Author: Admin

Babies are beautiful. I always want to smile at them in the street, perhaps because they are a rarer and more precious sight in this ageing country or because they remind me of my grandchildren. There are about 3.5 million children aged four and under, while dogs on the streets are a more plentiful 13.5 million. Is the dog boom compensating for fewer children? As time goes by, there are going to be ever more grandparents and ever fewer children to beam at foolishly.That is not only a sadness and a loss, but becoming an aged society is a cultural…

Block shares jump ~25% after AI-driven layoffs; Job loss floodgates to open wide If markets keep rewarding “AI replaces labour” restructures with this kind of instant repricing, and they will, expect more CEOs to pull the trigger quickly. investingLive Exclusive 27m ago

FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment announced fourth-quarter earnings Thursday that missed Wall Street expectations on nearly every metric. FanDuel’s performance in the final quarter of 2025 was affected by bettors losing more often than usual. When that happens, gamblers get discouraged, bet less and stop using the app as frequently, Flutter CEO Peter Jackson told CNBC in an interview.”It’s fair to say, not everything went our way in the fourth quarter,” Jackson said. Shares of Flutter fell almost 7% in extended trading Thursday. Here’s what the company reported for the fourth quarter, compared with Wall Street consensus: Revenue: $4.74 billion vs.…

Iowa banks reported a 4.7% increase in loan growth up from $87.8 billion in 2025 to $92 billion in 2025, new data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows. “Banks use deposits to make loans in their communities, and this data highlights just how important those dollars are,” Adam Gregg, president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association, said in a news release. “Iowa banks fuel Iowa’s economy by providing loans – local deposits multiply and support local lending.” Loan growth was up 1.6% in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. Iowa’s 229 domiciled banks also saw steady growth…

The slowdown in on-chain activity echoes a similar lull last summer that came right before a huge rebound in Bitcoin. The total fees paid on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) recently fell to approximately $593,000, marking the network’s lowest usage cost since at least August 2025. This collapse in transaction activity on one of crypto’s busiest highways is reviving memories of a similar demand drought last summer that immediately preceded a 95% rally in Bitcoin (BTC). A Silent Market Flashes a Historic Signal Blockchain fees are the clearest measure of user demand, representing what people pay to move tokens…

Tampa International Airport issued a mock ban on sleepwear. Plenty of comments soon followed.

Michael Intrator, Chief Executive Officer of CoreWeave Inc., speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 22, 2025.Jeenah Moon | ReutersCoreWeave shares fell as much as 12% in extended trading on Thursday after the artificial intelligence-focused cloud infrastructure provider posted higher fourth-quarter revenue than Wall Street had expected.Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:Loss per share: Loss of 89 cents.Revenue: $1.57 billion vs. $1.55 billion expectedCoreWeave’s revenue grew 110% year over year in the quarter, according to a statement.For all of 2026, the…

Netflix now has four days to decide whether to raise its offer or bow out of the bidding for Warner Bros.’ famed studio and its HBO Max streaming business.

May ICE NY cocoa (CCK25) today is up +46 (+0.58%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK25) is up +83 (+1.34%).Cocoa prices today are consolidating above recent lows.  Gains in London cocoa accelerated today when the British pound (^GBPUSD) fell to a 2-week low, boosting cocoa that is priced in terms of sterling.   Commodity Bulletin: From crude oil to coffee, this FREE newsletter is for industry pros and rookies alike  Cocoa prices have been on the defensive over the past five weeks and fell to 4-1/4 month lows last Friday on an improving supply outlook.  On February 28,  the…

Key takeaways:Bitcoin derivatives show persistent fear despite the current rally toward $70,000, as seen by futures premiums being pinned well below neutral levels.The markets’ cautious stance stems from broad risk-aversion and lingering concerns over institutional BTC liquidations and Bitcoin network security.Bitcoin (BTC) retested the $70,000 level on Wednesday, recovering from Tuesday’s low of $62,500. While inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) helped stabilize market sentiment, the momentum failed to restore confidence within the BTC derivatives markets. Traders remain concerned that underlying factors are preventing a sustained rally toward $75,000. Bitcoin US-listed ETFs daily net flows, USD million. Source: Farside InvestorsUS-listed…