A major Microsoft Corp. data center site in East Africa has been delayed by disagreements with the Kenyan government over the company’s request for guaranteed payments, people familiar with the matter said. Microsoft and its partner, Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate G42, had asked the government to commit to paying for a certain amount of capacity annually, the people said, asking not to be ident...
A major Microsoft Corp. data center site in East Africa has been delayed by disagreements with the Kenyan government over the company’s request for guaranteed payments, people familiar with the matter said. Microsoft and its partner, Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate G42, had asked the government to commit to paying for a certain amount of capacity annually, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. When the government couldn’t provide the guarantees at the level Microsoft requested, the talks broke down, they said. The group may ultimately decide to scale back the project, the people said. Representatives for Microsoft and G42 declined to comment. Kenya is moving ahead with the talks, and “it is not failed or withdrawn,” John Tanui, principal secretary at Kenya’s Ministry of Information, said in an interview. “The scale of the data center they wanted to do still requires some structuring,” he said. Power requirements are also still under discussion, said Tanui, who didn’t comment on the specifics. The agreement struck in 2024 envisioned a $1 billion geothermal-powered project to dramatically increase cloud computing in the region. The group at the time had said an initial phase with a capacity of about 100 megawatts, could be operational this year. The goal was to build out to as much as 1 gigawatt. Kenyan President William Ruto has also suggested that the energy for the project exceeded the nation’s available resources. “We would need to switch off half the country for the data center to be powered,” he said at a recent state event in Nairobi. Ruto’s “point has not been that the project was suspended, but that Kenya must confront the scale of energy required to support next-generation digital infrastructure,” Philip Thigo, Kenya’s special envoy for technology said in an emailed statement. Talks for a 60 megawatt project with local developer EcoCloud are continuing, one of the people said. The site is the centerpiece of a Microsoft...
(Bloomberg) -- A major Microsoft Corp. data center site in East Africa has been delayed by disagreements with the Kenyan government over the company’s request for guaranteed payments, people familiar with the matter said. Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersOnline Mob Fuels 6,000% Stock Rally in Obscure SpaceX RivalBillionaire Duke of Westminster...
(Bloomberg) -- A major Microsoft Corp. data center site in East Africa has been delayed by disagreements with the Kenyan government over the company’s request for guaranteed payments, people familiar with the matter said. Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersOnline Mob Fuels 6,000% Stock Rally in Obscure SpaceX RivalBillionaire Duke of Westminster to Sell £700 Million of US Real Estate AssetsIran War Is Draining World’s Oil Buffer at an Unpreced
Dow Jones futures: The stock market hit fresh highs this past week with U.S.-Iran news and the Trump-Xi summit in focus. Apple, Nvidia, Boeing are in buy areas.
Dow Jones futures: The stock market hit fresh highs this past week with U.S.-Iran news and the Trump-Xi summit in focus. Apple, Nvidia, Boeing are in buy areas.
This felt a hugely significant victory in the Scottish title race. Celtic require only two more of them to successfully defend the league. For the Rangers manager, Danny Röhl, yet another second-half capitulation will only increase murmurings about his capability of delivering success at Ibrox. Rangers will end this season trophyless and third in a two-horse race – remarkably, given the tens of mi...
This felt a hugely significant victory in the Scottish title race. Celtic require only two more of them to successfully defend the league. For the Rangers manager, Danny Röhl, yet another second-half capitulation will only increase murmurings about his capability of delivering success at Ibrox. Rangers will end this season trophyless and third in a two-horse race – remarkably, given the tens of millions spent on assembling their squad. Celtic have moved to within a point and three goals of Hearts. Next stop for Martin O’Neill and his players is Motherwell on Wednesday evening. With Hearts hosting Falkirk at the same time, there is the increasing possibility of the title being decided when the Edinburgh club visit Celtic Park on Saturday. Supporters of Celtic and Hearts are likely to have run out of fingernails by then. More to follow Continue reading...
Wall Street’s major market averages ended higher on Friday as investors digested the latest nonfarm payrolls print and sidestepped the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The blue-chip Dow added +0.1%, the benchmark S&P 500 closed +0.8%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite finished +1.7%. However, the S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector ( XLV ) slipped above 1.15% during the week. The top S&P 500 ...
Wall Street’s major market averages ended higher on Friday as investors digested the latest nonfarm payrolls print and sidestepped the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The blue-chip Dow added +0.1%, the benchmark S&P 500 closed +0.8%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite finished +1.7%. However, the S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector ( XLV ) slipped above 1.15% during the week. The top S&P 500 healthcare gainers and losers for the last week are as follows: Top Gainers: DaVita ( DVA ) +31% Moderna ( MRNA ) +19.75% Humana ( HUM ) +17.69% Revvity ( RVTY ) +16.52% Waters ( WAT ) +15.63% Top Losers: Zoetis ( ZTS ) -27.44% Cencora ( COR ) -14.12% Bio-Techne ( TECH ) -12.10% Insulet ( PODD ) -11.93% Mettler-Toledo International ( MTD ) -11.26% Here are some of the important healthcare stories from this week: UnitedHealthcare cuts prior authorization requirements by 30% UnitedHealthcare ( UNH ) on Tuesday said that it would eliminate authorization requirements for 30% of healthcare services that previously required insurer approval. Currently, prior authorization is required for only 2% of UnitedHealthcare medical services. Of the authorizations that are submitted, around 92% are approved in less than 24 hours, on average. Within Medicare Advantage, UnitedHealthcare has fewer prior authorization requirements than any other insurer, the company said . By the end of 2026, UnitedHealthcare will eliminate an additional 30% of remaining prior authorizations, including select outpatient surgeries, some diagnostic tests like echocardiograms, and certain outpatient therapies and chiropractic care. Pfizer tops Q1 estimates, maintains guidance Pfizer ( PFE ) topped Wall Street estimates with its first-quarter results and reaffirmed its full-year outlook. The New York-based pharma giant generated adjusted EPS of $0.75 (-18% Y/Y) on revenue of $14.5B, a 5% rise compared to the prior-year quarter, reflecting an operational increase of $304M, or 2%. The company also reaffirmed its 202...
Sabrina C Robison, EVP Chief HR Officer at Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) , reported open-market sales totaling 5,439 shares for proceeds of approximately $150,000 as disclosed in the SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($27.60); post-transaction value based on May 1, 2026 market close ($27.37). Heritage Financial Corporation is a...
Sabrina C Robison, EVP Chief HR Officer at Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) , reported open-market sales totaling 5,439 shares for proceeds of approximately $150,000 as disclosed in the SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($27.60); post-transaction value based on May 1, 2026 market close ($27.37). Heritage Financial Corporation is a regional bank holding company with a focus on community banking in Washington and Oregon. The company leverages a diversified loan portfolio and deposit base to drive stable earnings and support shareholder returns through consistent dividends. Its strategic emphasis on local markets and relationship banking provides a competitive edge in serving business and retail clients. Continue reading
Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow The Welsh band with a weird edge mostly let their formidable music speak for itself, lent a transcendent power by frontman Gruff Rhys’s rich voice In the gloom of an underlit Barrowlands stage, a man in black is holding a large inflatable phone to his ear and chanting these words: “SFA OK. SFA OK.” The man is Gruff Rhys. The band is Super Furry Animals. And the song, W...
Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow The Welsh band with a weird edge mostly let their formidable music speak for itself, lent a transcendent power by frontman Gruff Rhys’s rich voice In the gloom of an underlit Barrowlands stage, a man in black is holding a large inflatable phone to his ear and chanting these words: “SFA OK. SFA OK.” The man is Gruff Rhys. The band is Super Furry Animals. And the song, Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home), allows them to reintroduce themselves at this, their second gig after 10 years away. Continue reading...
The problem wasn’t just the perfectly polished, yet mediocre prose. It’s what’s lost when we surrender the struggle to translate thought into words I have been teaching fiction writing at MIT since 2017. Many of my students last wrote fiction in middle school, and very few have experienced a proper workshop, so at the start of every semester I offer these directions for writer and reader alike: Re...
The problem wasn’t just the perfectly polished, yet mediocre prose. It’s what’s lost when we surrender the struggle to translate thought into words I have been teaching fiction writing at MIT since 2017. Many of my students last wrote fiction in middle school, and very few have experienced a proper workshop, so at the start of every semester I offer these directions for writer and reader alike: Read the story at least twice. Mark what works and what doesn’t – underline great sentences, flag clunky syntax, gaps in logic and unrealistic dialogue. Ask yourself: does the story work? Why or why not? What could improve it? Answer in a signed letter to the author, attached to their story. Give your honest opinions. Remember that an effective peer review demands close reading of the text accompanied by a boldness of spirit. Continue reading...
Shock and fears for future, including homelessness, after landlords rushed to issue section 21 notices before 1 May It was 2pm on 30 April when Carl Kansinde Middleton received a “no fault” eviction from his landlord in Brighton – just 10 hours before section 21 notices were officially banned under the Renters’ Right Act. “As we were getting closer, I really thought I was safe ,” he said. “It just...
Shock and fears for future, including homelessness, after landlords rushed to issue section 21 notices before 1 May It was 2pm on 30 April when Carl Kansinde Middleton received a “no fault” eviction from his landlord in Brighton – just 10 hours before section 21 notices were officially banned under the Renters’ Right Act. “As we were getting closer, I really thought I was safe ,” he said. “It just never occurred to me that it would just come right on the last day – I truly felt blindsided. Continue reading...
When my husband went away for a week, days of blissful alone-time beckoned. Instead, I started talking to household appliances and eating ‘crone dinner’ My husband is away this week, something that used to happen regularly, but is a post-pandemic rarity. Like, I suspect, many people in long-term relationships, I look forward to a little alone-time (I’m sure he does, too – a few carefree days away ...
When my husband went away for a week, days of blissful alone-time beckoned. Instead, I started talking to household appliances and eating ‘crone dinner’ My husband is away this week, something that used to happen regularly, but is a post-pandemic rarity. Like, I suspect, many people in long-term relationships, I look forward to a little alone-time (I’m sure he does, too – a few carefree days away from me and my dogmatic, dourly expressed opinions on everything from the correct cup for my morning coffee to radio volume). But how enjoyable is it, really? It’s day five and I realise that, yet again, I’m following my usual six-stage timeline towards total collapse. 1. The purge Within minutes of the door closing, and without conscious thought, I find myself kneeling in front of the fridge, excavating decomposing and expired matter, tackling the jar graveyard (grey, ancient, pickled beets and luxuriantly furred pesto) and wiping shelves. Next, I move through the kitchen like a whirlwind, taking out bins, sorting recycling, spraying surfaces and putting everything in its place. Continue reading...
The supreme court has gutted one of the strongest federal tools we had against the most effective weapon in US politics Maps can guide us home. They show us where we are, where we have been and where we might go. Electoral maps can do something even more sinister, though. They often tell us what and who is allowed to matter. They can decide, before a single ballot is cast, whether an entire voting...
The supreme court has gutted one of the strongest federal tools we had against the most effective weapon in US politics Maps can guide us home. They show us where we are, where we have been and where we might go. Electoral maps can do something even more sinister, though. They often tell us what and who is allowed to matter. They can decide, before a single ballot is cast, whether an entire voting bloc will become powerful or be buried by the design of a party that is indifferent – at best – to their needs and wants. Memphis is the latest warning. Tennessee ’s largest majority-Black city can vote, organize, turn out, remember and resist – and still be cut into pieces by politicians who fear what that city might do with power. This week, Republicans carved up the Memphis-centered congressional district, dividing its only majority-Black district into three Republican-leaning seats while weakening voter-notice requirements in the process. Continue reading...
The Strictly judge and her mum on Shirley’s love of dance, being a single-parent family, and the joy of living together now Born in Wallasey (now Merseyside) in 1960, Shirley Ballas is one of the most decorated ballroom and Latin dancers in the world. She became a three-time winner of the British Professional Latin Championship (Open to the World), before retiring from competitive dancing in 1996 ...
The Strictly judge and her mum on Shirley’s love of dance, being a single-parent family, and the joy of living together now Born in Wallasey (now Merseyside) in 1960, Shirley Ballas is one of the most decorated ballroom and Latin dancers in the world. She became a three-time winner of the British Professional Latin Championship (Open to the World), before retiring from competitive dancing in 1996 to become a teacher and adjudicator. In 2017, she joined the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing as a judge. She lives in London with her mother, Audrey, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Ballas supports the Breathe Equal campaign with Sanofi, to raise awareness of COPD and address stigma and inequalities in care. Continue reading...
In some places, a half-birthday allows you to learn to drive or join the army. But for others, it’s a way to embrace the midpoint of each year of life Six months after Lorraine C Ladish turned 59, she began to get emails – from fashion stores, the supermarket, the opticians – offering her a discount. Her half-birthday was coming up, the emails said. She used one of the offers to buy a magenta leat...
In some places, a half-birthday allows you to learn to drive or join the army. But for others, it’s a way to embrace the midpoint of each year of life Six months after Lorraine C Ladish turned 59, she began to get emails – from fashion stores, the supermarket, the opticians – offering her a discount. Her half-birthday was coming up, the emails said. She used one of the offers to buy a magenta leather jacket and posted her celebration on TikTok. Ladish is a digital content creator who says she makes “a living out of sharing my age online”. But what really appealed to her about marking the midpoint between birthdays was the chance to “squeeze every second, every month, out of my late 50s”. Ladish is not alone. Half-birthdays are having a moment. Or, at least, a fraction of a moment. On TikTok there are half-cake designs, half-birthday banners, half-birthday cards – sometimes, they are whole ones brutally sheared – and half-candles. One French brand even released a comma candle for cake decorators wishing to celebrate a half-birthday decimally. Continue reading...
William Harrison, a US soldier stationed in the region, was convicted and hanged for the murder of Patsy Wylie On the afternoon of 25 September 1944, William Harrison, a US soldier stationed in Northern Ireland , visited the cottage of the Wylie family in Killycolpy, County Tyrone, and offered to buy treats for the children. He had visited before and was, if not a friend, at least known to the fam...
William Harrison, a US soldier stationed in the region, was convicted and hanged for the murder of Patsy Wylie On the afternoon of 25 September 1944, William Harrison, a US soldier stationed in Northern Ireland , visited the cottage of the Wylie family in Killycolpy, County Tyrone, and offered to buy treats for the children. He had visited before and was, if not a friend, at least known to the family. Mary Wylie let him take her seven-year-old daughter, Patricia, better known as Patsy, across the fields to the shops. Continue reading...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts This week’s question: Which organisms are most beneficial to humans without us realising? The inside of my jumpers and cardigans never become bobbled, despite the friction that must occur. So why can’t the pieces be sewn togeth...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts This week’s question: Which organisms are most beneficial to humans without us realising? The inside of my jumpers and cardigans never become bobbled, despite the friction that must occur. So why can’t the pieces be sewn together inside out? Helen, by email Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com . Continue reading...
Ginevra Bonina wins the 2026 ZEKE award for systemic change for her project Out for Blood, which highlights period poverty in India and the women and girls fighting to reclaim the body ‘as a site of struggle, resistance and liberation’. Ebrahim Alipoor wins the award for documentary photography for his long-term project, Bullets Have No Borders, which showcases the lives of border porters who carr...
Ginevra Bonina wins the 2026 ZEKE award for systemic change for her project Out for Blood, which highlights period poverty in India and the women and girls fighting to reclaim the body ‘as a site of struggle, resistance and liberation’. Ebrahim Alipoor wins the award for documentary photography for his long-term project, Bullets Have No Borders, which showcases the lives of border porters who carry goods across the treacherous Iran-Iraq mountains to support their families Continue reading...
Introduction I'm naturally someone who tries to find the good in any situation, even when it comes to investing during high amounts of volatility. But when a stock is experiencing high volatility, this can be attributed to a number of factors. In the case of Prospect Capital Corporation ( PSEC ), a BDC I've been bearish on for close to a year, their steep discount and double-digit yield look good ...
Introduction I'm naturally someone who tries to find the good in any situation, even when it comes to investing during high amounts of volatility. But when a stock is experiencing high volatility, this can be attributed to a number of factors. In the case of Prospect Capital Corporation ( PSEC ), a BDC I've been bearish on for close to a year, their steep discount and double-digit yield look good on the surface. But beneath it, deteriorating fundamentals, declining NAV, and a small dividend cut suggest the pain may not be over. In this article, I discuss Prospect Capital's latest earnings, what caused the post-earnings sell-off, and why investors should expect more underperformance going forward. Previous Thesis I covered Prospect Capital back in September, reiterating them as a sell due to financial deterioration. Despite the 20% dividend yield and deep discount to their net asset value, weak dividend coverage signaled ongoing financial deterioration and the further potential for investors to see capital loss. Since the stock is down close to 5% in comparison to the S&P ( SP500 ), it is up over 10% in the past 8 months. PSEC's portfolio shift towards more defensive loans and robust liquidity were positives. But I believed these to be too little too late, with more dividend cuts and underperformance likely going forward. Seeking Alpha Another PSEC-like Quarter PSEC's Q3 earnings looked similar to previous earnings reports. Often times when I say this, it usually means that the company delivered a solid earnings report . But in the case of PSEC, this meant their Q3 saw more financial deterioration. Net investment income beat estimates by $0.05 but declined from the previous quarter's $0.19. Expectedly, this declined on a total dollar amount as well, down 14.3% from $91 million to $78 million. While BDCs can experience declines on a per-share basis, something I look for to assess potential deterioration in their credit quality is growth on a total dollar amount basis....
On the We Study Billionaires podcast (episode TIP813), Stig Brodersen laid out a bear case that puts Microsoft’s Office cash cow squarely in the crosshairs of generative AI. His framing matters because it targets the one franchise inside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) that has resisted every prior assault: the per-seat productivity suite that Google could never crack. ... The AI Threat Google Couldn’t Mo...
On the We Study Billionaires podcast (episode TIP813), Stig Brodersen laid out a bear case that puts Microsoft’s Office cash cow squarely in the crosshairs of generative AI. His framing matters because it targets the one franchise inside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) that has resisted every prior assault: the per-seat productivity suite that Google could never crack. ... The AI Threat Google Couldn’t Mount: Why This Expert Says Microsoft’s $70 Billion Cash Cow Is Vulnerable Now
Over the past year, Alphabet Inc. has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology. Now it’s on the brink of overtaking AI chip giant Nvidia Corp. as the largest company in the world. “Alphabet holds a significant spot in almost every corner of the AI ecosystem, and the combination of everything it ...
Over the past year, Alphabet Inc. has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology. Now it’s on the brink of overtaking AI chip giant Nvidia Corp. as the largest company in the world. “Alphabet holds a significant spot in almost every corner of the AI ecosystem, and the combination of everything it offers puts it in a prime position to be the biggest winner of AI,” said Luke O’Neill , chief investment officer at CooksonPeirce Wealth Management, which owns stakes in Alphabet and Nvidia . Google’s parent closed Friday with a market capitalization of $4.8 trillion. Nvidia was below that level on Tuesday, but a three-day rally into the end of the week pushed it to $5.2 trillion . The gap between the two has narrowed considerably over the past six months, as Alphabet shares have been on a tear, including a 34% gain in April , its best month since 2004. On Oct. 31, Nvidia’s market capitalization was $4.9 trillion and Alphabet’s was less than $3.4 trillion. Since then, Alphabet’s stock price has soared 43% while Nvidia’s is up just 6.3%, trailing the S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index . Investors say it’s logical that Alphabet would ultimately seize the title of world’s largest company because its tentacles reach into so many important parts of the technology industry and the AI trade. Nvidia may be the leader in building AI chips, but Alphabet has a rival product that’s gaining favor. It also owns a bunch of massive businesses like Google Search, Google Cloud, YouTube and Waymo. In addition, Alphabet’s Gemini AI model is considered one of the best in the industry, and the company is a significant investor in Anthropic, which has another leading model in Claude. “Nvidia is a great company, but it has the potential to be far more cyclical should AI spending slow down,” O’Neill said. “Alphabet is so diversified that if one business falters, the others can pick u...
(Bloomberg) -- Over the past year, Alphabet Inc. has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology. Now it’s on the brink of overtaking AI chip giant Nvidia Corp. as the largest company in the world.Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersOnline Mob Fue...
(Bloomberg) -- Over the past year, Alphabet Inc. has gone from an artificial intelligence afterthought to the one firm in the market with dominant positions in nearly every aspect of the technology. Now it’s on the brink of overtaking AI chip giant Nvidia Corp. as the largest company in the world.Most Read from BloombergTrump Wants to Make H-1B Workers More Expensive for US EmployersOnline Mob Fuels 6,000% Stock Rally in Obscure SpaceX RivalBillionaire Duke of Westminster to Sell £700 Million of
Chinese officials have signalled privately a growing willingness to retaliate against the United States, buoyed by confidence in their economic leverage as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Beijing this week. Sources told the South China Morning Post that officials in Beijing had grown bolder since playing its rare earths card in October and were now less worried about tariffs. The sourc...
Chinese officials have signalled privately a growing willingness to retaliate against the United States, buoyed by confidence in their economic leverage as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Beijing this week. Sources told the South China Morning Post that officials in Beijing had grown bolder since playing its rare earths card in October and were now less worried about tariffs. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said...