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TEMPLEGATE tackles Thursday's racing looking to build the bank ahead of a big weekend of action. Back a horse by clicking their odds. THE SUN RACING MEMBERS ENCLOSURE The only place to get Templegate's tips first - and at the best prices - is by joining Sun Racing's brilliant Members Enclosure. Sign up now for just £1* to be part of racing's best winning team and get... Four free racing tickets, four times a year - worth £300 Templegate’s daily tips at the BEST prices before anyone else Exclusive access to Templegate's daily NAP Tomorrow’s copy of The Favourite at 9pm today Exclusive insights from top trainer Ben Pauling VIP competitions from Racing Breaks each month New customer offer with Coral Become a member today for just £1* *For the first month then £3 per month thereafter. SIGN UP NOW 18+ Ts and Cs apply. First month membership £1, then £3 per month unless you cancel at least 7 days before your next billing date. For more information contact help@thesun.co.uk LAW OF SUPPLY (2.05 Taunton, nap) Kim Bailey’s chaser has won both his starts over fences including an impressive display at Ascot last time. He sees out this three-mile trip strongly and has more to come. CIRCUS OF ROME (6.00 Chelmsford, nb) Went down in a head-bobber at Lingfield nine days ago. That was just his second run and there was a good distance back to the third. He has plenty of pace so dropping in trip isn’t a major concern. CHOCCABLOC (2.40 Taunton, treble) He was prolific at novice level last season for Nicky Henderson and makes his handicap debut from a fair mark of 128. He has plenty of staying power and should be capable of better under James Bowen. SKYCUTTER (1.25 Warwick) Has finished a close-up second on both his spins over fences. This looks a good chance to get off the mark for the Skeltons over his favourite distance. Most read in Horse Racing ARMED TAUNTS Boozed-up yobs wielding axes & machetes bringing terror to Scots council area WARMING UP Scots set for 21C swing as temperature rise to bring an end to sub zero freeze SEARCH ENDS Missing traveler is found after month-long search that led to dad's suicide GET OUT I'm an ex-Gers star who was sacked after one game - I was surprised I got that long Templegate's tips FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
Two innocent children will be abandoned outside of the Canada Life Centre Thursday night before the Winnipeg Jets take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Two innocent children will be abandoned outside of the Canada Life Centre Thursday night before the Winnipeg Jets take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Two innocent children will be abandoned outside of the Canada Life Centre Thursday night before the Winnipeg Jets take on the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s all part of a penniless single father’s plan to give his kids a leg-up, says Debbie Patterson, the director and co-writer of Sick + Twisted Theatre’s Hansel & Gretel in Portage Place, premièring Thursday night in the Colin Jackson Theatre at Prairie Theatre Exchange and running to Dec. 22. “We’re imagining that Hansel (Emily King), Gretel (Carlyn Graff-Czehryn) and their father (Michael Schellenberg) live in a tiny house in the old parking lot behind the mall, and that the house is going to be demolished during the (mall’s upcoming) renovation,” explains Patterson, who co-wrote the show with Fiona Smith and Andrea von Wichert. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS From left: Emily King (Hansel), Michael Schellenberg (Father) and Carlyn Graff-Czehryn (Gretel) star in Sick + Twisted’s take on the Brothers’ Grimm classic., Hansel and Gretel. “The dad can’t afford to get a new place, so he decides to abandon the kids outside a Jets game, hoping that someone rich enough to buy tickets would be rich enough to give his kids a better life.” Soon, the overall-clad kinder make their way to the last candy shop in Portage Place, where they’re in for an unsavoury surprise. Fictionalized with inspiration drawn from reality, is Sick + Twisted’s second annual holiday panto, the company’s take on a genre of live theatre teeming with comedy, musical numbers, gags and slapstick. With the audience encouraged to cheer for its heroes and boo any villains, the panto style engages playfully with the rigid barriers one might expect from a production in a seated theatre setting. For this year’s show, the writers decided to put a theatrical twist on arguably the biggest story in the ongoing saga of downtown Winnipeg: the proposed redevelopment of Portage Place. Having seen an early rendering of a reimagined mall, the writers considered how to comment, landing on a Brothers Grimm tale of cautionary consumption, navigational breadcrumbs and the cannibalistic tendencies of capitalistic adventures. “After they’re left outside, the kids find their way to Portage Place where a single candy store is still in operation,” Patterson says, a subtle allusion to the downtown as a food desert. Under pressure to change their business model to better suit the wellness bent of the mall’s new owners, the chocolatiers pivot to health bars, but where oh where will they find a cheap source of protein? After writing the script in September, the production was given renewed relevance when in November the real estate development arm of True North, the entity which owns the Winnipeg Jets, officially acquired the 37-year-old shopping centre, along with the land it stands on and all associated assets. The $650-million redevelopment plan will include 216 housing units, a health services tower, a main-floor grocery store, community centres and social agency spaces. The news of Portage Place’s next phase of life piqued Patterson’s interest. After moving to Winnipeg from Thunder Bay in 1992, her first job was in the mall, running Prairie Theatre Exchange’s annual Robert Munsch show, adapting the children’s author’s work for a live audience. “Back then it was a fancy new mall. They had Holt Renfrew and Birks,” she says. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. In recent years, though the mall’s food court has remained a vital gathering space and the Pitikwe Skate Park (inside the former Staples) has become an exciting beacon of youth-centred community space, most of the neighbours PTE had when it moved to the mall in 1989 have jumped ship. The corporate exodus from Portage Place, and the mall’s upcoming redevelopment, stimulated the writers to consider the way land is used in the city and “how capitalism changes the way we interact with each other and with the land,” Patterson says. That’s very much in line with the ethos of Sick + Twisted, a company that consistently challenges the status quo while poking fun at real-world issues. Founded in 2016, the company was created to address the lack of representation of deaf and disabled people in the professional theatre industry. The latest transformation of Portage Place, which True North Real Estate Development expects to be complete by 2028, will continue to dominate headlines for the next three years and beyond. With its version of , Sick + Twisted will get out ahead of the conversation. If it were up to Patterson, a newly imagined Portage Place would begin with an open door. “I think making the community feel welcome here should be the priority,” she says. ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com “The face of the city is changing,” a full-page advertisement declared in the Sept. 16, 1987 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press. When the ribbon was cut on Portage Place, the vision was grand: in addition to more than 150 storefronts, the mall touted a 10,000-square-foot town square featuring a massive clocktower, with “a showcase of extensive cultural, community and entertainment events featured under the 100-foot-high skylight atrium. The retailers included Radio Shack — complete with a Plus Computer Centre; the Muffin Oven, “the originator of the sugar-free muffin,”; Faces, a cosmetics store; Pantorama, which sold not only trousers but “tops, jackets and sweaters galore,”; a two-floor restaurant called Picasso’s; W.H. Smith and McNally Robinson booksellers; Mariposa/Boppers, selling “casual clothes for mom and daughter,”; Tall Girl, specializing in sizes 18-20; Baskin Robbins, named in part for Winnipeg-born founder Irv Robbins; a short-lived downtown excursion by Gunn’s Bakery; Lawley’s of London, for all your Royal Doulton needs; and Wicks ‘n Sticks, which invited customers to “light a little fire under your life with this array of candles, lanterns and candlestick holders.” Need something else to light? Check out the United Cigar Store. When the mall officially opened on Sept. 17, a draw was held for one lucky customer to drive away in their choice of a 1988 Lincoln Mark VII or a Merkur Scorpio luxury sedan, courtesy of Landau and McPhillips Lincoln-Mercury dealers. Based in Germany, where Hansel and Gretel were raised, the Merkur brand shut down in 1989, effectively ending Scorpio Season and putting Merkur in the same conversation as the Edsel when it comes to notorious automotive flops. Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the . Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. . Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the saga of the drones reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights. This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: Lawmakers are demanding (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X. More drone sightings have been reported in New York City, and Mayor Eric Adams says the city is investigating and collaborating with New Jersey and federal officials. And then President-elect Donald Trump posted that he believes the government knows more than it’s saying. “Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on his social media site. But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies, none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else. Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on. In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group. The Facebook page, New Jersey Mystery Drones — let’s solve it , has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there. One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn.) New Jersey governor wants more federal resources for probe into drone sightings Murphy and other officials say there is no evidence that the drones pose a national security or a public safety threat. 21 hours ago Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said. “I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said. She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that the drones aren’t a risk to public safety. Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” “How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.” Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots. Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at. Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories. “It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.” Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy. That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects. For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions. “My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said. “Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added. ___ Golden reported form Seattle. Never miss a moment with the WHYY Listen App! Play, pause, and rewind the live radio stream, access on-demand audio features, and dive into podcasts from both local and national sources. WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.None
Hybrid threats include disinformation, cyberattacks and the sabotage of critical infrastructure. The recent damage to submarine telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea connecting Germany with Finland and Lithuania with Sweden are both considered acts of sabotage, and have reminded us of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to hybrid attacks. Suspicion on who caused the damage is currently focused on Russia. “For countries bordering the Baltic Sea, subsea infrastructure is extremely important, especially for countries on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, the Baltic States and Finland, because a large part of our data and energy infrastructure connections between all EU countries pass under the Baltic Sea: data cables, electric cables, gas pipelines,” Henrik Praks, an Estonia-based researcher at the International Centre for Security and Defence (ICDS), tells Euronews. The stakes are indeed high. 90% of global digital communications data passes through submarine cables. Bordered by eight member states of the European Union, the Baltic Sea is a strategic area that remains vulnerable to hybrid attacks. “The marine environment is governed by specific legal acts where the universal freedom of navigation deriving from the law of the sea offers coastal states very few real possibilities to arrest and pursue vessels, for example merchant ships, that would be involved in such illegal activity,” explains Praks. For its part, the European Council condemned the increase in hybrid activities led by Russia against the EU, including disinformation, cyberattacks, as well as the weaponisation of migration. Disrupting Western societies and arousing fear in the population are the main goals of these hybrid attacks, claims Joris Van Bladel, a researcher at the Egmont Institute in Brussels. “Why are they doing that? Because it's cheaper for Russians. And they don't have the means to wage direct war. It is therefore a very profitable type of interference,” Bladel explains to Euronews. These techniques are not new. The Baltic countries have been subjected to Russian hybrid attacks since they achieved independence in the 1990s, says Ivars Ijabs, a Renew Europe MEP from Latvia. However, they have intensified in recent times. In 2016, NATO declared that its member countries could invoke Article 5, which makes it possible to come to the aid of an attacked member if one or more were to be targeted by hybrid activities. In May, the European Council approved a framework to coordinate the EU's response to hybrid campaigns. In particular, it includes the deployment of rapid response teams in the event of hybrid threats. During a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in November, MEPs called for attention to be paid to the hybrid warfare tactics employed by Russia in Europe, and in particular in the Baltic Sea. “I think that the EU should use its technological superiority. And that is why I am really happy that the European Commission is using money from the Connecting Europe Mechanism and investing in the development of new sensor cables that can quickly detect what is happening under the sea, because otherwise it will always be very easy for Russia to say it isn't them,” Ijabs explains to Euronews. Disincentives such as the closure of the Baltic Sea must be on the table, adds the Latvian MEP, though it would be a politically sensitive measure. These hybrid attacks are, however, not limited to the Baltics. In 2023, around twenty Polish trains had their stop function triggered by a radio hack.Roger Goodell says NFL’s relationship with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is 'not changing'
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WESTLAKE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2024-- Nordson Corporation (Nasdaq: NDSN) today reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31, 2024. Sales were $744 million, a 4% increase compared to the prior year’s fourth quarter sales of $719 million. The increase in fourth quarter 2024 sales included the favorable 6% impact of acquisitions and favorable currency translation of 1%, offset by an organic sales decrease of 3%. Net income was $122 million, or earnings per diluted share of $2.12, compared to prior year’s fourth quarter net income of $128 million, or earnings per diluted share of $2.22. Adjusted net income was $160 million, an increase from prior year adjusted net income of $156 million. Fourth quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.78 compared to prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.71. EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $241 million, or 32% of sales, an increase of 4% compared to prior year EBITDA of $227 million, also at 32% of sales. Commenting on the Company’s fiscal 2024 fourth quarter results, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Sundaram Nagarajan said, “I appreciate our team’s focus and commitment to our customers, which delivered results above our fourth quarter guidance expectations. Our Advanced Technology Solutions segment delivered year-over-year fourth quarter sales growth, as electronics demand continued to steadily improve at fiscal year-end. During the down electronics cycle, our ATS team holistically implemented the NBS Next growth framework, making them responsive to the needs of our customers while also delivering a strong incremental operating performance. Our industrial product lines performed well against record comparisons from prior year. I’m also pleased with the early integration of our Atrion Medical acquisition, which contributed positively to the quarter.” Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $392 million decreased 3% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by a 5% organic sales decrease, a favorable acquisition impact of 1%, and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales decrease, following record organic sales in prior year fourth quarter, was driven by our industrial coatings, polymer processing and precision agriculture product lines, partially offset by double-digit growth in nonwovens product lines. Operating profit was $126 million in the quarter, or 32% of sales, a decrease of 4% compared to the prior year operating profit. The decrease in operating profit was driven by lower sales. EBITDA in the quarter was $143 million, or 37% of sales, a 3% decrease from the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $148 million, which also was 37% of sales. Medical and Fluid Solutions sales of $200 million increased 19% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven primarily by the acquisition of Atrion, which offset an organic sales decrease of 3% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales decrease was driven by softness in medical interventional solutions product lines, partially offset by modest growth in our medical fluid components and fluid solutions product lines. Operating profit totaled $44 million in the quarter, or 22% of sales, a decrease of 8% compared to the prior year operating profit. EBITDA in the quarter was $72 million, or 36% of sales, an increase versus the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $62 million, or 37% of sales. Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $152 million increased 5% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an organic sales increase of 4% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales increase was driven by double-digit growth in select test and inspection product lines and modest growth in our electronics processing product lines. Operating profit totaled $33 million in the quarter, or 22% of sales, an increase of 6% compared to the prior year operating profit due to higher sales and improved profit margins. EBITDA in the quarter was $41 million, or 27% of sales, an increase from the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $35 million, or 24% of sales. Sales for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024, were a record $2.7 billion, an increase of 2% compared to the prior year. This sales growth was driven by a favorable acquisition impact of 5%, partially offset by a 3% decrease in organic volume. Net income was $467 million, or earnings per diluted share of $8.11, compared to prior year’s net income of $487 million, or earnings per diluted share of $8.46. Adjusted net income was $561 million, a decrease from prior year adjusted net income of $567 million. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $9.73 compared to prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $9.85. EBITDA was $849 million, or 32% of sales, compared to prior year EBITDA of $819 million, or 31% of sales. Free cash flow for the full-year was $492 million, which was a conversion rate of 105% of net income. Reflecting on fiscal 2024, Mr. Nagarajan continued, “In 2021, we launched our Ascend strategy with the milestone of achieving $3 billion in annual sales and greater than 30% EBITDA margins by 2025. The strategy is delivering results and has ample runway to accelerate. Our diversified portfolio, built on our leadership in niche end markets with differentiated products, is delivering balanced results in the ever-changing macro environment. Our acquisition strategy is generating growth, and I am pleased with the integration and deployment of the NBS Next growth framework. We also continued to generate strong free cash flow in the year, allowing us to consistently reinvest in the business while returning cash to our shareholders.” Following four consecutive years of record-setting performance, we enter fiscal 2025 with approximately $580 million in backlog. Based on the combination of order entry, backlog, current exchange rates and anticipated end market expectations, we anticipate delivering sales in the range of $2,750 to $2,870 million in fiscal 2025. Full year fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings are forecasted in the range of $9.70 to $10.50 per diluted share. First quarter fiscal 2025 sales are forecasted in the range of $615 to $655 million with adjusted earnings in the range of $1.95 to $2.15 per diluted share. Commenting on fiscal 2025 guidance, Nagarajan said, “Considering the evolving global macro-environment, we are entering 2025 with a conservative viewpoint. The fiscal first quarter is seasonally Nordson’s weakest quarter due to the holiday and calendar year-end slowdowns and cautious customer spending. While we remain confident about the long-term growth drivers of our end markets, we are being prudent about our expectations for end market recovery timing, particularly for our electronics and agricultural product lines. Even in uncertain times, our team delivers operational excellence and strong cash flow due to our close-to-the-customer business model, diversified niche end markets, differentiated products and the NBS Next growth framework.” Nordson management will provide additional commentary on these results and outlook during its previously announced webcast on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. eastern time, which can be accessed at . Information about Nordson’s investor relations and shareholder services is available from Lara Mahoney, vice president, investor relations and corporate communications at (440) 204-9985 or . Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “continue,” “target,” or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. These statements reflect management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, U.S. and international economic conditions; financial and market conditions; currency exchange rates and devaluations; possible acquisitions, including the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; the Company’s ability to successfully divest or dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with its strategic plan; the effects of changes in U.S. trade policy and trade agreements; the effects of changes in tax law; and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as political unrest, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, acts of terror, natural disasters and pandemics, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the other factors discussed in Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its Forms 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which should be reviewed carefully. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release. Nordson Corporation is an innovative precision technology company that leverages a scalable growth framework through an entrepreneurial, division-led organization to deliver top tier growth with leading margins and returns. The Company’s direct sales model and applications expertise serves global customers through a wide variety of critical applications. Its diverse end market exposure includes consumer non-durable, medical, electronics and industrial end markets. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the Company has operations and support offices in over 35 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at , , or . NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands except for per-share amounts) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 Cost of sales 341,658 335,220 1,203,792 1,203,227 Gross profit 402,824 384,093 1,486,129 1,425,405 Gross margin % 54.1 % 53.4 % 55.2 % 54.2 % Selling & administrative expenses 223,932 199,054 812,128 752,644 Operating profit 178,892 185,039 674,001 672,761 Interest expense - net (27,282 ) (25,921 ) (84,011 ) (56,825 ) Other income (expense) - net (3,538 ) 1,462 (4,509 ) (597 ) Income before income taxes 148,072 160,580 585,481 615,339 Income taxes 25,904 32,802 118,197 127,846 Net Income $ 122,168 $ 127,778 $ 467,284 $ 487,493 Weighted-average common shares outstanding: Basic 57,188 57,020 57,176 57,090 Diluted 57,603 57,552 57,616 57,631 Earnings per share: Basic earnings $ 2.14 $ 2.24 $ 8.17 $ 8.54 Diluted earnings $ 2.12 $ 2.22 $ 8.11 $ 8.46 NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Cash and cash equivalents $ 115,952 $ 115,679 Receivables - net 594,663 590,886 Inventories - net 476,935 454,775 Other current assets 87,482 67,970 Total current assets 1,275,032 1,229,310 Property, plant & equipment - net 544,607 392,846 Goodwill 3,280,819 2,784,201 Other assets 900,508 845,413 $ 6,000,966 $ 5,251,770 Notes payable and debt due within one year $ 103,928 $ 115,662 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 424,549 466,427 Total current liabilities 528,477 582,089 Long-term debt 2,101,197 1,621,394 Other liabilities 439,100 450,227 Total shareholders' equity 2,932,192 2,598,060 $ 6,000,966 $ 5,251,770 NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net Income $ 467,284 $ 487,493 Depreciation and amortization 136,175 111,898 Other non-cash items 5,883 16,105 Changes in operating assets and liabilities and other (53,149 ) 25,786 Net cash provided by operating activities 556,193 641,282 Cash flows from investing activities: Additions to property, plant and equipment (64,410 ) (34,583 ) Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired (789,996 ) (1,422,780 ) Other - net 10,008 20,484 Net cash used in investing activities (844,398 ) (1,436,879 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Issuance (repayment) of long-term debt 464,353 976,043 Repayment of finance lease obligations (6,148 ) (6,840 ) Dividends paid (161,438 ) (150,356 ) Issuance of common shares 31,067 21,373 Purchase of treasury shares (33,339 ) (89,708 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 294,495 750,512 Effect of exchange rate change on cash (6,017 ) (2,693 ) Net change in cash and cash equivalents 273 (47,778 ) Cash and cash equivalents: Beginning of period 115,679 163,457 End of period $ 115,952 $ 115,679 NORDSON CORPORATION SALES BY GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENT (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Sales Variance October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Organic Acquisitions Currency Total Industrial precision solutions $ 392,150 $ 405,436 (5.5 )% 1.2 % 1.0 % (3.3 )% Medical and fluid solutions 200,223 168,632 (3.2 )% 21.4 % 0.5 % 18.7 % Advanced technology solutions 152,109 145,245 3.9 % — % 0.8 % 4.7 % Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 (3.0 )% 5.7 % 0.8 % 3.5 % Americas 323,170 315,635 (6.0 )% 8.9 % (0.5 )% 2.4 % Europe 185,350 184,297 (6.6 )% 4.6 % 2.6 % 0.6 % Asia Pacific 235,962 219,381 4.2 % 2.0 % 1.4 % 7.6 % Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 (3.0 )% 5.7 % 0.8 % 3.5 % Twelve Months Ended Sales Variance October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Organic Acquisitions Currency Total Industrial precision solutions $ 1,484,249 $ 1,391,046 0.1 % 6.6 % — % 6.7 % Medical and fluid solutions 695,452 660,316 (0.2 )% 5.4 % 0.1 % 5.3 % Advanced technology solutions 510,220 577,270 (11.4 )% — % (0.2 )% (11.6 )% Total sales $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 (2.5 )% 4.8 % — % 2.3 % Americas 1,178,626 1,149,760 (1.9 )% 4.3 % 0.1 % 2.5 % Europe 726,100 682,676 (5.1 )% 10.2 % 1.3 % 6.4 % Asia Pacific 785,195 796,196 (1.0 )% 1.0 % (1.4 )% (1.4 )% Total sales $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 (2.5 )% 4.8 % — % 2.3 % NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - NET INCOME TO EBITDA (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Net income 122,168 127,778 467,284 487,493 Income taxes 25,904 32,802 118,197 127,846 Interest expense - net 27,282 25,921 84,011 56,825 Other expense - net 3,538 (1,462 ) 4,509 597 Depreciation and amortization 36,528 31,261 136,175 111,898 Inventory step-up amortization (1) 4,759 4,556 7,703 8,862 Severance and other (1) 12,717 — 17,332 5,487 Acquisition-related costs (1) 8,200 6,244 13,957 19,966 EBITDA (non-GAAP) (2) 241,096 227,100 849,168 818,974 (1) Represents severance as well as fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions. (2) EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations. EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus certain adjustments, such as severance, fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions, plus depreciation and amortization. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - EBITDA (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Industrial precision solutions $ 392,150 $ 405,436 $ 1,484,249 $ 1,391,046 Medical and fluid solutions 200,223 168,632 695,452 660,316 Advanced technology solutions 152,109 145,245 510,220 577,270 Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 Industrial precision solutions $ 126,254 $ 131,450 $ 470,559 $ 460,889 Medical and fluid solutions 44,264 48,041 187,731 189,367 Advanced technology solutions 33,464 31,526 94,231 101,662 Corporate (25,090 ) (25,978 ) (78,520 ) (79,157 ) Total operating profit $ 178,892 $ 185,039 $ 674,001 $ 672,761 Industrial precision solutions $ 2,899 $ 4,658 $ 8,976 $ 4,658 Medical and fluid solutions 10,761 — 10,761 1,479 Advanced technology solutions 3,816 — 5,895 14,304 Corporate 8,200 6,142 13,360 13,874 Total adjustments $ 25,676 $ 10,800 $ 38,992 $ 34,315 Industrial precision solutions $ 14,035 $ 12,062 $ 56,856 $ 33,228 Medical and fluid solutions 17,239 13,547 58,061 54,988 Advanced technology solutions 3,340 3,529 13,433 15,185 Corporate 1,914 2,123 7,825 8,497 Total depreciation & amortization $ 36,528 $ 31,261 $ 136,175 $ 111,898 Industrial precision solutions $ 143,188 37 % $ 148,170 37 % $ 536,391 36 % $ 498,775 36 % Medical and fluid solutions 72,264 36 % 61,588 37 % 256,553 37 % 245,834 37 % Advanced technology solutions 40,620 27 % 35,055 24 % 113,559 22 % 131,151 23 % Corporate (14,976 ) (17,713 ) (57,335 ) (56,786 ) Total EBITDA $ 241,096 32 % $ 227,100 32 % $ 849,168 32 % $ 818,974 31 % (1) Represents severance as well as fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions. (2) EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations. EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus certain adjustments, such as severance, fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions, plus depreciation and amortization. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND EARNINGS PER SHARE (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Operating profit $ 178,892 $ 185,039 $ 674,001 $ 672,761 Other / interest expense - net (30,820 ) (24,459 ) (88,520 ) (57,422 ) Net income 122,168 127,778 467,284 487,493 Diluted earnings per share $ 2.12 $ 2.22 $ 8.11 $ 8.46 Shares outstanding - diluted 57,603 57,552 57,616 57,631 Inventory step-up amortization $ 4,759 $ 4,556 $ 7,703 $ 8,862 Severance and other 12,717 — 17,332 5,487 Acquisition costs 8,200 6,244 13,957 19,966 $ 19,560 $ 17,880 $ 76,972 $ 59,719 908 6,817 908 6,817 Total adjustments $ 46,144 $ 35,497 $ 116,872 $ 100,851 Adjustments net of tax $ 38,071 $ 28,247 $ 93,278 $ 79,898 EPS effect of adjustments and other discrete tax items $ 0.66 $ 0.49 $ 1.62 $ 1.39 Adjusted net income (1) $ 160,239 $ 156,025 $ 560,562 $ 567,391 Adjusted earnings per share (2) $ 2.78 $ 2.71 $ 9.73 $ 9.85 (1) Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure defined as net income plus tax effected adjustments and other discrete tax items. (2) Adjusted earnings per share is a non-GAAP measure defined as GAAP EPS adjusted for tax effected adjustments and other discrete tax items. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - OPERATING CASH FLOW TO FREE CASH FLOW (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Year to Date October 31, 2024 July 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 January 31, 2024 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 556,193 $ 459,812 $ 294,964 $ 172,356 Additions to property, plant and equipment (64,410 ) (43,786 ) (21,907 ) (7,530 ) Free Cash Flow - Year to Date (1) 491,783 416,026 273,057 164,826 Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date (2) 75,757 142,969 108,231 164,826 Net Income - Year to Date $ 467,284 Free Cash Flow Conversion (3) 105 % Year to Date October 31, 2023 July 31, 2023 April 30, 2023 January 31, 2023 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 641,282 $ 478,072 $ 287,905 $ 123,337 Additions to property, plant and equipment (34,583 ) (24,244 ) (15,349 ) (9,302 ) Free Cash Flow (1) 606,699 453,828 272,556 114,035 Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date (2) 152,871 181,272 158,521 114,035 (1) Free Cash Flow - Year to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is defined as Net cash provided by operating activities minus Additions to property, plant and equipment. (2) Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is equal to Free Cash Flow - Year to Date less prior period Free Cash Flow - Year to Date. (3) Free Cash Flow Conversion - Year to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is defined as Free Cash Flow - Year to Date divided by Net Income - Year to Date. Management uses certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted net income, adjusted EPS and EBITDA, internally to make strategic decisions, forecast future results, and evaluate the Company's current performance. Given management's use of these non-GAAP measures, the Company believes these measures are important to investors in understanding the Company's current and future operating results as seen through the eyes of management. In addition, management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in enabling them to better assess changes in the Company's core business across different time periods. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures to other companies' non-GAAP financial measures, even if they have similar names. Amounts may not add due to rounding. View source version on : CONTACT: Lara Mahoney Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications 440.204.9985 KEYWORD: OHIO UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION PACKAGING ENGINEERING SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING OTHER MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Nordson Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/11/2024 04:30 PM/DISC: 12/11/2024 04:32 PMKINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Sebastian Thomas' 19 points helped Rhode Island defeat Providence 69-63 on Saturday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Sebastian Thomas' 19 points helped Rhode Island defeat Providence 69-63 on Saturday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Sebastian Thomas’ 19 points helped Rhode Island defeat Providence 69-63 on Saturday. Thomas shot 7 for 14 (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Rams (9-0). Jaden House scored 18 points and added five rebounds. David Green shot 4 for 11 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points, while adding eight rebounds and three blocks. The Friars (6-4) were led in scoring by Bryce Hopkins, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Bensley Joseph added 16 points and two steals for Providence. Jayden Pierre also had 12 points and three steals. House scored 14 points in the first half and Rhode Island went into halftime trailing 35-28. Thomas scored 17 points down the stretch in the second half to help lead Rhode Island to a six-point victory. NEXT UP Both teams next play Tuesday. Rhode Island visits Brown and Providence squares off against DePaul on the road. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Advertisement
Two Americans combined to deal the final blow to Manchester City in Turin on Wednesday. Weston McKennie gave Juventus a 2-0 lead via an assist from Tim Weah to put the game out of reach late in the second half. McKennie had missed time for Juventus with a foot injury and had to settle for coming off the bench for Thiago Motta's side, as did Weah, but once they entered in the 69th minute, McKennie and Weah ensured that his presence was felt and then some in the clash. The pair combined to score in the 75th minute and what a goal it was. After Juventus won the ball back, McKennie released Weah down the left and the winger got two chances to cross it in and his second fell perfectly to McKennie who had steamed forward in support to hit the ball on the half-volley to double Juventus' lead after Dusan Vlahovic scored in the first half of play. It's the first time ever that an American has assisted another American in Champions League play. Take a look at the goal: Scored in Torino, made in America! 🇮🇹🤝🇺🇸 Juve's #USMNT duo combine for a goal to remember as Tim Weah sets up Weston McKennie 🪄 pic.twitter.com/ZaZsL3u7jY "It was a big moment for the team with the situation that we've been in. I think we talked about it yesterday before the game and we wanted to come out here and give it the best that we could," McKennie said following the match. "We knew it was going to be a difficult game because Manchester City is a team that's all about possession and can punish you with one action. So we knew what type of game it was going to be and with the situation that we're in, we wanted to win this game to boost our confidence to keep going forward in the league." McKennie's goal and this victory came at a critical time as Juventus had drawn four consecutive games in all competitions prior to this match, but it also deepens Manchester City's spiral. Under Pep Guardiola, City has now failed to win nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions and could find themselves in a fight to even make it out of the league phase as they currently sit 22nd on eight points. Facing Paris Saint-Germain next, that could be a match where the loser fails to make the knockout stage of the tournament while Juventus will like their standing after they rose to 13th with the result. McKennie is enjoying another strong season with Juventus as this was now his second Champions League goal to go alongside a goal and two assists in Serie A play but it's also a season that almost didn't happen. Heading into the season, McKennie was out of manager Thiago Motta's plans before not only forcing Motta's hand but also extending his contract at Juventus for another season . Getting to move from playing as a wing back back into the center of the park where he's more comfortable has had a large role on McKennie's performances under Motta. It feels like the beginning of each season starts with McKennie possibly being on the outs at Juventus before he plays his way back into the XI and shows why he's one of the most important players in midfield at the club. At 26, he's beginning to enter his prime, and speaking to CBS Sports, the American midfielder opened up on what it feels like to be doubted and how it impacts his play. "Being an American, being over here, [being doubted] is something that you deal with," McKennie said. "But I like it, I like it when people doubt me. I think I play my best football when people doubt me and you know, I've proven again and again. So as long as I've got people that doubt me I see good football, hopefully so it's fine with me." AN INTERVIEW WITH EVERYTHING 🗣️ @WMckennie reacts to Juve win over Man City, reveals his favorite pundit, opens up about the adversity he has faced as an American abroad, gives @clint_dempsey his flowers and rates @MicahRichards trim 😂🇺🇸🙌 pic.twitter.com/4ouWMWkhR6 The perception of Americans in Europe has been a common theme but it's something that they're all working on changing this year with Americans scoring eight goals in the UCL this season. Christian Pulisic and Malik Tillman lead the way with three goals apiece before McKennie's two and Ricardo Pepi added another. Even when coming off the bench, Americans are getting the job done. "There's definitely a bias and it's just something that you get used to," McKennie said in the Pulisic documentary currently streaming on Paramount+. "I go through it most of the time. Whenever I'm at Juventus, every year somehow I'm on the out and I'm ready to be discarded and then every summer, I'm like a new player coming in, having to make a name for myself and it's like, when are you guys just going to finally just see that I can play at this level and I'm good enough for this level and I've done it enough times? But it's why Americans are the way we are because we always have this chip on our shoulder when we come to Europe." That chip shows in McKennie's game as he's able to contribute no matter what role he is in and it's also important to have as many Americans in top form as possible ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil. Expectations are rising now that Mauricio Pochettino is the head coach of the United States men's national team and having players like McKennie in top form will be critical to meet those expectations.
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On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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President of Argentina Javier Milei announced Wednesday that his administration is preparing a structural tax reform that will eliminate 90 percent of existing taxes in 2025. Milei announced the plan, alongside other policies he seeks to implement in his second year in office, while marking the end of his first. Among them was a plan to negotiate a trade deal with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration once he takes office in January. Tuesday marked one year since Milei took office on December 10, 2023, and became Argentina’s first libertarian president, succeeding socialist former President Alberto Fernández. At the time he took office, Argentina faced a severe economic crisis that dramatically worsened as a result of Fernández’s disastrous socialist policies. Milei implemented a series of drastic “shock therapy” measures to avert the collapse of the country’s economy and avoid a hyperinflation spiral. Milei’s policies successfully reduced the inflation rate in Argentina, dropping it from 25.5 percent in December 2023 to 2.7 percent in October 2024 while also allowing the nation to experience ten months of continued trade surplus as of November. Additionally, Milei spearheaded a dramatic overhaul of the Argentine government during his first year, reducing the number of ministries from 18 to nine on his first day and outright replacing other institutions — such as Argentina’s bloated AFIP revenue service, which was dissolved and substituted with a much smaller agency in November . The Argentine president also introduced a series of sweeping reforms that Congress passed in late June. Milei marked his first year in office by delivering a speech in the evening hours of Tuesday in the company of his ministers and members of his administration. He reviewed the results of his policies and announced a series of upcoming measures. In his roughly 35-minute speech, Milei thanked Argentines for electing him and for “having endured, as you did, the hard months we had at the beginning of our administration,” assuring that their sacrifice “will not be in vain.” “There is a saying that says ‘good times create weak men, weak men create hard times, hard times create strong men, and it is strong men who create good times.’ This year, we Argentines have proven to be strong men and women, forged in the heat of difficult times,” Milei said. “We have shown that, when a people touches the bottom of the abyss, its urgency to undertake a deep and irreversible change becomes a true force of nature,” he continued. Milei stressed that his administration will continue with his economic reforms throughout 2025 and to that end, he stated that his administration is currently finalizing a “structural tax reform” that will reduce the amount of national taxes by 90 percent while restoring tax autonomy to Argentina’s provinces. “Thus, next year we will see a real tax competition among the Argentine provinces to see who will attract the most investment,” Milei said. The Argentine president ensured that his administration will also eliminate existing currency control measures inherited by his government next year and stated that there would be a “free competition of currencies” which, Milei explained, will allow “all Argentines will be able to use the currency they want in their daily transactions.” “This means that from now on every Argentinean will be able to buy, sell and invoice in dollars or the currency they consider, except for the payment of taxes, which for now will continue to be in pesos,” Milei said. The Argentine president posited that it is also essential to “break the foreign trade chains that are currently suffocating us” to accelerate the country’s economic recovery. Argentina is a member of the regional Mercosur trade bloc, a group that Milei has fiercely criticized in the past and which he now holds its pro-tempore presidency as of last week . Milei proposed the elimination of tariff barriers among Mercosur members and added that one of his administration’s goals in Mercosur is to “increase the autonomy of the members of the organization vis-à-vis the rest of the world, so that each country can trade freely with whomever it wants as it suits them.” One of those trade deals, he said, would hopefully be a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States next year — something that, Milei said, “should have been signed 19 years ago.” “Imagine how much we would have grown in these two decades if we had traded with the world’s leading power. All that growth was taken away from us with the simple signature of a group of bureaucrats, who refused to accept the benefits of free trade,” Milei said. “In this way, Argentina will stop turning its back on the world and will once again be a protagonist of world trade, because there is no prosperity without trade and there is no trade without freedom,” he continued. Milei said that his administration will continue with the deregularization and reduction of public spending throughout his second year through a “ruthless audit” that will see the elimination of unnecessary agencies, secretariats, public companies, and state institutions. Other upcoming policies announced by Milei include proposing an “anti-mafia” law inspired by the United States’ Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to fight against organized crime, federal police reforms, the creation of an “anti-narcoterrorism” unit in cooperation with Mercosur to combat drug trafficking in the tri-border area that Argentina shares with Brazil and Paraguay, and the “imminent presentation of a plan to build new nuclear reactors and research small or modular reactor technologies,” among others. Milei observed that 2025 will see Argentina hold midterm legislative elections and stressed that “unlike what politicians usually do, who in election years spend their time squandering the money of all Argentines” his administration would “do something different” and continue implementing his economic reforms. “It is unique in the history of modern democracies that a government begins the election year without an expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, because that is precisely the logic of the past that has sunk us,” Milei said. “We are not going to fall into this temptation that seduced the caste, because we are the future and the prosperity.” “We are going to continue our adjustment program to be able to lower taxes and return money to the private sector, and we are going to put on the table an agenda of profound reforms, developed on the pillars that I told you about today, so that society can legally choose which country it wants,” he continued. The Argentine president concluded by stating that Argentina is heading towards a “future of prosperity” and said 2024 will be remembered as the “first year of the new Argentina.” Milei further stressed that, unlike other moments in the nation’s history where hope was based “on empty words, we have brought results.” “You can see them, you can feel them. That future of prosperity is within our reach. There is nothing you can do to prevent it: you can get on the train of progress or you can be run over by it,” Milei said. Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here .On such an ordinary, nondescript out-of-the-way, deprived-of-any-action street on the periphery of the city of Buffalo within the state of New York sits the origin of the worldwide food sensation, much loved by generations: the iconic Buffalo Wing. We were en route back to the hinterland forested hamlet of Russell where the does and stags roam, from our perennial Niagara Falls visit, where each overnight stay through the year seems to be more memorable than the previous ones. We surprisingly took a sudden unscheduled detour on the behest of my nephew Eduard Loop. He assuredly declared “We have to make this pitstop. I assure you all will love it.” Despite our initial complains with moans and grumbles, we were taken aback once we stepped out from our respective vehicles on a caravan. Before us stood the 1935-established Frank and Teressa’s Anchor Bar “Home of the Original Buffalo Chicken Wings” — the very location where this memorable dish was born. Having never eaten Buffalo Wings before, I was personally more-than-just curious to finally try it out — and what better way to finally sample it than right here, in this hallowed ground? Upon stepping in, we immediately noticed informative slogans which were an instant walk back in time on the historical narrative of this culinary discovery. For context, back then, chicken wings were considered undesirable, only being relegated for stock or soup — or worse, thrown away. However in 1964, the fate of the humble not-so-much-desired part of the chicken anatomy was substantially reforged. Forever be grateful to Anchor Bar owner Teressa Bellissimo, who transformed the once-upon-a-time leftover fried wings bathed in hot sauce as a late-night snack for her son Dominic who always brought over some friends. It was an overnight hit! The following day, it was immediately listed on their menu, served together with the acquired taste bleu cheese dip and crisp celery sticks. Nearby residents patronized the newest offering to popular acclaim. The Buffalo Wing craze soon took over North America, as even fast food giants began incorporating their own versions of Buffalo wings in their own menus. Today, this marvel has spread worldwide, as we even have Buffalo chicken wings available at various restaurants domestically. However, faithful and die-hard patrons genuinely believe the proclaimed and coveted “Best Wing in the World” title still belongs to the original well-guarded secret “tangy, spicy, yet buttery” recipe of Anchor Bar. The rustic all-tables-taken-no-seat-empty mom-and-pop restaurant, now filled with true-blue regulars and excited tourists, retains its homely feel, with truly authentic American decors such as motoring club cloth patches, VIP photographs, hard-earned trophies, license plates, police badges, football magazine clippings, black and white comic book pages, and even some sheets of Playboy Magazine. By the entrance of the well-stocked souvenir shop full of mementos and slices of memories, we spotted a statue of a quintessential vintage waitress with a flag of what is called the Buffalo Wing Trail, termed as “America’s tastiest drive,” a campaign to savor various versions of the now-favorite cult classic. But finally, the main reason for our stopover — the Anchor Bar offers traditional and boneless wings in various flavors and quantities. Some sauces are honey garlic, honey bourbon barbeque, chipotle barbeque, spicy garlic parmesan, and even extreme heat for the most adventurous. Dry rub versions of habanero ranch, classic buffalo and Cajun likewise exist. Other offers include appetizers such as mozzarella stix, potato skins and stuffed hot peppers. Meanwhile, entrees consist of cheese ravioli, grilled tenders, fish fry, spaghetti and meatballs, and even a variety of pizzas! Suffice to say, there was a dish that screamed “Order me!” to every single diner. And order we did! Having finally sampled the most famous wing in the world, I can definitely attest: it deserves all the accolades it has gotten. In fact, in 1977, the city of Buffalo even proclaimed 29 July as Chicken Wing Day, and celebrated the Anchor Bar co-owners. What caught my eye was the saying on the wall that went “Hot wings, cold drinks, and good company — the recipe for a perfect night.” Cheers to the Anchor Bar, the creator of the original Buffalo Wing!
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