Image source: The Motley Fool. Jan. 27, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET Call participants Chief Executive Officer — Michael Speetzen Chief Financial Officer — Robert Mack Takeaways Sales growth -- Adjusted sales increased 9%; North American retail sales, excluding youth, also rose 9% with share gains across Off-Road, Marine, and Snow segments. -- Adjusted sales increased 9%; North American retail sales, exclud...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Jan. 27, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET Call participants Chief Executive Officer — Michael Speetzen Chief Financial Officer — Robert Mack Takeaways Sales growth -- Adjusted sales increased 9%; North American retail sales, excluding youth, also rose 9% with share gains across Off-Road, Marine, and Snow segments. -- Adjusted sales increased 9%; North American retail sales, excluding youth, also rose 9% with share gains across Off-Road, Marine, and Snow segments. Tariff impact -- $37 million in new tariffs offset gross profit gains for the quarter, and total annual tariff exposure remains above $200 million, according to management. -- $37 million in new tariffs offset gross profit gains for the quarter, and total annual tariff exposure remains above $200 million, according to management. Debt reduction -- Repaid approximately $530 million in debt during the full year, ending well below covenant thresholds. -- Repaid approximately $530 million in debt during the full year, ending well below covenant thresholds. Inventory position -- Dealer inventory days are under 100, with the healthiest current to non-current mix reported among OEMs; non-current snowmobile inventory reduced by over 40%. -- Dealer inventory days are under 100, with the healthiest current to non-current mix reported among OEMs; non-current snowmobile inventory reduced by over 40%. Cost savings -- Achieved over $60 million in operational savings for the year, with $25 million in reduced warranty expense driven by improved quality systems. -- Achieved over $60 million in operational savings for the year, with $25 million in reduced warranty expense driven by improved quality systems. Organic growth guidance -- 2026 organic sales expected to rise 7%-9% excluding Indian Motorcycle, factoring out $300 million prior year sales and adding $400 million tailwind from aligned shipments and retail. -- 2026 organic sales expected to rise 7%-9% excluding Indian Motorcycle, factoring out $300 mil...
relif/iStock via Getty Images Policy support is helping narrow mortgage spreads, and valuations remain historically attractive. Portfolio manager Dan Hyman discusses the opportunity across agency mortgage-backed securities ( MBS ), which offer high quality, liquid exposure with defensive traits and compelling income potential. Transcript HYMAN: The takeaway that we see as a result of this announce...
relif/iStock via Getty Images Policy support is helping narrow mortgage spreads, and valuations remain historically attractive. Portfolio manager Dan Hyman discusses the opportunity across agency mortgage-backed securities ( MBS ), which offer high quality, liquid exposure with defensive traits and compelling income potential. Transcript HYMAN: The takeaway that we see as a result of this announcement is there has been a major catalyst change for mortgages. Now mortgages are historically cheap with some tailwinds. They have the government focused on bringing down mortgage rates on narrowing mortgage spreads, and they're deploying their own balance sheet to do so. PIMCO has long been a holder of mortgage-backed securities and we've been heavily overweighted to the sector because we've seen very attractive valuations. This announcement has been positive for spreads, meaning spreads have narrowed, bond prices have gone up, but we still think they're historically cheap. Meaning even from today's valuations, we think mortgage spreads are likely to narrow further and you can continue to earn an attractive yield while we wait for that to happen. So mortgages remain a high conviction view for PIMCO. This presents investors with an opportunity to go up in quality, up in liquidity, position portfolios defensively by purchasing agency-backed mortgages. Disclosure All investments contain risk and may lose value. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds and bond strategies with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and volatile than those with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise, and low interest rate environments increase this risk. Reductions in bond counterparty capacity may contribute to decreased market liquidity and increased price volatility. Bond inv...
Days after Meta was sued by over alleged false privacy claims by its chat app WhatsApp, the company has rolled out a new setting to protect users against cyber attacks. The feature, called Strict Account Settings, adds restrictions like automatically blocking media and attachments from unknown senders, and silencing calls from unknown numbers. Under this setting, link previews are turned off, and ...
Days after Meta was sued by over alleged false privacy claims by its chat app WhatsApp, the company has rolled out a new setting to protect users against cyber attacks. The feature, called Strict Account Settings, adds restrictions like automatically blocking media and attachments from unknown senders, and silencing calls from unknown numbers. Under this setting, link previews are turned off, and the setting to block a high number of unknown messages is also switched on. When someone turns this option on, by default, two-step verification is turned on along with security notifications that alert someone when the code of someone they are chatting with changes. The company WhatsApp also restricts your last seen and online, profile photo, about details, and links on your profile are locked to only your contacts. If you have the new restrictive protection layer enabled, only your contacts (or pre-selected people from your contacts) can add you to groups. Image Credits: Meta The company said this “lockdown-styled” feature will be rolling out in the coming weeks and is useful for journalists and public figures. “Strict account settings are an optional, lockdown-style security feature that, when enabled, reduces your vulnerability to cyber attack by limiting functionality. Your account is locked to more private settings, and your chats with others outside your contacts will have limitations,” the company’s description reads. Users can turn on this setting by going to Settings > Privacy > Advanced and then turning on Strict account settings. Meta said that users can only change this setting from their primary device and not from a companion platform like WhatsApp for Web or Windows. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026 Tickets: One-time offer Tickets are live! Save up to $680 while these rates last, and be among the first 500 registrants to get 50% off your +1 pass. TechCrunch Disrupt brings top leaders from Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, a16z, Hugging Face, and more to 25...
Multiple Wall Street firms downgraded the stock following yesterday's surprise exit of the company's new CFO. Shares of The Trade Desk (TTD 4.91%) were tumbling again on Tuesday, following yesterday's big sell-off. As of 12:15 p.m. EDT today, shares were down 4.7%, and are now down about 12% week-to-date. Yesterday, shares were rocked by the announcement that Chief Financial Officer Alex Kayyal, w...
Multiple Wall Street firms downgraded the stock following yesterday's surprise exit of the company's new CFO. Shares of The Trade Desk (TTD 4.91%) were tumbling again on Tuesday, following yesterday's big sell-off. As of 12:15 p.m. EDT today, shares were down 4.7%, and are now down about 12% week-to-date. Yesterday, shares were rocked by the announcement that Chief Financial Officer Alex Kayyal, who had been appointed to the role just five months ago, was fired over the weekend. While shares fell on the news, today's subsequent downgrades by not one but three sell-side analysts sent shares another leg lower. Expand NASDAQ : TTD The Trade Desk Today's Change ( -4.91 %) $ -1.66 Current Price $ 32.15 Key Data Points Market Cap $16B Day's Range $ 31.95 - $ 33.56 52wk Range $ 31.95 - $ 125.80 Volume 262K Avg Vol 13M Gross Margin 78.81 % Confirmation of doubts rocks The Trade Desk On Monday, The Trade Desk announced that CFO Alex Kayyal would be leaving the company, with Chief Accounting Officer Tahnil Davis replacing Kayyal while the company looks for a permanent successor. The announcement was certainly strange, given that Kayal had been appointed to the position back in August, only five months ago. Kayal also remains on the company's Board of Directors, further complicating matters. The filing notes Kayyal "was terminated," effective January 24, which is a Saturday, and that he will remain on the Board "through the Company's 2026 annual meeting of stockholders." That seems to indicate that Kayyal will leave the Board after his term ends this year, and that he was fired for some reason. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be related to last quarter's financials, as the company reiterated its fourth quarter guidance in the filing. Still, the quick turnover in the C-suite is no doubt unsettling shareholders, who have already seen The Trade Desk's stock plummet 76% from all-time highs amid decelerating revenue. The firing is also unsettling Wall Street analysts as well. Tod...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the AI Stocks in Focus on Wall Street. On January 26, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee lowered the price target on the stock to $276.47 (from $283.36) while maintaining a Hold rating. The firm believes AAPL’s long-term growth is capped due to slowing App Store growth and Google ad revenue risk. According to the firm, Sensor Tower data showed AppStore revenue grew onl...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the AI Stocks in Focus on Wall Street. On January 26, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee lowered the price target on the stock to $276.47 (from $283.36) while maintaining a Hold rating. The firm believes AAPL’s long-term growth is capped due to slowing App Store growth and Google ad revenue risk. According to the firm, Sensor Tower data showed AppStore revenue grew only an estimated 7% in Dec Q, which marks the slowest growth in the last seven quarters. AAPL has corrected 13% from its peak on Dec 2, driven by signs of slowdown in service rev. The firm also sees a risk of slowdown in Apple’s Google-related advertising revenue to high single-digits. While the firm has trimmed its service revenue growth estimates, it keeps its hardware forecasts unchanged. Even so, Jefferies anticipates a slight beat, of around 3%, in upcoming results due on January 29 despite the firm’s fiscal year 2026 and 2027 estimates only in line with consensus. “At 2.4x PEG we believe the stock will likely be range bound." Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 AI Stocks on Market Radar and 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching Disclosure: None.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the AI Stocks in Focus on Wall Street. On January 26, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee lowered the price target on the stock to $276.47 (from $283.36) while maintaining a Hold rating. The firm believes AAPL’s long-term growth is capped due to slowing App Store growth and Google ad revenue risk. According to the firm, Sensor Tower data showed AppStore revenue grew onl...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the AI Stocks in Focus on Wall Street. On January 26, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee lowered the price target on the stock to $276.47 (from $283.36) while maintaining a Hold rating. The firm believes AAPL’s long-term growth is capped due to slowing App Store growth and Google ad revenue risk. According to the firm, Sensor Tower data showed AppStore revenue grew only an estimated 7% in Dec Q, which marks the slowest growth in the last seven quarters. AAPL has corrected 13% from its peak on Dec 2, driven by signs of slowdown in service rev. The firm also sees a risk of slowdown in Apple’s Google-related advertising revenue to high single-digits. While the firm has trimmed its service revenue growth estimates, it keeps its hardware forecasts unchanged. Even so, Jefferies anticipates a slight beat, of around 3%, in upcoming results due on January 29 despite the firm’s fiscal year 2026 and 2027 estimates only in line with consensus. “At 2.4x PEG we believe the stock will likely be range bound." Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 AI Stocks on Market Radar and 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching Disclosure: None.
Alibaba BABA is facing a growing headwind to revenue growth from its shrinking “All Others” segment despite continued strength in its core businesses. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues from the “All Others” segment dropped 25% year over year, marking another consecutive quarterly decline and making it the only business unit to contract, while China e-commerce, international commerce a...
Alibaba BABA is facing a growing headwind to revenue growth from its shrinking “All Others” segment despite continued strength in its core businesses. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues from the “All Others” segment dropped 25% year over year, marking another consecutive quarterly decline and making it the only business unit to contract, while China e-commerce, international commerce and cloud operations delivered solid growth. The downturn was caused mainly by the disposal of Sun Art and Intime, which automatically reduced reported revenues, along with weaker performance at Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm. Although Freshippo, Alibaba Health and Amap recorded growth, their gains could not make up for the broader slowdown in the segment. As a result, the segment has become a drag rather than a support for consolidated growth. The impact extends beyond the top line. Losses in the segment widened as Alibaba increased investments in technology and AI-driven initiatives, adding pressure on group profitability. Given that most revenues in this segment come from direct sales and logistics services recorded on a gross basis, margins tend to be thinner and revenue more volatile, amplifying its influence on overall financial results. The company views these units as long-term innovation platforms tied to AI infrastructure and digital services, yet near-term performance shows they are holding back reported growth. Until Cainiao stabilizes and divestment-related pressures fade, this segment is likely to continue hurting overall revenue growth. This concern is also seen in the Zacks Consensus Estimate, which forecasts only modest revenue growth of 6.2% for fiscal 2026. Alibaba’s Logistics Business Faces Rising Competition Alibaba’s logistics arm is facing intensifying competition as JD.com’s JD subsidiary JD Logistics and Amazon’s AMZN Amazon Logistics expand their fulfillment, warehousing and last-mile capabilities, pressuring pricing and delivery speed across key ...
Key Points Harmony's approved narcolepsy drug Wakix has been a huge financial success. Controversy and litigation surrounding Wakix have held back the stock. Longer-term worries about patent cliffs and Harmony's pipeline have also been bearish influences. 10 stocks we like better than Harmony Biosciences › Finding value stocks in today's market environment is challenging. To find them in the biote...
Key Points Harmony's approved narcolepsy drug Wakix has been a huge financial success. Controversy and litigation surrounding Wakix have held back the stock. Longer-term worries about patent cliffs and Harmony's pipeline have also been bearish influences. 10 stocks we like better than Harmony Biosciences › Finding value stocks in today's market environment is challenging. To find them in the biotech stock arena is even more unusual. Harmony Biosciences (NASDAQ: HRMY) specializes in biotechnology treatments for rare diseases, and despite having been extremely successful from a financial standpoint, investors haven't seemed to buy the bullish case for Harmony entirely. The first article in this series focused on Harmony and its work toward developing its pitolisant treatment, marketed under the brand name Wakix. Here, you'll learn more about just how lucrative Wakix has been, but you'll also learn about some of the negatives that have kept the stock price from following Harmony's sales and profits higher. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Impressive numbers from Harmony There's no denying that few small biotech stocks have enjoyed the same early success that Harmony has. Wakix got FDA approval in 2019, but by the following year, Harmony posted revenue of $160 million. Over the ensuing five years, Harmony saw its sales rise at an average compound annual growth rate of around 40%. That has the company on track to post sales of nearly $870 million when it releases its final 2025 numbers. Harmony believes Wakix will generate revenue of over $1 billion in 2026. Many biotech stocks that win approval for an initial commercial drug then turn around and redouble their spending on their pipeline research. Higher expenses then result in continuing losses despite the commercial success. Yet Harmony followed a different path. It became profitable ...
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Amazon — The e-commerce giant said it would sunset its Fresh and Go brick-and-mortar store, marking a pivot in its grocery strategy . Amazon shares rose more than 1% in midday trading, while shares of rival grocers were lower. Kroger and Albertsons shares were both down about 3%. Micron — The memory and storage stock jumped about 5%, on p...
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Amazon — The e-commerce giant said it would sunset its Fresh and Go brick-and-mortar store, marking a pivot in its grocery strategy . Amazon shares rose more than 1% in midday trading, while shares of rival grocers were lower. Kroger and Albertsons shares were both down about 3%. Micron — The memory and storage stock jumped about 5%, on pace to close at a new closing high, after starting construction of an advanced wafer fabrication facility in an existing NAND manufacturing plant in Singapore. Planned investment totals about $24 billion over 10 years, with wafer output set to start in the second half of 2028. Reddit — The social networking platform dropped 8% after its chief technology officer disclosed the sale late last week of almost $3 million of stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pinterest — The social media platform's stock fell almost 10% after it announced plans to cut about 15% of its workforce as it puts more resources behind artificial intelligence-focused roles and strategy. Sysco — Shares jumped 9% after the wholesale food products distributor reported an earnings beat and updated its full-year guidance. Sysco is now guiding for full-year earnings to come in at the higher end of its prior range of $4.50 to $4.60 per share. Its fiscal second-quarter earnings were 99 cents per share, versus the 98 cents anticipated from analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue also topped expectations. Roper Technologies — The software stock fell 13% and hit a 52-week low after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance. Roper's fourth-quarter revenue also missed expectations. United Parcel Service — The package delivery company gained 3% after reporting fourth-quarter results that beat expectations. UPS also said it would cut an additional 30,000 jobs this year and shutter at least 24 facilities as it winds down its partnership with Amazon. UnitedHealth , Humana , CVS Hea...
A worker operates on the production line at an automobile factory in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on Jan. 19, 2026. Photo: VCG China’s top industrial regulator has tightened the rules for automobile makers, mandating product reliability tests before new vehicles can hit the market, in a bid to curb the safety risks stemming from compressed development cycles. The Ministry of Industry and Information...
A worker operates on the production line at an automobile factory in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on Jan. 19, 2026. Photo: VCG China’s top industrial regulator has tightened the rules for automobile makers, mandating product reliability tests before new vehicles can hit the market, in a bid to curb the safety risks stemming from compressed development cycles. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) finalized updated guidelines requiring stricter technical standards for both carmakers and their vehicles. Effective January 1, 2027, the new rules aim to curb a growing tendency among manufacturers to rush new models to market amid fierce competition, sparking concerns about weakened safety oversight.
Key Points Holiday sales were strong this year, driven by higher e-commerce. AWS sales have been accelerating. Amazon stock is priced attractively right now. 10 stocks we like better than Amazon › Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) didn't deliver for investors last year, trailing the S&P 500's 18% gain with a mediocre 5% rise. But that happens sometimes, and investors should always keep the long-term picture i...
Key Points Holiday sales were strong this year, driven by higher e-commerce. AWS sales have been accelerating. Amazon stock is priced attractively right now. 10 stocks we like better than Amazon › Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) didn't deliver for investors last year, trailing the S&P 500's 18% gain with a mediocre 5% rise. But that happens sometimes, and investors should always keep the long-term picture in mind. In fact, since Amazon stock has sagged, it could be a great opportunity to buy shares. Here are three reasons to buy Amazon stock today. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » 1. Strong e-commerce results from the holiday season The fourth quarter includes the all-important holiday season, so it typically has the highest sales volume of the year. That's why a typical sales chart has highs and lows that correlate annually. Results from other sources show strong spending for the 2025 holiday season, especially for e-commerce. According to preliminary results from Visa, holiday spending increased 4.2% year over year, while e-commerce sales increased 7.8%. Amazon controls around 40% of U.S. e-commerce, so that's a great indication of what Amazon might tell shareholders next week in its fourth-quarter report. According to Visa's update, physical retail accounted for 73% of total spending. That's also good news for Amazon shareholders, since it implies that Amazon still has a huge untapped opportunity in shifting retail sales to e-commerce. 2. Accelerating AWS growth The exciting part of Amazon's business right now is artificial intelligence (AI). Although Amazon uses AI throughout its vast enterprise, the AI business runs through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud segment. AWS is the largest cloud provider in the world, with around 29% of total market share, and even at its size, sales accelerated to 20% year over year in the 2025 third quarter. Management is investing in AWS...
The argument that it would be too costly to run a mayoral election in Manchester and run the risk of its being won by Reform UK is perfectly valid (‘Huge mistake’: Labour in turmoil as Burnham blocked from byelection race, 25 January). The problem is that that is not how the decision of the Labour party’s national executive committee will be read. And this is now a pattern. Kicking off with the fo...
The argument that it would be too costly to run a mayoral election in Manchester and run the risk of its being won by Reform UK is perfectly valid (‘Huge mistake’: Labour in turmoil as Burnham blocked from byelection race, 25 January). The problem is that that is not how the decision of the Labour party’s national executive committee will be read. And this is now a pattern. Kicking off with the foolhardy acceptance of luxury goodies from Lord Alli, fast followed by the removal of pensioners’ winter fuel payments and going on to a failure to read the runes over the grooming gangs and many other depressing own goals, this government has demonstrated a quite astonishing lack of self-awareness. Keir Starmer is now beginning to resemble, of all unlikely people, Boris Johnson in his seeming inability to grasp how badly some of his decisions – and subsequent reversals – reflect on him. Good government is not simply a matter of making rational decisions; it is an art, and requires a competence and a finesse and a degree of sophistication which the Starmer government has now irredeemably demonstrated that it lacks. Salley Vickers London Well, that is the final straw for me. Labour values of equality of opportunity, wealth redistribution, fairness in society and equal justice were something I have passionately believed in all my life, so I have always voted for the party. When it was elected in 2024 with a landslide I celebrated, believing that at last we had a strong, sensible leader and enough political heft to produce real societal change. I was wrong. Keir Starmer is a manager (and not a very good one), certainly not a visionary leader, and – if there were any doubt – he has just ably demonstrated his (and his political machine’s) fear and weakness in blocking a proven effective leader, Andy Burnham, from returning to parliamentary politics in case he challenges him. Pathetic. If the Labour party is too fearful to accommodate someone of Burnham’s proven talents, it is no ...
Simon Jenkins is right to point out the growing feasibility of older people choosing to work into their 80s (Mary Berry, and now Prue Leith. Retiring in your 80s is the new 60s, 23 January). As he says, older people are far healthier than they used to be and continuing to be economically active is generally good for one’s health. But I feel that he, and successive governments, have missed a trick....
Simon Jenkins is right to point out the growing feasibility of older people choosing to work into their 80s (Mary Berry, and now Prue Leith. Retiring in your 80s is the new 60s, 23 January). As he says, older people are far healthier than they used to be and continuing to be economically active is generally good for one’s health. But I feel that he, and successive governments, have missed a trick. He states that “the idea of Britons becoming useless at 60 was increasingly unreal”, yet as soon as retirement age is reached, one ceases to pay national insurance (NI). I was astonished when I no longer paid NI after the then retirement age – yet I would not have missed it in my extra two years of teaching. It would have simply been a continuation of what I’d already been paying. With work and pensions records online, why is it not possible for older people to continue to pay NI, adding to their pension pot and contributing to the public purse at the same time, pro rata their working hours and salary? Change the rule to: if you are working, you pay national insurance, regardless of age. Anne Ayres Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire As Simon Jenkins writes, there are indeed “unquantifiable virtues that come with age”. But as a mentally and physically active man in his 70s, I can’t help noticing that ageism remains widespread in business, government, news media, comedy and everywhere else – explicitly or implicitly. Contrary to the insulting common view, we are not sitting in slippers and cardigans, listening to Vera Lynn on our gramophones and bemoaning the “good old days”. Many of us are still active and still trying to make the world a better place – our “unquantifiable virtues” remaining intact, perhaps even enhanced over the years. Brian Cookson Chair, Active Lancashire Scenario: travelling by train through gloomy London. Gloomy news. Turn to the Journal pages in the Guardian print edition and Simon Jenkins’ article. Sunshine’s breaking through! Elizabeth Belcher (aged 79 and ...
Dr Liz Rolls-Firth recalls the place where would-be nurses spent three months training before being let loose on patients Peter Bradshaw missed out an important cultural feature of Letchmore Heath ( ‘The Village of the Damned was shot here – then George Harrison bought a house’: our UK town of culture nominations, 23 January ). Before Piggott’s Manor was sold to George Harrison, it was the prelimi...
Dr Liz Rolls-Firth recalls the place where would-be nurses spent three months training before being let loose on patients Peter Bradshaw missed out an important cultural feature of Letchmore Heath ( ‘The Village of the Damned was shot here – then George Harrison bought a house’: our UK town of culture nominations, 23 January ). Before Piggott’s Manor was sold to George Harrison, it was the preliminary training school of St Bartholomew’s hospital in Smithfield, London, where 18-year-old would-be nurses spent three months before being let loose on real patients – learning how to bandage, give bed baths and change bed sheets with the “patient” still in it (practising on each other), give injections (into oranges), present food in an appetising way and – most importantly – to clean. Following this three-month period, we spent the next two-and-three-quarter years on the wards (as a form of apprenticeship) doing actual nursing work of greater complexity and responsibility. A far cry from the major cultural shift of today’s nurse training spent in universities and on placements. Dr Liz Rolls-Firth Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Continue reading...
Communication gap | Tom Jones syndrome | Frontline inaction | Gift from Suella Braverman | Tory defections A group of retired senior staff at City & Guilds met its chair of trustees, Ann Limb, and chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, on 2 December to find out more about the sale ( The Guardian view on the City & Guilds privatisation: big bonuses cast a shadow over this deal, 21 January ). We complai...
Communication gap | Tom Jones syndrome | Frontline inaction | Gift from Suella Braverman | Tory defections A group of retired senior staff at City & Guilds met its chair of trustees, Ann Limb, and chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, on 2 December to find out more about the sale ( The Guardian view on the City & Guilds privatisation: big bonuses cast a shadow over this deal, 21 January ). We complained that a large number of stakeholders, including pensioners, had been told nothing about it officially. Limb apologised for this “oversight” and promised that a communication would be sent out. We are still waiting. Andrew Sich London • Re your feature ( You be the judge: should my husband stop quoting song lyrics during serious conversations?, 22 January ), if this man is quoting lyrics from hits such as Delilah and Green, Green Grass of Home , he’s probably got Tom Jones syndrome. But she needn’t worry – a lot of people have it. It’s not unusual. Michael Fuller Ampthill, Bedfordshire Continue reading...
A new trade deal between the European Union and India is the latest sign of how rapidly and dramatically the global trade environment is shifting. The two had previously clashed on trade policy but with alignments shifting due to the aggressive tariffs of US President Donald Trump, they bridged almost two decades of negotiations and brought talks to a conclusion. The EU is making efforts to reduce...
A new trade deal between the European Union and India is the latest sign of how rapidly and dramatically the global trade environment is shifting. The two had previously clashed on trade policy but with alignments shifting due to the aggressive tariffs of US President Donald Trump, they bridged almost two decades of negotiations and brought talks to a conclusion. The EU is making efforts to reduce reliance on the US and China. India for its part is trying to shake off its protectionist reputation and balance its ties with Russia. “We have concluded the mother of all deals ,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote today in a social-media post. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the agreement as “its biggest and most historic.” It is expected that exports from the EU to India will double by 2032 following the removal of tariffs on 96.6% of shipments. The EU, in turn, will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 99.5% of goods imported from India over seven years. The deal was struck amid increased trade uncertainty, amplified by Trump’s disruption of the global order. The most recent salvo came amid tensions over the White House’s threats in relation to Greenland . What You Need to Know Today A call for smaller groups of EU countries to forge ahead with reforms has been backed by German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. It is being floated as part of efforts to make the 27-nation bloc more competitive. “Now is the time for a two-speed Europe,” said Klingbeil, who is also Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s deputy. Germany, France and other partners would take the lead in “making Europe stronger and more independent,” he added. Merz and his EU counterparts are due to hold talks in Belgium next month on how the region can progress economically and boost competitiveness. A plan to scrap bonus restrictions for Dutch financial sector workers has been approved by the lower house in the country’s parliament. A majority voted to ease limits on variable pay for most ba...