As the world mourns the loss of over 184 innocent lives in Haiti, we must redouble our efforts to support the country in its journey towards peace and prosperity. We must stand in solidarity with the Haitian people, offering our prayers, our assistance, and our unwavering commitment to building a better future for all.

In his youth, Buck was hailed as a prodigy, a literary wunderkind whose words danced off the page and captivated readers across the globe. His debut novel was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, propelling him to the forefront of the literary world and earning him accolades and awards that seemed to herald a bright and promising future. With his talent seemingly boundless and his potential limitless, Buck was poised to become a literary legend in the making.Hurricanes visit the Panthers in Eastern Conference action

Keir Starmer to unveil plan for change with tough new targets on NHS, crime and living standardsThe enforcement action against Wang Sicong's holding company comes as a significant blow to his business empire, which has been under scrutiny for its opaque ownership structures and potential regulatory violations. The mounting debt issues and enforcement actions have cast a shadow of uncertainty over the future prospects of his companies, prompting investors and stakeholders to reassess their positions.SAN DIEGO (AP) — With his stellar America’s Cup career behind him, Jimmy Spithill introduced his new Red Bull Italy SailGP Team on Thursday in Dubai just ahead of the opening regatta of the global league’s fifth season. Spithill, the team’s CEO and founder, pulled a major coup by hiring his old America’s Cup crewmate and fellow Australian, wing trimmer Kyle Langford, from the Australian team that dominated SailGP for the first three seasons. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.

In conclusion, the incident involving the mother and daughter carrying knives on the 12306 train serves as a reminder of the complex considerations involved in maintaining railway safety and security. Through ongoing dialogue and evaluation of existing policies, it is essential to enhance security measures while also addressing the practical needs of passengers. Only by striking a careful balance between these factors can railways continue to provide a safe and seamless travel experience for all.In addition to its physical benefits, standing on tiptoe can also have a positive impact on our mental and emotional well-being. The act of stretching and reaching upwards can help to release tension in the body, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. It can also improve posture and body awareness, allowing us to feel more connected to our bodies and more mindful of how we move throughout the day.

Inflation has U-turned north ... the risk of inflation derailing the bullish daisy chain ... consider trading today’s market ... the danger in comparison Many investors were too busy with Thanksgiving preparation to notice, but last Wednesday, we received an important inflation report that should be on your radar. Some in the financial media put a positive spin on it. For example, CNBC covered it with this headline, “Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rises 2.3% annually, meeting expectations.” While that’s true, there’s more to the story. Stepping back, I’m referencing October’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. And as a quick refresh, month-to-month PCE rose 0.2% and the year-over-year figure climbed 2.3%. As the CNBC headline suggested, these numbers matched consensus forecasts. So, what’s the issue? After all, 2.3% inflation isn’t too far north of the Fed’s stated goal of 2% inflation. Well, headline PCE is well below its high in 2022, and that’s certainly a good thing. But let’s fill in a few details... This core reading strips out volatile food and energy prices. The monthly and yearly readings for core PCE came in at 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively. So, October’s 2.8% reading means that inflation remains 40% above the Fed’s goal. Now, you might brush this off based on where core PCE stood at its high in 2022 (5.6%), concluding “We’ve come a long way. This is still a great reading.” But even if so, we have a second issue – direction. As you can see below, core PCE is U-turning north. Some might say that the curve is just barely lipping upwards. This is nothing to be concerned about. But that depends on what you find concerning. While the slope of the core PCE readings above might not represent a dramatic resurgence of inflation, it’s certainly not evidence of, to quote Jerome Powell, “a sustainable path back to 2 percent.” Here are the month-to-month readings for core PCE over the last six months. May: 0.1% June: 0.2% July: 0.2% August: 0.2% September: 0.3%. October: 0.3%. Where is the sustained downward progress? Today’s record-high prices don’t include any significant room for error. The prevailing bullish narrative can be summarized this way... Inflation is vanquished... so, the Fed will cut rates many times in 2025... which will bring much-needed relief to financially exhausted consumers... which will bolster corporate earnings... which will relieve nosebleed valuations that are currently in bubble territory... which will keep the stock market party going. But if inflation isn’t vanquished, this happy ending doesn’t materialize (or at least, not to the same degree). That would leave us with a stock market that looks very expensive relative to earnings. To illustrate this, let’s start by looking at the forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio. This shows what investors are paying today for what they believe will be earnings a year from now. According to data provider FactSet, today’s forward PE ratio is 22.0. Now, this level is already high all by itself. FactSet reports that the 5-year average reading is 19.6 and the 10-year average is 18.1. And keep in mind that this is based on expected earnings which represents optimistic earnings forecasts from excited analysts (if they were less excited, this metric would be even more expensive). Now, there is a valid case for this earnings excitement. Here in the Digest , we’ve profiled how Trump tax cuts and deregulation could cause an explosion in productivity that gooses earnings. But if growth and earnings don’t materialize, what we’re left with is a price for the S&P that’s leaning way out over its skis. For a sense of just how far out over its skis, let’s shift from the forward PE ratio to the Shiller PE ratio. This looks at what investors are paying relative to the average of the last 10 years’ worth of earnings. This smooths out short-term earnings fluctuations from different business cycles. We’re basically changing our analysis from “what we hope will happen,” to “what has already and is happening right now.” As you can see below, today’s Shiller PE ratio is basically tied for the second-highest valuation ever. So, why does the tiny little upswing in core PCE inflation matter? Because it jeopardizes the “priced for perfection” sequence of dominos that investors have already priced into the market. Our hypergrowth expert Luke Lango detailed the risk in one of his recent Daily Notes in Innovation Investor : Let’s say inflation pushes back above 3% and moves towards 4%. In that scenario, the Fed would stop cutting interest rates. They may even hike interest rates again. That means, in this hypothetical scenario, the 10-year Treasury yield could spike to 5% or more. The S&P 500 is trading at 23.5X forward earnings – among its richest valuations in history. Those valuation multiples on stocks will not be supported if the 10-year Treasury yield keeps spiking – meaning that, if we do get serious reinflation and yields spike, stock multiples will have to significantly drop. To be clear, Luke doesn’t believe this will happen, and it’s not his base case. But the most prepared investor is usually the most successful. So, as Luke is doing, it’s important that we look directly at this potential risk and plan accordingly. Regular Digest readers likely know what’s coming. This is the point at which we recommend you identify your conviction level for each stock in your portfolio... establish clear trailing-stop levels for all holdings you don’t own with ironclad conviction... mind your position sizes... but then remain with this bullish momentum until things change... While we stand by all that, let’s add two additional suggestions today... First, consider trading today’s market rather than adding to your buy-and-hold positions (unless those positions trade at attractive valuations). After all, the valuation of the average stock today doesn’t scream, “buy me for the long haul!” Trading can be an effective way to benefit from this bullish momentum while reducing the potential drawdown that might be lurking out ahead with a buy-and-hold approach. With this in mind, I’d like to introduce you to one of the most recent additions to our corporate family, Jeff Clark. Jeff is a 40-year market veteran who trades the markets regardless of direction – up, down, or sideways. Since Jeff’s team began tracking his trade results in 2005, he’s provided his subscribers with the opportunity to make triple-digit gains over 50 times and double-digit gains more than 160 times. To give you a better sense of Jeff and his trading approach, he recently sat down with our Editor-in-Chief Luis Hernandez for a short interview. You can watch it right here . They discuss Jeff’s philosophy... the specific pattern Jeff looks to drive his market moves (he calls it a “magic pattern”) ... and how limiting risk is an enormous part of his trading approach. Again, that interview is right here . By the way, just this morning, Jeff came out with a new position in his newsletter, Jeff Clark Trader . I’ll let him give you the overview: It’s a bad time to buy the banks. Indeed, the entire financial sector looks vulnerable to a decline. So, it’s probably a good time to add short exposure to the sector. It’s also worth noting that the bullish percent index for the financial sector (BPFINA) has been generating sell signals for the past few months. While none of the signals have led to a big decline yet, it is just a matter of time. Jeff’s new trade is a bet that banking is about to slide. For more of his analysis as a subscriber, click here to learn more about joining him . Check your motivation. Is your attention focused on your specific investment goals (and its related timeline)? Or is your focus drifting as parts of this market begin to melt up? A market like the one we’re in can be both fantastic and challenging – “fantastic” when our stocks are climbing... “challenging” when they’re not climbing as fast as other parts of the market that are in the headlines. Such FOMO-based comparison increases the odds of emotion-based market moves...which usually doesn’t end well. Warren Buffett had some blunt words about this years ago when interviewed on Charlie Rose: You can’t stand to see your neighbor getting rich. You know you’re smarter than he is, but he’s doing all these [crazy] things and getting rich ... so pretty soon you start doing it.... People don’t get smarter about things that get as basic as greed. Buffett’s late business partner, Charlie Munger, took it one step farther: The world is not driven by greed. It’s driven by envy. Bottom line: We’re in a bull market, so yes, we absolutely want to take advantage. But remember today’s valuation... remember the rosy assumptions underpinning bullish forecasts... and make sure you know how you’ll handle it whether this bull lasts another two years or two days. Have a good evening, Jeff Remsburg