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German government doubles 2023 growth forecast to 0.4%

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Wednesday doubled its growth forecast this year for Europe’s largest economy after the country made it through the winter without major energy problems.It said it now expects gross domestic product to grow by 0.4% — up from the 0.2% expansion it forecast in late January, which in turn was a big improvement on the 0.4% contraction predicted in October. The government expects growth to accelerate to 1.6% next year.The new government outlook for 2023 is a bit more optimistic than that of a group of four leading German economic research institutes, which earlier this month forecast growth of 0.3%. The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that German GDP will decline by 0.1% this year.Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the economy has proven to be “adaptable and resilient” in the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia — once Germany’s biggest natural gas supplier — halted gas deliveries to the co...

M/I Homes: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — M/I Homes Inc. (MHO) on Wednesday reported net income of $103.1 million in its first quarter.The Columbus, Ohio-based company said it had net income of $3.64 per share.The homebuilder posted revenue of $1 billion in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MHO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MHOSource

Humana hikes 2023 forecast after better-than-expected 1Q

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

Growing enrollment and declining hospital use by COVID-19 patients helped push the health insurer Humana past first-quarter expectations. The Medicare Advantage coverage provider also hiked its 2023 forecast well beyond Wall Street forecasts Wednesday. Its shares rose in early trading.Humana said Medicare Advantage enrollment jumped 11% to more than 5.6 million people in the quarter. Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program for people who are age 65 and older or those who have certain disabilities.Overall, Humana’s profit rose 33% to $1.24 billion in the quarter. Earnings adjusted for one-time gains and costs totaled $9.38 per share. Revenue grew more than 11% to $26.74 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings of $9.25 per share on $26.32 billion in revenue, according to Zacks Investment Research.Humana Inc. said Wednesday that it now expects adjusted earnings for 2023 to be at least $28.25 per share. That’s up from a previous forecast ...

Ukraine launches tech cluster to boost military capability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian government on Wednesday launched a new initiative meant to streamline and promote innovation in the development of drones and other technologies that have been critical in the war with Russia. As part of the initiative dubbed BRAVE1, the government hopes to bring state, military, and private sector developers working on defense issues together into a tech cluster that would give Ukraine a battlefield advantage.“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, said. Fedorov told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s official announcement that the government had earmarked more than 100 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) to fund projects that have the potential to help Ukraine win the 14-month conflict. “There are many people on the battlefield now of the young generation that can w...

Multiple 18-year-olds arrested in deadly rock-throwing crime spree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Three 18-year-olds have been arrested in connection to the rock-throwing crime spree in Jefferson and Boulder County that killed a 20-year-old woman. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has announced the arrest of three suspects in a case that has grabbed the attention of many in the metro area. Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, JCSO said they arrested Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak. The three men are all 18 years old and were taken into custody at their homes in Arvada. Out-of-town couple watches armed home burglary through surveillance camera All three are suspected of throwing rocks, and all are facing charges of first-degree murder - extreme indifference. Additional charges are expected to be filed at a later date. JCSO said it is unclear which suspect was driving during the crime spree, but they can confirm they were driving a black 2016 Chevy Silverado.The three suspects were arrested in connection to ...

Democratic elected officials in Jackson, Mississippi, call 2 controversial new laws a ‘slap in the face of our city’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

(CNN) — A pair of new laws in Mississippi is leaving Jackson divided, with some hoping they will save a capital city wracked by a rise in homicides while others see an echo of a racist past.As part of the laws, the state of Mississippi will expand its law enforcement reach over the entire city of Jackson and implement major changes to its judicial system.Democratic elected officials in Jackson call the laws a “slap in the face of our city” and a regression toward the state’s painful Civil Rights era past. On the other hand, those that pushed for the laws say it is a necessary public safety move for a city that has seen a sharp rise in homicides.Jackson’s homicides per year have doubled over the last decade, peaking in 2021, when the city’s murder rate more than 12 times the national average, making Jackson one of the deadliest cities in the United States.“The fact is that Jackson has so much potential. It is our capital city and the heart of...

Rock legend Freddie Mercury’s personal possessions are going up for auction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

(CNN) — Around 1,500 items that once belonged to the late British rock star Freddie Mercury are going up for auction, including never-before-seen handwritten draft lyrics to “We Are the Champions,” one of the band Queen’s most famous songs.The objects are being offered for sale by Mary Austin, a close friend of Mercury, who inherited his estate.In addition to draft song lyrics. the items in the sale will include: pink, star-shaped glasses similar to the dark pair Mercury wore in the music video for his band’s 1977 hit “We Will Rock You”; his tiny Tiffany & Co. mustache comb; his guitar, believed to have been used to write and record “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”; the waistcoat Mercury wore in his final music video, “These Are the Days of Our Lives,” in 1991; and a Pablo Picasso linocut titled “Jacqueline au chapeau noir.”Mercury’s famous crown — thought to be loosely modeled on the crown...

Pembroke Pines PD searching for owner of missing ferret

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

The Pembroke Pines Police Department found a ferret at their East Police Headquarters and they are asking the public for help in finding its owner.On Wednesday morning, they tweeted about the furry find asking people if they lost their ferret.https://twitter.com/PPinesPD/status/1651190140549713921?s=20If this ferret belongs to you contact 954-431-2200.

Netflix to invest $2.5 billion in South Korea as K-content continues to dominate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

 (CNN) — Netflix is doubling down on South Korea with plans to invest $2.5 billion over the next four years to produce more K-dramas, movies and reality shows.The streaming giant announced the push Monday, following a meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and its co-CEO Ted Sarandos in Washington.The investment is double the amount that Netflix has announced so far in the fast-growing market since arriving in 2016. In 2021, company executives said Netflix planned to invest about $500 million into Korean content, on top of the $700 million already spent since 2016.The latest news underscores how the entertainment behemoth is becoming more bullish on Korean content, which is being enthusiastically consumed by fans worldwide.The stories produced in South Korea are “representing the global cultural zeitgeist,” Sarandos said in a speech Monday, citing the success of shows such as “Squid Game,” “The Glory,” and “Physical:...

British MP expelled from Tories after comparing COVID-19 jab to Holocaust

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:22 GMT

LONDON — Former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has been expelled from the party after he compared coronavirus vaccines to the Holocaust.Bridgen’s expulsion, which comes three months after he was stripped of the Conservative whip in the Commons, was first reported by the Sun newspaper Wednesday.A Conservative Party spokesperson said that Bridgen “was expelled from the Conservative Party on 12th April following the recommendation of a disciplinary panel.”“He has 28 days from this date to appeal,” the spokesperson added.In a now-deleted tweet posted in January, Bridgen shared a link to a vaccine-related article on the far-right blog ZeroHedge and said: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.” Chief Whip Simon Hart promptly removed the Tory whip. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led condemnation of the remarks, branding them “utterly unacceptable.” The MP has been increasingly critical...