Eleven-year-old Renad dreams of becoming a famous storyteller. She brims with tales of the grandmother who inspired her love of stories, and of the rest of her family, and also of myriad other children who, like her, are living through war, hunger, displacement and terror in Gaza. This is a beguiling yet deeply disturbing solo show performed by co-deviser Sarah Agha, which builds its drama through...
Eleven-year-old Renad dreams of becoming a famous storyteller. She brims with tales of the grandmother who inspired her love of stories, and of the rest of her family, and also of myriad other children who, like her, are living through war, hunger, displacement and terror in Gaza. This is a beguiling yet deeply disturbing solo show performed by co-deviser Sarah Agha, which builds its drama through multiple young voices, based on verbatim accounts from a booklet compiled by Leila Boukarim and Asaf Luzon called A Million Kites: Testimonies and Poems from the Children of Gaza. Produced by Good Chance and written by Elias Matar, A Grain of Sand recounts memories of Israel’s bombing of 2023 and 2024. “I used to live in a big building,” says Renad. Now she is wandering through a razed landscape, alone, looking for her family. So many other children are in the same state of desolation and fear. Maryam remembers seeing her parents scared for the first time as the bombs fell; an eight-year-old is confused to see doctors crying in a hospital; Layan Eid talks of hair-braiding and labneh sandwiches but also describes gunshots that rain down like “heavy rain”. View image in fullscreen A magical-realist phoenix provides a metaphor of rebirth. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Some witness the raid on al-Shifa hospital, others describe Israel’s attacks on schools, refugee camps and churches. It is clear there is no safe space. One dreams of dead children growing back their limbs in heaven, another remembers the words of her father which hang horribly in the air: “Inshallah, one day life will be normal for us. We will travel from one place to another, like humans.” These devastating stories are leavened by a magical realist element that transports us into Palestinian folklore, with the figure of Anqa, an ancient phoenix, at its centre. It is myth but also a metaphor of rebirth for the Palestinian people. Originally commissioned by the London Palestine film festival in 2024 a...
Harvey Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,590 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 8,306 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 2.8% of Harvey ...
Harvey Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,590 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 8,306 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 2.8% of Harvey Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Harvey Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kampmann Melissa S. grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 11,910 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,350,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.7% during the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,319 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.7% during the third quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 5,281 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 3.4% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 1,127 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Oracle by 16.6% in the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 260 shares of the ente...
Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 172.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,300 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,800 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Mana...
Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 172.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,300 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,800 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Get Oracle alerts: Sign Up Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 130.0% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the second quarter valued at $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Insider Transactions at Oracle In other Oracle news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.52, for a total value of $1,925,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,728,655.60. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurr...
Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,037,000. A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALAB. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position i...
Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,037,000. A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALAB. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Astera Labs by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 14,781 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Astera Labs by 37.7% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Astera Labs by 94.6% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 109,576 shares of the company's stock worth $9,908,000 after buying an additional 53,276 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Astera Labs during the second quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Astera Labs by 142.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 6,677 shares during the period. 60.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Astera Labs alerts: Sign Up Insider Buying and Selling at Astera Labs In other news, Director Manuel Alba sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.18, for a total transaction of $24,927,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,574,498 shares i...
Ryanair Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan discusses growing passenger numbers, Boeing Max 10 deliveries and an online spat between CEO Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk. He says the first Max 10 jets are set to come into Ryanair’s fleet in spring of 2027. Sorahan speaks to Lizzy Burden on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)
Ryanair Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan discusses growing passenger numbers, Boeing Max 10 deliveries and an online spat between CEO Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk. He says the first Max 10 jets are set to come into Ryanair’s fleet in spring of 2027. Sorahan speaks to Lizzy Burden on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)
Ryanair would be open to using Elon Musk’s Starlink wifi on its planes in the future, its finance chief has suggested, amid a feud between the boss of the Irish airline and the world’s richest person. The airline would look at “whoever is the best, when the tech and price is right” for in-flight wifi, the Ryanair chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, said. Sorahan was speaking after an online spa...
Ryanair would be open to using Elon Musk’s Starlink wifi on its planes in the future, its finance chief has suggested, amid a feud between the boss of the Irish airline and the world’s richest person. The airline would look at “whoever is the best, when the tech and price is right” for in-flight wifi, the Ryanair chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, said. Sorahan was speaking after an online spat between Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and Musk, after O’Leary was asked whether he would follow Lufthansa and British Airways in installing Starlink satellite internet technology on his fleet of 650 aircraft. The chief executive rejected the idea, saying that adding antennas to the jets would result in a “2% fuel drag”, adding an extra $200-250m to its $5bn (£3.66bn) annual kerosene bill. Musk said the interpretation was “misinformed” in a post on his X platform, triggering a tit-for-tat exchange of insults, with each man calling the other an “idiot”. Sorahan said the spat was “good fun” and had brought more people to the Ryanair website. O’Leary said last week that his quarrel with Musk had increased bookings by between 2% and 3%, after the company pushed a “big idiot sale” campaign poking fun at the Tesla chief executive, estimated to be worth $788bn by Forbes. However, Sorahan added that in-flight wifi was still a long way away for Ryanair. “I have been looking at wifi for as long as I have been at Ryanair,” said the executive, who joined the airline in 2003. “There is still a fuel cost that we would have to absorb.” There are concerns passengers may be less willing to pay for wifi on Ryanair’s short-haul flights, which typically only take between one and three hours. The airline, which has grown to become the biggest in Europe, raised its forecasts for passenger numbers, profit growth and fares on Monday. It now expects to carry 216 million passengers by March 2027, and said average fares this year would rise by 7% to 8%, compared with previous guidance of 7%. Average ...
Gulf countries accelerated bond issuance in January as investors shifted toward emerging markets. The increase was partly driven by Asian demand, with Chinese banks making it to the roster of deal managers amid waning influence from US lenders. Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council issued $32.3 billion of international bonds since the start of the year, about 25% more than in January 2025, acc...
Gulf countries accelerated bond issuance in January as investors shifted toward emerging markets. The increase was partly driven by Asian demand, with Chinese banks making it to the roster of deal managers amid waning influence from US lenders. Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council issued $32.3 billion of international bonds since the start of the year, about 25% more than in January 2025, according to Bloomberg calculations. Read More: Chinese Banks Top Global Peers as Main Lenders to The Gulf This is happening due to diversification goals and yield hunting, according to fixed-income strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence Basel Al-Waqayan . “Preferences shifted away from developed market debt and into higher growth EM markets, particularly GCC,” he said. As Gulf countries strengthen ties with China, competition with the US in the region’s bond markets is intensifying. Chinese banks are expanding their presence, gaining positions as placement managers, alongside UAE banks. Bank of China and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China were substantially more active in Gulf eurobond issuance, while major US banks lost ground compared with a year earlier. Standard Chartered 1 ↑1 HSBC 2 ↓1 Mashreq Bank 3 ↑3 Citi 4 ↓1 Emirates NBD 5 ↑5 JPMorgan 6 ↓2 Bank of China 7 ↑12 SNB Capital 8 0 BNP Paribas 9 ↓1 Sumitomo Mitsui 10 ↑3 Credit Agricole CIB 11 0 ... Industrial & Commercial Bank of China 14 ↑20 Source: Bloomberg
South Korea’s National Pension Service will trim its exposure to overseas stocks this year, while marginally raising its domestic equity allocation, recalibrating its portfolio in response to the Kospi’s blistering rally and the won’s decline. NPS, which managed about 1,427.7 trillion won ($990 billion) as of October 2025, lowered its target for overseas equities to 37.2% from an earlier goal of 3...
South Korea’s National Pension Service will trim its exposure to overseas stocks this year, while marginally raising its domestic equity allocation, recalibrating its portfolio in response to the Kospi’s blistering rally and the won’s decline. NPS, which managed about 1,427.7 trillion won ($990 billion) as of October 2025, lowered its target for overseas equities to 37.2% from an earlier goal of 38.9%, the health ministry said Monday after the fund’s management committee meeting. The fund, one of the world’s biggest pensions, will raise its domestic stock allocation to 14.9% from 14.4%, matching last year’s ratio. The committee cited difficulties in acquiring foreign currency and conditions in the local foreign-exchange market as reasons for the change, the statement said. NPS operates under the health ministry. “In a nutshell, NPS won’t sell domestic shares, nor will it buy more overseas shares,” said Jeong Woo Park , an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. “Considering that the overseas equities ratio has been set at this year’s target level without any increase planned for 2026, demand for dollars is expected to be very limited.” Read more: Korea’s Lee Says Won May Strengthen, Stabilize in Two Months The decision to boost local stock exposure reflects the strength of the Kospi , whose rally had put the fund at risk of having to mechanically sell local equities to comply with its allocation limits. The fund’s local equity exposure, at 17.9%, as of October last year exceeded its year-end target of 14.9% and risked hitting the ceiling of an additional five percentage points allowed under strategic flexibility. Meanwhile, the management committee decided to temporarily suspend portfolio rebalancing triggered by breaches of its strategic asset-allocation tolerance bands. It warned that continued adjustments amid heightened market volatility — especially when domestic equities exceed their target range — could have an outsized impact on local stock and foreign-exchange ma...
Medicare recipients now face new hurdles in getting their care covered -- but only in a few states. Retirees who are 65 and over can choose between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage programs. Traditionally, one big benefit of traditional Medicare has been that prior authorizations are very rarely required. This makes it easier for patients to get the care they need, since their insurance...
Medicare recipients now face new hurdles in getting their care covered -- but only in a few states. Retirees who are 65 and over can choose between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage programs. Traditionally, one big benefit of traditional Medicare has been that prior authorizations are very rarely required. This makes it easier for patients to get the care they need, since their insurance company does not have to approve it first. Now, however, a new pilot program is launching in six states that will necessitate prior approval for 17 covered services. This program could make it harder for retirees in these six states to get the medical help they want. Medicare recipients in these six states face new obstacles before getting care The new preapproval requirements will affect Medicare beneficiaries in the following six states: New Jersey Ohio Oklahoma Texas Arizona Washington There are around 6.4 million Americans enrolled in traditional Medicare in these locations. They are now part of a pilot program that uses artificial intelligence to determine if they can get certain kinds of care paid for. The program is called the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model. It is a major change that makes traditional Medicare much more like Medicare Advantage, which is a private alternative that relies much more on pre-authorizations. What medical services does Medicare now need to pre-authorize? The pilot program specifically requires pre-authorization for 17 different medical procedures. The services that are now subject to pre-authorization requirements include: Arthroscopic lavage and arthroscopic debridement for the knees of osteoarthritis Bioengineered skin substitutes applied to chronic non-healing wounds on the lower limbs Cervical fusion surgery Deep brain stimulation to treat essential tremor and Parkinson's disease Electrical nerve stimulators Epidural steroid injections, except facet joint injections, which are used for pain management Hypogl...