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The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s daily MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Yusei Kikuchi is the latest ingredient in whatever the Angels are cooking up in Anaheim. Plus: Ken on the Braves’ payroll situation, the Royals solved a big problem and the time for robot umpires is very nigh. I’m Levi Weaver , here with Ken Rosenthal . Welcome to The Windup! Say what you will about the Angels (and I certainly have), but they’re having the most interesting offseason in baseball so far. Early this morning, news broke that they’re signing LHP Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year deal worth $63 million. He was ranked No. 14 on our Free Agent Big Board . The 33-year-old was brilliant last year after being traded to the Astros , going 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 games down the stretch to help Houston clinch another division title. If that’s the pitcher the Angels are signing, it’s a big move. Advertisement But he had also been 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in Toronto before the trade. 2021 (All-Star), 2022 (not great) and 2023 (very good) were also exercises in the margins. There’s always risk in signing pitchers, but I’ll give the Angels credit for this: They’re definitely trying something here. Consider these other moves from the Angels this offseason: The average age of these six acquisitions: 32.5 years old. But the Angels do have a core of young players, including Logan O’Hoppe (24), Nolan Schanuel (22) and Neto (23). There’s a world in which this offseason functions for Anaheim the way last year’s winter established some support beams around Bobby Witt Jr. and others. There’s also a world in which this breaks bad. But let’s see what else the Angels do. From my latest notes column : In years past, the Atlanta Braves might have offered Ramón Laureano a contract, even if it meant overpaying him by a million or two. But on Friday, the Braves parted with Laureano rather than offer him a one-year deal in arbitration — a move that, for a team already short on outfielders, came as somewhat of a surprise. Actually, the decision not to pay Laureano a projected salary in the $6 million range was consistent with how the Braves have operated all offseason. The team faces a considerable amount of uncertainty, from left-hander Max Fried and righty Charlie Morton possibly departing to righty Spencer Strider and right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. starting the season on the injured list to setup man Joe Jiménez potentially missing the entire year. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is trying to save wherever he can. While the Braves’ cash payroll might end up higher than it was last season, the team might be inclined to stay under the luxury-tax threshold after exceeding it the past two years. The threshold for 2025 is $241 million. The Braves, according to Fangraphs , are currently at $217 million. Consider Anthopoulos’ moves thus far: Laureano, released by the Cleveland Guardians on May 25, hit 10 home runs and had an .832 OPS in 226 plate appearances after joining the Braves. After Acuña, the only outfielders on the Braves’ 40-man roster are Michael Harris II , Jared Kelenic, Eli White , Luke Williams and the newly signed Carlos D. Rodriguez — not exactly a stellar group. But the free-agent class is deep in outfielders who might offer comparable production to Laureano at a lower price. Advertisement The Braves’ preference is for a left-handed hitter. But if the better fit is right-handed, so be it. The market includes numerous options beyond the four outfielders expected to command the biggest contracts (Juan Soto, Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández and Jurickson Profar). With Acuña expected to return a month or two into the season, the Braves need not shop at the high end. Anthopoulos typically addresses his offseason needs quickly. He figures to be aggressive in the starting-pitching market and possibly the relief market, too. But with the outfielders, he need not rush. The secondary options likely will need to wait for Soto and Co. to come off the board. And given the number that are available, bargains should eventually emerge. More here . Someone check on Kirk Herbstreit . On Friday, a year and a half after that interaction, Jonathan India — along with outfielder Joey Wiemer — was traded to the Kansas City Royals for RHP Brady Singer. As Keith Law points out , the calculus is pretty easy to suss out: The Reds needed a starting pitcher, and they had run out of at-bats to give India. Problem solved, I suppose. But man, I really like this trade for the Royals, for one reason in particular. Kansas City, as a team, got a .228 batting average ( 27th of 30 teams ) and a .270 on-base percentage (30th) from their leadoff hitters last year. India hit .236/.353/.384 (.737 OPS) from the leadoff spot. That’s not a huge improvement in batting average, but that’s more than 80 points better in the OBP column. Why is that a big deal? Because — as you might recall — Bobby Witt Jr. hits second in the Royals’ lineup. Fifty-six of his 82 career home runs have been solo shots, including 23 of his 32 last year (and 12 of his last 13). That’s to say nothing of Witt’s 11 triples and 45 doubles (for what it’s worth, India also stole 13 bases last year, and hit 28 doubles and two triples). Advertisement Defensively, the 27-year-old India has only played second base, and incumbent Michael Massey ’s .743 OPS was fourth-best on the team last year. Does one of them shift over to third base? Outfield? Kansas City will have to figure that out. But even as they authored a remarkable turnaround in 2024, the Royals lacked a table-setter ahead of Witt. India certainly seems to fit that bill. We’ve known this was on the horizon — this Evan Drellich article is from July 16 — but now we have a more firm date: MLB will test out its “ABS” (automated ball-strike) technology at select spring training parks in 2025. There have been a couple iterations of the system in the minor leagues. One had the umpires using it for every pitch, another gave teams two or three challenges per game. MLB teams will use the latter system in spring training. How it works: If a player believes that the umpire has missed a ball or strike call, they tap their head to signal a challenge. If they’re correct, the team maintains its challenge; if not, it loses it. For fans who view replay as a bothersome interruption: rest easy — while out-safe and other review calls are currently reviewed by a team of umpires looking at slow-motion video to determine the right call, ABS is pretty straightforward: Did the tracker have the ball in the zone or not? The entire process takes maybe 10 seconds. The big implication: If it goes well, there’s a chance that this system could find its way into regular-season MLB games as early as 2026. As expected, both Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were unanimous MVPs. It’s Ohtani’s third award (his first in the NL) and Judge’s second . The non-tender deadline was last week. Our team has a list of seven intriguing players who are now free agents as a result. The Yankees are pursuing Juan Soto, obviously. But Brendan Kuty says there should be some limitations to their pursuit. Advertisement After a decade in the Giants org, Alyssa Nakken — the first woman to coach on the field in a regular-season MLB game — is moving to a player development role with the Guardians. Jayson Stark answered a lot of your questions about this year’s Hall of Fame class. A handshake agreement with the Dodgers ? Roki Sasaki’s agent says that’s not the case . 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic ’s other newsletters . (Top photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images )

Some quotations from Jimmy Carter: We have a tendency to exalt ourselves and to dwell on the weaknesses and mistakes of others. I have come to realize that in every person there is something fine and pure and noble, along with a desire for self-fulfillment. Political and religious leaders must attempt to provide a society within which these human attributes can be nurtured and enhanced. — from 1975 book “Why Not the Best?” Our government can express the highest common ideals of human beings — if we demand of government true standards of excellence. At this Bicentennial time of introspection and concern, we must demand such standards. — “Why Not the Best?” I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry. — “Why Not the Best?” Christ said, “I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery.” I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. This is something that God recognizes I will do — and I have done it — and God forgives me for it. But that doesn’t mean that I condemn someone who not only looks on a woman with lust but who leaves his wife and shacks up with somebody out of wedlock. — Interview, November 1976 Playboy. This inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication within our Government, and a new spirit among us all. A President may sense and proclaim that new spirit, but only a people can provide it. — Inaugural address, January 1977. It’s clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper — deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation and recession. ... All the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with America. ... It is a crisis of confidence. — So-called “malaise” speech, July 1979. But we know that democracy is always an unfinished creation. Each generation must renew its foundations. Each generation must rediscover the meaning of this hallowed vision in the light of its own modern challenges. For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival; liberty is human rights; the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants. — Farewell Address, January 1981. We appreciate the past. We are grateful for the present and we’re looking forward to the future with great anticipation and commitment. — October 1986, at the dedication of the Carter Presidential Library and Museum. War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. — December 2002, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Fundamentalists have become increasingly influential in both religion and government, and have managed to change the nuances and subtleties of historic debate into black-and-white rigidities and the personal derogation of those who dare to disagree. ... The influence of these various trends poses a threat to many of our nation’s historic customs and moral commitments, both in government and in houses of worship. — From 2005 book “Our Endangered Values.” I think that this breakthrough by Barack Obama has been remarkable. When he made his speech (on race) a few months ago in Philadelphia, I wept. I sat in front of the television and cried, because I saw that as the most enlightening and transforming analysis of racism and a potential end of it that I ever saw in my life. — August 2008, commenting on then-Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy. I think it’s based on racism. There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president. ... No matter who he is or how much we disagree with his policies, the president should be treated with respect. — September 2009, reacting to Rep. Joe Wilson’s shout of “You lie!” during a speech to Congress by President Barack Obama. I’m still determined to outlive the last guinea worm. — 2010, on The Carter Center’s work to eradicate guinea worm disease. You know how much I raised to run against Gerald Ford? Zero. You know how much I raised to run against Ronald Reagan? Zero. You know how much will be raised this year by all presidential, Senate and House campaigns? $6 billion. That’s 6,000 millions. — September 2012, reacting to the 2010 “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting unlimited third-party political spending. I have become convinced that the most serious and unaddressed worldwide challenge is the deprivation and abuse of women and girls, largely caused by a false interpretation of carefully selected religious texts and a growing tolerance of violence and warfare, unfortunately following the example set during my lifetime by the United States. — From 2014 book “A Call to Action.” I don’t think there’s any doubt now that the NSA or other agencies monitor or record almost every telephone call made in the United States, including cellphones, and I presume email as well. We’ve gone a long way down the road of violating Americans’ basic civil rights, as far as privacy is concerned. — March 2014, commenting on U.S. intelligence monitoring after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks We accept self-congratulations about the wonderful 50th anniversary – which is wonderful – but we feel like Lyndon Johnson did it and we don’t have to do anything anymore. — April 2014, commenting on racial inequality during a celebration of the Civil Rights Act’s 40th anniversary. I had a very challenging question at Emory (University) the other night: “How would you describe the United States of America today in one word?” And I didn’t know what to say for a few moments, but I finally said, “Searching.” I think the country in which we live is still searching for what it ought to be, and what it can be, and I’m not sure we’re making much progress right at this moment. — October 2014 during a celebration of his 90th birthday. The life we have now is the best of all. We have an expanding and harmonious family, a rich life in our church and the Plains community, and a diversity of projects at The Carter Center that is adventurous and exciting. Rosalynn and I have visited more than 145 countries, and both of us are as active as we have ever been. We are blessed with good health and look to the future with eagerness and confidence, but are prepared for inevitable adversity when it comes. — From 2015 book, “A Full Life.”Helping to drown out the noise

A SCOTS teacher has been found safe and well after police launched an urgent appeal for his whereabouts. Leonard McKague, 62 - the longest-serving member of staff at St Aidan’s High School in Wishaw, Lanarkshire - vanished on Saturday afternoon. 1 Leonard McKague was last seen on Saturday afternoon He was last seen about 2pm on Strathaven Road, Strathaven, Lanarkshire and had not been in contact with his family since then. After a frantic search, police confirmed on Sunday evening Leonard had been found safe and well. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Leonard McKague, 62, who was reported missing Strathaven has been traced safe and well. "Thank you to everyone who shared our earlier appeal." read more scottish news SNOW ALERT Exact date major snow blizzards to hit Scotland as grim New Year warning issued 'CHILLING' Seven paedos preyed on Celtic Boys Club starlets in nightmare two-year period Leonard is listed on LinkedIn as Faculty Head of Computing, Business , Design & Vocational Technology at the well-known school. The school celebrated its 60th anniversary last year with Mr McKague honoured as its longest-serving teacher. Former pupils of the school include snooker world champion John Higgins and Scotland footballers Joe Jordan and Stephen O’Donnell.Update on the rights issue following the receipt of a non-binding offer from the French State to acquire the Advanced Computing activities

Notable quotes by Jimmy CarterNotable quotes by Jimmy Carter

Mcap of 6 of top-10 most valued firms climbs Rs 86,847.88 cr; HDFC Bank, RIL biggest gainersRaiders find winning formula again in topping Saints

Leadership ethics template for reinventing Akinyele era of civil service in NigeriaBill Oxford Listen here or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify Jonathan Faison shares his approach to investing in biotech, the 'riskiest' sector (1:35). Recent lows and seeing through the volatility (4:10). Sector winners (9:20). Do sector ETFs make sense? (21:00) Updates on Sutro Biopharma and Voyager Therapeutics (24:15). Learn more about Jonathan's ROTY Biotech Community Transcript Rena Sherbill: Jonathan Faison, welcome to Investing Experts. Welcome to the Podcast. It's great to have you on the show. Jonathan Faison : Hey, thanks. Happy to be here, Rena. RS : It's nice to have you on talking biotech , a sector we sometimes talk about, but not enough, especially for those invested in the sector, I bet feeling that way. You run an investing group on Seeking Alpha called ROTY Biotech Community . I'm interested how you would articulate for our listeners how you approach the biotech part of things and how you approach the sector. JF : So it's notorious that biotech is probably the riskiest sector in the market. So we have the highest upside potential in terms of when you get the story right, when a company's drug gets to market and is sold, lots of buyouts occur. So that's part of the appeal is waking up and seeing one of your holdings bought out by a larger pharmaceutical company. But on the converse side, there's a lot of stories out there that are zero or hero. And what I mean by that is if the company reports negative clinical results, especially if that's their only asset, they can lose 90% or more of their value in one day. So in my 20s, I did a lot more catalyst trading, which was focusing on these specific readouts. Very thankful for how that worked out, the highs and the lows. It was successful in the early days of ROTY. We started the biotech service in 2018. And around 2021 to ‘22 when the biotech bear market started, I realized, it's adapt or die, especially in this type of market and realized that looking at multi-year clinical and commercial momentum was more the direction I wanted to go in. So that's what we focus on now is stories, these situations where its heads win big when things go well over a multi-year timeframe. For example, where is the pipeline going? Where is the product launch going 2025 to 2026, for example? And on the downside, trying to capture downside as much as possible, derisking via multiple drug candidates, shots on goal, cash position, proof of concept data sets, et cetera. So we're trying to find those situations where the risk reward profile is very asymmetric. Not all of them will work out, but the idea being if you have a high batting average, more of them will work out than not. And looking back over the past year or two, you'll be happy where your portfolio has gone. So that's it in a nutshell. RS : I want to pick at the specific names a little bit, but I'm curious, given that we're coming off of lows that we haven't seen in a few years out of the biotech sector and speaking to that volatility and low lows, how do you encourage investors to see through it? Is it just that? Is it picking out the winners in the industry? Is it picking out the ones that are going to see it through the best possible chance - or at least have the best possible chance to do so? Is that the way to see through the volatility? JF : Before I say see through the volatility , one thing I like to say is we're pretty transparent with winners and losers. And so if this call had taken place, I guess it was like two weeks ago, or a week ago, even the ( XBI ) was at new 52-week highs around 104. So if this call had happened then I would have been more, I don't want to say cheerleading, but the portfolio was up 43% for the year. And at highs, you're feeling pretty good about yourself, much like any investor. And then over the last week, it's been nothing but red in the XBI. So it's fallen from 104 below all major moving averages, the 20, the 15, the 200-day. And so the 43% year-to-date gain has fallen to 25%. So it's never fun to see that type of erosion giving gains back to the market. But yeah, exactly what you said, I tend to focus more on individual companies, individual stories, where the pipeline and the commercial momentum is going over the next year to two, for example, three to five-year timeframe. So when you do that, you're able to take advantage of weakness, volatility, prioritize which setups are looking the strongest or the most undervalued. A lot of these commercial setups, for example, I'll look at them when they're valued at an enterprise value of one times peak sales. So if the company, for example , their drug candidate is approved, much like, let's say, SpringWorks Therapeutics ( SWTX ), Ogsiveo, if it's a $1 billion peak sales potential and at one point the enterprise value is trading at or below that that sets you up. It doesn't mean you're going to win, but you're setting yourself up in a high probability scenario, where over the next couple of years there's a lot higher probability it works out than it doesn't assuming your due diligence is correct. So trying to find more of those setups in our sweet spot where they're priced cheaply relative to peak sales, generally approved drugs or late stage. Personally, my track record in preclinical to early stage clinical is mediocre at best. So I tend to focus on late stage and commercial. RS : Is it your opinion that the decline recently in biotech has to do with more of the macro picture and who's in government ? Do you subscribe to that idea? JF : To be honest, I leave that to smarter minds. There's definitely the political and regulatory uncertainty who are we going to be put in charge of the FDA , health services, et cetera. There's also the inflation worries where you're starting to see that come back up again. So one of my biggest messages to people is simply, yes, there's opportunity here, but also don't be a hero. Some people will go all in on either specific stock picks or their exposure to biotech or another sector for that matter. And so don't being a hero means, I mean, keeping your exposure to a level that you can sleep well at night. So some of the guys in our chat, if they are, for example, retirees, maybe they have 5% of their portfolio in biotech. So if it does really well, that gives the portfolio a boost. And if it's a rough period, they have their other lower risk areas of their investments to help balance that out. So for me, I, for example, mentioned the one-to-one rule for myself personally, which is for every new dollars I'm depositing to my investment accounts, every $1 in biotech is balanced out with my low-risk bucket, whether that's dividend indexed funds, et cetera. So those are ways to help manage your emotion and make sure you have a system in place and get rid of that gambler mentality. RS : What guides you as you're looking for these opportunities? Are there specific metrics that you're paying attention to? What are the benchmarks that you're looking for along the way? JF : Sure. It's more each day, I'm regularly scanning the charts, whether it's gainers or losers, I'm checking the news. And most of the time, it'll turn up dry, when we can even have dry periods of a month or two where I have no new ideas. And maybe that's something that sets ROTY apart in terms of, I know the industry is about publishing more material, but I only publish when I have something worth saying. I don't want to waste people's time. So when we're looking at opportunities, it's more – I'll listen to more calls. Like recently we had the Jefferies and the Stifel healthcare conference. And if you listen to a story where it sounds like the thesis is firing on all cylinders, it's especially compelling, then that's something to dig deeper. And then you compare that to, like we said, valuation of 1 to 1.5x peak sales versus the enterprise value. That's just a sweet spot for me personally. Like I'm again, trying to find these situations where there's high upside potential, but your risk is capped as much as possible. It doesn't mean I won't have my binary losers. Landmines happen in biotech, but at least you're trying to reduce that as much as possible. RS : So who are the names that you're looking at right now? Who has you the most excited as you're looking across the sector? JF : I'm glad you mentioned that. A recent winner that we still own 8% of the portfolio in, I've taken partial profits twice on the way up, but it's still firing on all cylinders, is Tarsus Pharmaceuticals ( TARS ). Tarsus, they have their lead drug, XDEMVY, which is for a very non-sexy indication of Demodex blepharitis, which are basically the mites on your eyelids. So there are a few off-label treatments there. People thought the XDEMVY would not do well in launch. We got in when the early metrics were positive. So that was a fun run from $15 to say $40, mid-40s currently. And one would think, oh, that's actually, all the upside has been had, but it's actually, let's see, $1.8 billion market cap. So around $1.5 billion or so enterprise value. And so what's interesting is that's still only 1x to 1.5x peak sales. So that's one of those stories where thesis is firing on all cylinders, all the launch metrics are set to accelerate into 2025. So the remaining position just holding patiently. As far as one that is maybe more applicable to investors wanting to get in on the early stage, it would be SpringWorks Therapeutics ( SWTX ). That's currently my number one holding around 13% of the portfolio. And what's fun there is Ogsiveo is getting launched. It's about one year into launch for the indication of desmoid tumors, these slow-growing tumors that cause pain, they cause – they impact the range of motion for these patients. There's been nothing approved. So in the past, it would be doctors in watch and wait mode to see when they had to intervene. There would be chemo, treatment with TKIs, nothing particularly good. And Ogsiveo got approved, the long-term open label data shows patients on drug for up to four years, at least three. So you'll have that stacking effect over time as it gets launched. The ICD-10 claims codes just came out over 10,000 unique claims in under a year. So as management noted in their Q3 call, the denominator, the addressable market is larger than they had anticipated. Over 90% of doctors are saying, they will use the drug again. 90% say they will use it in frontline. Ogsiveo already has 70% market share of any new prescription for desmoid tumors. They're only 10% penetrated already at $200 million to $250 million annualized run rate. And so it's just a very interesting story still. Let me pull that up on the valuation. But what's interesting is even though it's rebounded from the high-20s, it's still only at $37 a share. I'm trying to remember the cash position on hand, but even if it's around maybe $2.3 billion or so enterprise value, that's versus a $1 billion estimated peak sales and that's conservative for Ogsiveo, I think personally it's closer to $1.5 billion and they have Mirdametinib for NF1-PN indication, which should be approved. It has a priority review with a PDUFA date in February of next year. So next year, the company has three launches planned: European Union launch for Ogsiveo, U.S. launch for Mirdametinib, and the ex-U.S. launch for Mirdametinib in the second half of next year. So Blueprint Medicines ( BPMC ) was a winner for us earlier this year that has sold. And it was a similar situation where valuation stays low at first because it's cloudy, you don't know how the launch metrics are going to look out of the gate. And as they get more clarity, patients stacking, staying on treatment longer, that's when the market tends to reward these stories. It tends to be skeptical, prove it to me mode. And so Q3 call for SpringWorks Therapeutics strengthened the thesis for me for the reasons I mentioned before. And so it's still very early stages for people. I've stated before buying it below $40, it's at 37, if you're looking at the 2025 to 2026 timeframe. So those are examples of stories we look for where a thesis is firing on all cylinders. And it's funny, I keep getting questions from investors like, okay, now that the Q3 call has come out, what's your updated trade plan? And I've stated that my goal is to be boringly predictable, boringly profitable. And so here too, I just hold patiently as long as the valuation is reasonable and the story is going in the right direction, so I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here. RS : Would you say the risks there are in the unknown? Like waiting for more data to come out? JF : For Ogsiveo, I'd say there's less data risk because we already have open label extension data. For Mirdametinib, it is a PDUFA date in February with priority review, but with the FDA, anything is possible. So even if I put that, let's say, 80% or 90% chance of being approved, there's still that 10% chance, there's something manufacturing-related or what have you. So regulatory uncertainty is always possible. For Mirdametinib, they're going up against AstraZeneca ( AZN ) which is a much larger company as you can imagine, big pharma. AstraZeneca's drug, Koselugo, is only approved in the pediatric indication for children, which is just one quarter of the NF1-PN market, and they are going to get approved in adult. But after SpringWorks who has the lead there, SpringWorks, their drug looks to have the edge on efficacy also lower incidence of Grade 3 events. With Koselugo, they're already losing half of their patients within a year due to tolerability issues among others. So there's definitely the opportunity for switch, but you're definitely right. It's always whenever a small company is going up against big pharma , that is a cause for concern. That is a risk factor because one has a lot better infrastructure and unlimited resources versus a small company. RS : I'm curious, and you don't have to have an opinion on this because it's not your area of focus, but psychedelics are a part of the market that we've covered before on the podcast and we cover on the Cannabis Investing Podcast . And speaking to the point of like unknowns and waiting for pipelines to develop and the unknowability of the FDA and where their decisions may or may not fall and haven't fallen when it comes to psychedelics, any thoughts about how investors should be thinking about either that part of the market or the more unknown or less developed kind of columns within the biotech sector? JF : That's definitely not an area that I've been looking in recently, just because most of the ones that are interesting to me are early stage, so I have to wait. There's that thing I like to say, there's a lot of companies that are in the science project phase, and that's where they're throwing a drug candidates against the wall in preclinical Phase 1 and seeing where it sticks. And so with psychedelics, there's definitely some really good data out there, mushrooms, et cetera, but you had to have to see that replicated in either Phase 2, Phase 3 placebo-controlled studies. Also, like you said, the unknowns there as far as the scheduling, what class, what type of restrictions are going to be on the label, et cetera, that's a little bit outside my wheelhouse. So if something looks like a coin flip to me, that's not enough, I have to have as many factors in my favor as possible. But that said, definitely for investors who are interested in those high risk, high reward plays, it can make sense. I'm just not a fan of lottery tickets personally. That reminds me of Leap Therapeutics, ( LPTX ), which a lot of guys in our chat like. And what's interesting is they have a buy-in from Pfizer ( PFE ) who owns part of the company. They have a readout in colorectal cancer middle of next year. They also have a preclinical drug candidate targeting GDF-15, which could be used for cachexia in cancer. And so it has a very minuscule enterprise value. And if you're right, that could be five-bagger, 10-bagger, et cetera. But I have questions on the intellectual property of their lead candidate, et cetera. So it's just as with psychedelics, as with other areas, if there's too many unknowns, those will stay on my radar, but they're not investable for me personally, just because I need as much derisking and downside cushion as possible to make me feel comfortable. RS : Why focus specifically on biotech? I'm curious. JF : That's a great question. When I started investing in 2008, tried many different strategies, different sectors, whether it was tech, real estate, you name it, dividend, metals and mining. Biotech from, I think, a reason a lot of us are in it is because of intellectual curiosity too. You're always reading about the latest studies, treatments being involved in some way for advancing and bettering the care for these patients, whether it's curing patients, whether it's extending lives or making them better. Each of us has personal stories in our families too, whether it's somebody we've known who's had cancer or Alzheimer's or Parkinson, you name it. I also had a fire lit under me. I think this sector, for many people we feel as outsiders, if it's not our background in the medical arena, that it's only for specialists. And to be fair, it is in a way. But that's not to say that people on main street, the rest of us can't have success there. When I started writing articles on Seeking Alpha, one thing I really appreciated was the comments. I was just sharing my ideas. I never expected anything bigger to come up from it much less having an investment service. But what I really enjoyed was the comments. Many of them were brutal. They were from whether doctors or other people in specific spaces I was discussing. And when I said, hey, here's the investment opportunity, they would respond in the comments actually, no, here's how I prescribe it in my practice, or here are some aspects of the bear thesis that you're overlooking. And so that kind of lit a fire under me to learn more. And also I had quite a few mistakes that should have been account ending along the way, whether it was binary blow ups or I didn't have much in the way of risk management, for example, my maximum portfolio weighting rule currently is to make sure I combat that gambling mentality. So for commercial stage biotech, the maximum I can own no matter how much I love the company is 10% of the portfolio. And for clinical stage, it's 5%. And so rules like that, everything I learned along the way is hopefully to help other investors not go through everything I did, accelerate their learning curve. And that's what I love about our chat is we have over 500 investors, some of them are veterans, been doing this 20-plus years, others are newbies, but we're all sharing what we're learning together and helping each other out. That can be good during the hot streaks, people to keep us level headed. And when things are pretty rough, and you're just trying to hang in there, like the current downturn in biotech, it's nice to have other people speak into your portfolio, life, tell you what you can do better, where to improve. And so investing is not meant to be a solo sport, in my opinion. RS : Yeah, I like that you have community built into the name. One of my favorite things of Seeking Alpha, and you spoke to this just now, is the level of commenting on the site. It furthers the conversation and deepens the conversation. And community, it's often talked about in a very trite way, but if done correctly, when done correctly, avails us all to exponential growth and awareness. So kudos for highlighting that part of things. I'm curious what you think of ETFs in the space and who those make sense for, and do they make sense for certain investors? JF : Oh, without a doubt, they make sense for investors. Just like Warren Buffett said, a lot of people would be better off in index funds, putting their money away and not having to think about it, so they can focus on their daily lives, the things that are important to them. My father, for example, he invests a lot in cash value life insurance. And so some people would make fun of him because, oh, it's only a 5% return a year. And maybe one year his friends do really well on Apple ( AAPL ) and they're kind of laughing your 5% doesn't look so well. But when the market is down 40%, that 5% return is looking pretty nice. And so same thing applies to biotech ETFs. If a person wants, let's say, 3% of their overall portfolio in biotech and they don't want to pick the winners and have to decide which ones are going to be winners, losers, it can make sense to find the ETF that's right for you, have that exposure, and not have to think about it. So 100% agree. Another way to do that, which some people do in chat, is they will have only a handful of biotechs. So they'll own mainly ETFs or dividend indexed funds or other funds of other sorts, and they'll only own maybe three to five biotech stocks. So definitely should be a number that you can follow easily that should not affect your life that you should have to be staring at a screen the entire time. For me personally, my sweet spot is around 15 stocks, 15 companies that I can follow relatively closely. For other people that might be three to five And for others, it definitely makes sense to save yourself the hassle and the headache because it's definitely takes effort to find the winners. For us, I feel that it's worth it when we do well. But if you're not willing to put in that effort, definitely makes sense to do indexed funds and that way you don't have to put in that time and effort that maybe is better used elsewhere. So definitely we should tell that as it is. RS : Anything specific to note about the various ETFs or anything you would highlight or make note of there? JF : Nothing off the top of my head, but you do look at the top 10 holdings and see if you agree with those for the most part, because those are the higher percentages of the portfolio. Also, what's the maximum weighting they allow for each holding, so you know how exposed you are to individual company risk. And then lastly, of course, compare the prices, the annual cost of each one. And that applies not only to ETFs, but I would also argue investment services, charting tools that investors use, including ROTY Biotech Community. You have to look at the price of the service and determine if that adds enough value for you because every investor, whether they have, let's say, a $10,000 portfolio, 50, 100, a million, whatever it is, one of the very few things we can control as investors is keeping our costs down. So I try to own only services, whether charting or news feeds, et cetera, that add the most value for me, give me the biggest bang for my buck. Otherwise it's a paralysis by analysis, you're reading too much. So that applies to my service and any other tools that people use. RS: I'm curious the last couple of stocks that you wrote about on Seeking Alpha on the free side. I'm curious if you have any updates to give on Sutro Biopharma ( STRO ) or Voyager Therapeutics ( VYGR ). Any thoughts there? JF : Not really. Let me pull those up. But Sutro was one, the ADC, antibody-drug conjugate space. It has been pretty lucrative. Last year, we owned ImmunoGen, which was a full-size position in the portfolio and got bought out by AbbVie ( ABBV ). So I've been wanting to try to find more players in that space. Sutro, I wanted to reevaluate because it was trading at negative enterprise value below the value of its cash. The problem for me was the ovarian cancer space was too crowded. There's something like eight to 10 new therapies in late-stage development. ImmunoGen is already approved in the folate receptor alpha ADC, and it has a next-generation one for the lower expressors. So I'm really struggling to see the white space or open space for Sutro. So their next-generation candidates in the pipeline look interesting, but were too early stage for me. Voyager Therapeutics likewise, as we talked about, was at that science project phase of development. There's some interesting gene therapy programs. They are licensing out their vectors to big pharma. So both of those are situations where, hey, if it works out, that could be a big gainer. But they're not for me either because of being too early stage, I don't see clear paths to market as of yet. Sutro's lead program, Luvelta could be an example of a program that could be high probability of clinically successful meaning they have a positive Phase 3 readout and it gets approved. But just because a drug gets approved doesn't mean it's going to be successful commercially. Some of these readouts, I'm usually, I'll put it this way, my number one priority is trades for the portfolio. And I only trade two to four days per month. When I'm not trading, I'm writing down rough drafts of thesis of each investment idea. I have a playbook on my phone, which is where I order by priority which companies I would move dollars into a new position when they free up. And when there are no trades on radar, those dry periods is when I'm able to write full sized company articles like Sutro, like Voyager. And even if they're not up to investment quality for us, they're not currently candidates, I think it helps us to sharpen ourselves as investors to do that deeper due diligence, digging through the quarterly filings, the annual filings, listening to presentations, something we should be doing for all names. I wish I had the time to publish more of these articles. And hopefully in the future, I will during those dry periods, but they definitely come second to trades. RS : You mentioned some of your data sources. Do you have any favored ones or you feel like too many people overlook them as sources of data? JF : I mean, the Seeking Alpha healthcare news is one – is a freebie. When in doubt, I always tell people start with the free resources first, see if that satisfies your need, whether it's charts, whether it's news, et cetera. And then from there, if you feel like you need more, if you want premium articles, et cetera, that's when you work your way up. So for me, I also use The Fly on The Wall. That's a premium news source. I've been using that four-plus years. So I got grandfathered in it early on. So for me, again, the way I don't get that paralysis by analysis is I'll check it pre-market just to see whether it's new data or quarterly reports, or et cetera, something that sticks out to me and I'll check it post-market just for the same reason anybody's reported new news, new data, et cetera. But those kind of scans really don't take that long, let's say, 15 minutes, and either something jumps out to you for further due diligence where it doesn't. So same thing goes for charting tools. Whether you're looking at on a day where the biotech sector is really red, let's say, it's down 2%. I'll often look at the gainers, for example, and see which companies are holding water or showing stability even in this tough environment. And if there's something, a chart that looks particularly constructive, whether they're showing strength in the face of weakness or at least showing stability, then I'll quickly look through their corporate presentation or the most recent quarterly report. If it looks compelling, then dig deeper into the recent webcasts, investment presentations, et cetera. So, each company pretty quickly, you can tell within 10 or 15 minutes, if there's something there that merits that deeper type of due diligence, and you want to only do the deeper due diligence where it's merited. And even there, most will not work out or meet your investment criteria, but those that do make it worth it. So that's why it's really important to know what you're looking for and to have a clear idea of whether something meets your selection criteria or not. Otherwise, it's kind of like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I'll be mulling over an idea, trying to make it fit my criteria, accelerating clinical and commercial momentum over the next few years, having a strong balance sheet, having a management team that continually executes, that under promises and over delivers, et cetera. But if you don't find that, you shouldn't force it. Forced trades are where I make those unforced errors, those mistakes that could be avoided. And the way you can avoid that is only trade when you have a crystal clear rationale for why you are buying a new position or adding to an existing one, if that makes sense. RS : Yeah, definitely. I think a good rule of thumb across life is don't force things. It's almost never a good idea. JF : Well said, well said. RS : Anything that we left out of this conversation? Anything else that you feel is worthy of investors' attention at this point, be it stocks or things to pay attention to, or things not to pay attention to? JF : I guess I'd reemphasize, and I don't want this to come across as a marketing pitch, but the importance of having a community, whether you find a few other traders and investors on X or Twitter, however, you call it these days, there's a great community there. If you can tune out the bad actors and focus on ones that resonate with you, or whether like ROTY Biotech Community, whatever it is. I learned everything the hard way. And also, I had a lot of mistakes that could have easily been avoided if I had veterans, had other people to help accelerate my learning curve. So, however you find that, it's important to not do it on your own, both to accelerate your learning curve and to help keep you humble during the high periods and to help keep you going during these tough times like the ( XBI ) currently, like the sector currently. So that's something I would reemphasize. The last thing I would say is when I built the service, when I started, I was an investor in 2008. I tried a lot of premium services and there were different things I liked, I didn't like, et cetera. So we built chat that way to kind of like asking myself, what would I like if I were somebody starting out? So we have main chat. We have commentary for me, which is basically like a channel where it's a direct conversation, letting people read what's going on in my mind, what I'm looking at, et cetera. We have a real-time trades channel, which I really like because of its actionability, where traders and investors are sharing what stocks they're buying in real-time and why. We have a top five holdings channel, where people are sharing their top five holdings in their portfolio and again why they own them. We even have a non-biotech channel covering other sectors, including crypto et cetera, technicals and indicators of people sharing charts and what they're looking at. So again, the whole idea of being learning from others, sharing your ideas together, we all have something to contribute with whether you're just entering for the first time or you've been doing this for a couple of decades. But again, going back to the main point, whether here or on X, Twitter, et cetera, surround yourself with a good community and that will greatly increase your probability of being long-term profitable. RS : Yeah, good stuff, Jonathan. Appreciate this conversation. Looking forward to another one soon, I hope. For those looking for more community or more insight into the community, it's ROTY Biotech Community on Seeking Alpha. It's Jonathan Faison on Seeking Alpha for those who want some free articles before paying for stuff. Appreciate this conversation, Jonathan, and also special Black Friday 20% off sale, as long as we're plugging away. Let's plug it right. Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Matteo Colombo Investment Thesis In the last six months, consensus Wall Street earnings revisions for the 100 components in the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( NYSEARCA: SCHD ) have improved dramatically, rising in rank to #1/114 in the large-cap value category from #75 Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of SCHD, SPY either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Former Uvalde schools police chief loses bid to toss criminal charges related to 2022 shootingApple's first foldable iPhone likely in 2026Sernova Corp. ( TSE:SVA – Get Free Report )’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.21 and last traded at C$0.22, with a volume of 196750 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.22. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms recently commented on SVA. Ventum Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Sernova to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Ventum Financial cut their price target on shares of Sernova from C$3.00 to C$2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Leede Financial decreased their price objective on Sernova from C$3.00 to C$1.50 and set a “speculative buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Read Our Latest Report on Sernova Sernova Price Performance Sernova Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Sernova Corp. operates as a clinical-stage regenerative medicine therapeutics company in Canada. The company focuses on the development and commercialization of regenerative medicine therapeutics, including its proprietary Cell Pouch and associated technologies consisting of therapeutic cells and local cellular immune protection. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Sernova Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sernova and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

By Milana Vinn (Reuters) – Lumen Technologies has kicked off a process to sell its consumer fiber operations, as the telecommunications company looks to phase out its legacy mass markets business and reduce its sizable debt pile, according to people familiar with the matter. The move to offload the fiber business, which provides high-speed internet services to residential customers, comes as Lumen is doubling down on the artificial intelligence boom to power its near-term growth, while grappling with a rapid decline in sales and profits from its legacy business. Monroe, Louisiana-based Lumen is working with investment bankers at Goldman Sachs to gauge interest for the business from potential acquirers that include industry rivals, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is confidential. Lumen could also choose to sell a stake in the fiber unit or sign a joint-venture deal with a strategic partner, the sources said, adding that the talks are at an early stage and a deal is not guaranteed. The company has been exploring options for the mass markets business, which houses the fiber operations, since earlier this year. At the Bank of America Leveraged Finance Conference earlier this month, Lumen Chief Financial Officer Chris Stansbury said the fiber business was “a great asset, but an asset that is probably better suited in somebody’s hands that has a wireless offering.” Any deal would require Lumen to split up its fiber business, which also offers internet services to large enterprise customers, the sources said, adding that the company is not planning to sell the enterprise fiber operations. As of the end of September, Lumen operated 4.1 million fiber-enabled locations. Depending on what parts of the consumer fiber unit Lumen chooses to sell and how a deal is structured, the transaction could be valued at $6 billion to $9 billion, the sources said. Lumen and Goldman Sachs both declined to comment. STRATEGIC SHIFT Known as CenturyLink before its 2020 rebranding, Lumen has changed course several times over the years, most recently in 2021 when the company sold its local exchange carrier assets in 20 states to Apollo-backed Brightspeed for $7.5 billion. Lumen’s legacy business offers broadband, voice and other services to businesses and residential customers. It owns underground cables that are leased out through long-term contracts and helps provide fiber connectivity to customers. To turn around its fortunes, Lumen has restructured its debt and signed billions of dollars of new contracts to provide networking and cybersecurity services to Big Tech companies. Lumen has also been attempting to shrink its reliance on the legacy business, which was grown from past acquisitions – including its $25 billion merger with Level 3 Communications in 2017 – and has declined in value over the years as the technology has become outdated. In August, the company secured $5 billion in business from new customers, including Microsoft, to provide AI connectivity to cloud computing data centers. In its latest quarter, Lumen signed new contracts worth $3 billion, which included partnerships with Meta, Alphabet and Amazon. The AI contract wins have bolstered Lumen’s share price, which has more than tripled in value this year, giving the company a market value of about $5.9 billion. Lumen’s long-term debt stood at $18.1 billion for the quarter ended Sept 30. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Lumen posted revenue of $3.2 billion, down 11.5% from the same period a year earlier, while its net loss widened to $148 million. Its fiber broadband business, which accounts for 40% of its mass markets broadband revenue, grew 16.6% from last year. In September, Lumen launched a debt swap for near-term bonds to extend some of its maturities. The exchange triggered a downgrade in Lumen’s credit rating from S&P Global Ratings. In November, S&P assigned a CreditWatch Positive rating to Lumen on the back of the company’s recent AI contract wins, indicating that its credit rating could be upgraded by a notch depending on its fourth-quarter results. (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen and Leslie Adler) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

Oil slips ahead of Opec+ production-cut decisionABU DHABI , UAE , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ADGM, the leading international financial centre of Abu Dhabi and a globally recognised hub for asset and wealth management unveiled nineteen major announcements from global financial institutions during the third edition of ADFW. These represent almost USD 635 billion in assets under management (AUM) and follow other Q4 announcements from the world's largest asset managers, BlackRock, PGIM, and Nuveen, which have also been set up in ADGM. This remarkable increase, from USD 450 billion to USD 635 billion , within a year has reinforced the centre's reputation as the region's fastest-growing and one of the world's most dynamic jurisdictions for asset management. This growth has been further bolstered by the establishment of billionaire-led family offices, including those of British businessman Asif Aziz , prominent philanthropist and financial strategist Wafic Said , and Singaporean entrepreneur and real estate leader Kishin RK, underscoring the centre's growing appeal as a global wealth management hub. Commenting on Abu Dhabi and ADGM's continued momentum, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi , Member of Abu Dhabi's Executive Council & Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and ADGM said, "These milestones reflect the heart of what makes Abu Dhabi so special—a shared vision of progress, partnership, and possibility. The growing number of global financial leaders and innovators choosing ADGM is a testament to the trust they place in our infrastructure, robust regulations, commitment to excellence and Abu Dhabi's reputation as the world's safest and most dynamic jurisdiction for asset and wealth management. As we welcome these new partnerships, we remain dedicated to driving the growth and diversification of the 'Falcon Economy' and creating opportunities that resonate across industries and borders. It's an exciting moment for ADGM, Abu Dhabi , and all those who are part of this remarkable journey." Larry Fink , Chairman and CEO of Blackrock praised Abu Dhabi commenting, "It's been a long journey watching how Abu Dhabi has matured as an economy. The constant innovation that I'm seeing from the economy and from the leadership. And Abu Dhabi has really positioned itself to become a leader over the next 20 years. Its psychology was different, and now it's blossoming into this magnet of opportunity. With that strength, it is now becoming a foundation for innovation." "We see a real burgeoning of entrepreneurship happening in the region and believe that the Middle East is the next big entrepreneurial hot spot. We've watched this happen before and always had our eye out on areas emerging in terms of entrepreneurship," said Bill Ford , Chairman & CEO of General Atlantic , during the second day of ADFW. Sir Paul Marshall , Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Marshall Wace said, " Abu Dhabi is such a great place. Abu Dhabi is absolutely nailing it. It's a very attractive place." Confirming their establishment in ADGM during ADFW were leading private equity firms General Atlantic, Lone Star Funds, and Investindustrial along with private credit giants Golub Capital and Polen Capital, insurance manager – Eldridge as well as leading global equity management company, Carta and hedge fund Marshall Wace . This recent wave of commitments from global financial institutions signifies ADGM's leadership in attracting the world's foremost investment firms. Reflecting this confidence and growth, billionaire-led family offices have also been drawn to ADGM, recognising it as a trusted hub for managing and growing wealth. Asif Aziz , Founder and CEO of Criterion Capital commented, " Abu Dhabi's transformation into a global financial powerhouse makes it an ideal base for our operations. ADGM's world-class infrastructure and strategic location provide unparalleled opportunities to forge partnerships that align with our growth ambitions across the UAE and beyond." Building on its role as a leading destination for global investors and asset managers, ADGM is also redefining financial innovation by advancing its digital ecosystem. A cornerstone of this effort was the launch of Finstreet, a first-of-its-kind international securities market and an ecosystem for private securities, which exemplifies ADGM's commitment to integrating cutting-edge digital solutions with its robust financial infrastructure. The week also saw a new funding round for Themis and the entry of international digital pioneers Zodia Markets, Polygon Labs, FJ Labs, Aptos Digital, Chainlinks, Astra Tech and Themis, further solidifying the Emirate's reputation as a global innovation hub. Meanwhile, FinTech Astra Tech's Quantix announcement of a landmark USD 500 million financing from Citigroup, among the largest provided to a UAE FinTech company to date, to expand its CashNow consumer lending platform. Additionally, Themis—renowned for its advanced financial crime prevention technologies—is further reinforcing ADGM's position as a hub for the next generation of financial technologies, secured over USD 9.75 million in scale-up funding, building on its success in partnerships with global leaders, including ADGM underscoring its role in advancing financial crime prevention in innovative regulatory environments. The market announcements were released during the third edition of ADFW held under the theme "Welcome to the Capital of Capital," which gathered more than 20,000 leaders and executives from across the financial services industry, which collectively represented more than USD 42 trillion in assets under management. This wave of newcomers ADFW underscores Abu Dhabi's position as a global financial powerhouse and ADGM's role as a catalyst for economic diversification, attracting top-tier talent, cutting-edge technologies, and transformative investments that are shaping the emirate's future. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2550581/5010772/ADGM_Logo.jpg SOURCE ADGMAs the college football regular season winds down, the intrigue in some of the Week 13 matchups turns way up. WATCH: Stream most of this week’s top college football games live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial). In the Big Ten, undefeated Indiana tries to keep rolling toward a berth in the Big Ten championship game when the fifth-ranked Hoosiers visit No. 2 Ohio State. The one-loss Buckeyes are 11-point favorites. Meanwhile, No. 4 Penn State, which also remains alive in the chase to face top-ranked Oregon in the conference title game, faces a potentially tough road game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Nittany Lions are favored by 11.5 points. In the Pac-12, Oregon State will look to end its losing streak when the Beavers play host to Washington State . The Beavers have lost five in a row and are 11.5-point underdogs, but can they put a complete game together against the Cougars? Check out this week’s college football odds and score predictions for all the Big Ten and Pac-12 games from the CFB coverage team at The Oregonian/OregonLive. Purdue (1-9, 0-7) at Michigan State (4-6, 2-5) Game details: 5 p.m. PT Friday at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan TV channel and live stream: Fox and Fox Sports Live Latest line: Michigan State by 13.5 Over/under: 47.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Michigan State 31, Purdue 17 James Crepea: Michigan State 28, Purdue 14 Nick Daschel: Michigan State 31, Purdue 27 Aaron Fentress: Michigan State 31, Purdue 20 Joe Freeman: Michigan State 30, Purdue 15 Sean Meagher: Michigan State 34, Purdue 17 Joel Odom: Michigan State 31, Purdue 10 Bill Oram: Michigan State 28, Purdue 13 Washington State (8-2) at Oregon State (4-6) Game details: 4 p.m. PT Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis TV channel and live stream: The CW Latest line: Washington State by 11.5 Over/under: 57.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Washington State 30, Oregon State 7 James Crepea: Washington State 35, Oregon State 14 Nick Daschel: Washington State 38, Oregon State 17 Aaron Fentress: Washington State 27, Oregon State 17 Joe Freeman: Washington State 32, Oregon State 17 Sean Meagher: Washington State 42, Oregon State 21 Joel Odom: Washington State 38, Oregon State 14 Bill Oram: Washington State 38, Oregon State 23 No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0) at No. 2 Ohio State (9-1, 6-1) Game details: 9 a.m. PT Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus TV channel and live stream: Fox and Fox Sports Live Latest line: Ohio State by 11 Over/under: 52.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Ohio State 37, Indiana 34 James Crepea: Ohio State 42, Indiana 35 Nick Daschel: Ohio State 31, Indiana 29 Aaron Fentress: Ohio State 38, Indiana 25 Joe Freeman: Ohio State 28, Indiana 27 Sean Meagher: Indiana 38, Ohio State 35 Joel Odom: Ohio State 31, Indiana 21 Bill Oram: Ohio State 26, Indiana 24 No. 25 Illinois (7-3, 4-3) at Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) Game details: 9 a.m. PT Saturday at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey TV channel and live stream: Peacock Latest line: Rutgers by 1 Over/under: 47.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Illinois 22, Rutgers 14 James Crepea: Illinois 28, Rutgers 14 Nick Daschel: Illinois 24, Rutgers 20 Aaron Fentress: Illinois 23, Rutgers 20 Joe Freeman: Rutgers 24, Illinois 23 Sean Meagher: Illinois 28, Rutgers 24 Joel Odom: Illinois 27, Rutgers 17 Bill Oram: Illinois 28, Rutgers 14 Iowa (6-4, 4-3) at Maryland (4-6, 1-6) Game details: 9 a.m. PT Saturday at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland TV channel and live stream: Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Live Latest line: Iowa by 3.5 Over/under: 43.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Iowa 28, Maryland 20 James Crepea: Iowa 28, Maryland 21 Nick Daschel: Iowa 20, Maryland 14 Aaron Fentress: Iowa 33, Maryland 18 Joe Freeman: Iowa 27, Maryland 20 Sean Meagher: Iowa 21, Maryland 17 Joel Odom: Iowa 34, Maryland 13 Bill Oram: Maryland 35, Iowa 21 No. 4 Penn State (9-1, 6-1) at Minnesota (6-4, 4-3) Game details: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis TV channel and live stream: CBS and cbssports.com Latest line: Penn State by 11.5 Over/under: 44.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Minnesota 27, Penn State 24 James Crepea: Penn State 35, Minnesota 21 Nick Daschel: Penn State 24, Minnesota 23 Aaron Fentress: Penn State 31, Minnesota 17 Joe Freeman: Penn State 31, Minnesota 21 Sean Meagher: Penn State 30, Minnesota 24 Joel Odom: Penn State 28, Minnesota 16 Bill Oram: Minnesota 28, Penn State 18 Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4) at Nebraska (5-5, 2-5) Game details: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska TV channel and live stream: Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Live Latest line: Nebraska by 1 Over/under: 41.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Nebraska 24, Wisconsin 7 James Crepea: Nebraska 24, Wisconsin 17 Nick Daschel: Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 14 Aaron Fentress: Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 23 Joe Freeman: Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 20 Sean Meagher: Wisconsin 28, Nebraska 27 Joel Odom: Wisconsin 20, Nebraska 17 Bill Oram: Nebraska 21, Wisconsin 14 Northwestern (4-6, 2-5) at Michigan (5-5, 3-4) Game details: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor TV channel and live stream: FS1 and Fox Sports Live Latest line: Michigan by 10.5 Over/under: 36.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: Michigan 31, Northwestern 10 James Crepea: Michigan 17, Northwestern 10 Nick Daschel: Northwestern 21, Michigan 20 Aaron Fentress: Michigan 29, Northwestern 10 Joe Freeman: Michigan 24, Northwestern 10 Sean Meagher: Michigan 21, Northwestern 14 Joel Odom: Michigan 16, Northwestern 13 Bill Oram: Michigan 33, Northwestern 17 USC (5-5, 3-5) at UCLA (4-6, 3-5) Game details: 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California TV channel and live stream: NBC and Peacock Latest line: USC by 5 Over/under: 51.5 Predictions Ryan Clarke: UCLA 38, USC 31 James Crepea: USC 35, UCLA 28 Nick Daschel: UCLA 28, USC 27 Aaron Fentress: USC 31, UCLA 26 Joe Freeman: USC 30, UCLA 24 Sean Meagher: UCLA 33, USC 28 Joel Odom: USC 36, UCLA 30 Bill Oram: UCLA 49, USC 47

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How a GoPro camera has helped the Vikings keep rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on trackThe National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has identified what it describes as complex challenges in the African insurance market space to include low insurance penetration, frag­mented regional markets, unstable economic policies, trust and credibility concerns, poor product innovation, and inadequate technol­ogy adoption. Mr Segun Omosehin, the Commission­er for Insurance (CFI), who described the challenges as complex, stressed that by tackling these challenges, there’s need for practitioners across the continent to unlock the African insurance sector’s full potential, foster sustainable growth, and position them strategically within the global insurance landscape, thereby enabling African insur­ance companies to compete favourably with their international counterparts. According to him, the challenges tran­scend gender and regional boundaries which necessitate collaboration and synergy among all and sundry. To drive growth and development, he stresses that it is imperative for industry practitioners to prioritize the development of young professionals, unhindered by gen­der or age constraints, and foster expertise across markets. He warned that insurance sector in Africa must evolve beyond traditional ownership and embrace innovation asserting that with vast growth potential existing across the region, not just Nigeria, unity and industry development can significantly contribute to the continent’s economic prosperity. “The African insurance market faces com­plex challenges that transcend gender and regional boundaries, necessitating collabora­tive efforts and synergy across the continent. “To drive growth and development, it is imperative that we prioritize the develop­ment of young professionals, unhindered by gender or age constraints, and foster ex­pertise across markets. “The insurance sector must evolve be­yond traditional ownership and embrace innovation. With vast growth potential ex­isting across Africa, not just Nigeria, unity and industry development can significantly contribute to the continent’s economic pros­perity”. “I encourage the African Insurance Wom­en Association (AIWA) to capitalize on these opportunities, leverage innovative solutions, and promote educational advancement to propel the African insurance sector forward saying that, these trends also exacerbate ex­isting challenges hindering insurance devel­opment on the continent. “To remain competitive globally, urgently address these pressing issues, including low insurance penetration, fragmented regional markets, unstable economic policies, trust and credibility concerns, poor product innovation, and inadequate technology adoption”. “By tackling these challenges, we can unlock the African insurance sector’s full potential, foster sustainable growth, and position ourselves strategically within the global insurance landscape, thereby enabling African insurance companies to compete fa­vourably with their international counter­parts.” Omosehin added. The CFI emphasised that Insurance is evolving rapidly across Africa in response to technology and demographic shifts while digital innovation is reshaping customer ex­perience, making insurance more accessible, personalised and mobile and internet-based solutions are helping insurers reach un­tapped markets, bringing coverage to rural communities that were once hard to serve. Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, pointed out that the widespread adoption of mobile money in regions, East and West Africa has demonstrated the transformative power of technology in enhancing financial inclusion. Abiru, stated that as part of their effort as legislators was to advocate for policies that enhance regulatory alignment and foster re­gional cooperation, as this is crucial for the expansion and competitiveness of African insurers on the global stage. He noted that this has also created a model for micro insurance, where small premiums are accessible to millions, offering protec­tion against health issues, crop failures, and more.” “We see a growing interest in inclusive insurance products that cater specifically to the diverse needs of Africans. Health insur­ance, agricultural insurance, and products that support small and medium-sized enter­prises are emerging as essential offerings, underscoring the role of insurance as a ve­hicle for social and economic empowerment. “The conference provides a platform to discuss how we can collectively shape this fu­ture, especially as we empower women—who play an instrumental role in this industry— to lead and thrive,” said the Senator. Abiru, lamented that the African insur­ance sector faces notable challenges, stress­ing that low insurance penetration remains a pressing concern across the continent, with several factors contributing to this, including limited awareness, affordability issues, and regulatory inconsistencies. The senator frowned at individuals and businesses who still view insurance as a luxury rather than a necessity, saying that there is work to be done to build trust and communicate the value of insurance to the broader public. “Another challenge is regulatory align­ment across borders, which limits insurers’ ability to operate efficiently across Africa’s diverse markets. Consistency in standards and frameworks would facilitate cross-bor­der offerings and support growth within the industry” “The industry is also grappling with the impacts of climate change, which introduces new risks and complexities, especially for sectors like agriculture that are fundamen­tal to African economies,” said the distin­guished Senator.