A grim week for Nvidia and Tesla, but Netflix triumphs: Weekly tech roundup By Investing.com

A grim week for Nvidia and Tesla, but Netflix triumphs: Weekly tech roundup By Investing.com

Post By Stock

By Louis Juricic and Sarina Isaacs

Investing.com — Here is your weekly Pro Recap on the biggest headlines out of tech this past week: Netflix triumphs; Nvidia hit by new China restrictions; Tesla disappoints; Apple seeing iPhone trouble in China; and ASML garners positive marks despite poor guidance.

InvestingPro subscribers get tech headlines like these in real time. Never miss another market-moving alert.

Netflix smashes Q3 expectations, raises prices

Netflix (NASDAQ:) shares catapulted higher on Thursday after it reported far better Q3 earnings than anticipated and a healthy rise in subscribers, while also announcing it will hike prices on its streaming services.

The company’s earnings of $3.73 per share was well above the $3.49 average analyst target, while $8.54 billion in sales was in line, and paid subscribers rose 8.76 million in the third quarter – well above expectations for just over 6M.

The company acknowledged the “challenging” macro environment for the industry in the past six months due to the writers and actors strikes, and said it is “committed to resolving the remaining issues as quickly as possible.”

Netflix said it sees Q4 EPS of $2.15, reversing from the prior year’s loss of $0.47, and anticipates year-over-year revenue growth of around 11% to some $8.69B.

KeyBanc, Morgan Stanley, Truist and DZ Bank all upgraded the stock to buy-equivalent ratings on the news, with KeyBanc citing the company’s ongoing success in paid sharing, its rising operating profit and free cash flow, and its estimate that share buybacks “should support a 25%+ EPS growth profile.”

Morgan Stanley, for its part, said, “We believe Netflix will deliver the objectives it set out a year ago, accelerate revenue growth back to double digits and expand margins. At the same time, some of the froth in the stock and expectations have come out, creating a better entry point.”

And JPMorgan also hailed the company’s paid sharing strategy, as well as a “strong content slate” and Q4’s “favorable seasonality.”

Netflix also said it will immediately raise rates on its basic and premium (non-ad-supported) plans in the US, UK and France. In the US, this will mean a $2 raise to $11.99 per month for basic, and a $3 hike to $22.99 for premium. It is keeping prices steady on ad-supported plans.

Netflix ended the week at $400.96, up 16% for the week and some 36% higher year to date

Nvidia dented by new US restrictions on chip exports to China

On the flip side, Nvidia (NASDAQ:) shares slumped nearly 10% this past week amid the US government’s decision to restrict export of advanced chips to China.

In a regulatory filing, Nvidia highlighted the possibility of export controls affecting its ability to complete product development in a timely manner. The company also said that these controls could potentially disrupt support for existing customers of affected products and their supply to regions impacted by these restrictions.

While these challenges are not expected to have an immediate financial impact, Nvidia may possibly need to relocate certain operations from one or more countries.

Analysts at Citi and Morgan Stanley lowered their Nvidia price targets in response.

Citi analysts kept their Buy rating on the stock but slashed the price target by $55 to $575, writing that they “assume low likelihood of US government granting export licenses,” and adding that they believe the new restrictions “will make it difficult for NVIDIA to sell to China.”

They nevertheless remain bullish on Nvidia stock due to “secular AI growth which remains in early innings, in our view.”

Morgan Stanley likewise kept Nvidia’s Overweight rating in place – as well as the stock’s designation as a “Top Pick in semis” – but cut the price target by $30 to $600 as the announced export controls turned out “more draconian than our expectations.”

Tesla poor earnings, caution

Meanwhile, Tesla’s (NASDAQ:) Q3 missed Wall Street estimates as its recent wave of electric vehicle (EV) price cuts weighed on margins, triggering a more-than-9% plunge in the shares Thursday.

Tesla reported adjusted EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $23.35B late Wednesday, making for its widest revenue miss in over three years. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $0.73 on revenue of $24.32B.

Gross margins excluding credits, which have been closely watched following recent price EV cuts, slowed to 16.1% in the quarter from 18.7% in Q2.

Shares on Thursday reversed Wednesday’s after-hours gains after cautious commentary by CEO Elon Musk, who appeared to waver in his optimism after once calling Tesla “recession-resilient.”

“I’m worried about the high interest rate environment we’re in,” he said on the call. “If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it’s that much harder for people to buy the car.”

Musk also said he wants to “temper expectations” for Tesla’s Cybertruck vehicle, adding, “It’s a great product, but financially, it will take a year to 18 months before it is a significant positive cashflow contributor.”

Ten Wall Street analysts have slashed their price targets on the stock amid increased concern about Tesla’s near-term outlook and its ability to maintain its exceptional expansion.

Goldman Sachs analysts, who lowered Tesla’s price target by $30 to $235, wrote that they believe the Q3 report “will add to near-to-intermediate term investor concerns.” And Citi analysts – who cut the price target by $16 to $255, along with their full-year EPS estimate on Tesla – said the Q3 results were worse than they had anticipated.

For the week, shares were off about 16% to Friday’s close of $211.99. The stock has still booked a 96% gain for the year.

Flimsy China demand for Apple’s new iPhone

Apple’s (NASDAQ:) new iPhone 15 is facing challenges in the Chinese market, according to Bloomberg, with sales there lagging behind those of its predecessor.

Market tracker Counterpoint Research estimates a 4.5% decline in iPhone 15 sales in China compared with those of the iPhone 14 in the first 17 days after release, while Jefferies analysts estimate a much steeper double-digit percentage shortfall.

These reports highlight the stumbling blocks Apple is encountering in China, where these sales are impacted by economic struggles and competition from companies like Huawei.

Counterpoint projects Huawei could sell 5M to 6M units of its Mate 60 Pro this year alone, numbers that could hit double digits in 2024 – and in fact, Jefferies says, Huawei has now taken the top spot in the market from Apple – a trend that “suggests iPhone would lose to Huawei in 2024,” the analysts wrote.

Apple shares slipped 3.3% for the week to $172.88.

ASML a new top pick at BofA despite soft guidance

ASML (NASDAQ:) issued a cautionary outlook along with its report that orders had fallen below expectations, even as it maintains a robust outlook – a forecast that BofA analysts said was “the reset” they were looking for, with ASML now deemed a top pick at the firm.

The semiconductor-equipment maker warned of flat sales in the upcoming year as customers opt to conserve cash in the face of economic uncertainties, and net profit for the three months ended September 30 was 1.9 billion euros, in line with analysts’ expectations, while net bookings came to €2.6B ($1 = €0.94) vs. Q3 sales of €6.7B.

Despite the cautious 2024 outlook, ASML maintains a robust order backlog of €35B, and the company expects a more favorable 2025, given its customers’ expansion plans across Asia, the US, and Europe.

BofA, positive on this “reset,” added ASML to its list of Top EU SemiCap stocks to own: “The stock trades on 18x EV/EBITDA and 22x PER, which we consider highly attractive given the 21% EBITDA CAGR 2022-25E (PEG

Morgan Stanley added that the new guidance suggests ASML is taking a “more conservative view” on FY24, saying the company likely sees “revenues similar to FY23 and yet still see this year as pivotal to preparation for “significant” growth in 2025.”

Still, after the weak guidance, shares lost 3.5% Wednesday. The stock closed Friday at $547.10, down nearly 5% for the week.

Senad Karaahmetovic, Yasin Ebrahim, and Michael Elkins contributed to this report.

Source link

#grim #week #Nvidia #Tesla #Netflix #triumphs #Weekly #tech #roundup #Investingcom

Stop messaging me, a Black journalist, about white Irish “slaves.”

Post By Politics

Mother Jones illustration

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

I create videos about race and history for a living, which results in being inundated with racist comments, dog-whistles, instances of historical revisionism or apologia, and other stupid stuff.

Every time I broach the subject of slavery, for example, there it is, the inevitable comment: “What about the Irish slaves in America?” Often, it feels like an attempt to divert attention, to steer viewers away from the pressing issues surrounding Black subjugation. But, I thought, why not tackle this exact question directly?

To get answers, I turned to an authority on the subject: Dr. Nell Irvin Painter, a distinguished history professor from Princeton University and the author of numerous books on race and history, including The History of White People.

During our recent video interview, Painter said, “Well, that’s wrong.” While unfree white people did indeed exist in the indentured economy of the early colonies, she explains, “their unfreedom had a term limit.” The permanent servitude we associate with the term “slavery”—chattel slavery—”did not include people we now consider white.”

Below, you’ll find our extended interview, edited for length and clarity, as well as the video capturing our in-depth conversation about this topic and so much more, including the fluidity and historical contexts of racial identities in general, the cyclical nature of historical erasure in American education, and even Dr. Painter’s perspective on the capitalization of Black and “White.”

I encountered your work through the book, The History of White People. My first question for you is, “What is whiteness”?

What whiteness is depends on when you ask, who you’re talking to, and where. Whiteness, like other identities, change. Whiteness changes with the time and the place and everything around it.

This goes for Blackness and Brownness: These are ideologies. And in that belief system there is a core that says, “this is physical, this is biological, this is unchanging, and this links you to the people that I say it links you to.”

I want to separate the ideology of race from the physical and material and psychological consequences of racism. Racism costs people money, time, mental health, places to live, places to go safely. And in the 19th, 18th, and 17th centuries, it costed people freedom. So racism is not the same as race. Race is ideology, racism is material.

What were—I don’t even know what to call them—lighter skinned people, European people, called before they were “white”?

They belonged to a king, or a warlord, or a place, or the territory. Was it high? Was it low? Mountainous? Was it rainy? Or also religion. Religion is a really big way of othering people.

Herodotus, the father of history, talked about people who lived in boggy places as having kind of boggy bellies—they didn’t move around. He thought the Greeks were wonderful people, who lived in mountainous territory, and they were very energetic and smart.

We can think of this kind of association of place with people’s identity when we think about north and south in the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville thought that Americans in the free states were energetic and enterprising, what we would think of as good little capitalists. But the people in the slave states—again, we’re talking about white men—were touchy, and they were flighty, and they were prone to violence.

Are there any ethnic or cultural traditions that have survived from before white people became “white people”?

Yes. Religion. Religion is longstanding, dangerous, but it nourishes many people. But that is the classic way that people decided who was them and who was other people. And remember, the Europeans had a 30-years’ war, and it was all about different kinds of Christianity.

Could you say more about white identity and the founding ideas of white identity and what it means to be white?

When I started working on The History of White People 20 years ago, the term Caucasian for white people was current. It wasn’t an everyday word, but people used Caucasian when they wanted to talk about white people in a kind of serious scientific way. And to call white people “white” was an insult, because naming white was like saying white nationalists and Klansmen.

White now is used in regular conversation. And it was okay to use Black because Black people had race, but white people didn’t have race. White people were individuals. They had their ethnicity, they had their homelands, they had their neighborhoods, but they didn’t have race.

I’m always looking for the smoking gun: Is there a point in history where we see the wide acceptance of white identity? Even if it wasn’t in name, this idea of pan-European white identity?

Yes. The second world war. In the 19th century, in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 19th century, there was the Saxon race, to which he thought he belonged, or Teutonic race. And there was the Celtic race, which was Irish people, who were very downtrodden in the United States in the 19th century. And then at the turn of the 20th century, new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were recognized as white. But in science, they were recognized as the northern Italian race, or the Southern Italian race, or the Slavic race, or the Jewish race.

But with the Second World War, we had a greater need for national unity. And looking back at the Nazis and saying, “No, wait, there’s not a whole bunch of white races. There’s just one white race and there’s one Black race, which is negro, and there’s one Asian race, was a Mongoloid. There are only three real races.” So, we looked to the 1940s for one big white race.

That wasn’t enough. So in the 1970s, we get ethnicity. You could be proud of being Irish, you could be proud of being Italian, and you could be proud of being Greek, but that wasn’t a race. Only Black people had race.

I make content related to race on the internet. Inevitably someone in my comments will admonish me for failing to properly acknowledge that Irish people were slaves in America before Black people were slaves.

Well, that’s wrong.

Let’s get to the bottom of that.

Irish people—and vulnerable English people, Scottish people, Welsh people, poor people, people considered criminals, or orphans—were often shipped outside of the British Isles to places like what became the United States, and what later became Australia and New Zealand, as indentured workers. There were lots and lots of unfree white people. But their unfreedom had a term limit. If you survived your indenture—and many, many, many people did not survive—then you could become a free person.

So yes, many early North American white people were unfree, but they were not enslaved for life. It took the North American colonies several decades to go to permanent enslavement. It didn’t happen overnight. The people whom warlords had rounded up in places like what is now Angola and sold to Europeans, it was their descendants who became permanently enslaved. So by the end of the 17th century, what we recognize as permanent servitude, that chattel slavery, was in place. And it did not include people we now consider white.

Our understanding of pan-European white identity has some of its origins in the slave trade and making a differentiation between white—those who are not enslaved for life, though could be indentured—and Black, those who are enslaved for life.

But again, we’re talking about place too. Because in Boston, for instance, Emerson’s Boston of the middle of the 19th century, people were not so much in the thrall of dealing with Blackness and oppressing Blackness, so they could oppress the Celtic race, for instance. But in the south, that line between slavery and freedom in the 18th century was very sharp and permanent.

How do we understand Black identity in contrast or in relationship to white identity?

When I was a young person in the 20th century, there was just one kind of white people and one kind of Black people. My family was from Texas and Louisiana, and we were Black people. In the 20th century, until the very, very end, the overwhelming proportion of people considered Black or negro or colored were American-born and of American-born grandparents.

Today, you can’t talk about Black people in this monolithic way because so many people are either immigrants or the children of immigrants or the grandchildren of immigrants. I remember talking to my students at Princeton about identity and Black identity. Everybody said, “Yeah, yeah. We’re African Americans.”

And I said, “Well, how many of you have parents or grandparents who were born outside of the United States?” And a whole bunch of people raised their hands. “How many of you are yourselves immigrants?” And some people raised their hands. I said, “Well, what do you call yourself?”

I think there is a growing conversation in some circles around who, to this day, gets to identify as African American and the ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) community. What are your thoughts on terms like ADOS?

It’s not up to me. If that’s what they want to call themselves, call themselves that. We live in a big country. Our culture is on various levels and various places. And as long as people can convince other people to use their name, that’s their name.

I remember, I was brought up as a capital N Negro. So for me, Negro is not a bad word, as long as you capitalize it. And I remember when Black became popular, I used Black. And I remember when I capitalized Black and then the uncapitalized Black. I remember being caught up talking about Black people when somebody in an audience said, “No, no, that’s not the right term. The right term is African Americans.” Okay. But I use Black because it’s a general word that can include African Americans and Caribbean African Americans and half-African Americans. It is just a good, vague, general word.

Yeah, there is something very nice about the vagueness of Black that is inclusive in a way.

Now I capitalize Black, but I also capitalize white.

Why is that?

I capitalize white to remind people that white is a forged identity, as contingent as Black. We’ve been talking about the contingencies within Black, and we’ve also been talking about the contingencies within white. Neither group is scientific, neither group is solid. Both groups are full of different kinds of people who would probably stab each other in the back. Both groups have really dumb brothers-in-law. Neither group is homogeneous. But we know what we mean when we use those words.

Black people, we have had our community, our groupness imposed on us from the outside, as well as embracing it from the inside. It’s embracing it from the inside gives you a kind source of understanding yourself in the world, a source of support. It means that when you do stupid things, it’s not just your fault. So there’s a lot to be said for Blackness from inside and from outside. Whereas white people, who think of themselves as just individuals, are thrown out in the world by themselves. So it’s a much more dangerous position to be in. But I think that the idea of individualistic Americans or white people is an identity forged against the communal identity of Black people.

Maybe I’m talking like a socialist here, but I think solidarity is a very good thing. And I wish more Americans had a sense of solidarity.

Do you anticipate a continued broadening of who is able to identify as white today as happened in the past?

People often ask me, “Will we ever get rid of race?” No, because it’s foundational to American identity and American politics and American society and culture. But if we ever do, what will replace it will be terrible, like religion, as a way of othering and killing other people, and colorism. So that it’ll be less what your race is and more what color you are.

And so, lighter skinned people will be better off in the world than darker skinned people. And when you add class to that and you make lighter skinned richer people and darker skinned poor people, then you have something that is not the same as Black, white race, but that is an evolution of it.

We’re having a national conversation about history these days and the role that history is to play. We’re seeing an incredible attack on history across the country, but notably in places like Texas and Florida come to mind.

It’s incredible, and it’s happened before. In the 1950s, in the Cold War, the Lavender Scare: Anti-gay and lesbian, anti-communist, people lost their jobs and their livelihoods because they had been targeted as communists or more fellow travelers.

And then, I remember, my friends would go around tearing their hair out saying, “We’re going to have a civil war, we’re going to have a civil war.” And I said, “Well, civil wars are bad.” Our Civil War was a bad thing. But it did get rid of slavery. How else were we going to get rid of slavery? And it gave us the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, which have really improved American democracy. But if you want a time of bloodshed and terrorism, look at the end of the 19th century, after Reconstruction.

And let me just say one last thing. When we think about how awful things can be and how divided Americans are, we can look back at the 1850s which led to the Civil War. But there also were committed people, Black and white, who called themselves abolitionists. And they really started being heard, but they also were being mobbed in the 1830s. They were very unpopular in places like Philadelphia and New York. We’re talking about terrorism in Philadelphia and New York, anti-abolitionists. But abolitionists kept at it. And without them, there would not have been emancipation. So do something.

Source link

#Stop #messaging #Black #journalist #white #Irish #slaves

Avaaz campaigner: ‘Neither Hamas nor Fatah can claim to represent the Palestinian people’

Post By World ceasefire, children, Fatah, Features, Gaza Strip, genocide, Israel Hamas war, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, ngos, Palestinian Territories, West Bank

from our special correspondent in Ramallah – Two weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Fadi Quran, campaigns director for Avaaz, an NGO coordinating activists worldwide, is calling for a ceasefire in the interest of children on both sides.

More than 4,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have died since the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, and at least 212 people are still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip. As the death toll climbs on both sides, UN agencies and other NGOs are calling for a ceasefire.

Quran speaks to FRANCE 24 in his residence in Ramallah about the despair of the Palestinian people caught in the conflict, and implores civil societies on both sides to pressure their governments to work for peace and spare the lives of children.

FRANCE 24: How do the people of the West Bank feel about the war in Gaza?

Quran: For many Palestinians, living in the West Bank every day is an experience of torture. We watch children being killed in Gaza – one child every 15 minutes. Imagine that you lived in Marseille, France, and you were watching TV for two weeks, seeing such images. Now, every 15 minutes, a child is pulled from under the rubble. People are in deep pain and they are trying to figure out what to do.

Many Palestinians have gone out to protest against this war, and many of them have been arrested over the last two weeks. Israel has also arrested over 4,000 Palestinians from across the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, which is working with Israel, has also arrested dozens of people…

Many of us have friends in Gaza. I was speaking to a friend this morning and he was telling me how he’s bringing water from the Mediterranean sea and boiling it, and then waiting for it to cool down without the salt so that he can give that water to his three-year-old child and his wife. They don’t have any more [fresh] water left where they live, because Israel has blockaded [the Gaza Strip].

That is the situation today. And for many Palestinians, what we’re beginning to do in the West Bank is to call for the replacement of the current Palestinian leadership, because we feel that they are betraying the cause by not doing enough to support the people in Gaza. But the truth is, I think many Palestinians, not just here but across the world, are staying at home, watching TV in tears.

What do you mean by replacement?

Our goal is to hold democratic elections for Palestinians across the world, to choose leaders who are capable of liberating us. The truth today is [that] neither Hamas nor Fatah can claim that they represent the Palestinian people, because we have not had elections for over 15 years. While Israel has banned Palestinians from voting in elections, the Palestinian Authority cooperates to make sure they never happen.

Many Gazans are stranded in Ramallah or elsewhere in the West Bank. What are their living conditions like?

Both my mother and sister are clinical psychologists, and they’ve been working with families from Gaza who are now here. According to what they report to me and the stories I’ve heard myself, it’s just complete and total depression, a complete and total sense of helplessness, panic attacks.

For example, a man called Mohammed from Gaza who was working in the West Bank got stuck here. He was talking to his wife and children when the phone got cut off and he hasn’t been able to reach them for ten days now. He was begging and crying: “I just want to go home. I just want to find my wife. I want to find my children.” He tried contacting his parents. They initially answered and then again disappeared. He can’t speak to them.

That is the story of hundreds of Gazans, fathers, mothers, and grandparents that are just unable to speak to their loved ones. It is heartbreaking.

How do you see the situation developing?

I’ve been speaking as part of my work in international advocacy to diplomats across key countries, including countries in the EU. [According to them,] Israel has forecast the deaths of 25 to 35,000 Palestinians. That alone is a terrifying number. They’re also estimating that 10 to 15% of Gaza’s population will be permanently displaced. We’re talking about 300 to 400,000 people becoming refugees for the third time in their lives. It seems like we’re going to face another catastrophe [of] ethnic cleansing, genocide. That is what the Israeli government is moving towards.

Read moreExperts say Hamas and Israel are breaking international law, but what does that mean?

Now there is another scenario. It’s the less likely one – but the one that we should all be fighting for – which is a proposal now being put on the table where Israel would be asked to release the 170 children that it holds in military prisons. In return, Hamas would release the children and their guardians held as hostages since October 7 and create a humanitarian corridor and safe areas for children in Gaza.

That is the scenario that President Macron, Biden and the international community should be pushing for. Instead of pushing for a solution that saves Jewish and Palestinian lives, they’re supporting Israel’s warmongering. That war is not only going to take tens of thousands of my people’s lives. It will also keep Netanyahu in power, but it won’t achieve security for the Jewish people. So even though the scenario of a ceasefire for children is the less likely one, if people raise their voices, it will become the only path forward. Otherwise, we’re looking at a war that is going to devastate us all.

Is the ceasefire for children feasible on the Israeli side?

This proposal for ceasefire for children is not being discussed in Israel. But we just did a poll with Israeli institutes which showed us that 57% of Israelis would support the proposal I just mentioned. Now, the government doesn’t support it, but this is why now we’re speaking with Israeli civil society organisations and even trying to reach out to the families of the hostages, so that they push their government to move away from war and towards the solution. I think we have less than a week to make this solution a reality before we face another catastrophe as Palestinians.

What do you expect from the international community?

This could be a moment that makes any solution for freedom, justice and dignity – and the opportunity to end the apartheid that the Palestinian people face – more impossible and take longer. Or, it can be a moment for a paradigm shift. And for us as Palestinians, we’re doing what we can to protect ourselves and create that path for freedom and dignity for both sides. But if people across France, the people across the United States and people across the United Kingdom don’t organise as well to stop this war, then it will not be stopped. So there is a responsibility, and one that the French and France’s leadership, are not taking seriously: putting an end to this violence.

So I call on the French people to act now because peace for us is also peace for the world.

This article is a translation of the original in French.

Source link

#Avaaz #campaigner #Hamas #Fatah #claim #represent #Palestinian #people

Mt. Pleasant Cashier / BOH Team Member – Hiring Immediately

Post By Jobs

Job title: Mt. Pleasant Cashier / BOH Team Member – Hiring Immediately

Company: Maple Street Biscuit Co

Job description: Maple Street Biscuit Co Mt. Pleasant Cashier / BOH Team Member Competitive Base Hourly Rate + Tips Pay Ranges $13… and accurately. The guests depend on you! Ambassador – More than just a cashier, our Ambassadors greet our guests, walks them…

Expected salary: $13 – 16 per hour

Location: Crestview, FL

Job date: Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:50:36 GMT

Apply for the job now!

22 Best Non-Mario Platformers | Wealth of Geeks

Post By Money Making

Platformers come in various shapes and sizes, but one franchise pioneered the genre and produced most of its best games: Super Mario. The Nintendo mascot brought jumping and falling into living rooms worldwide in the 1980s, rendered into 3D easily, and revolutionized open-world platforming on the Switch with Super Mario Odyssey. Leave some success for the rest of ‘em, Mario!

Believe it or not, there are other incredible platformers outside the Mushroom Kingdom’s joyful confines. Time to count down the best non-Mario platformers of all time!

1. Banjo-Kazooie

Image Credit: Nintendo.

Banjo-Kazooie’s magic can’t be replicated. The Rare game, with an abundance of charm, goofy visuals, whimsical music, and fantastical world-building, serves as a conduit to an alternate universe. If one were to explain to an alien race why video games allow humanity to be caught up in an immersive fairy tale, one look at Banjo-Kazooie would do all the talking.

2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Image Credit: Nintendo.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze combines the best elements of every Donkey Kong predecessor, eliminates the flaws or rare mishaps from the previous games, and turns into a perfect gem of a platformer. The mechanics allow the gamer to feel the jungle’s heft and tangibility, but the wide variety of atmospheric levels separate the title from others.

3. Rayman Legends

Image Credit: Ubisoft.

Rayman Legends modernized 2D platforming. Every movement of the controller stick handles like silk, every touch of a button responding in unison with the player’s finger. Never before or since has a platform game admitted even the most novice players into a complex and rewarding stanza of levels flowing at an ethereal plane of existence.

4. Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Image Credit: Nintendo.

Perhaps the game with the lightest level of platforming on the list, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, decides to go the scenic route. The simplicity of the mechanics allows for some of the most experimental graphics and world-building in a 2D platformer. Kirby’s powers transition into transformations in this title rather than traditional weapons. The game’s creativity and imagination separate it from the Wii’s catalog of classics.

5. Celeste

Image Credit: Maddy Makes Games.

Celeste provides a powerful story of overcoming gender dysphoria and transphobia through the girl the player controls. Celeste Mountain serves as a symbol of overcoming adversity, but it also allows gamers to revel in the most hectic yet fluid platforming of the 2010s. Speed-run specialists love this game to pieces.

6. Braid

Image Credit: Number None and Microsoft Game Studios.

While fans still wait on the remake of Jonathan Blow’s classic indie platformer, the original satisfies just the same. Using some of the tropes from Mario’s bag of tricks, like rescuing a princess and traversing a fantastical setting, Braid infuses the genre with puzzle-solving and inverted storytelling that never gets old.

7. Super Meat Boy

Image Credit: Team Meat.

Super Meat Boy’s reputation never gets in the way of its reality. The evidence stands tall: the platformer that moves in 20-second intervals with quick-reflex levels and thousands of deaths per playthrough changed the trajectory of platforming games for over a decade after its release. The game’s system’s brilliance ensures players never get too frustrated to try again.

8. Psychonauts 2

Image Credit: Xbox Game Studios.

Psychonauts 2 improved upon everything the first game presented, including more creative environments to explore and gorgeous graphics. The game harkens back to classic 3D platformers of the 1990s while instilling a sense of modernity by exploring different characters’ minds and psychologies.

9. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Image Credit: Activision.

What’s better than one Crash Bandicoot game? Three Crash Bandicoot games! The N. Sane Trilogy remasters the first three Naughty Dog platforming classics for a new audience. Crash started as Sony’s response to Mario but evolved into something wholly unique, and this compilation gives all kinds of gamers a chance to see Crash from his inception.

10. Donkey Kong 64

Image Credit: Nintendo.

Some may call it tinged with nostalgia, but Donkey Kong 64 holds up as a time capsule and a modern platforming experience. Seeing all of Donkey Kong’s friends, items, worlds, and idiosyncrasies put into a 3D world feels special, and nobody understood the simian character better than Rare.

11. Wario Land: Shake It!

Image Credit: Nintendo.

Not many games utilize the main character’s charm with ingenious environmental platforming puzzles like Wario Land: Shake It! Every game in this series excels in a zany, whacky, and creative manner, but the Wii installment possesses fun motion controls and a great set of villains to stand as the best in the franchise!

12. Gaucamelee!

Image Credit: DrinkBox Studios and Activision.

Gaucamelee! resembles Metroid more than Mario, but what’s wrong with that? The indie staple charmed audiences in 2013, followed by a sequel and DLC. With plenty of Mexican homages that allow the game a setting that’s not replicable, Gaucamelee! also flows smoothly like butter with seamless controls and abilities for playable characters.

13. Spyro Reunited Trilogy

Image Credit: Activision.

Spyro is a less intense platforming experience for PlayStation fans than Crash Bandicoot, something that Nintendo fans may love if they cheat on their favorite console developer. The friendly purple dragon explores the mystical worlds created by Insomniac Games in the way of a Rare title like Banjo-Kazooie. The Spyro Reunited Trilogy remakes the first three games for the 2010s.

14. Sonic Generations

Image Credit: SEGA.

Sonic the Hedgehog rivaled Mario in sales and swag in the 1990s but lost his way in the 2000s and beyond. Sonic Generations helps to bring back some of the magic with a clever bi-dimensional aspect that allows gamers to play levels in the style of a 2D or 3D platformer. Sharp graphics compliment the solid platforming here.

15. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

Image Credit: Electronic Arts.

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger shouldn’t be viewed as a knockoff of Crash Bandicoot. The Australian-set adventure slams audiences with some of the best characters, voice work, and settings in gaming. Krome Studios’ attention to detail will never go unnoticed by longtime fans of this small gem. What’s your favorite ‘rang?

16. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Image Credit: Iam8bit and XBox Game Studios.

Much like Rayman Legends, the Ori series manifests a novel sensation of intuition and connectivity between the player and the virtual environment. The second game, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, heightens everything from Ori and the Blind Forest. This game is the epitome of unconstrained platforming.

17. Cave Story

Image Credit: Studio Pixel.

Studio Pixel’s legendary little platforming game paved the way for so many indie titles in the genre in the last 15 years. Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge, and Shovel Knight would not exist without Cave Story. The game aged very well, with so many simple exploration and jumping mechanics still intact and entertaining gamers in 2023.

18. A Hat in Time

Image Credit: Humble Bundle.

3D platforming as a genre struggles when taking out Mario from the equation. A Hat in Time pays homage to the category by combining all of its best qualities and forcing gamers to remember the things they loved about 1990s PlayStation and Nintendo 64 games.

19. Astro’s Playroom

Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

A game initially launched to demonstrate the power and controls of the PlayStation 5, Astro’s Playroom became one of the best platformers of all time. Much like Wii Sports did on the Wii, Astro’s Playroom got down all of the best parts of its genre and, therefore became something greater than the developer imagined originally.

20. Little Big Planet

Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Little Big Planet represents Sony at its most innocent. Dropping the violence and gore typically associated with major titles on the PlayStation, Little Big Planet utilizes many of the tools Nintendo uses in their platformers. Cheerful environments and solid puzzle platforming are a winning combo.

21. Shovel Knight

Image Credit: Yacht Club Games.

Shovel Knight not only takes elements from the NES platformers of the 1980s, but many fans wouldn’t know the difference between the retro games and the Shovel Knight series at first glance. The aesthetic and gameplay perfectly replicate the originals of the day, such as Castlevania.

22. Splasher

Image Credit: Dear Villagers and Plug In Digital.

Splasher lives in the vein of Rayman Legends due to its fast and responsive platforming. Very difficult and with vibrant colors, the title doesn’t ask anything of its players without teaching them through gameplay first.

Source link

#NonMario #Platformers #Wealth #Geeks

2023-24 NBA Season Preview: Western Conference burning questions

Post By Sports

What a brawl the NBA’s Western Conference is shaping up to be.

Though the reigning champion Denver Nuggets are coming into this season with no intention of giving up the belt, the conference they’ll have to fight through projects to be a muddy battle, with up to 13 teams likely vying for a shot at the playoffs.

At the outset of the season, every single team, regardless of how close to taking on the champs they might be, stands at an even 0-0, and presents a similarly blank canvas. However, each team also has an unending number of questions that can only be answered once the season tips off.

Let’s take a look at the biggest burning question facing every team in the Western Conference ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.

You can check out our Eastern Conference Burning Questions here

NBA on Sportsnet

Livestream regular season Toronto Raptors games, marquee matchups from around the association, select NBA Playoffs games, the NBA Draft and summer league action.

Choose Plan

Broadcast Schedule

.acf-block-preview .br-snippet {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr;
gap: 20px;
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 16px;
border: 1px solid #CECECE;
background-color: #FFF;
border-radius: 4px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-title {
color: #343434;
font-family: ‘roboto’;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 600;
line-height: 22px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
top: -3px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-body {
color: #343434;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title {
display: inline-block;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
list-style-type: none;
width: auto;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title:not(:last-child):after {
content: ‘ | ‘;
color: #343434;
}

Dallas Mavericks

Question: Can Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving make it work, and if not, how long until the drama peaks in Dallas?

After trading for Irving on Feb. 6 last season, the Mavericks went 9-18 in their final 27 games, including a 2-9 run in the final 11 to miss the play-ins. They were tanking in all but name at the end of the year, regardless, the first impressions of Irving in Dallas weren’t glowing.

The chemistry between him and Luka Doncic wasn’t apparent, as both players needed the ball in their hands. Asking Irving, one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA, to take a role off-ball so that Doncic can excel might not be a match made in heaven.

If the Mavericks and Jason Kidd aren’t able to scheme up a way for the two mega-talents to excel, and considering Irving’s penchant for drama in recent years, could we see the Mavericks utterly implode if they don’t live up to expectations?

Denver Nuggets

Question: Will this be the year we see playoff Murray in the regular season?

Jamal Murray’s penchant for big games is well-documented. From his scoring duel against Donovan Mitchell in the NBA Bubble to averaging 32.5 points a game on 50/40/90 splits in the sweep of the Lakers en route to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Murray is at his best when the lights are brightest.

.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}

Head coach Mike Malone predicted that Murray would earn his first All-Star selection this season, but it remains to see whether or not the Canadian can perform up to his expected level in regular season games. He started off last season slow, averaging 16.4 points in his first 15 games. If he can get off to a hotter start this season, the Nuggets will be well on the path towards repeating and Murray could be on his way to becoming a well-deserving All-Star.

Golden State Warriors

Question: Can Chris Paul help Steph Curry reach another gear?

When the Warriors dealt Jordan Poole for a 38-year-old Chris Paul, the move was met with question marks about how the future hall-of-famer would fit into Golden State’s scheme and what his role would be.

Paul has never come off the bench at any point in his illustrious career, and though his role has yet to be established, CP3 came off the bench in the pre-season against the Sacramento Kings, playing 29 minutes putting up 13 points and dishing out nine assists, his best performance so far with his new team.

Steph Curry has always been one of the best off-ball players in the NBA, routinely being able to slip past defenders to find open space on the perimeter or under the basket. But he’s never played with a true point guard. Could Paul and his prescient playmaking ability get Steph Curry even more open shots, allowing him to play off-ball more than he ever has before?

Houston Rockets

Question: Are the Rockets looking to try their hand at contention following a pricey offseason?

The Houston Rockets didn’t look anything close to a team that would be buyers at the end of last season, finishing with the second-worst record in the league at 22-60.

Now, under new head coach Ime Udoka, and after spending $216 million combined on Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, are the Houston Rockets looking to at least become a dark horse in the West?

Jalen Green has been electric offensively but hasn’t lived up to being taken second overall. Jabari Smith Jr. looks like a legitimate defensive piece but struggled mightily shooting from the field in his rookie season, putting up .408/.307/.786 splits. But to make noise in the West, they’ll need big steps from those two former early picks, solid contributions from rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, and seasons worthy of their price tag from Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-839119” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-839119” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6339339518112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/6339339518112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/video/what-are-your-expectations-for-vanvleets-return-to-toronto-in-february/”
});
});

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-133498” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339339518112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-133498” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6339339518112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/6339339518112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/video/what-are-your-expectations-for-vanvleets-return-to-toronto-in-february/”
});
});

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}

Los Angeles Clippers

Question: How will new load management rules affect the Clippers?

What has the story of the Los Angeles Clippers been in the last few years if not one plagued by injury? Since acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for the 2019-2020 season, the duo has missed a combined 263 regular season games. Though the majority of those have been due to legitimate injury concerns, the Clippers have been labelled as a marquee load-managing team over the past few years.

New rules have been implemented to help curb superstars sitting games out by excluding them from award races as well as fining the team should they sit out two players a game without them being legitimately injured. Could the new rules push the Clippers to actually play their stars and how would that potential additional workload affect the team come playoff time?

Los Angeles Lakers

Question: Will a great off-season result in the Lakers being less LeBron-reliant in the regular season?

The Lakers did everything they needed to do this offseason and more: They re-signed the depth pieces they thought could continue to be contributors, inked Anthony Davis to a max-extension, kept emerging star Austin Reaves on one of the most team-friendly deals in the association, and added a few new players to bolster their depth.

A full year of Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell, a bigger role for Austin Reaves, and Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes on minimum prove-it deals should all be a massive help for LeBron James who’s entering his 21st season in the NBA. The less their superstar has to do in the regular season, the better for a Lakers team poised to be one of the main title contenders this season.

.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}

Memphis Grizzlies

Question: Can the Grizzlies survive 25 games without Ja Morant?

Though Ja Morant is suspended for the first 25 games of the season, the schedule-makers might’ve bailed them out, as they’re set to play only 10 games against teams that finished above .500 last season. They’ll also get three games against both the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz and two against the Portland Trail Blazers, three teams likely to be bottom-feeders in an abnormally stacked Western Conference.

Moreover, since the 2021-22 season, the Grizzlies are 31-15 without Morant, supplanting his production with contributions throughout the team. However, the point guard who ran the team in his absence, Tyus Jones, was traded to the Wizards as part of the deal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis. Will Smart be able to bring the same attitude that made him a fan favourite in Boston while also being able to replace the steadiness that Jones gave the team in Morant’s absence?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Question: Is Anthony Edwards ready to make the superstar leap?

The Timberwolves’ present and future success hinges on the growth of Anthony Edwards, and all signs point to him having the type of ceiling capable of taking his team to new heights. In his first three years in the league, Edwards’ role on the team has expanded and he’s taken to it without hesitation, increasing his scoring title each year.

Minnesota has finally built up what looks like a competent team around him with solid role-players throughout the roster: Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Shake Milton, Naz Reid and rookie Leonard Miller have all looked like pieces that could be valuable contributors alongside Edwards. Add the big-man tandem of Karl-Anthony Town and Rudy Gobert, should they live up to their individual abilities, and the Timberwolves could become a real force in the West if Edwards continues to blossom into a superstar.

.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}

New Orleans Pelicans

Question: Is this Zion Williamson’s last chance to prove he can stay healthy?

It’s the same story every year with Zion Williamson: When he plays, he’s a top-10 player in the NBA. In the 29 games he played last season, he averaged 26.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting an eye-popping 60.8 per cent from the field.

It’s never been a question about what he can deliver on the court, but rather if he can even get on the court. In his four-year career, the former Duke superstar has missed 188 of a possible 302 games. He’s set to enter the first year of his five-year max extension, but could this season be the last chance to prove that he can stay healthy?

If not, then a question about where the Pelicans go from here needs to be addressed. CJ McCollum took a step back last season, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are dealing with injuries of their own, Brandon Ingram looked checked out at the FIBA World Cup and Jonas Valanciunas is set to become a free agent next summer. It’s starting to feel like now or never for the Pelicans.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Question: Can the promising Thunder finally flip the switch from tanking to contending?

It’s been three straight years that the Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves with a below .500 record and outside the playoffs looking in. However, they’ve used that time to great effect, turning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into a superstar, developing projects like Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams great complimentary stars, and drafting Chet Holmgren with his absurd two-way raw talent and Wembanyama-esque wiry frame.

If there was ever a time for the Thunder to make the leap, it’s now. That’s not to say they’re ready to contend, but another year without playoff basketball would be disappointing considering the next level we’ve seen Gilgeous-Alexander reach when playing in games with higher stakes. All the pieces are in place for the Thunder to go from tanking to contending, but is there room for them in a crowded West?

.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}

Phoenix Suns

Question: Does the Suns’ big three make sense in today’s NBA?

While the rest of the NBA continues to zig into more perimeter-oriented styles, playing five-out basketball, the Phoenix Suns zagged harder than ever before, going all-in this offseason on acquiring Bradley Beal to pair with mid-range maestros Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Among players that shoot at least 3.1 mid-range shots per game, Kevin Durant stood atop the league in field goal percentage at an astounding 56 per cent, while Devin Booker wasn’t far behind in fourth, hitting 49.4 per cent of those looks. New addition Bradley Beal is at ninth on the list at 47.6 per cent.

Beal, at this point in his career, is a more gifted shot-creator and takes more mid-ranges per game than Chris Paul, but isn’t as good of a playmaker as him. It’s still up in the air as to who will be the de facto point guard on the team, but the talent in that top three is undeniable. Will it translate to an NBA that has increasingly prioritized ball movement?

Portland Trail Blazers

Question: As the primary option, can Scoot Henderson put up big enough numbers to challenge Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year?

After an absurd pre-season on both ends, it almost feels like a lock that Victor Wembanyama runs away with the Rookie of the Year, but Scoot Henderson could have something to say about it.

Henderson, the third-overall pick, has absolutely dazzled so far, peaking in a 22-point performance against the Suns’ starters, and highlighted his ability to score on all three levels. Through four preseason games, he’s also averaged 5.8 assists and looked like the engine that will make the Trail Blazers go.

As compared to others in the Rookie of the Year race like Amen Thompson, Brandon Miller or Chet Holmgren, Wembanyama and Henderson are both projected to be the No. 1 option on their respective squads. Once they both start to pack the boxscore, the race should be anyone’s to win.

.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}

Sacramento Kings

Question: If Keegan Murray takes the next step, do the Kings have what it takes to get in the ring with the West’s heavyweights?

Maybe the best story of the entire season, the Kings crushed their curse, making the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons behind the efforts of emerging tandem De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. An offensive powerhouse, finishing with the best offensive rating in NBA history at 119.4 and scoring 120.7 points per game, the most since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets.

Keegan Murray, their rookie wing, averaged 12.2 points a game and set the record for most three-pointers made by a rookie with 207. He was used primarily in the catch-and-shoot, with 60.6 per cent of his field goal attempts coming off the catch and only 10.7 per cent of his looks coming off pull-ups. Throughout Summer League though, Murray ran the offence, integrating more pull-ups into his play with great success. If Mike Brown finds ways to run more plays for Murray and let him score off-the-bounce, could we see the Kings hit another level next season?

San Antonio Spurs

Question: If Wemby is as good as he’s looked, could the Spurs have a chance at making the play-ins?

Every single game, the Victor Wembanyama makes a play that not a single human in the history of mankind has ever been able to do. The rest of this Spurs roster isn’t anything to scoff at either. Devin Vassell looks poised to break out after signing his rookie extension, Keldon Johnson is a season removed from shooting 39.8 per cent from deep, and Zach Collins finally looked like the player that he was projected to be coming out of Gonzaga seven years ago.

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-937327” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-937327” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6339574367112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/6339574367112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/video/spurs-wembanyama-stuffs-the-stat-sheet-in-span-of-90-seconds-vs-warriors/”
});
});

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-140869” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6339574367112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-140869” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6339574367112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/6339574367112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/video/spurs-wembanyama-stuffs-the-stat-sheet-in-span-of-90-seconds-vs-warriors/”
});
});

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}

But this team will go where Wemby can take them. With solid pre-season wins over the Heat, Rockets and Warriors, the Spurs have looked like a team that won’t be an easy out on any night. Despite how crowded the West is, when they play as hard as they do and are coached by Gregg Popovich, should it come as too big of a surprise if they sneak into a play-in spot?

Utah Jazz

Question: Could Keyonte George be the steal of the draft?

Drafted at 14th overall, rookie Keyonte George out of Baylor has looked like a bright spot in the Jazz’s youth movement so far, showing out in Summer League to the tune of 18.7 points on .457/.386/.750 splits while dishing out 5.3 assists.

Though he’s been more quiet coming off the bench for the Jazz in the preseason, scoring 10.4 a game and shooting a rough 32.6 per cent from the field and 28.0 per cent from deep, George has looked like the electric score-first guard that Utah was looking for.

The Jazz are in the midst of a rebuild and could see guys like Jordan Clarkson or Collin Sexton in different jerseys by the end of the season. Once a crowded backcourt starts to clear up, expect George to make his mark on this team, emerging as a potential dynamo for a team that will need the buckets to come from somewhere other than Lauri Markkanen.

More from Sportsnet

2023-24 NBA Season Preview: Eastern Conference burning questions

Barnes exits with injury in Raptors’ dominant pre-season win

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}

Source link

#NBA #Season #Preview #Western #Conference #burning #questions

Israel warns Gaza airstrikes will intensify and hits West Bank ahead of war’s ‘next stage’ – Egypt Independent

Post By World

CNN — Israel’s military said it would increase its aerial bombardment of Gaza, and carried out a rare airstrike in the occupied West Bank, as it signaled it was readying for a new phase of war against Hamas.

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prepares for a potential ground operation, it has amassed huge numbers of troops outside Gaza and pounded the densely populated enclave with near-constant airstrikes since Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

“We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today,” Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Saturday, adding that a ground offensive in Gaza would be launched when the conditions were right.

“We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage,” he said.

The IDF on Sunday launched an airstrike on the Al-Ansar mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which it said was being used by militant groups to plan for “an imminent terror attack.” It wound not say whether the strike came from a jet, in what would be the first fighter jet strike in the West Bank in nearly two decades.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, and IDF spokesman, told CNN that the military had intelligence that “suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad,” which was making preparations from an underground command center beneath the mosque.

Three people were killed in the Israeli strike, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.

Since the war erupted two weeks ago, violence has flared in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with both Israeli forces and settlers.

Two people were killed following clashes in the West Bank cities of Toubas and Nablus, bringing the death toll in the occupied Palestinian territory to at least 90 since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday.

In Gaza City, the IDF dropped leaflets written in Arabic that warned residents to evacuate to the south or face the possibility of being considered “a partner for the terrorist organization,” according to a CNN translation.

In a statement, the IDF confirmed it had dropped the flyers, but said there was “no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group.”

The IDF “treats civilians as such, and does not target them,” the statement added.

Israeli war planes have been pounding Gaza, leveling entire neighborhoods, including schools and mosques. Israel says it strikes Hamas targets and that the group has used civilians as human shields.

As of Saturday, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 4,300 people in Gaza, including hundreds of women and children, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza.

More than 1 million residents in northern Gaza have been told by Israel to leave their homes and move to the south.

Israel has also ordered the evacuation of more than 20 hospitals in northern Gaza where thousands of patients are being treated, according to the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent, which say the order could be tantamount to a death sentence.

“We do not have the means to evacuate them safely. Most of the patients are with critical injuries,” Nebal Farsakh, a Red Crescent spokesperson, told CNN Sunday, adding that the hospitals are under the threat of “being bombed at any second due to Israeli evacuation orders.” The organization said on Friday that the Israeli military issued three evacuation orders for the Al-Quds Hospital.

The IDF has said it does not target hospitals, though the UN and Doctors Without Borders say Israeli airstrikes have hit medical facilities, including hospitals and ambulances.

Israel has offered no timeline for the possible ground offensive on Gaza, but military officials have repeatedly told troops an incursion is imminent.

The Israeli Military Chief of Staff, Herzl Halevi, told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will initiate an operation to “destroy” Hamas.

“We’ll enter the Gaza Strip. We’ll embark on an operational and professional task to destroy Hamas operatives and infrastructures,” the chief said in comments to the Golani Brigade of the IDF.

The United States and its allies have urged Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals during any ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties.

During his visit to Israel last week, US President Joe Biden “asked some hard questions” about Israel’s ground invasion strategy, a senior US official told CNN, adding: “we’re not directing the Israelis, the timeline is theirs – their thinking, their planning.”

Meanwhile, the US military is sending more missile defense systems to the Middle East and placing additional US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders in response to escalations throughout the region in recent days.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday he had “activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US forces.”

The order for troops to prepare for deployment is meant “to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required,” he said.

Both the THAAD and Patriots systems are air defense systems designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles.

Conditions in Gaza have become increasingly dire following two weeks of bombardment and a complete siege by Israel, which was unleashed in response to a rampage by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Hamas fighters have also abducted about 210 people into Gaza as hostages, according to an estimate released Saturday by the IDF. Two American hostages, a mother and her 17-year-old daughter, were released Friday.

A humanitarian aid truck entered the border from Egypt to Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Sunday, a day after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying food, water, medicine and medical supplies was allowed through following intense diplomatic efforts.

Seventeen aid trucks were preparing to enter the strip through the Rafah crossing on Sunday, the Egyptian Red Crescent said.

“God willing, I am now entering the crossing, or in a few minutes. God willing, to deliver this aid and will go in and out safely, God willing,” Ali Shousha, one of the drivers waiting to cross into Gaza, told CNN.

But aid workers and international leaders have warned that much more is needed to combat the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the enclave that is home to more than 2 million people.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that “the needs are far higher” than the aid people in Gaza have received.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said the initial aid convoy constituted “only 3% of the daily health and humanitarian needs that used to enter the Gaza Strip before the aggression.”

From Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, head of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouti said Gaza needs “7,000 trucks of immediate aid,” adding, “20 trucks will not really change much.”

None of those 20 trucks brought fuel to the enclave, raising concerns as it is needed to run hospitals and to desalinate or treat water, according to aid agencies.

Citing an acute shortage of food, water, power, and medical supplies that is pushing civilian lives in Gaza “to the edge of catastrophe,” the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it urgently requires $74 million to sustain its emergency response in Gaza for the next 90 days.

The appeal came in a Palestinian Territories situation report Saturday that said the coastal enclave’s stores have food reserves of less than a week and that the ability to replenish these stocks is “compromised by damaged roads, safety concerns, and fuel shortages.”

Three WFP trucks were part of the convoy of that moved through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Saturday. Another 40 WFP trucks are waiting at Al-Arish, Egypt, to enter Gaza, the report said.

As it prepares for the next stage of war, the Israeli military has warned other regional actors against getting involved in the conflict.

Conricus, the IDF spokesperson, said Sunday the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is “playing a very dangerous game” that could drag Lebanon “into a war that it will gain nothing from.”

Conricus said Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli positions near the Lebanon border, which had led to both civilian and military casualties.

In response, the IDF has used tanks, drones, artillery, and infantry to strike various Hezbollah infrastructure, as well as Hezbollah squads manning anti-tank missiles, he added.

On Sunday, Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the IDF announced the expansion of a state-funded evacuation plan to 14 additional communities in northern areas near the border with Lebanon. The evacuation, which is voluntary, was initially rolled out on Monday for 28 communities. Around 123,000 civilians had been evacuated from their homes in northern and southern Israel as of Friday.

Meanwhile, Syrian state news agency, citing an unnamed military source, reported that Israel had targeted airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo at around 5:25 a.m. on Sunday morning, damaging runways and putting both out of service. The agency reported that one worker at Damascus airport was killed and another injured, and all air traffic was being diverted to the city of Latakia.

The IDF told CNN it had no comment on the report.

Source link

#Israel #warns #Gaza #airstrikes #intensify #hits #West #Bank #ahead #wars #stage #Egypt #Independent

Paramount’s Shari Redstone is open for business, but business may not be open for her

Post By Business Alphabet Class C, Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, arts and entertainment, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Breaking News: Business, business news, Comcast Corp, Fox Corp. Class A, media, Mergers and acquisitions, movies, Paramount Global, Shari Redstone, Sports TV, Streaming Services, Technology, Walt Disney Co, Warner Bros Discovery Inc

Shari Redstone, president of National Amusements and controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, walks to a morning session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 12, 2023.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Shari Redstone may have missed her window.

Paramount Global‘s controlling shareholder is open to a merger or selling the company at the right price, according to people familiar with her thinking. And she has been open to it for several years, said the people, who asked not to speak publicly because the discussions have been private.

Spokespeople for Redstone and Paramount Global declined to comment.

The problem has been finding the right deal for shareholders. Market conditions have made a transformative transaction difficult at best and highly unlikely at worst.

“The market is crying out for reshaping media company portfolios and consolidation,” said Jon Miller, chief executive at Integrated Media and a senior advisor at venture firm Advancit Capital, which Redstone co-founded. “But the deck is stacked against large-scale transactions now because of both immediate concerns in terms of ad sales, subscription video numbers and the cost of debt. No one wants to transact at the current market valuations that these companies are given.”

Paramount Global is an archetype for the media industry’s consolidation conundrum. The company consists of Paramount Pictures, the CBS broadcast network, 28 owned-and-operated local CBS stations, the streaming service Paramount+, free advertising-supported Pluto TV, “Star Trek,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET and Showtime. It also owns the physical Paramount studio lot in Los Angeles, California.

From a sum-of-the-parts perspective, the company holds a strong hand. Many of Paramount Global’s assets would fit nicely within larger media companies.

“Paramount has a tremendous amount of assets in its content library and they own some pretty powerful sports rights in the form of the NFL contract, Champions League soccer and March Madness,” Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris told CNBC last week.

“But, they are still losing money on their streaming service,” Morris said. “They need to pull these things together, right-size the content, super charge that topline through pricing and penetration, and then we can see investors get excited about this idea again.”

Declining revenue from the acceleration of pay-TV cord-cutting, continued streaming losses and rising interest rates have put Redstone in a bind. The company’s market capitalization has slumped to $7.7 billion, nearly the company’s lowest valuation since Redstone merged CBS and Viacom in 2019. At the time, that transaction gave the combined company a market valuation of about $30 billion.

It’s unclear whether staying the course will help turn investor sentiment. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, one of Paramount Global’s biggest shareholders, told CNBC in April that streaming “is not really a very good business.” He also noted that shareholders in entertainment companies “really haven’t done that great over time.”

Paramount Global’s direct-to-consumer businesses lost $424 million in the second quarter and $511 million in the first quarter. The company reports third-quarter earnings Nov. 2.

CEO Bob Bakish said 2023 will be the peak loss year for streaming. Paramount Global cut its dividend to 5 cents per share from 24 cents per share to “further enhance our ability to deliver long-term value for our shareholders as we move toward streaming profitability,” Bakish said in May.

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall suggested earlier this year that Bakish should shut down the company’s streaming business entirely, despite the fact that Paramount+ has accumulated more than 60 million subscribers.

“We believe Paramount Global is worth a lot more either as a content arms dealer or as a break-up for sale story,” Cahall wrote in a note to clients in May. “Great content, misguided strategy.”

Big Tech lifeline

Bob Bakish, CEO of Paramount, speaks with CNBC’s David Faber on Sept. 6, 2023.

CNBC

Executives at Paramount Global continue to hold out hope that a large technology company, such as Apple, Amazon or Alphabet, will view the collection of assets as a way to bolster their content aspirations, according to people familiar with the matter.

Paramount+’s 61 million subscribers could help supersize an existing streaming service such as Apple TV+ or Amazon’s Prime Video, or give Alphabet’s YouTube a bigger foothold into subscription streaming beyond the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV.

While Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan has been particularly focused on limiting the power of Big Tech companies, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet may actually be better buyers than legacy media companies from a regulatory standpoint. They don’t own a broadcast TV network, unlike Comcast (NBC), Fox or Disney (ABC). It’s highly unlikely U.S. regulators would allow one company to own two broadcast networks. Divesting CBS is possible, but it’s so intertwined with Paramount+ that separating the network from the streaming service would be messy.

“We believe Paramount Global is too small to win the streaming wars, but it is bite-size enough to be acquired by a larger streaming competitor for its deep library of film and TV content, as well as its sports rights and news assets,” Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham & Co., wrote in an Oct. 9 research note to clients.

Acquiring Paramount Global would be a relative drop in the bucket for a Big Tech company. Paramount Global’s market value was below $8 billion as of Friday. It also has about $16 billion in long-term debt.

Still, even with huge balance sheets and trillion-dollar valuations, there’s no evidence technology companies want to own declining legacy media assets such as cable and broadcast networks. Netflix has built its business specifically on the premise that these assets will ultimately die. Paramount’s lot and studio may be appealing for content creation and library programming, but that would leave Redstone holding a less desirable basket of legacy media assets.

Breakup difficulties

It’s possible Redstone could break up the company and sell off legacy media assets to a private equity firm that could milk them for cash. But Paramount Global’s diminished market valuation, relative to its debt, likely makes a leveraged buyout less appealing for a potential private equity firm.

Moreover, rising interest rates have generally slowed down take-private deals in all industries, as the cost of paying debt interest has soared. Globally, buyout fund deal volume in the first half of 2023 is down 58% from the same period a year ago, according to a Bain & Co. study.

If a full sale to Big Tech and a partial sale to private equity won’t happen, another option for Redstone is to merge or sell to another legacy media company. Warner Bros. Discovery could merge with Paramount Global, though putting together Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures may hold up deal approval with U.S. regulators.

Beyond regulatory issues, recent history suggests big media mergers haven’t worked well for shareholders. Tens of billions of dollars in shareholder value have been lost in recent media mergers, including WarnerMedia and Discovery, Disney and the majority of Fox, Comcast/NBCUniversal and Sky, Viacom and CBS, and Scripps and Discovery.

Merger partners such as Warner Bros. Discovery also may prefer to sell or merge with a different company, such as Comcast’s NBCUniversal, if regulators allow a big media combination.

Redstone has recently dabbled around the edges, shedding some assets, such as book publisher Simon & Schuster, and engaging in talks to sell a majority stake in cable network BET.

But Paramount Global shelved the idea of selling a stake in BET in August after deciding sale offers were too low to outweigh the value of keeping the network in its cable network portfolio. With the total company’s market valuation below $8 billion, it’s difficult to convince buyers to pay big prices for parts. A change in broader investment sentiment that pushes the company’s valuation higher may help Redstone and other Paramount Global executives get more comfortable with divesting assets.

Selling National Amusements

If Redstone can’t find a deal to her liking, she could also sell National Amusements, the holding company founded by her father, Sumner Redstone, that owns the bulk of the company’s voting shares. National Amusements owns 77.3% of Paramount Global’s Class A (voting) common stock and 5.2% of the Class B common stock, constituting about 10% of the overall equity of the company.

Redstone took a $125 million strategic investment from merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners earlier this year to pay down debt, reiterating her belief in Paramount Global’s inherent value.

“Paramount has the best assets in the media industry, with an incredible content library and IP spanning all genres and demographics, as well as the No. 1 broadcast network, the leading free ad-supported streaming television service and the fastest-growing pay streaming platform in the U.S.,” Redstone said in a statement in May. “NAI has conviction in Paramount’s strategy and execution, and we remain committed to supporting Paramount as it takes the necessary steps to build on its success and capitalize on the strategic opportunities in our industry.”

Selling National Amusements wouldn’t alter Paramount Global’s long-term future. But it is a way out for Redstone if she can’t find a deal beneficial to shareholders.

Paramount Global isn’t actively working with an investment bank on a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is content to wait for a shift in market conditions or regulatory officials before getting more aggressive on a transformational deal, said the people.

Still, Redstone’s predicament aptly sums up legacy media’s current problems. The industry is counting on a turn in market sentiment, while executives privately grumble that in the near term there’s little they can do about it.

WATCH: Mad Money host Jim Cramer weighs in on Paramount Global

Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

Source link

#Paramounts #Shari #Redstone #open #business #business #open

Top Wall Street analysts favor these five dividend stocks during tumultuous times

Post By Business Breaking News: Investing, Breaking News: Markets, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, business news, Chesapeake Energy Corp, Cisco Systems Inc, Civitas Resources Inc, EOG Resources Inc, Investment strategy, Markets, Weekend brief

A sign bearing the logo for communications and security tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. is seen outside one of its offices in San Jose, California, Aug. 11, 2022.

Paresh Dave | Reuters

The market’s volatility as of late is making dividend-paying stocks seem all the more appealing to investors in search of some stability.

Investors must check the fundamentals of the dividend-paying company and its ability to sustain those payments over the long run before adding the stock to their portfolio.

Bearing that in mind, here are five attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Civitas Resources

First on this week’s dividend list is Civitas Resources (CIVI), an oil and gas producer focused on assets in the Denver-Julesburg and Permian Basins. The company paid a dividend of $1.74 per share in late September, which included a quarterly base dividend of 50 cents per share and a variable dividend of $1.24.

Civitas recently announced an agreement with Vencer Energy to acquire oil-producing assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas for $2.1 billion. The acquisition, anticipated to close in January 2024, is expected to boost CIVI’s free cash flow per share by 5% in 2024.

Jefferies analyst Lloyd Byrne has a constructive view on the acquisition, as it enhances the company’s scale in the Midland at a relatively low price.

“We believe CIVI acquired one of the few Permian privates remaining that is accretive to asset quality,” said Byrne.

In line with his optimism on the deal, Byrne raised his price target for CIVI to $102 from $100 and reiterated a buy rating, saying that the stock remains cheap given an estimated free cash flow yield of about 23% in 2024.

Byrne ranks No. 64 among more than 8,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 32.1%. (See Civitas’ Stock Charts on TipRanks)

Bristol Myers Squibb

Next up is biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY). In September, the company announced a quarterly dividend of 57 cents per share, payable on Nov. 1. This dividend marks a year-over-year increase of 5.6%. BMY’s dividend yield stands at 4%.

On Oct. 8, BMY announced an agreement to acquire biotechnology company Mirati Therapeutics for a total consideration of up to $5.8 billion. The acquisition is expected to bolster the company’s oncology portfolio and help mitigate the loss of sales due to patent expirations in the years ahead. Importantly, BMY will gain access to Krazati, a key lung cancer medicine, which was approved in December 2022.

Given the ongoing commercial launch of Krazati, Goldman Sachs analyst Chris Shibutani views the proposed deal as a strategic positive for BMY, “potentially providing a bridge as its new product portfolio continues to seek its footing while its expansive developmental-stage pipeline incubates with much of its value not to be realized in the near-term.”

Krazati generated sales of over $13 million in the second quarter of 2023 and Goldman Sachs currently estimates the drug will deliver sales of $347 million, $1.8 billion, and $2.1 billion in 2025, 2030, and 2035, respectively. Overall, the analyst expects the Mirati acquisition to provide both commercial and pipeline support to Bristol Myers Squibb.

Shibutani reiterated a buy rating on BMY with a price target of $81. He holds the 288th position among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. Moreover, 42% of his ratings have been profitable, with each generating an average return of 18.9%. (See BMY Blogger Opinions & Sentiment on TipRanks)

Chesapeake Energy

Another Goldman Sachs analyst, Umang Choudhary, is bullish on oil and gas exploration and production company Chesapeake Energy (CHK). The company returned about $515 million to shareholders year-to-date through the second quarter via base and variable dividends and share repurchases.

It recently hiked its quarterly base dividend per share by 4.5% to $0.575. Considering only the base dividend, CHK offers a dividend yield of about 2.6%.

Following a meeting with Chesapeake’s management, Choudhary reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock with a price target of $91. The analyst noted that given the uncertainty in the natural gas price outlook, the company is focused on maintaining operational flexibility to adjust its capital expenditure based on gas prices.

The analyst added, “Management reiterated its focus on maintaining a strong balance sheet (including moving to investment grade) and capital returns (including growing fixed dividend + variable dividend based on commodity prices and counter-cyclical share repurchases).”

Choudhary ranks No.478 among more than 8,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 77% of the time, with each delivering a return of 39.4%, on average. (See Chesapeake Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)

EOG Resources

Let’s look at another energy company: EOG Resources (EOG). Back in August, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, payable on Oct. 31. Based on this quarterly dividend, the annual dividend rate comes to $3.30 per share, bringing the dividend yield to 2.5%.

Under its cash return framework, EOG is committed to return a minimum of 60% of annual free cash flow to shareholders through regular quarterly dividends, special dividends and share repurchases. EOG generated free cash flow of $2.1 billion in the first six months of 2023. Overall, the company’s robust free cash flow supports its attractive shareholder returns.

Ahead of the company’s third-quarter results, due in early November, Mizuho analyst Nitin Kumar reiterated a buy rating on EOG stock and slightly raised the price target to $158 from $157.

The analyst thinks that investors will likely focus on a potential special dividend and a hike in base dividend, as EOG continues to generate strong free cash flow. They might also pay attention to inventory depth and quality due to the underperformance of Eagle Ford and Permian wells. The analyst expects third-quarter 2023 EBITDA of $3.205 billion compared to the consensus estimate of $3.185 billion.

“We estimate a modest (~0.6%) beat on 3Q23 EBITDA from EOG with volumes in-line and pricing slightly ahead of consensus,” said Kumar.

Kumar ranks No.33 among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 75% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 20.4%. (See EOG Financial Statements on TipRanks)

Cisco Systems

Computer networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the final dividend stock in this week’s list. The company returned $10.6 billion to shareholders through cash dividends and stock repurchases in fiscal 2023 (ended July 29). Fiscal 2023 marked the 12^th consecutive year in which the company increased its dividend. Cisco offers a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth recently reiterated a buy rating on Cisco stock and increased the price target to $76 from $73. (See Cisco Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks).

The analyst is bullish on the company’s long-term prospects and expects it to continue to benefit from higher spending on information technology due to the need for increased speed, network security and artificial intelligence implementation. He also expects the recently announced acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk to be an additional growth catalyst.

“CSCO’s industry-leading position and strong brand equity enable it to benefit from key secular IT trends, including cloud migration, AI development, the high-speed 5G network rollout, WiFi 6, and the increasing connectivity needs of the IoT [internet of things],” said Feinseth.

Overall, the analyst thinks that Cisco’s solid balance sheet and strong cash flows could support its growth initiatives, strategic acquisitions and enhance shareholder returns.

Feinseth holds the 349th position among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 57% of the time, with each rating delivering an average return of 9.6%.

Source link

#Top #Wall #Street #analysts #favor #dividend #stocks #tumultuous #times

Repair technicians caught snooping; Shrinkflation is alive and well: CBC’s Marketplace cheat sheet | CBC News

Post By World

Miss something this week? Don’t panic. CBC’s Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.

Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday.

We caught repair technicians snooping on our personal devices

How Marketplace caught tech repair technicians snooping

Featured VideoIn an exclusive investigation, Marketplace dropped devices loaded with secret software to document what tech repair technicians were looking at during repairs.

When you need to drop off your tech devices for a repair, how confident are you that they won’t be snooped on?

CBC’s Marketplace took smartphones and laptops to repair stores across Ontario — and found that in more than half of the documented cases, technicians accessed intimate photos and private information not relevant to the repair.

Marketplace dropped off devices at 20 stores — ranging from small independent shops to medium-sized chains to larger national chains — after installing monitoring software on the devices. In total, activities by technicians at 16 stores were recorded. (At four stores, the tracking software didn’t log anything, or the stores didn’t appear to turn the devices on.)

Technicians at nine stores accessed private data, including one technician who not only viewed photos but copied them onto a USB key.

“These results are frightening,” said Hassan Khan, associate professor in the school of computer science at the University of Guelph. “It’s looking through information, searching for data on users’ devices, copying data off the device…. It’s as bad as it gets.” Read more

You can watch the full investigation, “Testing tech repair: who’s spying on you?” tonight at 8 p.m. (8:30 in N.L.) on CBC TV and CBC Gem.

Inflation is cooling. The cost of living crisis is not

Prices in Canada for just about everything are a lot higher than they were a couple of years ago. There has been widespread progress to bring price growth to heel, though many categories continue to climb every month. (Robert Short/CBC)

Inflation appears to be coming back to earth. That may give the Bank of Canada enough wiggle room to pause its series of interest rate hikes. So, for the first time in a long time, Canadians can find some reason to believe the worst of the cost of living crisis is behind them.

But there’s a big difference between “things not getting worse” and “things getting better.”

Prices for just about everything are a lot higher than they were a couple of years ago. And while there has been widespread progress in bringing price growth to heel, prices for many products continue to climb every month.

Year over year, the cost of groceries is up 5.8 per cent. That’s down from more than 11 per cent at this time last year, but still a substantial increase for households that are already stretched thin.

“We have seen the annual rate of inflation has started to come down, but that doesn’t mean that the level of prices is not [still] unaffordable for a lot of people,” said CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.

Even as inflation grinds its way back to more manageable levels, many economists warn we are still a long way from interest rate cuts.

Grantham says if we really are through the worst of the inflation crisis, then maybe the Bank of Canada can start gradually lowering borrowing costs. But he doesn’t expect movement on that until the middle of next year.

Even so, he says Canadians should not expect a return to the good ol’ days of extremely low interest rates.

“There’s this concept of ‘higher for longer;’ we’re not going to get back to those very low interest rates of the past,” he said.

So actual relief for most Canadians remains a light at the end of a distant tunnel.

Before things get better, they have to stop getting worse. The good news is that Canadians are finally seeing some evidence that the “getting worse” phase appears to be drawing to a close. Read more

Taller box, less cereal? Calls for more transparency when companies shrink your groceries

The taller, slimmer box on the left is the new version of family-sized Honeycomb cereal. It contains 525 grams of cereal, an 11.7-per-cent reduction compared to the older box on the right. which contains 595 grams. The older box is being phased out. (Submitted by Ellyn Newall)

Ellyn Newall of Edmonton felt duped after a recent grocery shop.

She had purchased two family-sized boxes of Honeycomb cereal for the same price. But when she unpacked her shopping bag, she noticed one box was slightly taller — and slimmer — than the other.

Turns out the shorter box is older packaging, which is being phased out. The taller box is new packaging — but taller doesn’t mean more product.

In fact, when Newall took a closer look, she discovered the new box has 70 grams less cereal — a reduction of almost 12 per cent.

“The first thing you think is, like: ‘How could they do that to us?’ You feel upset. You feel deceived,” she said.

It’s called shrinkflation and it occurs when food producers shrink items but not the price or packaging, making it hard to detect. It has been going on for years.

But as Canadians struggle with rising grocery prices, there are growing calls for more transparency when companies downsize products.

“Everything seems to be more expensive now. And by simply reducing the size of their products, people maybe feel like they’re being tricked a little bit,” said Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with the consumer advocacy group Option Consommateurs.

U.S.-based Post Consumer Brands, makers of Honeycomb cereal, did not reply to requests for comment.  Read more

What else is going on?

Menopause is costing Canada’s economy billions, according to a new report
It suggests missed work days, lower productivity and lost income due to menopause symptoms cost $2.5 billion a year.

This woman is feeling “ripped off” after booking a short-term rental home through Vrbo
She says she wasn’t allowed to access the advertised heated pool or cable, but Vrbo says the issues weren’t “significant misrepresentation.”

Buyers of a Brampton townhome project are still waiting for their keys — 6 years after some made deposits
Some buyers were told the initial completion date of the project was December 2020.

Marketplace needs your help!

(David Abrahams)

Is your wallet feeling the effects of the “singles tax”? Do you feel like you’re paying more because you’re rolling solo? We want to hear all about it. Send us your examples: [email protected]

(David Abrahams)

We’re digging into daycare…do you have concerns about the safety or quality of the place you trust to care for your kids? Write to us: [email protected]

Are you looking for the latest in business news? You’ll want to subscribe to this newsletter, too.

Mind Your Business is your weekly look at what’s happening in the worlds of economics, business and finance. Subscribe now.

Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.

Source link

#Repair #technicians #caught #snooping #Shrinkflation #alive #CBCs #Marketplace #cheat #sheet #CBC #News

Posts navigation

Previous page Page 1 … Page 1,095 Page 1,096 Page 1,097 … Page 3,082 Next page