Jesse Cole is the Walt Disney of baseball. As the founder and CEO of the Savannah Bananas and its parent company Fans First Entertainment, Jesse rewrote the rules of baseball to build an entertainment juggernaut. There are no bunts, walks or mound visits in Banana Ball, but there are dancing umpires, trick plays and choreographed dance numbers. But the Savannah Bananas are more than just a zany ta...
Jesse Cole is the Walt Disney of baseball. As the founder and CEO of the Savannah Bananas and its parent company Fans First Entertainment, Jesse rewrote the rules of baseball to build an entertainment juggernaut. There are no bunts, walks or mound visits in Banana Ball, but there are dancing umpires, trick plays and choreographed dance numbers. But the Savannah Bananas are more than just a zany take on America’s past time, they are a $500 million business. In this episode of The Deal, Jesse tells Alex and Jason the tale of how the Bananas went from a struggling Coastal Plain League team to a multi-team league that sells out NFL stadiums. He also shares why he doesn’t charge his fans taxes or ticket fees and why Bananas games stream free on YouTube- despite the league having a deal with ESPN. Jesse also explains the details of a mistake that cost him $6 million and why he is inspired by both Dana White and Lorne Michaels. (Source: Bloomberg)
Over the long term, there's no greater wealth creator than the stock market. Average annual returns for the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) , and innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have trumped all other asset classes over multiple decades. But this doesn't mean equities rise in an orderly fashion . As of the closin...
Over the long term, there's no greater wealth creator than the stock market. Average annual returns for the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) , and innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have trumped all other asset classes over multiple decades. But this doesn't mean equities rise in an orderly fashion . As of the closing bell on March 27, the Dow and Nasdaq Composite were already in correction territory with respective declines of 10% and 12.6%, while the S&P 500 was knocking on the door of a correction with an 8.7% pullback. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Oil is back on a tear. Crude surged past $105 after President Donald Trump signaled a fresh escalation in the Iran conflict over the next two to three weeks, dashing hopes of a near-term resolution. The market’s core problem hasn’t changed: the Strait of Hormuz, arguably the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, has effectively been shut for weeks, with flows still heavily constrained and no clear...
Oil is back on a tear. Crude surged past $105 after President Donald Trump signaled a fresh escalation in the Iran conflict over the next two to three weeks, dashing hopes of a near-term resolution. The market’s core problem hasn’t changed: the Strait of Hormuz, arguably the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, has effectively been shut for weeks, with flows still heavily constrained and no clear timeline for reopening. Trump’s message was characteristically blunt but strategically vague, promising Iran would be hit “extremely hard” while insisting the war is nearing its end. That ambiguity is exactly what’s keeping traders on edge. Even in a best-case scenario, restarting flows through Hormuz won’t be instant. Damaged infrastructure and lingering security risks mean supply disruptions and elevated prices could stick around longer than policymakers would like. The result is a market bracing for volatility, and maybe something worse. With oil already up more than 40% since the conflict began, fears of a broader inflation shock are creeping back into view. Investors are hedging in both directions, from downside protection to eye-watering upside bets (oil at $450 a barrel). Translation: no one has conviction on the endgame, but everyone agrees the ride isn’t over. What You Need to Know Today With the Strait of Hormuz still effectively in limbo, Asia is scrambling — less as a bloc, more as a patchwork . From India negotiating safe passage with Iran to China floating its own peace plan, countries are hedging, cutting side deals and testing leverage to keep energy flowing, while some US allies like Japan eye a 35-country effort led by London to restore navigation. Trump’s call for nations to “take the lead” has only deepened the fragmentation, leaving no unified response even as a quarter of global oil trade hangs in the balance, turning the crisis into a live exercise in geopolitical improvisation. India has taken a sledgehammer to offshore rupee trading, banning banks ...
Actress Aubrey Plaza has secured a buyer for her California home—nearly three months after she put it back on the market for the reduced price of $5.75 million.
Actress Aubrey Plaza has secured a buyer for her California home—nearly three months after she put it back on the market for the reduced price of $5.75 million.
TERADAT SANTIVIVUT Stock futures retreated in premarket trading Thursday as a fresh wave of geopolitical anxiety rattled Wall Street. While investors had begun pricing in an end to the month-long conflict, crude oil prices surged over 7% following President Donald Trump’s latest warning to hit Iran "extremely hard." Here are some of Thursday's biggest stock movers: Biggest stock gainers Ready Capi...
TERADAT SANTIVIVUT Stock futures retreated in premarket trading Thursday as a fresh wave of geopolitical anxiety rattled Wall Street. While investors had begun pricing in an end to the month-long conflict, crude oil prices surged over 7% following President Donald Trump’s latest warning to hit Iran "extremely hard." Here are some of Thursday's biggest stock movers: Biggest stock gainers Ready Capital ( RC ) +4% – Shares advanced after the company outlined progress on its deleveraging strategy, including the sale of 47 commercial real estate loans totaling $943M in unpaid principal balance and the collapse of its remaining CLOs. The company also issued a redemption notice for its 6.20% notes due July 2026 and entered into a $1B off-balance sheet arrangement to fund new CRE loan originations. The actions are aimed at boosting liquidity, reducing legacy exposure, and strengthening the balance sheet. Stitch Fix ( SFIX ) +3% – Shares rose after the company resumed share repurchases under its existing $150M program. Stitch Fix bought back ~4.5M shares for $15M between mid-March and early April, with ~$105M still available for future buybacks. The company noted repurchases may continue through open market transactions, private deals, or Rule 10b5-1 plans at its discretion. Biggest stock losers Celldex Therapeutics ( CLDX ) -7% - Shares slipped after the company priced an underwritten public offering of ~10.3M shares at $29 each, raising about $300M in gross proceeds. The offering includes a 30-day option for underwriters to purchase additional shares. Proceeds will primarily support commercial readiness for barzolvolimab, pending approval, along with pipeline development and general corporate purposes. More on related stocks: Stitch Fix, Inc. 2026 Q2 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Stitch Fix Seems Unable To Shake Disappointing Results Stitch Fix, Inc. (SFIX) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Celldex prices $300M stock at $29 per share to fuel Barzolvolimab launch
Despite land reclamation efforts in the fiercely contested South China Sea, an unusual silence has fallen between Beijing and Hanoi over their rival claims. Observers said this suggested both sides were prioritising pragmatism to keep tensions in check. In March, months into reports suggesting continued Chinese dredging activities at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands, Vietnam broke its silence ...
Despite land reclamation efforts in the fiercely contested South China Sea, an unusual silence has fallen between Beijing and Hanoi over their rival claims. Observers said this suggested both sides were prioritising pragmatism to keep tensions in check. In March, months into reports suggesting continued Chinese dredging activities at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands, Vietnam broke its silence by lodging a protest with Beijing over what it called “illegal and invalid” foreign...
Bianca Devins was 17 when she was killed by a man who then shared photos of her mutilated body on sites like Instagram and Snapchat – something her mother Kim describes as ‘psychological terrorism’. Here, she reveals her battle to get them offline Early on a Sunday in July 2019, police arrived at Kim Devins’ house in upstate New York with a story that made no sense. They were there to do a “welfar...
Bianca Devins was 17 when she was killed by a man who then shared photos of her mutilated body on sites like Instagram and Snapchat – something her mother Kim describes as ‘psychological terrorism’. Here, she reveals her battle to get them offline Early on a Sunday in July 2019, police arrived at Kim Devins’ house in upstate New York with a story that made no sense. They were there to do a “welfare check” on Devins’ 17-year-old daughter, Bianca. They said they had received reports from people who feared she may have been “hurt”. Bianca had gone with her friend Brandon Clark to a concert in New York City, a four-hour drive away. “Did they mean that they’d been in an accident?” says Devins. “The police bodycam footage from that time shows how confused I was.” Amid it all, Devins called her dad, who lived close by, to ask him to come over. Somehow, while making that call, she realised that something dreadful had occurred. “I always pinpoint it to that exact moment, even though we didn’t understand what was happening,” she says. Her body knew before she did that she had lost her daughter. “All of me shook. I could almost see myself from the outside. It was as if my brain shut down to protect me and I left my body. I don’t think I’ve fully returned since.” Continue reading...
A government that openly embraces violence against Palestinians has now enshrined into law a policy of lethal force Yuli Novak is the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group This week, Israel passed a law that institutionalises the execution of Palestinians. The country’s courts can now impose death sentences on Palestinians “convicted of fatal attacks” , expanding a legal sy...
A government that openly embraces violence against Palestinians has now enshrined into law a policy of lethal force Yuli Novak is the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group This week, Israel passed a law that institutionalises the execution of Palestinians. The country’s courts can now impose death sentences on Palestinians “convicted of fatal attacks” , expanding a legal system designed to target them, strip them of rights, subject them to systematic abuse, and, ultimately, shield Israeli perpetrators of crimes against Palestinians from accountability. While this legislation does not create a whole new reality, it marks the beginning of a troubling new phase of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians by enshrining into law a longstanding policy of using lethal force against them. Disturbingly, this reality is already normalised in Israel. Long before this law, Palestinians were being systematically killed. In Gaza, mass killing has continued even after the declaration of a “ceasefire” . In the West Bank, Palestinians are killed on a daily basis by the Israeli military in raids, shootings and, increasingly, by violent settler militias aimed at driving them from their land and out of their communities. For some time, Israeli soldiers and settlers have been able to act with near-total impunity. Yuli Novak is the executive director of B’Tselem Continue reading...
I bought a book that might have helped – but I’ve already mislaid it. Am I a lost cause? Does anyone want some bits of guttering? They’re zinc, I think. Free to a good, or indeed any home! I’ll send them to you or even, to be on the safe side, deliver them myself. Because it would be mad to keep them, although not quite as mad as throwing them away. Please help. I get this a lot, which is why I’ve...
I bought a book that might have helped – but I’ve already mislaid it. Am I a lost cause? Does anyone want some bits of guttering? They’re zinc, I think. Free to a good, or indeed any home! I’ll send them to you or even, to be on the safe side, deliver them myself. Because it would be mad to keep them, although not quite as mad as throwing them away. Please help. I get this a lot, which is why I’ve got too much stuff. There’s stuff I’ve bought that I shouldn’t have. There’s stuff that I’ve bought, used, and is now of no use, because it’s become obsolete or it’s conked out. In the case of the guttering it’s the leftovers from a renovation, so not entirely my fault. And always, all around the house there are random bits and bobs of all shapes and sizes which I could and should get shot of. As a cry to myself for help I bought a book about decluttering called Clutter’s Last Stand . It was quite good but then, with weary irony, I lost it among the clutter. Perhaps it’ll show up one day. Continue reading...
A new book shows that the work of Robert Mapplethorpe and Peter Hujar – as well as a new generation of artists – would not be the same without the New York island In the summer of 2015, Leilah Babirye , a sculptor, left her home town in Uganda and arrived for an artist residency in the bohemian, beach-y queer splendor of Fire Island’s Cherry Grove. She tells the story in a new book, Fire Island Ar...
A new book shows that the work of Robert Mapplethorpe and Peter Hujar – as well as a new generation of artists – would not be the same without the New York island In the summer of 2015, Leilah Babirye , a sculptor, left her home town in Uganda and arrived for an artist residency in the bohemian, beach-y queer splendor of Fire Island’s Cherry Grove. She tells the story in a new book, Fire Island Art: 100 Years , released this month by Monacelli. After Googling “LGBTQ+ artist residences”, she earned a spot at the Fire Island Artist Residency, established four years earlier to make the famed enclave more accessible. But the lesbian daughter of a conservative minister wasn’t prepared for just how queer the place was. With its roving clusters of people buzzing around the dunes and pool parties to show off the various currencies – physical, financial, interpersonal – they had to spend, she says, “I thought Cherry Grove was America.” Was she wrong? The story of the modern Fire Island is, in some ways, a particularly American one, in which outcasts light out for the territories to make their dreams come true. In the case of the picturesque barrier island off the coast of Long Island, those dreams were both sexual and creative from the start. Edited by John Dempsey, island resident and president of the Fire Island Pines Historical Society, Fire Island Art: 100 Years traces a legacy begun by the pre-war trio of Paul Cadmus, Jared French and Margaret French, who, as part of the artistic collaboration PaJaMa, made beguiling paintings and photographs of the unconventional intimacies they formed while summering among the island’s nooks and crannies. Continue reading...