Written by Emily J. Thompson , Senior Investment Analyst Source: NASDAQ.COM PLTR $ 146.59 + Infinity % 1D 1D 5D 1M 3M 6M YTD 1Y 5Y 1D Line Candle Analyst Views on PLTR Wall Street analysts forecast PLTR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for PLTR is 192.88 USD with a low forecast of 50.00 USD and a high forecast of 255.00...
Written by Emily J. Thompson , Senior Investment Analyst Source: NASDAQ.COM PLTR $ 146.59 + Infinity % 1D 1D 5D 1M 3M 6M YTD 1Y 5Y 1D Line Candle Analyst Views on PLTR Wall Street analysts forecast PLTR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for PLTR is 192.88 USD with a low forecast of 50.00 USD and a high forecast of 255.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals. 17 Analyst Rating Wall Street analysts forecast PLTR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for PLTR is 192.88 USD with a low forecast of 50.00 USD and a high forecast of 255.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals. 5 Buy 10 Hold 2 Sell Hold Current: 151.860 Low 50.00 Averages 192.88 High 255.00 Current: 151.860 Low 50.00 Averages 192.88 High 255.00 Phillip Securities initiated $208 2026-01-22 Reason Phillip Securities Price Target $208 AI Analysis 2026-01-22 initiated Reason Phillip Securities initiated coverage of Palantir with a Buy rating and $208 price target. The firm sees potential for the shares to re-rate higher, driving by improving fundamentals and a growing addressable market. Palantir has captured "just" 2.4% of its $119B 2020 total addressable market, the analyst tells investors in a research note. With the company's AI software growing 25%-plus annually, the addressable market has likely expanded, "supporting significant upside," contends Phillip. Truist Buy initiated $223 2026-01-06 Reason Truist Price Target $223 2026-01-06 initiated Buy Reason Truist initiated coverage of Palantir with a Buy rating and $223 p...
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. AMD and GIGABYTE are expanding their partnership to bring AMD’s Ryzen AI processors and 3D V-Cache to a wider range of gaming laptops, creator devices, motherboards, and OLED monitors. The collaboration focuses on on-device AI features and gaming performance a...
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. AMD and GIGABYTE are expanding their partnership to bring AMD’s Ryzen AI processors and 3D V-Cache to a wider range of gaming laptops, creator devices, motherboards, and OLED monitors. The collaboration focuses on on-device AI features and gaming performance across GIGABYTE’s hardware portfolio. The move targets the growing AI PC segment and system level integration of AI capabilities across consumer hardware. For investors watching Advanced Micro Devices (NasdaqGS:AMD), this partnership adds another piece to the company story around AI and gaming hardware. The stock last closed at $236.73, with a 1 year return of 104.2% and a 3 year return of 175.0%. Those numbers highlight how closely sentiment around AMD is tied to its ability to stay relevant across high performance computing categories. By aligning more tightly with GIGABYTE across laptops, motherboards, and displays, AMD is aiming for deeper adoption of its Ryzen AI and gaming focused technologies at the system level. For investors, this type of collaboration can be one factor to monitor when assessing how AMD is positioning within the AI PC and gaming markets in the future. Stay updated on the most important news stories for Advanced Micro Devices by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Advanced Micro Devices. NasdaqGS:AMD Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Jan 2026 How Advanced Micro Devices stacks up against its biggest competitors Quick Assessment ✅ Price vs Analyst Target : AMD trades at US$236.73 versus a consensus target of US$289.23, roughly 22% below analyst expectations. ✅ Simply Wall St Valuation : The shares are flagged as undervalued, trading about 27.2% below an estimated fair value. ✅ Recent Momentum: The 30 day return of about 10.5% points to positive short term momentum. Check out Simpl...
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. AMD and GIGABYTE are expanding their partnership to bring AMD’s Ryzen AI processors and 3D V-Cache to a wider range of gaming laptops, creator devices, motherboards, and OLED monitors. The collaboration focuses on on-device AI features and gaming performance a...
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. AMD and GIGABYTE are expanding their partnership to bring AMD’s Ryzen AI processors and 3D V-Cache to a wider range of gaming laptops, creator devices, motherboards, and OLED monitors. The collaboration focuses on on-device AI features and gaming performance across GIGABYTE’s hardware portfolio. The move targets the growing AI PC segment and system level integration of AI capabilities across consumer hardware. For investors watching Advanced Micro Devices (NasdaqGS:AMD), this partnership adds another piece to the company story around AI and gaming hardware. The stock last closed at $236.73, with a 1 year return of 104.2% and a 3 year return of 175.0%. Those numbers highlight how closely sentiment around AMD is tied to its ability to stay relevant across high performance computing categories. By aligning more tightly with GIGABYTE across laptops, motherboards, and displays, AMD is aiming for deeper adoption of its Ryzen AI and gaming focused technologies at the system level. For investors, this type of collaboration can be one factor to monitor when assessing how AMD is positioning within the AI PC and gaming markets in the future. Stay updated on the most important news stories for Advanced Micro Devices by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Advanced Micro Devices. NasdaqGS:AMD Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Jan 2026 How Advanced Micro Devices stacks up against its biggest competitors Quick Assessment ✅ Price vs Analyst Target : AMD trades at US$236.73 versus a consensus target of US$289.23, roughly 22% below analyst expectations. ✅ Simply Wall St Valuation : The shares are flagged as undervalued, trading about 27.2% below an estimated fair value. ✅ Recent Momentum: The 30 day return of about 10.5% points to positive short term momentum. Check out Simpl...
A unit of chemicals giant INEOS announced it has received €500 million ($593 million) of additional funds in the form of new equity and credit lines, boosting its cash coffers ahead of an upcoming bond maturity. INEOS Quattro Holdings Ltd. obtained €200 million of extra capital from its shareholders, as well as €300 million additional funding tied to its inventory, according to a trading update pu...
A unit of chemicals giant INEOS announced it has received €500 million ($593 million) of additional funds in the form of new equity and credit lines, boosting its cash coffers ahead of an upcoming bond maturity. INEOS Quattro Holdings Ltd. obtained €200 million of extra capital from its shareholders, as well as €300 million additional funding tied to its inventory, according to a trading update published late on Friday. The chemicals conglomerate owned by Jim Ratcliffe and its peers have been grappling with a downturn in the sector, buffeted by elevated energy costs, weak demand and oversupply in the Chinese market. Still, the company has been flagging to creditors it’s seeing some early positive signs of recovery for 2026. “The group remains confident in its views of the recovery of the chemical cycle in the medium term and that its available liquidity is easily sufficient to cover the upcoming debt maturities in January 2027,” said INEOS in the statement. INEOS debt has been falling in recent months. The next upcoming debt deadline is a bond issued by INEOS Quattro and coming due next January, amounting to about €360 million. On Friday, INEOS also released its results for the fourth quarter of 2025. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stood at €77 million, down about 50% from a year earlier, in part because of scheduled turnarounds at its facilities in Antwerp and Rafnes. The group has been focusing on cost control and on business restructuring initiatives to review its assets and potentially close plants where appropriate, according to the statement. While earnings for the Acetyls and Styrolution subdivisions were approximately unchanged year-on-year, the Inovyn segment struggled amid weak demand for European PVC, as well as increased competition from Asia. The Aromatics business swung to a negative Ebitda, due to destocking and seasonal low demand. Net debt stood at approximately €5.5 billion at the end of December, against a cash bala...
Key Points During the first half of 2025, XRP rallied to a seven-year high. Smart investors realized the momentum was driven more by hype than by fundamental progress with the token. With few catalysts on the horizon and intensifying competition, XRP could be headed for another sell-off. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › After its strongest rally in seven years, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has entered 202...
Key Points During the first half of 2025, XRP rallied to a seven-year high. Smart investors realized the momentum was driven more by hype than by fundamental progress with the token. With few catalysts on the horizon and intensifying competition, XRP could be headed for another sell-off. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › After its strongest rally in seven years, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has entered 2026 with an uncertain future. What once looked like the next breakout digital token is at risk of significant downward pressure in the months ahead. Let's reassess XRP's performance from last year and explore why further volatility could be on the horizon. Is XRP about to turn into a falling knife? Read on to find out. 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 » Why did XRP soar in early 2025? During the first half of 2025, XRP surged by about 70%, reaching a price of $3 for the first time since 2018. However, the token plummeted during the second half of the year, ultimately ending 2025 down 10%. In reality, XRP's rally had nothing to do with the underlying fundamentals of the token. Rather, its run-up was entirely driven by a speculative narrative. XRP is a cryptocurrency that is issued by the payments company Ripple. For years, Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been in a legal tiff around whether XRP should be considered a security -- similar to a stock or bond -- when it's sold. Last year, the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Ripple, giving the company -- and the crypto landscape more broadly -- a major victory over a tough regulatory environment. It didn't take long for retail investors to create a narrative that XRP had become legitimized and could soon become the next cornerstone of institutional crypto portfolios. XRP has a structural issue, and investors are finally realizing it I see two primary headwinds that influenced XRP's reversal last year. First...
There are three ways to use prediction markets to become a better crypto investor. Prediction markets are seemingly everywhere these days. They are being used to predict the outcomes of political elections, sporting events, and just about any situation you can possibly imagine -- from whether or not the United States will invade Greenland, to how many Oscars a nominated film will win this year. As...
There are three ways to use prediction markets to become a better crypto investor. Prediction markets are seemingly everywhere these days. They are being used to predict the outcomes of political elections, sporting events, and just about any situation you can possibly imagine -- from whether or not the United States will invade Greenland, to how many Oscars a nominated film will win this year. As you might imagine, prediction markets are also popular with crypto investors. With that in mind, here are three ways prediction markets can be used to make you a more successful crypto investor. Get a quick temperature check on a specific cryptocurrency Some of the most popular cryptocurrencies for prediction markets include Bitcoin (BTC +0.60%), Ethereum (ETH 2.90%), and XRP (XRP 2.44%). All of them are often subjects of rampant speculation about how much higher (or lower) they might go. Thus, they are a perfect fit for prediction markets. Expand CRYPTO : BTC Bitcoin Today's Change ( 0.60 %) $ 494.26 Current Price $ 82880.00 Key Data Points Market Cap $1.7T Day's Range $ 81953.00 - $ 84368.00 52wk Range $ 74604.47 - $ 126079.89 Volume 55B Using data from prediction markets, it's easy to see how a prediction about the future price of Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) is really just a range of possible outcomes that can be used as inputs for a statistical model. For example, on Polymarket, there's a 45% chance of Bitcoin hitting a price of $120,000 in 2026 and a 22% chance of it hitting a price of $150,000. On the other hand, there's a not insignificant (9%) chance of Bitcoin completely cratering in value and dropping all the way to $25,000. Make directional bets on a specific cryptocurrency You can also use prediction markets to place speculative bets on the future price of a popular cryptocurrency. This goes one step beyond just checking in on the price of, say, Bitcoin. You are now actively putting your money to work by purchasing prediction market contracts. If the ...
For investors, Starlink is the most important part of SpaceX's business -- and the one you really want to own. Last week, I offered an hypothesis: Despite apparently confirming, late last year, that he plans to IPO SpaceX in 2026, Elon Musk might actually intend to IPO Starlink instead. Now, I might be wrong about that; I might be right. Honestly, it doesn't make much difference. Because whichever...
For investors, Starlink is the most important part of SpaceX's business -- and the one you really want to own. Last week, I offered an hypothesis: Despite apparently confirming, late last year, that he plans to IPO SpaceX in 2026, Elon Musk might actually intend to IPO Starlink instead. Now, I might be wrong about that; I might be right. Honestly, it doesn't make much difference. Because whichever company technically gets taken public in 2026, it's Starlink that really matters. Starlink is the growth driver behind SpaceX Why do I say this? Let's consider a few numbers. In 2024, SpaceX is reported to have generated total sales of $13.1 billion. In 2025, that number seems to have grown 15% to $15 billion, and in 2026, it's likely to grow to $23.8 billion -- 53.5% growth, according to data from the space analysts at Payload Space. (Note that because SpaceX is still privately owned, and not required to disclose its financial information publicly, all these numbers are guesses based on incomplete information. Payload Space is one analyst that's posited the $23.8 billion number, but other analysts, such as Quilty Space, are generally in the same ballpark.) Is it realistic to expect SpaceX to more than triple its 2025 revenue growth rate this a year? Possibly, and especially if you consider where that growth is coming from: Starlink. According to Payload, $10.4 billion of SpaceX's $15 billion in 2025 revenue came from Starlink satellite internet (both collecting subscription fees and selling hardware). That was 69% of total sales. In 2026, Payload forecasts Starlink revenue will grow 80% to $18.7 billion, with the result that Starlink will account for approximately 79% of SpaceX's total revenue in 2026. Contrast this 80% growth in Starlink satellite revenue versus the mere 9% growth in revenue from SpaceX's rocket launch business, and what can you conclude? That essentially all of SpaceX's revenue growth comes from Starlink. The company's space launch business, in contrast...
Key Points BioMarin expects strong sales for its rare-disease drug, Voxzogo, in Q4. The company also has several important catalysts on the way in the first half of the year. However, uncertainty about competition for Voxzogo could be enough to keep investors on the sideline for now. 10 stocks we like better than BioMarin Pharmaceutical › BioMarin Pharmaceutical's (NASDAQ: BMRN) website doesn't sh...
Key Points BioMarin expects strong sales for its rare-disease drug, Voxzogo, in Q4. The company also has several important catalysts on the way in the first half of the year. However, uncertainty about competition for Voxzogo could be enough to keep investors on the sideline for now. 10 stocks we like better than BioMarin Pharmaceutical › BioMarin Pharmaceutical's (NASDAQ: BMRN) website doesn't show any scheduled events on its calendar over the next month. However, that means nothing. The drugmaker will almost certainly report its 2025 full-year and fourth-quarter results in the coming weeks. Last year, BioMarin provided its Q4 update on the third Wednesday in February. The company could choose the same day this year. If it does, investors may want to circle Feb. 18, 2026, on their calendars. But should you buy the biotech stock before then? 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 » Buy, buy, buy? One reason to consider buying BioMarin before its Q4 results are announced is that rare-disease drug Voxzogo is expected to have a strong quarter. CFO Brian Mueller said in the company's Q3 earnings call that Voxzogo revenue should "reach its highest level of the year" in Q4. The primary concern for most investors when buying a stock before a quarterly earnings announcement is the possibility that the company will fall short of Wall Street's estimates. But BioMarin arguably lowered the chances of a negative surprise by raising the lower end of its 2025 revenue guidance to $3.15 billion, based in part on "expectations for the fourth quarter." The midpoint of the drugmaker's guidance range reflects double-digit year-over-year revenue growth. Another reason to invest in BioMarin sooner rather than later isn't related to the Q4 update. The company has several potential catalysts on the way. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set ...
Triad Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,058 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC's hol...
Triad Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,058 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Meta Platforms alerts: Sign Up Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $...
With decades-long restrictions lifted, a Pakistani brewery has started exporting beer toggle caption Betsy Joles for NPR RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Inside Murree Brewery's factory, green-and-red cans move down a conveyor belt to get filled with frothy golden beer. Every month, more than 1 million cans are produced in the company's industrial brick buildings in this city near Pakistan's capital Islamab...
With decades-long restrictions lifted, a Pakistani brewery has started exporting beer toggle caption Betsy Joles for NPR RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Inside Murree Brewery's factory, green-and-red cans move down a conveyor belt to get filled with frothy golden beer. Every month, more than 1 million cans are produced in the company's industrial brick buildings in this city near Pakistan's capital Islamabad, and are prepared for distribution around the country. Alcohol is banned for Pakistan's Muslim majority, but is still consumed. Murree Brewery has operated within this paradox for decades. It's the oldest and best-known brewery in the country — founded in the 19th century by the British during their colonial rule of India and acquired by a family in Pakistan in 1947, the year the new country was created through India's partition. Now, after a nearly 50-year export ban, Murree is shipping beer overseas again. Sponsor Message Though little-known outside South Asia, the company is a household name in Pakistan, says Ali Akbar Khan, author of Rawul Pindee: The Raj Years, which chronicles the brewery's history. "It's a landmark," he says. toggle caption Betsy Joles for NPR The brewery survived a prohibition imposed in 1977 by then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and tightened by the military dictator who overthrew him, Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed lashing as punishment for drinking alcohol. There were exceptions for sales to non-Muslims and foreigners, and Murree Brewery was allowed to continue operating in Pakistan — but not to resume exporting alcoholic products as it had before the 1977 ban. "The theory behind the export ban was that an Islamic country should not be seen as exporting a vice," says Murree Brewery's CEO Isphanyar Bhandara, whose grandfather acquired the brewery in 1947. His family is part of the country's tiny Parsi minority, the descendants of Persian Zoroastrians — a significant factor in their ability to operate a successful brewery in an Islam...
Key Points Social Security benefits are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year. This year's raise boosted benefits by 2.8%. Initial projections are calling for a smaller COLA in 2027, but retirees shouldn't get too worked up just yet. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Millions of Americans collect monthly retirement benefits from Social Securi...
Key Points Social Security benefits are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year. This year's raise boosted benefits by 2.8%. Initial projections are calling for a smaller COLA in 2027, but retirees shouldn't get too worked up just yet. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Millions of Americans collect monthly retirement benefits from Social Security. And for many recipients, those benefits constitute the bulk of their retirement income. Some retirees, in fact, have only Social Security to cover their bills. For this reason, Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are extremely important. 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 » Social Security benefits are eligible for COLAs every year; these are calculated and applied automatically based on inflation. This is very different from the way things worked decades ago, when lawmakers actually had to vote on whether to boost Social Security benefits. For retirees who rely heavily on Social Security, annual COLAs are extremely important. And if you're on Social Security, you may be wondering what your 2027 COLA will look like -- even though 2026 has only just gotten started. There are some initial estimates of 2027's Social Security COLA. But you may not like what you hear. What the experts say so far In 2026, Social Security benefits got a 2.8% COLA. Based on recent inflation readings, the Senior Citizen League, an advocacy group, projects that Social Security benefits will get a 2.5% COLA in 2027. Obviously, a smaller COLA in the new year would be a big disappointment. But it's way too soon to panic over a stingy COLA in 2027. Social Security COLAs are based on inflation readings from the months of July, August, and September. Inflation readings leading up to those months can give some clues as to what to expect from the upcoming COLA. But ultimately, it's...
Donald and Melania Trump were walking a charcoal-coloured carpet beneath a stark black-and-white “MELANIA” backdrop. “Do you believe you’d be the man you are today if you hadn’t met your wife?” a reporter asked the US president. Trump smiled and said: “He’s asking me a very dangerous question!” He went on to praise his wife without answering. When the reporter put the same question to Melania, she...
Donald and Melania Trump were walking a charcoal-coloured carpet beneath a stark black-and-white “MELANIA” backdrop. “Do you believe you’d be the man you are today if you hadn’t met your wife?” a reporter asked the US president. Trump smiled and said: “He’s asking me a very dangerous question!” He went on to praise his wife without answering. When the reporter put the same question to Melania, she ventured: “Well, we will all be in different places, I guess.” With a nervous laugh, she turned to look at Trump and asked, “Right?” The couple were attending Thursday night’s premiere of Melania, a big-budget documentary billed as an “unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look” at the first lady’s return to the White House – but dismissed by critics as a $75m vanity project and likely box office flop. The film, which chronicles the 20 days leading up to the inauguration in January 2025, was shown at Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which the president’s acolytes have tried to rename the Trump-Kennedy Center in a legally dubious move. Financed by Amazon MGM Studios, the documentary has been marketed with the gusto of a Hollywood blockbuster rather than a discreet political portrait. TV adverts ran during NFL playoff games; billboards appeared across US cities; and a promotional video was projected on the exterior of Las Vegas’s Sphere. This week adverts were even spotted in London’s Piccadilly Circus. Amazon paid a record $40m to license the film and a related docuseries for its Prime Video platform, with a further $35m spent on promotion and distribution, according to people familiar with the deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that Melania Trump will personally make $28m. The scale of the spend has raised eyebrows, not least because Amazon’s founder and chair, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to Trump’s inaugural fund last year. Amazon and the film’s director, Brett Ratner, have rejected suggestions that the project was designed to curry favour with ...
A South African artist is suing the arts minister after he blocked her from representing the country at the Venice Biennale, having called her work addressing Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza “highly divisive”. Gabrielle Goliath filed the lawsuit last week, with Ingrid Masondo, who would have curated the pavilion, and the studio manager, James Macdonald. It accuses Gayton McKenzie of actin...
A South African artist is suing the arts minister after he blocked her from representing the country at the Venice Biennale, having called her work addressing Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza “highly divisive”. Gabrielle Goliath filed the lawsuit last week, with Ingrid Masondo, who would have curated the pavilion, and the studio manager, James Macdonald. It accuses Gayton McKenzie of acting unlawfully and violating the right to freedom of expression and demands the high court reinstates her participation by 18 February, the deadline for confirming installations with biennale organisers. View image in fullscreen Gayton McKenzie said Elergy was related to a ‘widely polarising’ conflict. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images Goliath, whose video work Elegy pays tribute to a Palestinian poet killed by an Israeli airstrike, told the Guardian: “We hope to reclaim the pavilion, which we believe is rightfully ours. “But more importantly than that, it is the significance of the work … that speaks far more eloquently to these very difficult questions of whose life is recognised as a life worth grieving after.” The Venice Biennale rotates between art and architecture each year. A main exhibition features works chosen by a central curator, while governments organise national exhibition pavilions. In 2024, 86 nations participated. McKenzie responded to the backlash in a statement earlier this month, indicating his concern originated from the suggestion that “a foreign country” had offered to fund South Africa’s exhibition, and alleging that South Africa’s platform was being “used as a proxy by a foreign power to endorse a geopolitical message about the actions of Israel in Gaza”. The statement seemed to refer to Qatar Museums’ inquiry about the possibility of funding South Africa’s pavilion and buying the artworks, before Goliath was selected by an independent panel. These discussions did not go anywhere, Goliath’s affidavit said. Goliath said: “I utterly reject the accu...
Social media companies will have to answer to a jury – for the first time – for allegations that their products are intentionally addictive and harmful to young users’ mental health. Hundreds of parents, teens and school districts sued Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, leading to a series of landmark trials that began this week. Jury selection in the first case started on Tuesday in Los Angeles cour...
Social media companies will have to answer to a jury – for the first time – for allegations that their products are intentionally addictive and harmful to young users’ mental health. Hundreds of parents, teens and school districts sued Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, leading to a series of landmark trials that began this week. Jury selection in the first case started on Tuesday in Los Angeles court. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is among the big tech CEOs who are expected to testify. Both sides are likely to bring in experts to hash out the science behind alleged addiction to social media. The initial trial involves a 20-year-old, identified by the initials KGM, who alleges she experienced physical and emotional harm after becoming addicted to social media at age 10. This case is expected to last six to eight weeks, and will be the first of about 22 “bellwether” trials. The outcome can signal, and influence, how courts and juries may handle similar lawsuits in the future. Snap and TikTok have settled with the plaintiff in the first case, leaving Meta and YouTube to stand trial. “Everybody’s looking at it as a data point,” said Benjamin Zipursky, a law professor at Fordham University. Why are social media companies on trial? The legal proceedings follow years of heated criticism of tech companies from angry parents; they blame social networks for causing eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and anxiety in their children. The companies lay blame on the victims, plaintiffs’ lawyers and supporters say: “The tech companies blame parents for not being good parents,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, which has been involved in advocacy work for the plaintiffs. “Their experience has shown that you can be the best parent in the world – you can have conversations, you can limit screen time, you can turn on the bullshit parental controls – and your kid still dies.” Why are these cases unprecedented? The cases and future settlements could eventually ...
During Donald Trump’s first term, the US’s corporate titans were prepared to literally turn their backs on the president when they disagreed with them. Weeks of growing national anger over deadly immigration crackdowns in the US have highlighted how much has changed. Publicly, the US’s top CEOs have stayed – mostly – quiet during Trump’s second term, even as his administration has undermined free ...
During Donald Trump’s first term, the US’s corporate titans were prepared to literally turn their backs on the president when they disagreed with them. Weeks of growing national anger over deadly immigration crackdowns in the US have highlighted how much has changed. Publicly, the US’s top CEOs have stayed – mostly – quiet during Trump’s second term, even as his administration has undermined free trade policies, cracked down on the immigration that many businesses relied on, and attacked the Federal Reserve – a pillar of the US’s financial hegemony. But the administration’s brutal handling of its immigration raids in Minnesota and the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have tested the reticence of the corporate class to its limits, highlighting their lack of leadership amid growing public anger. A day after federal agents pinned down and shot protester Pretti, 37, to death on 24 January, a group of 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies including Target, Best Buy, 3M and General Mills released a group statement calling for the “immediate de-escalation of tension” and for law enforcement agencies “to work together to find real solutions”. “The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life,” the statement read, which came after Renee Good, an unarmed woman, was also killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. A separate statement from Michael Fiddelke, incoming CEO of Target, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, also did not mention Pretti, Good or the actions of federal law enforcement. “What’s happening affects us not just as a company, but as people, as neighbors, friends and family members within Target,” Fiddelke said. The statements ended up producing a backlash against what many saw as a response too soft given the circumstances. People pointed out that neither Pretti nor Good were mentioned by name. At least eight people have either been killed by federal agents or died while in Immigration and Customs Enforcemen...
Japan has rarely seen a prime minister as bold or as social media-savvy as Sanae Takaichi, the country’s first female leader. Where previous prime ministers have gone viral for unflattering moments, such as the spectacle of one scoffing an onigiri in one messy gulp or another caught dozing off in the parliament during a key vote, Takaichi is being read by supporters as a symbol of a different era ...
Japan has rarely seen a prime minister as bold or as social media-savvy as Sanae Takaichi, the country’s first female leader. Where previous prime ministers have gone viral for unflattering moments, such as the spectacle of one scoffing an onigiri in one messy gulp or another caught dozing off in the parliament during a key vote, Takaichi is being read by supporters as a symbol of a different era of leadership – one they feel Japan has lacked in recent years. In January alone, Takaichi’s early diplomatic outings have produced the kind of viral imagery Japanese politics rarely generates. A clip of her drumming with South Korean president Lee Jae Myung to global sensation BTS’s Dynamite and Golden from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters spread rapidly online, with some viewers even assuming it was AI-generated. Many expected her to clash with Lee, so the clip helped boost her image as a dependable leader who can navigate through geopolitical challenges. Her appeal isn’t confined to diplomacy. She is so popular that she even has her own fandom, “Sana-katsu” – something more commonly seen with idols rather than prime ministers – complete with adoring supporters circulating clips and copying her look, even down to using the same pen. But there is a unique paradox at the heart of her appeal, especially among young supporters. Outside Japan, Takaichi is often framed as not particularly feminist with her socially conservative stance – including her opposition to legal reforms that would allow married couples to keep separate surnames, and same-sex marriage. Traditionally, these are issues that would be important to a progressive, young population. So what explains her unusually high approval among such age groups? In a Sankei Shimbun/FNN poll conducted in mid-December, approval for her cabinet was 92% among those aged between 18 and 29 – a rarity when most young voters are often disengaged from politics. At a glance, it might appear that Japan is shifting to the right – a trend s...
The Place, London Charlotte Mooney and Alex Harvey deliver a mesmerising and intimate ode to their performing lives together Charlotte Mooney and Alex Harvey fell in love 24 years ago when they were training for the circus. They swore they would never work together. “Circus couples are a pain in the arse,” Charlotte tells us on the mic at the start of the show, chatting like an old friend. Inevita...
The Place, London Charlotte Mooney and Alex Harvey deliver a mesmerising and intimate ode to their performing lives together Charlotte Mooney and Alex Harvey fell in love 24 years ago when they were training for the circus. They swore they would never work together. “Circus couples are a pain in the arse,” Charlotte tells us on the mic at the start of the show, chatting like an old friend. Inevitably they did end up working together, forming the company Ockham’s Razor, and making warm, insightful and gently joyful circus theatre shows full of humanity and connection. They stepped back from performing into directing after having a daughter. The pair were not quite ready to retire from the stage, however, and Collaborator is one last hurrah. It’s an ode to their performing lives together, from the hopeful anticipation of day one to the challenging days when nothing is in sync, demonstrated through simple but telling games, with props, ropes and some mesmerising pendulums that make waves of energy visible. Continue reading...
A couple who run three cafes at north London beauty spots including Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park have claimed a small victory in their battle to overturn the decision by their landlord, the City of London Corporation, to evict them. Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez have run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood for several years, but were told just before Christm...
A couple who run three cafes at north London beauty spots including Hampstead Heath and Queen’s Park have claimed a small victory in their battle to overturn the decision by their landlord, the City of London Corporation, to evict them. Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez have run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Queen’s Park and Highgate Wood for several years, but were told just before Christmas they had been unsuccessful in a retendering process. The corporation, the governing body that runs London’s Square Mile, has responsibility for managing green spaces such as Hampstead Heath, which it runs as a registered charity. It awarded the lease for two of the couple’s sites as well as two other cafes to Australian-inspired chain Daisy Green, while the lease for the couple’s third site was handed to another operator. Matthews, Fernandez and the other tenants were told to vacate their premises by Monday 2 February. Matthews and Fernandez, through their company Hoxton Beach, are pursuing legal action against the corporation over its decision. They accuse the authority of unfairness and a lack of transparency in the retendering process, which they believe was run as a commercial exercise in a bid to raise money. They have now been informed through their lawyers they do not need to vacate the cafes next week. However, the corporation has said it may try to obtain a court order to repossess the premises. “We are grateful for small mercies,” said Matthews. “We are very relieved we don’t have to get out in a few days’ time, which would have been impractical and probably would have destroyed our business.” The corporation has faced a backlash at its decision to bring in a new cafe operator among the local community and the customers of the cafes, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy have backed the campaign. More than 22,000 people have signed a petition calling for the corporation to retain the current cafe operators, while Matthews and Fernandez have raised mo...
Born in London, Seann Walsh, 40, began doing standup in 2006. He was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! in 2022. His podcast is Class Clown and he co-hosts Oh My Dog! (with Jack Dee) and What’s Upset You Now? His tour, This Is Torture, starts on 13 February. He lives in London with his partner and two children. What is your earliest memory? My dad had loads ...
Born in London, Seann Walsh, 40, began doing standup in 2006. He was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! in 2022. His podcast is Class Clown and he co-hosts Oh My Dog! (with Jack Dee) and What’s Upset You Now? His tour, This Is Torture, starts on 13 February. He lives in London with his partner and two children. What is your earliest memory? My dad had loads of friends round, all smoking heroin and singing me Happy Birthday. I was three or four. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Outside my very close-knit group of friends, socially I’m terrible. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Certainty. I also can’t stand it when someone calls you and then says, “Wait, I need to put my headphones in.” What was your most embarrassing moment? At school, I got my head stuck in a balustrade on the stairs at lunchtime. I had pupils laughing at me, parents laughing at me, teachers laughing at me and eventually, at the end of the day, the fire brigade laughing at me. Describe yourself in three words Enthusiastic, chaotic, bungling. What would your superpower be? To have read all of the books. What makes you unhappy? Bad gigs. If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose? Shame. Who is your celebrity crush? Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer. What do you most dislike about your appearance? General puffiness and looking knackered. I don’t even drink and people think I’m hungover all the time but I’m not, I’m just alive. Who would play you in the film of your life? Jack Dee, because he would hate having to do that. What is your most unappealing habit? According to the people closest to me, I will start a sentence and then not say anything for quite some time. What scares you about getting older? That I’m going to start commenting “Wow” under AI images I think are real. What did you want to be when you were growing up? A comedian or the guy who drives the little truck around airports that takes ol...
Big Tech continues to wrestle with mass layoffs, most recently with Amazon’s announcement to slash 16,000 jobs. It’s a trend that started long before the AI race: organizational change brought by the arrival of new technology. Tech giants flourish or falter based on their decisions to overhaul themselves, often leaving tens of thousands of workers to pay the price. The 1990s and 2000s saw a wave o...
Big Tech continues to wrestle with mass layoffs, most recently with Amazon’s announcement to slash 16,000 jobs. It’s a trend that started long before the AI race: organizational change brought by the arrival of new technology. Tech giants flourish or falter based on their decisions to overhaul themselves, often leaving tens of thousands of workers to pay the price. The 1990s and 2000s saw a wave of layoffs from industry stalwarts like IBM, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft, which embraced technological advancements like personal computers, mobile devices and the cloud. Amazon’s staggering jobs cuts this week, the second wave since October, brings the commerce giant’s recent layoffs to roughly 9% of its corporate workforce. While Amazon’s layoffs aren’t a direct result of AI, they’re tangentially related. Advancements in AI have sparked widespread concern about the future of jobs, as fellow tech giants Microsoft, Meta and Verizon all made layoffs last year. AI is the “most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet,” Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, said when announcing layoffs in October. She added that the company needs “fewer layers” to “move as quickly as possible.” In her memo explaining the new round of layoffs, Galetti wrote that Amazon aims to “strengthen” the organization by “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” Companies are likely shifting resources to areas like data, automation and analytics amid the AI race, according to Zeki Pagda, an assistant professor at Rutgers Business School. “Amazon cannot easily retrain a workforce built for manual logistics or legacy retail systems into one that builds generative AI agents,” Pagda said in an email to CNN. Amazon pointed CNN to Galetti’s memo when asked for comment. The company also said AI isn’t the reason behind the vast majority of the cuts, and that it will continue hiring in other areas. Galetti also wrote that “broad r...
Flight routes between Europe and China are suddenly crowded with prime ministers and presidents, giving the impression of a continent pivoting eastward A flurry that began late last year with visits to Beijing by the Spanish king and French president has continued with leaders of Britain, Ireland and Finland, with Germany’s chancellor to follow next month. The frenzied outreach comes with the tran...
Flight routes between Europe and China are suddenly crowded with prime ministers and presidents, giving the impression of a continent pivoting eastward A flurry that began late last year with visits to Beijing by the Spanish king and French president has continued with leaders of Britain, Ireland and Finland, with Germany’s chancellor to follow next month. The frenzied outreach comes with the transatlantic relationship on the rocks . US President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland have even placed huge question marks over the future of Nato. Advertisement Speculation is rife that Europe, scorned by its ally of eight decades, is taking a leaf out of Canada’s book in tilting towards China. “China is not Europe’s friend and its values are still much further from Europe’s than America’s values are,” London School of Economics professor and former EU lawmaker Luis Garicano wrote in his online newsletter. Advertisement “However, building leverage means Europe must follow Canada in a pivot towards China. It is hard to negotiate without an outside option.” But the reality, for Europe, is patchwork and nuanced. What looks like a pivot is in fact a series of anxious, scattergun hedges.