49 jili
Experts anticipate another bullish year for gold on strong demand
Canada thumped Trinidad and Tobago 38-0 to win the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens on Sunday and qualify for World Rugby’s second-tier Challenger Series. The tournament-favourite Canadian men outscored their opposition 169-0 over five matches in a first step back up the rugby sevens ladder since being relegated from the elite HSBC SVNS circuit in June. The top four teams from the three-event Challenger Series will face off against the bottom four from the HSBC SVNS at the SVNS World Championships May 3-4 in Carson, Calif., in a promotion/relegation playoff. “I think it’s just about continually building,” said Canada captain Elias Hancock. “We know what we’re capable of. We’ve shown it at times. It’s just time to get back to that place where we know we belong.” Prior to relegation, Canada had been a core team on the top sevens circuit since 2012-13 and lifted the trophy in Singapore in 2017. The Canadian men finished eighth at the Tokyo Olympics. Trinidad had plenty of the ball in the first half of Sunday’s final at Larry Gomes Stadium. But Canada, helped by several penalties, scored first with Hancock touching down under the posts for a try converted by Thomas Isherwood. Matt Oworu, beating two defenders, added another converted try for a 14-0 lead at the break. Cooper Coats added a converted try early in the second half. And Hancock, Jack Shaw and Noah Bain added late tries after Trinidad lost a man to the sin-bin for two minutes midway through the second half for an infraction off a Canadian kickoff. Earlier Sunday, the Canadians defeated Jamaica 26-0 in semifinal play and the Cayman Islands 38-0 in the quarterfinal. Trinidad and Tobago made it to the final — for the first time since 2013 — with a 19-7 comeback win over Mexico. Jamaica defeated Mexico 12-0 to finish third. Weather was a factor during the three-day tournament in Arima, some 30 kilometres east of Port of Spain. After enduring 30-plus C heat and humidity Friday, their final Pool A game against Barbados was abandoned Saturday due to a storm. On Sunday, the Canadians played the Cayman Islands in a downpour and the skies opened again at halftime of the Jamaica game. Alex Russell, Josiah Morra, Coats and Hancock scored tries against Jamaica for Canada, which led 12-0 at the break. Thomas Isherwood added three conversions. Morra and Hancock each scored two tries against the Caymans and Ethan Hager and D’Shawn Bowen added singles for Canada, which led 19-0 at the half. Canada added four conversions. Canada, which blanked Guyana 29-0 Friday, dispatched Bermuda 38-0 Saturday and was leading Barbados 10-0 when the game was halted in the first half due to heavy rain and high winds. While play eventually resumed, the interrupted Canada game was ruled a scoreless draw. The Canadian men are coming off a disastrous 3-36-0 HSBC SVNS season that ended with a 22-14 loss to Spain with relegation on the line. It was a 29th straight defeat. After being relegated, coach Sean White’s team fell short in an Olympic repechage tournament in late June in Monaco, finishing fourth after losing 26-0 to eventual winner South Africa in the semifinals. The Blitzboks went on to claim bronze in Paris. The 13-man roster for the RAN 7s includes six players who were part of the relegation playoff in Madrid: Hancock, Isherwood, Morra, Coats, Oworu and David Richard. Morra, Coats and Oworu joined the sevens team from Bucharest where they were part of Kingsley Jones’ Canadian 15s squad for test matches against Chile and Romania. The Canadian men are scheduled to play in an invitational men’s sevens tournament taking place at B.C. Place Stadium alongside the HSBC SVNS Vancouver stop in February. The Canadian women left Sunday for Dubai and the opening stop of the 2005 HSBC SVNS season. The Olympic silver-medallist Canadians open play next Saturday against Japan before facing Brazil and Olympic champion New Zealand.
Middle East latest: Syria's forces withdraw from Homs, a key link between the capital and coastOf course, as goes NVDA, so goes the market, and after last night's beat (but disappointing revenue forecast), the giantest of giant tech companies swung around like a penny stock, adding and subtracting $100s of billions in market cap in an instant... Bear in mind that the vol market had pegged an 8% swing - Jensen's comments helped rescue the stock: "I believe that there will be no digestion until we modernize a trillion dollars with the data centers." Interestingly, while NVDA managed to hold on to gains, the Mega-Cap tech basket was hit hard and could not bounce back to green... Source: Bloomberg ... as GOOGL was clubbed like a baby seal... Source: Bloomberg All the major indices ended the day green (though Nasdaq lagged), as Small Caps ripped... ...thanks to a huge short squeeze (again)... Source: Bloomberg On the macro side, it was 'bad news': Philly Fed fell hard in November (from +10.3 to -5.5 vs +8.0 exp), Continuing Jobless claims topped 1.9mm Americans for the first time in three years (initial claims dropped), and the Leading Index dropped 0.4% (more than expected). Initial claims and existing home sales were positive to offset some of the negative but overall, the US Macro Surprise index actually rolled over... Source: Bloomberg Treasury yields were marginally higher on the day with the short-end lagging (2Y +3bps, 30Y +1bps). That pulled the short-end higher on the week, while the belly is outperforming on the week... Source: Bloomberg Rate-cut expectations continued to slide with less than three full 25bp cuts now priced-in by the end of 2025... Source: Bloomberg As bond yields rose, so did oil prices with WTI holding back above $70... Source: Bloomberg The dollar rallied back up near post-election highs... Source: Bloomberg But, the big news of the day was in 'alternate' currencies with bitcoin continuing to charge higher (topping $99k) as Gensler announced his retirement and Trump's crypto council takes shape... Source: Bloomberg ...and Gold also soared back above its 50DMA... Source: Bloomberg ...up for the 4th straight day after 6 straight down following the election... Source: Bloomberg And finally, Bitcoin finally took out its record high relative to gold... Source: Bloomberg Do you feel lucky?
CHICAGO — Petr Mrazek made 32 saves and Teuvo Teravainen scored, helping the Chicago Blackhawks top the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Thursday night. Craig Smith and Nick Foligno also scored as Chicago stopped a three-game slide. The Blackhawks also improved to 3-5-0 at home this season. Mrazek returned to Chicago's lineup after he missed Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Florida because of a personal matter. Sam Reinhart scored his 15th goal for Florida, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Spencer Knight stopped 17 shots for the Stanley Cup champions. Teravainen put Chicago in front with a power-play goal 2:46 into the first period. It was his second goal in his last 17 games. Smith made it 2-0 when he got a pass from Pat Maroon and went to his backhand to convert a breakaway 10:07 into the second. It was his fifth goal of the season. Reinhart responded 34 seconds later, beating a screened Mrazek for his fourth goal in his last five games. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser passes the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Chicago. Credit: AP/Erin Hooley Florida pressed for the tying goal in the final minutes, but Foligno put it away with an empty-netter with 1:00 left. Takeaways Panthers: Came up empty on a couple of prime scoring opportunities. Blackhawks: Coach Luke Richardson was looking for more fight from his team after it blew a 2-1 lead in the third period of the loss to the Ducks. The Blackhawks responded, especially in the last part of the game. Key moment Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser was sent off for delay of game 12:22 into the third, but the Blackhawks killed off the penalty. Florida went 0 for 2 on the power play. Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, left, and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman TJ Brodie (78) chase the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Chicago. Credit: AP/Erin Hooley Key stat Foligno has 10 goals and 14 assists in his career against Florida. Up next Florida opens a three-game homestand on Saturday night against Colorado. Chicago visits Philadelphia on Saturday.Insurgents pick up speed
The Los Angeles Chargers secondary has been hit with multiple injuries all season. Nearly every starter has missed time due to injury. The latest are injuries to cornerbacks Eli Apple , Cam Hart , and safety Alohi Gilman. Chargers Move Apple To IR, Sign Maye On Wednesday afternoon, the team announced they were moving Apple to injured reserve, while the LA Times’ Thuc Nhi Nguyen reported that both Hart and Gilman did not practice with the team. Hart missed the team’s game against the Baltimore Ravens due to a concussion/ankle. Gilman was injured in that game. In an attempt to put a band-aid, the temas claimed former Miami Dolphins safety Marcus Maye off waivers. Maye was a second-round pick in the 2017 draft where he was picked by the New York Jets. He played with the Jets for five seasons before signing with the New Orleans Saints. After two years with the Saints, he signed with the Dolphins, where he has been for the last two seasons. Maye has been featured heavily over the last four games. In limited playing time this season, Maye has combined for 30 tackles, including a tackle for loss and he has forced a fumble. The Chargers also have safeties Tony Jefferson, Emany Johnson, and Kendall Williamson, as well as, cornerbacks, Dicaprio Bootle and Shaun Wade on their practice squad. This article first appeared on LAFB Network and was syndicated with permission.Wall Street drifts to a mixed close in thin trading following a holiday pause
AleAnna, Inc. Announces Completion of Business Combination between Swiftmerge Acquisition Corp. and AleAnna Energy, LLC
CNN wants the North Carolina lieutenant governor's defamation lawsuit against it thrown outIt wasn't a great day to be a running back. First, it was early in the game, but he later returned. Then it was , who appeared to be knocked out at the conclusion of a wild 60 minutes. The Week 12 game featured lead changes, special teams mayhem and some near-magic for the Commanders. While the comeback effort fell short, dropping Washington to 7-4 on the season, the concern now shifts to Ekeler. Here is the latest on the Commanders' veteran running back. LANDOVER, Md. — running back Austin Ekeler was taken to the hospital after suffering a concussion late in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys "out of an abundance of caution," a team spokesman said. Ekeler suffered the injury on the final kick return of the afternoon with the Commanders trailing by eight points and less than 10 seconds on the clock. A pair of Cowboys sandwiched him on the tackle and the 29-year-old's helmet hit the ground with force. He remained on the ground for a few minutes. Players from both teams took knees as Washington’s training staff tended to him. Ekeler walked off the field and to the locker room but with significant help from the trainers. Ekeler rushed for 22 yards on 9 carries against Dallas and caught two passes for two yards. The eight-year veteran is in his first season with the Commanders and spent the first seven with the Los Angeles Chargers. He has four rushing touchdowns this season and entered Sunday with 667 combined rushing and receiving yards. Austin Ekeler Scary looking play, appears to get hit in the head while running, then again hits his head hard on the ground. Hoping for the best 🙏🏻 — Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) If Ekeler is forced to miss time, Washington will be down to just two running backs. Robinson Jr. would remain the starting back, but McNichols would likely see more work.
