Feed aggregator

New York — A broadening rally in U.S. stocks is offering an encouraging signal to investors worried about concentration in technology shares, as markets await key jobs data and the Federal Reserve's expected rate cuts in September. As the market's fortunes keep rising and falling with big tech stocks such as Nvidia NVDA.O and Apple AAPL.O, investors are also putting money in less-loved value stocks and small caps, which are expected to benefit from lower interest rates. The Fed is expected to kick off a rate-cutting cycle at its monetary policy meeting on Sept. 17-18. Many investors view the broadening trend, which picked up steam last month before faltering during an early August sell-off, as a healthy development in a market rally led by a cluster of giant tech names. Chipmaker Nvidia, which has benefited from bets on artificial intelligence, alone has accounted for roughly a quarter of the S&P 500's year-to-date gain of 18.4%. "No matter how you slice and dice it you have seen a pretty meaningful broadening out and I think that has legs," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment officer at Charles Schwab. Value stocks are those of companies trading at a discount on metrics like book value or price-to-earnings and include sectors such as financials and industrials. Some investors believe rallies in these sectors and small caps could go further if the Fed cuts borrowing costs while the economy stays healthy. The market's rotation has recently accelerated, with 61% of stocks in the S&P 500 .SPXoutperforming the index in the past month, compared to 14% outperforming over the past year, Charles Schwab data showed. Meanwhile, the so-called Magnificent Seven group of tech giants — which includes Nvidia, Tesla TSLA.O and Microsoft MSFT.O — have underperformed the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 by 14 percentage points since the release of a weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation report on July 11, according to an analysis by BofA Global Research. Stocks have also held up after an Nvidia forecast failed to meet lofty investor expectations earlier this week, another sign that investors may be looking beyond tech. The equal weight S&P 500 index, a proxy for the average stock, hit a fresh record [last] week and is up around 10.5% year-to-date, narrowing its performance gap with the S&P 500. "When market breadth is improving, the message is that an increasing number of stocks are rallying on expectations that economic conditions will support earnings growth and profitability," analysts at Ned David Research wrote. Value stocks that have performed well this year include General Electric GE.N and midstream energy company Targa Resources TRGP.N, which are up 70% and 68%, respectively. The small-cap focused Russell 2000 index, meanwhile, is up 8.5% from its lows of the month, though it has not breached its July peak. The jobs report "tends to be one of the more market moving releases in general, and right now it's going to get even more attention than normal." Investors are unlikely to turn their back on tech stocks, particularly if volatility gives them a chance to buy on the cheap, said Jason Alonzo, a portfolio manager with Harbor Capital. Technology stocks are expected to post above-market earnings growth over every quarter through 2025, with third-quarter earnings coming in at 15.3% compared with a 7.5% gain for the S&P 500 as a whole, according to LSEG data. "People will sometimes take a deep breath after a nice run and look at other opportunities, but technology is still the clearest driver of growth, particularly the AI theme which is innocent until proven guilty," Alonzo said.

ATLANTA — Donald Trump's campaign issued a statement Sunday from the Gold Star military families who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery as they defended the Republican presidential nominee and insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate politicizing fallen U.S. service members.  It's the latest volley in an extended back and forth as Trump tries to saddle Harris with the Biden administration's handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.  Harris on Saturday accused Trump of staging a "political stunt" that "disrespected sacred ground" where many Afghanistan war dead are buried. Trump and the families of some of those killed in the bombing blame Harris, as they did President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection bid, for their loved ones' deaths. The families say the former president was honoring their loved ones when he came to Arlington.  His campaign later distributed images of the visit despite the cemetery's prohibition on partisan activity on the grounds.  "President Trump was invited by us, the Gold Star families, to attend the solemn ceremonies commemorating the three-year anniversary of our children's deaths," said the relatives' joint statement. "He was there to honor their sacrifice, yet Vice President Harris has disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy."  Gold Star families have lost a loved one in military service.  Trump laid wreaths last Monday in honor of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. They were among 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans who died in an Aug. 26, 2021, bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan.  Trump thanked the family members for their statement via social media. "Thank you for saying you wanted me to stand with you ... and take pictures, that it was your request, not mine," he wrote.  Throughout the weekend, Trump has used his social media accounts to distribute video testimonials from some relatives who signed the statement.  Christy Shamblin, Gee's mother-in-law, said in a 90-second message that Trump and his aides were "respectful" and a "a comfort" to the families who gathered at Arlington. Then she directly addressed her remarks to Harris.  "Why won't you return a call and explain how you call my daughter-in-law's death a success?" Shamblin said. "Why would you take a day where we celebrated the deaths of our loved ones and use it to disparage not only them, but us."  Biden and first lady Jill Biden went to Dover Air Force Base in 2021 for the ceremony returning the service members' remains to U.S. soil. The Bidens met privately with family members at Dover. The Bidens were joined at the ceremony by several top aides in the administration, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Shamblin was among the several family members who also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July on Trump's behalf. Several family members have joined Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, on a conference call with media.  Trump's appearance ballooned into controversy after defense officials said his campaign was warned about not taking photographs and that there was an altercation between Trump aides and a cemetery employee. Officials have said since that an employee whom two Trump campaign staff members allegedly "verbally abused and pushed" aside has declined to press charges.  The Trump campaign has since lashed out at Pentagon officials, with a top campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, referring to military spokespersons as "hacks." Trump campaign officials say the campaign had permission to bring someone to take video.  Since Biden ended his reelection bid in July, Trump has been zeroing in on Harris and her roles in foreign policy decisions. He has highlighted the vice president's statements that she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.  Biden's administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan's military and the Taliban takeover.  Campaigning this year, Trump has said that leaving was the right thing to do but that the Biden administration's execution was poor.  "We were going to do it with dignity and strength," he said in a recent speech in Michigan. 

SAO PAULO — The number of fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest region for the month of August surged to the highest level since 2010, government data showed on Sunday, after a record drought that has been plaguing the biome. Last year's rains came late and were weaker than usual because a weather pattern, known as El Nino, was supercharged by climate change, leaving the rainforest especially vulnerable to this year's fires. Satellites detected 38,266 fire hotspots in the Amazon in August, more than double compared to the previous year and the largest number for that month since 2010, data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) showed. The August data reaching a 14-year high comes after last month's fire hotspots in the region surged to a two-decade high. While the data is the fastest indicator of the state of fires in the region, which often peak between August and September, it does not indicate the intensity. Fires in the naturally wet and humid biome often start on cattle ranches where locals are converting the jungle into pastures for cattle ranching. Warmer air and drier vegetation have created conditions where fires can spread more rapidly as well as burn more intensely and for longer. Deforestation has also reduced the rainforest's ability to produce rain and humidity. Helga Correa, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brasil, said in an initial assessment of the August data last week that the fires were driven by a combination of weather, climate change and human actions. "The region where we detected concentrated smoke in August coincides with the so-called Arch of Deforestation, which includes the north of Rondonia, the south of Amazonas and the southwest of Para," she said. "This indicates that, in addition to climate change and El Nino, changes in land use produced by humans play a central role in the increase in fires," she said.  

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Niamey, — Torrential rains in Niger have killed at least 15 more people, regional authorities said on Sunday, the latest casualties of the downpours lashing the African nation. Heavy rains have been drenching Africa's Sahel region since June and the latest victims in Niger come on top of at least 217 people who have died across the country in that time, according to authorities. More than 350,000 people have been affected and last week rising floodwaters nearly cut off the capital Niamey from the rest of the country before retreating. The latest deaths occurred on Friday in the city of Maradi, the country's economic capital whose eponymous region that has been one of the areas most affected by the rains. "We have registered 15 human lives lost, we have also registered injured and heavy material damage", regional governor Issoufou Mamane told public television. Friday saw 150 millimeters (six inches) of water fall on the city in the space of 90 minutes, local television said. Images broadcast on television showed water racing through the streets, touching off landslides and collapsing homes as it carried off cars, motorcycles and trees. Drinking water and electricity supplies have been affected in some areas, according to broadcasters. The downpours have also disturbed traffic on the main route linking Maradi to the city of Zinder. Niger's rainy season normally lasts from June to September and consistently brings a heavy death toll. In 2022 there were 195 deaths and 400,000 people affected.  

Venice, Italy — Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Brad Pitt admit they are disappointed their latest comedy "Wolfs" is not getting a broad cinema release and instead heading almost straight onto Apple TV. "It is a bummer," Clooney said on Sunday, adding that television streamers, such as Apple AAPL.O, were nevertheless vital to the future of filmmaking, presenting actors with opportunities and generating bigger audiences for their work. "Streaming, we need it, our industry needs this," he said. Written and directed by Jon Watts, "Wolfs" is an old-fashioned crime caper with Clooney and Pitt playing lone-wolf professional fixers who are forced to work together with comically unfortunate consequences.   Apple originally signaled it would place the film in a large number of cinemas before the TV release, but instead opted to show it briefly in a restricted number of U.S. movie theatres and then run it on its global TV service. "We'll always be romantic about the theatrical experience. At the same time, I love the existence of the streamers because we get to see more story, we get to see more talent, it gets more eyes," said Pitt. "It's a delicate balance right now and it'll right itself." Asked what it meant if two of the biggest names in the business could not get a broad cinema release, as they had requested, Clooney quipped: "Clearly we're declining." Sixteen years after last appearing together in 2008's Coen brothers' comedy "Burn After Reading," Pitt and Clooney said they jumped at the chance to reunite when they read Watts' script for "Wolfs." "I got to say, just as I get older, just working with the people that I just really enjoy spending time with has really become important to me," said Pitt, who turned 60 last year. In a news conference full of light-hearted banter, Clooney, said Pitt, was fortunate still to be offered parts. "He's 74 years-old and he's very lucky at this age to still be working." On a more serious note, he denied a New York Times story in August that said both he and Pitt had been paid more than $35 million each to appear in the film. "I'm only saying that because I think it's bad for our industry if that's what people think is the standard bearer for salaries. I think that's a terrible thing. It will make it impossible to make a film," he said. "Wolfs" is showing out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, which runs until Sept. 7.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The helicopter crash in which Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed was primarily caused by weather conditions that included thick fog, Iran's state TV said on Sunday, citing the final investigation report on the incident. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died when his helicopter crashed in May in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border. "The main reason of the helicopter crash was complicated weather conditions in the region," the final report concluded, according to Iran's state TV. A thick mass of fog caused the helicopter that was carrying Raisi and his companions to crash into the mountain, the report issued by a high committee charged by Iran's military with investigating the incident said. A preliminary report by Iran's military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or an attack had been found during the investigation.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Algiers — Algeria has been approved for membership in the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), the country’s finance ministry has  announced. The decision was taken on Saturday and announced by NDB chief Dilma Roussef at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. By joining "this important development institution, the financial arm of the BRICS group, Algeria is taking a major step in its process of integration into the global financial system," the Algerian finance ministry said in a statement. The bank of the BRICS group of nations -- whose name derives from the initials of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- is  aimed at offering an alternative to international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Algeria's membership was secured thanks to "the strength of the country's macroeconomic indicators" which have recorded "remarkable performances in recent years" and allowed the North African country to be classified as an "upper-tier emerging economy," the finance ministry said. Membership in the BRICS bank will offer Algeria -- Africa's leading exporter of natural gas -- "new prospects to support and strengthen its economic growth in the medium and long term," it added. Created in 2015, the NDB’s main mission is to mobilize resources for projects in emerging markets and developing countries. It has welcomed several country as new members, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Saudi Arabia. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Koumac, France — An alliance of parties seeking independence for New Caledonia has nominated as chief a prominent opposition leader currently jailed in France over a wave of deadly rioting in the French Pacific territory. Christian Tein, who considers himself a "political prisoner," was one of seven pro-independence activists transferred to mainland France in June — a move that sparked renewed violence that has roiled the archipelago and left 11 people dead. His appointment on Saturday to lead the Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) risks complicating efforts to end the crisis, sparked in May by a Paris plan for voting reforms that indigenous Kanaks fear will thwart their ambitions for independence by leaving them a permanent minority. Laurie Humuni of the RDO party, one of four in the FLNKS alliance, said Saturday that Tein's nomination was a recognition of his CCAT party's leading role in mobilizing the independence movement. It was not clear if the two other alliance members, the UPM and Palika, supported the move — they had refused to participate in the latest FLNKS meeting and indicated they would not support any of its proposals. The alliance also said it was willing to renew talks to end the protests, but only if local anti-independence parties are excluded. "We will have to remove some blockades to allow the population access to essential services, but that does not mean we are abandoning our struggle," Humuni told AFP. On Thursday, France said it had agreed to terms with Pacific leaders seeking a fact-finding mission to New Caledonia in a bid to resolve the dispute, though a date for the mission has not yet been set. President Emmanuel Macron's government has sent thousands of troops and police to restore order in the archipelago, almost 17,000 kilometers (10,600 miles) from Paris, and the electoral reforms were suspended in June.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Warsaw — Poland on Sunday marked 85 years since the outbreak of World War II during annual commemoration ceremony held at dawn to remember Nazi Germany's first attacks that triggered the deadly conflict. Nearly six million Poles died in the conflict that killed more than 50 million people overall, including the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, half of them Polish. The remembrance ceremony on Sunday was traditionally held in Westerplatte, on Poland's Baltic coast, where a Nazi German battleship had opened fire on a Polish fort 85 years ago to the day. Speaking at Westerplatte, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the lessons of World War II were "not an abstraction" and drew parallels with the war in neighboring Ukraine. "This war is coming again from the east," he said. He urged NATO member states to be "fully devoted to defense... against the aggression that we are witnessing today on the battlefields of Ukraine." Adolf Hitler's attacks on Poland led Britain and France to declare war on Nazi Germany. On September 17, the Soviet Union in turn invaded Poland. After the Nazis tore up their pact with Moscow, two alliances battled it out: the Axis powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan and the victorious Allied forces led by Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States. Polish President Andrzej Duda took part in commemorations in the western Polish city of Wielun where Germany's first bombs fell 85 years ago. Duda said "sorry" from Germany was not enough and called for reparations, adding: "This issue is not settled." Although it has been 85 years since the war started, there are still unresolved matters according to Poland. Poland's current pro-EU government led by Tusk has urged Germany to provide financial compensation over losses the country sustained at the hands of Nazi troops. It echoed an earlier similar push by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party that lost power in October election. During his visit to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, a doomed revolt against occupying forces, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke of plans to establish a memorial to the Polish victims of the Nazis. "Many other efforts are underway, including for the remaining survivors of the German occupation. Our two governments are liaising closely on this," he said. Steinmeier did not, however, provide any further details on the possible compensation measures. According to Polish media, discussions between Warsaw and Berlin on financial compensation to the living victims of the Nazi Germany are underway, with Poland estimating up to 70,000 people would be eligible.