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European Central Bank raises interest rates but slows pace

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank slowed the pace of its interest rate increases Thursday, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. The ECB’s quarter-point hike follows evidence that its efforts are working by making mortgages and business loans harder to get.The decision comes a day after the Fed approved a quarter-point increase and hinted that it may have reached the end of its hiking cycle. But the central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro currency started later and may still have further to go even as economic growth slows to a crawl and U.S. bank instability stirs new fears of financial turmoil.The ECB said in a statement that inflation “has declined over recent months but underlying price pressures remain strong.” It says its streak of six hikes of half- or three-quarters of a point are being “transmitted forcefully” by making loans harder to get but how that affects the rest of the e...

Shopify to reduce workforce by 20% and sell logistics business

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

Shopify Inc. says it will reduce its head count by about 20 per cent and sell its logistics business to Flexport, a supply chain management company.The Ottawa-based e-commerce giant announced the moves Thursday morning and positioned them as a way to help it focus on its main quest: making commerce easier.But achieving that feat means reducing “side quests” which chief executive Tobi Lutke described as “always distracting because the company has to split focus.” “Technological progress always arcs towards simplicity, and entrepreneurs succeed more when we simplify. But now we are at the dawn of the AI era and the new capabilities that are unlocked by that are unprecedented,” he said, in an open letter announcing the changes.“Our main quest demands from us to build the best thing that is now possible, and that has just changed entirely.”Lutke’s note did not quantify how many staff would be departing the company, but before Shopify...

Atlanta shooting suspect has been charged with murder

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting in Atlanta that left one woman dead and four others wounded has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault, Fulton County Jail records show.Deion Patterson was awaiting his first court appearance Thursday after police say he opened fire in the waiting room of an Atlanta medical practice Wednesday. Workers and others in a bustling commercial district took shelter for hours during the manhunt.Authorities swarmed the city’s midtown neighborhood shortly after noon in search of the shooter. Patterson, 34, was captured in Cobb County, just northwest of Atlanta.The Associated Press

In Ukraine’s forests, soldiers race to get for next push

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

SOMEWHERE IN CENTRAL UKRAINE (AP) — The fighters depart at dawn, single-file, rifles slung, compasses in hand, and disappear like chameleons into the lush greenery of central Ukraine’s dense forests.They’re training for a long-anticipated campaign that Ukraine hopes will shift the momentum of its war with Russia. It’s a crash course in new assault tactics for the National Guard squad, a mix of volunteers whose ages range from 22 to 51. The squad is part of a brigade that’s been chosen to prepare for a counteroffensive, and it’s had just a few months to train on new skills and incorporate new recruits. By their own admission, the servicemen have outdated weapons, and many feared not enough training or resources. But they said when the time comes, they will be ready to fight.The Associated Press joined a unit of the Stalevy Kordon or Steel Border, a brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard. Over a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war’s front lines have been all but static for months,...

No Mow May? Good intentions, bad approach, critics say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard about the #NoMowMay movement that’s been gaining steam on social media and in eco-conscious circles these past few years.Started in 2019 by citizen scientists in the United Kingdom, the call for homeowners to abstain from mowing their lawns during the month has spread to other countries, including the U.S.The intention is admirable: Let your grass and weeds grow and bloom to provide food and shelter for essential pollinators like bees and butterflies early in the season, when such necessities may be scarce.Frankly, I think it’s a terrible idea.Some of those pollinators you set out to protect will likely get shredded up with the first mow of the season. Grass will no doubt get shaded by tall weeds, which can lead to fungal diseases. And weeds and invasive plants that take hold during the month won’t simply disappear once the mowing commences. That might lead people to apply chemical pesticides they wouldn’t otherwise use.And what about...

Explosion rips roof off pharmaceutical plant; worker missing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — A powerful explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Massachusetts that has a checkered history left one worker missing, sent four people to the hospital and blew an industrial-sized vat into a parking lot, officials said Thursday. The explosion happened around 1 a.m. at the Sequens/PCI Synthesis plant in Newburyport, officials said. Video footage showed most of the roof torn off a building, and the blast blew a vat from inside the building 30 feet into a parking lot, acting Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury III said in a news release.It wasn’t immediately known what caused the explosion, and it wasn’t clear what role, if any, the vat played in the explosion.“There is major structural damage to the building, preventing firefighters and technical rescue crews from entering the building to begin a search,” Bradbury said.There is no danger to nearby homes, he said, but workers at the industrial park where the plant is located were asked to avoid the area.The four...

Enbridge signs tolling deal with shippers for Mainline pipeline system

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. says it has reached a deal with shippers for tolling on its Mainline pipeline system, which moves over three million barrels a day of crude oil and liquids from Western Canada.The company says the agreement covers both the Canadian and U.S. portions of the Mainline system and will provide customers with a stable, competitive toll relative to competing alternatives.Enbridge says it expects to jointly finalize the settlement with industry and submit an application for approval to the Canada Energy Regulator in the third quarter.It expects the new tolling settlement could be approved and implemented later this year.The new agreement comes after an earlier proposal to fill Canada’s largest oil pipeline network through long-term contracts was rejected by the Canada Energy Regulator in November 2021.The pipeline provides about 70 per cent of the total oil pipeline transportation capacity out of Western Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first publi...

Maple Leafs look to bounce back, even things up with Panthers in Game 2

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for another Game 2 bounce back as they get set to once again host the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.Most experts suggest Toronto will need to up the energy to counter the speed of the upstart Panthers. Florida outmatched the Leafs in Game 1, winning 4-2 to take an early series lead.Toronto will be looking for a better start after falling behind early in Game 1.“It’s hard to dig yourself out of holes sometimes, especially this time of the year” says Auston Matthews. “Coming out with more urgency and more pace to start games will benefit us.”From wrestling a grizzly to racing a cheetah.The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves dealing with a unique type of wild animal in Round 2. (@lukefoxjukebox) https://t.co/1p8ASUOEOh— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 3, 2023Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne suggests the Leafs, who have been deemed the favourites over Florida by most pundits, need to start playin...

Telus reports Q1 profit down from a year ago, raises quarterly dividend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

VANCOUVER — Telus Corp. raised its dividend as it reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago on higher interest, depreciation and amortization, restructuring and other costs.The company says it will now pay quarterly dividend of 36.36 cents per share, up from 35.11 cents per share.The increased payment to shareholders came as Telus reported a profit attributable to common shares of $217 million or 15 cents per diluted share, down from $385 million or 28 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Operating revenue and other income totalled $4.96 billion, up from $4.28 billion in the first three months of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Telus says it earned 27 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 30 cents per share a year earlier.Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 26 cents per share and nearly $4.90 billion in revenue, according to estimates compiled by financial markets firm Refinitiv.This report by The Canadian Press ...

Prosecutors: Signs of mental illness in Berlin school attack

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:40 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors said Thursday that a man who seriously wounded two young girls in an attack at a school in Berlin may have been suffering from a drug-induced psychological illness.Prosecutors said they were asking a court to have the 38-year-old suspect held in a psychiatric hospital pending further investigation. The man, who was arrested by officers at the scene, is being investigated for attempted homicide and serious bodily harm.“There are no indications as to the suspect’s motive, but signs of a psychological illness possibly induced by narcotics are said to be present,” prosecutors wrote in a statement. Prosecutors said the man had admitted carrying out the attack at the private Protestant School in Berlin’s Neukoelln district Wednesday afternoon, in which he stabbed two students aged 7 and 8 with a kitchen knife.Both children remain hospitalized with serious injuries. Prosecutors say the older child’s condition is stable and no longer ...