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This Week: Consumer confidence, Macy’s earns, jobs report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:NOT SO CONFIDENT?The Conference Board releases its latest U.S. consumer confidence index Tuesday.The index fell in April as anxiety over a slowing economy and possible recession weighed on American households. It was the third time in four months that overall U.S. consumer confidence declined. Economists project that the May reading slipped again. A reading of 90 or better reflects a healthy economy.Consumer confidence, by month:Dec. 109.0Jan. 106.0Feb. 103.4March 104.0April 101.3May (est.) 100.8Source: FactSetSPOTLIGHT ON MACY’SMacy’s delivers its fiscal first-quarter results Thursday.Wall Street expects the department store chain will report lower earnings and revenue for the February-April quarter compared to a year earlier. That would echo the company’s results for the 12 months that ended in January. Retailers like Macy’s are feeling the sting of a consumer spending slowdown as the economic env...

New York visits Seattle after Loyd’s 30-point outing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

New York Liberty (2-1, 2-1 Eastern Conference) at Seattle Storm (0-2, 0-2 Western Conference)Seattle; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Seattle faces the New York Liberty after Jewell Loyd scored 30 points in the Seattle Storm’s 95-91 loss to the Dallas Wings.Seattle finished 13-5 at home a season ago while going 22-14 overall. The Storm averaged 17.1 points off of turnovers, 9.9 second chance points and 18.4 bench points last season.New York finished 7-11 on the road and 16-20 overall last season. The Liberty shot 43.1% from the field and 35.1% from 3-point range last season.INJURIES: Storm: None listed.Liberty: None listed.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Chicago faces Atlanta after Mabrey’s 23-point performance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

Chicago Sky (3-1, 0-1 Eastern Conference) at Atlanta Dream (1-2, 0-1 Eastern Conference)College Park, Georgia; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Chicago faces the Atlanta Dream after Marina Mabrey scored 23 points in the Sky’s 94-88 win over the Dallas Wings.Atlanta went 14-22 overall and 5-13 in Eastern Conference games last season. The Dream averaged 17.6 assists per game on 28.8 made field goals last season.Chicago finished 26-10 overall and 15-3 in Eastern Conference play during the 2022-23 season. The Sky averaged 24.3 assists per game on 32.7 made field goals last season.INJURIES: Dream: Danielle Robinson: out (knee).Sky: Ruthy Hebard: out (personal), Isabelle Harrison: out (knee).___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Indiana visits Connecticut following Smith’s 23-point game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

Indiana Fever (1-2, 1-2 Eastern Conference) at Connecticut Sun (3-1, 3-1 Eastern Conference)Uncasville, Connecticut; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Indiana takes on the Connecticut Sun after NaLyssa Smith scored 23 points in the Fever’s 90-87 victory over the Atlanta Dream.Connecticut finished 13-5 at home and 11-7 in Eastern Conference games during the 2022-23 season. The Sun shot 46.2% from the field and 35.4% from 3-point range last season.Indiana finished 5-31 overall and 2-16 in Eastern Conference action during the 2022-23 season. The Fever allowed opponents to score 89.1 points per game and shoot 47.4% from the field last season.INJURIES: Sun: None listed.Fever: None listed.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Ogunbowale leads Dallas against Minnesota after 27-point game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

Minnesota Lynx (0-3, 0-2 Western Conference) at Dallas Wings (2-1, 1-0 Western Conference)Arlington, Texas; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Dallas hosts the Minnesota Lynx after Arike Ogunbowale scored 27 points in the Dallas Wings’ 94-88 loss to the Chicago Sky.Dallas went 8-10 in Western Conference action and 8-10 at home during the 2022-23 season. The Wings averaged 15.2 points off of turnovers, 13.1 second chance points and 20.1 bench points last season.Minnesota finished 14-22 overall last season while going 8-10 in Western Conference play. The Lynx averaged 20.6 assists per game on 30.2 made field goals last season.INJURIES: Wings: Lou Lopez Senechal: out (knee), Diamond DeShields: out (knee).Lynx: Kayla McBride: out (personal reasons), Natalie Achonwa: out (personal).___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Turkey’s Erdogan retains power, now faces challenges over the economy and earthquake recovery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a mandate to rule until 2028, securing five more years as leader of a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia that plays a key role in NATO. He must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.Erdogan secured more than 52% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential runoff, two weeks after he fell short of scoring an outright victory in the first round. His opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had sought to reverse Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leanings, promising to return to democratic norms, adopt more conventional economic policies and improve ties with the West. But in the end, voters chose the man they see as a strong, proven leader.Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency again in two speeches he delivered in Istanbul and Ankara.“The only winner today is Turkey,” Erd...

Malaysia detains Chinese barge on suspicion of looting WWII British warship wrecks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s maritime agency said Monday it found a cannon shell believed to be from World War II on a Chinese-registered vessel and was investigating if the barge carrier was involved in the looting of two British warship wrecks in the South China Sea.Malaysian media reported that illegal salvage operators were believed to have targeted the HMS Repulse and the HMS Prince of Wales, which were sunk in 1941 by Japanese torpedoes, days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 842 sailors perished, and the shipwrecks are designated war graves. Fishermen and divers alerted authorities after spotting a foreign vessel near the area last month.The agency said it detained the vessel registered in Fuzhou, China, on Sunday for anchoring without a permit off Malaysia’s southern Johor state. It said there were 32 crew members aboard, including 21 Chinese, 10 from Bangladesh and a Malaysian. The agency said officials from the National Heritage Departmen...

Thousands flee wildfires near Halifax : In The News for May 29

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 29 …What we are watching in Canada …The Halifax Regional Municipality has opened an evacuation centre to accommodate thousands of residents fleeing wildfires near suburban communities northwest of Halifax.The evacuation centre at the Canada Games Centre, located at 26 Thomas Raddall Drive, was opened to support impacted residents — especially residents without family supports or insurance.A rapidly spreading wildfire, fed by strong winds and tinder-dry woods, has damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in the region.Amid thick plumes of smoke, residents fled from the Tantallon area Sunday afternoon after the RCMP issued an emergency alert about rapidly advancing “structure and forest fires.” Over the next six hours, another three alerts called for more evacuations as the fire grew.The evacuation...

Griffin-nominated poet Susan Musgrave on what happens after the worst

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

After spending years on high alert, anticipating the worst and attempting to prevent it, Susan Musgrave is learning to live with its aftermath. The Griffin-nominated poet’s husband, Stephen Reid, and younger daughter, Sophie Musgrave Reid, died within just a few years of each other, the former claimed by a lung infection and heart failure at age 68, the latter by an overdose at 32. Suddenly they were gone, and with that nightmare realized, they left a yawning hole where her dread once lived.“Stephen and Sophie living with addiction, you become hypervigilant. You try and keep control of lives that are out of control, so you’re always watching for everything,” Musgrave said by phone from her home on Haida Gwaii. “I’m waiting for the next catastrophe or waiting for them to die, which they did. I think the worst has happened, and then it hasn’t, because they stay dead.”Following Reid’s death in 2018, Musgrave moulded her grief into p...

Election day: Alberta voters go to the polls, expected nail-biter between UCP, NDP

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:06 GMT

It’s election day in Alberta in what polls suggest could be a nail-biter finish between the province’s two dominant parties. Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party is fighting to win a second consecutive majority government, while Rachel Notley’s NDP is trying to regain the government it lost to the UCP in 2019. Both leaders have been premier and leaders of the official Opposition. To win, the NDP would have to continue its dominance in Edmonton, flip the majority in Calgary and hope for some help in smaller cities, while defeating scores of UCP incumbents including cabinet ministers.The NDP needs to swing 20 seats in the 87-seat legislature. Polls suggest the UCP should continue its near total domination in rural areas and smaller centres, giving it a cushion of up to 40 or so seats to reach the threshold of 44 needed to form a majority government. The month-long campaign has been dominated by the economy and health care.Albertans are struggling with high costs for consum...