Brigitte Bardot Foundation issues warning about scam memorabilia Brigitte Bardot starred in nearly 50 films during her acting career Bardot died aged 91 last Sunday. After revolutionising 1950s French cinema and becoming a symbol of sexual liberation, she quit acting to devote her life to animals. It threatened to take legal action against anyone taking part in "these alleged illegal fundraising e...
Brigitte Bardot Foundation issues warning about scam memorabilia Brigitte Bardot starred in nearly 50 films during her acting career Bardot died aged 91 last Sunday. After revolutionising 1950s French cinema and becoming a symbol of sexual liberation, she quit acting to devote her life to animals. It threatened to take legal action against anyone taking part in "these alleged illegal fundraising efforts", stating: "Everyone is asked to respect the memory of the deceased." The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said it was aware of "crude fabrications" being advertised online alongside claims the proceeds will go to the animal welfare charity. The charity Brigitte Bardot established has issued a warning about "scam" merchandise purporting to fund its work following the French actress's death. But the actress-turned-activist courted controversy later in life over a string of remarks about Muslims, gay people and the #MeToo movement. She was fined five times for inciting racial hatred. Her death prompted tributes in France, with President Emmanuel Macron saying the nation was mourning "a legend of the century". "Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom," he said. But now, online scammers were co-opting her iconic image for "vulgar and despicable attempts to exploit her legacy", the Brigitte Bardot Foundation said. It warned of "the spread on the internet and social networks of offers for sale of photographs, AI-assisted montages, and all kinds of media" reproducing her image, including "in fabricated situations". "These are crude fabrications, illicit offers and sales, and purported fundraising campaigns that have never received any endorsement from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which cannot condone these scams," it wrote in a statement on Saturday. Bardot starred in nearly 50 films including And God Created Woman and Contempt, setting fashi...
Police identify 16 more victims of Swiss bar fire A criminal investigation into the people who ran Le Constellation bar is under way, while victim's families are enduring an agonising wait for information about loved ones who are still considered missing. This brings the number of people identified who have been killed as a result of the fire to 24, authorities said in a statement. Eight Swiss cit...
Police identify 16 more victims of Swiss bar fire A criminal investigation into the people who ran Le Constellation bar is under way, while victim's families are enduring an agonising wait for information about loved ones who are still considered missing. This brings the number of people identified who have been killed as a result of the fire to 24, authorities said in a statement. Eight Swiss citizens were identified on Saturday. The youngest person was a Swiss girl aged 14, with nine aged under 18. The group includes people of Swiss, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and French nationalities, police said. The bodies of 16 more victims of a bar fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have been identified by police. Police said no further details will be released about the victims they had identified out of respect for their relatives. Sparklers on bottles being carried too close to the ceiling is the likely cause of the fire during New Year's celebrations at the bar, a preliminary investigation found. The devastating fire killed at least 40 people and injured 119 others. Many of the dead and missing are teenagers. Le Constellation was a venue known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort town, where the drinking age is 16. The eight identified and returned to their families on Saturday were all aged between 16 and 24, Swiss authorities said. On Saturday, the Italian ambassador to to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, said the identification process was slow because of the severity of the burns many victims had suffered. The French couple who own the bar - named by the media as Jacques and Jessica Moretti - are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors' office for the Valais region said. Beatrice Pilloud, Valais canton lead prosecutor, said in a statement that investigators were looking into whether the acoustic foam on the venue's ceiling was "the cause of the problem", as well as "whethe...
A record number of 11 candidates in Portugal’s coming presidential election kicked off their campaigns on Sunday. The official two-week campaign period preceding the January 18 election will see the contenders competing to capture voters’ support. However, the broad field makes it unlikely that any candidate will capture more than 50 per cent of the vote, leaving the two top candidates to compete ...
A record number of 11 candidates in Portugal’s coming presidential election kicked off their campaigns on Sunday. The official two-week campaign period preceding the January 18 election will see the contenders competing to capture voters’ support. However, the broad field makes it unlikely that any candidate will capture more than 50 per cent of the vote, leaving the two top candidates to compete in a run-off ballot on February 8. Among the front runners, according to recent opinion polls, are the candidates from the country’s two main parties that have alternated in power for the past 50 years – Luís Marques Mendes from the centre-right Social Democratic Party, currently in government, and António José Seguro of the centre-left Socialist Party. Advertisement They are expected to face strong challenges from André Ventura, the leader of the populist anti-immigration Chega party, whose surge in support made it the second largest party in Portugal’s Parliament last year, and Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a retired rear admiral running as an independent who won public acclaim for overseeing the speedy roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. In Portugal, the president is largely a figurehead with no executive power. Mostly, the head of state aims to stand above the political fray, refereeing disputes to defuse tensions. However, the president also possesses powerful tools, being able to veto legislation from Parliament, although the veto can be overturned, as well as dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections. Advertisement After Portugal’s third general election in three years in May, its worst spell of political instability for decades, the next head of state is likely to encourage compromises. But the next occupant of the president’s riverside “pink palace” in Lisbon is likely to have to rule on some hot-button matters.
Sandisk led the S&P 500 higher last year as the artificial intelligence boom drove strong demand for data storage solutions. Sandisk (SNDK +15.95%) led the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.19%) higher in 2025. Its share price increased 559% following its spin-off from Western Digital (WDC +8.96%) during the first quarter. Interestingly, Western Digital and Micron Technology (MU +10.52%) ranked second and third, ...
Sandisk led the S&P 500 higher last year as the artificial intelligence boom drove strong demand for data storage solutions. Sandisk (SNDK +15.95%) led the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.19%) higher in 2025. Its share price increased 559% following its spin-off from Western Digital (WDC +8.96%) during the first quarter. Interestingly, Western Digital and Micron Technology (MU +10.52%) ranked second and third, their shares increasing 282% and 239%, respectively. The common thread is artificial intelligence. All three companies provide data storage and memory products, and demand has been quite robust due to the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. History says Sandisk could have another big year in 2026. Here's what investors should know. History says Sandisk could soar in 2026 Interestingly, the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 in any given year has often generated strong returns in the next year too. For instance, Palantir Technologies stock led the S&P 500 in 2024 with its 341% gain, and it followed that with a 135% gain in 2025. The chart below lists the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 in each of the last 10 years, and it details how those stocks performed in the next year. Advertisement Year Top S&P 500 Stock Return (Next Year) 2015 Netflix 8% 2016 Nvidia 81% 2017 NRG Energy 39% 2018 AMD 148% 2019 AMD 100% 2020 Tesla 50% 2021 Devon Energy 40% 2022 Occidental Petroleum (5%) 2023 Nvidia 180% 2024 Palantir 135% Average 78% As shown above, the top stock in the S&P 500 in any given year has returned an average of 78% in the next year. In other words, based on the last decade, history says Sandisk stock will advance 78% in 2026. Of course, how the stock actually performs depends on financial fundamentals and market sentiment. Expand NASDAQ : SNDK Sandisk Today's Change ( 15.95 %) $ 37.86 Current Price $ 275.24 Key Data Points Market Cap $40B Day's Range $ 244.00 - $ 275.80 52wk Range $ 27.89 - $ 284.76 Volume 11M Avg Vol 11M Gross Margin 29.33 % Sandisk is ga...
Key Points The changing of the calendar means that Social Security's 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has gone into effect. Social Security's 2026 raise resulted in an event that hasn't been observed in almost three decades. However, rising expenses may offset some or all of this year's COLA for tens of millions of beneficiaries. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely over...
Key Points The changing of the calendar means that Social Security's 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has gone into effect. Social Security's 2026 raise resulted in an event that hasn't been observed in almost three decades. However, rising expenses may offset some or all of this year's COLA for tens of millions of beneficiaries. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › For many of the more than 70 million Americans who receive a monthly Social Security benefit, their payout isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. For 24 years, pollster Gallup has been surveying retirees annually to determine how reliant they are on the income they receive from Social Security. Gallup has consistently found that 80% to 90% of respondents require their Social Security payout, to some degree, to cover their expenses. Knowing how much they'll receive each month is vital to the financial well-being of aged beneficiaries. 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 » The good news for these traditional Social Security recipients -- retired workers, survivors of deceased workers, and workers with disabilities -- is that turning the page to a new year means a higher nominal monthly benefit check is headed their way. While this above-average increase is bound to put smiles on the faces of beneficiaries, the 2026 raise they're receiving is a double-edged sword for most recipients. Monthly Social Security benefits just increased in historic fashion On a near-annual basis, Social Security payouts are adjusted to account for the effects of inflation (rising prices) that beneficiaries are facing. This increase in benefits is known as the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Since 1975, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) has been the inflation measuring stick the Social Security Administration (SSA) has relied upon to calculate the program's...