NEW YORK (AFP) – New York police said on Friday they believe the man suspected of gunning down a top health insurance executive may have fled the city on a bus following the brazen daylight murder.
The development deepens the mystery surrounding the fresh-faced suspect, an image of whom was released by investigators on Thursday and who has now been on the run for almost three days.
The masked assailant was caught on camera entering a bus station in a northern neighbourhood of Manhattan in the wake of Wednesday’s slaying, but he could not be identified exiting the facility on foot, a police spokesman confirmed to AFP.
“They believe he’s not in New York City,” the spokesman added.
Dozens of bus and coach routes run to other states in the United States (US) from the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, according to the operator’s website.
The image of the smiling suspect was obtained from a youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, detectives said, with media reporting he lowered his mask to flirt with a receptionist.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Friday that detectives had access to tens of thousands of cameras around the city, allowing them to secure the “money shot” image, a significant breakthrough in the case.
“We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down,” she told CNN.
Pedestrians cross the road outside George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, United States. PHOTO: AP
PORTOBELO (AFP) – There are probably easier ways to set a world record, but Rudiger Koch has found his method 11 metres under the sea.
He’s been living in a submerged capsule off the coast of Panama for two months – which means, he told a visiting AFP journalist, he has about two more to go.
“The last time I checked, I was still married,” he joked, as fish swim through bright blue Caribbean waters outside the portholes.
But Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Germany, has grander plans than simply notching a record. His stunt, he said, could change the way we think about human life – and where we can settle, even permanently.
“Moving out to the ocean is something we should do as a species,” he told AFP.
“What we are trying to do here is prove that the seas are actually a viable environment for human expansion.”
Koch’s 30-square-metre capsule has most of the trappings of modern life: a bed, toilet, TV, computer and Internet – even an exercise bike.
German aerospace engineer Rudiger Koch sits on a chair inside an underwater room off the coast of Puerto Lindo, Panama. PHOTO: AFP
The only thing missing? A shower.
His home under the sea is attached through a vertical tube to another chamber perched above the waves, housing other members of his team – and providing a way for food and curious journalists to be sent down.
The underwater chamber, meanwhile, provides a shelter for fish and acts as an artificial reef – providing an environmental benefit.
“In the night, you can hear all the crustaceans,” he said. “There’s the fish out there, and there’s all that stuff, and that wasn’t here before we came.”
On a small bedside table lies Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a 19th Century sci-fi classic.
An admirer of the novel’s Captain Nemo, Koch, who went down on September 26, is hoping to come up for air on January 24, surpassing by 20 days the record held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days submerged in a Florida lake.
Two clocks show how much time has passed – and how much remains.
A narrow spiral staircase leads to the chamber above, the entire contraption located some 15 minutes by boat from the Puerto Lindo coast, off northern Panama.
Four cameras film his moves in the capsule – capturing his daily life, monitoring his mental health and to provide proof that he’s never come up to the surface.
Eial Berja operates them from the section above, while minding the electricity and back-up generator.
It’s not all easy going, he told AFP, noting that a heavy storm almost put an end to the project.
Outside of the media, Koch’s only visitors have been his doctor, his children and his wife.
Though he still has a long way to go to resurface, Koch knows exactly what he’ll do first once he’s back on land: “a shower, a real shower”.
MAKAWAO (AP) – Five Hawaiian crows recently were released on Maui for the first time as part of an ongoing effort to return the species to its home, conservationists said.
The Hawaiian crows, or alala, were last found on Hawaii’s Big Island, but they went extinct in the wild in 2002, officials with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said in a statement.
The birds, described as intelligent and charismatic, are the last survivor of all the Hawaiian crow species. Habitat loss, predation and disease by introduced species are threats, among other factors.
“The translocation of alala to Maui is a monumental step forward in conserving the species and a testament to the importance of partnership in reversing biodiversity loss,” said Vice President of conservation science at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance PhD Megan Owen.
The release is the result of years of preparation by multiple organisations and agencies including the United States (US) Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the University of Hawaii, she said.
The five alala released included two females and three males that spent months in a social group at Keauhou and Maui Bird conservation centres to establish strong bonds. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance evaluated the birds for the release based on how well they foraged for food and responded to predators. The birds were also assessed by veterinarians.
“It means a lot to me to care for the alala,” avian recovery specialist at Maui Bird Conservation Centre Keanini Aarona said in the statement. “To me, and in my culture, the alala are like our ancestors – our kūpuna. The forest wouldn’t be there without these birds.”
Thirty of the birds were reintroduced between 2016 and 2020 in the Big Island’s Puu Makaala Natural Forest Reserve. After several successful years, alala numbers began to decline and reintroduction efforts were paused, officials said. The remaining alala were returned to human care.
The Hawaiian crows, or alala, were last found on Hawaii’s Big Island, but they went extinct in the wild in 2002. PHOTO: SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE
LONDON (AFP) – British company Games Workshop, makers of miniature wargames figures, entered London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index, the London Stock Exchange announced recently, propelled by the profitability of its Warhammer franchise and its licencing potential.
The company’s share price has soared more than 45 per cent since the beginning of the year, giving it a GBP4.7 billion (USD5.9 billion) valuation, and promoting it to London’s main index as part of the quarterly market reshuffle.
Miniature fantasy figurines that consumers can assemble and paint to use in boardgames are at the heart of Games Workshop’s business activity.
Its boardgames that span medieval and futuristic universes have generated a community of avid fans, with hundreds of different products sold in around 4,500 stores.
“It’s such a rich universe,” explained one fan, Andy Boichat, an oil trader working in London, who had come to visit a Games Workshop store in the city centre.
He told AFP that he’s been painting miniatures since childhood, with Warhammer being his favourite, and says he spends several hundred pounds a year on them. In its 2023-2024 fiscal earnings, the company reported a net profit of GBP151 million and GBP526 million in revenue – all without taking on debt.
File photo shows a wargamer checks the range of attack of one of his models using a tape measure as he competes in the Warhammer 40,000 International Team Tournament held at Northampton County Cricket Ground in Northampton, north of London on February 27, 2022. PHOTO: AFP
All Games Workshop’s products are created and produced in-house, without third-party involvement, which helps the company boost margins.
The prospect of developing its licenses has also peaked investor interest, especially as the popularity of fantasy universes like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones has remained strong across the world.
“Games Workshop looks to have significant untapped potential in its intellectual property and fantasy worlds,” said Investment Director at AJ Bell Russ Mould.
“Globally, it has only just begun to explore market opportunities,” he added.
An agreement signed between Games Workshop and Amazon in 2022 aims to make films and series based on its futuristic Warhammer 40,000 universe – its golden goose.
Both companies agreed a deadline of December 31, 2024 to finalise the “creative guidelines” for the project, with news of the agreement expected before then. The project involves actor Henry Cavill, known for his roles in Superman and The Witcher. Licensing revenues were boosted this year by Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a video game developed by publisher Focus.
The game, which plunges futuristic soldiers into a space war against aliens, has 4.5 million players, making it one of the biggest video games of the year.
Founded in 1975 by three gaming enthusiasts, Games Workshop still designs its figurines in its headquarters in Nottingham, in the centre of England.
Its subsequent expansion into pop culture spans books and over more than 50 video games including strategy games as well as racing and sports games.
A huge network of stores around the world, including 500 in its own name, and passionate in-store staff have helped fuel its success, according to analysts.
The stores “recruit new players and customers from an early age”, said head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown Susannah Streeter.
“The science fiction and fantasy market is huge and Games Workshop keeps fans entertained every step of the way,” she added.
YANGON (XINHUA) – The 2024 Myanmar International Textile and Machinery Fair, held from December 6 to today in Yangon, brought together international and local businesses in the textile and garment industries.
The event is organised by the Chinese Textile & Garment Association in Myanmar and the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA).
The fair, which featured 20 Chinese brands and over 100 manufacturers from China of a variety of products in textiles, apparel, shoes and bags, provided a valuable opportunity for B2B matchmaking, enabling visitors to interact with exhibitors and explore commercial opportunities, the MGMA said.
It also allowed international companies to observe the craftsmanship and techniques of Myanmar’s local textile and garment factories, it said.
Visitors can observe colourful and sophisticated textile products, traditional techniques and modern innovations from made-in-Myanmar manufacturers, it added.
The fair also attracted participation from the Korea Garment Association in Myanmar and Hong Kong Myanmar Manufacturers’ Association Limited.
People visit an exhibition booth during the 2024 Myanmar International Textile and Machinery Fair in Yangon, Myanmar. PHOTO: XINHUA
A standout exhibitor, Hong Kong-based Lat War TSM Co Ltd presented advanced automatic garment machinery. Sales and Marketing representative from TSM Ko Aung said that the machine can produce more clothes with less human labour, boosting productivity for businesses.
“This event is a great platform to observe various garment-related innovation,” he said.
Owner of Royal Fashion and Garment Kyi Kyi Win expressed her satisfaction with the quality of Chinese-sourced fabrics. “I have ordered fabrics from China, and the quality is good.”
“This event allows me to promote my brand, connect with business partners, and explore new opportunities,” she said.
SUNTUK Myanmar Company Trading introduced two unique machines imported from China, a direct-to-print sticker-producing machine and laser textile cutting machine.
Sales and Marketing Manager at SUNTUK Hnin Nwe Tun explained the advantages of attending such events.
“It is a great chance to observe the latest machines and connect with others in the industry,” she noted.
KASHIMA (AP) – The signs at Nippon Steel read: “The world through steel”, underlining why Japan’s top steelmaker is pursuing its USD15 billion bid to acquire United States (US) Steel.
“We can’t expect demand in Japan to grow as the population is declining. We need to invest in production that leads to growth,” a company official Masato Suzuki said on Friday while giving reporters a look at a Nippon Steel plant in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Nippon Steel Corp has its eyes on India, Southeast Asia and the US, Suzuki said. About 70 per cent of the plant’s output is exported.
The Tokyo-based company remains optimistic, although the deal is opposed by President elect Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and American steelworkers.
During the tour, slabs of steel, glowing hot-orange at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, rolled through the cavernous plant to become giant spools of super-thin steel.
Nippon Steel officials didn’t disclose details of the fine technology they said the planned acquisition would offer US Steel.
A hot rolling mill at Nippon Steel’s Kashima Plant in Kashima, Japan. PHOTO: APThe United States Steel Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania. PHOTO: AP
Under the proposed deal, first announced in 2023, US Steel would keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, becoming a subsidiary of Nippon Steel.
Nippon Steel already has manufacturing operations in the US and Mexico, China and Southeast Asia. It supplies the world’s top automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp, and makes steel for railways, pipes, appliances and skyscrapers.
The American steel industry has waned as Chinese steelmakers have grown to dominate the market. Japan wants to leverage the decades-old US-Japan security and political alliance to seal the acquisition, but the outlook is uncertain.
In September, an arbitration board jointly chosen by US Steel and United Steelworkers decided the proposed acquisition could proceed. But United Steelworkers union, which has 1.2 million members, have objected, citing worries about job losses and contract terms.
The union has questioned Nippon Steel’s plans to transfer production locations and concerns about national security and domestic supply chains.
When asked for comment, it referred to a recent letter to its members.
“As a union, our primary concern is the future of our jobs and the communities we live and work in – not just this year, but also for the foreseeable future. We’ve seen job losses in the past, and we must do everything we can to avoid it in the future,” said the letter, co-signed by Mike Millsap, chairman of the negotiating committee, and its international president, David McCall.
“While Japan is a political ally, it is also an economic competitor, one that has proven time and again that it is willing to promote its steel industry at our expense,” the union said.
Nippon Steel is promising to “preserve the legacy” of US Steel and protect jobs, pensions and benefits, pledging that there will be no layoffs or plant closures.
The deal is expected to produce an economic boost for the region equivalent to nearly USD1 billion in the first two years, create up to 5,000 construction jobs and generate almost USD40 million in state and local taxes, according to Nippon Steel.
Professor of international relations and political science at Boston University William W Grimes said Nippon Steel’s commitment to keeping the US Steel factories running would help preserve US-based production of specialty steels. Nippon Steel also has also promised investments to make the factories more competitive.
There is no militarily sensitive technology Nippon Steel would be able to take from the US, and the US relies on steel produced in allied countries, including Japan, Grimes said.
“If Japanese companies do draw a lesson, it should be to engage unions and local politicians early in the process,” he said.
ROME (XINHUA) – Global food prices continued to rise in November, though the rate of increase slowed and prices for grains and cereals – the largest component in the index – actually fell.
The monthly index released on Friday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) saw significant gains in each of the previous three months and including November they had climbed in nine of the previous 10 months, driven by extreme weather in key growing areas and rising fuel and transportation costs.
But the increase in November was modest, 0.5 per cent, and mixed, with three of the five sub-indexes declining.
The biggest mover in the index was for vegetable oils, where prices climbed 7.5 per cent to their highest level in more than two years.
FAO said that prices for palm, rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils all climbed amid what is called “lingering concerns” about below average global supply due to intense rains in Southeast Asia and higher import demand.
A palm plantation. PHOTO: ENVATO
Dairy prices also rose, inching 0.6 per cent higher, driven by increased demand for milk powders, combined with lower production in Western Europe.
Those two increases were enough to offset decreases in all the other sub-indexes.
Prices for grains and cereals were 2.7 per cent below their levels from a month earlier and 8.0 per cent lower than in November 2023. FAO said that rice prices were 4.0 per cent lower based on increased market forces, while prices for wheat fell slightly.
Corn prices were stable while prices for barley and sorghum both saw minor declines.
FAO said that sugar prices were down by 2.4 per cent in November compared to October, giving back some of the gains from the previous two months. Meat prices, meanwhile, were 0.8 per cent lower.
The next installment of the monthly FAO index, which will close the book on global food prices in 2024, is scheduled to be released on January 3, 2025.
NEW YORK (AP) – United States (US) stocks rose to records on Friday after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 123.19 points, or 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 per cent to set its own record.
The quiet trading came after the latest jobs report came in mixed enough to strengthen traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. The report showed US employers hired more workers than expected last month, but it also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent.
“This print doesn’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track to deliver a cut in December,” according to head of multi-sector investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management Lindsay Rosner.
The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its two per cent target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation.
Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year. And the Fed is part of a global surge: 62 central banks have lowered rates in the past three months, the most since 2020, according to Michael Hartnett and other strategists at Bank of America.
A woman and a dog cross Wall Street in New York’s Financial District. PHOTO: AP
Still, the jobs report may have included some notes of caution for Fed officials underneath the surface.
Senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute Scott Wren pointed to average wages for workers last month, which were a touch stronger than economists expected. While that’s good news for workers who would always like to make more, it could keep upward pressure on inflation.
“This report tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” Wren said. So, while traders are betting on an 85 per cent probability the Fed will ease its main rate in two weeks, they’re much less certain about how many more cuts it will deliver next year, according to data from CME Group.
For now, the hope is that the job market can help US shoppers continue to spend and keep the US economy out of a recession that had earlier seemed inevitable after the Fed began hiking interest rates swiftly to crush inflation.
Several retailers offered encouragement after delivering better-than-expected results for the latest quarter.
Ulta Beauty rallied nine per cent after topping expectations for both profit and revenue. The opening of new stores helped boost its revenue, and it raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for sales over this full year.
Lululemon stretched 15.9 per cent higher following its own profit report. It said stronger sales outside the US helped it in particular, and its earnings topped analysts’ expectations.
Retailers overall have been offering mixed signals on how resilient US shoppers can remain amid the slowing job market and still-high prices. Target gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season, for example, while Walmart gave a much more encouraging outlook.
A report on Friday suggested sentiment among US consumers may be improving more than economists expected. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan’s survey hit its highest level in seven months. The survey found a surge in buying for some products as consumers tried to get ahead of possible increases in price due to higher tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened.
In tech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.6 per cent for one of the S&P 500’s larger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Tech stocks were some of the market’s strongest this week, as Salesforce and other big companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence (AI) boom.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 15.16 points to 6,090.27. The Dow dipped 123.19 to 44,642.52, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 159.05 to 19,859.77.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.15 per cent from 4.18 per cent late Thursday. In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3 per cent after French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to stay in office until the end of his term and to name a new prime minister within days. Earlier this week, far-right and left-wing lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion due to budget disputes, forcing Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet to resign.
In Asia, stock indexes were mixed. They rallied 1.6 per cent in Hong Kong and one per cent in Shanghai ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6 per cent as South Korea’s ruling party chief showed support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk-yeol after he declared martial law and then revoked that earlier this week. Yoon is facing calls to resign and may be impeached.
Bitcoin was sitting near USD101,500 after briefly bursting above USD103,000 to a record the day before.
BANGKOK (AP) – China is fine-tuning policies to rev up its economy as it braces for uncertain relations with the United States (US) under President-elect Donald Trump, giving manufacturers a 20 per cent made-in-China price advantage in sales to the Chinese government.
The moves come ahead of a top-level annual economic planning conference scheduled for next week that will help set China’s strategy for the coming year. The Ministry of Finance announced it is seeking public comment on the made-in-China plan until January 4.
To qualify, products have to be made entirely in China, from the raw materials stage to the finished products, it said, although some components must just meet standards for a share of domestic-based production.
Farm, forestry, minerals and fisheries products are excluded, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
Government procurement generally amounts to about 10 per cent or more of business activity in major economies.
Engineering vehicles for export wait for transportation from a port in Yantai in eastern China’s Shandong province. PHOTO: AP
Under the programme, companies will be given a 20 per cent price advantage, with the government making up the difference, part of a series of moves to underpin stronger sales that also includes promoting insurance underwriting and easier access to financing for e-commerce and small and mid-sized “little giants” and “hidden champions”.
Shares in China have surged this week on expectations that the planning meeting will yield more support for the slowing economy as a revival in exports helps to compensate for a sluggish property market and subdued consumer spending. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite index both gained more than two per cent this week.
Before that closed-door meeting convenes in Beijing, Premier Li Qiang is due to hold a conference with heads of 10 major international organisations including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, the Foreign Ministry said in a notice on its website.
The themes of the gathering focus on promoting “global common prosperity,” “upholding multilateralism” and making advances in China’s own reforms and modernisation, it said.
China’s leaders set a target for economic growth of “about five per cent” for this year.
In the first three quarters, growth averaged 4.8 per cent, and has gradually slowed.
Over the past few months, regulators have rolled out a slew of policies meant to help reverse the downturn in the housing market and encourage more spending by Chinese households that have been tightening purse strings since the pandemic.
LONDON (AP) – The sale of the Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper and a bastion of liberal values in Britain’s media landscape, was approved on Friday despite two days of strike action from journalists this week.
The Scott Trust, the owner of the Guardian Media Group, which includes the Observer and its sister paper the Guardian, said the sale to Tortoise Media is expected to be signed in the coming days.
The Scott Trust said it will invest in Tortoise Media, becoming a key shareholder, and take a seat on both its editorial and commercial boards.
Under the terms of the deal, Tortoise will invest GBP25 million (USD32 million) in the Observer, which was founded in 1791 and became part of the Guardian Media Group in 1993, and has committed to continue its Sunday print edition and build up its digital brand.
It has also committed to safeguarding journalistic freedom and the editorial independence of the Observer, undertaking to honour the “liberal values and journalistic standards” of the Scott Trust in its editorial code.
Tortoise was launched in 2019 by James Harding, a former editor of the London Times and Director of News at the BBC, and the former United States ambassador to London, Matthew Barzun.
A view of the offices of the Guardian and its sister paper, the Observer. PHOTO: AP
Harding said the Observer name represents “the best of liberal, pioneering journalism”, and promised readers that “we will do all we can to live up to its history as a defender of human dignity and to give it a new lease of life as a powerful, progressive voice in the world”.
Ole Jacob Sunde, who chairs the Scott Trust, said the Observer needed “an ally to be sufficiently funded, long-term in nature and respect editorial independence and liberal values”.
Journalists at both the Guardian, which publishes print editions between Monday and Saturday and has a deep digital footprint around the world, and the Observer, have protested the sale and went on a 48-hour strike on Wednesday and Thursday. Though the Guardian is clearly the bigger brand, especially in the digital space, the two newspapers had a very close relationship, operating from the same building in London and sharing resources.
“I recognise how unsettling this period has been for Observer staff but we’re confident we have agreed the best possible way forward for the title’s journalists, its readers and the future of both the Observer and the Guardian,” said Editor-in-Chief of Guardian News and Media Katharine Viner.
Members of the National Union of Journalists from both papers will meet to consider next steps, its general secretary-elect Laura Davison said. “The timing of the decision, before the end of two extremely well-supported days of action, is particularly shabby,” she said.
A partner at media and entertainment law firm Simkins LLP, Giao Pacey, said the Observer’s new leadership will have to be careful in safeguarding the value of the newspaper, which is intrinsically linked to its brand, established over centuries.
“Once the sale is completed, the leadership team will need to strike the right balance between preserving the legacy, culture and integrity of the business while ensuring that it has sufficient resources and support to thrive in a rapidly evolving market,” said Pacey.
