Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 134.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,235 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,461 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of Ameriflex Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ameriflex Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,040,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 86,347 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $21,030,000 after purchasing an additional 19,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 94,002 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,894,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Alph...

市场秩序明显改善 2025年以来全国乘用车行业促销与降级均回归理性，市场秩序明显改善。由于新能源车购税恢复征收，指导价对消费者购车交税影响体现，2026年1月份有17款车型降价，2月份有6款车型降价。今年2月市场保持相对克制，其中燃油车4款，较同期持平；纯电动车型2款，较同期少7款。 2026年2月份，新能源车新车降价车型均价35.4万元的降价力度算术平均达到4.8万元，降价力度达到13.5%的较高水平。2026年2月份，常规燃油车新车降价车型均价37.1万元的降价力度算术平均达到4.6万元，降价力度达到12.5%。2026年2月份，总体乘用车市场新车降价车型均价36.1万元的降价力度算术平均达到4.7万元，降价幅度达到13.1%。 由于部分品牌降价带来的指导价回归，降低了促销幅度。2026年2月的新能源车的促销回升到10.4%的中高位，较同期增加0.5个点促销，较上月微增0.3%。2026年2月传统燃油车的促销下降到23.5%的水平，较上月微降0.2个百分点，较同期增加1.8个百分点。 一、总体降价跟踪 1、 月度降价状态跟踪 降价分析主要关注新车推出而突破前期价格下限的情况，也就是较隐蔽的降价行为，这里主要定义两年内的降价。而有些新车前两年开始上市很便宜，随后因碳酸锂价格而宣布涨价，然后现在宣布降价，虽然没有突破上市时的底价，但为了体现降价的现象，因此此次分析中也算降价。 由于部分按动力细分的车型在年内有多次的价格调整行动，因此按照非重复计算的方式，车型数不是简单累加，而是合并了重复车型。 从降价节奏来看，2023年的降价 总体较多， 2024年的降价在3-4月份达到了超强的程度，2025年的部分车企2季度的阶段性组合促销，其一口价的价格包含补贴等因素，没有明确宣布降低到新的价格，因此目前只能按照促销处理，没有计入当年的降价车型范畴，这将在下面的促销幅度体现。 面对价格体系的重塑，2026年1月 份有17款车型降价， 2月 份有6款车型降价，较去年2月的21款，今年2月市场保持相对克制。 2、 车型最低价分析 2020-2021年的的车企降价力度较小，2022-2024年力度较猛，2025年降到177款车型，2026年1月的新车降价的规模相对活跃,2月因春节因素大幅减少。2025年的价格竞争主要是新车推出直接突破原有价格 的下限，而不是增配不降价的模式。 面对新...

婦女節｜全球多地有請願示威爭取女權 提停戰、和平等各種訴求 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】周日是國際婦女節，全球多地都有爭取女權的請願示威活動，在多處戰火衝突蔓延下，有婦女爭取停戰與和平等各種訴求。 大批婦女和示威者在西班牙首都馬德里聚集，準備遊行往目的地，示威橫額表明是要代表婦女反法西斯。另一群示威者拉著婦女反對戰爭的橫額遊行，附近有人舉著巴勒斯坦等旗幟。當地傳媒報道，部分人遊行至其中一處道路時，有多名蒙面人士企圖干擾，並叫囂法西斯口號，示威者以反法西斯口號回應，亦有人追趕他們後報警，被警員帶離現場。另外有當地評論指，現時女權運動陣營亦對墮胎、娼妓及變性等議題有分歧。 在南美智利，婦女節正是新任總統卡斯特上任前的3天，首都聖地亞哥的婦女節遊行，亦有不少反對他的人加入。部分人拉起反法西斯橫額，右翼的卡斯特與美國總統特朗普親近，有人用畫像諷刺卡斯特是特朗普的布偶，亦有人指控和諷刺特朗普與已故淫媒愛潑斯坦的性罪案有關。現任左傾政府呼籲卡斯特和新政府，延續現有的婦女政策，但卡斯特與現任總統博里奇立場，明顯對立，雙方更一度中斷交接協調，到周日才恢復。

From a numbers perspective, Wall Street is booming with President Donald Trump in the White House. During his first, non-consecutive term (Jan. 20, 2017 – Jan. 20, 2021), the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.95%), broad-based S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.33%), and growth stock-dependent Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.59%) rallied 57%, 70%, and 142%, respectively. Since Trump's second term started on Jan. 20, 2025, it's been more of the same. Through the closing bell on March 2, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have, respectively, gained 12%, 15%, and 16%. While most presidents see the stock market advance during their term in the Oval Office, the annualized return for Wall Street's major stock indexes under Trump has been among the best of any president, looking back more than a century. But at the same time, when things seem too good to be true for the stock market, they often are. Although plenty of catalysts may still give the Trump bull market legs, more than 150 years of historical precedent point to the high likelihood of this bull market ending sooner, rather than later. The stock market is hitting all-time highs under Donald Trump Before digging into the time-tested headwind that can upend the Trump bull market rally, we first need to lay the foundation for how the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite reached their all-time highs. To begin with, not every upside catalyst on Wall Street is related to President Trump. For instance, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the advent of quantum computing are, arguably, the hottest stock market trends. Analysts at PwC believe AI can create $15.7 trillion in global economic value by 2030, while Boston Consulting Group is looking for quantum computers to add $450 billion to $850 billion to worldwide economic value come 2040. These are high-ceiling addressable markets that tend to get investors excited. The bull market rally is also being fueled by the Federal Reserve's ongoing rate-easi...

Key Points Most U.S. households are feeling at least some degree of financial strain. This strain is taking a measurable toll on consumer spending. Budget-conscious shoppers are looking for the very best value for their dollars, and Target doesn’t offer it. 10 stocks we like better than Target › Investors believe in Target's (NYSE: TGT) turnaround plan. That's the takeaway from the stock's near-7% gain following Tuesday's unveiling of said plan, anyway. Despite reporting a 13th consecutive decline in quarterly same-store sales that very same day, the retailer says an overhaul of its merchandise assortment and further investment in its in-store experience will finally start growing revenue again. And maybe it will. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Target's new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, however, may not fully appreciate what's really standing in the retailer's way at this time. Turnaround ahead... maybe As Fiddelke explained of the turnaround plan, "By putting style, design and value at the center of every decision, we're making big changes to lead with a trend-forward assortment, elevate the guest experience, accelerate with technology and equip our teams to deliver the most delightful experience in retail, for today and over the long term." Sounds great, right? Except, perhaps not enough about this plan addresses the retailer's biggest challenge right now. Think about it. Even if it's not a term used nearly as much as it used to be, Target's "cheap chic" schtick still describes its distinctiveness from its competitors. The only problem? Much of what's "cheap" (or cool, or exciting) at Target isn't exactly cheap enough for most consumers right now. Part of the support for such a claim comes from the New York Federal Reserve, which recently reported that total household debt in the Unite...

A Tesla staffer has sued the electric vehicle giant for failing to keep her safe after she was assaulted by the man who later went on to commit a mass shooting in Austin. Lillian Mendoza Brady, 65, said that she was working with Ndiaga Diagne at the Tesla factory in Austin on December 4 when he allegedly assaulted her. “During a sanctioned break, Defendant’s employee Ndiaga Diagne was engaged in the act of prayer in a common area,” the lawsuit, seen by The Independent, stated. “He violently and without provocation physically assaulted Plaintiff. “Prior to this assault, Defendant had knowledge, or should have had knowledge of Ndiaga Diagne’s volatile temperament and propensity for aggression, yet took no steps to monitor the common areas or supervise sanctioned activities in those spaces.” A Tesla staffer has sued the electric vehicle company for failing to keep her safe after she was assaulted by the man who later went on to commit a mass shooting in Austin (AFP via Getty Images) The lawsuit accuses the company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, of gross negligence and failure to supervise Diagne. The Independent has contacted Tesla for comment about the incident, for which Brady is seeking over $1 million in damages. Advertisement Police identified Diagne as the suspected gunman in the shocking incident last weekend at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning and left three people dead and many more injured. The 53-year-old, who was wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words “Property of Allah,” was killed by officers at the scene. Authorities are investigating whether the attack was motivated by U.S. operations in Iran, which had begun the day before. Police identified Ndiaga Diagne as the suspected gunman in the shocking incident last weekend at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning and left three people dead and many more injured (Austin Police) His home was ...

65-year-old Tesla staffer suing Elon Musk’s company for failing to protect her from Austin mass shooter aol.com

以色列国防军今天（3月8日）称，伊朗正试图重组队伍并选出一位新领导人，四十年来未曾召开的伊朗专家会议预计很快将在库姆市召开。以色列将继续追究哈梅内伊继任者和任何试图任命他的人的责任；并警告所有计划参加选举的人：以色列也会毫不犹豫地将其作为目标。 (央视新闻)

U.S. Judge says Kari Lake broke law in overseeing Voice of America toggle caption Tom Brenner/AP A federal judge overseeing a raft of legal challenges to the Trump administration's drive to dismantle the Voice of America ruled Saturday evening that Kari Lake had acted unlawfully in running the network's parent agency. "Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution," U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in his ruling . He declared all of Lake's actions over the past year to be null and void. That includes the layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the Voice of America. Sponsor Message NPR first reported in depth last August on questions about the legality of her taking on the title and powers of the agency's self-declared acting chief executive. The judge's ruling represents an absolute rebuke to the Trump White House and especially to Lake and her inner circle. It follows a series of courtroom exchanges in which Lamberth has found the government's arguments that Congress had no role to play in the future of the agency and the network unconvincing and called Lake's credibility into question from the bench. Last summer he threatened Lake with contempt of court. Lake told NPR Saturday night that she would appeal the ruling from Lamberth, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan. "The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government," she wrote. "An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM. Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings — and this case is no different." If left standing, Lamberth's decision would open the door to reversing a series of sweeping acts taken by Lake in trying to kill Voice of America and other international networks that receive federal funding. They include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadc...

"But I believe this is a conversation that one needs to have after we have a careful reflection as to what has transpired, especially in recent days and hours," he told BBC Newsnight.

拓普集团（601689）公告，公司于2026年3月6日召开了第五届董事会第三十次会议，审议通过了《关于预计2026年度日常关联交易事项的议案》。公司预计的2026年度日常关联交易金额较2025年度实际发生金额增长23.53%，主要原因是预计公司业务随订单增加同步增加所致。

电力一算力一Token AI在A股的造富神话还在延续。 从 ChatGPT 问世以来，铲子变得越发金贵，工业富联、中际旭创、胜宏科技、寒武纪 ... 各个 AI 基建赛道的大牛股，市值扶摇直上。 当算力逻辑延伸至上游能源供应，电网设备作为市场近来少有最受资金欢迎的核心主线之一，同样迎来了爆发，近一年翻倍股不胜其数。 去年，我们聊过的思源电气就成功迈入 了千亿大关。 不知不觉，另一只特高压龙头今年累计涨幅达到了 112% 。 离千亿市值，仅一步之遥了。 01 电网投资大周期 当大模型迈向由数十亿用户主导的实时推理阶段，科技局头们都逐渐意识到一个关键现实： 制约 AI 技术发展与商业落地的最核心物理瓶颈，变成了稳定且低成本的电力供应。 本周，微软、谷歌、 OpenAI 、亚马逊、 Meta 、 xAI 和甲骨文这七家公司代表在美国白宫签署相关文件，承诺自行供应或购买 AI 数据中心所需电力。 也就是说，这些巨头造数据中心想用电，都得自己掏腰包拉电源，以至于国外燃气轮机订单都卖爆了。受益于美国燃气轮机订单，具备承接溢出订单能力的潍柴动力、东方电气 、哈尔滨电气 、上海电气股价都涨得很快。 但是，就算拉来了电想要接入电网，最终还得要看电网的承受能力。 这场关于 AI 霸权的科技竞赛，正在演变为一场不断升级的能源竞赛 ，同时也激活了电网设备板块，为了近一年的上涨提供了支撑。 先看国内， “十五五”两大电网五年总投资将突破 5 万亿元，这一史无前例的投资规模，为特高压、智能电网、配网自动化等细分领域提供了确定性的需求支撑。 而国外，近期美国部分地区的电网运营商相继推动总额高达 750 亿美元的输电扩建计划，核心是建设一批 765kV 的超高压交流线路，预计将扩至 10000 英里。 还有欧盟在 2025 年 12 月 10 日也曾发布了《欧洲电网一揽子计划》，拟投资 1.2 万亿欧元于 2040 年前实现电网全面现代化 。 看到这里，我们应该能懂，这是一轮全新大规模的电网投资周期。 此前占据了电气设备领域的外企订单多到接不过来，需求可能会外溢到日韩、中国的高压 / 超高压公司。 AI 算力狂飙与电力供给之间的矛盾，表面上是基础设施的阵痛， 本质上却是一次全球科技话语权的重新分配。 02 Token 出海 作为一个普通的个体，我们或许无法体会到，每年斥巨资铺设特高压线路，大规模风...

As a new book of his lyrics, poems and selected musings is published, the White Stripes’ singer, songwriter and general guitar hero reflects on poetry, politics and why writing a song is like reupholstering a chair On the jacket of Jack White: Collected Lyrics & Selected Writing Volume 1, the poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib writes: “I wish I read more people who talked about Jack White as a writer of lyrics.” He makes a good point. White is celebrated as a singer, guitarist, producer and generator of indelible riffs but not so much as a wordsmith. His new book, edited by official archivist Ben Blackwell, sets the record straight. Following 2023’s The White Stripes Complete Lyrics 1997-2007, it covers every song White has written outside that band, along with several poems, Instagram ruminations and scans from his notebooks. White, 50, thinks fast and talks fast. He’s sitting in the Nashville headquarters of Third Man, a record label, recording studio, pressing plant, publishing house, shop and ever-expanding vessel for White’s vision of what is worth valuing and preserving in American culture. He’s a kind of historian of American vernacular, drawn to the relationship between pop and the avant garde, between maverick auteurs and the communal imagination. His own work proves that defiant eccentricity is no obstacle to stadium shows and Bond themes, and that being wildly prolific hasn’t diminished his mystique. With this book, he turns his curatorial eye on himself. Continue reading...

Home is indeed where the heart is. On Friday Sabrina Wittmann signed a new deal to stay at FC Ingolstadt, continuing a partnership whose roots go back nearly two decades but which became of wider public interest when the third-tier club appointed her as the first female coach of a German professional football team in summer 2024. There is no tokenism in the club’s choice, underlined not only by the contract extension but by the 34-year-old’s recent completion of her coaching pro licence, awarded to her just over a month ago. “I’ll always be the first woman in Germany coaching a professional men’s team,” Wittmann says, “but I want to be seen as a coach. “It’s OK to be the first woman, I’m really proud of it, but in the end I want to be a good coach, I want to be a good manager, I want to be a good human being towards my players. It’s about how you want to be seen, not just about being the first.” Wittmann is not unhappy to be a pioneer and recognises the power of her presence in the game but is convinced that the real power is to be perceived on equal terms to her male counterparts. This is why extending the adventure with Ingolstadt – “where I know every single employee” – makes perfect sense. The club are well aware of the importance of Wittmann’s trailblazing but to them she is just Sabrina, with – as the managing director, Dieter Beiersdorfer, put it in the statement that announced the new contract – “her many years of experience at FC Ingolstadt 04 [having] instilled in her an exceptional sense of identification with and responsibility for our club”. Continuing to work with Wittmann is an endorsement of her qualities rather than a matter of principle. View image in fullscreen Sabrina Wittmann issues instructions during an Ingolstadt training session: ‘I want to be a good human being towards my players.’ Photograph: FC Ingolstadt 04 Born in Ingolstadt, 50 miles north of Munich, in 1991, she took her first steps in football there as a teenager, after being encoura...

An inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran could wreck a fragile global economic recovery that had been expected to gain momentum this year. With oil and gas prices spiking, despite a pledge from Donald Trump to protect tankers making their way through the crucial strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint, central bankers and economists have warned that a prolonged conflict could increase retail prices around the world and force them to rip up growth forecasts for this year. On Friday, the International Monetary Fund managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said a 10% increase in energy prices that persists for a year would push up global inflation by 40 basis points and slow global economic growth by 0.1-0.2%. “The world economy has been remarkably resilient. Shock after shock, and yet growth is at 3.3%,” Georgieva told Bloomberg. Some economists argue that a jump in the price of energy and transport costs, significant though they are for households and businesses, could prove to be a sideshow if the bombing of Iran by the US and Israel destabilises financial markets already worried about ballooning AI stocks and the impact of US import tariffs. “It’s not like this war has started with the world in a settled place,” said Lord Jim O’Neill, the ex-chief economist of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and former government adviser. There are also analysts who worry about the chaos prompted by Iran’s retaliatory bombing of Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and, most recently, Azerbaijan, which could trigger a further re-ordering of global strategic alliances – and not to the west’s benefit. O’Neill, a crossbench peer, said the White House appeared to have given little consideration to the geopolitical impact of its opportunistic assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and subsequent bombing campaign. “The Gulf states will be thinking the US is an unreliable partner and be drawn towards China, India and Brazil,” he said. O’Neill became famous more than 20 years ago f...

There is a specific, restless energy to Neil Warnock that defies the traditional laws of ageing and the modern conventions of football management. At 77, he still wakes up in the dead of night to obsess over the overlapping runs of a National League South full-back. “When I was thinking about the system this morning at four o’clock, [I was like]: ‘What are you doing?’” he said, a smile cutting through the post-match gloom at Ebbsfleet. The setting was hardly Premier League-like – a crowd of 1,467 huddled under a gloomy sky – but for Warnock, the stakes of the dugout remain existential. Even if the reality of his years occasionally intrudes on his tactical scouting. “When you get to my age, you have to go to the toilet a few times [which is why he was awake] … but I’m enjoying every minute of this.” Warnock’s return to the frontline with Torquay United feels less like a managerial appointment and more like the return of a beloved stage actor for one last showing. Having joined the Gulls as a football adviser in 2024 after the Bryn Consortium’s takeover, he stepped into the breach as caretaker on 1 March after Paul Wotton was sacked. It is his 21st managerial spell. At Ebbsfleet, the air was thick with celebrity worship not usually reserved for managers in the National League South. The press box was full, with local reporters used to the quiet hum of the sixth tier alongside national outlets seeking a glimpse of Warnock. “I still can’t quite believe it,” said Toby, 34, a lifelong Torquay fan before the match. “I have called in sick for this game. I will probably continue to do so. I usually make it to a couple of games a season but I want to enjoy this as long as it lasts. I think he can get us promoted. He’s only done it eight times before.” That may be too tough a task, even for Warnock. Torquay, ravaged by injuries and sagging under the weight of recent relegation and administration, were dismantled 3-0. Warnock’s 3-5-2 system, designed to let his wingbacks fly fo...

China should build an underground network across its western region to protect key energy and defence facilities, securing long-term reserves while boosting national security and crisis resilience, energy experts have said. Zhang Shishu, chief technical expert at Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), a state-owned energy and infrastructure giant, called for critical facilities to be embedded deep beneath the Earth’s surface at a safer, less detectable level. In an article for the Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang said that strategic sites – such as the southwestern hydropower hubs and the northwestern oil and gas fields – were ideal for subterranean facilities to store oil, natural gas and rare metals. A view of the Baihetan hydropower station, which straddles the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwestern China. Photo: Xinhua “Major national projects should prioritise relocating essential facilities below ground to shield them from potential attacks and make them less visible,” the article said. Advertisement “Moving critical infrastructure underground and building concealed strategic tunnels with backup systems would significantly reinforce national defence and border security.” The article, published in February, was written by a team of PowerChina engineers led by Zhang. Advertisement

AI chatbots are recommending illegal online casinos to vulnerable social media users, putting them at increased risk of fraud, addiction and even suicide. Analysis of five AI products, owned by some of the world’s largest tech companies, found that all could easily be prompted to list the “best” unlicensed casinos and offer tips on how to use them. These operators, operating typically under the fig leaf of a licence from tiny jurisdictions such as the Caribbean island of Curacao, have been linked to fraud, addiction and even suicide. But tech firms appear to have few controls in place to prevent AI chatbots recommending them, drawing condemnation from the government, the UK gambling regulator, campaigners and a leading addiction expert. Some of the bots offered advice on bypassing checks designed to protect vulnerable people, while Meta AI, part of the social media group behind Facebook, described legally required measures to prevent crime and addiction as a “buzzkill” and a “real pain”. Several offered to compare bonuses – incentives designed to hook in players – and make recommendations based on which sites offered quick payouts or allowed payments and withdrawals in cryptocurrency. Big tech companies have vowed to tweak their AI software in response to mounting concern about the potential risks to users, particularly young people and children. High-profile incidents include chatbots talking to teens about suicide and services such as Grok’s “nudification” feature, which allows users to generate images of women and even children undressed or as victims of violence. Now, an investigation by the Guardian and Investigative Europe, an independent journalism cooperative, has found that chatbots appear to be acting as conduits to offshore casinos. Such websites are not licensed to operate in the UK – meaning they are doing so illegally – and have been accused of targeting people with gambling problem. An inquest earlier this year found that illegal casinos were “part of...

Caffè Nero will continue opening new shops in the UK and overseas, but has warned coffee prices are likely to keep rising as the war in Iran and higher staffing costs feed through. The family-owned business, which has just bought the 15-store Compass Coffee based in Washington DC to convert to its main brand, is aiming to open as many as 30 UK stores and between 50 and 70 more this year across the 10 other countries it operates in. Gerry Ford, who founded Caffè Nero in 1997 and remains its majority shareholder, said the 1,151-outlet business, which employs 11,000 people around the world, was outperforming its bigger rivals Starbucks and Costa. Starbucks has been closing outlets in North America and Costa’s owner Coca-Cola recently ditched plans for a sale after losses widened and sales fell at established stores. Ford suggested those brands had expanded too rapidly and suffered from multiple management changes. “We have been more consistent in what we are trying to do. We have not had massive growth upswings. We are going at a steady pace,” he said. “We can expand more rapidly or slow down. We have more flexibility as not trying to hit a quarterly reporting target. We are able to have longer-term planning. View image in fullscreen Caffè Nero founder Gerry Ford said the chain was outperforming its bigger rivals Starbucks and Costa. Photograph: Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/Shutterstock “We don’t want to take over the world. We need to move to our own rhythm. “We never wanted to suffer the consequence of trying to be everywhere for everybody.” After buying up Nottingham’s 200 Degrees for about £9m in October 2024 and snapping up Wales’ Coffee#1 and former Tesco-owned operator Harris +Hoole in recent years, the business is expanding those brands as well as its eponymous chain. However, Caffè Nero’s plans for more acquisitions are on hold for at least a year as the group absorbs its series of recent acquisitions which have led to higher borrowing and related finance costs. In ...

The sad thing for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is that the cycle of racism feels endless. It was prevalent in football before his playing days and throughout his career as a prolific striker, and it has persisted since he retired in 2008. Football’s racism problem has been thrust back into the spotlight in recent weeks after Vinícius Júnior accused Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him in Real Madrid’s Champions League tie with Benfica, and four Premier League players were racially abused on social media across a single weekend, prompting police investigations. “We keep on getting dragged back into it,” Hasselbaink says. “It’s like we have to start all over again. It never ends.” Hasselbaink knows first-hand how it feels. During his time at Atlético Madrid he sometimes heard racist chants, and once, walking out of a stadium, was spat on by supporters. “I was the only one being spat on, and I was the only black player in the team really,” he says. “Nobody helped me.” He trails off. How did it make him feel? “It makes you feel worthless. It makes you feel like you’re a piece of shit. Everybody moved on. It wasn’t really spoken of. People saw it. What can you do when you stand by yourself?” Hasselbaink says he “didn’t have it as bad as Vinícius”, who has been allegedly racially abused 20 times in eight years at Real Madrid – most of them in Spain. The 53-year-old worries it will be difficult for Uefa, which has launched an investigation, to prove the accusation against Prestianni after the Benfica winger covered his mouth with his shirt. Kylian Mbappé alleged he had heard Prestianni call Vinícius a “monkey” five times but Prestianni denies using racist language. View image in fullscreen Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was a prolific striker before retiring in 2008. Photograph: Tony Olmos/The Guardian “We all think he has said something, because why is he covering his mouth?” Hasselbaink says. “But we cannot prove it. That is still a grey area. “In the name of law, you have to...

The first song I fell in love with Baggy Trousers by Madness. I remember thinking it was the most brilliant thing I’d ever heard, partly because there was a man in huge trousers suspended from the ceiling playing a saxophone on Top of the Pops. That probably helped. It was hilarious! The first single I bought The Smurfs? I think I just asked for it rather than went out and bought it myself because I was three. Apparently I was mesmerised by both Kate Bush and the Smurfs, so I had great taste in music. The first single I bought with my own pocket money was probably I Should Be So Lucky, because I hadn’t become acquainted with the Fall yet. The song I inexplicably know every lyric to It’s weird when lyrics you don’t particularly like find their way into your memory. I know more music hall songs than I should for my age, because we were forced to sing them in drama school. I also remember the lyrics to the Hold a Chicken in the Air song from Spitting Image. I was 11 at the time. The best song to play at a party Ghost Town by the Specials. It’s probably the best song ever made. It’s not really the best thing to play at a party, but sometimes it’s nice to have a sit down and contemplate things. The song I can no longer listen to The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. This was the opening music they’d play every night when I was on tour with the play What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton. I was understudying and assistant stage managing at the time, and the stage manager was a total arsehole. He made my life a misery. Every time I hear this music I feel as if I’m standing in the wings again and I feel physically sick. The song that changed my life Probably The Container Drivers by the Fall. I was always more into comedy than music. I found bands that took themselves really seriously embarrassing. When I discovered the Fall it was a complete revelation. The lyrics were just so funny and mundane. The song that gets me up in the morning Java by Bert Kaempfert. I love Bert Kaempf...

By late afternoon in Putrajaya, the smell of smoke fills the air. Charcoal pits glow along the side of the road as office workers and families with school-aged children in tow move through the haze with the deliberate purpose of people who have not eaten since dawn. This is a Ramadan bazaar in full bloom: rows of bright pink drinks in plastic cups, towers of kueh – bite-sized sweet and savoury snacks – in every colour, and, at one particularly busy stall, rows of whole chickens turning slowly over an open flame. Nur Afifi has no time for small talk. His ayam golek (rotisserie chicken) operation is running at full tilt and he is watching the birds like a man who knows exactly how much each one is worth. Advertisement “I run a school canteen at a religious school, so during Ramadan the canteen closes,” said the 36-year-old, his eyes still on the grill. “That’s why I opened an ayam golek stall here instead.” Chicken is grilled over charcoal at Nur Afifi’s stall in Putrajaya, where he says one month of sales can help cover the rest of the year. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof Each chicken sells for 25 ringgit (HK$50). On a typical day, he moves roughly 150 of them. Over 30 days, that translates to more than 100,000 ringgit (HK$198,000) in gross sales. One month. One product. Enough money to sustain him for the rest of the year. Advertisement “People say it is only one month,” he said. “But that one month can cover us for the whole year.”

這九個基金橫跨數十年，均經立法會或前立法局決議通過成立，旨在針對特定政策範疇提供穩定及專項的財政支持。政府一般收入帳目會在有需要時向這些基金注入資源，而部分基金的投資收益亦會回撥至政府帳目，構成一個互為關聯的財政體系。各基金的成立背景及目的簡介如下： 基本工程儲備基金早於1982年4月1日經立法局決議成立，旨在為政府的工務計劃及徵用土地提供資金，其資金主要來源是土地交易所得的地價收入。該基金經過多次修訂，現時涵蓋範圍已擴展至非經常資助金、主要系統設備的購置，以及支付根據《新界土地交換權利（贖回）條例》的款項。文件預計，基金在2025年4月1日的結餘約為935億元，來年將會收取約210億元地價收入，並會在政府可持續債券及基礎建設債券計劃下發行約1,500億元債券。 資本投資基金則在1990年4月1日成立，目的是為政府在地下鐵路公司（現為香港鐵路有限公司）、九廣鐵路公司、香港房屋委員會及其他指定機構所作的投資提供資金。該基金以貸款、墊款及投資的方式，支持這些機構的發展和運作，例如近年向香港科技園公司及香港數碼港發展控股有限公司的多次注資，以及對香港國際主題樂園公司的貸款及投資。 公務員退休金儲備基金於1995年1月成立，設立目的是建立一筆儲備金，萬一政府未能從一般收入帳目中支付公務員退休金、酬金或其他津貼時，便可動用此基金履行有關法律責任，以保障公務員的退休權益。預期基金在2024至25及2025至26年度均不需支付任何款項。 賑災基金在1993年12月成立，旨在建立一個現成機制，讓香港能迅速回應在香港境外發生的災難，提供國際人道援助。基金設有諮詢委員會，就撥款事宜提供意見。文件提到，由於無法預計對賑災撥款的需求，因此並無擬訂基金在2025至26年度的預算支出。 創新及科技基金於1999年6月成立，旨在資助有助促進本港製造業和服務業創新及提升科技水平的項目，從而提高生產力和競爭力，推動長遠經濟發展。基金支持多個研發中心及不同的科研計劃，包括納米及先進材料研發院、香港紡織及成衣研發中心，以及近年的產學研1+計劃和香港微電子研發院等，來年預算開支超過124億元。 土地基金在1997年7月1日香港回歸祖國當日成立，用以接收和持有原「香港特別行政區政府土地基金」的所有資產。基金現時由金融管理局管理，其部分資產透過名為「未來基金」的安排作長遠投資。政府亦曾從中撥款投資於策略性項目...

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