities The essence of a Smart City is connectivity where embedded telecom infrastructure works as a mesh in which data flows seamlessly and enables tasks with the least human intervention in the smartest possible way Telecom Stocks in the LimelightAT T Inc NYSE T This Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock is focusing on AI and ML techniques to automate operations such as common call center procedures and to analyze and correct network outages AT T is using AI to help make the global network more secure self healing and self resilient The company is also utilizing AI tools to improve traffic flow and manage the rapid growth of video traffic on mobile networks as it moves toward 5G technology Windstream Holdings Inc NASDAQ WIN Since Windstream embraced SD WAN software defined wide area network it has been able to dovetail into AI This Zacks Ranks 3 stock has utilized SD WAN Concierge to enable customers set their own routing policies based on what SLAs service level agreements are more important to their unique business needs The company is providing customers unprecedented network visibility and control such as identifying which applications are using the most bandwidth and prioritizing how that needs to change in order to meet business and customer experience objectives Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Verizon is reportedly using its predictive analytics and ML algorithms to monitor 3GB of data every second streaming from millions of network interfaces from customers routers to an array of sensors gathering operational data The strategy has been designed to be customer focused from the ground up in order to reduce customer dissatisfaction and ensure prompt service On its home networks Verizon runs automated testing on a sample of 60 000 in home routers every two hours in order to ensure optimum speed of data connectivity The strategy is increasingly important for the company as it moves toward the goal of deploying mobile 5G networks across the country Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank 3 You can see Moving ForwardAlthough the American AI Initiative lacks clarity regarding the funding details and the quantum of investment it has set the ball rolling for continued thrusts and focus on R D efforts to thwart competition It remains to be seen whether such concerted efforts by the Trump administration trickle down to the bottom rung of the industry for its overall development Zacks Best Stock Picking StrategyIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But from 2000 2018 while the market gained 4 8 per year our top stock picking strategy averaged 54 3 per year How has that screen done lately From 2017 2018 it sextupled the market s 15 8 gain with a soaring 98 3 return |
VZ | SkyWest AZZ AT T Windstream And Verizon Highlighted As Zacks Bull And Bear Of The Day | For Immediate ReleaseChicago IL February 13 2018 SkyWest NASDAQ SKYW as the Bull of the Day AZZ Inc NYSE AZZ as the Bear of the Day In addition Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on AT T Inc NYSE T Windstream Holdings Inc NASDAQ WIN and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Here is a synopsis of all five stocks Top stocks are often found in top industries An easy way to find these winners is by leaning on not only the Zacks Rank but the Zack Industry Rank Zacks divides the market into 255 industries then ranks them among each other in terms of the strongest earnings trends Industries seeing lots of positive activity in earnings estimates will be near the top of the pack Then you can dig into each industry to find the Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy stocks which are leading the way One such strong stock in a strong industry is today s Bull of the Day SkyWest SkyWest is in the Airlines industry which ranks in the Top 4 of our Zacks Industry Rank SkyWest Inc through its subsidiaries operates a regional airline in the United States As of December 31 2017 it provided scheduled passenger and air freight services with approximately 2 980 total daily departures to various destinations in the United States Canada Mexico and the Caribbean and had a fleet of 595 aircraft available for scheduled service The company operates its flights as Delta Connection United Express American Eagle or Alaska under code share arrangements Analysts have been increasing their earnings estimates for SkyWest recently Over the last sixty days four analysts have increased their estimates for the current year while two analysts have pushed up next year s number The bullish sentiment has increased our Zacks Consensus Estimate from 5 49 to 5 78 for the current year Next year s number has shot up from 5 73 to 6 11 The company is coming off yet another earnings beat with EPS coming in at 1 28 well above expectations calling for 1 09 The last time the company failed to meet earnings expectations was back in August 2014 What helped fuel their rise higher this year was a series of upgrades to their fleet Over the last year the company added 44 planes creating a more efficient fleet while retiring some older planes This Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy is coming off a very strong quarter where it beat expectations Currently it s hovering right at the 200 day moving average A breakout above this level would put new 52 week highs on the radar The best stocks are often found in the strongest industries One way to measure the strength of an industry is to check out where it hits on the Zacks Industry Rank Our Zacks Industry Rank breaks down the market into 255 different industries and compares them with one another Industries made up of stocks with the strongest earnings trends rise to the top On the flipside those in industries experiencing shrinking earnings estimates will find themselves near the bottom of the pack Today s Bear of the Day is in one of those industries near the bottom of our Zacks Industry Rank Today s Bear of the Day is Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell AZZ Inc AZZ Inc provides galvanizing and metal coating services welding solutions specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the power generation transmission distribution refining and industrial markets The company operates through two segments Energy Segment and Metal Coatings As of February 28 2018 the company operated 45 metal coating plants located in various locations in the United States and Canada That means AZZ is in the Manufacturing Electronics Industry which ranks in the Bottom 28 of our Zacks Industry Rank The reason for the unfavorable Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell lies in the series of earnings estimate revisions to the downside recently Over the last thirty days analysts have cut their expectations for the current quarter next quarter current year and next year The bearish sentiment has dropped the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from 2 20 to 2 03 while next year s number has been slashed from 3 05 to 2 52 A I Investment Gains Prominence 3 Telecoms in FocusWith the telecom industry on the cusp of 5G boom President Trump has renewed an investment pledge to prioritize research and development efforts in Artificial Intelligence AI a key differentiator to analyze huge data troves to get meaningful information The strategic move follows similar such initiatives by other countries such as China to bridge the digital divide with the United States in this field Trump has signed an executive order in this regard to maintain the competitive edge of the country Dubbed the American AI Initiative the plan involves significant investments to seek the application of AI technology in diverse fields ranging from wars to health care It also aims to make government data and computing resources widely available to AI experts for possible data mining activities for the overall benefit of the industry AI A Key DifferentiatorWith the wide proliferation of smartphones and exponential growth in demand for data traffic telecom operators have to deal with a huge pool of heterogeneous data originating from various web and mobile applications that traces geolocation consumer profile data call detail record service usage and billing data The burgeoning customer digital footprint leaves behind a huge data trail which is time consuming and seemingly impossible to analyze by humans for data collation This is where AI techniques come into play Telecom enterprises are increasingly deploying these tools to predict and analyze consumer behavior on real time basis which can then be tapped by marketing agencies and retailers to fast track their sales AI facilitates telecom enterprises to dig deeper into the customer realm and predict the propensity of customers to buy products through holistic profiling It helps to get a cognitive insight into customer behavior thus helping to better connect with them and customize an offering for higher probability of acceptance At the same time data monetization and data mining techniques by leveraging subscribers data could help unearth new revenue opportunities for the company In addition AI enables telecom operators to deploy intelligent networks using tools that automate back end processes to lower costs and deploy additional human capital for other value added analytical work The Money Trail What Stokes Investments In addition to classification of traffic anomaly detection and network optimization and utilization AI along with Machine Learning ML techniques conflate to form the basis of numerous intelligent technologies that have redefined our daily lives A few of these developments that affect the usage of telecom networks substantially are Smart Homes AI has given shape to the concept of Smart Homes that help remote monitoring and management of Internet connected appliances and systems such as lighting and heating This provides homeowners security comfort convenience and energy efficiency by allowing them to control smart devices through a smartphone app or other networked device Self Driving Cars The growing autonomous vehicle fleet is a testament to the fact that driverless vehicles are getting closer to being a common feature on public roads This requires seamless data connectivity and AI to control vehicle speed according to road traffic and sensitive areas to prevent any road casualties Smart Cities Improving the quality of life for residents of the city reducing environmental impact and increasing operational efficiency are three prime factors that have led to the evolution of Smart Cities The essence of a Smart City is connectivity where embedded telecom infrastructure works as a mesh in which data flows seamlessly and enables tasks with the least human intervention in the smartest possible way Telecom Stocks in the LimelightAT TInc This Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock is focusing on AI and ML techniques to automate operations such as common call center procedures and to analyze and correct network outages AT T is using AI to help make the global network more secure self healing and self resilient The company is also utilizing AI tools to improve traffic flow and manage the rapid growth of video traffic on mobile networks as it moves toward 5G technology Windstream Holdings Inc Since Windstream embraced SD WAN software defined wide area network it has been able to dovetail into AI This Zacks Ranks 3 stock has utilized SD WAN Concierge to enable customers set their own routing policies based on what SLAs service level agreements are more important to their unique business needs The company is providing customers unprecedented network visibility and control such as identifying which applications are using the most bandwidth and prioritizing how that needs to change in order to meet business and customer experience objectives Verizon Communications Inc Verizon is reportedly using its predictive analytics and ML algorithms to monitor 3GB of data every second streaming from millions of network interfaces from customers routers to an array of sensors gathering operational data The strategy has been designed to be customer focused from the ground up in order to reduce customer dissatisfaction and ensure prompt service On its home networks Verizon runs automated testing on a sample of 60 000 in home routers every two hours in order to ensure optimum speed of data connectivity The strategy is increasingly important for the company as it moves toward the goal of deploying mobile 5G networks across the country Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank 3 You can see Moving ForwardAlthough the American AI Initiative lacks clarity regarding the funding details and the quantum of investment it has set the ball rolling for continued thrusts and focus on R D efforts to thwart competition It remains to be seen whether such concerted efforts by the Trump administration trickle down to the bottom rung of the industry for its overall development Zacks Best Stock Picking StrategyIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But from 2000 2018 while the market gained 4 8 per year our top stock picking strategy averaged 54 3 per year How has that screen done lately From 2017 2018 it sextupled the market s 15 8 gain with a soaring 98 3 return Media ContactZacks Investment Research800 767 3771 ext 9339Zacks com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks Terms and Conditions of Service disclaimer Past performance is no guarantee of future results Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment legal accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy sell or hold a security No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor It should not be assumed that any investments in securities companies sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking market making or asset management activities of any securities These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks The S P 500 is an unmanaged index Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release |
VZ | AT T profit beats CEO upbeat on Time Warner deal | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters AT T Inc N T reported quarterly profit that beat analysts estimates on Wednesday helped by tax cuts and new wireless subscribers and its chief executive voiced confidence the company will complete its 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX The U S Department of Justice sued to block the deal last year on grounds that it was anticompetitive A trial is slated to begin on March 19 While we remain open to finding some reasonable solutions to address the government s concern we do expect this case will ultimately be litigated in court Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told analysts on a conference call He added We remain very confident that we ll complete this merger Shares were up 3 8 percent to 38 87 in after hours trading AT T reported a net addition of 329 000 phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill in the quarter helped by lower customer attrition and a buy one get one free promotion for the iPhone 8 The No 2 U S wireless carrier lost 67 000 subscribers a year earlier AT T which owns satellite television service DirecTV said it lost 207 000 traditional U S video subscribers in the quarter as more consumers drop their pay TV packages It added 368 000 to its cheaper DirecTV Now streaming service Providing video entertainment on phones has taken on greater importance as AT T slugs it out with industry leader Verizon Communications Inc N VZ and smaller rivals Sprint Corp N S and T Mobile US Inc O TMUS for customers in a saturated wireless market AT T s planned acquisition of Time Warner originally announced in October 2016 reflects an effort to turn itself into a media powerhouse that can bundle mobile service with video Net income attributable to AT T in the fourth quarter was 19 0 billion or 3 08 per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 up from 2 4 billion or 39 cents a share in the year earlier period Excluding items the company reported earnings of 78 cents per share which included a 13 cent impact from tax cuts signed into law by U S President Donald Trump late last year Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 65 cents per share according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Revenue was 41 7 billion compared with 41 8 billion in the year earlier period Analysts had expected 41 2 billion For 2018 AT T said including impacts from tax cuts and a new accounting standard it expects earnings per share in the 3 50 range free cash flow of about 21 billion and capital expenditures of 25 billion |
WMB | Israel jails Palestinian for Briton s killing says is mentally ill | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian to 18 years imprisonment on Monday for stabbing to death a British woman in Jerusalem last year under a plea bargain acknowledging he is mentally ill Jamil Tamimi 59 killed 21 year old exchange student Hannah Bladon on a tram as she was going to the church where she volunteered the court heard He targeted her at random when she came within his reach after offering her seat to an older woman stabbing her at least seven times This was not a terrorist incident This was a terrible murder carried out by a mentally ill person the prosecutor said explaining why a life prison sentence had not been sought according to a court transcript Tamimi s lawyer said the defendant attacked Bladon in a rage at his sons insisting that he stay in a mental institution rather than with them This drove him to stab a person to death so that he would be shot dead the lawyer said In the April 14 2017 incident Tamimi was overpowered and arrested Dozens of Palestinians who carried out similar attacks many of them as a political act against Israel have been shot by security forces or armed civilians Bladon s relatives said the sentence was too lenient For the family it makes no difference whether this was a terror attack or just another crazed murderer the family s representative Israeli lawyer Maurice Hirsch told Reuters They are outraged by the leniency of the sentence They expected that Hannah s murderer would spent the rest of his life behind bars
The court transcript quoted Tamimi as saying after sentencing I m sorry I wish I could take her Bladon s place I did not mean to murder her I don t know how it happened |
WMB | Serena wins on return but U S lose Hopman Cup opener | Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB made a winning return to competitive action at the Hopman Cup on Monday but could not prevent the United States from losing 2 1 to Greece in their opening round robin match Williams playing her first competitive match since losing the U S Open final to Naomi Osaka powered past Maria Sakkari 7 6 3 6 2 to level the Group B contest at 1 1 after Stefanos Tsitsipas had beaten American Frances Tiafoe 6 3 6 7 3 6 3 The 37 year old who had both ankles strapped and required medical attention in her singles match then combined with Tiafoe but could not overcome Sakkari and Tsitsipas who won the mixed doubles rubber 4 1 1 4 4 2 to seal the tie It s great to be back out in match day and it s great to be back out here said Williams who will be chasing a record equalling 24th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open next month Williams made a several unforced errors early on but overpowered her opponent with 13 aces and 29 winners claiming two breaks en route to a comfortable win It was my first match back she played unbelievable Maria is super young and such a good player I was making a lot of errors I was like It s OK it s your first match and you ll get better I just kept trying to think that Defeat left six times winners U S at the bottom of the group ahead of Tuesday s meeting with holders Switzerland who thumped Britain on Sunday Roger Federer and Williams holders of a combined 43 singles Grand Slam titles will face each other for the first time on Tuesday when they feature in the mixed doubles match alongside partners Belinda Bencic and Tiafoe Local media have described the clash as the most anticipated match involving men and women since 1973 s Battle of the Sexes which saw 39 times major winner Billie Jean King beat former men s world number one Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match It s exciting for both of us and I hope a lot of tennis fans tune in and watch it Federer said on Sunday
I admire everything she s done on and off the court we re both fierce competitors and we always want to win |
WMB | Dorsey Williams Kitchens among Browns HC candidates | Interim head coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens are candidates to become head coach of the Cleveland Browns General manager John Dorsey said Monday at his season ending press conference that the team s performance since Hue Jackson was fired at midseason put both coaches in position to be promoted We re going to interview Gregg tomorrow Dorsey said With that being said I want to see his overarching vision and plan for this organization moving forward I want to hear his thoughts on the team moving forward But I also want to be able to explore multiple options out there in the National Football League and see who fits for this organization moving forward A search for Jackson s permanent replacement won t stop there Former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy with whom Dorsey worked closely in Green Bay before becoming GM of the Chiefs in 2013 is on the team s radar and as many as eight others are linked to the job in various published reports since Jackson s departure I have a lot of respect with Mike McCarthy and for what he s done Dorsey said But again great question but I m not going to go into details about who is and who is not on our list You ll know when it s the right guy That s all I m going to say Williams 60 was head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2001 03 and went 5 3 as interim head coach this season Kitchens star is rising based on the performance of the offense around No 1 pick Baker Mayfield who put up record book statistics despite not starting the full season The 44 year old was an assistant coach in college football at LSU North Texas and Mississippi State and also worked on the coaching staffs of the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals I think this organization wants to get to know him a little better We ll eventually get him in an interview slot and just move forward Dorsey said
He began the 2018 season as quarterbacks coach but was elevated to offensive coordinator after eight games when Todd Haley was fired along with Jackson Field Level Media |
WMB | Serena wins return in Hopman Cup | Serena Williams NYSE WMB beat Maria Sakkari in straight sets at the Hopman Cup on Monday winning her first non exhibition match since losing the U S Open final in September after a tantrum Williams had to shake off the rust to post the 7 6 3 6 2 victory in one hour and 44 minutes in the women s singles match The Hopman Cup played in Perth Australia features one man and one woman from eight countries Williams 37 had wraps on both ankles and needed help from trainers during the match but said she was happy to be back on the court in competition It was my first match back I was making a lot of errors Williams said It was great to be back out on match day Last week Williams lost to her sister Venus in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi Williams later teamed with American Frances Tiafoe in mixed doubles against the Greek pair of Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas but lost in three sets 4 1 1 4 4 2 In the men s singles match earlier Monday No 15 ranked Tsitsipas beat Tiafoe 6 3 6 7 3 6 3 On Tuesday the United States will take on Switzerland with Williams and Tiafoe meeting Roger Federer and partner Belinda Bencic in mixed doubles as part of the day s slate Together Williams and Federer also 37 have won 43 Grand Slam singles titles Federer has 20 Williams 23 As a player it s something that you would dream of playing Roger Federer Williams told reporters It s only mixed doubles but still it s like a dream come true for me
I really look forward to sharing the stadium with him added Williams who will be pursuing a record equaling 24th major at the Australian Open next month It s going to be special Field Level Media |
WMB | Bowl roundup Oklahoma State drops No 23 Missouri | Kolby Peel stopped Missouri quarterback Drew Lock on a fourth and 1 run for no gain at the Oklahoma State 9 yard line with 1 01 left Monday preserving the Cowboys 38 33 win over the 23 ranked Tigers in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis Tenn It was the fourth win over a ranked team this year for Oklahoma State 7 6 which led 35 19 in the third quarter but needed a dramatic play from a defense that gave up 637 total yards Peel provided that play chasing Lock down on a run around right end and making an ankle tackle Cowboys quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed 26 of 44 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns tying a Liberty Bowl record for touchdown passes in a game Freshman Chuba Hubbard supplied 145 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while Tyron Johnson caught seven passes for 141 yards and two scores Lock considered a potential first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft hit on 23 of 38 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns Larry Rountree rolled up 204 yards on 27 rushes and Johnathan Johnson hauled in nine passes for 185 yards and a touchdown for Missouri 8 5 No 22 Northwestern 31 No 17 Utah 20 The Wildcats scored four touchdowns in the third quarter taking advantage of three turnovers to rally from a 17 point halftime deficit and beat the Utes in the Holiday Bowl at San Diego Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson threw two touchdown passes in the game turning scoring barrage and finished 21 of 30 for 241 yards with the two TD tosses and an interception Isaiah Browser picked up 69 of his 70 rushing yards in the second half for the Wildcats 9 5 Utah 9 5 is now 11 2 in bowl games under 15 year coach Kyle Whittingham The Utes played without starting quarterback Tyler Huntley collarbone and senior linebacker Chase Hansen hip Both players were a game time decision No 19 Texas A M 52 North Carolina State 13 Trayveon Williams NYSE WMB ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns as the Aggies overwhelmed the Wolfpack at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville Fla Williams had scoring runs of 2 17 and 93 yards the last coming early in the fourth quarter and broke the Gator Bowl record for rushing yardage Syracuse s Floyd Little set the mark of 216 yards in 1966 against Tennessee Williams also tied the bowl mark for rushing touchdowns Kellen Mond ran for a touchdown and threw for a score as the Aggies 9 4 finished the season with four consecutive victories The Wolfpack 9 4 failed in their quest to notch three consecutive bowl victories for the first time in school history Stanford 14 Pittsburgh 13 Cameron Scarlett caught quarterback K J Costello s fumble mid air in the end zone for the go ahead score in the fourth quarter allowing the Cardinal to beat the Panthers in the Sun Bowl at El Paso Texas Outplayed most of the game by the Pitt 7 7 Stanford 9 4 drove 76 yards to the Pittsburgh 2 yard line before Costello faked a handoff and plunged into the Cardinal line After a hit by Dewayne Hendrix the ball popped into the air and right into the hands of Scarlett who had been blocking in the end zone Cincinnati 35 Virginia Tech 31 Michael Warren II s second touchdown run came from 8 yards out with 1 29 to play as the Bearcats won a back and forth Military Bowl against the Hokies at Annapolis Md There were six lead changes in the second half The Bearcats 11 2 covered 64 yards in five plays for the winning points and notched the third 11 win season in program history Virginia Tech 6 7 failed to register a 26th consecutive winning season Warren rushed for 166 yards on 20 carries Cincinnati s Hayden Moore completed 11 of 25 passes for 120 yards with one interception Virginia Tech quarterback Ryan Willis was 20 of 31 for 219 yards and two touchdowns and one interception Deshawn McClease gained 102 yards on 13 carries for the Hokies Oregon 7 Michigan State 6 Despite being held to just 203 total yards their lowest output of the season the Ducks took advantage of a fourth quarter touchdown to beat the Spartans in the Redbox Bowl at Santa Clara Calif A touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Dillon Mitchell with 11 19 to play proved to be the difference Michigan State s offense was unable to take advantage of three trips to the red zone while missing or misplaying two field goal tries in the final nine minutes
Herbert finished just 19 of 33 for 166 yards and the Ducks 9 4 gained only 37 yards on the ground against the Spartans No 1 rushing defense in the nation Michigan State 7 6 finished with a 331 203 edge in total yards Field Level Media |
WMB | Federer emerges victorious in historic clash with Serena | Reuters Roger Federer emerged triumphant from a historic first meeting with Serena Williams NYSE WMB in the Hopman Cup on Tuesday but tennis was the true winner as two of the game s greats treated fans worldwide to an unforgettable evening Defending champions Switzerland sealed a 2 1 victory over six times winners United States that left them bottom of Group B but the result mattered little to over 14 000 fans in Perth and millions around the world who had eagerly awaited the contest Federer and Williams holders of a combined 43 singles Grand Slam crowns won their singles matches to keep the mixed doubles clash alive and the deciding match lived up to the hype it had generated as both players left the court with big smiles The contest had been described by local media as the most anticipated clash involving men and women since 1973 s Battle of the Sexes where Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match While that meeting between 39 times major winner King and former men s world number one Riggs was a grudge match there was only mutual respect between Federer and Williams who posed for selfies before indulging autograph hunters It was great fun What a pleasure What an honor Thank you for making it possible 20 times Grand Slam winner Federer who is gearing up to defend his Australian Open title this month said I was nervous returning People talk about her serve so much and I see why it is such a wonderful serve because you just can t read it Serena said the match which was full of laughter and had an exhibition feel to it was a great experience and one she hoped would not end as quickly as it did I m sorry it had to finish I was just warming up It was such fun we grew up together It was super cool I wanted to take pictures and bring my baby out the 23 times Grand Slam winner said This guy is great both off the court and on the court I think his serve is super underestimated It s a killer serve you can t read it I watched him all the time and I never knew how amazing it was Playing in front of the highest single session attendance in the tournament s history the team of Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Williams and Frances Tiafoe 4 2 4 3 3 to clinch the tie to top the group Earlier Federer hardly broke sweat in his singles match against Tiafoe taking his game up a notch at 4 4 in the first set to win 6 4 6 1 Williams who had powered past Greece s Maria Sakkari in straight sets on Monday then fought back from a set down to seal a 4 6 6 4 6 3 win over Bencic to level the contest at 1 1 Switzerland have two wins from two games ahead of Thursday s meeting with Greece while U S take on Britain next |
WMB | Federer Serena click greatest selfie of all time after dream clash | Reuters It took 43 Grand Slam triumphs and over two decades to set up the on court meeting but when the moment finally arrived Roger Federer and Serena Williams NYSE WMB gave the capacity crowd at Perth a night to remember Federer s Switzerland beat Serena s U S 4 2 4 3 3 in the mixed doubles decider at the Hopman Cup on Tuesday The duo hailed each other in the post match interview before the tennis titans captured the iconic moment in what Hopman Cup on Twitter described as the greatest selfie of all time Federer also posted the picture on social media with the caption Oh what a night He s the greatest of all time to be honest 23 times Grand Slam winner Williams said It was so fun to do this at the pinnacle of our careers Both on and off the court he has such charisma he s such a wonderful player Maybe I could get some tips from him later on Federer and Williams have won a combined 171 career titles and have spent over 600 weeks at world number one It was great fun Federer added of the match You see how determined and focused she is and I love that about her Defending champions Switzerland take on Greece in their final round robin match on Thursday while the U S face Great Britain s Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter |
WMB | NBA roundup Leonard scores 45 as Raptors top Jazz | Kawhi Leonard scored a career best 45 points including 19 in the third quarter and gathered six rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the visiting Utah Jazz 122 116 Tuesday night It was a career best 14th straight game in which Leonard has scored at least 20 points Pascal Siakam scored a career best 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Raptors who won their second game in a row Reserve Jae Crowder scored a season best 30 points for the Jazz in the opener of a four game road trip Utah lost for the third time in five games Trail Blazers 113 Kings 108 OT Jusuf Nurkic had a monster night 24 points 23 rebounds seven assists five steals and five blocked shots as Portland rallied from a nine point deficit with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to pull out an overtime victory at Sacramento Damian Lillard collected 25 points six rebounds and six assists and Seth Curry came off the bench to produce a season high 18 points for Portland Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Nemanja Bjelica contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings who trailed by 14 points at halftime but stormed back to lead 101 92 with 3 10 remaining in regulation 76ers 119 Clippers 113 Joel Embiid returned after missing a game with a sore left knee and had 28 points and 19 rebounds to lift Philadelphia to a win at Los Angeles Embiid the team s leading scorer and rebounder missed the Sixers 129 95 loss at Portland on Sunday JJ Redick who spent four seasons with the Clippers scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half for the 76ers Lou Williams NYSE WMB who was drafted 45th overall by Philadelphia in 2005 and played his first seven seasons with the 76ers scored 22 points off the bench for the Clippers Nuggets 115 Knicks 108 Nikola Jokic had 19 points 15 assists and 14 rebounds Malik Beasley scored a career high 23 points off the bench and host Denver beat New York Jokic notched his third triple double this season and the 19th in his career Paul Millsap scored 16 points in his second game back from a broken toe to help the Nuggets win their third straight Luke Kornet had 19 points Kevin Knox scored 18 and Enes Kanter had 17 for the Knicks who have lost eight in a row Emmanuel Mudiay finished with 15 points in his first game in Denver since the Nuggets traded him to New York last season Bucks 121 Pistons 98 Brook Lopez poured in 25 points hitting seven 3 pointers and streaking Milwaukee romped to a victory over visiting Detroit Khris Middleton supplied 22 points and Eric Bledsoe contributed 18 with six assists for the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo had 15 points eight rebounds seven assists and three blocks Blake Griffin topped the Pistons with 29 points nine rebounds and four assists
The Bucks who own the league s best record at 26 10 have won four straight and eight of their past nine The Pistons have lost three straight and 12 of their past 15 Field Level Media |
WMB | Serena Williams to take Bumble s woman first message to Super Bowl | By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES Reuters Tennis champion Serena Williams NYSE WMB will star in a year long marketing campaign for the Bumble social networking app that will kick off with a message of women s empowerment during the Feb 3 Super Bowl Williams told Reuters in an interview Bumble began in 2014 as a dating platform for women to start discussions with potential male partners The company is aiming to promote newer functions Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz which help women find friends and build business networks alongside dating In the campaign called The Ball is in Her Court Williams will urge women to make the first move in all aspects of their lives Society has taught us as women to kind of sit back and not necessarily be the first one to speak up We want to take that and flip the story Williams said We are letting people know we are not afraid she added We no longer want to cower We want to stand up Williams one of the world s top athletes will compete for a record tying 24th Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open this month Her broad endorsement portfolio made her 2018 s highest paid female athlete according to Forbes magazine She also sits on the board of tech company SurveyMonkey Williams helped create the Bumble campaign which was developed and produced entirely by women and will serve as global adviser to the company I would not be where I am today had I let the fear of making the first move hold me back she said The campaign will appear across multiple platforms Bumble said and its debut will coincide with the Super Bowl the annual U S football championship that draws the year s biggest television audience Bumble declined to say if the campaign will include a TV commercial during the game but Williams said the Super Bowl was a great opportunity for women s voices to be heard louder We want to make noise she added This is the best and perfect place to make the biggest noise that we can Whitney Wolfe Herd who founded Bumble to shift the power dynamics of dating and serves as chief executive was initially ridiculed for the idea that women should initiate conversations she told Reuters The app now has more than 47 million users worldwide and competes with services such as Match Group NASDAQ MTCH Inc s Tinder and a new Facebook NASDAQ FB dating option The MeToo movement against sexual harassment has helped change opinions Wolfe Herd said People are starting to understand the importance of equality It s about men and women having healthier relationships and conversations In October Wolfe Herd said Bumble was considering an initial public offering of stock Everything is on the table she told Reuters including an initial public offering or staying private or an acquisition in some form |
WMB | Federer beats Tsitsipas to send Switzerland into Hopman Cup final | Reuters Roger Federer said beating Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas in Thursday s Hopman Cup clash felt like a win over his son but the joke may well serve as a reminder of his powers as the Swiss prepares to defend his Australian Open crown this month The 37 year old survived an early scare before outperforming Tsitsipas 17 years his junior during a 7 6 5 7 6 4 victory that sent Switzerland into Saturday s title clash against Australia or Germany Victory gave world number three Federer the oldest player in the top 10 three wins from three singles matches in Perth as he geared up for the season s first Grand Slam as a favorite alongside Novak Djokovic Rafa Nadal and Alexander Zverev He could be my son 20 times major winner Federer joked about the age between him and Tsitsipas before praising the world number 15 He did a nice job I think we both played well without too many mistakes I learned about his game From my game I didn t learn anything For me it s about maintaining a good level of play I m happy where my game is at And I was impressed with what I saw from Stefan Greece who needed a 3 0 win to progress at the expense of Switzerland finished with a 2 1 consolation victory The Swiss topped Group B having already beaten Britain 3 0 and the United States 2 1 Maria Sakkari beat Belinda Bencic 6 3 6 4 before Greece claimed the mixed doubles match Earlier Serena Williams NYSE WMB notched up another singles win but could not prevent the U S from losing 2 1 to Britain for their third defeat that left them bottom of the standings Following wins over Sakkari and Bencic Williams made it three from three with a 6 1 7 6 2 victory over world number 97 Katie Boulter The 37 year old will resume her quest for a record equalling 24th major in Melbourne and was pleased with her preparations in hot and humid Perth It was perfect It s just like this in Melbourne It s the exact same sun and it gives me so many problems Williams who competed in her first tournament since losing the U S Open final last September said After you serve you are blind for the next two points It was good to play three matches here singles not to mention the mixed doubles
Cameron Norrie defeated Frances Tiafoe 7 6 4 6 0 to make it 2 0 to Britain before teaming up with Boulter to win the mixed doubles dead rubber |
VZ | Verizon misses by 0 02 beats on revenue | Verizon NYSE VZ Q4 EPS of 0 86 misses by 0 02 Revenue of 33 96B 5 0 Y Y beats by 700M Shares 1 01 PM Press ReleaseNow read |
VZ | Verizon Rises 1 Despite Mixed Q4 Earnings | Investing com Shares of Verizon NYSE VZ traded around 1 higher in pre market trade on Tuesday after reporting mixed results for its fourth quarter earnings period
Specifically the Dow component reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share EPS of 0 86 compared to expectations of 0 88
Revenue at the blue chip telecom grew 5 0 from the same period a year before to 33 96 billion coming in ahead of estimates for 33 27 billion
Verizon finished 2017 with great momentum led by some of the best customer growth and loyalty results Verizon Wireless has delivered in recent years the firm s chairman and chief executive officer Lowell McAdam highlighted in the release
In 2018 we look to drive long term shareholder value by deploying next generation network services leveraging global platforms such as Oath and using our strategic Humanability approach to turn innovative ideas into realities he added
After the release shares in Verizon NYSE VZ gained 1 22 to 54 10 in pre market trade compared to Monday s closing price of 53 46 |
VZ | Verizon quarterly profit jumps helped by tax reform | NEW YORK Reuters Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ on Tuesday reported quarterly revenue that exceeded analyst estimates as phone subscribers grew while tax cuts helped its profits soar boosting its shares in premarket trading The company added 431 000 phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill on a net basis Analysts at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC said in an earlier note that they expected 320 000 Verizon shares were up 1 03 percent at 54 00 in trading before the U S stock market opened The No 1 U S wireless carrier said last week a tax overhaul bill signed into law by U S President Donald Trump late last year would result in a one time reduction in net deferred income tax liabilities of about 16 8 billion Verizon estimated that the impact of that law to earnings per share for the year ended Dec 31 was about 4 10 Net income attributable to Verizon was 18 7 billion or 4 56 per share in the fourth quarter through Dec 31 up considerably from 4 5 billion or 1 10 a share a year earlier Excluding items such as the impact of the tax law earnings per share were 86 cents Total revenue rose to 34 0 billion from 32 34 billion a year earlier According to Thomson Reuters I B E S analysts expected adjusted earnings per share of 88 cents on revenue of 33 26 billion The company expects full year revenue for 2018 to grow at a low single digit percentage rate and service revenue growth to turn positive around the end of the year or early in 2019
It also expects low single digit percentage growth in adjusted earnings per share excluding the impact of tax reform and a new accounting standard it has adopted |
VZ | Verizon awarding nearly all employees restricted stock | Verizon NYSE VZ still basking in the glow of corporate tax reform will give its employees 50 shares of restricted stock That goes to those other than top management The prices of the restricted shares will be set Feb 1 shares are currently at 53 24 on the open market Shares that opened strong today after a tax reform fueled revenue beat are down 0 4 currently In its earnings report Verizon noted a one time gain of 16 8B from tax reform and said it expected 3 5B 4B more to operating cash flow this year while saying that employees would further share in company success Now read |
WMB | Redskins release Swearinger after critical comments | Washington Redskins safety D J Swearinger said Monday on 106 7 The Fan that head coach Jay Gruden called him into his office and informed him of his release The news comes two days after Swearinger a Pro Bowl alternate who has had a career season ripped defensive coordinator Greg Manusky following the team s loss to the Tennessee Titans which officially eliminated Washington from postseason contention A few hours after Swearinger s radio appearance the team officially announced his release which allows other teams to claim the safety off waivers If a team claims Swearinger it would owe him less than 200 000 in salary the rest of the season Swearinger told the radio station he wasn t given a reason for being let go but it appears to be a direct result of his comments on Manusky I m peaceful about it Swearinger said Monday I don t regret nothing because I know I gave 100 percent from my heart After Saturday s loss Swearinger criticized Manusky s playcalling saying the team should have been more aggressive and referring to one call against Titans backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert as horrible We should have blowed them out Swearinger said If I m the D coordinator I m calling zone every time on third down because you got a backup quarterback Make him beat us We re playing a backup quarterback Why would you put us in man to man We are our best on defense when we look at the quarterback Gruden told reporters on a conference call Sunday that he was quite disappointed in Swearinger s comments and planned to meet with him Monday to discuss a potential punishment I think we made it pretty clear we keep our business within these walls and we ve had talks before about that Gruden said Unfortunately he chose to go to the media again and talk about some of his displeasure with some of the calls After news of the safety s release spread on Monday several Washington players including left tackle and team captain Trent Williams NYSE WMB expressed frustration on social media over the move Williams posted a photo on Instagram of himself and Swearinger with the caption Some s is impossible to understand Swearinger 27 has played for four NFL teams in six career seasons despite earning a starting role in five of those campaigns Known for his outspokenness he offered more veiled criticism of Manusky at times earlier this season
Swearinger has four interceptions and 10 passes defensed this season both team highs while starting all 15 games With Giants Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins injured Swearinger could wind up being named to the Pro Bowl as a replacement Field Level Media |
WMB | College football notebook Alabama suspends three ahead of CFP semifinal | Alabama suspended sophomore starting left guard Deonte Brown and two reserves for Saturday s College Football Playoff semifinal game against Oklahoma the school announced Monday night In a news release coach Nick Saban cited a violation of team rules and policies as the reason for the suspensions of Brown junior offensive lineman Elliot Baker and sophomore tight end Kedrick James for the Orange Bowl matchup Brown has made five starts out of 12 games played James has seen action in five games while Baker hasn t played at all Senior guard Lester Cotton is expected to return to a starting role He lost his starting gig to Brown earlier this season Three Clemson players defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence offensive lineman Zach Giella and tight end Braden Galloway failed NCAA drug tests last week and could miss the Tigers College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Notre Dame on Saturday TigerIllustrated com reported coach Dabo Swinney said trace amounts of the banned substance Ostarine were found in the positive drug tests but the coach noted he is holding out hope of a successful appeal ahead of Saturday s contest Ostarine also known by its generic name enobosarm is a muscle builder that falls into a class of drugs called Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators SARMs The drug banned by the World Anti Doping Agency in 2008 has been shown to produce similar results to anabolic steroids without the many dangerous side effects Swinney said he believes the players did not knowingly ingest Ostarine and told reporters that all three players thought it was a joke when Swinney notified them of the failed tests Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa stepped off the plane in Miami with no signs of an issue with his injured left ankle The injury occurred Dec 1 during the SEC championship game against Georgia and he has been rehabbing the ankle diligently The next task is seeing how close to 100 percent the Heisman Trophy runner up will be when the top seeded Crimson Tide play fourth seeded Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl He underwent surgery earlier this month and said he tested his mobility on Sunday and was encouraged by the results At this point we re doing a lot better Tagovailoa told reporters I got to move Sunday I got to get a feel of it before we come out with practice It feels good Syracuse standout junior defensive end Alton Robinson is one of two starters who will miss Friday s Camping World Bowl against West Virginia the school announced Robinson and junior nose tackle McKinley Williams NYSE WMB will miss the contest for personal reasons according to the school Neither player traveled with the team to Orlando Fla on Monday Robinson has 17 tackles for loss including 10 sacks and three forced fumbles this season Williams has 17 tackles three for loss and one forced fumble No 20 Syracuse is 9 3 entering the contest against the No 16 Mountaineers 8 3 West Virginia quarterback Will Grier who threw for 3 864 yards and 37 touchdowns announced earlier this month he will skip the game to prepare for the NFL draft Wake Forest receiver Greg Dortch announced he is bypassing his final two seasons of eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL Draft Dortch a third year sophomore scored 17 touchdowns in 20 career games for the Demon Deacons He caught 89 passes for 1 078 yards and eight touchdowns this season The yardage is second most in Wake Forest history
I will always remember my time at Wake Forest and will always be grateful for the relationships I have created during my time here Dortch said in statement on his Twitter account It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NFL and I am ready to take the next step toward that goal I will be entering my name in the 2019 NFL Draft and I am very excited to get to work Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup Leonard Raptors ends Heat s win streak | Kawhi Leonard posted a game high 30 points and added eight rebounds as the Toronto Raptors snapped the host Miami Heat s five game win streak with a 106 104 victory on Wednesday night The Raptors were without point guard Kyle Lowry who has back pain But Toronto is 8 1 without Lowry this season Toronto s Danny Green hit the go ahead 3 pointer from the right corner with 23 seconds left to give the Raptors a 106 104 lead On the following possession a 3 point attempt by Miami s Dwyane Wade fell short Teammate Justise Winslow grabbed the rebound and missed a 3 pointer with 2 6 seconds left and Wade failed on a tip in Nets 134 Hornets 132 2 OTs Joe Harris recorded a steal and drove in for the game winning fast break layup with 3 4 seconds left in double overtime as host Brooklyn finally outlasted Charlotte The Hornets had the ball with less than two seconds separation between the shot clock and the game clock but Malik Monk lost the ball as he tried dribbling around Rodions Kurucs Harris picked up the ball and scored the layup but the shot clock never reset so a buzzer signaling a shot clock violation went off just before Charlotte lofted a desperation shot Officials put 1 6 seconds back on the clock and gave the Hornets the ball at half court Monk then missed a desperation heave from just inside half court to end a wild affair Spurs 111 Nuggets 103 DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 27 as San Antonio played its best basketball in the fourth quarter while defeating visiting Denver Denver led 80 79 after two free throws by Malik Beasley with 9 44 to play before the Spurs fashioned a 15 0 run with 3 pointers by Marco Belinelli beginning and capping the spurt to run past the Nuggets San Antonio ran its advantage to as many as 18 points and had more than enough to hold off a late Denver run Mavericks 122 Pelicans 119 Rookie Luka Doncic had 21 points and 10 assists as host Dallas ended a six game losing streak and extended New Orleans losing streak to five games DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 12 rebounds J J Barea scored 18 points Harrison Barnes and Devin Harris each had 16 points and Maximilian Kleber added 10 for the Mavericks who improved to 14 3 at home Anthony Davis had 32 points and 18 rebounds Jrue Holiday scored 25 and Julius Randle had 23 for the Pelicans who completed a four game road trip by falling to 4 15 away from home Timberwolves 119 Bulls 94 Karl Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson combined for all the scoring in an 8 0 burst to open the game that gave Minnesota the lead for good in its romp over host Chicago Derrick Rose had a team high 24 points to go with eight assists while Towns recorded a 20 point 20 rebound double double for the Timberwolves who completed a two game season series sweep of the Bulls The 20 20 game was Towns third of the season and eighth of his career It was just the 21st 20 20 game of the NBA season Only Detroit s Andre Drummond with six has more than Towns Grizzlies 95 Cavaliers 87 Marc Gasol recorded 20 points nine rebounds six assists and four blocked shots to help Memphis post a victory over visiting Cleveland Mike Conley registered 15 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies won their second straight game following a five game slide Kyle Anderson also scored 15 points while Jaren Jackson Jr and Garrett Temple added 11 apiece Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points off the bench for Cleveland which lost its fourth straight game and sixth in its last seven Collin Sexton added 16 points and Cedi Osman scored 10 for the Cavaliers who scored just nine first quarter points Pistons 106 Wizards 95 Blake Griffin scored a game high 23 points and sparked an early second half run that gave Detroit the lead for good in a win over visiting Washington Detroit had lost nine of its previous 11 games but the burst at the start of the second half gave the Pistons command They scored 23 of the first 25 points in the third quarter and turned a one point deficit into a 77 57 lead with 6 39 left in that period The Pistons began the streak with back to back 3 pointers just nine seconds apart from Griffin and Bruce Brown This same pair each scored five as Detroit posted the first 12 points of the half Suns 122 Magic 120 OT Devin Booker helped Phoenix end a successful road trip with an overtime win at Orlando Booker had 35 points eight assists and seven rebounds and T J Warren added 24 points for Phoenix Deandre Ayton was held to just eight points and 12 rebounds The Suns rookie center had three straight games of 20 points and 15 rebounds coming into the night The Suns posted a winning record on a road trip of at least five games for the first time since November 2014 D J Augustin had a season high 27 points and Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic who have lost four in a row Pacers 129 Hawks 121 Tyreke Evans came back from missing three games with a bruised knee to score 19 points one of eight Indiana players in double figures in a win over host Atlanta In 19 minutes Evans made 7 of 9 shots from the field including all four of his 3 point attempts to help the Pacers win their third straight game Indiana has won 10 of its last 12 games Atlanta had its season best three game winning streak broken The Pacers also got 21 points from Thaddeus Young 19 points and eight rebounds from Domantas Sabonis 16 points apiece from Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic and 14 points from Cory Joseph Clippers 127 Kings 118 Lou Williams NYSE WMB scored 24 points off the bench and Los Angeles held on for a win against visiting Sacramento Montrezl Harrell had 22 points nine rebounds and five blocked shots off the bench Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Avery Bradley added 15 points for the Clippers who have won seven straight against the Kings
De Aaron Fox had 19 points and nine assists Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 13 off the bench and Iman Shumpert finished with 12 points for Sacramento which was trying to climb four games over 500 for the first time since Nov 25 2014 Field Level Media |
WMB | Amos Oz author who chronicled Israel s struggles dead at 79 | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Amos Oz Israel s best known author and an outspoken supporter of a two state solution to its conflict with the Palestinians died of cancer at the age of 79 on Friday his daughter said Over a 50 year career Oz chronicled his country s rise from the ashes of the Holocaust and its struggles among Jews and Arabs secularists and zealots conservatives and liberals His writing witty scholarly and often moody and erotic won international plaudits and he was a frequent bookies favorite for the Nobel Prize for Literature But his political views sometimes stirred up rancor at home To those who loved him thank you his daughter Fania Oz Salzberger said in a Twitter post announcing his death Born Amos Klausner in Jerusalem to Eastern European immigrants Oz moved to a kibbutz at 15 after his mother s suicide He changed his surname to the Hebrew for might Oz fought in the 1967 and 1973 Middle East wars experiences that tinged his advocacy for territorial compromise with the Palestinians though he was more circumspect about prospects for accommodation with Islamist group Hamas ruling Gaza We cannot become one happy family because we are not one we are not happy we are not family We are two unhappy families We have to divide the house into two smaller next door apartments he told Deutsche Welle in an interview marking Israel s 70th anniversary this year There is no point in even fantasizing that after 100 years of bloodshed and anger and conflict Jews and Arabs will jump into a honeymoon bed and start making love not war Oz studied philosophy and Hebrew literature at Jerusalem s Hebrew University Elsewhere Perhaps his first novel and an examination of relationships on a fictional kibbutz was published in 1966 In his later years he taught Hebrew literature at Ben Gurion University of the Negev while living in the nearby desert town of Arad where he had moved to salve his son s asthma Among his dozens of books widely translated abroad from Hebrew was A Tale of Love and Darkness a memoir that actress and director Natalie Portman adapted for the screen in 2016
It was a tale of love and light and now a great darkness Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement eulogizing Oz Rest in peace dear Amos You gave us great pleasure |
WMB | Bills DT Williams to retire after season finale | Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams NYSE WMB will retire after Sunday s game against the Miami Dolphins the team announced on Friday Williams was a fifth round draft pick of the Bills in 2006 and has spent his entire career with Buffalo starting 177 of 182 games he has played in entering Sunday s game This isn t easy It was never going to be wrote Williams 35 in an open letter to fans There s no perfect time to retire from a game a franchise and a city that means so much to me and my family But it s time to hang up my cleats Williams has racked up 607 tackles and 48 5 sacks during his 13 seasons in Buffalo five times being selected to the Pro Bowl along the way He has 31 tackles and 5 0 sacks in starting all 15 games this season as Williams was voted as an alternate to the Pro Bowl Kyle Williams truly is a class act Bills coach Sean McDermott said Friday He bleeds red white and blue and I m extremely proud of everything he s accomplished Williams sacks and 182 career games played are franchise records for a defensive tackle while his 13 seasons with Buffalo are tied for most all time And his 605 tackles since entering the league are most among active defensive tackles
Former teammate Eric Wood was among those to congratulate Williams with the retired center tweeting Congrats to Kyle Williams on an incredible career I learned so much from you as a player leader husband and father I m grateful I got to be your teammate I ll miss watching you on the field but happy you re walking away on your terms and I m excited for your next chapter Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Steelers could be without Brown for finale | Needing a tie or win and help to get into the playoffs the Pittsburgh Steelers will fight for their season on Sunday without their kicker And perhaps their best weapon on offense According to multiple reports All Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown has not practiced at all this week after feeling discomfort in his knee last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints Head coach Mike Tomlin told the media Friday that Brown will undergo tests on his knee but made it clear Brown has not been ruled out of Sunday s home game against Cincinnati and the team listed him as questionable on the injury report Brown 30 has started all 15 games this season and has 104 catches for 1 297 yards a league leading 15 touchdown receptions Also on Friday the Steelers placed kicker Chris Boswell on injured reserve and signed Matt McCrane to replace him Boswell made just 13 of 20 field goal attempts through the first 15 games of the season as well as 43 of 48 extra point tries He was a constant target of fans ire and the team did not specify the nature of his injury A Steelers victory or tie coupled with a Cleveland victory over Baltimore will give Pittsburgh the AFC North title Should both the Steelers and Ravens win Pittsburgh can still get into the playoffs if Tennessee and Indianapolis tie in the league s final regular season game on Sunday night Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley has been ruled out of Sunday s game against the San Francisco 49ers because of his sore left knee It will mark the second consecutive missed game for the star running back who originally injured the knee in the season opener He reinjured the knee in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles and hasn t practiced since C J Anderson is likely to receive much of the work against the 49ers after rushing for 167 yards on 20 carries in his team debut against Arizona last week Needing a win Sunday against the Oakland Raiders to cement home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs the Kansas City Chiefs unexpectedly listed safety Eric Berry as questionable after he missed practice Friday with a sore left foot Berry who turns 30 on Saturday has missed nearly all of the past two seasons after tearing his left Achilles in the 2017 season opener He returned to play in the Chiefs last two games playing 30 and then 69 snaps Having locked up the No 1 seed in the NFC playoffs the New Orleans Saints will start Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers and give 39 year old Drew Brees a rest Bridgewater acquired by the Saints in an August trade with the New York Jets has not started a game since January 2016 with Minnesota In August 2016 he suffered a significant non contact knee injury in practice and missed the season He did not return until Week 15 of the 2017 season when he made a brief appearance in a mop up role Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams NYSE WMB will retire after Sunday s game against the Miami Dolphins He was a fifth round draft pick of the Bills in 2006 and has spent his entire career with Buffalo starting 177 of 182 games he has played in entering Sunday s game Williams has racked up 607 tackles and 48 5 sacks during his 13 seasons in Buffalo five times being selected to the Pro Bowl along the way He has 31 tackles and 5 0 sacks in starting all 15 games this season as Williams was voted as an alternate to the Pro Bowl Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he expects he will be back with the team in 2019 despite its sub 500 record reportedly explaining My conversations with the owner have been all positive If the Panthers lose to the Saints they will become the first team since the 1978 expansion to a 16 game schedule to finish 6 10 after a 6 2 start according to ESPN New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr will miss Sunday s season finale against the Dallas Cowboys his fourth straight missed game after sustaining a quadriceps injury in Week 12 He has 77 receptions for 1 052 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games this season The Jets announced an agreement with wide receiver Quincy Enunwa on a multiyear contract extension reportedly for four years and worth up to 36 million about 20 million guaranteed Enunwa 26 has 118 receptions 1 621 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his career The Bengals announced that wide receiver Tyler Boyd knee linebacker Jordan Evans ankle and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick shoulder were all placed on injured reserve ahead of the season finale against the Steelers
Houston Texans coach Bill O Brien says running back Lamar Miller will be ready for Sunday s regular season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars after missing last weekend with a sprained ankle Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup Davis pours in 48 as Pelicans edge Mavs | Anthony Davis scored a season high 48 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the host New Orleans Pelicans ended a five game losing streak by beating the Dallas Mavericks 114 112 on Friday night Julius Randle added 22 points and 12 rebounds and Jrue Holiday scored 18 for the Pelicans Rookie Luka Doncic scored 34 points Harrison Barnes added 21 Dennis Smith Jr had 14 Dirk Nowitzki 11 and Dwight Powell 10 for the Mavericks who ended a six game losing streak by beating the Pelicans 122 119 on Wednesday in Dallas It was Smith s first game back after missing six games because of a sprained right wrist Nuggets 102 Spurs 99 Jamal Murray scored 31 points and Nikola Jokic had 21 points nine rebounds and nine assists as host Denver held on to beat San Antonio Malik Beasley scored 21 before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury for Denver which snapped a two game losing streak LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points DeMar DeRozan had 15 and Bryn Forbes scored 13 for the Spurs Thunder 118 Suns 102 Russell Westbrook recorded 40 points 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead Oklahoma City past host Phoenix Dennis Schroder scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder prevailed without star forward Paul George quadriceps It marked the first game George has missed this season Abdel Nader scored a career best 18 points off the bench for Oklahoma City which halted a two game slide Devin Booker contributed 25 points 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Suns who had won five of their previous seven games Clippers 118 Lakers 107 Lou Williams NYSE WMB scored a season high 36 points off the bench for the Clippers who took over with a 22 0 run that started late in the third quarter in winning the first meeting this season between the Los Angeles rivals Danilo Gallinari added 19 points for the Clippers After a slow start Montrezl Harrell had 12 points Gallinari and Tobias Harris each added 10 rebounds Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points and Lonzo Ball added 19 for the Lakers who were playing without LeBron James groin injury and Rajon Rondo finger injury James is listed as day to day while Rondo is expected to miss at least a month Heat 118 Cavaliers 94 Justise Winslow led a balanced offense for host Miami whose defense wore down short handed Cleveland Winslow finished with 24 points 11 rebounds and seven assists He has had only eight 20 point games in his career six of them in December Bam Adebayo added 18 points on 8 for 8 shooting plus nine boards and five assists Because of injuries Cleveland had only nine players available Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and Alec Burks added 17 Miami has won six of seven while Cleveland has lost five straight Magic 116 Raptors 87 Nikola Vucevic recorded 30 points 20 rebounds and eight assists to help host Orlando thrash Toronto D J Augustin added 17 points as Orlando halted a four game slide Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points for the Raptors who saw their NBA best record fall to 26 11 Serge Ibaka added 17 points eight rebounds and four blocked shots while Fred VanVleet tallied 11 points for Toronto which played without point guard Kyle Lowry back Vucevic connected on 12 of 17 shots while posting a 30 point 20 rebound performance for the third time in his career It also was his eighth career 20 rebound contest Pacers 125 Pistons 87 Domantas Sabonis led a balanced effort with 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench and Indiana won its fourth straight by overwhelming the Detroit in Indianapolis Darren Collison also scored 19 points while making all seven of his field goal attempts and he had seven assists Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young contributed 17 points apiece and Doug McDermott and Bojan Bogdanovic tossed in 12 each Blake Griffin had 18 points seven rebounds and five assists for the Pistons but also committed seven turnovers Luke Kennard had 14 points off the bench Reggie Bullock added 13 and Andre Drummond chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds Hornets 100 Nets 87 Veteran Tony Parker scored 17 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as host Charlotte exacted revenge on Brooklyn The Nets had pulled out a 134 132 double overtime victory when the teams met in Brooklyn on Wednesday night Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 29 points sinking 7 of 12 3 point attempts The Hornets also got 19 points from Jeremy Lamb and 14 points and 10 rebounds from Cody Zeller D Angelo Russell led the Nets with 33 points DeMarre Carroll scored 15 and Shabazz Napier had 11 Spencer Dinwiddie who scored a career high 37 against the Hornets on Wednesday night finished with just three points on 1 of 7 shooting from the floor Bulls 101 Wizards 92 Zach LaVine back in the starting lineup in his second game since missing two weeks with an ankle injury scored 24 points to lead five teammates in double figures as Chicago won at Washington Wendell Carter Jr had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls who have won three of four Bradley Beal shot 13 of 27 in scoring 34 points for the depleted Wizards Washington was without starters John Wall who plans to see a specialist about his sore left heel according to coach Scott Brooks and Otto Porter Jr who is working his way back from a quad injury Hawks 123 Timberwolves 120 OT Kevin Huerter hit a big 3 pointer late in overtime as Atlanta trimmed host Minnesota The Timberwolves had a chance to tie in the last second but Josh Okogie missed a 3 point attempt Atlanta got 23 points from Kent Bazemore and 21 points and 10 rebounds from John Collins his 10th double double in the past 11 games
Minnesota got 31 points and 19 rebounds from Karl Anthony Towns 28 points and seven rebounds from Robert Covington and 25 points and nine assists from Derrick Rose The loss broke the Timberwolves two game winning streak Field Level Media |
WMB | Top 25 roundup Western Kentucky stuns No 15 Wisconsin | Taveion Hollingsworth scored a team high 22 points and Charles Bassey shot 7 for 8 from the field to finish with 19 points to lead host Western Kentucky to an 83 76 upset over No 15 Wisconsin in Bowling Green Ky The Hilltoppers 7 6 shot 55 2 percent from the field and outscored the Badgers 10 3 53 42 in the second half to pull off the shocker Jared Savage contributed 16 points and Josh Anderson added 15 points Dalano Banton had a huge effort with eight points 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Hilltoppers Brad Davison led the Badgers with 26 points but All American candidate Ethan Happ shot 9 for 23 to finish with 20 points and 12 boards Princeton 67 No 17 Arizona State 66 Devin Cannady scored 21 points Jerome Desrosiers had a career high 16 and Richmond Aririguzoh made two free throws with 25 9 seconds remaining to lead the Tigers to an upset victory over the Sun Devils in Tempe Ariz Aririguzoh scored 13 points and made 9 of 10 free throws and Sebastian Much had a season high 13 points for the Tigers 7 5 who lost to then No 2 Duke by 51 points on Dec 18 Remy Martin had 19 points and Romello White had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Arizona State 9 3 which was playing its first game after beating then No 1 Kansas 80 76 last Saturday Now the Sun Devils could fall out of the AP Top 25 No 3 Tennessee 96 Tennessee Tech 53 Grant Williams NYSE WMB scored 25 points on 10 of 11 shooting to lead the Volunteers to an easy victory over the visiting Golden Eagles in nonconference play in Knoxville Tenn Jordan Bone added 16 points and 10 assists for his second career double double as the Volunteers 11 1 won their seventh consecutive game Admiral Schofield tallied 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting and John Fulkerson scored a career best 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting Tennessee shot 63 8 percent from the field while dispatching the Golden Eagles who made the 102 mile journey from Cookeville to Knoxville No 5 Kansas 87 Eastern Michigan 63 Udoka Azubuike returned to the lineup and provided 23 points on 10 for 13 shooting while adding nine rebounds as the Jayhawks stomped the Eagles at Lawrence Kan Azubuike who missed the previous four games recovering from a sprained ankle returned as a starter as Kansas played its final tune up before beginning Big 12 play Wednesday against No 25 Oklahoma The Jayhawks 11 1 were coming off their first defeat a week earlier at Arizona State and improved to 86 11 when coming off a loss under coach Bill Self No 6 Nevada 86 Utah 71 Caleb Martin scored 33 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Wolf Pack to a victory over the host Utes in Salt Lake City Utah Jordan Caroline added 17 points and 12 rebounds while Jazz Johnson chipped in 12 points to help the Wolf Pack finish the nonconference portion of their schedule with an undefeated record for the first time in school history Nevada 13 0 also improved to 3 0 against Pac 12 teams this season Sedrick Barefield scored a season high 33 points on 10 of 15 shooting to lead the Utes Donnie Tillman added 13 points and 10 rebounds It wasn t enough to keep Utah 6 6 from suffering its first home loss of the season No 8 Michigan State 88 Northern Illinois 60 Cassius Winston scored 24 points to lead the Spartans to a victory over the visiting Huskies in East Lansing Mich The victory capped off Michigan State s nonconference season as the Spartans 11 2 resume Big Ten action next week when Northwestern visits Wednesday Winston shot 8 for 10 including matching a career high with six 3 pointers while handing out seven assists Kenny Goins added 12 points while Nick Ward scored 11 and grabbed seven rebounds Xavier Tillman pulled down a game high 13 rebounds No 12 Auburn 95 North Florida 49 The Tigers had no problem in their final tuneup before starting play in the Southeastern Conference with a rout of the visiting Ospreys in Auburn Ala Bryce Brown led the Tigers 11 2 with 18 points and helped the club win its 34th nonconference game over the last three seasons tying the school record It marks the eighth time the Tigers have won at least 11 nonconference games and the first time it has happened in three straight seasons Brown was 5 for 12 from the field and 5 for 10 on 3 pointers It is the seventh time he has had at least four 3 pointers in a game this season No 13 Ohio State 82 High Point 64 C J Jackson poured in 20 points 14 of them in the second half to lead three teammates in double figure scoring as the Buckeyes clobbered the visiting Panthers in Columbus Ohio Ohio State 12 1 led by nine points at intermission but poured it on over the first eight minutes of the second half boosting its advantage to 61 39 at the under 12 minute timeout after a dunk by Kyle Young Jackson had 12 of his points over that deciding stretch The Buckeyes were up by as many 26 over the final minutes and waltzed to the win their sixth in a row following their only loss of the season a 72 62 home setback to Syracuse on Dec 5 No 14 North Carolina 82 Davidson 60 Cameron Johnson scored 17 points and the Tar Heels picked up the pace late in the first half en route to a victory against the visiting Wildcats in Chapel Hill N C Kenny Williams provided 12 points Luke Maye had 11 points and 14 rebounds Garrison Brooks had 11 points and Nassir Little supplied 10 points for North Carolina Johnson has led the team in scoring in four consecutive games The Tar Heels 9 3 were coming off a loss to Kentucky a week earlier They had only four games in December the fewest since 1961 when legendary coach Dean Smith was in his first season No 16 Kentucky 71 Louisville 58 Tyler Herro helped the visiting Wildcats run their record to 10 2 with a victory over the rival Cardinals in Louisville Ky The Cardinals fell to 9 4 suffering their first home loss after opening the season with eight straight wins Herro who said earlier in the week that fans had told him the Wildcats could lose any game except the one with Louisville poured in 24 points to lead UK Herro hit 10 of his 13 field goal attempts including 4 of 6 three point tries He also had five rebounds and two steals No 19 Mississippi State 103 BYU 81 Aric Holman scored 28 points and Quinndary Weatherspoon added 27 as the Bulldogs routed the visiting Cougars in the final pre conference game for both teams in Starkville Miss The Bulldogs finished with their highest point total of the season surpassing the 98 they scored in an 11 point victory against Wofford on Dec 19 Weatherspoon made 9 of 13 field goals both of his 3 point attempts and all seven of his free throws Tyson Carter scored 16 and Reggie Perry and Nick Weatherspoon had 11 each The Bulldogs bench outscored the Cougars bench 30 14 No 21 Buffalo 87 Canisius 72 CJ Massinburg scored a game high 22 points on 7 for 13 shooting to lead the visiting Bulls to a win against its city rival even though the initial minutes of the game were not good for Buffalo The Golden Griffins come out hot and took a 23 13 lead with 12 21 left in the first half but Buffalo answered with a 13 0 run in less than four minutes to take a 26 23 lead with 8 49 to go in the first half Nick Perkins came off of the bench to score 18 points and Jeremy Harris had 17 points and nine rebounds for Buffalo Takal Molson scored 15 points to lead the way for Canisius despite going 0 of 7 from 3 point range No 22 Houston 80 NJIT 59 Corey Davis Jr scored 19 points and Dejon Jarreau added 13 as the Cougars recovered from a slow start to remain undefeated with a nonconference victory over the visiting Highlanders Houston 13 0 which started the day as one of five unbeaten teams in the country extended its home winning streak to 26 games the longest such streak in the country It is the program s best undefeated start since the 1967 68 Cougars opened 31 0 Zach Cooks scored 20 points as NJIT 11 3 saw its four game winning streak come to an end Cooks who entered scoring 21 9 points over his previous nine games had eight points in the first half No 24 Iowa 72 Bryant 67 Tyler Cook had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over the visiting Bulldogs in Iowa City Iowa Bryant trailed by two until Cook hit a free throw with 49 seconds remaining to give Iowa a 69 66 lead
The Bulldogs had a chance to tie the score but Adam Grant 23 points missed a 3 pointer with 17 seconds left and Iowa got the rebound After a Bryant foul Iowa s Jordan Bohannon made two free throws for a 71 66 lead Field Level Media |
VZ | Verizon Communications VZ Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates | Verizon Communications VZ came out with quarterly earnings of 1 12 per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 09 per share This compares to earnings of 0 86 per share a year ago These figures are adjusted for non recurring items
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 2 75 A quarter ago it was expected that this largest U S cellphone carrier would post earnings of 1 19 per share when it actually produced earnings of 1 22 delivering a surprise of 2 52
Over the last four quarters the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times
Verizon which belongs to the Zacks Wireless National industry posted revenues of 34 28 billion for the quarter ended December 2018 missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0 18 This compares to year ago revenues of 33 96 billion The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters
The sustainability of the stock s immediate price movement based on the recently released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management s commentary on the earnings call
Verizon shares have lost about 2 since the beginning of the year versus the S P 500 s gain of 5 5
What s Next for Verizon
While Verizon has underperformed the market so far this year the question that comes to investors minds is what s next for the stock
There are no easy answers to this key question but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company s earnings outlook Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter s but also how these expectations have changed lately
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried and tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions
Ahead of this earnings release the estimate revisions trend for Verizon was favorable While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company s just released earnings report the current status translates into a Zacks Rank 2 Buy for the stock So the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future You can see the complete list of today s Zacks 1 Rank Strong Buy stocks here
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead The current consensus EPS estimate is 1 19 on 32 25 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and 4 75 on 132 22 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank Wireless National is currently in the top 14 of the 250 plus Zacks industries Our research shows that the top 50 of the Zacks ranked industries outperform the bottom 50 by a factor of more than 2 to 1 |
VZ | Verizon renews NBA deal as it seeks to be go to screen for sports | By Jessica Toonkel
Reuters Verizon Communications NYSE VZ has renewed its deal with the National Basketball Association for two years allowing users to live stream games on its Yahoo NASDAQ AABA platform and mobile devices and access out of market live games
Verizon will partner with the NBA to create original content as well as establish a technology innovation fund to experiment with new formats such as virtual reality executives at Verizon and the NBA told Reuters
The new deal opens up Yahoo s pro basketball fantasy sports to Verizon users globally The companies declined to comment on the terms of the agreement
Verizon is seeking to make live sports a focus in the wake of last year s acquisition of Yahoo said Brian Angiolet global chief media and content officer at Verizon
Live sports is valuable for advertisers because viewers are willing to pay for it and watch it for long periods of time in real time There is increasing competition between broadcasters tech companies and cable operators for live sports rights as it remains one of the few areas where viewers watch in real time
Last month Verizon paid around 2 25 billion for a five year partnership with the National Football League for non exclusive rights that include games on its Yahoo and Oath sites
It has spent the past several months renewing deals for its FIOs TV service that enable it to also include more live sports and other league related content on its digital Oath and Yahoo platforms
For example Verizon recently signed TV distribution deals with Spanish language broadcaster Univision Communications and A E that include Mexican soccer league Liga MX and National Women s Soccer League games respectively on Yahoo
We want to be the first screen consumers go to find live sports Angiolet said
The NBA is looking to tap Verizon s data and technology to help it continue to reformat its game telecasts to appeal to younger fans said Bill Koenig NBA president global content and media distribution
Another attractive element for the NBA about the deal is the marriage of Verizon s data with fantasy sports presence he said
Yahoo has tens of millions of fantasy players and its users spend 30 billion minutes playing fantasy sports every year according to Verizon
Fantasy is a good business on its own but we think fantasy can be an important driver to becoming deeper fans and watching more telecasts Koenig said |
VZ | Verizon says new U S tax law to increase fourth quarter earnings | NEW YORK Reuters Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ said on Wednesday the tax overhaul bill signed into law by U S President Donald Trump late last year will result in a one time reduction in net deferred income tax liabilities of about 16 8 billion The reduction will increase earnings for the fourth quarter and year ending Dec 31 2017 but will not have any impact on the 2017 statement of cash flows Verizon said in a filing Verizon estimates that the impact of the law to earnings per share for the year ended Dec 31 is about 4 10 Analysts and investors had expected that the law which slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent to boost corporate earnings Telecom companies stand to benefit because they are primarily domestic businesses Verizon also said it expects a separate accounting change implemented on Jan 1 2018 to increase pre tax retained earnings by 4 billion to 4 6 billion |
WMB | Take 5 Steelers Saints center stage in Week 16 | Sunday s showdown in the Superdome brings us two quarterbacks who rarely face each other and two offenses that can set the turf ablaze But it might not be an all out track meet as the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints offenses are each working through hiccups without key weapons 1 Steelers all in on spread without Conner In recent years Pittsburgh s offense has basically comprised two unique identities There s the smashmouth approach featuring heavier personnel and gap scheme runs letting Le Veon Bell or James Conner grind defenses down And there s the spread where Ben Roethlisberger goes into field general mode and throws on almost every snap Pittsburgh leans on either approach as a foundation for multi week stretches but there isn t much marriage between them The former waned without Bell Roethlisberger has seven games with 45 plus pass attempts this year nobody else has more than four and basically evaporated without Conner Absent Conner the last two weeks 83 2 percent of the Steelers snaps featured at least three wideouts Roethlisberger s attempts haven t spiked dramatically in part because the Patriots practically begged for more runs last week The vast majority of Jaylen Samuels production came from shotgun against six and even five man boxes as New England used two high safeties almost all game This is why Bill Belichick brushed off run defense concerns afterward Without a traditional back for Pittsburgh s core power and counter runs coordinator Randy Fichtner went extreme against New England with 14 snaps featuring five wideouts a package the rest of the NFL has used on 60 combined snaps all season Roethlisberger 10 of 13 90 yards TD 120 7 rating was efficient distributing on quick timing from an empty set The Steelers should again feature the package made possible by the return of Eli Rogers against the Saints who prefer a three safety dime defense That would leave two wideouts matched by safeties or linebackers a tough ask even when playing zone New Orleans might have to bring a fourth corner on the field Meanwhile Pittsburgh should see more light boxes but will it take advantage The Saints run defense remains one of the NFL s stoutest and the Steelers can be quick to abandon the ground Most of their shotgun runs include a pass option part of the reason the balance gets skewed Throwing too often risks turning New Orleans talented pass rush loose but Pittsburgh might not care 2 What Ginn could do for the Saints After scoring 130 points in Weeks 10 12 the Saints managed just 50 from Weeks 13 15 Execution has been a culprit especially Monday in Carolina when penalties repeatedly thwarted big gains but tactics have factored too Sean Payton and Drew Brees are clinical underneath and between the numbers but defenses have squeezed tighter of late without fearing deep throws Ted Ginn Jr is no star but he brings unique speed that warps coverages Whether he ll play Sunday is unclear but his return will be welcomed In an offense that uses far more base personnel than most a vertical threat at one of the wideout spots unlocks all kinds of other options With or without Ginn expect Joe Haden to shadow Michael Thomas most of the day though not likely in the slot Haden has quietly had an excellent season but he might need bracket help to contain Thomas Up front Pittsburgh could have the edge with an interior pass rush that pushes the pocket as well as any in football The shorter Brees relies on pocket depth more than most QBs a major reason the Saints have always invested heavily on the interior and Cameron Heyward Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave were terrific against the Patriots 3 Mind games between Rivers and Ravens Watching Philip Rivers one of the league s best presnap QBs try to solve Baltimore s voluminous defense should be a treat Rivers trusts himself to decipher blitz looks and counter with proper protections and he ll hang in the pocket late to deliver despite pressure That could lead to game changing plays in both directions L A must hope Keenan Allen hip can play His ability to separate underneath would provide a quick outlet against Baltimore s zone blitzes a safer proposition than 50 50 balls to the big Williams NYSE WMB receivers Meanwhile keep an eye on how the Chargers combat the Ravens amoeba fronts Rivers loves to audible to WR tunnel screens against blitz looks and Baltimore will often show seven or even eight potential rushers on the line However knowing Rivers tendencies the Ravens could bluff this look to force the screen and then drop out to contain it Terrell Suggs is also one of the NFL s best at sniffing out screens Rivers must be careful after Von Miller got him twice in Week 11 the Chargers only loss since September 4 Seahawks offense perfect for attacking K C The Chiefs defense is known to be suspect but it s actually rather decent against the pass Where the unit falls apart is against the run That s usually not a big issue Poor run defense is one of the least punishing weaknesses in today s NFL especially for a team that scores so many points and plays with the lead so often But compensating for that flaw on Sunday against the league s most run heavy team by far presents a new challenge Allen Bailey and especially Chris Jones are excellent interior pass rushers but their aggressive upfield style is harmful in run defense Despite some splash plays both players get washed out of run lanes too easily by playing high and without discipline Stabilizing the group somewhat is rookie third round nose tackle Derrick Nnadi a squatty plugger who is excellent at shedding blocks but he rarely plays in nickel or dime That s where Kansas City is most susceptible and where Seattle thrives The Seahawks run on 48 percent of snaps using 11 personnel one back one tight end three wide receivers no other team is above 41 percent and average 5 1 yards per carry The Chiefs are allowing 5 3 yards per carry against 11 personnel among the NFL s worst marks 5 Can D line keep carrying Eagles Philadelphia won last week because its front thoroughly dominated the Rams offensive line hiding the Eagles patchwork secondary That formula could be enough against the Texans as well Houston s O line has played much better since its brutal start but the talent disparity compared to Fletcher Cox Co is staggering Cox has been borderline unblockable Michael Bennett wreaks havoc both leading and looping on stunts and Chris Long can still turn the corner at age 33 Deshaun Watson flashes brilliance every week but he also tends to lock onto DeAndre Hopkins and abandon reading his progressions when pressure shows early That leads to some off schedule big plays but it also leaves open receivers untargeted too often
Game script will be critical Bill O Brien has been disciplined in leaning on a so so run game to maintain balance but the Texans haven t trailed often or by big margins Philly s rushers will tee off if Watson has to drop back 40 plus times so Houston must avoid a major deficit Field Level Media |
WMB | The Sinclair POCO Build your own and start gaming | CHEPSTOW Wales Reuters The ZX Spectrum a classic 1980s home PC earned inventor Sir Clive Sinclair a place in Britain s hi tech pantheon Now his nephew Grant is hoping to replicate that success with a build your own pocket gaming computer The POCO or Pocket Raspberry Pi Gaming Kit is little bigger than a smartphone It comes unassembled but can be snap fitted together in about 30 minutes You get everything you need to build a pocket gaming computer straight out the box it s almost like a puzzle Grant Sinclair told Reuters As well as a pre soldered Raspberry Pi motherboard its small scale components include a wide angle camera loudspeaker touch screen and control pads Obviously it s been influenced by my uncle s work but it s very different Sinclair said I think a lot of people who are buying the Raspberry Pi are playing games on it and that s what really gave me the idea to build a little kit computer that you could build and then create your own games Despite its diminutive size Sinclair says POCO is a fully functional PC that allows users to program animations and games using a drag and drop interface With the first POCOs expected to ship in early 2019 a group of children from a nearby school happily gave the device an early test run Children love to physically build it helps them learn a lot they really get inspired said teacher Emma Williams NYSE WMB who runs the cyber club at Wyedean School in Gloucestershire What I like about this device is the fact that they can build they can program and then they can share and that is something quite unique in computing at the moment Using POCO which is retailing for 149 pounds 189 games can be built during a single school lesson using collaboration from different pupils and even different schools Sinclair s other projects include the Iris eTrike an electric vehicle for which he may be less keen to use his uncle s experiences as a template Launched in 1985 Clive Sinclair s much derided Sinclair C5 was discontinued after minimal sales 1 0 7893 pounds |
WMB | The Fed Needs a Little Push From the Data for a Pause | Bloomberg Opinion One of the reasons for the turmoil in markets this week was that the Federal Reserve was deemed to be not dovish enough in its outlook seeming to ignore the weakness in equities and other so called risk assets To be sure the Fed will eventually yield and deliver a bigger dose of dovishness but as we are witnessing now it won t go down without a fight
The bar to an extended pause in the pace of interest rate increases falls every day markets struggle Indeed comments Friday by New York Federal Reserve President John Williams make clear that the recent turmoil on Wall Street has not gone unnoticed
Central bankers behaved this week much as I anticipated a month ago Despite a sustained and substantial drop in equities the Fed followed through with their intention to continue tightening monetary policy with Wednesday s 25 basis point rate hike Moreover they are for the time being sticking to their models which call for further rate increases over the next couple of years until they reach a level that restrains economic activity
That said I anticipate the Fed will in the weeks ahead be forced to address that anxiety shown by investors much like Williams NYSE WMB attempted do on Friday There is a good chance the Fed will soon take itself off the table for an extended period It just needs a little push from the data to do it
So how do we get there The starting point to that conversation is recognizing that the Fed more likely than not made an error by boosting rates this month Growth is slowing and inflation remains low while downside uncertainty is on the rise While the Fed resists reacting to financial markets the reality is that the downdraft in equities has gone on long enough to warrant additional caution There is also plenty to worry about on the international side of the equation from China to Brexit And finally policy uncertainty only increases with each passing day of the Trump administration
There was plenty of reason to shift to a risk management mode at this week s meeting and take a pass while giving a nod to a January hike Indeed the move felt much like the December 2015 rate increase which also came amidst mounting financial and economic pressures They both appeared to be model driven hikes not warranted by the shifting balance of risks
Hence I think the Fed has like in 2015 pushed up against the boundary of appropriate financial conditions They are now at the edge of neutral in an unstable financial economic and political environment If I am correct and the December hike was an error they will soon recognize that error via the continued stress on financial markets
The Fed has already signaled a willingness to give more weight to market developments in future meetings They added a sentence to the recent Federal Open Market Committee statement that they will be monitoring global and economic and financial developments a point emphasized by Williams in his CNBC interview Williams also tried to sooth nervous investors by noting that central bankers are listening to markets Overall I think they are primed to shift to a more dovish position and all they need is some further softening of the data to push them to the sidelines
Previously I discussed some potential data outcomes that would induce the Fed to skip a March hike Eventually they will realize they need to cushion not just the markets but also the economy against the growing uncertainty With policy near neutral the continued floundering of financial markets thus only lowers the bar for a pause
The Fed tends to resist changing course but when it does change the shift occurs quickly Watch for the Fed to stick to its guns and assert more rate hikes are coming but shift to a more dovish position rapidly when the data softens a notch That will be good It s the key to extending this expansion This holds true as long as inflation remains under control If the Fed starts fearing inflation as a more real than imagined threat they will delay turning dovish That s when the game changes in a way that would send markets on an even more volatile path |
WMB | Junk Bonds Endure an Awful Day But Live to Tell About It | Bloomberg Opinion Bond traders have a technical name for what just happened to the U S high yield bond market They call it a puke
The yield spread on junk bonds widened 33 basis points on Thursday the biggest jump in more than seven years to 508 basis points according to Bloomberg Barclays LON BARC data As recently as Dec 14 high yield investors were holding on to a slight gain for 2018 Now they re down 2 2 percent on track for the first annual loss since 2015 Funds tracking U S corporate high yield debt lost 788 5 million in the week ended Dec 19 the fifth consecutive week of outflows according to Lipper data That followed a massive 2 06 billion withdrawal the previous week And speculative grade borrowers are steering clear of the meltdown entirely December is shaping up to be the first month in 10 years with no bond sales
Total returns in the junk bond market had remained positive for so long that some wondered whether the debt could provide shelter from equity market volatility At a certain point on Thursday investors realized that wouldn t be the case Maybe it was because of a perceived misstep by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell or the price of oil finally starting to bite or any number of other reasons Regardless trading in the biggest high yield funds shows exactly when the puke happened Around 11 21 a m Here s Bloomberg News s Carolina Wilson on what exactly took place
A trader sold close to 4 million shares worth 322 million of the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF ticker HYG at 11 21 a m in New York Thursday About five minutes later 8 million shares worth 267 million of the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF ticker JNK were sold Then another 350 million worth of HYG was unloaded at 1 39 p m
By the time the dust settled trading volume in HYG soared to an all time high and the fund s discount to its net asset value reached the largest since February JNK too had one of its biggest days ever by both metrics Both fund prices are the lowest since early 2016 when the market was just starting to bounce back from a collapse in the price of oil to less than 30 a barrel
The marriage of relatively illiquid junk bonds and the instantaneous nature of exchange traded funds has always been a dicey subject with some investors expressing concern about how the products would react in a sharp sell off Thursday may have provided an answer It s painful but not apocalyptic For those who have doubts about how much stress the market is under consider this December is on track to the be the first ever month in which high yield ETFs experienced net outflows Usually enough money comes in seeing the lower price as an attractive entry point
One complicating factor and a reason it might not be the time to dump everything high yield is that the markets are approaching the end of the year which means thin trading volume Right now nobody wants to be a hero Randall Parrish a senior portfolio manager at Voya Investment Management told Bloomberg s Claire Boston on Dec 14 when junk bonds still had a positive return for 2018 That wound up being the right call
Things could get worse starting first and foremost with energy sensitive bonds given crude oil s slide to 46 a barrel from more than 75 in early October On the other hand there s no shortage of investors who appear ready to go bargain hunting when the calendar turns It doesn t hurt that New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB not so subtly sought to calm financial markets with his comments Friday potentially alleviating some concerns that the central bank is making a policy mistake
Markets don t feel better immediately after puking but it s the most violent part of repricing to a better level Now that junk bonds have gotten that out of their system expect a calmer ride the rest of the year as investors assess whether to step back in come January |
WMB | Williams soothes markets says Fed listening and could change policy | By Jonathan Spicer NEW YORK Reuters The Federal Reserve is listening to the concerns of markets and open to changing its policy views next year one its most influential members said on Friday even while he stood by plans for interest rate hikes and further paring of the Fed s bond portfolio The somewhat soothing words from New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB came two days after the U S central bank raised rates and delivered a confident assessment of the U S economy that on Wall Street and around the world was met with a broad market selloff Since October when signs emerged that global growth is slowing financial markets have grown increasingly skeptical that the Fed can continue tightening much longer Williams while sounding more conciliatory especially on plans to shed assets did not commit to a more dovish monetary policy Importantly we are listening that there are some risks to that outlook There are clearly some concerns that the economy will slow further he said on CNBC We are not sitting there thinking we actually know for sure what is going to happen The comments sent the benchmark 10 year Treasury yield and dollar to session highs while the S P 500 briefly climbed as much as 1 5 percent The moves were short lived however with stock indexes weighed down by concerns over a looming U S government shutdown He came across as a more soothing and empathetic voice than Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Karim Basta chief economist at III Capital Management The Fed on Wednesday raised rates a notch and slightly downgraded median expectations to two more rises in 2019 and one more in 2020 The selloff began in force when Powell told reporters there was no plan to stop the autopilot trimming 50 billion per month from the Fed s swollen balance sheet Williams a close ally of Powell and vice chair of the Fed s policy making committee said he did not at this point believe that plan should change given a very strong economic outlook But we will go into the new year with eyes wide open willing to read the data and listen to what we are hearing re assess our economic outlook and take the right policy decisions he said The central bank bought some 3 5 trillion in bonds to help spur recovery from the 2007 2009 recession and it began letting them run off in October last year Williams noted that the Fed has long said the plan would be adjusted if there were a material deterioration in the economic outlook Roberto Perli a partner at Cornerstone Macro said just knowing the Fed is open to reconsidering it is important because it shows the Fed is not deaf is not on autopilot and will do what s appropriate based on reality not on abstract forecasts The U S economy has outperformed peers this year growing at a brisk 3 4 percent rate in the third quarter thanks in part to big tax cuts and government spending that should begin to fade in 2019 While the Fed is emboldened by a hot labor market investors are fretting about tighter financial conditions that may foreshadow a downturn A gauge of high yield bond performance was trading close to its lowest since early 2016 on Friday a day after the riskiest U S corporate bonds suffered their biggest daily drop in nearly three years Williams said he expects somewhat slower but still very strong growth next year with very solid job gains and added the Fed is listening to not only markets but everybody that we talk to He also predicted two rate hikes next year in the context of a really strong economy moving forward
Futures traders on the other hand see at a maximum one hike in 2019 and a good probability of rate cuts in 2020 No other Fed officials are scheduled to speak publicly until early next year |
WMB | Exclusive City Financial s hedge fund Decca to shut down letter | By Maiya Keidan LONDON Reuters London based fund firm City Financial and the chief investment officer of its Decca Fund Shahraab Ahmad have decided to wind down the credit focused strategy after it did not deliver the performance that you expect of us according to a letter to investors reviewed by Reuters City Financial was hit hard earlier in 2018 when Decca one of its main funds lost 21 percent in February alone after a wrong way bet on volatile markets according to a Bloomberg report The so called February Volmaggedon which saw a steep drop in the value of financial instruments that bet on stock market volatility was for many hedge funds a terrible month and for some strategies the worst on record Since launching the fund in 2015 we sought to deliver the types of returns that we have enjoyed with success since my first buyside experience started in 2005 Decca s Ahmad said in the letter However 2018 was a challenging year across strategies and sectors and we did not deliver the performance that you expect of us and that we are capable of Decca s assets under management stood at around 1 2 billion at the start of the year said a source familiar with the matter City Financial s co founder Andrew Williams NYSE WMB who returned to an executive role at the company in October started a strategic review of the rest of the business with newly appointed CEO Ed Orlebar said a source with direct knowledge Current CEO Rob Hain will retire from the business following a period of regulatory transition said the source As a result of that review City Financial will shut its New York office the source added New York based 200 million opportunistic value fund Shaolin will continue as a standalone independent manager while City Financial is in talks to sell Hong Kong based long short equities strategy PivotBase which manages around 150 million the source said After Decca s closure and the restructuring the City Financial s assets will total around 1 2 billion down from 3 3 billion a year earlier the source said We have conducted an in depth strategic review to ensure that City Financial is best positioned to operate in the current market environment and to serve our investors in the years ahead Williams told Reuters A spokesman for Decca declined to comment |
WMB | NBA roundup Ailing LeBron nets triple double | LeBron James sick enough earlier in the day that his ability to take the court Friday night was in doubt nonetheless finished with 22 points 12 rebounds and 14 assists as the host Los Angeles Lakers turned back the New Orleans Pelicans 112 104 on Friday night It was James third triple double as a member of the Lakers and his second in four games It was also the 76th of his career Kyle Kuzma added 23 points for the Lakers who ended a two game losing streak Anthony Davis produced 30 points and 20 rebounds for the Pelicans who lost their third consecutive game and are 0 2 to start their four game road trip Los Angeles Rajon Rondo scored eight points and dished out nine assists in his first game since Nov 14 He missed 17 contests because of a broken bone in his hand that required surgery Bucks 120 Celtics 107 While Giannis Antetokounmpo got off to a slow start his Milwaukee teammates used their size and 3 point shooting to build a 26 point first half advantage and the visiting Bucks went on to win at Boston Antetokounmpo attempted only four shots from the field in scoring 11 points before the break He finished with 30 points on 8 for 13 shooting to go along with eight rebounds five assists and three blocked shots Khris Middleton added 21 points and Eric Bledsoe had 16 for the Bucks Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 21 points off the bench Jayson Tatum finished with 20 points despite missing 10 of 15 shots from the field Raptors 126 Cavaliers 110 Kawhi Leonard matched his season best with 37 points on 12 for 16 shooting and Toronto defeated visiting Cleveland OG Anunoby equaled his career bests with 21 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors Pascal Siakam added 15 points and 10 rebounds Fred VanVleet added 14 points and eight assists and Norman Powell scored 11 points Jordan Clarkson had 20 points for Cleveland Collin Sexton added 17 points Larry Nance Jr had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Cedi Osman chipped in with 12 points for the Cavaliers Pacers 114 Nets 106 Victor Oladipo recorded 26 points nine rebounds and six assists to help Indiana beat Brooklyn in New York Thaddeus Young scored 21 points while Domantas Sabonis and Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 apiece for the Pacers who ended a two game slide Myles Turner contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds Rodions Kurucs scored 24 points and DeMarre Carroll added 16 for Brooklyn which had a season best seven game winning streak snapped Spencer Dinwiddie scored 15 points and Rondae Hollis Jefferson and Joe Harris had 13 apiece Spurs 124 Timberwolves 98 Bryn Forbes poured in 22 points 15 of them in the first half and six of his teammates scored in double figures as San Antonio cruised past visiting Minnesota San Antonio rolled to its third win in a row Minnesota took its second straight loss and its sixth in seven games Marco Belinelli added 17 points for the Spurs with Davis Bertans tallying 15 Rudy Gay hitting for 14 and DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl scoring 12 each The Spurs outshot Minnesota 52 9 percent to 39 8 percent and outrebounded the Timberwolves 50 39 Jazz 120 Trail Blazers 90 Ricky Rubio scored 24 points and dished out eight assists as visiting Utah blew away Portland Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder came off the bench for 18 and 16 points respectively and Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz who had lost four in a row on the road Damian Lillard scored 19 points to lead the Trail Blazers who saw their three game winning streak come to an end It was Portland s second biggest margin of defeat this season next to a 143 100 drubbing at Milwaukee on Nov 21 Kings 102 Grizzlies 99 De Aaron Fox capped a huge comeback by sinking the tying and go ahead free throws with 1 17 remaining and host Sacramento took advantage of a late scoring drought by Memphis to score a victory Willie Cauley Stein and Buddy Hield each added two free throws to ice the victory for the Kings who snapped a two game losing streak Hield led all scorers with 28 points for the Kings who trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half and began the fourth quarter down 74 65 Mike Conley made seven 3 pointers while scoring 23 points for the Grizzlies who lost their fifth straight Bulls 90 Magic 80 Lauri Markkanen scored a season high 32 points one shy of his career best and made the jump shot that put Orlando away for good in Chicago s home win Robin Lopez scored 14 points and Kris Dunn added 12 points eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls who won for just the third time in the past 15 games Evan Fournier sank five 3 pointers and scored 24 points and Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Magic Aaron Gordon added 14 points and 12 rebounds but Orlando shot just 32 6 percent from the floor Hornets 98 Pistons 86 Marvin Williams NYSE WMB scored 24 points with a career high seven 3 pointers and host Charlotte continued its mastery over Detroit Williams hit four of his triples in the third quarter when the Hornets pulled out to a 14 point lead and took control of the game for good It was Charlotte s third win over the Pistons in three games this season and it was the second in the past 10 days Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 23 points Andre Drummond finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds Hawks 114 Knicks 107 Kent Bazemore scored 22 points and sparked his team s strong second half defense to lead visiting Atlanta over New York Bazemore also pulled down six rebounds to help Atlanta win its second straight game and break a five game road losing streak Bazemore hit a pair of free throws with 48 7 seconds remaining to give Atlanta a seven point lead and ice the game
New York was led by Emmanuel Mudiay with 32 points the third time he s reached the 30 point mark this season all in the last five games Kevin Knox added 24 points and six rebounds Field Level Media |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 18 Arizona State stuns No 1 Kansas | Junior guard Rob Edwards scored a team high 15 points Saturday to lead a balanced Arizona State attack as the No 18 Sun Devils upset No 1 Kansas 80 76 at Tempe Ariz Sophomore guard Remy Martin drove for a go ahead bucket and a 78 76 lead with 59 seconds left as part of a closing 13 2 run by Arizona State 9 2 which prompted a storming of the court in Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Arena The Jayhawks called timeout with 22 seconds left but committed an over and back violation with 7 seconds remaining Edwards then sealed the victory with two free throws The Sun Devils who won 95 85 at Kansas last season notched their first home win ever against a top ranked visitor They improved to 2 8 all time against No 1 teams with their first win in such a matchup since 1981 No 19 Kentucky 80 No 9 North Carolina 72 Freshman guard Keldon Johnson scored 23 points as the Wildcats defeated the Tar Heels in a battle of storied programs at the United Center in Chicago Reid Travis who helped the Wildcats 9 2 get off to a good start tallied 20 points Tyler Herro s 15 points and PJ Washington s 11 also gave Kentucky a lift Cameron Johnson s 17 points paced North Carolina 8 3 Luke Maye added 16 points and Kenny Williams NYSE WMB had 11 points as seniors were the top three scorers for the Tar Heels No 3 Tennessee 83 Wake Forest 64 Junior forward Grant Williams recorded 22 points 10 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Volunteers to a victory over the visiting Demon Deacons in nonconference play at Knoxville Tenn Senior forward Kyle Alexander scored a career best 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds as the Volunteers 10 1 won their sixth straight game Junior guard Jordan Bone contributed 18 points and five assists while senior guard Admiral Schofield tallied 12 points Sophomore guard Chaundee Brown scored 19 points for Wake Forest 6 4 Junior guard Brandon Childress added 14 for the Demon Deacons who shot just 40 7 percent from the field and were 5 of 23 from 3 point range No 4 Michigan 71 Air Force 50 The Wolverines cruised to their 12th straight victory to open the season by defeating the Falcons in a nonconference matchup at Ann Arbor Mich Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis continued his great start to the season scoring 19 points to lead Michigan The win gave Michigan its 26th win in its last 27 games The Wolverines also won for the 26th time in their last 27 home games at Crisler Center Michigan established a cushion around the midway point of the first half going on a 13 3 run to take a 24 13 lead with 6 03 remaining in the first half Junior forward Lavelle Scottie paced Air Force 4 7 with 16 points No 5 Virginia 72 William Mary 40 Sophomore De Andre Hunter scored 12 of his team high 18 points in the second half to power the Cavaliers past the Tribe in Charlottesville Va Kyle Guy scored 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds to complement Hunter as the Cavaliers 11 0 used a series of spurts down the stretch to pull away from the Tribe 4 8 William Mary is the sixth opponent UVA has held under 50 points so far this season No 6 Nevada 68 Akron 62 Jordan Caroline carried the Wolf Pack early and Caleb Martin stepped up in crunch time in a close win over the visiting Zips in Reno Nev Akron 7 5 whittled a nine point fourth quarter deficit down to three with 1 12 to go when Martin struck from the top of the key with a three to put the Wolf Pack up 63 57 Despite shooting just 7 for 18 from the field and being frustrated throughout much of the game Martin notched a double double with 19 points and 10 boards Caroline also scored 19 points and provided most of the offense for the Wolf Pack 12 0 while the rest of the team struggled early No 7 Auburn 93 Murray State 88 Samir Doughty led the way with 20 points and each of his fellow starters also scored in double figures as the Tigers held off the Racers at Auburn Ala Austin Wiley and Chuma Okeke added 17 points each Jared Harper scored 12 and Bryce Brown had 11 as the Tigers 10 2 bounced back from a 78 71 loss at NC State on Wednesday Ja Morant scored 25 points Shaq Buchanan added 21 Tevin Brown had 19 and Darnell Cowart came off the bench to chip in 13 for the Racers 8 2 who were facing a top 10 team for the first time since the 2012 NCAA Tournament No 11 Florida State 81 Saint Louis 59 The Seminoles won their sixth straight game in dominating fashion defeating the Billikens in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise Fla Seminoles guard David Nichols led the way with 19 points as Florida State improved to 11 1 on the season its lone loss coming a month ago to defending national champion Villanova The Billikens 8 4 were led by guard Javon Bess with 16 points although it took his 18 shots to get there Bess the Billikens leading scorer on the season finished 6 of 18 from the floor and added a team high seven rebounds Forward Carte Are Gordon added 14 points and seven boards in the loss No 15 Ohio State 80 UCLA 66 C J Jackson scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Kaleb Wesson had 15 points and a career high 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes in a victory against the Bruins at the United Center in Chicago Ohio State 11 1 has won five straight UCLA 7 5 lost its third in a row Kyle Young had 11 points for the Buckeyes who were ahead 33 30 at the half Kris Wilkes led the Bruins with 18 points Jaylen Hands added 13 points and Cody Riley 10 No 16 Wisconsin 84 Grambling 53 After becoming the 15th player in Big Ten history with 1 000 career rebounds Badgers senior forward Ethan Happ finished with 19 points eight rebounds and five assists in a win over the Tigers at Madison Wis Happ shot 6 for 12 from the floor to score in double figures for the 36th consecutive game The Badgers 10 2 have won all six games at home and don t play again until Dec 29 at Western Kentucky Wisconsin sophomore guard D Mitrik Trice added 14 points and freshman guard Kobe King finished with 10 Dallas Polk Hilliard paced Grambling 6 7 with 17 points No 17 Mississippi State 67 Wright State 63 Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 14 points and the Bulldogs held off the pesky Raiders at Jackson Miss Aric Holman added 12 points Lamar Peters scored 11 and Tyson Carter had 10 for the Bulldogs 11 1 Bill Wampler scored 19 and Parker Ernsthausen and Mark Hughes scored 11 each to lead the Raiders 6 7 who overcame a double digit second half deficit to tie the score at 55 with less than six minutes to play No 22 Indiana 94 Jacksonville 64 Senior forward Juwan Morgan had 10 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple double for the Hoosiers in 47 years as they completed an undefeated December with a nonconference victory over the Dolphins at Bloomington Ind The Hoosiers 11 2 earned their sixth consecutive victory all since a loss at Duke on Nov 27 and had their first undefeated month since November 2012 The Indiana run includes victories in its first two Big Ten Conference games Senior forward Jace Hogan scored 17 points for the Dolphins 7 7 who lost at Notre Dame on Thursday and are 7 3 after starting the season 0 4 No 23 Iowa 110 Savannah State 64 Five Hawkeyes players finished in double figures and the defense dominated the struggling Tigers in an easy victory in Iowa City Iowa Savannah State came into the game against Iowa at ranked 353rd last among Division I teams in scoring defense surrendering an average of 100 1 points per game Joe Wieskamp led the way with 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting for the Hawkeyes 10 2 who made 19 3 pointers Zach Sellers finished with 18 points and Jaquan Dotson tallied 13 for the Tigers 3 11 No 25 Nebraska 86 Cal State Fullerton 62 James Palmer Jr scored 23 points and the Cornhuskers held the Titans to just 37 9 percent from the field in a win at Lincoln Neb Isaiah Roby added a career high 20 points along with eight rebounds and three assists for the Cornhuskers 10 2 Isaac Copeland Jr scored 12 points while Glynn Watson Jr recorded a career high 10 assists to go with 10 points for Nebraska
Kyle Allmann Jr 18 3 and Khalil Ahmad 17 6 entered play ranked second and third in the Big West in scoring Allmann didn t score in the first 14 plus minutes and scored just two first half points but finished with 16 points to lead the Titans 3 9 Field Level Media |
VZ | Crown Castle CCI To Post Q4 Earnings What To Expect | Crown Castle International Corp NYSE CCI is scheduled to release fourth quarter and full year 2018 results on Jan 23 after the closing bell The company s fourth quarter results are expected to reflect year over year growth in funds from operations FFO per share as well as revenues The Houston based real estate investment trust REIT which is engaged in operation of wireless communication towers in the United States surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in terms of adjusted funds from operations AFFO per share by 0 72 in the last reported quarter Further results reflected increase in site rental revenues Over the trailing four quarters the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three occasions and missed in the other It delivered average positive surprise of 4 66 during this period The graph below depicts this surprise history Crown Castle International Corporation Price and EPS Surprise Let s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement Factors at PlayWith a portfolio of more than 40 000 cell towers Crown Castle is well poised to benefit from its shared communication infrastructure assets in the fourth quarter The company s business model is predictable as most of its revenues are recurring and under long term leases with organic growth from rent escalators Also it has tower lease agreements with the top four U S carriers Verizon NYSE VZ AT T NYSE T Sprint NYSE S and T Mobile NYSE T contributing nearly 74 of its revenues For fourth quarter 2018 Crown Castle expects site rental revenues of 1 189 1 199 million The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at 1 198 million This indicates an increase of nearly 1 2 from the prior quarter tally Also for full year 2018 management expects site rental revenues of 4 696 4 706 million However prior to the fourth quarter earnings release there was lack of any solid catalyst for becoming overtly optimistic about the company s business activities and prospects As such the Zacks Consensus Estimate of FFO per share for the Oct Dec quarter and full year 2018 remained unchanged at 1 44 and 5 51 respectively over the past 30 days Furthermore evolution of new technologies is expected to have hindered demand for site leases as well as demand for the company s communications infrastructure Additionally frequent changes in demand for network services and infrastructure support renders volatility to Crown Castle s revenues In fact network services and other revenues from small cells segment is currently pegged at 3 5 million representing a fall of nearly 70 as compared to prior year tally With the oncoming of 5G network the increasing shift from traditional backhaul system toward fiber optic cable is expected to have impacted the company s performance Presently carriers are incurring high costs to provide high speed linkages via their fiber optic cables to cell towers Although the technology is still in the nascent stages it has emerged as a major headwind for Crown Castle The company has a significant leveraged balance sheet Its debt to equity ratio of 1 33 is higher than the industry s average of 0 88 With a substantial level of indebtedness the current rising interest rate scenario may dent the cell tower manager s bottom line performance Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that Crown Castle s results will likely beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter This is because a stock needs to have both a positive and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold for this to happen Unfortunately that is not the case here as elaborated below You can see You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with the Earnings ESP Crown Castle has an Earnings ESP of 0 81 Zacks Rank Crown Castle currently has a Zacks Rank of 3 Note Anything related to earnings presented in this write up represents funds from operations FFO a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2019In addition to the stocks discussed above would you like to know about our 10 finest buy and holds for the year Who wouldn t Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity In 2018 while the market dropped 5 2 the portfolio scored well into double digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as 61 5 And from 2012 2017 while the market boomed 126 3 Zacks Top 10s reached an even more sensational 181 9 |
VZ | Verizon removes Bloomberg TV refusing to pay carriage fees | By Jessica Toonkel Reuters Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ has pulled Bloomberg L P s news network Bloomberg TV from 4 6 million of its pay TV customers after the financial news provider asked the carrier to pay it for its content for the first time ever Verizon said it took down the news network last month because it did not want to pay for it when viewers can access it for free online It remained unclear whether the companies could come to an agreement allowing the network to return to Verizon s customers Bloomberg is proposing that we pay for content that they make available to all consumers for free on their website and mobile app the company said in its alert to Verizon s FIOS TV customers about the removal of Bloomberg TV Verizon is advising customers to go to Bloomberg s website and app to watch Bloomberg TV a Verizon spokeswoman said A spokesman for Bloomberg declined to comment Cable and satellite companies have been losing more subscribers making them much less willing to pay up for television programing that is also available online Six U S cable providers including Verizon lost more than 1 6 million subscribers through the third quarter of 2017 Verizon is one of a growing number of distributors that are using a new negotiating tactic with programmers by referring customers to the programmers own streaming services This week Altice USA Inc advised customers to sign up for Starz online streaming service after it pulled its channels from 3 4 million of its customers Meanwhile Bloomberg has been focused on expanding its online viewership In December it launched a 24 7 news service with Twitter to reach the microblogging service s 330 million active users
The service called TicToc by Bloomberg is primarily new content exclusive to the platform but there is some overlap with Bloomberg TV according to sources familiar with the situation |
VZ | Report Verizon working on new streaming video service | Verizon NYSE VZ is again at work on a video service TechCrunch says an over the top offering that would package video into channels that might come via stand alone apps Those channels would be designed around themes like news sports and entertainment and be distributed beyond its FiOS footprint It would mean a new effort to utilize content already owned by Verizon s Oath created out of its acquisition of Yahoo NASDAQ AABA and would be a departure from flat efforts so far like Go90 The company has invested some 4B 5B in content a source tells TechCrunch and it s working in a digital component to renegotiations to include it in a new OTT service Now read |
WMB | WTA increases rankings protection for returning mothers | Reuters The Women s Tennis Association WTA will offer greater rankings protection to mothers returning to the tour after giving birth and introduce a modernized dress rule as part of new rules announced on Monday for next season The changes address issues that came up in 2018 when former world number one Serena Williams NYSE WMB who returned to action after giving birth was unseeded for some events and caused an uproar with a black skin tight bodysuit she wore at the French Open But after gathering feedback from players the WTA said its board of directors approved changes that will allow players out of competition for 52 weeks or longer to use their Special Ranking in 12 tournaments A player returning from pregnancy will have a three year period to use her Special Ranking which will now begin at the birth of the child For players who would qualify for a seeded position in the draw the updated rule will ensure they will not face a seed in the opening rounds whether returning from pregnancy or injury Williams s world ranking had fallen to 451 when she was not seeded at the French Open The American was however seeded 25th at this year s Wimbledon despite being ranked outside the world s top 32 players Former world number one Victoria Azarenka who returned to tennis in mid 2017 following the birth of her son welcomed the rule change Our players should feel comfortable and confident to take time away from the courts to have a family or recover from injury and I think these new rules support that Azarenka who is on the a WTA Players Council said in a statement This is a really good first step and we are using it as a base to continue to look for ways to improve and highlight the importance of mothers working and being on Tour The board of directors also agreed that players at WTA tournaments would not be prohibited from wearing leggings or compression shorts without a skirt dress or shorts over them The WTA had no rule explicitly banning a player from wearing such outfits but adjusted the language of its rule to be more clear The black catsuit worn by Williams at Roland Garros sparked plenty of debate and attracted the ire of the French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli While this has not been an issue to date we wanted to make it clear that there is no prohibition on these items WTA chief executive Steve Simon said in a statement We understand the importance of modernizing the dress code and ensuring that our players have flexibility in choosing the clothing they wear Our rules should not prohibit that Among other rule changes is the rollout of a 25 second shot clock between points at premier events in 2019 with a full rollout for all WTA tournaments in 2020 in a bid to speed up the pace of play
Players will also only be allowed one toilet change of attire break per match down from the previous two |
WMB | Ravens use schedule as motivator again | Baltimore Ravens Safety Eric Weddle gets to see former teammate Philip Rivers before Christmas but he s not in much of a festive move about the Ravens drawing one of the AFC s best teams the Los Angeles Chargers given the rest disparity It s obviously a disadvantage Weddle said of the schedule working against Baltimore with the Chargers having 10 days between Week 15 and Week 16 games By comparison the Ravens enter Saturday s game on less than normal rest We re going to use this as motivation Weddle said It s stacked up against us We re going to be the underdog No one is going to think we re going to win This just adds to the game Would we like to have 10 days to prepare for one of the best teams in the league Of course but we don t Cincinnati Bengals Another key skill position player is likely done for the season Wide receiver Tyler Boyd has a sprained MCL and needs at least two weeks to recover With only two games remaining he s a candidate for injured reserve where he would join quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A J Green though head coach Marvin Lewis said no decision has been made yet Boyd reached his goal of becoming the first Cincinnati wide receiver to reach 1 000 yards in a season not named Green since Chad Johnson did it in 2009 Now he s looking at bigger targets to knock down in 2019 Hopefully I get into the Pro Bowl I ve been working my tail off each and every day Boyd said Cleveland Browns Interim head coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB said he believes the Browns are shaking the losing culture that has defined the franchise since returning to the NFL in 1999 But he prefers players focus on the next day instead of the next milestone on the schedule At 6 7 1 the Browns are still barely alive in the playoff chase I would say that our guys understand there is a good young team in there Williams said We have to continue to focus on week after week after week on don t look ahead Do not look ahead That is when things start to maybe become more distractions that we were just talking about
Pittsburgh Steelers First round safety Terrell Edmunds and the Steelers kept Tom Brady Co without a touchdown in three red zone opportunities and without a point in two goal to go situations on Sunday which the rookie said was all part of the mindset implanted by the defense early in the week It was like a playoff game for us Edmunds said We just lost three games in a row We just have to come together as a team come together on Tuesday and keep it going Field Level Media |
WMB | Yearender Hamilton and Mercedes shift from fourth to fifth | By Alan Baldwin LONDON Reuters Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes won their fifth Formula One championships in 2018 but even if nothing actually changed at the top the season at least added an exciting twist to the same old story Yes the top three the Silver Arrows along with Ferrari NYSE RACE and Red Bull again won all the races just as they have for the past five years And yes their drivers also filled all but one of the 63 podium places in what was more than ever a two tier championship At the front however the fight for supremacy was far closer with the outcome far from clear and Mercedes having to wait until the fourth race to open their win account Ferrari won six their best effort since 2008 but still some way short of what might have been and were hit hard by the death mid season of combative chairman Sergio Marchionne and their own mistakes Red Bull ended their Renault PA RENA partnership with four victories their biggest haul since 2013 when they were last champions to set new engine suppliers Honda a high benchmark for 2019 Hamilton moved onto another level however His success with 11 wins from 21 races and 11 poles was all the more impressive given that Ferrari s Sebastian Vettel could claim to have the faster car for at least the first half of the season Unlike Vettel and Ferrari Hamilton barely put a wheel wrong as he equaled the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio s five titles with only Michael Schumacher ahead on seven The highlights included storming from 14th on the grid to victory in Germany while Vettel skidded off as he led in the wet and an astonishing pole position lap in Singapore The 33 year old Briton staged an epic recovery from last to second at Silverstone and ended the year on 73 wins with Schumacher s all time record of 91 coming into range I ve grown I ve understood myself more Hamilton said when asked what he had learned from a year that left Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas winless mentally battered and bruised I ve just been able to be a better me all year long and that s never going to stop Hamilton s continuing reign was echoed elsewhere in motorsport with Spaniard Marc Marquez collecting his fifth MotoGP crown while Frenchman Sebastien Ogier went one better to end a closely fought rally championship as a six times champion HEFTY PUSH Formula One s youth revolution continued with fresh faces lined up for 2019 as teams gave the driver merry go round a hefty push Only Mercedes and fifth placed Haas will be carrying unchanged line ups into 2019 also a crucial year off the track with commercial rights holders Liberty Media NASDAQ FWONA facing tough discussions over the sport s future direction Another very real shove landed Red Bull s Max Verstappen who turned 21 and delighted Dutch fans with two race wins in 2018 in hot water after an altercation with Force India s Esteban Ocon Sauber s Charles Leclerc was rookie of the year and the exciting young Monegasque will begin a new chapter at Ferrari next year trading places with 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen who won in Texas for his first victory in 113 races Double world champion Fernando Alonso called it a day leaving as one of the greats but with McLaren still agonizingly slow and ushering out racing director Eric Boullier among others Alonso will now chase the Indianapolis 500 and Triple Crown glory after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota at the first attempt in 2018 The return of the French Grand Prix after a 10 year absence was a popular comeback the traffic jams around Le Castellet much less so as fans fumed in tailbacks for hours New faces coming in for 2019 will include Britain s Formula Two champion George Russell at Williams NYSE WMB and teenage compatriot Lando Norris at McLaren Australian Daniel Ricciardo will also have a new team after leaving Red Bull for Renault now the sport s fourth ranked team Force India who had previously been best of the rest went into administration and emerged under the new ownership of a Canadian consortium led by Lance Stroll s billionaire father Lawrence
In the year s least surprising move Stroll junior moved from Williams the former champions now 10th and last to his father s team for 2019 |
WMB | Yeareneder Djokovic back on top as old guard refuse to let go | By Martyn Herman LONDON Reuters Young German Alexander Zverev s breakthrough title at the ATP Finals in London last month brought the future into focus but the year ended with men s tennis in the grip of a block of 30 somethings led by a resurgent Novak Djokovic Serbian Djokovic 31 needed elbow surgery in February to cure a problem that surfaced in 2017 but after some jarring defeats he returned to the kind of domination he achieved in 2015 winning Wimbledon and the U S Open Roger Federer continued to hold back the clock as only he can by winning the Australian Open aged 36 and a few weeks later became the ATP s oldest world number one Rafael Nadal 32 had an injury hit year but that did not stop the Spaniard winning an 11th French Open title By the time the long season wrapped up Djokovic Nadal and Federer were one two and three in the ATP rankings with seven of the top 10 aged 30 or over The eagerly awaited return of Serena Williams NYSE WMB to the women s game after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia last September failed to deliver the American a record equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title although she was tantalizingly close It is not the majestic tennis she played en route to the Wimbledon and U S Open finals that will be remembered however but her controversial Flushing Meadows showdown against Japan s Naomi Osaka and the ensuing fall out and allegations of sexism In one of the most infamous matches played in the New York cauldron Williams raged after being given a code violation for off court coaching in the second set got a point penalty for angrily smashing a racket and was docked a game for calling umpire Carlos Ramos a liar Osaka who has since turned 21 somehow stayed calm in the bedlam to beat her childhood idol but was reduced to tears as the crowd booed during the post match presentations angry at the perceived unfair treatment of the queen of women s tennis Patience paid off for two of the WTA s ultimate battlers Denmark s Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep on an oven like Rod Laver Arena to win the Australian Open and claim her first Grand Slam title at the 43rd attempt A few months later Halep became the first Romanian to win a Grand Slam title for 40 years as she beat American Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros COULDN T BREATHE She had lost her previous three finals including the year before in Paris from a winning position but after losing the first set against Stephens roared back to claim the most popular victory of the year In the last game I couldn t breathe I just didn t want to repeat what happened the other years Halep who finished 2018 as world number one said Germany s Angelique Kerber ripped up the script at Wimbledon Serena Williams had looked unstoppable during a blazing fortnight on the All England Club lawns and was odds on to claim an eighth singles title equal Margaret Court s 24 slams and become the first mum to win Wimbledon for 38 years With support in the Royal Box from friend Meghan Markle wife of Britain s Prince Harry the stage was set for Serena but an inspired Kerber dropped just six games to become the first German woman to win the title since Steffi Graf in 1996 That final was controversially played after the conclusion of the men s semi between Djokovic and Nadal itself delayed by South African Kevin Anderson s epic six hour 36 minute defeat of American John Isner 26 24 in the deciding set Djokovic took brutal advantage of a fatigued Anderson in the final and later in the year Wimbledon called time on never ending matches as they announced that from 2019 onwards tiebreaks would be played at 12 12 in the decider Wimbledon lit the blue touch paper for Djokovic who had entered the Championships seeded 12 after slipping to his lowest ranking since 2006 After ending a two year Grand Slam drought he went 28 3 for the rest of the year including winning 16 consecutive sets to march to the U S Open title where he beat Argentina s Juan Martin del Potro in the final That took him level on 14 Grand Slams with Pete Sampras and hunting Nadal 17 and Federer 20 on the all time list Young guns like Zverev Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov are expected to chip away at the old order in 2019 but the changing of the guard is happening at a glacial pace Time has caught up with the 118 year old Davis Cup however This year s final won by Croatia in France was the last before a controversial revamp kicks in after sweeping changes were voted in by the International Tennis Federation
Next November in Madrid 18 nations will contest a soccer World Cup style climax to the event |
WMB | FLM All 32 Team by team NFL notes | AFC EAST Buffalo Bills While his team sits at 5 9 and he continues to rely on young players who bring little fanfare coach Sean McDermott actually believes such reliance is proof his plan is working It s really the type of culture we re trying to build where I can walk into the team meeting room on Wednesday morning and say Hey Player X has earned the right to be brought up to the active roster McDermott said during his Monday news conference noting he played six undrafted rookies Sunday And the players I think they really get a lot of motivation out of that and take pride in that because they know what type of culture we re trying to build and that you ve got to earn things here Miami Dolphins With veteran Frank Gore likely out the remainder of the season with a foot injury Dolphins coach Adam Gase has some evaluating to do at running back these last two games One back likely to get more carries is rookie Kalen Ballage After rushing for a total of 11 yards in his first nine games Ballage broke out with 123 yards including a 75 yard score against the Vikings But don t count Gase among those surprised That long run he had that s how he runs every day at practice Gase said That s how he finishes every day When he gets a carry with the offense he finishes in the end zone New England Patriots The Patriots have surrendered at least 150 yards rushing five times this season and are 1 4 in those games That includes the last two games both losses But don t expect Bill Belichick to place a renewed emphasis on stopping the run as the postseason approaches Look each week you try to defend whatever the offense your opponents do running game and passing game situational football third down red area and everything else Belichick said during his weekly conference call So what you do is a function of what they do and that s really more of a week to week thing for us Whatever the league trends are or aren t I don t really know that it matters It doesn t really matter what the whole league does New York Jets While the Jets on Saturday hit double digit losses for the third straight season and fourth time in five seasons this offseason is sure to be different with rookie quarterback Sam Darnold providing the franchise plenty of hope for the future Coach Todd Bowles may not be around to see Darnold develop beyond this season but he offered his take on a key to Darnold s success and it s not necessarily his arm He got out of the pocket and made some plays He gave us a chance to try and win the ball game Bowles said during a conference call on Sunday He s getting comfortable he s making plays with his feet and he s finding the open areas AFC NORTH Baltimore Ravens Safety Eric Weddle gets to see former teammate Philip Rivers before Christmas but he s not in much of a festive move about the Ravens drawing one of the AFC s best teams the Los Angeles Chargers given the rest disparity It s obviously a disadvantage Weddle said of the schedule working against Baltimore with the Chargers having 10 days between Week 15 and Week 16 games By comparison the Ravens enter Saturday s game on less than normal rest We re going to use this as motivation Weddle said It s stacked up against us We re going to be the underdog No one is going to think we re going to win This just adds to the game Would we like to have 10 days to prepare for one of the best teams in the league Of course but we don t Cincinnati Bengals Another key skill position player is likely done for the season Wide receiver Tyler Boyd has a sprained MCL and needs at least two weeks to recover With only two games remaining he s a candidate for injured reserve where he would join quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A J Green though head coach Marvin Lewis said no decision has been made yet Boyd reached his goal of becoming the first Cincinnati wide receiver to reach 1 000 yards in a season not named Green since Chad Johnson did it in 2009 Now he s looking at bigger targets to knock down in 2019 Hopefully I get into the Pro Bowl I ve been working my tail off each and every day Boyd said Cleveland Browns Interim head coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB said he believes the Browns are shaking the losing culture that has defined the franchise since returning to the NFL in 1999 But he prefers players focus on the next day instead of the next milestone on the schedule At 6 7 1 the Browns are still barely alive in the playoff chase I would say that our guys understand there is a good young team in there Williams said We have to continue to focus on week after week after week on don t look ahead Do not look ahead That is when things start to maybe become more distractions that we were just talking about Pittsburgh Steelers First round safety Terrell Edmunds and the Steelers kept Tom Brady Co without a touchdown in three red zone opportunities and without a point in two goal to go situations on Sunday which the rookie said was all part of the mindset implanted by the defense early in the week It was like a playoff game for us Edmunds said We just lost three games in a row We just have to come together as a team come together on Tuesday and keep it going AFC SOUTH Houston Texans Running back D Onta Foreman could make his season debut when the Texans play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Foreman is 13 months removed from his last NFL carry after suffering a torn Achilles but has been progressing in practices Another factor is that starter Lamar Miller departed last Saturday s game against the New York Jets with an ankle injury and he may turn out to be a game day decision Houston coach Bill O Brien knows what we wants to see from Foreman should he be active against the Eagles Obviously good vision O Brien told the media Monday Good knowledge of how the play s being blocked decisive running continuing to improve in his knowledge of pass protection Just good solid play Take care of the ball No 1 Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis is one of the hottest teams in the NFL with seven wins in eight games and is one of three 8 6 teams along with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans fighting for an AFC playoff spot Sunday s 23 0 victory over the Dallas Cowboys was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball and has the franchise hopeful of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2014 We re playing great football receiver T Y Hilton told reporters Right now you re either the train or you re on the tracks Right now we re rolling so you better get on the train Quarterback Andrew Luck professes to be hearing none of the playoff chatter We don t live in holes but I haven t heard talk about it all and that s not a lie Luck said Jacksonville Jaguars A season of high expectations continues to be miserable for the Jaguars and veteran defensive end Calais Campbell said the preseason optimism makes the hard fall hurt even worse This is as bad as it gets Campbell told reporters I truly believed we were capable of winning a Super Bowl this year and we underachieved at the highest level It s all bad That s hard to deal with sometimes But at the end of the day you have to take it for what it s worth and try to learn from it Campbell said the season isn t entirely lost because there are lessons can be learned They re going to learn tough lessons Campbell said Hopefully we can use this kind of season to give us that motivation going forward I guess if there are any positives to take it s that there are a lot of lessons to be learned that can be beneficial to this team going forward Tennessee Titans Running back Derrick Henry set a franchise record with 408 rushing yards over a two game span surpassing legendary Hall of Famer Earl Campbell 405 in 1980 from the club s Houston Oilers era Henry had just 474 yards through 12 games before suddenly emerging as a force Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said Henry s confidence is through the roof Another factor may be that the 24 year old Henry has fresh legs after averaging just 10 7 carries through the first 12 games before averaging 25 over the past two I think that Derrick has to be 23 24 years old so I hope that his legs stay fresh Vrabel said I see how hard he works He is one of our offseason award winners for how hard he trained in the offseason and the amount of work he puts in So I know he is in great condition AFC WEST Denver Broncos The Broncos 6 8 are officially out of playoff contention but they still have a milestone to play for The team hasn t had back to back losing seasons since 1971 72 a streak it would keep alive with wins over the Raiders and Chargers over the final two weeks Absolutely head coach Vance Joseph told the media Monday when asked if that s a goal We want to win These next two games are important for us to finish the right way That part is very important to me It s about winning That s what it s about It s not about losing it s about winning That s very important to our football team and our coaches Kansas City Chiefs Eric Berry s return to the playing field for the first time since the 2017 opener was without setbacks but the team will remain patient in increasing his snaps He ll continue to increase time and we ll see how that disperses out there and what the plan will be for this coming week head coach Andy Reid said The positive was that he came out feeling good He was sore he hadn t played in a long time Meanwhile right guard Laurent Duvernay Tardif is not ready yet in his recovery from a spiral fracture in his leg that required surgery but Reid said he still has a shot at returning sometime this season Los Angeles Chargers The Chargers emerged from Thursday night with not only a victory over the Chiefs but also nine days to prepare for the Baltimore Ravens The extra time was ideal head coach Anthony Lynn said given the schematic complexity of the Ravens offense You re playing a team that is really unconventional compared to what we ve seen all year with that rushing attack so many schemes and the way they re using their quarterback Lynn said They re using their quarterback like a running back It makes it difficult for a defense You have to be disciplined you have to be in your gaps There s a lot to prepare for Oakland Raiders With a legal dispute ongoing between the city of Oakland and the Raiders Sunday s game against the Broncos could be the last game the Raiders ever play at the Oakland Coliseum Head coach Jon Gruden who coached in the stadium for four years from 1998 2001 will miss the environment Just raging in the Black Hole Gruden recalled of his favorite memories Rocking and raging down there after the Steeler game in Week 14 after a lot of wins over the years Seeing a lot of the old highlights of great Raider teams I get excited I get emotional about it and hopefully we get it all resolved so we can continue to play there The Raiders home in 2019 remains unclear as they await moving into a new stadium in Las Vegas in 2020 NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys While five straight wins lifted the Cowboys to the top of the NFC East did they also help Dallas get a little too cocky That question was asked of head coach Jason Garrett at his weekly news conference Monday following his team s 23 0 loss at Indianapolis but that s not the way he sees it I think the best thing we ve done here over the last five weeks is we understand the challenges of the game and I think we ve been mentally tough over the course of these last five games Garrett said We just didn t do what we needed to do to win the game yesterday Period It s really as simple as that He later added Ultimately the Colts ran the ball too easily in the game New York Giants Despite his team officially eliminated from playoff contention Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said quarterback Eli Manning will start Week 16 at the Indianapolis Colts avoiding the temptation to start fourth round rookie Kyle Lauletta I think we re going to try to put the player in that gives us the best chance to win Shurmur said We ll see if that involves Kyle Eli playing QB I think gives us the best chance to win The coach also indicated the team isn t in a hurry to move on from Manning whom Shurmur said he still believes has years left as an NFL starter Yeah I want Manning back in 2019 Shurmur said I want all our players to be back I believe experience matters Philadelphia Eagles A day after Nick Foles led the Eagles to a road win against the Los Angeles Rams coach Doug Pederson announced the Super Bowl MVP will get the start again in Week 16 Carson Wentz remains out with a back injury but will not yet be placed on injured reserve Pederson said while discussing his team s approach toward the Houston Texans next weekend It will be Nick starting Where Carson is health wise and just another week of rest for Carson will help him So we made the decision to go forward with Nick We will not put Carson on IR Wentz has a fractured vertebra that might require three months of rest to fully heal Washington Redskins The Redskins not only broke a four game losing streak Sunday but also kept their playoff hopes alive And they did it despite quarterback Josh Johnson making his first start since 2011 One thing that may have helped Johnson settle in was a piece of advice coach Jay Gruden gave him before the game Calm down But why did Gruden think Johnson needed to calm down I saw him playing catch and he threw one 180 miles an hour at the guy and almost killed him Gruden said So yeah I told him to relax calm down and then everything s going to be fine But he s got a lot of poise for a guy who just got here and a lot of confidence NFC NORTH Chicago Bears A division title in hand doesn t mean Bears head coach Matt Nagy is ready to back off the accelerator The Bears could still be as low as the No 4 seed in the NFC depending on the results of the final two games Right now we ve got to win Nagy said Monday Winning could come with its challenges as linebacker Aaron Lynch elbow and safety Eddie Jackson ankle are down with injuries Nagy said the team is hopeful neither injury is season ending but there are no expectations yet for their Week 16 status Detroit Lions Players are not using the term spoiler but the Lions are geared up for Minnesota a division opponent that whipped Detroit 24 9 and sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford 10 times last month If you love to play this game every time you go out there is another opportunity to do the best you can linebacker Christian Jones said We still have a lot to play for We all want to finish strong Offensive tackle Taylor Decker said the Lions want to win to fight through growing pains and establish an identity moving forward Green Bay Packers Outside linebacker Clay Matthews said the Packers will keep fighting despite falling out of playoff contention with Sunday s loss at Chicago I don t think anybody anticipated having a losing season It is what it is Matthews said We re that close to having this whole thing flipped but that s all you can say in hindsight We just haven t done enough We haven t made those few plays that usually turn the game in our favor Minnesota Vikings Simplifying the offense was a goal of head coach Mike Zimmer s when he made a change at offensive coordinator last week elevating quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski to the play calling role Zimmer liked the result Sunday 220 rushing yards and 41 points in a win over the Dolphins but said not to oversell what happened in the build up to Week 14 We ran like one play 10 times but with 10 different variations so sometimes that s what it is too Zimmer said Monday You format it differently and you get them in different looks so they can t key on one thing but you re basically running the same play NFC SOUTH Atlanta Falcons Tevin Coleman rushed for a career best 145 yards in Sunday s win over the Arizona Cardinals to at least temporarily pump life into the team s sagging running game Coleman s big outing boosted the Falcons out of the cellar of the NFL rankings they are now 31st at 90 7 yards per game and may prompt Atlanta to decide to make a bid to retain his services The fourth year back s contract runs out after the season and receiver Julio Jones hopes the team brings him back I mean he s an amazing running back Jones said of Coleman He doesn t get the credit he deserves but he s one of the best backs in the league by far His speed his vision everything about him Coleman has rushed for a career best 704 this season while Devonta Freeman the NFL s third highest paid back has been limited to two games due to various injuries Meanwhile rookie back Ito Smith will go on injured reserve to have knee surgery meaning even more work for Coleman in the final two weeks Carolina Panthers Host the New Orleans Saints on Monday night New Orleans Saints Visit the Carolina Panthers on Monday night Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rookie defensive tackle Vita Vea flashed his potential with nine tackles in Sunday s loss to the Baltimore Ravens after accumulating just 12 in his first 10 NFL appearances The 12th overall pick injured a calf muscle early in training camp and missed the entire preseason as well as the first three regular season games That left him behind in conditioning and then he was initially overwhelmed by how fast the game is played in the NFL I think now I m just comfortable with it Vea told reporters The game s slowed down for me Just getting back in the flow of things Coach Dirk Koetter was impressed with what he saw from Vea against the Ravens Vita is really starting to play exactly like we watched on his college tape Koetter said during a press conference He s playing violent he s running to the football getting off blocks so much better and making plays laterally as well as just knocking the line of scrimmage back NFC WEST Arizona Cardinals Most first year head coaches have plenty of job security but many have questioned whether Steve Wilks will be back after the Cardinals fell to 3 11 with another blowout defeat on Sunday CBS Sports reported Sunday that Wilks job is in jeopardy and the Arizona Republic said Monday his firing seems a foregone conclusion Various reports have also suggested general manager Steve Keim s job could be in jeopardy Keim signed an extension through 2022 in February but he has since pled guilty to extreme DUI and the roster fell apart this season with several recent draft classes disappointing Keim has been with the Cardinals since 1999 working his way up after starting as a regional scout Arizona won 34 games during his first three seasons on the job reaching the NFC Championship in 2015 Los Angeles Rams Once coasting at 8 0 the Rams are 3 3 since and their two game losing streak has suddenly created the possibility that they could miss out on a first round playoff bye Holding the tiebreaker from their meeting in Week 14 the Chicago Bears would jump the Rams in the standings by winning out and getting one loss from L A Linebacker Dante Fowler Jr told reporters the importance of getting the bye makes Sunday s matchup at the Cardinals a huge one We gotta play it like it s our last game and play like it s a must win game Fowler said We know what s in front of us We ve just got to go take it The Rams close the season at home against the 49ers San Francisco 49ers On the practice squad before the season Nick Mullens continues to impress head coach Kyle Shanahan who was asked Monday if he planned to get C J Beathard any work in the final two games Nick deserves to be in Shanahan said Nick s played very well and he s gotten better as he s gone I thought yesterday was probably Nick s best game especially the way he finished it in that fourth quarter He s done too good of a job We d love to get C J more playing time but Nick s earned it and I m not taking him out Looking forward to next year when starter Jimmy Garoppolo will be healthy Shanahan is excited about his quarterback trio It s neat when you have some choices that you believe you can win with he said I think we ve got three guys in our building that give us a chance to win
Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks emerged from Sunday s overtime loss at San Francisco with a few key injuries but they could be getting reinforcements for Sunday night s game against the Kansas City Chiefs Head coach Pete Carroll said linebacker K J Wright knee will return to practice this week though it s unclear if he ll play for the first time since Week 10 He s going to practice this week so we ll see how he does Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle He looked fine last week in the amount of work that we gave him Right guard D J Fluker hamstring also has a chance to return which would be a major boost after replacement Jordan Simmons went down with a knee injury that Caroll said is going to be an issue Field Level Media |
WMB | U S Cuba lobby celebrates a farm bill win despite worsening ties | By Marc Frank HAVANA Reuters U S legislation funding 867 billion in food and agriculture programs scheduled to be signed by U S President Donald Trump this week includes Department of Agriculture funds to help American farmers promote their products in Communist run Cuba The measure is the first approved by Congress related to heavily sanctioned Cuba in nearly two decades and represents a symbolic victory for the lobby favoring normalization of ties whose fortunes rose under former president Barack Obama and have crashed under Trump Congress first authorized agricultural sales to Cuba for cash in 2000 The farm bill approved by both houses of Congress last week goes a step further by including Cuba for the first time in the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program which help U S farmers offset the costs of overseas marketing although it still does not provide credit for such sales Now we can interact with more levels of Cuban society including cooperatives farmers and end users to do research and market our products Paul Johnson Chair of the U S Agricultural Coalition for Cuba said The coalition is made up of more than 100 soy to wheat farm and industry groups With close to 6 billion in sales to Cuba since 2000 U S agribusiness and farmers have pushed to normalize trade and win permission to sell food on credit in hopes of capturing more of Cuba s nearly 2 billion annual purchases of food abroad Trump in alliance with hard line Cuban exiles has promised to undo the fragile detente begun by his predecessor The administration has tightened travel regulations forbidden doing business with or patronizing military controlled Cuban entities and cut back on the negotiations begun by the Obama administration Under Trump the State Department last year slashed staff at the newly opened U S Embassy in Havana and expelled 17 diplomats from Cuba s Embassy in Washington after a series of still unexplained health incidents that affected 25 U S diplomats James Williams NYSE WMB President of Engage Cuba an organization working to normalize relations with Cuba said the measure was significant as it passed a Republican Congress adding that he is hoping for progress on credit for food sales this year Before passage Senator Marco Rubio tweaked the farm bill to ensure it would not benefit the Cuban military which operates a broad swath of businesses on the Caribbean island Should it be found that taxpayer dollars are being used to benefit the military appropriate action must be taken Rubio s spokesperson Olivia Peres Cubas said responding to an e mail query Despite the deteriorating political climate between the old Cold War foes much of the economic thaw begun under Obama from food sales to travel and communications remains in place That is in large part due to the political clout of agricultural groups whose membership often support the Republican Party
Agriculture does have an advantage despite the current political environment Johnson said The agriculture issue has bipartisan support and the fact that food touches everyone s life in Cuba rather than one sector or group of people |
WMB | Penny Marshall Big director and TV s Laverne dead at 75 | By Will Dunham WASHINGTON Reuters Penny Marshall who played an endearingly graceless character with a thick Bronx accent in U S television s Laverne Shirley before becoming a pioneering film director with hits including Big and A League of Their Own has died at 75 her publicist said on Tuesday Marshall died of complications of diabetes Monday at her home in Hollywood Hills California her publicist Michelle Bega said in a phone interview Marshall played the unrefined but lovable Laverne DeFazio on Laverne Shirley a situation comedy that ran on the ABC network from 1976 to 1983 following the lives of two single women and their nutty friends in 1950s and 60s Milwaukee Marshall known for her bluntness described the success of the series this way We dared to be stupid Marshall the younger sister of successful TV and film director and producer Garry Marshall turned to directing after her series ended Her first film was the underwhelming 1986 Whoopi Goldberg comedy Jumpin Jack Flash but that was followed by the charming 1988 hit Big starring fellow former TV sitcom star Tom Hanks Hanks delivered a great performance in the wistful comedy as a 12 year old boy whose wish to become an adult is magically granted The film is known for its classic scene in which Hanks and Robert Loggia play duets by dancing on a toy store s foot operated electronic keyboard The success of Big made Marshall the first woman to direct a film that made more than 100 million at the U S box office The 1992 women s baseball comedy A League of Their Own made her the first woman to direct two films topping 100 million at the U S box office Hanks also appeared in A League of Their Own alongside Geena Davis Rosie O Donnell and pop star Madonna in the story of the first female professional baseball league The film s most famous line comes after a player starts sobbing when Hanks the team s irascible manager chews her out for a baseball blunder Are you crying Hanks asks with incredulity There s no crying There s no crying in baseball Marshall noted that the starring role in Big almost went to tough guy actor Robert De Niro who she would later direct in Awakenings 1990 also starring Robin Williams NYSE WMB Awakenings was nominated for three Academy Awards including best picture Other films Marshall directed included Renaissance Man 1994 with Danny DeVito The Preacher s Wife 1996 with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston and Riding in Cars with Boys 2001 with Drew Barrymore Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall the Marshall family said in a statement adding that Penny was a tomboy who loved sports doing puzzles of any kind drinking milk and Pepsi together and being with her family Thousands of social media users including many celebrities expressed their condolences on Twitter Actor James Woods wrote online I am absolutely devastated PennyMarshall was one of my dearest friends I loved her Funny warm a true individual and remarkable talent RidingInCarsWithBoys Thank you Penny Marshall For the trails you blazed The laughs you gave The hearts you warmed wrote director Ava Duvernay I LL TRY ANYTHING She said her lack of fear of being thrown out of Hollywood helped her succeed I ll try anything What are they gonna do kick me out of show business Marshall told Reuters in 2012 I didn t have that problem because I wasn t ambitious enough Laverne Shirley was a spinoff from the popular Happy Days series created by her brother Garry Laverne Shirley also starred Cindy Williams as Shirley indelicate tomboy Laverne s more well mannered apartment roommate and brewery co worker Laverne was known for a cursive L monogrammed on her shirts and guzzling milk and Pepsi The supporting cast included Michael McKean and David Lander as goofy neighbors Lenny and Squiggy The series ran for eight seasons with 178 total episodes Marshall chronicled her life in a 2012 book My Mother Was Nuts filled with stories about growing up in New York City s Bronx borough her dance instructor mother and Marshall s drug fueled times in the 1970s among famous names She also battled health problems including dual diagnoses of lung cancer and a brain tumor in 2009 Before Laverne Shirley Marshall appeared as sports writer Oscar Madison s secretary Myrna on the sitcom The Odd Couple and popped up as a neighbor of main character Mary Richards on Mary Tyler Moore She was a finalist for the role of Gloria daughter of the bigoted Archie Bunker on the successful sitcom All in the Family but did not get the role That series also starred future film director Rob Reiner The Princess Bride When Harry Met Sally and This Is Spinal Tap to whom Marshall was married from 1971 to 1979
She had a daughter Tracy from an earlier first marriage |
VZ | The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Verizon AT T T Mobile Sprint And United States Cellular | For Immediate ReleaseChicago IL January 15 2019 Zacks com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets Stocks recently featured in the blog include Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE S Sprint Corp NYSE S and United States Cellular Corp NYSE S Here are highlights from Monday s Analyst Blog 5G Wireless Network Race Set to Begin in 2019Forget 4G LTE Long Term Evolution the stage is set for 5G wireless race in the U S telecom space With the U S telecom industry continuously evolving companies in the sector are fighting it out to stay ahead of the curve A growing U S economy speeds up the demand for real time voice data and video manifold The escalation in demand has encouraged telecom service providers to undertake large network extensions while upgrading plans Wireless operators will thrive on 5G network in 2019 Strong Wireless MarketWith rapid growth in video and other bandwidth intensive applications the wireless industry participants are making considerable investments in LTE broadband and fiber in order to provide additional capacity and ramp up Internet and wireless networks The LTE network has the highest penetration rate of 91 in the North American region The impending 5G boom is likely to propel the wireless industry to newer heights The success of 5G technology hinges on substantial investments to upgrade infrastructure in the core fiber backhaul network to support anticipated growth in data services Advantage of 5G Wireless NetworkThe United States is progressing well to lead the world in 5G the next generation of wireless connectivity which will enable faster speeds and low latency wireless broadband services 5G networks will be ten times faster than 4G networks Although 5G network is not likely to replace existing 4G standards on large scale before 2020 several telecom behemoths are expected to launch 5G smartphones in this year Latency period of 5G data delivery will be in milliseconds Further 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless network available now Consequently 5G enabled mobile devices are likely to last significantly longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts The rising demand for technologically superior products has been a silver lining for the telecom space in an otherwise tough environment In this respect the superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost necessity in managing the exponential growth of internet connected devices popularly known as Internet of Things IoT While 3G wireless network enabled seamless internet connectivity to mobile phone 4G standard helped companies which thrive on mobile connectivity Notably 5G wireless network is likely to boost high tech artificial intelligence based products significantly Major 5G Network OperatorsIn the United States all four national wireless operators Verizon Communications Inc AT T Inc T Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp will start rolling 5G networks in 2019 Moreover United States Cellular Corp and others are also likely to follow suite Sprint carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Bottom LineThe need to remain connected is a human condition An era of digitization and technology is essentially built on this need It is here that telecommunications come to the fore as a necessary utility In 2019 we expect 5G wireless network to be a game changer in the telecom space with a full fledged deployment in 2020 Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation Media ContactZacks Investment Research800 767 3771 ext 9339 Past performance is no guarantee of future results Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment legal accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy sell or hold a security No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor It should not be assumed that any investments in securities companies sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking market making or asset management activities of any securities These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks The S P 500 is an unmanaged index Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release |
VZ | T Mobile s Legere We ll beat duopoly to real mobile 5G | In a typically outspoken set of predictions for 2018 T Mobile TMUS 0 5 CEO John Legere says his company will leapfrog the industry s top two carriers Verizon VZ 0 8 and AT T T 0 6 to be first to a real mobile nationwide 5G network in 2020 He credits the company s actions in the 600 MHz spectrum auction one of the most under reported stories of the past year Our epic low band spectrum haul blankets the country from coast to coast and ensures we can do two VERY big things First though our coverage ALREADY goes toe to toe with Verizon and has all the carriers scared to death we ll continue to grow and strengthen our LTE coverage today and second we announced we d use part of that spectrum to build nationwide 5G Meanwhile he s criticizing the emphasis on millimeter wave usage at the top two vs T Mobile s low band approach saying Dumb and Dumber are focusing on 5G hotspots that won t work when you leave your home Now read |
WMB | Some see devil s work as Ukrainian Church prepares to split with Russia | By Matthias Williams NYSE WMB and Margaryta Chornokondratenko KOROSTEN Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian security service officers raided the Orthodox Christian cathedral in this northwestern town this month saying it suspected its Russia aligned clergy of spreading religious hatred But Archpriest Anatoliy the senior priest at the Cathedral of the Nativity saw the raid as a hostile act in a theological battle between Ukraine s two main Orthodox factions that is part of a broader political conflict between Ukraine and Russia The cathedral is aligned with Russian Orthodoxy and part of a church which is widely referred to in Ukraine as the Moscow Patriarchate that is pitted against what is known as the Kiev Patriarchate I told them you have your own methods you have your own strength and we have our own strength You serve the devil and I serve God Anatoliy said of the raid on the gold domed cathedral in Korosten 145 km 90 miles northwest of Kiev These are their usual methods intimidation intimidation terror he said dismissing the SBU security service s allegations The raid was one of several on churches with ties to Moscow in the run up to a council in Kiev on Saturday at which Ukrainian priests will establish a new national church breaking hundreds of years of relations with the Russian clergy The decision follows a synod in October presided over by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians which endorsed Ukraine s request for an autocephalous or independent church Ukraine s pro Western leaders say the move is essential to keep Ukraine safe from what they see as Russian meddling and Moscow s neocolonial ambitions President Petro Poroshenko compares it to the security umbrella that would be offered by membership of the NATO defense alliance But the Russian Orthodox Church has portrayed it as the biggest split in Christianity for 1 000 years and Saturday s council is taking place at a time of heightened tension between Kiev and Moscow Ukraine imposed martial law last month after Russia captured three of its vessels in the Kerch Strait between Russia s mainland and the Crimea peninsula Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a pro Moscow president was ousted in street protests in Kiev and backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 10 000 ALLEGATIONS OF INCITEMENT AND BULLYING The SBU worries Russia is using the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate to incite tensions as cover to invade The deliberate instigation by the Russian special services of inter church conflicts in Ukraine to be combined with provoking direct acts of terrorism may become a pretext for open military invasion by the Russian Federation s armed forces of our country SBU Chief Vasyl Hrytsak said Showing video footage and phone intercepts at a briefing on Thursday the SBU said it had uncovered a plot to instigate protests before the council Moscow has denied allegations of meddling in Ukraine and the Moscow Patriarchate sees the SBU raids as an attempt to bully its clergy into attending the council Saturday s council at the 11th century St Sophia Cathedral in Kiev will decide the make up of the new church and elect its leader The leader will then go to Istanbul to receive what is known as a tomos or decree for independence The Moscow Patriarchate has said it will boycott the event and punish any priest who takes part We do not recognize its legitimacy This is not a council this is a gang of bandits who have gathered to do their work take over temples and destroy the church Anatoliy said Religions divisions in Ukraine widened as relations between the West and Russia sank in 2014 The Moscow Patriarchate sees itself as the one true church but authorities accuse it of being a Kremlin stooge helping to spread Russian propaganda and aiding the rebels The Moscow Patriarchate denies doing this and calls the independent church a ploy by Poroshenko to boost his ratings before a presidential election in March
The Kiev Patriarchate was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its popularity has grown since 2014 It favors European integration and champions an independent church but the Moscow Patriarchate denounces it as schismatic |
WMB | Chargers gamble results in key win over Chiefs | Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers fired a touchdown pass with four seconds remaining Thursday connecting with Mike Williams NYSE WMB then the same duo added a decisive two point conversion as visiting Los Angeles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 29 28 Rivers engineered two touchdowns in the final four minutes to rally the Chargers from a 28 14 deficit The result leaves the Chargers and Chiefs tied atop the AFC West with 11 3 records though the Chiefs hold a tiebreaker with a better division mark Los Angeles snapped a nine game losing streak to Kansas City and also snapped the Chiefs nine game home winning streak Rivers threw for 313 yards going 26 of 38 and overcoming two first half interceptions The Chargers were without their top two running backs Melvin Gordon knee and Austin Ekeler concussion Also their top receiver Keenan Allen left in the first quarter with a hip injury and did not have a reception Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 243 yards going 24 of 34 with two touchdowns Damien Williams also scored two rushing TDs in the second half The victory was the fourth straight for Los Angeles and was just the second loss in 22 games for Kansas City against a division rival Kansas City scored on its opening drive for the 10th time this season and produced an eighth touchdown in those marches a 6 yard pass from Mahomes to Demarcus Robinson The Chiefs then went up 14 0 as Mahomes found rookie running back Darrel Williams for an 11 yard score with 43 seconds left in the first quarter Rivers was intercepted on his first and final attempts of the first half He was also sacked four times before the break five times overall The first interception by cornerback Steven Nelson set up the Chiefs at the Los Angeles 49 for their first TD drive The second pick by cornerback Kendall Fuller came in the end zone and halted a 14 play drive to the Kansas City 11 with 54 seconds left and preserved a 14 7 lead for the Chiefs at the break
The Chargers only first half score came with 9 43 left on a 3 yard pass from Rivers to Williams after Los Angeles capitalized on two holding calls against the Kansas City secondary Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Steelers expecting RB Conner back for Pats | Steelers running back James Conner practiced on a limited basis Friday and is expected to return to the Pittsburgh lineup for a key AFC affair with the New England Patriots on Sunday Conner was seen walking without a limp after Thursday s practice and declared himself ready to roll but the Steelers will officially list him as questionable The renewal of the Steelers Patriots rivalry is a headliner of Week 15 as Pittsburgh slides into the game on a three game losing streak holding a narrow lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North and at risk of being thrust into a dogfight with numerous teams for the final spot in the AFC playoffs with another loss Conner has 1 376 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin will miss a game for the first time in his career Sunday bringing to end a streak of 77 straight regular season starts A Pro Bowl selection each of his first four seasons and a two time first team All Pro Martin was ruled out against the Colts because of a knee injury Rookie Connor Williams NYSE WMB will start in Martin s place New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr has been ruled out of Sunday s game against the Tennessee Titans as he recovers from an ailing quadriceps coach Pat Shurmur announced Beckham originally injured in Week 12 against Philadelphia missed last Sunday s victory over the Redskins because of the injury Beckham has 77 receptions for 1 052 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games this season Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller was to undergo surgery for a fractured wrist Friday and is likely to miss time NFL Network reported Fuller played with the injury in Thursday s 29 28 loss to the Chargers While a recovery window will reportedly be established once the surgery is performed it typically takes six weeks for a complete recovery from a wrist fracture That would stretch to the AFC championship game or even the Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was downgraded to doubtful for his team s game against the Rams on the official injury report because of a stress fracture in his back Head coach Doug Pederson said that Wentz will need up to three months for a complete recovery The team is measuring whether Wentz could do significant damage by playing in a game with the injury Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin was a practice participant for the second straight day and is expected to be available when the team visits the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Baldwin missed Monday night s win over the Minnesota Vikings due to a hip injury The Seahawks listed him as questionable for the game against San Francisco The New York Jets are placing leading rusher Isaiah Crowell on injured reserve with a toe injury according to ESPN s Adam Schefter Coach Todd Bowles said Elijah McGuire 158 yards and rookie Trenton Cannon 80 will get heavy work in the backfield in an effort to make up for Crowell s production 685 yards six touchdowns The NFL indefinitely suspended Oakland Raiders receiver Martavis Bryant for violating his reinstatement terms stemming from a previous ban under the league s substance abuse policy The 27 year old reportedly violated the NFL s substance abuse policy during the offseason but played through appeal He was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season and the entire 2016 season because of positive drug tests while he was with the Steelers Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was fined 26 739 for lowering his head to initiate contact Sunday against Philadelphia defensive back Corey Graham Elliott s second fine in four weeks First year Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy received seven of 10 possible first place votes among a panel of 10 Associated Press football writers asked to name the NFL coach doing the best job this season The Jacksonville Jaguars signed kicker Kai Forbath in case Josh Lambo right groin injury is unable to kick Sunday against the Washington Redskins
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees finished first in the fan ballot portion of Pro Bowl voting with 1 270 631 votes Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes 1 197 370 votes was second Field Level Media |
WMB | Ukraine s President names leader of new church in split from Russia | By Pavel Polityuk and Matthias Williams NYSE WMB KIEV Reuters Ukraine chose the head of a new national Orthodox church on Saturday marking an historic split from Russia which its leaders see as vital to the country s security and independence President Petro Poroshenko said 39 year old Metropolitan Epifaniy of the Kiev Patriarchate church had been chosen as head of the church by a council comparing the move to Ukraine s referendum for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 This day will go into history as a sacred day the day of the final independence from Russia Poroshenko told thousands of supporters who shouted glory glory glory And Ukraine will no longer drink in the words of Taras Shevchenko Moscow s poison from Moscow s cup he said quoting the country s national poet Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following Moscow s seizure of Crimea in 2014 Ukraine imposed martial law in November citing the threat of a full scale invasion after Russia captured three of its vessels in the Kerch Strait The Ukrainian Orthodox church has been beholden to Moscow for hundreds of years and Ukraine s leaders see church independence as vital to tackling Russian meddling Kiev says Moscow backed churches on its soil are a Kremlin tool to spread propaganda and support fighters in the eastern Donbass region in a conflict that has killed more than 10 000 people The churches strongly deny this Epifaniy was chosen by a council at the St Sophia Cathedral in Kiev built by the son of Prince Volodymyr whose baptism in 988 led to the spread of Christianity in the region A triumphant Poroshenko arrived in the morning shaking hands with people clenching his fist and crossing himself The new church may boost the pro Western leader who lobbied hard for its creation and faces a tight election race in March It is a church without a prayer for Russian power and the Russian army that kills Ukrainians Poroshenko told the crowd after the announcement was made But Russia bitterly opposes the split comparing it to the Great Schism of 1054 that divided western and eastern Christianity Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill made a last ditch appeal this week against the process On Saturday the Russian church called the council a failure because only two members of the church it supports in Ukraine had attended the meeting according to Interfax news Spokesman Metropolitan Hilarion said the plan to persuade the canonical Ukrainian church to participate in the creation of the new structure failed with the exception of two traitors ROUGH PRESSURE Ukraine won approval for the new church in October from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul the seat of the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians We want to support the process of Ukraine s split from Moscow and for us to have our own church which is not governed from the Kremlin said Lyudmyla Alekseyeva 66 a pensioner who had come to the event with her daughter and granddaughter The church should not depend on those who fight against us in the Donbass Supporters wore ribbons in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag with the message We are going our own way Many had waited outside in freezing temperatures while the council deliberated Religious divisions deepened in Ukraine after 2014 and two Orthodox factions vie for dominance The church known as the Moscow Patriarchate aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church sees itself as the only legitimate church in Ukraine The rival Kiev Patriarchate was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its popularity has grown since 2014 It favors European integration and championed the independent church but the Moscow Patriarchate denounces it as schismatic Ukraine s state security service raided Moscow Patriarchate church properties in the run up to the council but denied the raids were an attempt to silence opposition to independence Patriarch Kirill had appealed to world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the council
Recently the intervention of the leaders of the secular Ukrainian state in church affairs has acquired the character of rough pressure which allows us to speak about the beginning of full scale persecutions he said |
WMB | Israel signals displeasure at Australia s mistaken West Jerusalem move | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Israel signalled displeasure on Sunday with Australia s recognition of West Jerusalem as its capital with a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it was a mistake to gainsay Israeli control over the whole city The premier for his part stayed silent on Canberra s move at a weekly Israeli cabinet meeting that is usually his opportunity to hold forth in public on major diplomatic developments Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in a 1967 war and annexed it as its capital in a moved not recognised internationally Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of the state they hope to found in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip A year ago U S President Donald Trump outraged Palestinians by recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital a designation that did not acknowledge their claim on the east of the city though it left open the question of its final borders On Saturday Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Canberra formally recognises West Jerusalem as Israel s capital but reaffirmed his country s support for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem under a two state peace deal nL3N1YK033 Israel s Foreign Ministry responded tepidly calling the Australian move a step in the right direction At the cabinet meeting on Sunday Netanyahu declined to elaborate We issued a statement at the Foreign Ministry I have nothing to add to it he told reporters at the outset of the meeting Tzachi Hanegbi Israel s minister for regional cooperation and a Netanyahu confidant in the right wing Likud party was more openly critical of Australia though he deemed it a deep and intimate friend of many years standing To our regret within this positive news they made a mistake Hanegbi told reporters outside the cabinet room There is no division between the east of the city and west of the city Jerusalem is one whole united Israel s control over it is eternal Our sovereignty will not be partitioned nor undermined And we hope Australia will soon find the way to fix the mistake it made Morrison s move first surfaced in October when it was viewed cynically in Australia because it came days before a crucial by election in an electorate a strong Jewish representation His party lost that poll nL3N1X102G Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday s move was born of Australian petty domestic politics
All of Jerusalem remains a final status issue for negotiations while East Jerusalem under international law is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory he said |
WMB | Footgolf Argentina s Perrone crowned world champion | Reuters Matias Perrone of Argentina became the footgolf world champion in Marrakesh Morocco on Sunday beating Briton Ben Clarke by two shots to claim the title Perrone succeeded his compatriot Christian Otero who won the event two years ago Sophie Brown won the women s tournament in a 1 2 3 for Britain from Claire Williams NYSE WMB and Natalie Richardson France triumphed in the team event by beating Britain in the final on Saturday with the United States overcoming Spain in the third place match Thirty six countries were represented in the third World Cup which takes place every two years The sport is based on the rules of golf with players kicking a football from the tee to an enlarged hole Like golf it can be played using the strokeplay with the lowest number of shots winning or matchplay formats |
VZ | Why Verizon VZ Could Beat Earnings Estimates Again | If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report you should consider Verizon Communications NYSE VZ This company which is in the Zacks Wireless National industry shows potential for another earnings beat
When looking at the last two reports this largest U S cellphone carrier has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates The company has topped estimates by 3 89 on average in the last two quarters
For the most recent quarter Verizon was expected to post earnings of 1 19 per share but it reported 1 22 per share instead representing a surprise of 2 52 For the previous quarter the consensus estimate was 1 14 per share while it actually produced 1 20 per share a surprise of 5 26
Price and EPS Surprise
For Verizon estimates have been trending higher thanks in part to this earnings surprise history And when you look at the stock s positive Zacks Earnings ESP Expected Surprise Prediction it s a great indicator of a future earnings beat especially when combined with its solid Zacks Rank
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank 3 Hold or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time In other words if you have 10 stocks with this combination the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier
Verizon has an Earnings ESP of 0 87 at the moment suggesting that analysts have grown bullish on its near term earnings potential When you combine this positive Earnings ESP with the stock s Zacks Rank 3 Hold it shows that another beat is possibly around the corner The company s next earnings report is expected to be released on January 29 2019
When the Earnings ESP comes up negative investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric But a negative value is not indicative of a stock s earnings miss
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher On the other hand some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate
Because of this it s really important to check a company s Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they ve reported |
VZ | 5G Wireless Network Race Set To Begin In 2019 | Forget 4G LTE Long Term Evolution the stage is set for 5G wireless race in the U S telecom space With the U S telecom industry continuously evolving companies in the sector are fighting it out to stay ahead of the curve A growing U S economy speeds up the demand for real time voice data and video manifold The escalation in demand has encouraged telecom service providers to undertake large network extensions while upgrading plans Wireless operators will thrive on 5G network in 2019 Strong Wireless MarketWith rapid growth in video and other bandwidth intensive applications the wireless industry participants are making considerable investments in LTE broadband and fiber in order to provide additional capacity and ramp up Internet and wireless networks The LTE network has the highest penetration rate of 91 in the North American region The impending 5G boom is likely to propel the wireless industry to newer heights The success of 5G technology hinges on substantial investments to upgrade infrastructure in the core fiber backhaul network to support anticipated growth in data services Advantage of 5G Wireless NetworkThe United States is progressing well to lead the world in 5G the next generation of wireless connectivity which will enable faster speeds and low latency wireless broadband services 5G networks will be ten times faster than 4G networks Although 5G network is not likely to replace existing 4G standards on large scale before 2020 several telecom behemoths are expected to launch 5G smartphones in this year Latency period of 5G data delivery will be in milliseconds Further 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless network available now Consequently 5G enabled mobile devices are likely to last significantly longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts The rising demand for technologically superior products has been a silver lining for the telecom space in an otherwise tough environment In this respect the superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost necessity in managing the exponential growth of internet connected devices popularly known as Internet of Things IoT While 3G wireless network enabled seamless internet connectivity to mobile phone 4G standard helped companies which thrive on mobile connectivity Notably 5G wireless network is likely to boost high tech artificial intelligence based products significantly Major 5G Network OperatorsIn the United States all four national wireless operators Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S will start rolling 5G networks in 2019 Moreover United States Cellular Corp NYSE S Comcast Corp NYSE S and Charter Communications Inc NYSE T are also likely to follow suite Sprint carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see The chart below shows price performance of major 5G wireless operators in the past one year Bottom LineThe need to remain connected is a human condition An era of digitization and technology is essentially built on this need It is here that telecommunications come to the fore as a necessary utility In 2019 we expect 5G wireless network to be a game changer in the telecom space with a full fledged deployment in 2020 Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
VZ | AT T To Shelve Third Party Location Service Data Sharing | Amid bad press related to alleged misuse of location services data AT T Inc NYSE T has decided to altogether cease data sharing activities with third party vendors from March this year The company expects the strategic move to prevent customers from being adversely affected in the future Owing to security concerns AT T had stopped sharing most of the location services data last year barring a select few that reportedly benefited customers such as roadside assistance and fraud prevention However when a report cited that data from various carriers including AT T T Mobile US Inc NYSE S Sprint Corporation NYSE S and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ were maliciously used by bounty hunters it decided to shun these activities On the surface it appears that telecom carriers share some cell phone location based data to third party vendors without being aware of how the data is consumed by the end user Detailed investigation has revealed that this data is accessed by a wide array of smaller players who often lack the necessary safeguards to protect it Consequently this data trickles into the hands of malicious users who then use it for their personal gains As AT T s name cropped up in the investigation management stated that fraudulent use of sensitive customer data was against corporate policies completely ending location aggregator work from second quarter 2019 onward Over the past year the stock has lost 16 4 compared with the s fall of 0 7 With a focused roadmap AT T appears poised to turn the tables in 2019 which is likely to be a decisive year for it Although a healthy dividend yield of 6 6 remains an enticing proposition for investors the company needs to pull up its socks on several counts and stem the losses in case of a volte face If the company can significantly reduce its debt burden plug the subscriber churn generate solid cash flow and improve top line it can expect a turnaround in fortunes Whether this Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock can indeed deliver on its set targets and perform to its full potential in 2019 remains to be seen You can see Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
WMB | Suns owner Sarver threatens to move team to Seattle or Las Vegas | The contentious battle to get Talking Stick Resort Arena renovated has led to Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver dipping into the leverage file and issuing a few threats In short Sarver is telling Phoenix City Council members he will move the team to Seattle or Las Vegas if the renovation of the facility isn t approved according to the Arizona Republic The Suns committed to a 40 year lease in 1992 but they can opt out in 2022 The city council was slated to vote on a 230 renovation package Wednesday but serious backlash from the community is leading to the vote being pushed back likely to Jan 23 Mayor Thelda Williams NYSE WMB would like to host two community meetings to gain feedback before the council makes a decision The Suns have attempted to get the city council to consider a renovation in the past but this is the first time the council has seriously considered a proposal Phoenix would pay 150 million toward the renovations and the Suns would pay 80 million The Suns would build a new practice facility and commit to playing at the downtown arena through 2037 with an option to extend through 2042 The Suns would be fined 200 million if they departed Phoenix before 2037 Phoenix s on court performance hasn t gone well The Suns own the NBA s worst record at 4 24 and have lost 10 straight games
Phoenix missed the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons Field Level Media |
WMB | How one humble English club is greening up soccer | By Martyn Herman LONDON Reuters Tucked away in the leafy Cotswold hills English fourth tier club Forest Green Rovers rarely make sporting headlines but have become unlikely trailblazers for something more pressing than three points on a Saturday afternoon At this week s major U N climate change conference in Katowice Poland the club s chairman Dale Vince received an award from the United Nations for his work in making Forest Green Rovers the world s greenest football club One of 15 projects to win Momentum for Change awards UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC deputy executive secretary Ovais Sarmad described the club nicknamed the Green Devils as the de facto standard for sustainability in sport Businessman Vince a former New Age traveler and founder and owner of renewable energy company Ecotricity believes sport can be an important tool in tackling climate change After taking over his cash strapped local club in 2010 he set about getting them into the Football League and becoming the world s first UN certified carbon neutral football club The first mission was achieved in 2017 with a memorable playoff win over Tranmere Rovers at Wembley and this year the second goal was achieved Vince s vision is all over Forest Green s aptly named New Lawn stadium It features solar panels on the roof of one of the stands has an organic pesticide free pitch mowed by solar powered mobots water and cooking oil recycling systems and electric car charging ports outside the stadium Wildlife trails that are home to rare orchids and slow worms flank the ground while one initiative has gone down especially well the vegan only catering policy Some may miss the Saturday whiff of frying sausages but Vince said Forest Green s eco friendly menu is so popular that fans travel from afar to matches just to eat the food The bar has always been low when it comes to football food Vince who spoke to delegates from FIFA the International Olympic Committee IOC and Paris 2024 while in Poland this week told Reuters by telephone Some fans tell me they only come for the food Our matchday food sales have quadrupled since we made the changes Some football fans have adopted us because of our stance We ve created a new kind of fan The 5 000 capacity stadium is powered entirely by green energy from Ecotricity while a new stadium built entirely from sustainably sourced wood and designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid could be ready in three years As world leaders continue to debate in Poland how to achieve the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement the 57 year old Vince says sport can bring the biggest threat we face to a wider audience with little Forest Green leading the way Sport has a responsibility to do what it can and that means from fans to governing bodies he said We have shown what can be done The UN and FIFA are holding us up as an example to other clubs and that s incredible It s quite an improbable combination I think the environment and football but we ve pulled it off We ve engaged a lot with other sports clubs and organizations around the world so it s been a great success Forest Green s stance has seen fan clubs set up in 20 countries while officials from Paris 2024 are to pay a visit soon as they bid to make their Olympics the greenest yet And Vince s eco philosophy appears to be having a beneficial influence both on and off the pitch Attendances have quadrupled since 2010 while this season Forest Green are eighth in the table and challenging for promotion to League One Vince says the vegan diet policy has improved fitness levels and lowered injury rates The players buy into the vegan thing from a performance point of view he said There is so much evidence out there that vegan diets enhance performance Look at elite athletes like Lewis Hamilton in F1 Serena Williams NYSE WMB in tennis and Sergio Aguero We have seen a real drop in soft tissue injuries When we played Tranmere at Wembley a couple of years ago after about 50 games in the season we had no injuries Our situation was exceptional |
WMB | Ingram on verge of breaking McAllister s TD mark | Atlanta Falcons It was their fifth straight loss but the Falcons were encouraged while scoring just 20 points and losing by two touchdowns to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday Atlanta coaches said the team made some positive strides by rushing for 107 yards only its third 100 yard outing of the season and the offensive line allowed just two sacks after quarterback Matt Ryan had been dropped a combined 12 times over the previous three games Ryan passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns and coach Dan Quinn made it clear the signal caller who has seven 300 yard outings isn t the reason for the team s 4 9 record It s very reassuring knowing that there are some things we need to reset on but that ain t one Quinn said of his starting quarterback That s a damn good feeling Not only is he playing really good football there are things that are not on the stat sheet like he s a really good competitor Carolina Panthers Running back Christian McCaffrey has been thriving he is just 10 yards away from breaking the franchise record for most scrimmage yards held by DeAngelo Williams NYSE WMB 1 636 in 2008 McCaffrey has 926 rushing yards and 701 receiving yards and he is close to becoming the 10th player in NFL history to accumulate 1 000 rushing yards and 750 receiving yards in a single season Also looking like a good bet is McCaffrey setting the NFL record for most receptions by a running back He currently has 86 and needs 17 catches to surpass the mark held by Matt Forte 102 in 2014 McCaffrey is 18 catches away from Steve Smith s franchise mark of 103 set in 2005 New Orleans Saints Mark Ingram s next rushing touchdown will be his franchise record 50th and it will snap a tie with former Saints star Deuce McAllister 2001 08 He had such a great career here and set the standard for running backs coming through New Orleans Ingram told reporters of McAllister He s always been supportive of me and I appreciate him so just to be able to have a run in that fashion against Tampa Bay on Sunday to tie such a great record in this franchise it s good It s a good feeling Ingram said McAllister always has a word of advice to him whenever their paths cross He ll tell me certain things that he sees Certain things that maybe I could do better or something that maybe I could switch up It has just been a good relationship over the years and I appreciate him I m thankful for his mentorship and he s been a good asset to my career
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Learning that run oriented rookie Lamar Jackson will be the Baltimore Ravens quarterback on Sunday didn t surprise veteran defensive end Jason Pierre Paul but he did note it makes things tougher on game day Any time when you have a running quarterback you re looking at a more physical game Pierre Paul told reporters Just to play that is difficult I m not going to lie their option stuff is difficult and anybody in the NFL D end wise if they say it s not that s a lie That stuff plays with your eyes but you ve got to be disciplined with it and I think I do a pretty good job and our coaches do a pretty good job game planning against it Pierre Paul is tied for ninth in the NFL with 11 5 sacks the third highest total of his nine year career Field Level Media |
WMB | Israeli troops kill two fugitive Hamas gunmen in West Bank | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Israeli commandos killed two fugitive gunmen overnight in the occupied West Bank and Hamas claimed them as its members on Thursday a measure of the Palestinian Islamist faction s resilience in areas controlled by its more moderate rival Fatah The first gunman was wanted for an attack near a Jewish settlement on Sunday that wounded seven people including a pregnant woman who lost her baby and the second for shooting dead two Israelis at a settlement industrial park on Oct 7 West Bank violence has simmered since Palestinian statehood talks with Israel stalled in 2014 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas maintains security cooperation with Israel there mindful of the grassroots appeal of Hamas since it seized Gaza from him in 2007 Resistance in the West Bank will never stop until the Israeli Occupation is removed from all our land and we regain all our rights Hamas which confirmed the slain gunmen had carried out the two attacks on its behalf said in a statement Abbas s administration sought to shift focus to Israel s West Bank settlements which most countries regard as illegal The international community bears part of the responsibility for the aggression by the occupation and the settlers because of its silence toward these attacks said Palestinian government spokesman Youssef Al Mahmoud Asked whether they had cooperated on the overnight raids Israeli and Palestinian security officials declined comment The diplomatic impasse between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas has deepened since the Palestinians boycotted the Trump administration over the U S recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital Separately on Thursday a man stabbed and wounded two Israeli police troopers in East Jerusalem another area where Palestinians seek statehood and was shot dead police said His identity was not immediately clear Israel and the United States have pressured Abbas s administration over stipends it pays relatives of Palestinians jailed or killed by Israeli forces The allies say this money fuels militancy We will bring all terrorists and those who dispatch them to justice Abu Mazen Abbas who finances the terrorists families must also pay the price Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said on Twitter Avi Dichter chairman of the Israeli parliament s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee described Hamas operations as targeting both Israel and Abbas
Hamas has an interest in carrying out terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip but even more so in carrying them out inside the West Bank Dichter told Israel Radio |
WMB | Journeyman Johnson charged with reviving Redskins at Jacksonville | While the Washington Redskins maintain playoff hopes despite a month long stumble the Jacksonville Jaguars are left hoping to salvage something out of a season far below expectations On a four game losing streak since the season ending leg injury to quarterback Alex Smith the Redskins will head to Jacksonville on Sunday in the midst of a freefall The losing streak has come after 6 3 start to the season that spurred thoughts of an NFC East title Not only did Smith suffer a broken fibula and tibia when he was sacked against the Houston Texans his replacement Colt McCoy saw his season end with a broken fibula in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec 3 It means that the Redskins playoff hopes will now rest on the passing and running skills of Josh Johnson who made his first NFL appearance in five years last weekend against the New York Giants throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown in a 40 16 defeat Johnson s performance as a replacement for an ineffective Mark Sanchez earned him the starting nod from head coach Jay Gruden I m excited that we re playing against this talented defense and I m excited that we re playing against these talented cornerbacks this pass rush these linebackers Johnson said of the matchup with the Jaguars It s a great test and I wouldn t have it any other way than to get an opportunity to go against somebody where you have to earn it and you have to prove that you deserve to be on this field Johnson who has spent time with 13 NFL franchises but has only played in a game with three teams showed his mobility Sunday when he ran for a touchdown in an otherwise forgettable game for the Redskins He admits he mostly got to know the names of his newest teammates by playing video games the past two weeks It leaves the Jaguars defense with two runners to account for Johnson s lack of on field time over the last five years could mean a busy day for Washington veteran running back Adrian Peterson Except the 33 year old Peterson has rushed for just 47 5 yards per game over the Redskins last six contests Peterson did have 98 yards rushing thanks to a 90 yard TD burst on Dec 3 against the Eagles Like the Redskins the Jaguars 4 9 have moved on to a new quarterback but their decision was not injury based Cody Kessler has started each of the last two games for the Jaguars going 1 1 as a replacement for an ineffective Blake Bortles Kessler threw for 240 yards and a touchdown last Thursday against the Tennessee Titans but the Jaguars fell 30 9 Jacksonville picked up a 6 0 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Dec 2 when Kessler threw for just 150 yards Through all of their troubles the Jaguars defense has remained strong holding two opponents under 10 points and seven opponents to 20 points or less Yet the loss to the Titans was a different story The play that will follow the Jaguars long after this season has ended will be the 99 yard touchdown run from the Titans Derrick Henry last Thursday night Henry rushed for four touchdowns and a Titans record 238 yards We ll respond Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell said according to jaguars com The biggest thing is to keep going keep pushing It s a situation no one wants to be in knowing you re going home when the season s over That s tough It sucks but we have to find a way to push and win some ballgames to end the season You always want to end on a good note something that can give you some momentum going into the offseason The Redskins do have the 14th best scoring defense in the NFL at 22 8 points per game but during their four game losing streak each opponent has scored more than that average And the tepid Giants did have a 34 0 lead at halftime last week although Sanchez s troubles moving the ball did not help the situation Redskins players who did not participate in practice Wednesday offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom knee ankle cornerback Adonis Anderson hamstring wide receiver Josh Doctson concussion protocol quarterback Colt McCoy fibula tight end Jordan Reed ankle foot tackle Ty Nsekhe knee and defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis shin Limited in practice wide receiver Jamison Crowder knee ankle linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton shoulder running back Adrian Peterson shoulder center Chase Roullier knee tackle Morgan Moses ankle and tackle Trent Williams NYSE WMB thumb wrist Jaguars players who did not participate in practice Wednesday wide receiver D J D J Chark Jr quadriceps offensive lineman Jeremy Parnell knee and linebacker Leon Jacobs quadriceps Field Level MediaWhile the Washington Redskins maintain playoff hopes despite a month long stumble the Jacksonville Jaguars are left hoping to salvage something out of a season far below expectations On a four game losing streak since the season ending leg injury to quarterback Alex Smith the Redskins will head to Jacksonville on Sunday in the midst of a freefall The losing streak has come after 6 3 start to the season that spurred thoughts of an NFC East title Not only did Smith suffer a broken fibula and tibia when he was sacked against the Houston Texans his replacement Colt McCoy saw his season end with a broken fibula in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec 3 It means that the Redskins playoff hopes will now rest on the passing and running skills of Josh Johnson who made his first NFL appearance in five years last weekend against the New York Giants throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown in a 40 16 defeat Johnson s performance as a replacement for an ineffective Mark Sanchez earned him the starting nod from head coach Jay Gruden I m excited that we re playing against this talented defense and I m excited that we re playing against these talented cornerbacks this pass rush these linebackers Johnson said of the matchup with the Jaguars It s a great test and I wouldn t have it any other way than to get an opportunity to go against somebody where you have to earn it and you have to prove that you deserve to be on this field Johnson who has spent time with 13 NFL franchises but has only played in a game with three teams showed his mobility Sunday when he ran for a touchdown in an otherwise forgettable game for the Redskins He admits he mostly got to know the names of his newest teammates by playing video games the past two weeks It leaves the Jaguars defense with two runners to account for Johnson s lack of on field time over the last five years could mean a busy day for Washington veteran running back Adrian Peterson Except the 33 year old Peterson has rushed for just 47 5 yards per game over the Redskins last six contests Peterson did have 98 yards rushing thanks to a 90 yard TD burst on Dec 3 against the Eagles Like the Redskins the Jaguars 4 9 have moved on to a new quarterback but their decision was not injury based Cody Kessler has started each of the last two games for the Jaguars going 1 1 as a replacement for an ineffective Blake Bortles Kessler threw for 240 yards and a touchdown last Thursday against the Tennessee Titans but the Jaguars fell 30 9 Jacksonville picked up a 6 0 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Dec 2 when Kessler threw for just 150 yards Through all of their troubles the Jaguars defense has remained strong holding two opponents under 10 points and seven opponents to 20 points or less Yet the loss to the Titans was a different story The play that will follow the Jaguars long after this season has ended will be the 99 yard touchdown run from the Titans Derrick Henry last Thursday night Henry rushed for four touchdowns and a Titans record 238 yards We ll respond Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell said according to jaguars com The biggest thing is to keep going keep pushing It s a situation no one wants to be in knowing you re going home when the season s over That s tough It sucks but we have to find a way to push and win some ballgames to end the season You always want to end on a good note something that can give you some momentum going into the offseason The Redskins do have the 14th best scoring defense in the NFL at 22 8 points per game but during their four game losing streak each opponent has scored more than that average And the tepid Giants did have a 34 0 lead at halftime last week although Sanchez s troubles moving the ball did not help the situation Redskins players who did not participate in practice Wednesday offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom knee ankle cornerback Adonis Anderson hamstring wide receiver Josh Doctson concussion protocol quarterback Colt McCoy fibula tight end Jordan Reed ankle foot tackle Ty Nsekhe knee and defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis shin Limited in practice wide receiver Jamison Crowder knee ankle linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton shoulder running back Adrian Peterson shoulder center Chase Roullier knee tackle Morgan Moses ankle and tackle Trent Williams thumb wrist
Jaguars players who did not participate in practice Wednesday wide receiver D J D J Chark Jr quadriceps offensive lineman Jeremy Parnell knee and linebacker Leon Jacobs quadriceps Field Level Media |
WMB | Trump Attacks on Fed Could Backfire Boosting Powell s Support | Bloomberg President Donald Trump s attacks on the Federal Reserve may hold a silver lining for Chairman Jerome Powell preserving unity among colleagues who can sometimes go rogue
America s central bankers have a strong culture of closing ranks during times of strain to defend the chair and preserve institutional independence Even though there s an argument for holding interest rates steady Trump s pressure may make any dissent less likely at the Dec 18 19 meeting when a fourth quarter point increase this year is widely expected
FOMC members will stand behind Powell said William Poole former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis who regularly dissented at meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee during a 10 year term ending in 2008 There is a powerful culture of an independent Fed and policy makers will want to avoid any hint of siding with Trump
Trump renewed his criticism on Thursday in an interview with Fox News Hopefully the Fed won t be raising interest rates anymore he said I m almost at a normalized interest rate and yet our economy is soaring He s been criticizing Powell in tweets and public comments for months accusing the central bank of undermining economic growth by hiking rates Powell has encountered no dissents since becoming chairman in February By contrast 22 dissenting votes were cast against his predecessor Janet Yellen over four years and 48 against Ben Bernanke over eight years Both periods were intensely challenging for officials as they battled the Great Recession and its after effects spurring a spirited debate over the correct policy response
Fed presidents have dismissed Trump s criticism saying higher rates are based on data and analysis New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said on Dec 12 he is committed to making the tough calls The Atlanta Fed s Raphael Bostic said in October that we have to do what we think is best
Bostic has been seen as a possible dissenter next week He pledged in August that he wouldn t vote for anything that would knowingly invert the yield curve that is raise short term bond yields above longer term ones which some see as a signal of a coming recession With 10 year yields already close to the 2 year equivalents inversion is an imminent risk if the Fed raises rates again
St Louis s James Bullard the most dovish participant on the FOMC based on his recommendation to keep rates on hold for several years becomes a voter in 2019 in the annual rotation among regional bank chiefs
Also voting next year will be Chicago Fed s Charles Evans a past dove who s moved to the center as the job market has tightened and Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Boston s Eric Rosengren who have been hawkish in recent years
Sooner or later someone will almost certainly break ranks under Powell The last chairman to serve without dissents was Thomas McCabe whose term ended in 1951 Still three or more no votes at a single meeting might give the impression of a divided central bank
Fed chairs while publicly embracing dissents have tried behind the scenes to head them off Bernanke in his memoir The Courage to Act recounted his conversations and calls with various Fed presidents and governors before critical meetings as he sought to drum up votes He described his gratitude after Governor Kevin Warsh voted in favor of a second massive round of Fed bond purchases in 2010 despite strong personal qualms
A sense of responsibility to support the chairman also weighs on committee members who have on occasion initially dissented and then put aside their objections to show support said Dennis Lockhart a retired Atlanta Fed president who never dissented
There s a strong impulse to show consensus said Lockhart Committee members will vote what each really thinks is the right policy but if on the fence might lean away from a dissent
They re even more likely to do so when they re under external attack said Princeton University economist Alan Blinder a former Fed vice chairman
Would be dissenters may pull their punches when the criticism is coming from the White House or Congress he said |
WMB | WTA to offer increased rankings protection for returning mothers report | Reuters The Women s Tennis Association WTA will offer greater protection to the rankings of mothers returning to the tour after giving birth British media reported on Thursday Players returning from maternity leave or injury will now be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three year period However Serena Williams request for returning mothers to be seeded in line with their rankings has not been approved The 23 times Grand Slam champion made a comeback in February after giving birth to her daughter last year Her world ranking had fallen to 451 when she was not seeded at the French Open She was however seeded 25th at this year s Wimbledon despite being ranked outside world s top 32 players The BBC reported that the WTA had also clarified its regulations around clothing to ensure Williams NYSE WMB would be able to wear the black catsuit which attracted the ire of the French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli
The WTA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation |
WMB | Take 5 Steelers D vs Brady headlines Week 15 | The Pittsburgh Steelers haven t beaten the New England Patriots since 2011 In the five losses since Pittsburgh allowed 34 6 points per game never holding New England to less than 27 Tom Brady totaled 1 624 yards 14 touchdowns and one interception while Rob Gronkowski had 498 yards and five scores despite missing a game You get the idea Ben Roethlisberger Co might win a shootout but it sure would help if the Steelers defense could stem the tide 1 Pittsburgh still searching for Brady antidote After Brady torched their passive zones in the 2016 AFC championship game the Steelers spent 2017 preparing with a different approach predicated on man coverage It worked OK last December but safety Sean Davis couldn t handle Gronkowski nine catches 168 yards late Gronk totaled 69 yards on what proved to be thanks to the old catch rule the game winning drive This season coordinator Keith Butler has relied more on matchup zones many of which function like Cover 1 blitz man coverage one deep safety and five rushers That sounds simple but Butler creates confusion by varying which five are rushing often dropping pass rushers T J Watt or Bud Dupree and blitzing inside linebacker Vince Williams NYSE WMB or slot corner Mike Hilton Through disguise these blitzes often come free and when they don t Williams 4 5 sacks 10 QB hits can bowl over running backs or swim past guards Meanwhile Davis plays center field as five others pattern match to routes from off coverage keeping eyes on the quarterback and looking for turnovers Against the Patriots however these tactics might be fruitless unless executed with razor sharp precision While some namely the Titans have blitzed Brady successfully this year the Steelers fifth rusher will often arrive too late to factor Brady distributes quicker than anyone especially against off coverage More importantly New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a master of motion and intertwined releases from stack and bunch sets creating rubs and confusion off the snap Such designs can blur pattern matching responsibilities and create blown coverages which have plagued Pittsburgh at times When the Steelers match correctly shrewd designs will still create mismatches like rookie safety Terrell Edmunds on Josh Gordon or Watt on James White or Gronkowski Pittsburgh s D isn t necessarily doomed again but it must be extremely sharp to play this style Most helpful might be otherworldly performances from inside rushers Cameron Heyward Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave All three can dominate for stretches but they must push the pocket quickly and often to disrupt Brady 2 Bears could get sack happy vs Packers Green Bay s offense wasn t schematically different in its first game post Mike McCarthy but Aaron Rodgers ball placement was much sharper last Sunday against Atlanta He minimized the low and left misfires and hit tight windows downfield especially on back shoulder throws That sharpness will be needed in Chicago but it might not matter if Rodgers holds the ball the way he did against Atlanta Despite the Falcons middling rush Rodgers took four sacks and needed superhuman efforts to evade others A handful of blitzes caught Rodgers off guard freezing him and leading to sacks or hits The Bears rush 20 sacks over the last six games is much more dangerous and often has more time to win because Chicago s disguised coverages take longer to identify The Packers could again be without right tackle Bryan Bulaga knee and have injury questions at guard Lane Taylor foot Byron Bell on IR In Week 1 the Bears sacked Rodgers twice in 18 minutes before he was hurt he then distributed more quickly after returning hobbled Healthy again Rodgers might opt more for sandlot mode Sunday Secretly that might be what Khalil Mack Co prefer 3 Cowboys looking at mirror image defense While studying the Colts defense this week the Cowboys probably see a version of themselves from 2015 or 16 Indy s unit coordinated by former Dallas linebackers coach Matt Eberflus is built around the same zone concepts and D line slants and stunts that Cowboys coordinator Rod Marinelli has long favored It s also littered with unheralded starters much like Marinelli s group before stars emerged the past two seasons One lesser known Colt is Denico Autry the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week with five sacks in the last two games Some were merely clean ups but the violent and undersized interior lineman is dangerous as a slanting penetrator or looper and Dallas could be vulnerable with guard Zack Martin knee ailing In coverage the Colts will likely use more Cover 3 than Cover 2 to get an extra safety in the box against Ezekiel Elliott Dak Prescott must take advantage by hitting intermediate and deep seams without the erratic overthrows that have cropped up recently 4 How will the Rams counter Ertz Whether it s Carson Wentz or Nick Foles playing quarterback Philadelphia s offense runs through tight end Zach Ertz who presents a few matchup concerns for Los Angeles When playing zone Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips leans toward Cover 3 but the Eagles have done well to spring Ertz in Cover 3 seams out of concepts featuring multiple vertical routes The Rams could counter with more Cover 4 quarters which would often put a safety over the top and a linebacker underneath the tight end In man coverage safety John Johnson and linebacker Cory Littleton usually handle opposing tight ends but both have concerns against Ertz Johnson s smaller frame can be boxed out while Littleton s aggressiveness is risky against crafty route runners Don t be surprised if Phillips counters Ertz with cornerback Aqib Talib who has the twitchiness to mirror and the length and physicality to disrupt at the catch point Talib looked more comfortable in Week 14 his second game back from injury and has matched tight ends well before 5 Jackson draws improved Bucs D Though not stingy Tampa Bay s defense has been far more competitive under interim coordinator Mark Duffner Duffner mostly scrapped Mike Smith s traditional zone coverages where defenders drop to landmarks on the field and react from there to matchup zones that adapt to given routes The approach has curbed explosive gains while creating tighter windows between the numbers Now officially the Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson has been touch and go as a passer Often erratic outside he s most comfortable between the numbers which makes this his biggest test yet through the air after facing four of the NFL s worst defenses If his ball placement wavers turnovers could follow the Bucs have seven picks and eight takeaways in the last three games Still with the Ravens defense and run game of which Jackson is a huge part at their best over the last month the rookie quarterback shouldn t have to throw often The Bucs have allowed 5 4 yards per carry since Week 7 third worst over that span when linebacker Kwon Alexander tore his ACL but also when rookie defensive tackle Vita Vea began starting
Vea flashes the brute strength and nimble feet that got him picked 12th overall but he often plays too high undermining his leverage He s been slow to diagnose backfield action making him late following the ball and shedding his blocker before the runner goes by That s very common for rookies and will improve with time but it could prove disastrous against Baltimore s wealth of misdirection designs involving Jackson Field Level Media |
VZ | Verizon to pay 2 25 billion to NFL for five year streaming deal source | NEW YORK Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ will pay around 2 25 billion for a five year partnership with the National Football League that allows users to stream games on its Yahoo NASDAQ AABA and go90 platforms as well as on mobile devices a source told Reuters on Monday Under the partnership Verizon renews its agreement to stream NFL games on its mobile devices but loses its exclusive rights to the airings Representatives from Verizon and the NFL declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal but the No 1 U S wireless carrier said the deal will go into effect in January with streaming of NFL playoff games on Yahoo and Yahoo Sports in addition to the go90 streaming platform and the NFL mobile app The partnership will also include mobile access to jointly developed original content Verizon said Jennifer Fritzsche analyst at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC said in a research note that the deal shows how Verizon is trying to expand its mobile advertising platform In June Verizon bought Yahoo s core assets for 4 48 billion and combined it with AOL to form its Oath business With the recent consolidation of these properties in the Oath division we would expect this to take on more of a growing focus for Verizon in 2018 Fritzsche said Verizon estimates that it reaches more than 200 million U S monthly unique mobile and digital users The company has said its goal for Oath is to contribute 20 billion in revenue by 2020
Verizon shares were up 0 4 percent to 51 27 in morning trading |
VZ | Ex Trump aide Carter Page tells court to stop AT T Time Warner deal | WASHINGTON Reuters Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page argued in court papers on Tuesday that AT T Inc N T should not be permitted to buy CNN parent Time Warner Inc N TWX because there was a risk it would lead to recklessness in journalism Page whose contacts with Russia have been under scrutiny by Congress and a special counsel made his argument in a friend of the court brief that the U S District Court for the District of Columbia has yet to accept Late on Tuesday the court appeared to dismiss his opinion saying in a brief filing that Dr Page s submission does not appear to be meaningfully relevant to the issues in this case Trump criticized the deal on the campaign trail last year and has repeatedly attacked the reporting of Time Warner s CNN news network Page said in an interview with Reuters that he had not been in contact with the White House about the filing The U S Department of Justice sued AT T in November to block its 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner saying the deal could raise prices for rivals and pay TV subscribers while hampering the development of online video A trial is set for March 19 Both AT T and the Justice Department declined to comment This market power concentrated in the hands of a few dominant mega corporate telecommunications media conglomerates encourages extreme levels of journalistic recklessness and impropriety since it allocates considerable resources to the media outlets under their control Page said in the court papers Page who traveled to Russia twice in 2016 has testified to congressional committees investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election In that testimony and elsewhere he has argued that he has been the subject of unfair and inaccurate media coverage As an example of what he said was media abuse Page criticized Yahoo NASDAQ AABA which is owned by Verizon Communications Inc N VZ for publishing what he called a highly misleading story in September 2016 regarding U S intelligence officials probing Trump s ties to Russia
Page who described himself as a junior unpaid informal adviser to the Trump campaign also argued that it would provide an incentive for the big media outlets to exclude viewpoints it does not like |
VZ | AT T begins testing high speed internet over power lines | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T has started trials in Georgia state and a non U S location to deliver high speed internet over power lines the No 2 wireless carrier said on Wednesday marking its latest push to offer faster broadband service to more customers AT T aims to eventually deliver speeds faster than the 1 gigabit per second consumers can currently get through fiber internet service using high frequency airwaves that travel along power lines While the Georgia trial is in a rural area the service could potentially be deployed in suburbs and cities the company said in a statement We think this product is eventually one that could actually serve anywhere near a power line said Marachel Knight AT T s senior vice president of wireless network architecture and design in an interview She added that AT T chose an international trial location in part because the market opportunity extends beyond the United States AT T said it had no timeline for commercial deployment and that it would look to expand trials as it develops the technology Potentially it can be a really big deal said Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics You need the power company to play ball with you That s the downside AT T and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ the largest U S wireless carrier have also been testing 5G internet services in which the last leg of the connection is delivered via a radio signal to homes using high frequency airwaves known as millimeter wave spectrum
Verizon said in November it would launch the faster broadband service in three to five U S markets in 2018 |
WMB | Take 5 Top offenses and defenses clash in Week 14 | Highlighting Week 14 s excellent slate of matchups are the premier offense defense battles in Chicago and Kansas City Offenses owned these clashes Rams Vikings Jaguars Chiefs Saints Ravens early this season but the pendulum swung back in Week 13 Saints Cowboys Colts Jaguars Perhaps the Bears can keep that trend going in frigid Chicago on Sunday night 1 A formula to slow the Rams There s no blueprint to stop Sean McVay s offense but one particular approach has given it trouble L A s disjointed performance in Detroit came against a Lions defense leaning heavily on Cover 4 also known as quarters which Denver also employed when holding the Rams to a season low 23 points With four deep defenders Cover 4 creates multiple double teams against two and three man route concepts like many of McVay s play action designs by bracketing vertical routes with a cornerback and a safety The approach also fits Los Angeles condensed formations keeping defenders from getting picked by intertwined releases from stacks and bunches Vic Fangio s zone heavy scheme features plenty of Cover 4 often from disguised looks that muddy the quarterback s read Safeties Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos have thrived in these designs with Jackson instinctively reading multiple routes and Amos flying downhill to hammer crossers or fill run lanes Jared Goff hasn t been poor but his early season precision both with ball placement and field reading has slipped some Even against the Chiefs he missed several open targets low That could be exacerbated Sunday by Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks who should get push in Goff s face even if they don t reach him often 2 Chiefs offense losing its balance Kansas City still scored 40 points Sunday but its run game clearly missed Kareem Hunt Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill accounted for 89 yards on 11 carries but Spencer Ware and Damien Williams NYSE WMB totaled 85 on 19 totes 4 5 average with more than half 47 yards on three carries Ware especially struggled 3 4 average despite facing the Raiders 28th ranked run defense 5 0 average and a slew of light boxes With Oakland keeping two safeties deep Andy Reid s spread formations regularly created 5 on 5 or 6 on 6 blocking even 6 on 5 on one occasion But Ware lacked the one step upfield cuts to explode through seams often continuing laterally past gaping holes up the middle The drop off from Hunt to Ware won t matter often given the explosive passing game but it might when trying to salt away a playoff lead or when facing better defenses This week Baltimore s top ranked unit can key almost entirely on Mahomes and the passing game looking to flummox him with myriad zone blitzes Those tactics normally give free releases to slot targets a dangerous move against Hill and Travis Kelce but the Ravens could add wrinkles especially if they don t fear the run game Rather than having Terrell Suggs set the edge Baltimore could walk him out over Kelce wide or in the slot to slam the tight end at the snap The Ravens could even use this bullseye tactic against Hill disrupting his momentum however possible to keep him from threatening downfield so quickly Mahomes won t be confused like a typical first year starter but he could struggle some if the Chiefs get one dimensional and his receivers can t get off the line cleanly 3 Can Philly s front handle Dallas D Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith are shining in a scheme that unleashes their speed That s certainly true in coverage with Rod Marinelli s bevy of zones but it s also clear against the run A D line guru Marinelli has long favored an aggressive approach with slants and stunts and the Cowboys have the penetrators to run them Rather than passively holding gaps Dallas calls slants on run downs forcing offensive lines to react quickly and in unison The unpredictability can create chaos and prevent O lines from executing double teams as planned When double teams go awry Vander Esch and Smith remain unblocked allowing them to sift through traffic to the ball carrier O linemen that do get to the second level have had their paths altered offering more favorable angles to slip blocks at which Vander Esch is particularly adept Underwhelming most of the year Philly s front five got rolling Monday night taking it to a stout Washington front seven 4 6 yards per carry excluding kneeldowns but Dallas is a different challenge Perhaps the Eagles could combat the Cowboys aggression by dusting off some of offensive line coach and run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland s more exotic designs Stoutland broke out several uncommon concepts in Dallas last year many featuring split flow action to move linebackers one way while attacking another 4 Colts Texans sequel nothing like the original It feels like 10 months not 10 weeks since Houston s 37 34 overtime victory in Indianapolis which started an eight game win streak After averaging 38 4 attempts through five weeks Deshaun Watson has averaged 24 6 since The Texans have instead leaned heavily on the run using the O line s athleticism in outside zone and power schemes with pulling tackles rather than guards Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue aren t dynamic creators but both are disciplined hitting the designed hole which has been there of late Meanwhile the Colts O line looks brand new In Week 4 J J Watt feasted two strip sacks on Le Raven Clark and Denzelle Good Anthony Castonzo s return sent Clark back to the bench and rookie Braden Smith has shored up right tackle Good was released Saturday Mark Glowinski has thrived replacing injured right guard Matt Slauson With the protection stabilized Frank Reich s offense has become far more open and aggressive which worked brilliantly until it hit the Jaguars brick wall last week Jacksonville s front was dominant and Houston could create similar problems with center Ryan Kelly knee again looking iffy While not a pure edge bender Jadeveon Clowney is a terror on the interior where Houston matches him on guards and centers from a stand up rover position often with stunts and twists Smith of course must counter Watt who sees fewer double teams thanks to the Texans five across fronts 5 Vikings could put onus back on Russell Wilson Seattle s run heavy approach has rendered Wilson more of a complementary piece That s not necessarily a bad thing a tremendous downfield thrower he has maximized Brian Schottenheimer s play action designs but we ve seen much less of the superhero like playmaker That version of Wilson made a cameo two weeks ago against the Panthers who shut down a Seahawks run game nobody else has stopped 2 7 yards per carry first time under 4 2 since Week 3 Wilson had to carry the load and came through brilliantly with two late drives in the fourth quarter A similar script could play out Monday against Minnesota and its stout run defense 3 7 yards per carry T 4th Linval Joseph is a block of granite with tap dancers feet and Sheldon Richardson has quietly had another excellent season Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter set wicked edges and the second level is filled with speed
When Wilson does throw he s trusted his protection more lately extending plays from within the pocket rather than via his trademark escapes That could lead to big plays downfield to Tyler Lockett and David Moore David DeChant Field Level Media |
WMB | Motor racing Rule changes are a chance for all F1 teams says Wolff | ST PETERSBURG Russia Reuters Rule changes could give every Formula One team a chance to pull off a surprise next season Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said on Friday Speaking ahead of the governing FIA s awards ceremony in Russia the Austrian told reporters he felt everything is possible It is almost like 2009 where Brawn identified the double diffuser I think there could be teams that have found loopholes that others didn t spot that could make the difference he said So we are taking everybody seriously Whether it is Ferrari NYSE RACE finishing second this year or Williams NYSE WMB finishing 10th All of them could come with a car that can outperform us The rules are being tweaked for 2019 with aerodynamic changes aimed at making it easier for drivers to follow cars and battle on track ahead of a more substantial overhaul planned for 2021 Mercedes have won every championship in the V6 turbo hybrid era that started in 2014 with Ferrari and Red Bull the only other teams to win races Former champions Williams scored just seven points from 21 races this season despite using Mercedes engines and finished last overall The team have not won a race since 2012 with their most recent title in 1997 Next season they will have Mercedes backed British rookie George Russell the Formula Two champion as one of their drivers along with Poland s Robert Kubica
Brawn the team that was Honda and is now Mercedes stunned Formula One in 2009 when they produced a winning car only months after being threatened with closure following the Japanese manufacturer s withdrawal |
WMB | Fed policymakers signal turning point on U S rate hike path | By Michelle Price and Howard Schneider WASHINGTON INDIANAPOLIS Reuters The U S central bank is flagging a turning point in monetary policy as a Federal Reserve policymaker on Friday backed interest rate hikes in the near term but nodded to increasingly less certainty ahead Speaking at an event in Washington Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard said the economic picture was broadly positive but that risks were growing overseas and in the corporate debt markets at home Tailwinds she said are fading as global growth slows financial conditions tighten and the boost from fiscal stimulus moderates The gradual path of increases in the federal funds rate has served us well by giving us time to assess the effects of policy as we have proceeded she told the audience That approach remains appropriate in the near term although the policy path increasingly will depend on how the outlook evolves Speaking less than an hour later St Louis Federal Reserve bank president James Bullard repeated his call for the Fed to pause its current cycle of interest rate increases saying the central bank may already be restricting the economy and noting that inflation expectations are drifting downward We are at a crossroads in monetary policy said Bullard who next year will be a voting member on the Fed s policy setting committee With inflation contained and at no risk of breaking out investors are nervous the Fed has gone too far he suggested Recent market developments and an expected further interest rate increase means there is a real risk the Treasury market yield curve could invert this month Bullard said The yield curve is said to invert when interest rates on shorter term debt rise above rates on longer term debt and historically portends a coming recession Traders continue to bet on a Fed rate hike in two weeks when policymakers will next meet and importantly release fresh forecasts for the rate path for next year and beyond As of just a few months ago Fed policymakers had indicated they would probably increase interest rates three times in 2019 But with recent data showing the housing market slowing job gains cooling and inflation giving no signs of rising above the Fed s 2 percent target there are plenty of reasons for hinting at a pause in March Cornerstone economist Roberto Perli said in a note Friday Since the middle of last month Fed policymakers have pointed to the need to reconsider what have been steady quarterly rate hikes for most of the past two years It began with Fed Chair Jerome Powell telling Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan in an on stage interview that policymakers may need to slow down amid growing uncertainty just as someone feeling their way through a dark room filled with furniture would need to do Later that month he repeated that metaphor and noted rates are only just below a neutral level a remark that sent markets soaring as traders took it to mean fewer interest rate hikes ahead Then last week in minutes of the Fed s November meeting policymakers were clear they are preparing to ditch a longstanding promise for further gradual increases to the Fed s policy rate Kaplan earlier this week called for patience on further rate increases It was so even with New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB who believes so deeply in the need for slow but steady rate increases he used to give away T shirts printed with the word gradual Late on Thursday he noted that tariffs have hit business confidence and could slow economic growth President Donald Trump has taken aim at Powell for raising rates And on Friday Trump s top economic advisor said in an interview on Bloomberg television that he expects the Fed to pause for quite some time after December Brainard in her remarks was careful to note that rate policy could go either way saying twice that risks are on both sides of the economy s likely growth path Fed hawks have long contended that financial stability risks call for further rate hikes to tamp down dangerous risk taking Stopping after just one or two more rate hikes when rates would be at most between 2 5 percent and 2 75 percent would make the Fed s job harder by giving it less leeway to cut rates to offset any future downturn And with unemployment at 3 7 percent some economists think upward pressure on inflation is only a matter of time
We continue to think the Fed s got more work to do JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli said in a note on Friday With writing by Ann Saphir in San Francisco and reporting by Jonathan Spicer in New York Editing by Chizu Nomiyama |
WMB | NHL roundup Bishop Stars hold off Sharks | Miro Heiskanen and Brett Ritchie found the net in a span of 1 48 of the third period and Ben Bishop turned away a season high 41 shots as the host Dallas Stars held off the San Jose Sharks 3 2 on Friday to win a season high fourth consecutive game Bishop making his second start after returning from injured reserve earned his third straight winning decision He came through particularly at the end of the game when the Sharks forced the action Mattias Janmark also scored for the Stars San Jose s Evander Kane and Logan Couture scored with Erik Karlsson assisting on both goals Martin Jones made 27 saves for the Sharks who fell to 2 4 1 in their past seven games Hurricanes 4 Ducks 1 Brett Pesce and Justin Williams NYSE WMB scored third period goals one minute apart as visiting Carolina ended Anaheim s season best five game win streak Sebastian Aho scored a late empty net goal for the Hurricanes who became the first team in six games to score a third period goal against the Ducks Anaheim had outscored opponents 9 0 in the closing period of its previous five games Clark Bishop scored his first NHL goal for Carolina Jakob Silfverberg scored the lone goal for the Ducks the 100th of his career Blues 1 Jets 0 Jake Allen made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season and Colton Parayko scored the only goal of the game as visiting St Louis blanked Winnipeg Allen pushed his career shutout total to 17 The last time the two teams played Winnipeg produced a season high goal total in an 8 4 win at St Louis on Nov 24 a game that featured Patrik Laine scoring five goals on five shots On Friday Laine finished with just one shot on goal but he also hit the goalpost on a power play attempt in the second period Connor Hellebuyck recorded 26 saves for the Jets who had a season high four game winning streak snapped Oilers 7 Wild 2 Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist and Connor McDavid added a goal and three assists as host Edmonton continued its resurgence under coach Ken Hitchcock with a victory over Minnesota Ryan Nugent Hopkins Zack Kassian Alex Chiasson and Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers who have won five of their past six games and are 6 2 1 since Hitchcock was hired Nov 20 to replace Todd McLellan Cam Talbot made 31 saves
Marcus Foligno and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Wild who wrapped up a three game Western Canada trip Minnesota has lost five of its past six games the only win in that span coming Tuesday in Vancouver Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup Celts win by 56 make history with Bulls | Daniel Theis scored a career high 22 points and the Boston Celtics opened the game with 17 consecutive points while rolling to an easy 133 77 victory over the host Chicago Bulls on Saturday night It was the Celtics largest margin of victory in franchise history Jaylen Brown scored a team best 23 points off the bench and Jayson Tatum made all four 3 point attempts while scoring 18 points as the Celtics won their season best fifth straight contest Terry Rozier added 15 points Kyrie Irving and Semi Ojeleye each scored 13 and Marcus Morris tallied 12 for Boston Shaquille Harrison scored a career best 20 points Zach LaVine added 11 and Cameron Payne had 10 for the Bulls who have lost eight of their last nine The franchise worst 56 point defeat occurred in Jim Boylen s third game as coach after replacing the fired Fred Hoiberg Boston was 22 of 43 from 3 point range as Brown Ojeleye and Rozier each knocked down three The Celtics shot 53 8 percent overall Mavericks 107 Rockets 104 Rookie forward Luka Doncic authored a late game comeback with an individual scoring surge and Dallas extended its home court winning streak to nine games with a victory over Houston Doncic finished with 21 points and seven rebounds scoring 11 consecutive points down the stretch after the Rockets secured their largest lead of the game at 102 94 Doncic converted all three of his 3 point attempts plus a driving layup during the outburst his final trey providing the Mavericks the lead for good at 105 102 with 57 5 seconds remaining Rookie point guard Jalen Brunson making his second career start in place of injured guard Dennis Smith Jr wrist added a late layup while producing 14 points three assists and three steals Lakers 111 Grizzlies 88 LeBron James scored 20 points and Josh Hart and Kentavious Caldwell Pope each made four 3 pointers as Los Angeles built a big lead early and cruised to a road victory over Memphis James finished with eight rebounds nine assists and a thunderous third period dunk that halted any hopes the Grizzlies might have had about making a big comeback The Lakers connected on 16 3 pointers Hawks 106 Nuggets 98 John Collins scored a career high 30 points and helped Atlanta break its four game losing streak by defeating visiting Denver Collins was 12 for 20 from the field including three 3 pointers and added 12 rebounds and five assists Atlanta s DeAndre Bembry also contributed 18 points and five assists while Vince Carter added 13 points including three 3 pointers Dewayne Dedmon added 11 rebounds The Nuggets were led by center Nikola Jokic who had 24 points 11 rebounds and seven assists Denver also got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Juancho Hernangomez and Malik Beasley came off the bench to scored 19 points Nets 112 Knicks 104 Reserve Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 of his 25 points after halftime as Brooklyn ended a dubious road losing streak with a victory over New York Dinwiddie constantly reached the rim unimpeded and shot 10 for 17 from the field His latest productive outing helped the Nets get a road win on the second night of a back to back ending a 33 game skid in that department that tied an NBA record and dated back to Dec 21 2015 at Chicago Rondae Hollis Jefferson scored 20 points and his second 20 point game of the season helped the Nets get consecutive wins for the first time since winning at Phoenix and Denver on Nov 6 and Nov 9 He also provided several key defensive plays including a block on Allonzo Trier s layup attempt with 35 seconds left to preserve a six point lead Pacers 107 Kings 97 Doug McDermott thwarted two Sacramento challenges in the fourth quarter with 3 pointers and host Indiana finished with the most energy between two teams playing the second night of back to backs to earn a victory Thaddeus Young had a game high tying 20 points to lead seven players in double figures for the Pacers who backed up Friday s 112 90 romp at Orlando with a third straight win Buddy Hield equaled Young s point total with 20 for the Kings whose three game winning streak came to an end one that included a 129 110 triumph at Cleveland on Friday Cavaliers 116 Wizards 101 Collin Sexton scored 29 points Tristan Thompson had 23 points and 19 rebounds and Cleveland routed visiting Washington Alec Burks scored 14 points for the Cavaliers who were playing the second of back to backs Bradley Beal scored 27 points reserve Jeff Green had 17 and Otto Porter Jr added 15 for the Wizards who had won three straight John Wall returned after missing Wednesday s game in Atlanta for personal reasons He went 0 for 5 from the field and scored one point in 26 minutes Trail Blazers 113 Timberwolves 105 Damian Lillard scored 28 points grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists as Portland downed visiting Minnesota Jusuf Nurkic contributed 22 points 11 rebounds four blocks four assists and three steals as the Trail Blazers who scored the final 10 points after trailing 105 103 won their second straight game Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points Karl Anthony Towns collected 19 points and 10 rebounds and Derrick Rose added 18 points and nine assists for the Timberwolves who had won nine of their previous 12 outings Heat 121 Clippers 98 Dwyane Wade scored 25 points in his 1 000th career game and Justise Winslow added 21 as short handed Miami used a huge fourth quarter run on the second night of back to back games on the road to earn a victory over Los Angeles The Heat played with eight players for most of the game after guard Tyler Johnson left in the first quarter and did not return because of a left hip contusion Guard Josh Richardson was a late scratch with a shoulder impingement
Tobias Harris scored 20 points as the Clippers failed to move back into sole possession of the top spot in the Western Conference Lou Williams NYSE WMB added 18 off the bench for Los Angeles as its NBA best nine game home winning streak came to an end Field Level Media |
WMB | Chiefs beat Ravens in OT to clinch playoff berth | Quarterback Patrick Mahomes converted two fourth downs on a game tying drive in regulation Sunday and kicker Harrison Butker atoned for a missed field goal with a 35 yarder in overtime as the Kansas City Chiefs edged the Baltimore Ravens 27 24 at Kansas City Mo Mahomes finished with 377 yards passing going 35 of 53 with two touchdowns and an interception against the NFL s top ranked defense With the win the Chiefs 11 2 clinched a berth in the playoffs while retaining the best record in the AFC The Ravens 7 6 failed to score in response to the Chiefs field goal which came on the opening possession of overtime Starting quarterback Lamar Jackson was injured in overtime after getting sacked by Kansas City linebackers Justin Houston and Dee Ford Faced with two snaps and 22 yards to gain from the Baltimore 41 yard line backup quarterback Robert Griffin III could not engineer a first down throwing two incompletions A strip sack by linebacker Houston with 38 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Chiefs a chance to win with a field goal but a 43 yard boot by Butker sailed wide as time expired prompting the overtime period With Kansas City trailing by seven in the fourth quarter and facing fourth and 9 Mahomes heaved a 48 yard pass across his body to wide receiver Tyreek Hill He then connected with running back Damien Williams NYSE WMB on fourth and 3 for a 5 yard touchdown with 53 seconds remaining Jackson passed for 147 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a team high 71 yards A 55 yard punt return by Cyrus Jones put the Ravens at the Chiefs 14 and in position for what looked like a decisive touchdown Baltimore scored in three plays using a 9 yard pass from Jackson to John Brown with 4 04 remaining for the TD The Ravens gained 198 yards on the ground after rushing for 200 plus yards in each of their previous three games
The Chiefs struck for 10 points inside the final three minutes of the first half Kelce snagged a 15 yard touchdown pass with 2 37 remaining Then after the defense stopped the Ravens Mahomes engineered a 75 yard march before Kansas City settled for a 24 yard field goal by Butker as time expired to gain a 17 10 halftime margin Field Level Media |
WMB | Ravens expect QB Jackson to be OK | Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson said Sunday his ankle was fine and X rays showed no structural damage and head coach John Harbaugh said the same on Monday morning Harbaugh said Jackson should be fine Looks like he s OK I think he s going to be OK without seeing Jackson at the facility on Monday Harbaugh added that quarterback Joe Flacco would be part of the game plan this week if Flacco is ready to go He was inactive on Sunday at Kansas City The Ravens are also optimistic cornerback Marlon Humphrey will be ready for play Sunday with a groin injury Harbaugh described as being annoying Cincinnati Bengals Marvin Lewis said the key for starting quarterback Jeff Driskel standing in for injured Andy Dalton in the final three games of the season will be proving he can take care of the football That s the thing We re constantly talking about to the next down continue to play within yourself and we ll rate his progressions as we go Lewis said There were some where he was a little quick and he had opportunity even on the two point play he had the play and he went away from it So those are things that over time he will do better and he s got to understand that Again he s doing everything he can This is great for him and his career This is career changing for him to continue to play the way he s playing Cleveland Browns Interim head coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB has seen too many rookies fail to make an impact but it was obvious to him early that No 1 pick quarterback Baker Mayfield would not be one of them Everything that we saw in college on him and the things that we did all of the background searches and all of the background studying that we did on him it does not shock me to see his impact this season Williams said He has worked extremely hard for his success It is not something that has just happened by happenstance The amount of work that he puts in does not shock us that he also takes it to the ball game because he works extremely hard to have an overall understanding of every aspect of the game That does not come easy
Pittsburgh Steelers Unbridled support has ceased for kicker Chris Boswell from head coach Mike Tomlin who opened his press conference following Sunday s loss at Oakland with things the team must do better to win including make kicks Boswell a 2017 Pro Bowler who signed a four year extension in August has missed an NFL worst six field goals and five extra points this season and Tomlin sounded as if he might be near a tipping point with his kicking situation following a third consecutive loss It s disappointing here today Tomlin said That s all I m going to say on it Boswell who slipped and had a potential game tying field goal blocked Sunday senses the urgency to turn things around He s not the only one disappointed Boswell said I mean this is a business You re evaluated by results and I m not getting it done right now so whatever happens from here happens Field Level Media |
VZ | Dial Up Verizon Stock For A High Yield And Low Volatility | For investors getting nervous by the market s rising volatility in recent weeks high yield dividend stocks might offer some shelter from the storms Stocks with high dividend payouts provide a valuable offset against falling share prices And stocks that typically exhibit low volatility in their share price can be even more valuable for those investors with a low tolerance for risk
One way to judge a stock s volatility is its Beta value which compares how much a share price has historically fluctuated in relation to how the broader S P 500 Index moves Telecom giant Verizon Communications NYSE VZ has a Beta value of 0 51 which makes it one of the 100 lowest Beta stocks in the S P 500 Index
In addition Verizon stock offers a hefty 4 3 dividend yield more than double what the average stock in the S P 500 pays today Its high dividend yield and low stock volatility make Verizon an attractive stock for risk averse income investors
The Top Wireless Carrier
Verizon Communications is the largest telecommunications company in the United States based on market capitalization It has a market capitalization of 231 billion Its only competitor of similar size in the U S is fellow telecom giant AT T Inc NYSE T Verizon s core business is Verizon Wireless the largest wireless carrier in the country The company s Wireless segment contributes approximately three quarters of its aggregate revenue and covers approximately 298 million people and 98 of the United States
Until 2014 Verizon had only owned 55 of Verizon Wireless But in February 2014 Verizon closed on its acquisition of the remaining 45 of the wireless business which was held by European telecom giant Vodafone LON VOD Verizon paid Vodafone a hefty sum approximately 130 billion for the remainder of Verizon Wireless This was a huge amount of money which saddled Verizon with a significant amount of debt At the time Verizon s rationale was that it needed to make the deal because the future of the telecom industry was wireless service It seems from Verizon s strong financial performance over the past several years that management was right Wireless service revenue growth has accelerated over the past year
Source Sell side Analyst Meeting page 15
Verizon reported solid growth in the most recent quarter Revenue grew 2 8 to 32 6 billion which beat analyst estimates by 110 million Earnings per share of 1 22 beat estimates by 0 03 and grew by more than 24 over the same period a year ago Verizon s better than expected financial results were driven in large part by strong performance in its core Wireless segment Subscriber additions net of cancellations were 295 000 last quarter far ahead of the 161 000 expected Wireless segment revenue increased by 6 5 which more than offset a decline of 3 8 in the Wireline segment This was the sixth consecutive quarter in which Verizon had a customer churn rate of 0 8 or less
Looking Toward The Future
Verizon has grown its earnings per share by approximately 5 per year over the last decade thanks largely to the growth of the wireless business There should be plenty of continued growth in wireless as the smartphone boom shows no signs of ending And Verizon is on the cusp of some exciting new growth opportunities for the future
Future growth will be driven by the continued strength of its Wireless segment as well as new initiatives such as the introduction of a 5G network Verizon expects to unveil 5G service in the first half of 2019 Another growth catalyst for Verizon is the Internet of Things or IoT which will power connectivity outside of just smartphones and tablets Verizon has made multiple acquisitions to boost its IoT business in recent years including the 2 5 billion acquisition of Fleetmatics and the 900 million acquisition of Telogis Verizon s IoT business generated 12 revenue growth in the most recent quarter
Plus as the largest wireless carrier in the U S 5G is a major growth catalyst for Verizon The company has initiated pilot programs in a handful of U S cities and is ramping up for a broader rollout in 2019 There is a huge opportunity for Verizon in 5G The company stated in its 2017 annual report that 5G will allow 10 to 100 times better throughput 10 times longer battery life and 1 000 times larger data volumes than anything offered today Verizon s 3 1 billion acquisition of Straight Path Communications gave it additional spectrum and a head start in 5G
Dividends On Speed Dial
Verizon s long term growth potential is highly attractive In the meantime the company rewards shareholders with a compelling dividend With an annualized dividend payout of 2 41 per share Verizon stock has a dividend yield of 4 3 Importantly Verizon s dividend is secure thanks to its highly profitable business model and its satisfactory debt metrics
Verizon is on pace for a payout ratio of approximately 54 in 2018 This is a modest dividend payout ratio which leaves plenty of room for dividend increases Verizon has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and is likely to continue to pay rising dividends for the foreseeable future Adding to the security of the dividend is a manageable amount of debt on the balance sheet Verizon consistently operates with an interest coverage ratio exceeding 5x and is on pace for approximately 5 5x of interest coverage for 2018 In addition Verizon has a credit rating of BBB from Standard Poor s and Baa1 from Moody s along with a stable outlook from all three major U S credit ratings agencies Maintaining investment grade credit ratings helps keep Verizon s cost of debt from becoming too burdensome
Verizon is likely to generate earnings per share of approximately 4 35 in fiscal 2018 Using this estimate the company is trading at a price to earnings ratio of 12 9 today This is a reasonable stock valuation Consider that the broader S P 500 Index has an average price to earnings ratio in the mid 20 s Verizon traded at an average price to earnings ratio of 14 over the last decade If the company s price to earnings ratio expands to its 10 year average over the next five years this will increase Verizon s total returns by about 1 7 per year The combination of 5 annual earnings growth the 4 3 dividend yield and 1 7 additional return through expansion of the price to earnings ratio Verizon s total expected returns are 11 per year
Final Thoughts
The telecom industry is normally associated with slow growth dividend stocks While Verizon gives investors all the benefits of investing in telecom stocks specifically a highly profitable business model and a high dividend yield it also offers growth potential as well Through its investments in 5G and new technologies like the Internet of Things Verizon is poised to continue growing earnings and dividends for many years These qualities make Verizon an attractive stock pick for income investors
Original post |
VZ | U S Inflation Rebound Hasn t Been the Right Kind for This Fed | Bloomberg This isn t the inflation rebound that Federal Reserve officials were looking for
While inflation moved closer to the U S central bank s 2 percent target in September and October following months of lackluster results its increase reflected gains in goods and services that aren t necessarily linked to monetary policy according to new Fed research That means policy makers could still have a hard time reaching their target which has remained elusive throughout much of the economic recovery
The Nov 27 study by San Francisco Fed researchers Tim Mahedy and Adam Shapiro broke down inflation into two categories procyclical which responds to changes in the unemployment rate and acyclical which does not It s the first one that Fed officials care about as the federal funds rate can have an impact while the second is more immune to the state of the labor market and as a result central bank policy
And unfortunately for policy makers an acceleration in acyclical inflation over the last two months has masked further declines in procyclical inflation
The Fed s preferred price gauge which is based on personal consumption expenditures excluding those on food and energy picked up in September and October to 1 4 percent following declines in six of the seven previous months
The procyclical inflation measure which represents 42 percent of the goods and services in the core PCE index finally rose to the 3 percent level consistent with previous expansions late last year but has since fallen to 2 4 percent Meanwhile the acyclical measure which represents 58 percent of the core PCE bounced back to 0 8 percent in October from an almost two year low of 0 5 percent in August
The rebound in acyclical inflation reflected the fading effects of Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ s decision earlier this year to change the way it prices cell phone plans as well as accelerating airfare prices and motor vehicle maintenance and repair costs
The procyclical measure has fallen in large part due to a deceleration in inflation for pharmaceuticals and housing which includes rentals Housing in particular should be a concern for the Fed because throughout much of the expansion it had responded more closely than other items to labor market tightening The Fed s hand may be weakened further if rental inflation decouples from the unemployment rate
Market interest rates have risen over the past three months on increased confidence among investors that the Fed will hike its benchmark overnight rate three times next year as Jerome Powell takes over leadership of the central bank from Janet Yellen
That confidence partly reflects the Fed s conviction that inflation will rebound to 2 percent as the labor market continues to strengthen and transitory effects that weighed prices down this year fade away
Now it s time for the data to play along The proof will be in the procyclical pudding |
WMB | As markets turn Fed says it is not fazed | By Howard Schneider and Jonathan Spicer WASHINGTON Reuters U S Federal Reserve officials convinced the massive U S bond market has fundamentally changed in the last decade are about to test their commitment to that idea against investors who have begun betting against the U S central bank s ability to continue raising interest rates In what could set the stage for a volatile 2019 if the Fed acts more aggressively than investors expect top policymakers are maintaining their view that nosediving bond spreads don t give the same sour signal about the economy that they used to Investors typically demand higher yields to commit money for longer periods of time When short term rates rise above long term rates and invert the yield curve it has been a reliable predictor of recession though sometimes several months later as confidence in the economic future erodes Instead of just reflecting investors losing faith Fed officials have argued that the recently narrowing gap between short and long term Treasury bonds could reflect long term shifts in global capital flows or the fact that all interest rates are lower and more compressed together than they used to be The central bank s own large balance sheet may even be a culprit by helping hold down long term rates Other forces may be at work that would not necessarily change the Fed s underlying plans such as a recent drop in oil prices that could hold down the interest demanded by investors by lowering expected inflation The closely watched spread between two year and 10 year bonds dipped below 0 1 percentage point on Tuesday the lowest since before the last recession and continuing a slide that began in October U S stocks slumped nearly three percent on Tuesday on some of the same growth concerns influencing bond investors as well as on doubts China and the United States would resolve their trade spat Far from the U S facing trouble however New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said on Tuesday the economy is strong and the base case outlook is for rate increases to continue through 2019 I do continue to expect that further gradual increases in interest rates will best foster a sustained economic expansion Williams said at the New York Fed Sometimes there will be market reactions or interpretations of things that move around But I think I m focused on our goals and getting the policy right Williams said That has been a common view at the Fed including among top officials like Chairman Jerome Powell Asked about the possibility of an inversion at a June press conference Powell said what we really care about is what s the appropriate stance of policy Given the current functioning of the world economy arguments are made that a flatter yield curve has less of a signal embedded in it about coming economic performance PUT TO THE TEST The theory may get a test soon As the spread between two year and 10 year securities neared zero the gaps between some other yields including the two year and three year were already upside down A separate spread between 3 month and 10 year Treasury securities considered by some as a better recession predictor was also falling though at just around 0 5 percentage point it remained comfortably in positive territory Investors are coming around to our downbeat view of the prospects for the U S economy analysts at Capital Economics wrote on Tuesday arguing that there was no reason to regard this pending yield curve inversion as different from others Regardless of other possible reasons it is mainly indicative of worries about how long growth in the U S can remain so strong The state of the yield curve has been a topic of Fed discussion for much of this year as the central bank raised short term rates roughly once a quarter but longer term bond yields failed to keep pace While some regional bank presidents have been explicit in arguing the Fed should hold off raising rates to avoid an inversion the consensus has been consistent stay the course Williams a permanent voter on policy and considered among the top economists at the central bank said in September an inversion would not be worrisome or a deciding factor in setting policy That message of a Fed committed to a strategy that would not be shaped by short term data was echoed this week by Fed vice chair Randal Quarles Powell in remarks last week reiterated his upbeat outlook of an economy growing above potential with the unemployment rate the lowest in nearly 50 years and in no need of emergency level interest rates But markets are doubtful In recent weeks expectations about what the Fed will do next year have eroded with investors now anticipating policymakers will raise rates only one time next year and coupled with an expected increase in December pause with a federal funds rate of around 2 7 percent The Fed as of September expected to hit 3 1 percent by the end of 2019 and continue as high as 3 4 percent the following year Fresh projections will be issued when the Fed meets on Dec 18 and 19 The curve has to invert and it s going to happen sooner than people think If twos and 10s invert between now and Dec 18 the Fed is going to have to take out some of the hikes next year or they should do it said Joseph Lavorgna chief economist of the Americas at Natixis I m worried that they won t |
WMB | America s Job Growth Is Polarized and Even More So in New York | Bloomberg Jobs in the middle of the pay scale in America those in fields including construction administrative support and education count for a smaller share of recent employment gains and fresh research shows that polarization is particularly true in New York
In the area around and including New York City high wage jobs are dominating employment gains followed by lower end jobs Comparatively fewer jobs were added in middle income occupations between 2015 and 2017 based on a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York regional economy briefing It defines middle earning occupations as those paying 30 000 to 60 000 a year based on national median wage data
In upstate New York middle paying job categories are in outright decline That comes in contrast to the nation as a whole and it could shape how today s overall tight labor markets feel on the ground
It may be tempting to believe that with tightening labor markets all workers should be having an easier time finding a job New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said in a press briefing Some types of jobs are still declining in some parts of our region and workers may not have the right skills for the jobs that are growing |
WMB | Serena confirmed for Australian Open return | MELBOURNE Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB will resume her quest for a record equaling 24th grand slam title at the Australian Open in January after organizers on Wednesday confirmed her entry to the tournament she won for a seventh time on her last appearance in 2017 The 37 year old American achieved her victory over sister Venus in the final two years ago while eight weeks pregnant with her daughter Alexis Olympia who was born the following September Williams reached the Wimbledon and U S Open finals after her return last year but lost both leaving her one short of Australian Margaret Court s tally of grand slam singles titles Her final match last season was the final at Flushing Meadow where her loss to Naomi Osaka was overshadowed by her row with umpire Carlos Ramos Williams is scheduled to play an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi in the final week of the year before heading to Australia to warm up for her assault on the Melbourne Park title at the Hopman Cup in Perth Also among the 102 women and 101 men to have confirmed they will compete in the first grand slam of 2019 is five times runner up Andy Murray who missed three of the four majors last year because of a hip injury The 31 year old Scot has entered the tournament with his protected ranking of number two after sliding down to 259th in the world in the wake of surgery on his injured joint
Reigning champion Roger Federer will be gunning for a record seventh men s single crown from Jan 14 27 while Caroline Wozniacki will embark on her maiden grand slam title defense at Melbourne Park |
WMB | Ukraine elections won t derail inflation targeting forex reforms central bank | By Natalia Zinets and Matthias Williams NYSE WMB KIEV Reuters Ukraine will press on with inflation targeting and plans to lift currency restrictions despite entering a period of instability during elections next year Central Bank Governor Yakiv Smoliy told Reuters on Wednesday The National Bank of Ukraine NBU has enough foreign exchange and gold reserves to intervene in the market if needed and expects to replenish its forex reserves to 19 2 billion with the expected disbursement of IMF loans in December he said Smoliy was aiming to reassure investors as Ukraine gears up for two tightly contested election races in 2019 the presidential election in March and parliamentary polls in October amid the threat of escalating conflict with Russia While it will miss its target to bring inflation below double digits in 2018 the central bank has set itself a target of around 5 percent by the end of 2019 that would allow it to lower its key rate which is high enough at 18 percent Smoliy said The central bank wants to lift foreign exchange restrictions many of which were imposed or tightened after the collapse of the hryvnia in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbass region The hryvnia has fallen by more than 70 percent since 2014 Planned reforms include lifting restrictions on Ukrainians opening bank accounts abroad and investing abroad without special permission from the central bank and on foreign investors withdrawing dividends out of the country The National Bank is out of politics Smoliy said in an interview at the bank s headquarters Of course the election is a certain stress for citizens a certain instability but with the independence of the National Bank we will continue to adhere to our policy in terms of macrofinancial stability The central bank would also look at whether to scrap a requirement for exporters to sell half of their foreign currency earnings soon he said without giving a firm timeline Smoliy said the central bank would stay independent and not be pressured into printing money which has happened in previous election cycles when governments courted voters with spending increases The current liquidity on the market is balanced and cannot affect inflationary processes he added As evidence of his credentials to shepherd the banking system through elections Smoliy cited the central bank s currency interventions to calm market jitters after Ukraine introduced martial law last week President Petro Poroshenko introduced martial law after Russia fired on three Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait and captured their crews on Nov 25 The NBU s interventions turned out to be quite effective and on Thursday we realized that the trend of panic moods was broken Smoliy said He added there was practically no outflow of deposits following the martial law announcement The banking system almost did not feel the introduction of martial law IMF LOANS BY CHRISTMAS The International Monetary Fund and other foreign institutions have supported Ukraine s economy since the Crimea annexation conditional on Kiev s pro Western leadership implementing reforms and tackling corruption IMF loan disbursements have effectively been frozen since April 2017 as reforms slowed down but Smoliy expects the IMF to release a loan tranche in the ten days before Christmas Ukraine has fulfilled all prior actions Only bureaucratic procedures are left he said He did not specify what size tranche he expected but said it would help the central bank raise its forex reserves to 19 2 billion from 17 8 billion now As part of a clean up of the banking system the NBU helped forcibly nationalize Ukraine s biggest bank against the wishes of its biggest shareholders in 2016 before Smoliy took office The decision sparked hundred of lawsuits and on Tuesday a London court threw out a PrivatBank case against the former owners potentially derailing Kiev s efforts to claw back money it says was lost to fraud PrivatBank said it would appeal the decision and Smoliy said the idea that Ukraine might have to return PrivatBank to its former owners was not under discussion
This is a long process so far it is impossible to ascertain that someone has won and someone has lost he said |
WMB | NFL puts ref on leave over Hughes altercation | The NFL placed referee Roy Ellison on administrative leave as it investigates an altercation between the umpire and Buffalo defensive end Jerry Hughes after the Bills lost to the Miami Dolphins 21 17 on Sunday The NFL Referees Association in a statement Wednesday said it expects Ellison to be cleared Video from last week s game shows Ellison was verbally threatened by a player who has a well documented history of abusive language and inappropriate actions towards our officials While we are disappointed that the NFL has yet to address that aspect of the incident we look forward to working with the League during its review and will ensure that Roy s rights are protected during this process said NFLRA executive director Scott Green Hughes was caught on video yelling at an unidentified official in the bowels of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens Fla and heard bellowing I ll catch you Hughes is also heard accusing the object of his ire of calling him an expletive As another player and a Bills official direct Hughes to the locker room Hughes is heard saying I m going to knock his out when I see him I m going to hurry up and get dressed He called me a expletive Asked after the game if he had confronted an official Hughes said he did not and did not recall an official calling him an expletive during the game When told there was video of the episode he said I would love to see this video Ellison a full time umpire in his 16th season was suspended for one game in 2013 for using abusive language aimed at Washington Redskins offensive lineman Trent Williams NYSE WMB Hughes a nine year veteran and former first round pick has 6 0 sacks this season and 45 5 for his career He has twice been fined for abusive language directed at officials in 2014 and 2015 Field Level Media OLUSSPORT Reuters US Online Report Sports News 20181205T162038 0000 |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 1 Gonzaga edges Washington | Rui Hachimura hit the game winner with 0 6 seconds left to cap a 26 point performance and lead top ranked Gonzaga to an 81 79 nonconference victory over visiting Washington on Wednesday night at Spokane Wash Hachimura who also had seven rebounds received a pass from Josh Perkins just inside the free throw line Hachimura turned and shot from about 13 feet away as the Bulldogs 9 0 spoiled the Huskies upset attempt Zach Norvell Jr added 14 points seven assists and six rebounds for Gonzaga which has won 12 of the past 13 meetings against Washington Corey Kispert scored 13 points and Brandon Clarke had 10 points and 11 rebounds Jaylen Nowell led Washington with 26 points He added six assists and hit two critical free throws to tie the game at 79 all with 9 4 seconds left Matisse Thybulle scored 18 points and Noah Dickerson added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out for the Huskies 6 3 No 3 Duke 84 Hartford 54 RJ Barrett pumped in 27 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as the Blue Devils eventually overwhelmed the Hawks in Durham N C Zion Williamson despite missing a couple of dunks poured in 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Duke 8 1 He also added a few rim jarring jams and supplied a late game flip off the backboard so Barrett his freshman classmate could dunk J R Lynch s 13 points and Jason Dunne s 12 points paced Hartford 3 7 which couldn t overcome 21 turnovers and lost for the third time this season by double digits No 13 Texas Tech 65 Arkansas Pine Bluff 47 The host Red Raiders stayed unbeaten by pulling away from the pesky Golden Lions in Lubbock Texas and their customary defensive performance was a big reason why Jarrett Culver paced a balanced Texas Tech scoring attack with 13 points Matt Mooney added 11 and everybody in a home uniform had a hand in another stifling defensive performance Entering the game the Raiders 8 0 led the country in field goal defense allowing opponents to make only 34 percent The Golden Lions 2 6 were the latest victim to Texas Tech s rangy and physical defense Martaveous McKnight scored 27 points to lead Pine Bluff but nobody else scored more than four as Arkansas Pine Bluff shot just 32 6 percent No 14 North Carolina 97 UNC Wilmington 69 Cameron Johnson scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half as the host Tar Heels defeated the Seahawks in Chapel Hill N C Nassir Little came off the bench and scored 14 points while Luke Maye and Kenny Williams NYSE WMB added 11 points apiece for the Tar Heels 7 2 Maye also had nine rebounds North Carolina played without starting point guard Coby White a freshman who led the team in scoring in the previous three games who sat with a sore ankle The Seahawks 4 6 had a stretch with just three points across nearly nine minutes No 15 Virginia Tech 89 VMI 68 Justin Robinson scored 18 points and Nickeil Alexander Walker added 15 in the Hokies rout over the visiting Keydets in Blacksburg Va Alexander Walker scored 10 first half points and got help from Robinson and P J Horne who each scored 10 before the break as the Hokies 7 1 took control after the first five minutes Garrett Gilkeson led the Keydets 5 5 with career high 21 points in the 135th meeting between the two schools No 17 Buffalo 89 Le Moyne 55 CJ Massinburg had a triple double as the Bulls recovered from a sluggish first half to stay undefeated in beating visiting Le Moyne Buffalo used a 25 1 run in the second half to pull away turning a 58 48 lead into an 83 49 cushion with 2 53 to play The Bulls held Le Moyne without a field goal for a 10 minute stretch Massinburg finished with 13 points 13 rebounds and 10 assists while adding four steals for Buffalo 8 0 Zay Jennings had 16 points off the bench to lead the Division II Dolphins 5 4 No 19 Ohio State 77 Illinois 67 Keyshawn Woods had 18 points to lead the visiting Buckeyes to victory over the Fighting Illini in Chicago The Buckeyes 8 1 2 0 Big Ten outscored the Illini 23 7 in an eight minute stretch of the second half for a 71 58 lead Illinois 2 7 0 2 ran off seven straight points to make it 71 65 before a Kyle Young basket with 2 22 left gave the Buckeyes a 73 65 lead to quell the rally No 21 Villanova 69 Temple 59 Jermaine Samuels scored all 15 of his points in the second half helping the Wildcats rally over the visiting Owls Samuels broke a 47 47 tie with a 3 pointer with 5 14 left in the game highlighting a 12 0 Villanova run that wrested control from the Owls in a game that was as hard fought as one would imagine from Philadelphia rivals Samuels added four free throws in the final four minutes as Villanova 7 2 won the second of its four straight games against the Big Five in its city Nate Pierre Louis tallied a game high 19 points for Temple 7 2 Minnesota 85 No 24 Nebraska 78 Amir Coffey scored a career high 32 points grabbed six rebounds and dished six assists and the host Golden Gophers rallied to beat Cornhuskers in Minneapolis Jordan Murphy had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his 52nd career double double surpassing Jim Brewer 51 for the Golden Gophers all time record Daniel Oturu added 10 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota 7 2 1 1 Big Ten
Isaac Copeland Jr had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cornhuskers Isaiah Roby had 15 points and Glynn Watson had 14 for Nebraska 7 2 1 1 which had its three game winning streak end Field Level Media |
WMB | Ex NFL star Williams behind new Freedom Football League | Another football league is in the works and former NFL players such as Ricky Williams NYSE WMB and Terrell Owens are behind it The Freedom Football League doesn t have a launch season but Williams said it would begin with 10 teams and would play games in spring and summer The purpose of this league is about community and the development of players Williams told ESPN s Outside The Lines In thinking about creating this league I wanted to create a league that I could have stayed in and been comfortable and really thrived The NFL started a long time ago and since then a lot of things have changed And we want to create a league that s ready for that change and invite some more of it The FFL said in a press release that players will be encouraged to address society s challenges relating to social justice wealth disparity health and wellness and more hot button issues they are passionate about The league said players will also receive permanent and reliable holistic health and wellness support on and off the field We re trying to develop young men Williams said on OTL You can t take away their voice and expect them to develop When I grew up watching football I really wanted to be like Jim Brown not because of what he did on a field but because he could take that platform and have a voice And so when I got to the NFL expecting that to be the case anytime a big social issue came up we were told Be quiet It s a distraction And so really we re changing the conversation The league s first 10 teams will be the Birmingham Kings Connecticut Underground Florida Strong Oakland Panthers Ohio Players Oklahoma City Power Portland Progress St Louis Independence San Diego Warriors and Texas Revolution Among the other former NFL players involved in the FFL are Simeon Rice Jeff Garcia Byron Chamberlain and Dexter Jackson Williams won the Heisman Trophy for Texas in 1998 and rushed for 10 009 yards for three NFL teams from 1999 2011 He is one of 31 players to surpass 10 000 career yards
Two other professional leagues are in the works The Alliance of American Football begins play on Feb 9 while the XFL is slated to begin play in Feb 2020 Field Level Media |
WMB | Tariffs have hit confidence to slow U S economy Fed s Williams | NEW YORK Reuters Higher trade tariffs have had a relatively small effect on the economy so far but they have hurt confidence and some business investments which hurts U S employment and economic growth Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB said on Thursday At least so far the tariffs that have been put in place by the United States and other countries when you roll that up into a 20 trillion economy it doesn t have a big effect overall on economic growth or inflation he told a forum when asked about trade wars
The much more important and larger effect is higher uncertainty for businesses some of whom have told Williams that investments have been put off he said That s a negative for jobs in the short run and a factor that slows the economy relative to what it could be |
WMB | NFL notebook McCarthy addressed Packers players | Mike McCarthy was back in front of the Green Bay Packers players on Wednesday Three days after being fired he was given the opportunity to address his now former players after making a request to do so He wanted an opportunity to speak with the team I was 100 percent fully supportive and he did a fantastic job talking to the team interim coach Joe Philbin told reporters on Thursday Not just about football and winning football games but his passion His passion for the game his love for the players was clearly evident McCarthy paid a visit to team headquarters on Tuesday to make the request and chief executive officer Mark Murphy and others in upper management agreed to it Murphy felt it was a good idea as McCarthy didn t have a chance to address the team after being fired Sunday hours after Green Bay s 20 17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals McCarthy who turned 55 last month was in his 13th season at the helm in Green Bay He finished with a 125 77 2 regular season record while going 10 8 in the postseason leading the team to a Super Bowl XLV victory following the 2010 season The Washington Redskins released a statement asking for privacy for Alex Smith and his family amid reports that the quarterback is dealing with an infection in his surgically repaired leg Smith underwent immediate surgery on Nov 18 after incurring compound and spiral fractures to his tibia and fibula in the Redskins game against the Houston Texans Multiple outlets report Smith has undergone subsequent surgeries to battle the infection Reuben Foster s ex girlfriend and accuser detailed the alleged abuse against her telling ABC that the former San Francisco 49ers linebacker slapped and pushed her during an incident that led to his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence Further Elissa Ennis told ABC s Good Morning America that she was shocked that Foster was picked up another team the Washington Redskins so soon after his release by the 49ers When he got signed I was like I can t believe somebody picked him up Ennis said on GMA her first public comments about the incident I just couldn t believe somebody picked him up in less than how many hours I was shocked The New York Giants placed safety Landon Collins on injured reserve ending the two time Pro Bowl selection s season Collins sustained a partially torn labrum in his shoulder last Sunday in the Giants overtime win over the Chicago Bears and reportedly will undergo surgery The club signed defensive back Kenny Ladler from the practice squad to take Collins spot on the roster and added punter Brock Miller to the practice squad The Kansas City Chiefs are signing Kelvin Benjamin two days after the wide receiver was waived by the Buffalo Bills according to a report from ESPN ESPN reported earlier in the day that Benjamin was visiting the Chiefs who are led at the position by Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins though Watkins has missed three of the past four games with a foot injury Benjamin a first round pick in 2014 was released by the Bills who acquired him from the Carolina Panthers last year in exchange for two draft picks He struggled to fit in with Buffalo hauling in 39 receptions for 571 yards and two touchdowns in 18 total games with the club He has 23 catches for 354 yards and one score in 12 games this season Another football league is in the works and former NFL players such as Ricky Williams NYSE WMB and Terrell Owens are behind it The Freedom Football League doesn t have a launch season but Williams said it would begin with 10 teams and would play games in spring and summer Among the other former NFL players involved in the FFL are Simeon Rice Jeff Garcia Byron Chamberlain and Dexter Jackson
The league s first 10 teams will be the Birmingham Kings Connecticut Underground Florida Strong Oakland Panthers Ohio Players Oklahoma City Power Portland Progress St Louis Independence San Diego Warriors and Texas Revolution Field Level Media |
VZ | Can Wireless Service Providers Sustain Bull Run In 2019 | After a disappointing 2017 the U S wireless service providers made a recovery in 2018 The need to remain connected is a human condition An era of digitization and technology is essentially built on this need It is here that telecommunications come to the fore as a necessary utility With the U S wireless telecom industry continuously evolving the companies in the league are fighting it out to stay abreast of competition Strong Wireless MarketWith rapid growth in video and other bandwidth intensive applications the wireless industry participants are making considerable investments in LTE broadband and fiber in order to provide additional capacity and ramp up Internet and wireless networks The LTE network has the highest penetration rate of 91 in the North American region The impending 5G boom is likely to propel the wireless industry to newer heights The success of 5G technology hinges on substantial investments to upgrade infrastructure in the core fiber backhaul network to support anticipated growth in data services Advantage of 5G Wireless NetworkThe United States is progressing well to lead the world in 5G the next generation of wireless connectivity which will enable faster speeds and low latency wireless broadband services Latency period of 5G data delivery will be in milliseconds Further 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless network available now Consequently 5G enabled mobile devices are likely to last a lot longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts The rising demand for technologically superior products has been a silver lining for the telecom space in an otherwise tough environment In this respect the superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost necessity in managing the exponential growth of internet connected devices popularly known as Internet of Things IoT Pro Growth MeasuresThe two pro growth agendas of President Trump namely significant cut in corporate tax and deregulation are major catalysts to the telecom industry The corporate tax rate was lowered from 35 to 21 Trump s tax proposal will result in a huge windfall for telecom operators The carriers can utilize this money for 5G network R D and its deployment The previous administration under Barack Obama was strictly against further consolidation of the U S telecom industry However the FCC Federal Communications Commission under Trump s presidency has given enough indications of its leniency compared with the Obama administration The FCC is most likely to roll back a slew of stringent regulations of the previous regime The FCC s stance of being less restrictive will aid mergers and acquisitions Performance of Major Wireless Service providersYear to date stock price of six major wireless operators Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ T Mobile US Inc NYSE T Sprint Corp NYSE S United States Cellular Corp NYSE S CenturyLink Inc NYSE T and Telephone and Data Systems Inc NYSE T outperformed the benchmark S P 500 AT T Inc NYSE T is the sole major wireless operator which has witnessed a decline so far in 2018 CenturyLink Sprint and United States Cellular carry Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Bottom LineA growing U S economy speeds up the demand for real time voice data and video manifold The escalation in demand has encouraged telecom service providers to undertake large network extensions while upgrading plans Leveraging state of the art communication network architectures 5G is touted to be the primary catalyst for IoT Wireless operators will thrive on 5G network in 2019 Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
VZ | Verizon Communications VZ Stock Moves 1 98 What You Should Know | In the latest trading session Verizon Communications VZ closed at 55 95 marking a 1 98 move from the previous day This change was narrower than the S P 500 s daily loss of 2 08 Elsewhere the Dow lost 2 11 while the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 2 27
Heading into today shares of the largest U S cellphone carrier had lost 3 39 over the past month lagging the Computer and Technology sector s loss of 1 55 and outpacing the S P 500 s loss of 3 6 in that time
VZ will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release which is expected to be January 22 2019 On that day VZ is projected to report earnings of 1 10 per share which would represent year over year growth of 27 91 Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of 34 31 billion up 1 05 from the year ago period
Looking at the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of 4 68 per share and revenue of 130 92 billion These totals would mark changes of 25 13 and 3 87 respectively from last year
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ should also be noted by investors These revisions help to show the ever changing nature of near term business trends As such positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company s business and profitability
Based on our research we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near team stock moves We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear actionable rating model
The Zacks Rank system which ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell has an impressive outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks generating an average annual return of 25 since 1988 Over the past month the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0 02 lower VZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of 3 Hold
Investors should also note VZ s current valuation metrics including its Forward P E ratio of 12 19 For comparison its industry has an average Forward P E of 33 22 which means VZ is trading at a discount to the group
We can also see that VZ currently has a PEG ratio of 2 74 This metric is used similarly to the famous P E ratio but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock s expected earnings growth rate The Wireless National was holding an average PEG ratio of 4 78 at yesterday s closing price
The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 59 which puts it in the top 23 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
Make sure to utilize Zacks Com to follow all of these stock moving metrics and more in the coming trading sessions |
VZ | Internet businesses ask U S to keep net neutrality rules | WASHINGTON Reuters AirBnb Reddit Shutterstock Inc Tumblr Etsy O ETSY Twitter N TWTR and a long list of small internet companies urged the Federal Communications Commission on Monday to scrap a plan to roll back net neutrality rules In a letter dated on Monday the companies urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reverse course and vote against changing the rules Pai a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump in January unveiled plans last week to scrap landmark 2015 rules intended to ensure a free and open internet moving to give broadband service providers sweeping power over what content consumers can access The FCC is set to vote on Dec 14 The move was seen as a victory for big internet service providers such as AT T Inc N T Comcast Corp O CMCSA and Verizon Communications Inc N VZ which favored a repeal The companies which sent the letter on Cyber Monday to coincide with the biggest online shopping day of the year argued that slowing access to content called throttling or blocking it altogether would hurt the U S economy This would put small and medium sized businesses at a disadvantage and prevent innovative new ones from even getting off the ground the companies said in the letter Pai defended the change as a way to remove heavy handed internet regulations
The internet and companies like Twitter which signed the letter thrived under the pre 2015 light touch regulatory framework that governed Internet access Chairman Pai wants to return to that framework so that we can increase investment in broadband networks and connect more Americans to the services that these companies offer online FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield said in a statement |
VZ | U S Supreme Court weighs major digital privacy case | By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Supreme Court on Wednesday takes up a major test of privacy rights in the digital age as it weighs whether police must obtain warrants to get data on the past locations of criminal suspects using cellphone data from wireless providers The justices at 10 a m 1500 GMT are due to hear an appeal by a man named Timothy Carpenter convicted in a series of armed robberies in Ohio and Michigan with the help of past cellphone location data that linked him to the crime locations His American Civil Liberties Union lawyers argue that without a court issued warrant such data amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the U S Constitution s Fourth Amendment Law enforcement authorities routinely request and receive this information from wireless providers during criminal investigations as they try to link a suspect to a crime Police helped establish that Carpenter was near the scene of the robberies of Radio Shack and T Mobile stores by securing from his cellphone carrier his past cell site location information tracking which cellphone towers had relayed his calls The legal fight has raised questions about the degree to which companies protect their customers privacy rights The big four wireless carriers Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp receive tens of thousands of these requests annually from law enforcement Verizon was the only one of those four companies to tell the Supreme Court that it favors strong privacy protections for its customers with the other three sitting on the sidelines There is growing scrutiny of the surveillance practices of U S law enforcement and intelligence agencies amid concern among lawmakers across the political spectrum about civil liberties and authorities evading warrant requirements The Supreme Court twice in recent years has ruled on major cases concerning how criminal law applies to new technology both times ruling against law enforcement In 2012 the court held that a warrant is required to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle Two years later the court said police need a warrant to search a cellphone seized during an arrest Carpenter s bid to suppress the evidence failed and he was convicted of six robbery counts On appeal the Cincinnati based 6th U S Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his convictions finding that no warrant was required for the cellphone data The ACLU said in court papers that police need probable cause and therefore a warrant in order to meet Fourth Amendment requirements Based on a provision of a 1986 federal law called the Stored Communications Act the Justice Department said probable cause is not needed to obtain customer records Instead it argues prosecutors must show only that there are reasonable grounds for the records to be provided and that they are relevant and material to an investigation President Donald Trump s administration said in court papers the government has a compelling interest in acquiring the data without a warrant because the information is particularly useful at the early stages of a criminal investigation Civil liberties groups said the 1986 law did not anticipate the way mobile devices now contain a wealth of data on each user
A ruling is due by the end of June |
VZ | Verizon plans residential 5G launch in 3 5 markets in 2018 | With an update to a high profile timetable Verizon NYSE VZ says it will launch 5G residential broadband in three to five markets in 2018 Its first commercial launch is set for Sacramento Calif in the second half of next year it will provide details on the other markets later It says it s run successful 5G trials in 11 markets this year The launch won t have a material impact on planned capex for 2018 it says and Verizon expects capital spending consistent with the past several years Rival AT T NYSE T has been conducting 5G trials in Austin and Waco Texas as well as Kalamazoo Mich and South Bend Ind In market action today VZ 2 2 T 3 Now read |
WMB | Wildfires pose threat to California climate goals officials say | By Nichola Groom Reuters California s wildfires could deal a blow to the state s ambitious climate goals if they inflict too deep a financial wound on utilities seen as crucial to greening up the grid according to state officials The state is relying on Pacific Gas Electric PG E and its two other big investor owned utilities to double purchases of renewable energy over the next decade and invest billions of dollars to help electrify the transportation sector part of California s nation leading plan to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent below 2020 levels by 2030 But PG E now faces untold billions of dollars of potential liabilities related to the recent wildfires the deadliest in California history if an investigation determines its equipment caused them posing a threat to the utility s solvency and its clean energy agenda The company experienced an outage on a transmission line on Nov 8 near where the so called Camp Fire which destroyed a town and killed dozens of people is thought to have started PG E has since warned it could face liability exceeding its insurance coverage if its equipment is fingered I am concerned Mary Nichols chair of the state s powerful air quality regulator the California Air Resources Board said on Thursday when asked about the impact of wildfire liabilities on clean energy infrastructure investment Electric utilities have a wonderful ability to mobilize resources and expertise in the electric area It s a role that we have advocated for encouraged them to play and we ve been very pleased by their response Bill Dodd a Democratic state senator who sponsored legislation that passed in August making it easier for utilities to recover fire damages from ratepayers said it was important to California s green efforts to shield PG E A bankrupt or financially crippled utility would negatively affect California s ability to meet its nation leading climate change goals he said California law currently holds utilities responsible for any fire damage related to their equipment Dodd s law would give regulators broad powers to shield a utility from fire related costs but it is set to come into force in 2019 and does not cover fires in 2018 As part of its effort to meet state climate requirements PG E has more than 250 contracts for renewable power that represent 57 billion in investment according to spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo Last year the state delivered 33 percent of its energy from renewable resources an amount it is required to raise to 60 percent by 2030 PG E is also a critical player in California s plan to electrify everything from passenger cars to heavy duty vehicles In its latest annual report PG E said it expects to invest more than 1 billion through 2020 on grid improvements that would in part support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and integration of larger amounts of renewables Much of that money is raised from outside investors They borrow large amounts of cheap capital so that they can build infrastructure and provide services that the state of California thinks it needs California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker said in an interview noting the state s large appetite for decarbonizing Swami Venkataraman a senior vice president with credit rating agency Moody s Investors Service said the price tag for such borrowing would soar if PG E s finances deteriorated as a result of the aftermath of the fires It s sort of hard to imagine a bankrupt or even financially weak entity being able to do this efficiently and at the least cost possible to the residents of California he said PG E s stock has lost half of its value since the fire started on Nov 8 on fears that the utility could go bankrupt if it is eventually found to be responsible Asked about the Camp Fire s threat to PG E s climate initiatives spokeswoman Paulo said the utility was currently focused on helping customers recover and rebuild But the utility has linked its financial fortunes to the state s climate goals in the past
California s investor owned utilities are critical to meeting these clean energy goals and we will require access to affordable capital in order to help Chief Executive Geisha Williams NYSE WMB said on a conference call with investors on Nov 5 days before the Camp Fire started |
WMB | Kinder Morgan Williams win OK to start up facilities to boost feedgas to Cheniere LNG terminals | U S regulators this week gave approval to pipeline operators Kinder Morgan NYSE KMI and Williams NYSE WMB to start up facilities that will increase the amount of available feedgas to serve Cheniere Energy s NYSEMKT LNG liquefied natural gas export terminals in Louisiana and Texas
In separate orders yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared the KMI Louisiana Pipeline s request to start up remaining facilities on its Sabine Pass Expansion Project and the WMB Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line s request to start up certain facilities on its Gulf Connector Expansion Project
The Sabine Pass Expansion is designed to bring 600M cf day of capacity to flow southbound on existing pipeline facilities for delivery to Cheniere s Louisiana export terminal in Cameron Parish while the Gulf Connector Expansion is designed to provide 475M cf day of incremental firm transportation capacity to several interconnections including with Cheniere s Corpus Christi Pipeline in Texas
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WMB | NBA roundup Jordan lifts Mavs over Clippers | DeAndre Jordan torched his former team for 16 points and a season high 23 rebounds Sunday and Dennis Smith Jr who had a front tooth knocked out in the third quarter came up with a game saving block to allow host Dallas Mavericks to earn their seventh consecutive home victory 114 110 over the Los Angeles Clippers Jordan was pivotal in the victory scoring on a late tip in and then tipping and stealing a Lou Williams NYSE WMB pass attempt with 19 seconds to go and Dallas trying to hold onto a 111 110 lead After the Mavericks went ahead 112 110 the Clippers called timeout and went inside to Tobias Harris However Smith blocked the shot and then made two free throws at the other end to seal the victory Smith amassed nine points five assists two steals and two blocks Dallas got huge contributions from Harrison Barnes who finished with a game high 30 points and nine rebounds and reserve J J Barea finished with a season high 24 points four assists and five rebounds Montrezl Harrell led Los Angeles with 23 points while Williams and Danilo Gallinari had 21 apiece Lakers 120 Suns 96 Kyle Kuzma had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Los Angeles past the visiting Suns The Lakers ran their winning streak to three and climbed a season high five games above 500 LeBron James had 22 points six rebounds and eight assists and Brandon Ingram had 15 points for the Lakers Richaun Holmes scored a season high 15 points off the bench and Deandre Ayton finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns who have lost five in a row 76ers 103 Grizzlies 95 Jimmy Butler hit two free throws with 1 31 remaining and a jumper 41 seconds later to stave off a Memphis rally helping host Philadelphia hang on for a win Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid recorded double doubles for the 76ers who completed a 3 0 homestand with their fourth straight win Butler finished with 21 points and JJ Redick a team high 24 for the 76ers Mike Conley had a team high 21 points and five assists for the Grizzlies who have lost four of their last five games Pelicans 119 Hornets 109 Anthony Davis had 36 points 19 rebounds and eight assists and visiting New Orleans handled Charlotte Jrue Holiday added 19 points and Nikola Mirotic scored 16 for the Pelicans New Orleans won for just the second time in seven games while the Hornets lost for the fourth time in six games Frank Kaminsky had 19 points to lead a strong effort from the Hornets bench which had a combined 67 points Spurs 131 Trail Blazers 118 DeMar DeRozan scored a season high 36 points including 15 straight in the third quarter and LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the floor as host San Antonio Spurs defeated Portland The Spurs snapped a two game losing streak while the Blazers lost for the fifth time in six games Rudy Gay added 18 points for San Antonio with Patty Mills scoring 15 Damian Lillard led all scorers with 37 points and added 10 assists for Portland while CJ McCollum added 24 points Heat 102 Jazz 100 Dwyane Wade made two free throws with 3 2 seconds left and Miami defeated visiting Utah when Jazz star Donovan Mitchell saw his 3 point attempt from the left elbow bounce in and out On the winning play Wade drove to his right in a tie game and drew a foul on Jazz 7 foot 1 center Rudy Gobert who went for the block
Mitchell scored 18 points but he finished the game shooting just 8 of 24 from the floor He also missed six of his seven 3 point tries Miami s Hassan Whiteside had a monster game 23 points 20 rebounds and three blocks It was his 11th career 20 20 game and his third this season Field Level Media |
WMB | Motor racing Williams sign Canadian Latifi as F1 reserve | LONDON Reuters Canadian Nicholas Latifi will be a reserve driver for Williams NYSE WMB next season the Formula One team announced on Monday The 23 year old was previously test and reserve driver for Force India who now have Canadian owners and have been renamed Racing Point F1 Williams former champions who finished last in the championship that ended in November have Britain s 2018 Formula Two champion George Russell and Poland s Robert Kubica as their race drivers for 2019 British based Williams said Latifi whose father Michael this year bought a stake of around 10 percent in the McLaren Group would help them at race weekends and in the factory He will drive in six Friday first free practice FP1 sessions as well as test days before and during the season It s a fantastic opportunity to continue my F1 development and to build my on track experience with more FP1 sessions and the rookie and Pirelli tests said Latifi in a statement As well as this a big part of my role will be simulator driving and helping to support the development of the new car |
WMB | Motor racing Racing Point will change name again before F1 season starts | By Alan Baldwin LONDON Reuters Racing Point the Formula One team formerly known as Force India will have another name before the season starts in Australia next March team principal Otmar Szafnauer said on Monday The words Force India disappeared from the team name after the final race of the 2018 season Racing Point F1 appearing instead on the 2019 provisional entry list published last Friday It s not the permanent name just something we stuck onto the entry until we go for a permanent name change Szafnauer told Reuters It won t be Racing Point Force India the name given to the Silverstone based team in 2008 after Indian beer and liquor baron Vijay Mallya bought the Spyker F1 outfit went into administration last July Co owned by Mallya who has been beset by well documented financial and legal troubles and India s Sahara Group Force India had been surviving mostly on prize money and sponsorship Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll whose son Lance raced for Williams NYSE WMB this year purchased the cars and assets in August and the team continued as Racing Point Force India to distinguish them from the defunct Sahara Force India Lance Stroll will be in next year s lineup along with Mexican Sergio Perez Szafnauer said the new team name was likely to be announced around launch time next year The change will have to be approved by the governing FIA |
WMB | NBA roundup Nuggets snap Raptors win streak | Nikola Jokic had a triple double with 23 points 15 assists and 11 rebounds and made three free throws in the final seconds as the visiting Denver Nuggets ended the Toronto Raptors eight game winning streak with a 106 103 win Monday night Jokic made a free throw with seven seconds remaining to end a tie and made two more with 5 6 seconds left for the final margin extending Denver s winning streak to six games Jamal Murray added 21 points for the Nuggets and Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley had 15 each Kawhi Leonard led Toronto with 27 points and had eight rebounds Serge Ibaka added 15 points Warriors 128 Hawks 111 Golden State s Big Three combined for 85 points and the Warriors broke their two game losing streak with a win at Atlanta Stephen Curry scored 30 followed by Kevin Duran 28 and Klay Thompson 27 as Golden State improved to 5 7 on the road Curry playing in his second game since missing 11 games with an ankle injury made six 3 pointers Atlanta lost its third straight game despite getting 24 points and 11 rebounds from John Collins and 20 points from rookie Trae Young Cavaliers 99 Nets 97 Alec Burks threw down a tiebreaking slam dunk with 3 2 seconds remaining and Cleveland escaped with a victory over Brooklyn The Nets saw their home losing streak reach seven games Burks finished with 13 points in his third game for Cleveland after being acquired from Utah on Thursday He helped end the Cavaliers losing streak at four games The Nets had one more chance to tie or win but Spencer Dinwiddie s 3 point try was well short of the rim with 1 5 seconds remaining Jordan Clarkson led the Cavaliers with 20 points and a career high 11 rebounds Brooklyn s D Angelo Russell led all scorers with 30 points but shot 13 of 31 as the Nets overall losing streak reached seven games Wizards 110 Knicks 107 Bradley Beal scored 27 points Kelly Oubre Jr added 21 and Washington held on to win at New York John Wall had 18 points and 15 assists Markieff Morris scored 18 and Otto Porter Jr contributed 15 as Washington won its ninth straight game at Madison Square NYSE SQ Garden Emmanuel Mudiay s two free throws got the Knicks within five with 1 02 remaining and after Morris missed a 3 point attempt Noah Vonleh s layup cut the Wizards lead to three However Wall s 3 pointer with 12 seconds left made it 110 104 Tim Hardaway Jr led five New York players in double figures with 20 points Thunder 110 Pistons 83 Steven Adams had 21 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes and visiting Oklahoma City snapped Detroit s five game winning streak Russell Westbrook contributed 18 points six rebounds and six assists for the Thunder who have gone 15 3 since an 0 4 start Paul George supplied 17 points and 10 rebounds Detroit s Blake Griffin had 20 points five rebounds and four assists but went 7 for 18 from the field Pistons guard Reggie Bullock sustained a left ankle sprain in the early going and did not return Clippers 129 Pelicans 126 Tobias Harris scored 27 points and Danilo Gallinari added 24 as Los Angeles won at New Orleans Lou Williams NYSE WMB came off the bench to add 20 Avery Bradley scored 15 and Montrezl Harrell had 14 for the Clippers Julius Randle scored a career high 37 to lead New Orleans before fouling out with 4 04 remaining Jrue Holiday added 32 points and 14 assists Anthony Davis had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Darius Miller scored 15 Timberwolves 103 Rockets 91 Karl Anthony Towns recorded 24 points 11 rebounds and three steals to help Minnesota recover from a 19 point first half deficit to post a victory over Houston in Minneapolis Andrew Wiggins scored 16 points for Minnesota which won for the fifth time in the past six games Taj Gibson added 15 points and 11 rebounds
James Harden had 29 points and eight assists for Houston which tallied just nine fourth quarter points while falling for the fifth time in its past seven games Clint Capela scored 24 points for the Rockets Field Level Media |
WMB | Fed s Williams expects further U S rate increases into next year | By Jonathan Spicer NEW YORK Reuters One of the most influential Federal Reserve policymakers said on Tuesday he expects further interest rate hikes continuing next year since the U S economy is in really good shape reinforcing the Fed s upbeat tone in the face of growing doubts in financial markets Even as New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB told reporters he expects the U S expansion to carry on and surpass its previous record around mid 2019 stock markets headed lower Tuesday morning while a potentially worrying trend of inversion continued to grip Treasury markets The Fed is expected to raise its policy rate another notch this month and according to policymakers forecasts from September aims to continue tightening monetary policy three more times next year Futures markets however are betting a slowdown overseas and in sectors like U S housing will force the Fed to stop short Yet Williams a permanent voter on policy and close ally of Fed Chair Jerome Powell said lots of signs point to a quite strong and healthy labor market and he predicted economic growth of around an above potential 2 5 percent in 2019
Given this outlook I describe of strong growth strong labor market and inflation near our goal and taking into account all the various risks around the outlook I do continue to expect that further gradual increases in interest rates will best foster a sustained economic expansion and a sustained achievement of our dual mandate Williams said at the New York Fed |
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