Long Island Rail Road workers are threatening to strike as soon as May 16 as union leaders and transit officials have yet to reach an agreement on wage increases even with the help of a federal mediation board. A group of five unions, including the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen , haven’t had a raise in nearly four years as the parties have been negotiating a new labor agreement....
Long Island Rail Road workers are threatening to strike as soon as May 16 as union leaders and transit officials have yet to reach an agreement on wage increases even with the help of a federal mediation board. A group of five unions, including the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen , haven’t had a raise in nearly four years as the parties have been negotiating a new labor agreement. They’re seeking a retroactive 9.5% wage increase over three years and a 5% increase in the final year, which is 2026. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority , which oversees the city’s subways, buses, the LIRR and the Metro-North Railroad, wants to pay for those salary boosts by revising certain work rules that would save money. Union leaders are balking at such changes. “While a strike is the last thing we want, the MTA and Long Island Rail Road is pushing us to that point,” Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the BLET, said Wednesday during a news conference in Manhattan. The commuter rail is the largest in the nation. A shutdown would leave nearly 300,000 weekday riders without rail service between Long Island and New York City. Still, about 3,500 unionized employees have been working without raises as the cost of groceries, gasoline and other expenses has been increasing. The last strike was in 1994, although a work stoppage was narrowly avoided last year. “This is not an ability-to-pay case,” Sexton said. “They have plenty of money in their coffers to pay,” he said about the MTA’s finances. The MTA wants to end a work rule that requires paying engineers two days’ salary if they drive an electric train and a diesel train on the same day. The parties had been negotiating through a Presidential Emergency Board, which determined that a 5% increase in the fourth year “is not unreasonable,” and the unions’ final offer to be “the most reasonable offer,” according to its final report dated March 16. The MTA didn’t have an immediate comment. Janno Lieber , the MTA’s ch...
tawatchaiprakobkit/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Global equities are reacting positively to a ceasefire in Iran. While doubts naturally remain as to the durability of the ceasefire and the possibility of renewed fighting in the region, hopes are that the current ceasefire morphs into a lasting peace settlement between warring sides. One key beneficiary of a prolonged peace in Iran will be T...
tawatchaiprakobkit/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Global equities are reacting positively to a ceasefire in Iran. While doubts naturally remain as to the durability of the ceasefire and the possibility of renewed fighting in the region, hopes are that the current ceasefire morphs into a lasting peace settlement between warring sides. One key beneficiary of a prolonged peace in Iran will be Türkiye, which shares a land border with the Islamic Republic and has been one of the Islamic countries (along with Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia) pushing for a ceasefire. Investors interested in gaining exposure to Turkish equities may want to consider the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF ( TUR ) which I rank with a Buy rating. The bullish investment thesis for TUR can be summarized as: Turkish stocks trade at an undemanding 14.1x trailing P/E multiple, notably cheaper than the S&P 500. The 2.11% dividend is well-covered even after factoring in the elevated 0.59% expense ratio, with the 0.38x payout ratio leaving ample retained earnings. Turkish GDP growth is projected to exceed that of the United States by 2030, likely resulting in stronger EPS growth for TUR relative to the S&P 500. ETF Strategy and Characteristics TUR is a passive ETF investing exclusively in Turkish equities traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (its benchmark is the MSCI Turkey IMI 25/50 index). As such, investors in TUR should be comfortable with currency risk which is arguably one of the main concerns for international investors, given Türkiye's unorthodox monetary policy and significant currency losses of the Turkish Lira ( USD:TRY ) versus the U.S. dollar in recent years. Indeed from the snippet below you will see that a U.S. dollar was worth marginally less than 3 TRY a decade ago, increasing to about 44.5 TRY in April 2026. US Dollar/Turkish Lira exchange rate over the past decade (Seeking Alpha) Currency considerations aside, TUR's portfolio currently covers 78 individual holdings , with a top ten ho...
29-year-old to depart Northampton for London club Smith and Mitchell fit for Saints quarter-final Under-performing Harlequins have confirmed the signing of England’s full-back George Furbank as they seek to rebuild their squad for next season. The 29-year-old Furbank has been an influential figure at league leaders Northampton but a lucrative contract offer has persuaded him to try his luck in sou...
29-year-old to depart Northampton for London club Smith and Mitchell fit for Saints quarter-final Under-performing Harlequins have confirmed the signing of England’s full-back George Furbank as they seek to rebuild their squad for next season. The 29-year-old Furbank has been an influential figure at league leaders Northampton but a lucrative contract offer has persuaded him to try his luck in south-west London this summer. While Furbank has been sidelined through injury for lengthy chunks of the past two years he remains a quality operator with 14 international caps who looks certain to be a key member of England’s World Cup squad. Quins, second-bottom of the 10-team Prem, will also be hoping he can have an immediate impact on their fortunes. Continue reading...
Readers respond to warnings that female teachers are increasingly having to cope with misogynistic behaviour from male students A quarter of female teachers have been the target of misogyny over the past 12 months ( A ‘masculinity crisis’ is brewing in UK schools, union says, 4 April ). In truth, this is a crisis that’s been building for years. Annoyingly, we had the chance to deal with this crisi...
Readers respond to warnings that female teachers are increasingly having to cope with misogynistic behaviour from male students A quarter of female teachers have been the target of misogyny over the past 12 months ( A ‘masculinity crisis’ is brewing in UK schools, union says, 4 April ). In truth, this is a crisis that’s been building for years. Annoyingly, we had the chance to deal with this crisis when it was still impending. Three years ago, headteachers started asking the Department for Education (DfE) for help when Andrew Tate and his mates started being named – and quoted – in classrooms. Its advice? Don’t engage. Educators were told not to discuss Tate’s views in personal, social, health and economic education lessons and the DfE refused to offer any training. Continue reading...
Readers respond to an article by Leah Harper on the environmental impact of the balloon boom and calls for a ban I was pleased to read your article on the detrimental effects of balloons on the environment ( The dark side of the balloon boom – is it time they were banned?, 2 April ). I attend a yoga class on the first floor of a building in Chiswick, London, and I have been repeatedly disturbed by...
Readers respond to an article by Leah Harper on the environmental impact of the balloon boom and calls for a ban I was pleased to read your article on the detrimental effects of balloons on the environment ( The dark side of the balloon boom – is it time they were banned?, 2 April ). I attend a yoga class on the first floor of a building in Chiswick, London, and I have been repeatedly disturbed by the sight of a helium balloon caught in a tree outside the window there. Over the last 10 years, I have watched it metamorphose from a silvery helium balloon with a string into a grey, stringy mess that still hasn’t disappeared. Each time I see it, I despair that people still insist on so often buying balloons for celebrations without concern for the environmental impact that they will have once discarded. Beatrix Chappell London Continue reading...
The government is cutting contributions at a critical stage in the campaign to eradicate the disease, writes Gillian Russell It is extremely disheartening to read that after 2026, the UK government is to end its contributions to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), putting at risk the great efforts that have been made over the last 40 years to improve the health and wellbeing of childre...
The government is cutting contributions at a critical stage in the campaign to eradicate the disease, writes Gillian Russell It is extremely disheartening to read that after 2026, the UK government is to end its contributions to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), putting at risk the great efforts that have been made over the last 40 years to improve the health and wellbeing of children across the world ( Polio virus detected in London days before ministers cut global eradication funding, 27 March ). The eradication of polio is a cornerstone of the humanitarian work of Rotary International (a GPEI partner). I am one of many Rotary members who have taken part in vaccination days in India and seen at first hand the dedication of local health workers in ensuring that all children are vaccinated. Continue reading...
Twilio ( TWO ) shares are set to gain for seven straight sessions, as the stock is up over 3% during afternoon trading on Wednesday. The communications software company’s shares gained nearly 9.6% in the preceding six sessions. They have also risen nearly 10% over the past month. Earlier this week, Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to $160 from $125. "We are u...
Twilio ( TWO ) shares are set to gain for seven straight sessions, as the stock is up over 3% during afternoon trading on Wednesday. The communications software company’s shares gained nearly 9.6% in the preceding six sessions. They have also risen nearly 10% over the past month. Earlier this week, Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to $160 from $125. "We are upgrading TWLO to Buy as we have greater conviction in the role TWLO will play in the Voice AI tech stack. Further, even a modest increase in traction can serve as a sustainable tailwind for gross profit growth for years to come and drive upside to consensus," said analyst Samad Samana. The analyst believes that the combination of greater relevance in an agentic AI world plus better fundamentals will result in a better valuation multiple as well. Turning to the Wall Street community, 21 out of 29 analysts rated TWLO a Buy and above, six analysts have given the stock a Hold recommendation, and two recommended Sell. Looking at Seeking Alpha’s quant rating , TWLO has a Buy rating with a score of 3.70 out of 5. The company has been graded B for growth, profitability, and momentum but is weighed down by a C- grade for valuation and revisions. However, Seeking Alpha analysts are cautious, rating it a Hold . On a year-to-date basis, TWLO shares have fallen 4%, underperforming the broader market, which has declined 1%. More on Twilio Twilio's Accelerated Growth And Sticky Ecosystem Remains Compelling Twilio: I'm Sidelined Despite The 69% Incremental Margins Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Presents at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 Transcript Twilio rises after Jefferies upgrades to Buy Insider trades: Marvell Technology, Taiwan Semiconductor among notable names
No appeasement in Britain | Donald Trump’s new mantra | Fascinating obituary | The trouble with names | Spellchecker Donald Trump says “We won’t want another Neville Chamberlain” ( Trump uses Neville Chamberlain jibe to mock Starmer over stance on Iran, 6 April ) – ie someone who does not stand up to tyrannical regimes and tries to appease them. Well, Donald, I am sure you are pleased that, so far...
No appeasement in Britain | Donald Trump’s new mantra | Fascinating obituary | The trouble with names | Spellchecker Donald Trump says “We won’t want another Neville Chamberlain” ( Trump uses Neville Chamberlain jibe to mock Starmer over stance on Iran, 6 April ) – ie someone who does not stand up to tyrannical regimes and tries to appease them. Well, Donald, I am sure you are pleased that, so far, that is not happening in the UK, where our prime minister does seem to be standing up to such regimes by refusing to back the US-Israel attacks on Iran. Dominic Rice Sheffield • President Trump used to have the mantra “ Drill, baby, drill ”. Now it seems to be “Kill, baby, kill”. Rae Street Littleborough, Greater Manchester Continue reading...
While many investors are concerned about the growing concentration of large companies' stocks in the S&P 500 , most analysts seem to think the trillion-dollar behemoths could get even bigger relative to the rest of the market. They see tremendous upside in most megacap stocks based on their price targets. Increased spending on artificial intelligence (AI) has driven the valuations of many of the l...
While many investors are concerned about the growing concentration of large companies' stocks in the S&P 500 , most analysts seem to think the trillion-dollar behemoths could get even bigger relative to the rest of the market. They see tremendous upside in most megacap stocks based on their price targets. Increased spending on artificial intelligence (AI) has driven the valuations of many of the largest companies in the world, and that trend isn't slowing down anytime soon. Semiconductor stocks , including Nvidia , Broadcom , and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing , may still be great growth opportunities. Analysts' median price targets on those stocks are as much as 50% higher than their prices as of this writing. Meanwhile, cloud computing stocks like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) , and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) also hold tremendous upside, according to analysts. Investors could see 36% upside for Amazon based on analysts' targets and 31% for Alphabet. But the trillion-dollar stock with the most upside based on analysts' median price targets is Microsoft, which could climb 61% to reach $600 per share, according to the median price target. Continue reading
Shop workers’ union Usdaw says 59% of its members in its annual survey said they would welcome more security guards in stores Retail workers have called for more security guards in stores after a Waitrose worker was sacked for confronting a shoplifter. Waitrose has been criticised over its treatment of Walker Smith after the Guardian reported he was fired two days after he stopped a shoplifter tak...
Shop workers’ union Usdaw says 59% of its members in its annual survey said they would welcome more security guards in stores Retail workers have called for more security guards in stores after a Waitrose worker was sacked for confronting a shoplifter. Waitrose has been criticised over its treatment of Walker Smith after the Guardian reported he was fired two days after he stopped a shoplifter taking items from an Easter egg display, including Lindt chocolate bunnies. Continue reading...
pablorebo1984/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Deutsche Bank ( DB ) has increased the fixed annual basic compensation for the board chairman, Alexander Wynaendts, to €1.15M from €950K. Furthermore, the German banking group said the person chairing a supervisory board committee will generally receive additional remuneration in the future, and previous exemptions will no longer apply. The superviso...
pablorebo1984/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Deutsche Bank ( DB ) has increased the fixed annual basic compensation for the board chairman, Alexander Wynaendts, to €1.15M from €950K. Furthermore, the German banking group said the person chairing a supervisory board committee will generally receive additional remuneration in the future, and previous exemptions will no longer apply. The supervisory board members will see their compensation raised to €350K from €300K, while the pay will hike to €550K from €475K for the deputy chairman. Additionally, Deutsche said Frank Witter is set to step down from the board, effective from the close of the annual general meeting on May 28, for personal reasons. Carsten Knobel has been proposed for election to the supervisory board. The bank is set to hold its AGM in person for the first time since 2019. Furthermore, the board has recommended a dividend of €1.00 per share for 2025, up ~50% from €0.68 per share paid in 2024. Additionally, Deutsche had launched a €1.0B share buyback program in February 2026, which increases the cumulative capital distributions for the financial years 2021-2025 to €8.5B. The capital distributions exceed the bank's original target of €8.0B. More on Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (DB) Presents at European Financials Conference 2026 Transcript Deutsche Bank: Recent Pullback Provides A Buying Opportunity Deutsche Bank: A Bullish Refocus On European Banks Emerges (Upgrade) Deutsche Bank, RBC participate in financing for Eat Happy-Hana Group deal - report ECB to start new round of checks on banks' private credit holdings - report