All posts tagged: Subdued

Subdued Lebanon Liberation Day celebrations under new Israeli occupation | Israel attacks Lebanon

Subdued Lebanon Liberation Day celebrations under new Israeli occupation | Israel attacks Lebanon

Published by Sam Flores

Beirut, Lebanon – On May 25, 2000, the last Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon ending their 18-year occupation. This expulsion of Israeli forces by an armed movement led by Hezbollah has been a cause of national celebration in Lebanon ever since, but this year, a new occupation in the south has dampened the mood. “Liberation Day is a sacred day for us,” Ali Saleh, 55, from Jwaya in southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera. “It is a holiday of victory, pride and dignity.” Saleh said he would spend this Liberation Day at the Camille Chamoun Stadium on the southern periphery of Beirut, where he has lived with his wife and son after being displaced in March, when Israeli forces again invaded the south. He is one of more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon who have been displaced from their homes, predominantly from south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, since then. In the past two years, Lebanon has been invaded twice by Israel. In early 2025, more than two months after a ceasefire was agreed, …

Consumer Credit Grows Less Than Expected On Subdued Credit Card Usage

Consumer Credit Grows Less Than Expected On Subdued Credit Card Usage

Published by Jenni Sidey

While the monthly jobs report has become a veritable economic random number generator, with every monthly print coming either well below or above the forecast stack, the weekly initial claims report has become its foil – a study in boring reporting, with numbers barely budging week to week, and usually falling right on top of Wall Street estimates. A similar dynamic is emerging for the monthly consumer credit report: following a volatile 2025, when revolving credit swung around wildly in unexpected ways dragging the broader print with it, the last few months have been surprisingly steady, printing right around the consensus expectations with barely any volatility. The latest, February, report published minutes ago by the Fed was no surprise: with expectations for a modest increase from last month’s $8.05 billion to $10.25 billion, the reported number was just shy of the estimate, printing $9.484 billion, up from a downward revised $7.665 billion. Revolving credit rose a modest $709 million – the weakest monthly increase since November – to $1.328 trillion, the highest since November 2024.  …

Indian IT firms face subdued fourth quarter as war, AI concerns persist; weak rupee helps earnings

Indian IT firms face subdued fourth quarter as war, AI concerns persist; weak rupee helps earnings

Published by Sam Flores

BENGALURU, April 6 : Top Indian information technology firms are set to report another lacklustre quarter, with revenue and profit seen rising around 10 per cent year-on-year largely on a weaker rupee rather than underlying growth, seven brokerages said. Uncertainties due to wars, weak discretionary spending and concerns around artificial intelligence will keep weighing on client budgets, making the revenue forecast for the next fiscal year a key focus for investors, they added. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech and other software services exporters are due to report fourth quarter results starting April 9. “We expect limited deal win surprises, patchy ex-BFSI growth and slow start to (the first half of 2027) on macro/gen AI uncertainty,” Ambit Capital analysts said in a preview note. The Indian rupee fell 4 per cent against the U.S. dollar during the March quarter, and slid to record low levels. Software services companies typically benefit as they bill in foreign currencies while incurring most costs in rupees, inflating profits when dollar revenues are converted. The $315 billion sector, employing about 5.9 …

MAHA, Subdued – The Atlantic

MAHA, Subdued – The Atlantic

Published by José Betancourt

Casey Means has, to say the least, modified her tone. When she testified today in front of the Senate’s health committee, the nominee for surgeon general didn’t, as she is normally wont to do, delve into her experiences with psychedelics or endorse raw milk. She also did not rail at length against birth control. Instead, the longtime health entrepreneur and influencer emphasized her medical degree from Stanford—even though she does not have an active medical license—and sought out common ground with the senators cross-examining her. Before her nomination last spring, Means—who dropped out of her surgical residency in 2018—embraced some unconventional theories about wellness. As Rina Raphael wrote for The Atlantic last month, Means has talked to trees, implied that natural disasters are a “communication from God,” and dubbed the nation’s health “a spiritual crisis.” When she appeared on Tucker Carlson’s podcast in 2024, she denounced seed oils and suggested that the widespread use of hormonal birth control was indicative of a cultural “disrespect of life.” She has also questioned the universal birth dose of …