Wall Street Journal - 23 May 2024

****** THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024 ~ VOL. CCLXXXIII NO. 121 WSJ.com HHHH $5.00 DJIA 39671.04 g 201.95 0.51% NASDAQ 16801.54 g 0.2% STOXX 600 521.18 g 0.3% 10-YR. TREAS. g 5/32 , yield 4.433% OIL $77.57 g $1.09 GOLD $2,389.20 g $32.50 EURO $1.0825 YEN 156.81  Nvidia reported sales more than tripled in its latest quarter and delivered a sales forecast that signaled the AI boom that lifted the chip maker above a $2 trillion valuation is still going strong. A1  The Justice Department and a group of states plan to sue Live Nation, alleging it has used its ticketing monopoly to suppress competition and should be broken up. A1  Wall Street Journal owner News Corp struck a content-licensing pact with generative artificial-intelligence company OpenAI. A1  Fed officials concluded at their most-recent meeting they would need to hold interest rates at their current level for longer than they previously anticipated, minutes show. A2  U.S. stocks fell after the meeting minutes were released, with the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq giving up 0.3%, 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. B11  Anglo American rebuffed a roughly $50 billion takeover proposal from BHP but said it would enter talks with its mining rival, opening the door to a potential deal. B1  U.S. officials began the process of transferring Bankman-Fried to a new prison, overriding the FTX founder’s wish to stay in New York. B1  Target’s comparable sales fell 3.7% in the three months ended May 4, the fourth consecutive quarter of declines at the retailer. B1  Citigroup agreed to pay regulators in the U.K. $78 million after a botched 2022 order to sell shares caused a brief “flash crash” in European stocks. B10 What’s News Business & Finance World-Wide Ahoy, Sailors! Lady Liberty Welcomes Fleet Week SMOOTH SAILING: The USS Bataan from Norfolk, Va., passed the Statue of Liberty on Wednesday as it entered New York Harbor during the Parade of Ships. Thousands of Navy, Marine and Coast Guard personnel will visit the city for the annual Fleet Week. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK BY ASA FITCH Nvidia’s Sales Triple on AI Boom’s Stamina Hot chip market spurs soaring results and better-thanexpected forecast As a young toxicologist at the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1980s, Michael Dourson played a central role in figuring out how to gauge whether chemicals are harmful to humans, and at what levels. “Mike was a young upand-comer,” said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, a former senior EPA official who once worked under Dourson as a risk assessor. “He was at the forefront of helping to develop the guidelines for evaluating risk at the agency”— work that to this day is cited favorably by environmentalists. Now 72 years old, Dourson has become one of the EPA’s most dogged critics. The widely banned insecticide DDT? “Not very toxic to people,” he said. The controversial weedkiller Roundup? “A great product, very nontoxic chemical,” he said. What about the so-called forever chemicals called PFAS, used in nonstick frying pans, carpeting, water-repellent clothing and firefighting foam? In April, the EPA set the regulatory standard for six types of PFAS in drinking water at nearly zero. Dourson said that for one common type, a level about 70 times that high would be safe for humans. “Somewhere along the line his perspective changed,” said Orme-Zavaleta, who was a top official in the agency’s office of research and development. “He would focus on some data to the exclusion of other data.” She and some of his other former EPA colleagues said his approach appeared to shift when he began consulting for the chemical industry. Please turn to pageA8 BY SUSAN PULLIAM Wall Street Journal owner News Corp struck a major content-licensing pact with generative artificial-intelligence company OpenAI, aiming to cash in on a technology that promises to have a proBy Alexandra Bruell, Sam Schechner and Deepa Seetharaman Sherpas Who Scaled Everest Acclimate to New York Life iii Now driving Ubers, they say they want one more crack at the world’s highest mountain JACKSON HEIGHTS, N. Y.— Many years ago, real-estate developers figured they could charge more by giving a swampy corner of Queens a lofty moniker, Jackson Heights. But at 79 feet above sea level, the altitude doesn’t impress the guys playing bingo at KTM Bar one recent evening. Dawa Sherpa, 38 years old, has climbed Mount Everest more times than he can remember. Seated to his right is Serap Sherpa, 55, the first Nepalese to summit K2—so nice he even did it twice in one year. Then there’s Kaji Sherpa, 38, who topped Everest two times in six days and survived a deadly 2015 avalanche. They are part of an unlikely community of climbing guides in exile. So many have migrated to the New York City borough of Queens that the community hosts a festival every May 29 to commemPlease turn to pageA8 BY MEGAN GOYETTE Tool of the trade April 2023 ’24 0 1 2 3 4 5 million 4.14M U.S. existing-home sales Source: National Association of Realtors Note: Seasonally adjusted at an annual rate; April 2024 is preliminary. April –1.9% from March Three European nations said they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, reflecting deepening international frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza, where the Israeli military was moving deeper into Rafah to shore up its control of the besieged enclave’s border with Egypt. Norway, Spain and Ireland By Stephen Kalin, Summer Said and Anat Peled said on Wednesday they were taking the necessary steps to bring into effect their recognition of a Palestinian state and expected other countries to follow in the coming weeks. The move runs counter to Washington’s long-held position that a future state comprising the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem should come about through a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Biden supports a two-state solution but believes it should be realized through direct negotiations between the parties, not through unilateral recognition, nationalsecurity adviser Jake Sullivan said. “Each country is entitled to make its own determinations, but the U.S. position on this is clear,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said plans by European countries to recognize a Palestinian state were “a reward for terrorism,” and that such a reward “will not bring peace—and it will not stop us from defeating Hamas either.” The war began in response to a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israel. The current Israeli government has rejected calls for a two-state solution. Foreign Minister Israel Katz of Israel said he recalled the country’s ambassadors to the three Please turn to pageA6 Norway, Spain, Ireland Move To Recognize Palestinian State Nvidia delivered a record quarter and signaled that the AI boom is still going strong, driving its already meteoric stock up Wednesday evening above $1,000 a share. The chips made by Nvidia have powered the rise of artificial intelligence, which is threatening to disrupt virtually every major industry. Chief Executive Jensen Huang declared the beginning of a new industrial revolution where Nvidia was helping turn $1 trillion of data centers into “AI factories.” “AI will bring significant productivity gains to nearly every industry and help companies be more cost- and energy-efficient,” Huang said Wednesday. Nvidia executives also told analysts that demand remains strong for the company’s current AI chip as well as for its next-generation product expected later this year. Revenue in the latest quarter more than tripled from a year earlier to $26 billion, and net profit soared more than sevenfold to $14.88 billion. Both numbers were quarterly records for Nvidia, and beat analysts’ expectations. Nvidia’s chief financial offiPlease turn to pageA4 by asking a judge to effectively undo the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The Justice Department during the Obama administration allowed the merger to close despite concerns it would create an indomitable live-entertainment giant. Among the practices the department plans to challenge are exclusive ticketing contracts that Ticketmaster has with many of the venues where high-profile acts perform, the people said. Those agreements typically run between three and five years and Ticketmaster often gives lucrative financial advances that entice the venues to sign up for long-term deals. In an essay published on the company’s website earlier this year, Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs, Dan Wall, defended the company against claims that it has a monopoly. Ticketmaster doesn’t set prices, he wrote, artists and teams do, and they are subject to high Please turn to pageA2 The Justice Department and a group of states plan to sue Live Nation on Thursday, alleging the entertainment giant has used its ticketing monopoly to suppress competition and should be broken up, according to people familiar with the matter. The lawsuit, to be filed in a New York federal court, would seek changes to the company’s business practices, including BY DAVE MICHAELS AND ANNE STEELE Justice Department to Sue Live Nation, Seeking Breakup Former EPA Cop Pivots to Defending ‘Forever Chemicals’ Toxicologist says he learned to listen to the industry; critics call him biased found impact on the newspublishing industry. The deal could be worth more than $250 million over five years, including compensation in the form of cash and credits for use of OpenAI technology, according to people familiar with the situation. OpenAI would use content from News Corp’s consumerfacing news publications, including archives, to answer users’ queries and train its technology. Terms of content-licensing agreements between publishers and OpenAI aren’t public, but the News Corp deal is among the biggest, if not the biggest, reached to date. “The pact acknowledges that there is a premium for Please turn to pageA4 OpenAI, News Corp in Content Deal U.K.’s Sunak Calls Election GAMBLING MAN: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stood in the rain outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday to announce a July 4 election, as his Conservative Party trails in polls. A7 JUSTIN NG/AVALON/ZUMA PRESS  ICC moved ahead before planned Israel meeting... A6 Home Sales Feel Pressure With mortgage rates and prices high, home sales fell for the second straight month. A2 s 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved CONTENTS Arts in Review..... A11 Banking & Finance B10 Business News.. B3,6 Crossword................ A12 Equities......................... B7 Heard on Street.. B12 Markets...................... B11 Opinion................ A13-15 Personal Journal A9-10 Sports.......................... A12 Technology & Media B4 U.S. News.............. A2-4 World News......... A5-7 >  Norway, Spain and Ireland said they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, reflecting deepening international frustration with the war in Gaza, where the Israeli military was moving deeper into Rafah to shore up its control of the besieged enclave’s border with Egypt. A1  Uvalde, Texas, families and survivors sued state police and the local school district over the response to the shooting two years ago that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. A3  China launched largescale drills surrounding Taiwan, a warning shot that will test how the island’s new president responds to an intensifying pressure campaign from Beijing. A6  Rick Scott announced his bid to serve as Senate Republican leader, a step that could reshape the contest to succeed Mitch McConnell in the post. A4  Nikki Haley, in her first public appearance since dropping out of the Republican presidential race in March, said she plans to vote for Trump in November. A4  Authorities in Iowa said five people died and at least 35 were hurt as tornadoes ripped through the state, with one carving a path of destruction through the small city of Greenfield. A3  A Singapore Airlines flight that was jolted by air movement, leading to one death and more than 100 injuries, was one of the worst turbulence-related accidents in history, aviation experts said. B3

A2 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. BY NICOLE FRIEDMAN MADE IT: Cadets celebrated as they got their commissions and college degrees and officially became officers at Coast Guard commencement exercises Wednesday in New London, Conn. JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Vista Outdoor produces ammunition, among other products. A World News article and a Page One What’s News item on Wednesday about the potential sale of Vista to a Czech arms company incorrectly said it also makes guns. CORRECTIONS  AMPLIFICATIONS Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by emailing [email protected] or by calling 888-410-2667. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660) (Central Edition ISSN 1092-0935) (Western Edition ISSN 0193-2241) Editorial and publication headquarters: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Published daily except Sundays and general legal holidays. 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SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS Federal Reserve officials concluded at their most recent meeting that they would need to hold interest rates at their current level for longer than they previously anticipated after a third straight disappointing inflation reading last month. While officials continued to think interest rates were high enough to restrain economic activity and bring inflation down, they signaled they were less certain over the degree of policy restriction, according to minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting, which were released Wednesday. Stock prices fell after the release of the minutes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling about 200 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both edged lower after closing at all-time highs in the prior session. An unspecified number of officials “mentioned a willingness to tighten policy further should risks to inflation materialize in a way that such action became appropriate,” said the written account of the meeting. Officials voted to hold their benchmark federal-funds rate steady in a range between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest level in more than two decades. They have held rates at that level since last July, when they concluded the most rapid series of interest-rate hikes in 40 years. Price pressures slowed notably through the second half of last year, and Fed leaders in March had suggested they might be prepared to start cutting rates with one or two additional months of mild inflation. But a run of data in the first quarter revealed simmering price pressures, and the Fed has been forced to table any deliberations about beginning rate cuts for the next few months unless the labor market weakens unexpectedly. Since officials last met, government data on April inflation suggest price pressures haven’t reaccelerated, providing an extra measure of comfort that the central bank won’t need to resume rate increases. “Right now, the probability of rate hikes is very low,” said Fed governor Christopher Waller at an event Tuesday. BY NICK TIMIRAOS AND PAUL KIERNAN Fed Minutes Point Toward Longer Wait For Rate Cut demand and low supply, while most fees go to venues. The Justice Department has been investigating Live Nation since 2022, according to people familiar with the matter. The probe gained momentum in November of that year after Ticketmaster crashed during a fan presale to Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.” Live Nation has faced accusations of exorbitant ticket fees, flawed customer service and anticompetitive practices from lawmakers, regulators and state attorneys general. The company wields commercial advantages that most of its competitors lack. Live Nation has at least a 50% market share in concert promotion, while Ticketmaster controls more than 80% of the market for primary ticket sales at the biggest venues in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the Justice Department was preparing to sue Live Nation as soon as May. The government’s intention to seek a breakup was earlier reported by Bloomberg News. Ticketmaster has exclusive ticketing contracts with most Continued from PageOne David Ross by his house, top; Alexandra Perkinson and Brian Russman, underneath. FROM TOP: DAVID ROSS; ALEXANDRA PERKINSON Home sales fell in April for the second straight month, as high mortgage rates and nearrecord prices continue to stall the market during the prime selling season. Sales of previously owned homes decreased 1.9% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The decline last month came as a surprise to housing analysts. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated sales of previously owned homes rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in April from March. But high mortgage rates are keeping a lid on the spring season, typically the busiest time of year in the housing market. In March, existing-home sales posted their biggest monthly decline in more than a year. The low inventory of homes for sale is also thwarting buyers, because high rates have prompted many homeowners to stay put. At the current sales pace, there was a 3½- month supply of homes on the market at the end of April, below the four to six months’ supply that is generally considered a market balanced between buyers and sellers. That shortage is pushing prices higher. The national median existing-home price rose 5.7% in April from a year earlier to $407,600, NAR said. That was the highest price for any April data going back to 1999 and approaching the record high for any month of $413,800. Prices aren’t adjusted for inflation. “Record-high home prices are hitting affordability,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “For a home buyer, it is a very frustrating market out there.” On an annual basis, existing-home sales were down 1.9% in April. These sales make up most of the housing market and were largely based on contracts signed in March and February. Mortgage rates have fallen this month. But the average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage is still above 7%, according to last week’s data from Freddie Mac. Some people who have been waiting for borrowing rates to fall before selling their homes can’t wait any longer, economists and real-estate agents say. Alexandra Perkinson and Brian Russman said they were drawn to the natural beauty of Asheville, N.C. So they decided to sell their Florida home and move, even though it meant giving up a 4.375% mortgage rate for a higher one. “We kind of acknowledged that it’s not the best time,” Perkinson said. “But we just wanted to move and we didn’t want to put our life on hold.” The couple bought a house in North Carolina in April and sold their Florida home this month. They hope to refinance at the end of next year. “We U.S. NEWS are excited about a new chapter,” Perkinson said. Despite historically low inventory, the number of homes for sale or under contract at the end of April rose 16.3% from a year earlier, NAR said. That gave home shoppers who were relocating for new jobs, needed more space, or had other reasons to move a better opportunity. “The longer that we are at mortgage rates at these levels, the more people acclimate to them as normal, or just have life happen and they need to move anyway,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. The inventory increases have been especially pronounced in Texas and Florida, where the active listings in some markets in April rose above prepandemic levels for this time of year, according to Realtor.com. David Ross and his husband wanted to find a bigger home this spring with room for Ross’s father-in-law. They bought a house in April in Round Rock, Texas, that had been on the market for almost a year, and they paid $675,000, which was about $100,000 less than the initial listing price, Ross said. “We waited and watched the market for a while,” he said. “It was just the right time.” News Corp, owner of the Journal, also operates Realtor.com under license from NAR. Home Sales Fall in Prime Season April decline of 1.9% comes as mortgage rates stay elevated and prices near highs 2010 ’20 ’24 ’12 ’14 ’16 ’18 ’22 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25% April U.S. median existing-home price, change from a year earlier Source: National Association of Realtors Note: April 2024 is preliminary. +5.7% U.S.WATCH WASHINGTON, D.C. Presidents’ Tax Disclosure Sought A bipartisan pair of influential lawmakers proposed new rules forcing presidents to make their tax returns public and mandating that family members reveal more financial information. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat on the committee, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would force presidents and vice presidents to disclose their tax filings for the two years before entering the White House, for the years while in office, and for two years afterward. It would also compel them, along with close family members such as children, siblings and in-laws, to disclose payments from foreign entities as well as large gifts and loans from family members. The White House opposes the measure, likely sinking any chance it had of passage. Biden has voluntarily disclosed many years of tax returns, while former President Donald Trump has refused to do so. —Natalie Andrews CALIFORNIA Judge Postpones Hunter Biden Trial A federal judge on Wednesday delayed Hunter Biden’s trial on tax charges from June to September, pushing closer to the 2024 election a case that is expected to feature details of President Biden’s son spending money on drugs, escorts and exotic purchases. The younger Biden was indicted last year on a raft of gun and tax charges following a five-year investigation that centered initially on his foreign business dealings but came to focus on his taxes and his 2018 purchase of a firearm. Hunter Biden had faced the prospect of two criminal trials in June on opposite coasts—the tax trial in Los Angeles and a trial on gun charges in Delaware. His lawyer argued Wednesday the two trials created an untenable situation. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles agreed, granting the delay to Sept. 5 over the objection of special counsel David Weiss’s team, to ensure Hunter Biden is able to prepare for the case. —Sara Randazzo stadiums and arenas where high-profile acts perform. Live Nation also owns or operates some 370 venues or festival sites globally, allowing it to route many tours it promotes through its own buildings. Live Nation executives have said they believe the Justice Department’s investigation doesn’t support breaking up the company. The concerns that enforcers have raised don’t stem from the company’s roles in both promotion and ticketing services, Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold said on an earnings call this month. A breakup is “only available where there is a strong connection between the corporate structure and the company’s ability to engage in the allegedly unlawful conduct,” Berchtold said at the time. “The conduct under scrutiny falls either within our ticketing segment or within our concert segment and not across those segments.” Live Nation’s competitors have urged the Justice Department to seek a breakup. The fusion of promotion and ticketing gives Live Nation the ability to withhold shows from venues that don’t use Ticketmaster, they say. Live Nation’s heft also prevents other promoters from gaining a foothold, because they can’t offer the same lucrative contracts to artists, these competitors say. “Live Nation controls the most popular entertainers in the world, routes most of the large tours, operates the ticketing systems and even owns many of the venues,” SeatGeek Chief Executive Jack Groetzinger said at a January 2023 Senate hearing focused on Ticketmaster. Many of Live Nation’s competitors also urged the Justice Department to block the merger in 2010. But the department’s antitrust chief back then, Christine Varney, agreed to a settlement that allowed the merger with conditions attached. She said at the time that enforcers probably couldn’t win a lawsuit if they took the companies to court. Live Nation didn’t have monopoly power in promoting live events, she said. Ticketmaster was dominant in ticketing in 2010. But Varney said the government’s settlement with the companies would transfer Ticketmaster’s technology to one of Live Nation’s competitors, allowing that firm to stand as a competitor. Anschutz Entertainment Group entered the ticketing business but never wrestled much market share away from Ticketmaster. That settlement also prohibited Live Nation and Ticketmaster from bundling their services. In other words, Live Nation wasn’t allowed to withhold tours from venues that didn’t choose Ticketmaster. Years later, the Justice Department alleged in 2019 that Live Nation had violated the consent decree by “repeatedly” conditioning its supply of live concerts on a venue’s willingness to do business with Ticketmaster. The department also said Live Nation retaliated against venues that chose competing ticketing services. As a result of the department’s claims, Live Nation agreed to a revised settlement that included an anti-retaliation clause preventing it from threatening to withhold shows if a venue sold seats through a company other than Ticketmaster. The amended deal also required the appointment of an outside law firm to oversee Live Nation’s compliance with its requirements. —Corinne Ramey contributed to this article. 5.7% April’s rise in the national median existing-home price, to $407,600. DOJ Seeks Breakup of Live Nation The agency’s suit claims the company has used its ticketing monopoly to suppress competition. JUSTIN LANE/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ****** Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A3 U.S. NEWS UVALDE, Texas—Families of children killed in the mass shooting at an elementary school here two years ago and survivors filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 91 state police officers and the local school district, calling their response the “single greatest failure of law enforcement to confront an active shooter in American history.” The families and survivors also said they had reached a settlement with the city of Uvalde that would provide them with $2 million in compensation, implement new training BY ELIZABETH FINDELL Tornadoes Leave Five Dead Amid Scenes of Devastation in Iowa Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa, with one carving a path of destruction through the small city of Greenfield, officials said Wednesday. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Tuesday’s tornadoes killed four people in the Greenfield area, and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office said a fifth person—a woman whose car was blown off the road—was killed by a twister about 25 miles away. Monica Zamarron, 46 years old, died in the crash, officials said. Officials didn’t release the names of the Greenfield area victims because they were still notifying relatives. The Department of Public Safety said the number of people injured is likely higher. The Greenfield tornado left a wide swath of obliterated homes, splintered trees and crumpled cars in the city of 2,000 about 55 miles southwest of Des Moines. The twister also ripped apart and crumpled massive power-producing wind turbines several miles outside the city. Greenfield resident Kimberly Ergish, 33, and her husband dug through the debris field Wednesday that used to be their home, looking for family photos and other salvageable items. There wasn’t much left, she acknowledged. “Most of it we can’t save,” she said. “But we’re going to get what we can.” —Associated Press ZACH BOYDEN-HOLMES/THE REGISTER/USA TODAY NETWORK CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/ASSOCIATED PRESS Watch a Video Scan this code for a video on the deadly tornadoes that damaged Iowa. SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS for local officers, coordinate with families to build a permanent memorial in the city’s central plaza and resolve maintenance issues at a cemetery. Even in an era of frequent mass shootings, the Uvalde attack and failures of the responding law enforcement to stop the killing shocked the nation. A gunman killed 19 fourthgraders and two teachers while nearly 400 officers from some two dozen state and federal agencies waited to intervene for more than an hour, even as children repeatedly called 911 from inside the classroom. The suit, filed on behalf of families of 17 of the children killed and two of the surviving victims in federal court in the Western District of Texas, is against individuals because of immunity protections for state departments, those involved with the suit said. Among its claims are that the defendants violated the 14th Amendment constitutional rights of the victims and survivors. A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Uvalde school district declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit but said, “The District continues to be open to exploring a resolution involving all the families and individuals impacted by this tragedy.” Veronica Luevanos, whose 10-year-old daughter Jailah and 10-year-old nephew Jayce were killed, called the agreement with the city a good-faith effort to begin rebuilding trust and the lawsuit a necessary effort to seek accountability. “Nearly 100 officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety have yet to face a shred of accountability for cowering in fear while my daughter and nephew bled to death in their classroom,” Luevanos said. DPS Director Steven McCraw has previously called the response to the shooting an “abject failure” but said the department had found reason to discipline just two of its 91 officers who were at the scene. Officials have levied much blame on former school district police Chief Pete Arredondo, the commander at the scene, who was named in Wednesday’s suit against the district. The district fired Arredondo after the shooting. His attorney didn’t return requests for comment Wednesday. The complaint says law enforcement failed to follow active-shooter training and instead relied on a strategy of containing the shooter in the classroom, enabling him to terrorize and kill the people inside. The suit also names Schneider Electric, which it says manufactured the school’s door locks, and Motorola, which sold the law-enforcement radios that didn’t work reliably inside the building, as defendants based on alleged product liability. A spokesman for Schneider Electric said contrary to the lawsuit’s assertion, his company didn’t manufacture or install the school doors or locks. Representatives for Motorola didn’t respond to requests for comment. The $2 million city settlement will be split among the 19 plaintiffs. Appearing with emotional family members in Uvalde Wednesday, attorney Josh Koskoff said they didn’t want to run their city bankrupt with claims for more money. “It’s simply a matter of limitations on insurance and the families not wanting to take money from the city,” he said. Koskoff, who has also represented victims of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., said what the families most want is to hold law enforcement accountable for failing to act during a deadly attack. “There is no risk more foreseeable to our children than classroom shootings,” he said. Uvalde Families Sue Police, School District Accountability sought after officers failed to act as 19 children, 2 teachers were killed The complaint says officers didn’t follow active-shooter training. An ownership program like no other. 404.465.3670 flyvolato.com Share in your plane’s revenue to lower your flying costs. 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A4 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. in operation in the fourth quarter. Those chips would bring in “a lot” of revenue this year, he said. In the lead-up to the Blackwell chips’ introduction, the time it takes to get an H100 AI chip—the most advanced currently available from Nvidia— has fallen from nearly a year to a number of weeks, analysts say, partly reflecting the company’s efforts to secure more supplies. Nvidia doesn’t make its chips, but contracts out their manufacturing largely to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Demand keeps rising Underlining still-strong demand for the company’s AI chips, Tesla, Meta Platforms and other technology companies have said this year that they plan to buy thousands of them to fuel their AI efforts. The Facebook parent expected to have about 350,000 H100s by the end of this year, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in January. Demand for both Nvidia’s current advanced AI chips and Blackwell chips was continuing to run ahead of supply, Kress said in a call with analysts, an imbalance that would persist “well into next year.” Huang suggested there was no pause in buying of Nvidia’s current chips as customers await the arrival of Blackwell chips later this year. Demand was growing this quarter, he said, and “everybody is anxious to get their infrastructure online” because they are making money from it. Republicanism that favors a hawkish foreign policy, fiscal discipline and limited government. She still could have a future in presidential politics, but her sharp criticism of Trump in the final two months of her campaign likely will make that possibility challenging while he still has a hold on the party. In the final months of her presidential bid, she repeatedly called Trump a liar, suggested he was in mental decline and that he was incapable of winning a general election. Trump once had a good working relationship with Haley, his former U.N. ambassador, and had described her as “fantastic.” Their attacks on each other turned especially caustic in the first two months of the year. Trump called her “Birdbrain” and raised questions about the absence of her husband from the campaign trail while deployed in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard. Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, said millions of voters backed Haley instead of Trump because they “care deeply about the future of our democracy, standing strong with our allies against foreign adversaries, and working across the aisle to get things done for the American people—while also rejecting the chaos, division and violence that Donald Trump embodies.” Nikki Haley, in her first public appearance since dropping out of the Republican presidential race in March, said she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump in November. The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador stopped short of calling on her supporters to back Trump. “As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border—no more excuses,” Haley said Wednesday at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington. “A president who would support capitalism and freedom. A president who understands we need less debt, not more debt.” A moderator had asked who would do a better job in the White House between the two presumptive nominees. On these policies, she said Trump hadn’t been perfect. “But Biden has been a catastrophe, so I will be voting for Trump,” Haley said. Representatives for the Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It is hard to know whether Haley, 52, is part of her party’s future or representative of a last gasp of more traditional BY JOHN MCCORMICK Haley Says She Is Voting for Trump premium journalism,” News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson said in a memo to employees Wednesday. “The digital age has been characterized by the dominance of distributors, often at the expense of creators, and many media companies have been swept away by a remorseless technological tide. The onus is now on us to make the most of this providential opportunity.” News Corp’s A shares were up 7.1% in after-hours trading Wednesday. The rise of generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s humanlike chatbot ChatGPT is poised to transform publishing. AI companies are hungry for publishers’ content, which can help them refine their models and create new products such as AI-powered search. Publishers are seeking to ensure that they extract a hefty payment for the use of their intellectual property, setting up complex and sometimes tense negotiations across the industry. Many journalists, meanwhile, are concerned about the impact of AI on jobs in newsrooms whose ranks have already been thinned by years of cuts. The News Corp-OpenAI deal is the latest illustration of the differing approaches adopted by publishers looking to address the rise of generative AI. News Corp joins a growing list of publishers that have reached commercial partnerships with OpenAI, including Politico and Business Insider parent Axel Springer, the Associated Press, Le Monde, the Financial Times and IAC’s Dotdash Meredith, home of publications such as People and Better Homes & Gardens. Other publishers, including the New York Times, have opted to battle OpenAI and its backer Microsoft in court, saying their content was used without permission to train artificial-intelligence tools and populate answers for users. OpenAI has said the lawsuit is Continued from PageOne Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note this week that the expected deceleration wasn’t a problem for the company’s stock because its valuation compared with its earnings was in line with many of its big-company peers. Led by Huang, the company started more than three decades ago with a mission to improve computer graphics for gamers. Over the past decade and a half, it has repurposed its graphics chips to be used in other applications including AI, where its approach to computing, involving doing lots of calculations simultaneously, made it a good fit. The AI boom made Nvidia’s chips into hotly contested commodities, with tech CEOs jostling over who has more of them. Determined to stay atop the heap, Nvidia plans to launch a new generation of AI chips late this year, following their unveiling in March at a company conference that some dubbed the “AI Woodstock.” Those chips, code-named Blackwell, are set to cost more than $30,000 each, setting the stage for a further surge in sales if the appetite for AI chips stays strong and Nvidia fends off challenges from competitors and regulators. Huang on Wednesday said the company was producing the chips now and shipments would start in the second quarter ahead of them being cer, Colette Kress, said that large cloud-computing companies such as Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com accounted for somewhere around 45% of the company’s data-center revenue— more than $10 billion. Nvidia’s stock price has more than tripled in the past 12 months, sending its valuation above $2 trillion. The stock rose 6% in after-hours trading following its earnings report, surpassing $1,000 a share—although Nvidia said it will split its stock 10-for-1, effective June 7. It also increased its dividend to 10 cents a share from 4 cents, based on the current share count. ChatGPT revolution Nvidia’s sales turned sharply upward about a year ago, after OpenAI’s ChatGPT wowed users with its ability to generate humanlike text. OpenAI used thousands of Nvidia’s AI chips to create ChatGPT, analysts say, and there are few alternatives for the computation-intensive job of creating and deploying such systems. Big tech companies and AI startups have since been scrambling to buy as many of Nvidia’s chips as possible, leading to a shortage that company executives expect to persist through this year and into next year. Nvidia’s galloping growth rates are set to slow, owing mainly to the tougher comparisons to last year. The company’s outlook of around $28 billion in sales for its current fiscal quarter, which also topped expectations, is around double its level in the same quarter last year. Continued from PageOne without merit. Among the other publishing deals OpenAI has done, Axel Springer’s three-year pact, which includes use of its content for both training and display, is worth at least $25 million to $30 million over three years, according to people familiar with the deals. The deal with the FT, which also includes both display and training, is worth $5 million to $10 million a year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The AP’s deal, in the singledigit millions a year, is more narrowly focused on the use of text archives for training. The news organization is in talks with OpenAI about the use of its content for display, according to another person. Before the Times filed its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft late last year, the publisher and OpenAI had discussed a licensing deal in the tens of millions of dollars a year, according to people familiar with the matter. But the talks fell apart when OpenAI added a term that could absolve Microsoft of some legal risk, the people said. The deal that News Corp reached with OpenAI guarantees that content won’t become available on ChatGPT immediately after publication, according to a person familiar with the agreement. In addition to providing content, News Corp will share journalistic expertise with OpenAI, the companies said. News Corp owns multiple news publications in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. Its biggest profit driver, Dow Jones & Co., is home to the Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch. News Corp’s other news properties include the New York Post and the Times of London. The deal doesn’t include content from News Corp properties such as research tool Factiva or book publisher HarperCollins. “Together, we are setting the foundation for a future where AI deeply respects, enhances, and upholds the standards of world-class journalism,” said OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman. Many of the discussions OpenAI is having with publishers are focused on future use of their news content in answers to queries. The talks come in the midst of concern that AI-powered search tools from OpenAI or Alphabet’s Google will serve up complete answers based on news content, eliminating a user’s need to click on an article link and depriving publishers of traffic and advertising revenue. OpenAI is seeking to play a key role in answering news queries from users, and plans to attribute information to publishing partners through a series of links below a summary that appears in response to the queries, according to people familiar with the matter. OpenAI plans to supplement search results with information from Microsoft’s Bing, they said. A future version of ChatGPT may display the logos of the publications whose content is featured in the answer to a user query, as well as links back to their websites, according to mock-ups that OpenAI showed to at least one publication. Mounting a challenge to Google, which has two decades of search dominance under its belt, won’t be easy. Other AI companies are entering the search battle, including Perplexity, which is backed by Jeff Bezos. But building a frequently updated index across a large enough portion of websites to be useful is difficult—particularly when it comes to answering questions about something that has just happened. Google, meanwhile, earlier this month said it would show AI-powered answers to billions of people using its namesake search engine by the end of the year, strengthening its embrace of generative AI. Publishers are jaded by more than a decade of dealing with tech giants—especially Meta’s Facebook and Google, whose on-and-off payments and algorithmic tweaks are affecting the fortunes of media companies. The tech giants wound up winning the bulk of revenue from online advertising, while many publications saw their print ad revenue wither. WASHINGTON—Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced his bid to serve as Senate Republican leader, a step that could reshape the contest to succeed Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. “I believe that our voters want us to use this leadership election to make a choice to upend the status quo in Washington,” Scott said in a letter to colleagues. “If you also believe this to be true and want a leader dedicated to that principle, I would be honored to have the opportunity to earn your support.” Scott, a former chairman of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, joins Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, the current Senate GOP whip, and John Cornyn of Texas, the former Senate GOP whip, in running for the post. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming had initially planned to run but then opted to run for the GOP whip position instead. The contest is typically held shortly after November elections and is conducted by secret ballot. Scott is running for re-election for his Florida seat this fall and is favored to win comfortably. Republicans have a good chance at retaking the majority in the Senate, which Democrats currently control 51-49, meaning the next party leader could drive the chamber’s agenda. McConnell, of Kentucky, said this year he planned to step aside as party leader, citing both his age and changes within the Republican Party. McConnell was the top Republican proponent for more aid for Ukraine, helping it through the Senate this year, while Scott opposed the measure. Scott has worked to build relationships among Republicans, organizing a regular breakfast for Senate Republicans and hosting dinners at his Capitol Hill home for both House and Senate Republicans to find common ground. “What I’ve been fascinated with up here is that people don’t talk to each other,” Scott said in an interview last year. Thune has for months been seen as the front-runner to become the next leader, given the relationships he has built as McConnell’s No. 2. But his ascent isn’t guaranteed, and the addition of a third candidate to the race could complicate the race, particularly if former President Donald Trump decides to weigh in. Scott was early to endorse Trump, declaring his support last year. This month, Scott attended Trump’s criminal trial in New York in a show of support. Neither Thune nor Cornyn is close to Trump, though they have endorsed him. Scott had unsuccessfully challenged McConnell in 2022 after a worse-than-expected showing by the party in the midterm elections. Scott said at the time that the lack of a formal party agenda in the campaign hurt the party’s results. McConnell blamed poor candidate quality. Scott had drawn fire in the run-up to the election over his suggestion that low-income people pay more taxes, a position he then revised. Scott taps into a vein of unhappiness with the current Republican leadership, with rank-and-file Republicans from across the spectrum saying that control is too consolidated in McConnell’s hands and that they have been cut off from the ability to shape legislation. “I think we need to be way more transparent with each other and the American People,” Scott wrote. “There have been far too many backroom deals cut in secret.” Among other things, Scott also said that the new GOP leader should be limited to a six-year term and called for preventing omnibus spending bills—the catchall annualspending measures that have drawn fire from the right for making it hard to fine-tune spending priorities. McConnell has backed long service in GOP leadership and the omnibus spending bills. Under the GOP conference’s precedent, if no candidate wins a clear majority on the first ballot, the senator receiving the fewest votes drops out. The balloting then continues until one candidate secures a majority. BY SIOBHAN HUGHES U.S. NEWS Scott Enters Field to Lead Republicans in the Senate Entrant joins Thune, Cornyn in the bid to succeed McConnell for top GOP post Sen. Rick Scott of Florida is running for re-election this fall and is favored to win comfortably. TIERNEY L. CROSS/BLOOMBERG NEWS AI Boom Spurs Sales At Nvidia Nvidia’s quarterly net profit Note: Fiscal first quarter ended April 28 Sources: S&P Capital IQ; the company Nvidia’s quarterly revenue, change from a year earlier FY2022 ’23 ’24 ’25 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 $14 billion FY2022 ’23 ’24 ’25 0 100 200 300 –50 50 150 250 % $26B Nvidia’s revenue for the quarter that ended in April, a record amount. Nikki Haley speaking at the Hudson Institute on Wednesday. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES OpenAI, News Corp Strike Deal Publishers fear AI search could eliminate the need to click on an article link.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ***** Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A5 ropicrin are all chlorine based, they are heavier than air and settle close to the ground. If the gas enters a trench or a dugout, a simple gust of wind won’t disseminate it. Even when the gas settles, it can be kicked up from the ground, mixing with sand and creating a constant problem, especially if the soldier doesn’t bring a gas mask, forgoing it in favor of other necessary equipment. —Nikita Nikolaienko contributed to this article. BY JANE LYTVYNENKO KYIV, Ukraine—The Ukrainian soldiers were hunkered down in April in a front-line dugout and under siege from Russian drones dropping grenades. They were relieved at first when bomblets landed that didn’t explode. Then a strong smell of chlorine filled the air: The grenades were seeping poisonous gas. The Ukrainians felt their skin sting, eyes water and lungs fill with smoke, provoking a hard cough. They rushed to wet rags with water and place them over their faces as the heavy gas filled the air around them. One of the fighters left the protection of the dugout to distract the enemy drones, allowing his compatriots to escape. Oleksiy Bozhko, a volunteer medic whose team examined the men near the eastern city of Avdiivka, identified the gas as chloropicrin, a banned chemical irritant, based on the men’s symptoms and description of the smell. U.S. and Ukrainian officials, as well as medics, soldiers and international researchers say Russian use of toxic gases on the battlefield is increasing as Moscow ramps up an offensive designed to seize more of Ukraine’s territory than the roughly 20% it occupies. “This weapon cripples and kills, it’s indiscriminate,” Bozhko said. After Ukraine repelled initial Russian attacks in 2022, the war has morphed into a grind where each side is looking for an advantage against hardened defensive lines. Seeing an opportunity in Ukraine’s shortage of weapons and reserve forces, Russia has been pressing forward on several fronts, using guided aerial bombs to smash WORLD NEWS up Ukrainian positions. Toxic gases can impair Ukrainian troops’ ability to defend entrenched positions. The U.S. announced sanctions this month against Russian companies and government bodies involved in the creation and supply of chemical weapons used at the front, singling out chloropicrin. The chemical agent, sometimes used in pesticides, was weaponized during World War I and is banned for use in battle by the Chemical Weapons Convention, of which Russia is a signatory. “We assessed Russian forces used the chemical weapon chloropicrin and riotcontrol agents as a method of warfare to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions,” Robert Wood, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday. “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident.” After the U.S. sanction announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called accusations that troops used gases “baseless,” saying, “Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law in this area.” The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment. Dan Kaszeta, an expert on chemical weapons and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, said chloropicrin is toxic to humans and animals, but also acts as an irritant. Depending on the level of exposure, the gas can burn skin, irritate tear ducts and make it difficult to breathe, let alone defend against incoming attacks. Kaszeta said the chemical has been surpassed by moremodern agents sometimes used by riot police as tear gas, known as CN and CS, which are also banned by the convention. Capt. Dmytro Serhiyenko, assistant to the commander of the Analytical Center of the Ukrainian Army’s Support Forces, which analyzes chemical-weapon use at the front, said all three of those agents are used by Russians on the battlefield. Although his team has mostly logged uses of CN and CS in the area they track, they also found two grenades containing chloropicrin at abandoned Russian positions. Ukrainians have been tracking the use of chemical weapons at the front since February 2023, and the number of confirmed incidents has steadily increased. As of May 3, the Support Forces have confirmed 1,891 such attacks since they began tracking data, 444 of them in April, an increase of 71 confirmed incidents from the month prior. These numbers are an incomplete picture, as it often isn’t possible to get to the location where a gas was used to collect a sample or interview soldiers because of the intensity of the fighting. Lt. Vitaliy Katrych, a military medic working at a stabilization point near the front, said there have been times when every second patient he treated had been exposed to a poisonous gas. Once Russians receive a shipment, he says, they use it all the time until they have run out. Katrych recently had to treat soldiers who were exposed to the gas for a week. The Russians dropped the poisonous substance on a dugout, then attacked the entrance itself, sealing the fighters in. It took them seven days to dig themselves out. Katrych said they ran so low on oxygen that lighters wouldn’t work. Because CS, CN and chloToxic Gas Ravages Ukraine Battlefields Russian forces are said to use banned agents along front to pressure enemy Ukrainian soldiers, faced with shortages of weapons and reserve forces, are contending with Russia’s rising use of toxic gas. MANU BRABO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Strategy Dates To Early 2023 Russians began using chemical attacks systematically in early 2023, said Kateryna Stepanenko, Russia analyst at Institute for the Study of War who has been tracking the tactic. Medics said they saw the effects of gases used during battles for the eastern cities of Bakhmut and Vuhledar that winter. It was a time when Russians were trying different strategies in the battlefield to see what stuck, said Stepanenko, including using explosive drones and deploying irregular forces such as Wagner paramilitaries. Russia has been accused by the West of using chemical weapons several times in recent years, including to poison a Russian ex-spy on U.K. soil. In Ukraine, Russia’s 810th Brigade posted about using gas-carrying grenades on its Telegram channel last December. WORLD WATCH MEXICO Six Killed, Bodies Left In Acapulco The bodies of four men and two women were found strangled and dumped in a pile in Mexico’s Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, prosecutors in the southern state of Guerrero said. The bodies were found late Monday on a street with their hands tied behind their backs. The identities of the victims and the motive in the killings is under investigation. It was the latest incident of deadly violence in Acapulco, which is still struggling to recover after being hit by Category 5 Hurricane Otis in October. Otis left at least 52 dead and destroyed or damaged most hotels. Last week, five dismembered bodies found scattered on a street in Acapulco. One of the victims was a candidate for a town council seat in the nearby town of Coyuca de Benítez. In early May, the head of traffic police in Acapulco was shot to death. Mexican drug gangs frequently kill their victims by asphyxiation, either by strangling them or wrapping duct tape or plastic bags around their heads. —Associated Press NETHERLANDS Coalition Struggles To Find Leader The parties that agreed to form a Dutch coalition dominated by the far right are struggling to find a prime minister, and warned Wednesday that the search might leave the Netherlands without a fully functional government for months. Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, who convincingly won the November election, told legislators it might take until after the summer to cobble together a technocratic government. He reiterated that he wouldn’t become prime minister as part of the outline coalition deal. The initial candidate for prime minister that Wilders had in mind withdrew this week following reported allegations of his involvement in medical-patent fraud. Wilders has been a divisive figure in Dutch politics for two decades and his appointment as prime minister would be seen as a step too far. He was instrumental in building a coalition with outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centerright People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the populist Farmer Citizen Movement and the new centrist New Social Contract party. —Associated Press NEW CALEDONIA Macron Pays Visit Amid Deadly Unrest President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in New Caledonia, in a show of support for the French Pacific archipelago racked by deadly unrest and where indigenous people have long sought independence from France. Macron, who briefly spoke to reporters after his arrival at La Tontouta International Airport, said he viewed a return to calm as the priority. Macron added that he plans to meet with local officials and discuss the resources needed to repair the damage wrought by days of shootings, arson and other violence that has left at least six dead. He is expected to push for leaders divided by the issue of independence to resume talks, and to thank French security forces that have been seeking to restore order. The violence erupted May 13 as the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French Constitution to make changes to New Caledonia voter lists. The National Assembly approved a bill that will, among other changes, allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years to cast ballots in provincial elections. —Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron and New Caledonia’s elected officials in Noumea. LUDOVIC MARIN/PRESS POOL

A6 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 ****** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. That includes “steps that have previously been taboo or deprioritized out of deference to a mostly nonexistent peace process,” said Lovatt, includcountries for consultations and issued a private diplomatic message to the ambassadors from those countries conveying Israel’s opposition to the move. The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the decisions and called on other states to do the same as soon as possible, “as a step towards ending the grave injustice to which the Palestinian people have been subjected for many decades of occupation.” Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, welcomed the move as “an important step on the path to establishing our right to our land and establishing our independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.” The United Nations granted nonmember observer status to Palestine in 2012. About 140 countries have recognized a Continued from PageOne information relevant to our investigations. Despite significant efforts, the Office has not received any information that has demonstrated genuine action at the domestic level to address the crimes alleged or the individuals under investigation,” Khan’s office said. The ICC prosecutor said on Monday that he also was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, who are believed to be hiding in tunnels inside Gaza, as well as Ismail Haniyeh, head of the group’s political wing, who is based in Qatar, for atrocities committed during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The U.S. has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Sarah Coquillaud, a former ICC trial prosecutor, said the court isn’t under any obligation to hear from potential defendants before seeking arrest warrants. She said it would be unusual for the prosecutor to do so, and most alleged suspects aren’t informed of the investigations into them. Defendants, she said, could defend themselves in court. “Once the prosecution is seeking arrest warrants, that means it has already accumulated a wealth of evidence and believes it is trial ready,” Coquillaud said. Senior Biden administration officials and U.S. lawmakers have said they were informed by Khan’s staff of the planned visit to Israel and were baffled by the prosecutor’s announcement to seek the arrest warrants without doing so. “These and other circumstances call into question the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. someone with the exact characteristics that Raisi had.” Doing that, Azizi said, “would set the scene where Mojtaba could preserve and even expand his power while keeping his shadow role, out of public scrutiny.” Either way, Mojtaba Khamenei, 54 years old, will play a central role as Iran reconfigures its political landscape ahead of presidential elections set for late June and his father’s looming succession. The political maneuvering will help determine the future of Iran as it deepens its engagement in regional conflicts and faces growing dissent at home. The death of Raisi has, at least in the short term, placed a firm loyalist to Mojtaba Khamenei in the presidency. Mohammad Mokhber, who will be acting president until the elections and might run for the office, was brought by Khamenei to run the billiondollar Setad fund, which controls holdings in real estate, industry, finance and more, and is controlled by the supreme leader. Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 in the religious city of Mashhad, when his father was becoming a leading figure in the revolutionary movement against the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Ali Khamenei was arrested repeatedly by the shah’s secret police. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Khamenei family moved to Tehran, where Mojtaba attended a high school for children of the revolutionary vanguards, while his father rose in the ranks of the government to become president in 1981. Mojtaba Khamenei spent his formative years fighting in the 1980-88 war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. In his battalion, he formed relationships with men who later became senior figures in Iran’s security apparatus. Ali Khamenei and his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, dismissed the idea of passing on power to one’s child as un-Islamic and monarchic. “With decades of experience in the corridors of power, [Mojtaba Khamenei’s] network in the regime is unparalleled,” said Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran’s security services who teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “But his appointment could jeopardize Khamenei’s legacy by bringing back the monarchy.” As the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi raises urgent questions about the country’s leadership, Mojtaba Khamenei, the powerful and secretive son of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is poised to play a central role. To most Iranians, the son is an enigma. He holds no official position, rarely appears in public and doesn’t give speeches. With decadeslong ties to key figures in Iran’s intelligence and security establishment, the younger Khamenei has grown powerful in the shadows, particularly under Raisi, who was seen as a pliant president without a personal power base. Raisi apparently was being groomed to potentially succeed the 85-year-old supreme leader, who has had health problems. As president he served as a vessel for more powerful individuals. Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash Sunday has stirred speculation about who is likely to succeed Khamenei, and whether the next president will be as pliable for the nation’s power brokers, including those surrounding Khamenei’s son and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Many have speculated that Mojtaba Khamenei could be a front-runner to succeed his father, but Iran watchers and political analysts say that is unlikely. They say he is more powerful out of the spotlight. “Mojtaba and the network around him have been running the show over the past two decades,” said Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow and Iran expert with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “Now, certainly for Khamenei himself, the main challenge is to find BY SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN AND BENOIT FAUCON Son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Wields Power in the Shadows Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and his network have been running things for the past two decades. VAHID SALEMI/ASSOCIATED PRESS TEL AVIV—Israeli government staffers were preparing for a visit with a team from the International Criminal Court on Monday when they got a jolt: The court’s prosecutor was moving ahead to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with war crimes. Prosecutor Karim Khan’s staff was scheduled to land in Israel that same day for at least a week of meetings, where government and military officials would explain Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza and argue that it was consistent with international law, people familiar with the matter said. The meetings were meant to lay the groundwork for Khan’s own visit to Israel. Instead, the staffers learned from a public video message that Khan intended to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly using starvation as a tactic against civilians in Gaza. Israel says it has complied with its obligations under international law. Khan’s office didn’t directly respond to questions about the planned meetings in Israel. In a statement, the office said it already had given Israel ample opportunity to respond to an investigation into conduct in the Palestinian territories that had opened well before the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s military response. “The Prosecutor has undertaken three years of such engagement to improve dialogue with Israel and seek to obtain BY DOV LIEBER AND JESS BRAVIN ICC Moved Ahead Before a Planned Meeting With Israel Palestinian state, but Europe has long been split on the issue. In 2014, Sweden recognized a Palestinian state, and Slovenia said it may follow soon. Britain and Germany said they would only do so through a formal peace process involving Israel. Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state has gained momentum as Israel’s war in Gaza has destroyed much of that territory and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank further endangers the possibility of stitching together a state with territorial integrity. “In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway said on Wednesday. Wednesday’s moves come after the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said this week he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for a number of Hamas leaders. Biden earlier condemned the prosecutor’s decision as “outrageous” over allegedly drawing equivalence between Israel and Hamas. But some European states, including Norway, said they would be obligated to discharge the warrants if they are ultimately issued. Recognition isn’t a silver bullet, but a belated acknowledgment that the Middle East peace process that started in Oslo in 1993 has failed and something else must be tried, said Hugh Lovatt, senior policy fellow with the Middle ing cases at the ICC and the International Court of Justice, as well as potential sanctions. The diplomatic wrangling comes as Israel pushes forward with military operations in Gaza, which over the past seven months have killed 35,000 people, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian officials whose figures don’t say how many were combatants. The latest advances are in Rafah. Some 800,000 people have fled the city in the past three weeks for tent camps or bombed-out cities further west and north, shrinking a population that had swelled to more than a million as people escaped fighting in the strip. Washington has for weeks opposed an Israeli operation in the city, citing a lack of measures to protect the population. Sullivan said Wednesday that the Biden administration would be watching to see “whether there is a lot of death and destruction from this operation or if it is more precise and proportional.” —Fatima AbdulKarim, Carrie Keller-Lynn, Gordon Lubold and Laurence Norman contributed to this article. A camp for displaced Palestinians on Wednesday sat empty in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. EYAD AL-BABA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Three Move To Accept Palestine He is more powerful out of the spotlight. His network ‘is unparalleled.’ BEIJING—China launched large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan on Thursday, a warning shot that will test how the island’s newly inaugurated president responds to an intensifying pressure campaign from Beijing. The official Xinhua News Agency, quoting the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, said army, navy, air and rocket forces were all involved in the drills and that they were focused on joint combat readiness for sea and air patrols, battlefield control and joint precision strikes. A map released by the command showed drill areas encircling Taiwan’s main island, located about 100 miles from China, as well as several outlying Taiwanese islands just off the Chinese coast. Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, is perceived by Beijing as a staunch advocate of independence, even as he has sought to project stability in his first days in office, including pledging to keep Taiwan open to engagement with China. Without naming Taiwan’s new president, Xinhua quoted a military spokesperson as saying the drills “serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.” The drills were due to conclude Friday, the spokesperson added. The maneuvers by China’s People’s Liberation Army come just days after Lai took the oath of office on Monday, when more than 500 foreign representatives attended the inauguration ceremony, including a delegation sent by the Biden administration. In January, Lai won 40% of the vote in a three-way race, defeating two opposition candidates who campaigned on seeking closer ties with China. A senior Taiwanese security official said the drills were expected. “It’s a melding together of the so-called combat patrol drills they’ve run in the past to create a threatening tableau for the new president,” the official said. China’s Communist government claims democratically self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory. While Beijing says it prefers pursuing peaceful means at unifying Taiwan and China, it also has never taken the threat of military force off the table. The issue of Taiwan is the most sensitive matter in U.S.- China relations. Any future invasion of the island by China, though not imminent, could ultimately end up pitting China and the U.S. against one another in direct confrontation. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense criticized the drills as an irrational provocation that undermines regional peace and stability, adding that it had responded by dispatching naval, air, and ground forces of its own, without giving further details. “This pretext for conducting military exercises does not contribute to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but instead highlights its domineering nature,” the ministry said in a statement. At his inauguration, Lai delivered what appeared to be a carefully calibrated speech that pushed back against Beijing’s territorial claims while also remaining open to engaging with China. Even so, Beijing has sought to portray Lai as a radical bent on destabilizing crossstrait ties in recent days. In an English-language commentary this week, Xinhua blasted Lai for delivering a “manifesto” on Taiwan independence, and having “pandered to antiChina forces in the West.” China’s military has “to show force to save face,” said Ben Lewis, co-founder of PLATracker, a research organization that tracks Chinese military activity. Lai’s language, he said, “was firm, but not extreme, and Beijing was not happy with it.” Lewis said he expected large amounts of Chinese air and naval activity going into the weekend. He said the drills are likely the largest such exercise since early November 2023 when the PLA conducted carrier exercises in the Pacific. BY BRIAN SPEGELE AND JOYU WANG WORLD NEWS China Flexes Muscle at Taiwan President Launches drills around island, calls action ‘punishment for separatist acts’ Taiwan’s new leader, Lai Ching-te, has tried to project stability. KYODONEWS/ZUMA PRESS

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A7 The U.K.’s inflation rate neared the Bank of England’s 2% target in April, clearing the way for a rate cut in the coming months, although prices of services continued to rise at a pace that will concern policymakers. Consumer prices were 2.3% higher than the same month a year earlier, easing from the LONDON—British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a surprise summer election for July 4, a gamble by the British leader to galvanize his restive Conservative Party as it trails the opposition Labour Party by double digits in the polls. Sunak, standing in drenching rain outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, said he had spoken to King Charles and asked for Parliament to be dissolved, setting the stage for a brief campaign before the vote. “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said. In going to the polls, Sunak is attempting one of the biggest turnarounds in recent British political history. Many pollsters, and even members of the Conservative Party, have written off the Tories’ chances of securing a fifth successive term, as its popularity has BY MAX COLCHESTER tanked on the back of a postpandemic cost-of-living crisis and successive political scandals. The Conservatives have been in power since 2010. The government had to call a new election by January 2025 at the latest, under British law. Most political analysts had expected Sunak to delay the vote as long as possible to allow his party to try to close the gap in the polls. A survey by Ipsos on Tuesday showed Labour, under its leader Keir Starmer, leading the Tories by 21 points. No governing U.K. party has in recent history overcome such a large deficit in the run up to an election. John Curtice, a well-regarded pollster, said in April that there was a 99% chance of Labour forming the next administration. Starmer, a former public prosecutor who moved the party toward the center after a turn to the hard left under its former leader Jeremy Corbyn, repeatedly has goaded Sunak to call a vote. Sunak, 44 years old, recently has trumpeted his government’s achievements in slowing inflation from double Down in Polls, British Leader Calls Election Opposition Labour Party’s Starmer is heavy favorite to beat Sunak in July digits and beginning to reduce net immigration, which had swelled to record levels during his tenure. Real wages, which fell sharply after the pandemic, have been slowly growing for nearly a year. Sunak also has played up his party’s decision to boost spending on defense over the next few years to counter the threat of an expansionist Russia. Moving now gives Sunak the advantage of surprise, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “It also makes him look gutsy rather than weak and scared,” Bale said. Still, the decision surprised many Tory lawmakers. When one was asked how he felt about the vote he simply texted back a scream face emoji. Parliament will be dissolved on May 30. The election will take place 25 working days later. In the U.K., election campaigns usually are short, sometimes brutal, affairs. During his brief speech, Sunak was nearly drowned out by protesters playing a song by D:Ream called “Things Can Only Get Better,” a Labour Party election anthem in 1997. Shouting over the noise, Sunak made his pitch: That the Conservatives had a plan to guide Britain through uncertain geopolitical times, and was in the process of fixing the economy. “Our economy is now growing faster than anyone predicted,” he said. Within minutes of Sunak’s announcement, Starmer posted a campaign ad on his X account, telling voters that problems such as weak economic growth and dysfunction in the staterun health system, where millions of people are waiting for treatment, would get worse with another five years of Tory rule. “Britain deserves better than that,” he said in the ad. Whatever the election result, it is unlikely to herald a sizable policy shift, some analysts said. Starmer has reoriented his party—which lost badly in the latest election—to make it more business friendly. Starmer has agreed with most of the U.K.’s foreign-policy goals, including steadfast support for Ukraine, and has said he wouldn’t undo Britain’s departure from the European Union. —Chelsey Dulaney contributed to this article. Rishi Sunak launched the Conservative Party general-election campaign in London on Wednesday, with the vote set for July 4. DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES 3.2% rate of inflation recorded in March, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. It was the lowest inflation rate since July 2021. That reading was nevertheless higher than the 2.1% expected by a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Prices in the labor-intensive services sector continued to rise rapidly, and were 5.9% higher than a year earlier, marginally cooler than March’s 6.0%. The core rate, a measure that excludes volatile energy and food prices, was higher than expected at 3.9%, from 4.2% in March. Instead, the sharp decline in the headline measure in recent months largely has been because of energy prices that are set in world markets. Policymakers worry that when they level out after recent declines, overall inflation will be driven higher by prices that mainly are responding to domestic pressures, including rapidly rising wages. That will keep the central bank’s policymakers on their toes ahead of the next meeting on June 20. Investors now expect they will hold the key rate in June at the current 16-year high of 5.25%, before cutting later in the year. But while April’s inflation reading makes a June rate cut less likely, it doesn’t rule it out, said Thomas Pugh, economist at audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK. “Looking ahead, inflation will probably fall below 2% in May, which will be critical in making the case for a June rate cut,” he said. The bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, on Tuesday said the bank’s next move would be a cut, though it remains unclear when it will occur. “It’s good news that inflation is now lower. But prices are still higher and it will take time for that pressure on family budgets to ease,” Treasury Minister Jeremy Hunt said. 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Call (888) 4K9-HERO, visit SearchDogFoundation.org, or write to SDF, 6800 Wheeler Canyon Road, Santa Paula, CA 93060. WORLD NEWS NY

A8 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. FROM PAGE ONE Ang Sherpa climbs at Minnewaska State Park Preserve. ANGELA OWENS/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Dourson has said DDT, pictured being sprayed, circa 1940s, is ‘not very toxic’ to people. He has criticized some safety guidance issued by the EPA. The agency’s Washington offices, right. FROM LEFT: BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; GABRIELLA DEMCZUK FOR WSJ found what he said was a flaw in how the agency assessed the risks of a type of PFAS called PFOA. In 2019, he wrote a paper that said the EPA’s health advisory on PFOA would have been 13 times as high if it had used the correct methodology. In 2022, he co-wrote a study that concluded that the length of time PFOA remains in the body—an important aspect of its toxicity—is only about onethird of the EPA’s time estimate, Dourson said. Last October, Dourson and the 22 other chemicals experts published a paper that looked at the data behind the EPA’s then-proposed PFOA standard. It said that the EPA’s conclusion was unwarranted, partly because it relied on so-called observational studies, which look at possible health effects of substances on large groups of people. Dourson calls observational studies unreliable for drawing conclusions, saying they have led to “flip flops” by scientists on the health effects of foods such as butter and eggs. Observational studies, also known as epidemiological studies, have linked tobacco smoke, lead, asbestos and other substances to serious health problems, and are a cornerstone of regulation. “To ignore the epidemiological studies is not scientific,” said Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and former head of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. Critics of the paper, including some of Dourson’s former EPA colleagues, said it ignores the weight of evidence collected by the agency over 10 years. The EPA’s rule relies on “more data than any chemical that I have ever seen,” said Southerland, the former EPA official. Chemical companies that manufacture the chemical cited Dourson’s work in their comments to the EPA before the agency set its PFAS drinkingwater standard in April. EPA filings indicate that Dourson’s publications were reviewed by the agency. EPA officials say such comments make its rule-making process more time-consuming. At a Society of Toxicology conference in March, Dourson and his co-authors received an award for the paper. The EPA standard is “extremely low,” Dourson said. “It is lower than the Australians and Israel and just about everybody else.” During the conference, Dourson chatted with chemical industry and association officials about his next project: A paper coming soon looking at the safe level of PFOS, which the EPA also has said isn’t safe at any level. Estimates for the annual cost of implementing the new PFAS regulation range from $1.5 billion by the EPA to as much as $3.2 billion by the American Water Works Association, a trade association for water utilities and professionals. That doesn’t include the gargantuan cost of cleaning up PFAS Superfund sites, which the EPA recently said must be paid by the polluters. The new standard is expected to unleash a torrent of new lawsuits over whether the EPA’s limits are justified and who should pick up the bill for the cleanup and removing the chemical from drinking water. Dourson and other industry consultants like him are likely to provide ammunition for those battles. Dourson is a compact, energetic man with a tight-lipped smile and a habit of greeting people with a resounding “Top of the morning to you.” He wanted to be a doctor, he said, but after failing to get into medical school, he entered a doctoral program in toxicology at the University of Cincinnati, in the city where he grew up and still resides. Regulatory start He joined the EPA in 1980—10 years after the agency was formed—part of a wave of toxicologists who were charged with developing the science to underpin the first set of regulations and standards under congressional mandates of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Dourson was instrumental in developing the agency’s first set of guidelines for measuring the safe level of chemicals for humans. He gained a reputation with higher ups as a hard worker willing to do the grunt work of pulling together data to come up with safe daily intake levels for pesticides and “everything else that followed,” said Penny Fenner-Crisp, a former top EPA official in the agency’s pesticides program who has known Dourson for 40 years. In 1988, Dourson and a top EPA official, Donald Barnes, were co-authors of a paper on a technical part of risk assessment that is widely cited today. Dourson left the EPA in 1995 after his request to expand the agency’s risk assessment program, known as the Integrated Risk Information System, was rebuffed. He took a $25,000 buyout, he said. When he founded Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, or TERA, he hoped to work mostly with U.S. and international regulators on risk assessments. Former colDourson agrees he has changed. “I wasn’t neutral as a government person,” he said. “I learned to honor industry’s knowledge.” His nonprofit company, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, works to “bridge the gap between government and industry,” he said, and to “guide people in trying to understand the science.” Dourson, who regards himself as a sort of grandmaster of toxicology, said he isn’t biased. Most years, he said, his company receives funding from both the chemical industry and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad that hire him to do risk assessment work. Dourson’s numerous critics describe him as far from neutral. Pointing to his industry ties, Betsy Southerland, former director of the EPA’s office of science and technology, said: “He produces biased science that cherry picks data.” Dourson said his belief about the safety of chemicals comes down to three basic ideas: “We are exposed to tens of thousands of chemicals a day. Every chemical has a toxic level, and every chemical has a safe level.” While many scientists disagree with that last claim, Dourson is right about the importance of toxicity levels. The insecticide DDT is toxic to birds and other animals. Studies have shown it isn’t acutely harmful to humans at low levels, but it is classified as a probable carcinogen by U.S. and international authorities and researchers are studying its effect on human reproduction. As for Roundup, a controversial 2020 review by the EPA found that, when used as instructed, it presents “no risks of concern” to humans and has “minimal” effects on mammals, fish and birds. After that finding was challenged in court, the agency said it intends to conduct another review. Precisely how dangerous PFAS are is the latest raging debate—one with enormous stakes. Scientists have found links between the chemicals and health problems including an increased risk of certain cancers, high cholesterol and a decreased immune response to vaccines, according to a 2022 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Continued from PageOne EPA Cop Pivots on Chemicals A study published by the National Academy of Sciences suggests Sherpas’ tissues use oxygen more efficiently, ultimately allowing them to conserve energy at high altitude. For over a hundred years, their high-altitude prowess has been in high demand. Sherpas built their livelihoods guiding foreigners to the top of the world’s highest peaks, hired to bear the risks on the mountain. But now, citing the risk-reward ratio, many Sherpa climbers are trading in their ice axes for New York City, where many work as Uber drivers. These days, the most extreme conditions the climbers endure are the sweltering heat and stifling humidity of New York City summers. “It’s very difficult to survive New York summers,” says Serap Sherpa, the K2 veteran. A gentle talker in an “Everest” hat and aviator sunglasses, Serap helped found the U.S. Nepal Climbers Association, which has around 70 to 80 members from his home country. The climbers range in age from 30 to 55 and live scattered around the Buddhist Monastery in Elmhurst, Queens. Together, the climbers fund the school tuition for three children in Nepal whose fathers died working in the mountains. “They’re kind of everywhere,” says Vanessa O’Brien, a British American mountaineer. Passang Sherpa, president of the association, now works at an indoor climbing gym in Brooklyn. He thinks that his nametag helps the gym sell more memberships, telling curious climbers that “I’ll give you tips and maybe one day you can climb Everest.” Passang, well acquainted with legends of the mountaineering world like Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin, is now teaching New Yorkers Cindy Peters, 36, and Nadege Fleurimond, 42, how to rock climb. “It’s one of those things you see on TV,” says Fleurimond. “They’re like legends.” Even though some are well into middle age, Passang and his friends hope to keep the legend alive by returning to the summit of Everest. It may be the biggest challenge of all. Their New York City lifestyles don’t match the typical training regimen prescribed for a climb like Everest. Long days in the driver’s seat picking up riders and long nights drinking at KTM Bar have taken a toll on their bodies. When it comes to working out, the climbers are more inclined to kick back together than hit the gym. Reacquainting themselves to the thin air on the 29,000-foot mountain could be a challenge for their bodies now accustomed to life at sea level. “Definitely, I’ve gained weight,” says Serap Sherpa. His wife, Yutee Sherpa, is also concerned. “I would surely be scared because to return to Everest after so long and now at his age is very risky,” she says. Until they can pool the money together, the group goes rock climbing at the Shawangunk Ridge, a piece of the Appalachian Mountains that extends into the Hudson Valley. Known as the Gunks, the craggy area lies 100 miles north of New York City, with cliff faces extending 2,000 feet above sea level. It’s a fraction of the steep mountains the Nepalese have summited back home, and the once-familiar deadly ascents have given way to camping trips upstate. Dressed in matching Tshirts, Passang says that they have too much fun partying at the campsite and don’t do that much climbing. According to Serap, summiting a hostile peak that’s taken hundreds of lives is really no big deal. How much time will they need to get from Kathmandu to the summit and back? The climber says “three weeks, maximum.” The usual Everest expedition can take months. “The higher we go, the better we feel,” says Lhakpa Sherpa, who at 47 has summited Everest twice. orate the first successful ascent of Everest in 1953, by Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary. Last year’s Everest Day was especially momentous. The Sherpa community collected enough signatures for the City Council to vote on a bill that would name 75th Street from Broadway to Woodside as “Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Way.” Contrary to popular belief, Sherpa is an ethnic group— not a job title—native to a mountainous region of Nepal. Their superhuman endurance in extreme conditions at high altitudes has earned them a reputation as some of the world’s greatest climbers. Continued from PageOne Sherpas Acclimate To City Life acrylamide in drinking water. After the paper was published, Hertzberg said, Dourson asked him to produce a criticism of a statistician’s analysis of acrylamide that was included in a lawsuit. Hertzberg said Dourson was “looking for anything to discredit the analysis.” Hertzberg said he could find nothing. Hertzberg said he concluded: “If they don’t want good science. I don’t want to work for them.” He left the project, he said. Dourson said he would have apologized had he known Hertzberg felt he was being pushed. At a later science conference, Hertzberg said, he confronted Dourson, telling him he was “seen as having a pro-industry bias.” Hertzberg said Dourson challenged him to show where his science was wrong. Dourson said he doesn’t recall the exchange, but that other former EPA colleagues have made similar comments. He said he usually tells them that his company strives to be neutral. In 2017, then-president Donald Trump nominated Dourson to head the EPA’s office for chemical safety. Dourson withdrew his name after bipartisan criticism of his ties to industry, including from one Democrat who unveiled a poster in a Senate hearing detailing Dourson’s work for chemical companies with the title “Science for Sale.” Dourson said Congress focused on only part of his work. In the few months he spent at the EPA as the nominee, he leagues said his idea was to do what the EPA does, but better and faster. One year later, though, more than half of the company’s funding came from chemical companies. As Dourson described it, his belief began to grow that the human body is resilient. “The body is amazing,” he said. Even in the face of daily exposure to multitudes of chemicals, he said, “the body just takes care of it.” In 1996, he worked for a consortium of aerospace companies known as the Perchlorate Study Group, which was disputing the EPA’s guidance for perchlorate, used by the industry for combustion. Some scientific studies have linked the chemical to thyroid problems. Dourson was co-author of a paper that said the safe level for perchlorate was three times the EPA guidance at the time. Nevertheless, Dourson said, he told the industry group that the level it was arguing for was too high. Dow Agrosciences helped fund research that led to a 2006 paper on chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that some studies have linked to problems in the nervous system. Dourson concluded that the safe level for humans was at least 30 times the EPA’s health guidance at the time. The agency has since lowered its guidance even further. Dourson began cranking out papers published in scientific journals such as Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, eventually producing more than 100. Harvard epidemiologist Joel Schwartz said scientists working for industry sometimes aim to “create enough uncertainty about the evidence so that people feel queasy about regulating.” Scientists at University of California, San Francisco, said in a paper that PFAS manufacturers were using a strategy commonly used by the tobacco, pharmaceutical and other industries to influence regulation: suppress unfavorable research and distort public discourse. “Publishing is a big part of their strategy,” said Tracey Woodruff, UCSF professor and one of the authors of the study. French fry fuss Mathematician Richard Hertzberg, now an Emory professor, was one of Dourson’s closest friends at the EPA. He said he detected a change in Dourson after he left the EPA. Hertzberg worked with Dourson in 2008 on a paper on acrylamide, a potential carcinogen that can be released by potatoes when cooked at high temperature, such as during the making of french fries. Some of the nation’s biggest fast-food companies, including McDonald’s and Burger King, provided funding for the research. The EPA sets limits for ‘We are exposed to tens of thousands of chemicals a day. Every chemical has a toxic level, and every chemical has a safe level.’ Toxicologist Michael Dourson KIM RAFF FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

© 2024 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A9 gry for more days than not, or for large portions of the day, says Antonia Seligowski, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who studies the brain-heart connection. Getting mad briefly is different than experiencing chronic anger, she says. “If you have an angry conversation every now and again or you get upset every now and again, that’s within the normal human experience,” she says. “When a negative emotion is prolonged, when you’re really having a lot more of it and maybe more intensely, that’s where it’s bad for your health.”  Try mental-health exercises. Her group is looking at whether mentalhealth treatments, like certain types of talk therapy or breathing exercises, may also be able to improve some of the physical problems caused by anger. Other doctors recommend angermanagement strategies. Hypnosis, meditation and mindfulness can help, says the Cleveland Clinic’s Lupe. So, too, can changing the way you respond to anger.  Slow down your reactions. Try to notice how you feel and slow down your response, and then learn to express it. You also want to make sure you’re not suppressing the feeling, as that can backfire and exacerbate the emotion. Instead of yelling at a family member when you’re angry or slamming something down, say, “I am angry because X, Y and Z, and therefore I don’t feel like eating with you or I need a hug or support,” suggests Lupe. “Slow the process down,” he says. and waste to go in those gaps, creating more inflammation that can fuel symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating or constipation. Your brain Anger can harm our cognitive functioning, says Joyce Tam, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. It involves the nerve cells in the prefrontal cortex, the front area of our brain that can affect attention, cognitive control and our ability to regulate emotions. Anger can trigger the body to release stress hormones into the bloodstream. High levels of stress hormones can damage nerve cells in the brain’s prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, says Tam. Damage in the prefrontal cortex can affect decision-making, attention and executive function, she says. The hippocampus, meanwhile, is the main part of the brain used in memory. So when neurons are damaged, that can disrupt the ability to learn and retain information, she adds. What you can do about it  First, figure out if you’re angry too much or too often. There’s no hard and fast rule. But you may THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK have cause for concern if you’re anAnger is bad for your health in more ways than you think. Getting angry doesn’t just hurt our mental health, it’s also damaging to our hearts, brains and gastrointestinal systems, according to doctors and recent research. Of course, it’s a normal emotion that everyone feels—few of us stay serene when a driver cuts us off or a boss makes us stay late. But getting mad too often or for too long can cause problems. There are ways to keep your anger from doing too much damage. Techniques like meditation can help, as can learning to express your anger in healthier ways. One recent study looked at anger’s effects on the heart. It found that anger can raise the risk of heart attacks because it impairs the functioning of blood vessels, according to a May study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers examined the impact of three different emotions on the heart: anger, anxiety and sadness. One participant group did a task that made them angry, another did a task that made them anxious, while a third did an exercise designed to induce sadness. The scientists then tested the functioning of the blood vessels in each participant, using a blood pressure cuff to squeeze and release the blood flow in the arm. Those in the angry group had worse blood flow than those in the others; their blood vessels didn’t dilate as much. “We speculate over time if you’re getting these chronic insults to your arteries because you get angry a lot, that will leave you at risk for having heart disease,” says Dr. Daichi Shimbo, a professor of medicine at Columbia University and lead author of the study. Your GI system Doctors are also gaining a better understanding of how anger affects your gastrointestinal system. When someone becomes angry, the body produces numerous proteins and hormones that increase inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation can raise your risk of many diseases. The body’s sympathetic nervous system—or “fight or flight” system— is also activated, which shunts blood away from the gut to major muscles, says Stephen Lupe, director of behavioral medicine at the Cleveland Clinic’s department of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. This slows down movement in the GI tract, which can lead to problems like constipation. In addition, the space in between cells in the lining of the intestines opens up, which allows more food Too Much Anger Harms Your Health BY SUMATHI REDDY  Payton Poulston said she has been looking for a job in medicaldevice sales since the beginning of her senior year. PERSONAL JOURNAL. plications within 24 hours for an associate software-engineering role. “The market has changed so drastically,” she said. The supply of computer-science majors continues to grow as hiring demand for software programming roles appears to be cooling. Two other major campus job recruiting sectors—consulting and finance— are also retrenching after pandemic hiring sprees. Graduates looking for jobs must meet a higher bar because the market is already crowded with junior workers who recently lost jobs, says Jay Killough, who leads Texas Tech University’s career center. “Those people have experience,” said Killough, “and most employers we talk to love experienced professionals.” Payton Poulston, who graduated from Indiana University Bloomington this month, has been looking for a job in medical-device sales since the start of her senior year. She’s contacted people she met during her three internships. Her mother, who works at a hospital, has also been asking co-workers and others for job leads. Poulston has landed interviews but no offers. The companies typically tell her they want three to five years of experience, even for jobs listed as entry-level positions. “It might be easier to hire someone who can just come in and get the job done and know exactly how to do everything,” she said. The AI factor Companies are also expecting grads to come in knowing how to use AI in their work, said Mohammad Soltanieh-ha, a clinical assistant professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. In class, for example, his programming students learn how to use AI to find what’s wrong with their codes as opposed to spending half a day figuring it out on their own, he said. “It’s not that the AI is taking their jobs,” said Soltanieh-ha. “It’s somebody that knows how AI is working— that’s who is going to take their job.” AI is starting to supplant some types of traditional entry-level work. Axiologic Solutions, a government technology contractor near Washington, is deploying AI to take on tasks that new graduates previously did in its human-resources department. An AI tool can send emails and training videos to new hires. A chatbot can answer many of the questions a new hire might have. When two people recently left the HR department, they didn’t need to be replaced, said Michael Chavira, the company’s managing partner and co-founder. Anyone he does hire needs to have experience using AI, since he’s thinking about using it in other business areas, too, such as accounting. “AI right now is making those entry-level positions—I don’t want to say obsolete—but they’re changing them,” he said. Back to basics Jennifer Neef, director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s career center, said she is encouraging computer science majors to look for tech roles in other industries. Smaller employers, as well as government agencies, will hire through the middle of summer, she said. “I always ask students—‘Who knows that you’re looking for a job?’ The response should be everyone,” Neef said. She has been advising students to “use a scalpel and not a machete” in contacting employers and recruiters. That means making meaningful connections, instead of spamming hiring managers with one-size-fits-all messages, and following up regularly after a first meeting. Employers want to make sure their new hires have the willingness to learn and can fit with their teams’ work styles, she said. Graduates are being advised to refrain from opining about campus protests if asked in interviews. “Our advice is to be very neutral, like, ‘Yeah, that’s happening there,’” said Beth Hendler-Grunt, president of career-coaching company Next Great Step. So far, she says none of her clients have mentioned such questions coming up. Kali Muniz, who graduated from Texas A&M University this month, landed a job in October, after a couple of snags. The flight simulator company where she had previously interned told her they weren’t hiring new grads because of budget cuts. She thought she had clinched an interview for a consulting job, then was surprised when she was rejected. The job she did get—as a financial manager for the federal government—Muniz found by applying online. She included a recommendation from someone at her internship in her application. “I don’t know if that helped me,” said the 22-year-old management major, “but I hope it did.” —Chip Cutter contributed to this article. T he Class of 2024 is about to join a job market nearly as turbulent as their college years. Employers plan to hire 5.8% fewer new graduates than they did last year, according to a spring survey of 226 employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. And what those bosses want from entrylevel workers is changing, students and recruiters say, from years of experience to sophisticated artificial-intelligence skills. Some companies say AI is taking over part of the work fresh graduates used to do. It’s the latest challenge for these students, who began their studies with Covid-19 lockdowns and finished them amid protests that upended campus life nationwide. “I didn’t think it would be so hard to even get a screening interview,” said Daniel Cooper, a computer-engineering major who graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The 22-yearold accepted a software-engineering job earlier this spring, but the offer was rescinded after the company announced layoffs. Overall, the job market remains strong, and recruiting executives say new graduate-hires benefit from steady wage growth over the past few years. But it’s taking graduating seniors longer to find white-collar roles. By April 2023, more than a third had accepted a full-time job and stopped looking further, according to research and analytics firm Veris Insights. This year, just under a quarter had. Cooper has applied to about three dozen other software engineering jobs since his offer evaporated, resulting in two interviews but no new offers. Though he’s had eight internships, some of the job applications he’s filled out ask for years of work experience, excluding internships, he said. That puts him at zero. More selective HealthEdge, an insurance-software company, is among the companies hiring fewer new graduates this year. It’s bringing on five new graduates in the U.S. compared with 20 in 2023. Overall, it’s hiring fewer entry-level employees, and a greater share of them are in India, said Stefani Coleman, who leads earlytalent recruiting and programming. Demand for such jobs, meanwhile, has been overwhelming, she added. At one point, she FROM TOP: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, GETTY IMAGES, ISTOCK (2); EDEN SNOWER; LARA GUNESEN received about 2,000 apBY JOSEPH PISANI AND LINDSAY ELLIS Finding a JobTakes Longer for College Grads Companies are rethinking their needs for entry-level talent  Daniel Cooper had his job offer rescinded after the company announced layoffs.

A10 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. PERSONAL JOURNAL. her friends enjoy the ordering process, even if the food is good enough to keep them coming back. “It can be a little jolting for some people,” says the tech company cofounder. Mariana Suarez, a master’s student in Houston, says ordering higher-end food at counters can make her feel rushed. Rather than ordering right away, she prefers to linger and study the drinks menu while using apps on her phone to read more about the wine. “You don’t necessarily have time to do that,” says Suarez, 24. Less staff, higher wages Restaurateurs say the model lets them deal with continuing labor shortages and tight margins and offsets today’s higher food costs. Prices are often not any lower without traditional servers. At John’s, line cooks earn $36 an hour; dishwashers earn $30 an hour. “We’re creating a restaurant that can work for the next 10 years,” McFarland says. “This is our only shot.” Perri Sevano says Boschetto, an Italian spot in Montclair, N.J., has become a go-to for her family of four, including two young children. With the quality of food on the higher end, Sevano says it fills a niche between a casual pizza joint and an Italian red-sauce spot. She prefers the ability to pay ahead of time, which makes it simpler to head out at the meal’s end. “If someone is getting antsy, we just get up and leave,” Sevano says. SANDY NOTO Restaurants Add Counter Offerings To the Menu T o get beef tartare or snapper at Birdie’s, don’t expect a server to approach your table. You’ve got to make the first move by ordering at the counter and paying for your meal, tip included, before you even sit down at a fully decked-out table. “We treat the counter as the first interaction at a fine-dining restaurant,” says Arjav Ezekiel, coowner and beverage director of Birdie’s in Austin, Texas. Call it counter cuisine. You wait in line at the front of a restaurant to order a great bottle of Malbec or a crisp branzino filet, then sit down. The food is higher-end, but the menus are small. Food arrives in courses using formal plates. Wine gets poured into proper stemware. Restaurants like Birdie’s are betting on that high-low approach. Diners see perks and quirks of this new setup. Some like not vying for reservations while eating topnotch food at coveted eateries. They can still flag down restaurant staff to answer questions or order drinks. BY ALINA DIZIK Others say it’s annoying to wait in line to order at the counter and would rather have a more formal dining experience. Those new to Birdie’s spend about five minutes at the counter talking with a staffer and learning about the food and wine pairing options. The goal is to add a personal touch while slowing down orders, which keeps the kitchen from getting overwhelmed. The restaurant, which opened in 2021, has tweaked its model as business has grown. It has hired additional staff to roam the floor and take followup orders at the table rather than asking people to get back in line. “We’ve done more things to make people comfortable once they sit down,” Ezekiel says. Far from fast food Marisa Bittenc-Muramoto, a project manager who has visited Birdie’s a handful of times, says she’s now used to the new way of service and has reset her expectations. Most recently the 34-year-old braved the long line to order with wine in hand. “You can kind of hang out and chitchat,” she says, adding that it’s like grabbing a seat at the bar. At John’s Food and Wine in Chicago, diners order at the counter but can use the QR code at the table to get refills of wine, cocktails and other drinks. The menu includes Hamachi crudo ($23), duck breast ($47) with charred radicchio and date and shallot jam, with olive oil cake ($12) for dessert. Guests have experienced a learning curve as the restaurant finetunes the model, says co-owner Adam McFarland. He opened John’s in 2023 and previously worked at New York’s Gramercy Tavern. Coabi Kastan says she was initially apprehensive about dining at John’s. Now she calls herself a loyalist who visits weekly. Not all of Some customers still find it tough to adjust. Megan Koppenhoefer, a 44-year-old healthcare administrator, says she has enjoyed her meals and the service. Still, tipping ahead of time doesn’t sit right. “There’s a certain discomfort that happens when you’re already tipping on that amount without being served at a table,” she says, or knowing how the service will be. Tips can be left at any time, including after the meal, Birdie’s management says.  John’s Food and Wine in Chicago pairs counter service with full entrees such as branzino. I n an era of high prices, payday comes with baggage. Every trip to the grocery store, every monthly rent payment, is a reminder that life costs a lot more than it did just a few years ago. Yes, wages are rising faster than inflation, and they have been for a year—but not everywhere for everyone. And even when someone’s wages are up, it doesn’t always feel like it. The most recent index of consumer prices showed the annual inflation rate slowed slightly in April, to 3.4%. But inflation was routinely below 2% in the years before the pandemic—and anyway, what matters to people is the price of things, not the level of price changes. “They do care, and they’ve always cared,” said James Hines, an economist at the University of Michigan. We trod through the streets in San Francisco to ask people how much they make, whether it feels like enough and their plans for the future. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length. Income is monthly, after taxes. Matt Lanter Age: 53 Occupation: Mail carrier Income: $3,700 Rent: $2,200 I found out about a tumor on my spine in 2020. The tumor is benign but it’s still growing. That means I can’t do a lot of overtime because of my back. And overtime is where the money is. I’ve thought about renting a room somewhere. But I’d probably save $500 a month and I’d have to share a kitchen and a bathroom. I’m 53. I don’t want to have a roommate. I’ve been living check-to-check since the pandemic. Everything’s gone up, except wages. As far as I’ve been alive, this is the worst economy to me. I’ve made mistakes. But I shouldn’t be where I’m at. Vanshika Gupta Age: 32 Occupation: Ph.D. student in psychology and therapist Income: $5,000 Rent: $0 My husband takes care of the rent because he makes double what I make. I take care of everything else—utilities and groceries. What I’ve been earning has been going to my Ph.D. Another three months and I’m almost done. I’ll be earning more so I can factor that in for both of us. I moved from St. Louis to Chicago to San Francisco. I don’t think I could survive San Francisco alone as a student. Brytanee Brown Age: 34 Occupation: Small-business owner, consulting firm focused on transportation Income: $6,500 Rent: $1,425 When I was starting my business, Emergent Labs, I wasn’t able to pay myself, so I accumulated some credit card debt. Right now, I’m paying those off while also replenishing my emergency savings and retirement funds. I want to be able to pay myself more and support my mother more. In two years, I want to be able to pay her rent. BY ANGEL AU-YEUNG All my friends, we do pretty well for ourselves. We’ve got degrees. But we just feel like we can’t make big purchases or accumulate wealth. We don’t have a home; we’re all in our early 30s. We’ve got student loans. I have $67,000 in student-loan debt from both undergrad and grad school. Dwyn Asher Age: 33 Occupation: Marketing and communications at a nonprofit Income: $4,500 Rent: $1,400 My nonprofit works with a lot of low-income and unhoused people. We served 4.8 million meals last year. That’s up from three million the year before. It’s worse now than it was during the pandemic. At least during Covid, there was a lot of government assistance. But all those protections are gone now. I have side hustles. I do cat-sitting. I teach crafts. And I’ll do freelance graphic design. I’m lucky that I’m from San Francisco and my family is here, so if I ever get into a pinch, I have a safety net. Maggie Bach Age: 25 Occupation: Marketing in residential real estate Income: $7,500 Rent: $2,400 I’m originally from Hawaii. The cost of living is very high there—higher than San Francisco. Groceries and utilities, just everything, was more expensive because everything is shipped out to Hawaii. But rent is more expensive in San Francisco. A pack of salmon used to be around $20 to $22 and now it’s closer to $30 to $31. I’ve also noticed that with specific grains, especially quinoa, they’re being sold in smaller packages but the prices have gone up. Johnicon George Age: 55 Occupation: Sanitation-truck driver Income: $7,700 Mortgage: $1,700 My wife and I make good money, but I worry for my grandchildren. I’m trying to teach my 16-year-old son financial literacy, but everything is so expensive and it keeps going up. We used to take three vacations a year. Now we take one. But we make up for it with little weekend trips, sometimes in San Francisco to play tourist again. California is just too expensive. There are taxes on everything. My wife and I are considering moving to Arizona or even Texas. We’re Democrats and those are red states, but we’re willing to make that sacrifice. Kevin Hall Age: 34 Occupation: Independent locksmith Income: $2,000 Rent: $0 As a locksmith, we’ve had to raise our prices. It went from $100 an hour a year ago to now $200 an hour. The company charges that rate and I get around 25% of that. But who the hell cares? 3% inflation? We’ve seen 15% inflation in the late ’70s, early ’80s. We’ve been through worse. I’ve never owned a home. Raised my daughters in an apartment in Sacramento. I do not understand the obsession with buying a house. I help people find state government jobs [at State Job Workshops]. A lot of my clients are laid off by the big corporations. My clients are mostly in their 50s and 60s. These big corporations, they’re not laying off people based on their ability—they’re cutting by pay. And who’s the first to go? The people who are making their peak wages. Kael Teodorowicz Age: 41 Occupation: Co-founder, product management software company for freelance filmmakers Income: $10,000 Rent: $3,000 I moved from Venezuela 14 years ago. Prices there are almost decided on the streets. You wake up tomorrow and the prices are up 1,000%. Here, even though things are going up, it’s way more controlled. I’m currently building a company, so a lot of my expenses go toward that. I have five employees. One is based in Colombia. The company is called CinemaHive. I used to pick my own stocks and try to beat the market but I’ve learned that I better just stay with the index. I only do indices—the QQQ or the S&P 500. I get therapy covered through Medi-Cal. My therapist tells me, ‘Why don’t you go on a walk?’ And I say, ‘What do you mean, walking? I need to work.’ All I do is work and worry about making money. My family lives in Palo Alto, so they’re close by. I’m trying to build up a client list in San Francisco. When I’m in the city, I live in my car. Otherwise, I have a room in my locksmith mentor’s house in Napa, free of charge. Varun Valluri Age: 33 Occupation: Solutions engineering Income: $5,000 before he was laid off, then 14 weeks of severance Rent: $2,500 I got laid off about four months ago. I have seriously cut down my external dining and expenses. I moved from a one-bedroom to a studio. I was paying $4,000 in rent. I used to have an EV but I switched to a gas car. I figured I’d try to cut down on my burn rate and get a cheaper car, but the gas is just so expensive. When I lived in New York, I used to joke that you step outside your house and you spend $50. Now in San Francisco, you go out for drinks and it’s $100. You go out for dinner and it’s another $100. Ken Mandler Age: 69 Occupation: Small-business owner, employment agency Income: $20,000 Rent: $2,800 I read about inflation all the time. We asked these people how much they make and whether it feels like enough in today’s economy. Top row: Matt Lanter, Vanshika Gupta, Brytanee Brown, Dwyn Asher, Maggie Bach. Bottom row: Johnicon George, Kevin Hall, Varun Valluri, Ken Mandler and Kael Teodorowicz. ALEXANDRA CITRIN-SAFADI/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL How People CopeWith Inflation These residents of San Francisco get candid about what a paycheck means for them

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. NY Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A10A

A10B | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. AGING GROWS EXPERIENCE, Some things come with age. Some others don’t. Learn the warning signs of Alzheimer’s. NOT MEMORY LOSS. NY/NE

more like the anthem from “Les Misérables.” The composer happily enlists Puccini’s big orchestra and chorus, and the whole thing runs about 15 minutes, barely longer than the Alfano version, but with a lot more content packed in. The new ending also works because Ms. Zambello’s production updates the story from its fairy-tale origins to a contemporary totalitarian state. Wilson Chin’s set of looming industrial structures, their bars giving off a prison-like vibe, and Amith Chandrashaker’s lighting, with its shadowy grays, blaring fluorescent whites and lurid reds, all suggest a very unhappy place. The “people of Peking” are unhoused, suitcase-toting migrants; the soldiers, almost all women, wear Chiing Turandot. Yonghoon Lee’s handsome tenor was appealing in Calaf’s tender “Non piangere, Liù,” but more frequently he punished it, pushing into brutal extremes of volume. Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha was a riveting Liù, her warm, rounded soprano especially poignant in her death scene. Peixin Chen was an affecting Timur. Ethan Vincent, Sahel Salam and Jonathan Pierce Rhodes (Chancellor, Majordomo and Head Chef) made a sweet moment of their Act 2 trio; when placed upstage in the crowd scenes, they were hard to hear. As the Mandarin, Le Bu’s potent bass-baritone leaped out of the texture. Veteran tenor Neil Shicoff had a notable cameo as the Emperor; his tenor is still powerful, and his halting climb to his throne—and his interpolated collapse—signaled the ruler’s age and infirmity. The chorus sang forcefully; the children’s chorus, chillingly outfitted as young soldiers, shone. Conductor Speranza Scappucci tended to drive the tempi; the evening was sometimes a bit breathless, but exciting overall. Ms. Waleson writes on opera for the Journal and is the author of “Mad Scenes and Exit Arias: The Death of the New York City Opera and the Future of Opera in America” (Metropolitan). nese Communist-like uniforms (Linda Cho did the costumes); Ping, Pang and Pong (here given the job titles Chancellor, Majordomo and Head Chef instead of those names) have modern suits, overcoats and fedoras. Turandot’s blood-red dress in Act 2 is a fitting complement to the stained knife hanging from the omnipresent guillotine; Jessica Lang and Kanji Segawa’s choreography for a nonet of soldiers recalls “The Red Detachment of Women.” The ending suggests, hopefully, that Turandot will be an enlightened ruler. It is, after all, still a fairy tale. Ewa Plonka was a steely, impos-  Ewa Plonka (center) in the world premiere production from Washington National Opera. CORY WEAVER Washington Although Puccini’s “Turandot” and “Madama Butterfly” are under fire lately for their stereotypical depictions of Asian characters, opera companies are reluctant to eliminate these hugely popular titles from their seasons. Productions that finesse the offensive elements offer one solution, but Washington National Opera has gone one step further. Puccini died before he could finish “Turandot,” so the final scene—in which the bloodthirsty princess Turandot and her determined suitor Calaf get happily wed—was composed by Franco Alfano. The music is pedestrian and the resolution hurried and unsatisfactory—he kisses her, she melts. Francesca Zambello, WNO’s artistic director, has always wanted an ending that gives Turandot more agency, so she commissioned one. The resulting production, which sold out all its performances in advance, is currently at the Kennedy Center. The new final scene by librettist Susan Soon He Stanton, known for her work on “Succession,” and Christopher Tin, who writes scores for videogames as well as concert music, fits the opera neatly. Its sound and attitude, while contemporary, grow organically from Puccini’s original, like a savvy modern addition on a historic building. Ms. Stanton’s libretto gives Turandot extra back story—she, like her ancestor, was raped and abducted, fueling her determination to punish men. It also kills off the aged Emperor, so Calaf asks Turandot, now the ruler, to choose between a reign of death or one of life. Mr. Tin launches their confrontation with a fiercely dramatic duet; the sound is edgier than Puccini but still tonal, and Turandot’s initial insistence on power through violence is Wagnerian in scope and accompanied by blaring brass. Calaf counters with lyricism; he tells her his name to a reprise of the “Nessun dorma” tune, and asks her to choose mercy and love—which, eventually, she does. Other Puccini quotations bubble up—the hymn of praise to the emperor; Liù’s rising line as Turandot, in her turn, chooses “amore,” more “Nessun dorma”—but Mr. Tin doesn’t lean on them. In fact, the concluding joyful chorus sounds OPERA REVIEW Giving ‘Turandot’ A Fierce New Finish BY HEIDI WALESON The rewritten ending is an edgy but organic extension of Puccini’s classic. Installed right next to the paintings, their harsh glare interferes with seeing the actual artworks. And, trailing long, ribbed, metal electrical tubing—which loops up and down and across gallery walls—the screens seemingly transform “Concealed Layers” from art exhibition into I.C.U., and its paintings into patients on life support. Scans divulge that George Grosz’s interior “Café” (1916) was painted on top of an earlier portrait in another style, and that in Nolde’s nude “Woman (in Strong Light)” (1912) his signature is visible only in UV light. A video screen next to Karl Schmidt-Rottluff’s “Rising Moon” (1911-12) reconstructs the mere 13 steps the artist made—from the application of zinc white ground to red signature—to create his landscape. “This video animates the process, as if,” we’re informed, “we were in the studio watching him work.” The implication: The magic of technology shows that painting is this easy. Even more distracting, Macke’s Cubist “Landscape With Cows, Sailboat, and Painted-in Figures” (1914) is sandwiched between a video screen and a light box. The X-ray light-box image shows that the artist, commencing with a naturalistic painting of a lake and sailboats, retained some of those elements in his final version—in which figures and livestock are oriented sideways or upside-down. The touchscreen allows viewers to rotate the painting 360 degrees—an act Macke clearly intended to limit to viewers’ imaginations. There’s a balanced way to do a show like this. It involves providing just enough information for visitors to understand conservators’ exploratory procedures while allowing the paintings—taking precedence— to stand forth as works of art. Unfortunately, “Concealed Layers” gives the impression that its pictures were selected not for their aesthetic distinction but for the variety of what was uncovered in their roles as lab specimens. The result is less an exhibition in an art museum than a presentation at a conference for art conservators. Concealed Layers: Uncovering Expressionist Paintings Saint Louis Art Museum, through Aug. 4 Mr. Esplund, the author of “The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art” (Hachette), writes about art for the Journal. scans of the paintings’ fronts, backs, skeletons and innards. In one corner stands a vitrine containing a magnifying stand, paint specimens, glass slides and a powerful Nikon microscope employed to scrutinize cross-sections of paint, which have been extracted, bisected and encased in resin. Another vitrine—near Kandinsky’s snowy, Alpine-winter-resort scene “Murnau With Locomotive” (1911)—displays several bottles of dry pigments and photographs of lab personnel zapping the picture, point-blank, with what look like rayguns. Next to the painting hangs a life-size, UV-light reproduction, illuminating the presence of oil, wax, washes, impasto and tinted lead and zinc whites—useful information for conservators, but which serves here to upstage and demystify Kandinsky’s original. Most disturbing, however, are the show’s interactive video screens and big, deep, wallmounted metal light boxes displaying grisaille X-ray films of the paintings. Taking us beneath their surfaces, these penetrating images expose, among other things, underpainting, revisions, trapped paintbrush hairs and how many nails secure canvas to stretcher. Clockwise from top left: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s ‘Portrait of Gerti’ (dated 1907, c. 1910-11); an X-ray of the painting; and a rear view of the canvas. St. Louis T he Saint Louis Art Museum houses one of North America’s best collections of modern German paintings. It includes pictures by Vasily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, Franz Marc, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Oskar Kokoschka and August Macke. The majority of the works, including most of its 40 paintings by Max Beckmann (the largest grouping in the world), were bequeathed by this city’s department-store magnate and art collector Morton D. May. In March, after a comprehensive three-year technical analysis by its conservation department, SLAM published “German Expressionism: Paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum,” a collection catalog examining 48 works by more than two-dozen artists. Written by Melissa Venator, an assistant curator at the museum, it reinterprets the paintings and provides details of their reception, provenances, exhibition and conservation histories, related works, literature, materials and techniques. “Concealed Layers: Uncovering Expressionist Paintings,” SLAM’s companion show (through Aug. 4), features 11 of those pictures. Cocurated by Ms. Venator and Courtney Books, SLAM’s associate paintings conservator, the research exhibition highlights recent discoveries made by advanced technologies. These include the application of raking light (cast from the side), specular light (cast at a 90-degree angle), infrared reflectography (which penetrates beneath the painting’s surface), X-radiography (which, like medical radiography, reveals composite layers), and ultraviolet radiation (which absorbs and re-emits colorful light known as fluorescence, exposing secrets invisible to the naked eye). Regarding art, I champion engaging with what’s readily observable. But art conservation, an unsung profession requiring equal parts art and science, is indispensable. Peeling back the paint, conservators help us to understand, preserve and safeguard works. So, though skeptical, I was open to SLAM’s investigative, behind-thescenes exhibition in which paintings share equal billing with their scientific examination. What initially struck me was the show’s bright, white, clinical atmosphere. “Concealed Layers” resembles not so much an art exhibition but an operating theater whose subjects (paintings) have seemingly been probed and analyzed into submission. Its artworks feel overwhelmed by reproductions, wall text and technology. We encounter extensive lab notes and photographs of technicians utilizing the tools of their trade, annotated images of magnified SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM (3) blobs of paint and diagnostic BY LANCE ESPLUND ART REVIEW Blinded by Science A museum overwhelms its dazzling paintings with technical analysis THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A11 ARTS IN REVIEW

A12 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. on the Timberwolves, Gobert floundered. His minutes and statistics dropped as he struggled to fit in next to Karl Anthony-Towns, the team’s incumbent big man. He was even banished from one of Minnesota’s biggest games of the season, when the team suspended Gobert for a play-in showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers after he punched a teammate during a timeout. The Timberwolves lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Nuggets team they were designed to beat. It looked like Minnesota’s acquisition of Gobert, who in Utah had won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, wasn’t simply a misstep. Considering the fact that the Timberwolves had mortgaged their entire future to get him, and how awkwardly he fit next to the team’s existing talent, there was a convincing argument that this was among the worst trades in NBA history. The Frenchman with a 7- foot-9 wingspan looked like an albatross that would weigh the franchise down for years to come. “There’s two words that are always the best answer: We’ll see,” said Bob Myers, a former NBA general manager who helped build the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. “That’s not a popular response to whether something was a good trade…but Minneapolis AS A GROWING NUMBER of NBA superstars are finding out, there is nothing harder to do on a basketball court than score on the Minnesota Timberwolves. They swipe steals. They block shots. They leave the game’s best players desperately looking for an escape hatch. And the wildest thing about the best collection of stoppers on the hardwood? They’re built around a player that Minnesota acquired in a blockbuster trade that made the entire rest of the league point and laugh. This postseason, Rudy Gobert has helped the Wolves become the sport’s premier point-stopping machine. They put the clamps on the Phoenix Suns in Round 1. They wore down the defending-champion Denver Nuggets in Round 2. Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks was on Wednesday night. “There’s a difference between being the reason that you win and the reason that you don’t lose,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “And Rudy is the reason we don’t lose.” No one was saying that this time a year ago. Back then, at the end of his first season in Minnesota, Gobert was something other than the cornerstone of the league’s stingiest squad. He was basketball’s biggest punchline. Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had traded for Gobert before the 2022-23 season, sending out an eye-popping haul of five players and five draft picks to the Utah Jazz. Connelly, who had helped build the Nuggets into a behemoth before coming to Minnesota, understood that any Western Conference contender needed a defense that could slow down Denver’s MVP center Nikola Jokic. But as soon as he landed basketball is a team sport, and sometimes it takes time to figure out what works.” Suddenly, everything that went wrong last season has gone right during this one. Gobert’s influence on Minnesota’s defense is undeniable. He’s blocking more than two shots per game and his presence on the back line means that Minnesota’s swarm of long-armed perimeter defenders can be ultraaggressive against opponents. The year before he arrived, the Timberwolves surrendered the seventh-most points in the NBA. This season, no team gave up fewer. “I think I’ve found a home,” Gobert said after he accepted this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award—a record-tying fourth. “I’ve found a team, a coaching staff, an organization, a city that embraces me.” In Game 7 of the series, when Minnesota trailed at halftime, TNT’s Charles Barkley lobbied for the Timberwolves to pull Gobert out of the lineup. Finch didn’t do it and Gobert spent the final two quarters throwing wrenches into the Nuggets’ offense, holding one of the NBA’s best offenses to just 37 second-half points. Asked after the win about Barkley’s comments, Gobert said, “I’m glad Coach didn’t listen to his advice,” he said. ABBIE PARR/ASSOCIATED PRESS How theWorst NBA Trade Ever Built a Championship Contender Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert in a widely panned deal. BY ROBERT O’CONNELL CAS is launching at a seminal moment. Schools accustomed to relying on free labor will soon have to dedicate big portions of their budget to player pay, under a settlement of litigation brought in federal court in California challenging NCAA restrictions on athletes profiting from their name, image and likeness. What’s more, schools will risk major recruiting and retention problems if they don’t get it right starting in 2025, when the settlement is expected to take effect. The scenario is starkly at odds with the picture long presented by schools and the NCAA, that revenue-sharing would tank college lems that they have.” The idea is that with Cardinale and Weatherford’s capital and expertise, they can help grow the bottom line for athletic departments. Then, when they do that, CAS gets compensated by helping generate those additional future dollars—almost like a royalty, Weatherford says. They see opportunities not only in the sports that traditionally have made the most money, football and men’s basketball, but also the ones that are often subsidized by those revenue drivers. They point to the growth in women’s basketball, volleyball and softball as examples, adding that while sports. Yet it’s the reality they now face, and where this new tie-up sees an opening. “I don’t think we’d be having this conversation five years ago. The landscape has changed so rapidly,” Weatherford says. “And we want to be able to solve real probThe idea is they can help grow the bottom line for athletic departments. LOSING PROPOSITION | By Mike Shenk Across 1 Scarecrow filler 6 Use colorful language 10 Calf site 13 Like some stew and coffee 14 Handling the task 15 Differ 16 Pig on Nick Jr. 17 •Tedious talk 19 China-based online marketplace 21 “Hold your horses!” 22 •Fancy necktie 26 Pigeon sound 27 Confucian’s “Book of Changes” 28 •Monopoly card 32 Hackneyed 33 SatiristMort 35 Pollster’s fodder 36 Close 37 •Heroine of a Hardy book 40 Spoil 41 Rehab candidates 43 Pound pick 44 Pool hall item 46 •Corrida creature 48 Classic bugassembling game 49 Cargo measure 50 •Planet not named for a god 52 Inundate 55 Tombstone name 56 •Storehouses 58 Fjord, e.g. 63 Brother of Athena 64 Part 65 City about 35 miles from Gainesville 66 Second column heading, often 67 Brand in freezers 68 Kind of situation, and a hint to making sense of the starred answers Down 1 Try the tea 2 Number in Napoli 3 Tear 4 Pharaoh’s symbol 5 Party line? 6 Cranberryflavored cocktail 7 Like some gems and movies 8 Address for the boss, perhaps 9 Sign maker’s set 10 #1 hit for Kenny Rogers 11 Presque Isle’s lake 12 Peer of theater 15 Rejected, in a way 18 Grant in the arts 20 Arrhythmia indicator, for short 22 Most judicious 23 Infomercial exhortation 24 “You left me no choice” 25 Starting score for a soccer team 28 Stimulate 29 “Broadway Joe” 30 And others, in other words 31 Cloud over 33 Bowl over 34 Small crawler 38 1985 Bruce Springsteen hit 39 Zodiac creature 42 Tummy tougheners 45 Stolen 47 Caramel candy 48 One in a pool 50 How dogs kiss 51 Mitigates 52 NoordHolland town known for its cheese 53 First-century emperor 54 Singer Stefani 57 Tacit approval 59 Sgt., e.g. 60 Firm focus 61 Peyton’s brother 62 Camel kin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 The WSJ Daily Crossword | Edited by Mike Shenk ▶ Solve this puzzle online and discuss it atWSJ.com/Puzzles. FROG I RON ACT I ECRU ORONO POET BABYF I TTER RUES C A L EMA J RHO BYFORCE ADOPTED OV I D ATTN S I TED WE R E O K A Y G E N E SSE BELLCOP SHE L EES ECOHOTE L EM I L Y AR T S VERA NEGL ECT VETERAN RAH DATE ERR ANT I CHANGE JOBS P I ES HARDG OBOE T E RM E T N A Y E OW Previous Puzzle’s Solution SPORTS they will have no control over how athletic departments spend their money, they see plenty of opportunities in the industry. While Cardinale’s firm owns Italian soccer giant AC Milan and is in control of the day-to-day running of the team, this would be more similar to Legends Hospitality, a merchandising and concessions business he started with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees in 2008. When it was sold in 2021, it was valued at over $1 billion. It’s no surprise veterans in private equity cash, which has taken on an increased role in professional sports, have set their eyes on the college game—and not just because the end of unpaid talent is about to reshape the sport’s finances. There’s also blockbuster media rights deals, conference realignment and the transfer portal, turbocharged by players’ ability to make money through name, image and likeness deals. “There’s a need for capital to address that,” said Cardinale. “There’s a tremendous need for responsible capital partners for athletic department programs and universities.” College athletes won the right to profit off of the use of their name, image and likeness starting in 2021, with big-name players making millions of dollars they never had before. But while players could haul in money from sponsors and collectives of boosters, they couldn’t be paid directly by schools, for their performance on the field. Now they can—and the future success of athletic departments may hinge on doing that efficiently in the next five to 10 years. “Roster management and actually taking that $20 million and investing it wisely into athletes and managing your rosters in a professional manner is going to be extremely important,” Weatherford said. “I think a lot is going to change, and nobody wants to be on the outside looking in when the carousel stops.” PHIL COALE/ASSOCIATED PRESS; SETH WENIG/ASSOCIATED PRESS C ollege sports is on the precipice of a total about-face of its business model, with the NCAA poised to agree this week on a legal settlement that could soon see schools paying tens of millions to players every year. The deal wouldn’t just signal an end to amateurism, though—it also stands to upend the economics of an entire industry that had long insisted revenue sharing would make it financially impossible to operate many programs. Enter private equity. A new business called Collegiate Athletic Solutions, led by RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale, plans to invest $50 million to $200 million apiece in a select group of universities, Cardinale said. CAS is a partnership between RedBird and Weatherford Capital, founded by former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, who is also a member of the school’s board of trustees. They say they will invest in five to 10 schools to start and are in talks with dozens more, including members of every power conference. This isn’t a case of private investors looking to buy equity in an athletic department—a 10% stake in the Georgia Bulldogs isn’t for sale. It isn’t a debt instrument, either. Instead, Cardinale says, the idea is to build businesses that help monetize a school’s intellectual property and provide them with the advice and capital to do that at a time when the stakes have never been higher. “Capitalism is finding everybody,” Cardinale says. “This is about partnering with universities and athletic departments and helping them grow their sports business.” Private Equity Wants In on College Sports The business is about to get upended as schools are forced to share revenue with players. A new business led by RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale is swooping in to help colleges adapt. BY ANDREW BEATON AND LOUISE RADNOFSKY Drew Weatherford, left, is the founder of Weatherford Capital and Gerry Cardinale is founder of RedBird Capital

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A13 A Suit In Pinstripes The Yankee Way By Andy Martino Doubleday, 320 pages, $30 BOOKSHELF | By David M. Shribman Mrs. Alito and the Ginsburg Standard T he left’s campaign against the Supreme Court took a comical turn last week when the New York Times reported that an upsidedown flag briefly hung outside Justice Samuel Alito’s Virginia home in January 2021. Some supporters of Donald Trump have used the inverted flag, a traditional symbol of distress, to express their view that the 2020 election was stolen. Cut to the calls for Justice Alito to recuse himself from any case involving Mr. Trump, the 2020 election or its aftermath. Justice Alito told Fox News that his wife, Martha-Ann, flew the banner after a neighbor used obscenities on a political sign and in an argument with Mrs. Alito. But even if one supposes she was making a political statement, her husband is under no obligation to recuse himself from any cases because of it. The law requires recusal if a family member is involved in a case as a litigant, witness or lawyer or has an interest that will be substantially affected by the decision. None of that applies here. The law also provides that a judge shall recuse if his “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Do Mrs. Alito’s political views, whatever they may be, create a reasonable question about Justice Alito’s impartiality? Not if we follow precedent. Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t recuse himself from a 2011 case challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban, even though his wife directed an American Civil Liberties Union chapter that had joined two district-court briefs in the case. “The views are hers, not mine, and I do not in any way condition my opinions on the positions she takes regarding any issues,” Reinhardt wrote. Judicial ethics experts led by Stephen Gillers filed a brief defending Reinhardt on grounds that his wife’s “opinions, views, and public pronouncements of support for the district court decision below do not trigger any reasonable basis to question Judge Reinhardt’s ability to honor his oath of office.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—herself, not her late husband—was outspokenly anti-Trump in 2016. She called the Republican candidate a “faker” and criticized him for not releasing his tax returns. She didn’t recuse herself from any case involving Mr. Trump, including Trump v. Mazars (2020), which concerned a congressional subpoena for his tax returns. And in 1998 she donated a signed copy of one of her opinions to the National Organization for Women, which sold it in a fundraising auction. Ginsburg didn’t recuse herself from any case in which NOW filed a brief. Judge Nina Pillard of the D.C. Circuit didn’t recuse herself from the Mazars case either. Her husband is the ACLU’s national legal director and had written a blog post agreeing with the district court’s decision before the full appellate court that included his wife reviewed it. The left claims to uphold norms but violates them by inventing recusal standards to pressure and delegitimize the court. The goal is power, not ethics. Mr. Paoletta served as a lawyer in the George H.W. Bush and Trump administrations. He represented Ginni Thomas, Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, in the Jan. 6 Committee’s proceedings. By Mark Paoletta The late justice didn’t recuse herself after expressing her own political opinions. OPINION I f you believe that many a truth is said in jest, then consider Joe E. Lewis, who was famous as a comedian when Mickey Mantle was famous as an outfielder for the New York Yankees. Lewis, who died 53 years ago, is dimly remembered today, if at all, but one of his aphorisms is timeless. It was he who said, referring to the team’s enduring pre-eminence, that rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel. Well, U.S. Steel is in troubled waters—a few moves away from being sold to Japan’s Nippon Steel. And though the Yankees are hot right now, they have gone 14 years without a World Series championship, a drought considered in the Bronx to be an unpardonable disruption of the natural order. While the pennant race may not always go to the swift, or the Fall Classic to the strong, in most years the Yankees are the way to bet. “The Yankee Way” is Andy Martino’s playful romp through modern Yankee history, meaning roughly the era stretching from 1966 to 2022. Given the heroics of, among others, Goose Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Aaron Judge, Sparky Lyle, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez and Bernie Williams, the Yankee story can serve as a proxy for modern baseball history. It’s true that Shohei Ohtani, Barry Bonds, Ichiro Suzuki, David Ortiz, plus two Vladimir Guerreros and two Ken Griffeys are big parts of modern baseball history, too, but those players are scattered across a range of teams. The Yankee stars preserve the aura of a single legendary team. The characters in Mr. Martino’s narrative are vivid even when they are not outsize. There is Gene Michael, who as a general manager was a master of building a roster, relying on what Mr. Martino calls an “extreme attention to detail.” He was also a master at handling George Steinbrenner, the volatile owner who micromanaged, meddled and often mishandled players and managers alike. Then there is Billy Martin, the manager with a peculiar preoccupation with pop-up drills whom Steinbrenner hired and fired five times. Mostly, in this telling, there is Brian Cashman, who has served as the club’s general manager since 1998. Mr. Cashman arrived in the Bronx as a 19-year-old intern in 1986—yes, the last year the Mets won the World Series. There was a time, long ago, when the Yankees could sign any young player the team desired by waving a uniform with pinstripes. But the player draft, which began in the mid-1960s, gave preference to teams with less than stellar records. Then came free agency—implicitly giving preference to teams with sizable checkbooks, the Yankees among them—and a “luxury tax” to punish overspending. In the early 2000s, sabermetrics began to become popular—the “moneyball” emphasis on data and numerical advantage. Mr. Cashman embraced elements of sabermetrics, and the Yankees eventually created an analytics operation, but he made his mark as general manager by employing a mix of intelligence and intuition. He had the guts and guile to sign Orlando Hernández despite worries that the Cuban hurler didn’t throw hard enough for MLB competition and was weak against lefthanders. It’s Mr. Cashman’s fingerprints, more than anyone else’s, that are on the acquisitions of second baseman Chuck Knoblauch (his first prize, 1998) and then pitcher Roger Clemens and slugging outfielder David Justice. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Mr. Cashman sparred with manager Joe Torre and was often out of sorts with Jeter. Both were revered by fans—heroes in Yankee uniforms—while Mr. Cashman was a suit in an office. When he learned of A-Rod’s premature tweet in 2013 saying that he had been cleared to play after off-season hip surgery, Mr. Cashman reacted by saying that his star player should shut up, adding a choice expletive between the two words. That is not done, even in New York. Still, Mr. Cashman has never presided over a team with a losing record—a remarkable achievement in a game where, Mr. Martino reminds us, “the pursuit of excellence means constant disappointment and only occasional satisfaction.” What sets this book apart from the usual Yankees hagiography—and what makes it palatable even to a Red Sox fan who lives in Pittsburgh and actually does root for U.S. Steel—is its portrait of the inside mechanics of the game. Mr. Martino, a reporter for SportsNet New York, offers a meditation on one of Gene Michael’s obsessions, offball baseball: the art of watching what happens on the rest of the field when the stadium audience and TV cameras are focused on the ball. Is the left fielder paying attention in the middle of a 4-6-3 double play? Is the third baseman engaged when the batter lifts a lazy fly ball to right? As Mr. Martino notes, off-ball baseball provides insights into a player’s discipline, focus and ability to anticipate all the things that can go wrong when a bat and a ball collide. Mr. Martino also offers a play-by-play on the franchise’s inside game—e.g., the decision by Yankees brass to trade a bunch of gifted veterans on a doomed team for a bundle of future prospects. In 2016 they did just that, giving up relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, along with veteran outfielder Carlos Beltrán, for prospects that included Gleyber Torres. Though Torres is in a slump this spring, he was an all-star in his first two seasons. We see the deliberations over whether to put Aaron Boone—best known for a 2003 home run that won the American League pennant for the Yankees—in the manager’s office even though he lacked the customary résumé. Boone took over for Joe Girardi in 2017 and became the first manager to win 100 games or more in his first two seasons. Despite a lot of hotstove complaining over the winter, he’s still there. One of my Bosox buddies implored me—the price of our friendship—to make sure that in this review the word “Yankees” is followed swiftly by a word that rhymes with “truck.” So this is as good a time as any to mention that William Nathaniel Showalter III (Yankee manager, 1992-95) plays a cameo role in Mr. Martino’s estimable chronicle. He was known as Buck. There, I did it. Mr. Shribman, a former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is scholar in residence at Carnegie-Mellon University. Since taking over as general manager, Cashman has made key signings, focused on analytics— and sometimes butted heads with his stars. Joe Biden is fond of spinning yarns from his early political days in Delaware, so he knows the fine American tradition of doling out “walkingaround money” to drive turnout. Then there’s the related Democratic Party tradition known as spend and elect. Mr. Biden, a self-avowed traditionalist, surely sees nothing odd in campaigning for the U.S. presidency by handing out money. Nor, as a traditionalist, do I. But has election politics ever seen spending on such a massive scale for the sole purpose of producing votes? Let’s depart from the cuddlier labels for this phenomenon and call it what it is: Biden’s bribes. Mr. Biden is using the U.S. Treasury the way a 1920s party boss would use the safe behind his desk. Most polls have indicated for months that the 81-yearold president’s support among younger voters is soft. Worse, their turnout is relatively poor in most elections. Voilà, the Biden studentloan debt-forgiveness plan. Questions of moral hazard aside, one may argue that with more than 40 million Americans owing about $1.7 trillion in federal and private student loans, some measure of forgiveness could be defended by a Democratic president. But the Biden proposal tripped the what-the-heck-isgoing-on alarm. It totaled $430 Joe Biden’s 2024 Election Bribes billion in write-offs for about 30 million borrowers. No surprise, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Biden overstepped his presidential spending authority. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the administration’s description of the plan as a “modification” was true “only in the same sense that the French Revolution ‘modified’ the status of the French nobility.” But with the political stakes so high, the administration came up with a bureaucratic workaround to continue the loan relief. Polls since haven’t shown much gain for Mr. Biden with young voters. One reason, ironically, may be the administration’s botched handling of Fafsa, the federal application to get a student loan. With the college gambit failing, the Biden team offered younger voters a more potent bribe. On May 16, the Justice Department proposed reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug. Effectively, this means national legalization is coming. The Democrats’ defense of legalization has been that the drug laws got too many young black men arrested for possession or small sales of marijuana. So much for that pitch: An April Wall Street Journal poll showed support for Donald Trump among black men at 30%, up from 12% in a 2020 Associated Press poll. What must be more maddening to the White House is the scant political benefit from the multitrillions in spending—sorry, “investments”—it spread across the country through the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Chips Act and the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act. The last alone committed nearly $400 billion in subsidies and tax credits for renewable-energy projects and electric vehicles. In all, the Biden handouts run to about $1.6 trillion. Much of this is intended to unlock private spending to “create” jobs. I’d still call it election bribery on a neverseen scale. Many of the greenenergy projects—EV sales, charging stations, offshore wind farms—would be dormant absent federal pulleys. Lately, Mr. Biden’s days seem to be filled with Air Force One trips to projects, plant openings and jobs conjured out of this spending. Politico recently estimated that only 17% of these laws’ $1.1 trillion in direct investment has actually been spent. The White House’s political shop must have expected a better media-announcement effect from what until lately it called Bidenomics. But there hasn’t been much beyond maybe an endorsement from the United Auto Workers’ leftwing president, Shawn Fain. Again, there’s nothing unusual about a Democratic spend-and-elect strategy. But as practiced even a century ago by urban political machines, winning required a theoretically electable candidate. From the start, when Mr. Biden’s personal liabilities already were apparent, this White House has focused less on touting his leadership than on funneling financial benefits to the re-election base. That’s a lot of political funding failure. What happened? The corrosive effect of inflation is the short answer. But voters in many polls also cite the economy as their top priority. The more interesting long-term explanation may be that most of the public, including more minority voters, no longer consider federal handouts an adequate substitute for the real economy, which produces paychecks and a durable personal dignity. Team Biden seems to have shifted to Plan D: Make the entire election about “Trump” and MAGA extremism’s threat to democracy. So far, the trillions spent on anti-Trump TV ads haven’t boosted Mr. Biden’s polling. This election looks like it’s going to be overwhelmingly about the economy. If so, what is the Biden economic argument against Mr. Trump, other than his repeated delusion that he inherited 9% inflation from the former president? Both candidates have embraced high tariffs. Beyond that, Mr. Biden’s pitch on the economy is that unparalleled public spending ensures growth. Mr. Trump’s is that the common goal of his policies will be to liberate the private economy. For most voters, the choice could be as simple as that. Write [email protected]. The president is using the U.S. Treasury like a 1920s party boss’s safe. WONDER LAND By Daniel Henninger No third-party candidate will win the 2024 presidential election or even a single state. But a third-party candidate could decide the election’s outcome. The ones who matter are independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, the Green Party’s Jill Stein, and a yet-to-be-nominated Libertarian Party candidate. None are close to leading in any poll, nationally or in a single state. No third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. The only one to run second was former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. The last third-party candidate to carry a state was George Wallace in 1968, who won five in the Deep South. Still, third parties could decide the 2024 contest by pulling votes from Joe Biden or Donald Trump and tipping key states to the other candidate. In 2016 the Green Party’s candidate, Ms. Stein, got more votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin than Mr. Trump’s margin of victory in those states. If you assume most of those votes would have gone to Mrs. ClinWill RFK Jr. Swing the Election to Biden? ton, Ms. Stein cost her the White House. The same thing happened in 2020. The Libertarian candidate, Jo Jorgensen, took more votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin than Mr. Biden’s victory margin. Since this year’s election undoubtedly will be tight, third-party candidates have both major parties nervous. Democrats are particularly concerned that Messrs. Kennedy and West and Ms. Stein could siphon off black, Hispanic, young and progressive voters. Democrats are extremely unsettled by Mr. Kennedy, whose name recognition is much better than most thirdparty hopefuls. He’s the fourth Kennedy to seek the presidency, following John F. Kennedy in 1960; his father, Robert, in 1968; and Ted Kennedy in 1980. RFK Jr. is a longtime environmental activist and lawyer who has sued companies, states and local governments over pollution. Though this election will likely come down to a few toss-up states, any thirdparty candidate must be on the ballot in nearly every state before voters will consider him seriously. The Kennedy campaign says he’s now on the ballot in 14 states with 201 electoral votes. Only two, Nevada and Michigan, are battlegrounds. The campaign is working in 33 other states where the window for collecting signatures is open. Besides trying to undermine Mr. Kennedy’s effort to gain ballot access, the Democratic National Committee and Biden campaign are trashing him regularly. They even pulled together an army of his kin to endorse Mr. Biden, making future family get-togethers awkward. Mr. Trump veers back and forth from dismissing Mr. Kennedy as a “Radical Left Lunatic” to calling him “a nice guy.” But as one of the world’s pre-eminent antivaccine activists, Mr. Kennedy might also be a threat to Mr. Trump’s re-election hopes. Mr. Kennedy created the largest antivax group in the U.S. and has long argued that vaccines cause autism and needless deaths. On Sunday in Colorado, he offered 1,200 enthusiastic supporters enough weird theories to qualify as a QAnon convention keynoter. He asserted that the CIA is a bigger threat to America than China, that the Seventh Amendment right of trial by jury is routinely violated, and that a “war machine” is working with corrupt U.S. corporations and Washington to enrich itself at our expense. He has plenty of other moonbat ideas that didn’t make the Sunday rally: Al Qaeda might not have been responsible for 9/11. Agribusiness is waging war on our health through the food pyramid and degrading our soil. The 2004 election was stolen. Wi-Fi and 5G cause cancer. Chemicals in our water may spread transgenderism. HIV may not cause AIDS. Sirhan Sirhan didn’t kill RFK Sr. Antidepressants may cause school shootings. In a normal election, these wild ideas would devastate a campaign. But this isn’t a normal year. After stunts like Russiagate, decades of mainstream media bias, and years of QAnon nonsense, voters on the right are particularly prone to embrace conspiracies from fringe sources. Mr. Kennedy could use these outlandish claims to pry more than a few wackos off Mr. Trump, perhaps enough to hand the election to Mr. Biden. Mr. Rove helped organize the political-action committee American Crossroads and is author of “The Triumph of William McKinley” (Simon & Schuster, 2015). Third parties never win, but on occasion they’ve been known to determine the loser. By Karl Rove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. CJ GUNTHER/EFE VIA ZUMA PRESS

A14 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Big Green Transmission Coup Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must have uncorked some vintage champagne last week after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finalized a 1,363-page transmission rule to accelerate the greenenergy buildout. Now Democrats can bypass Congress on permitting reform. FERC’s actions are “what we need to see the clean energy revolution we catalyzed with the Inflation Reduction Act come to fruition,” Mr. Schumer crowed. What he means is that renewable developers will now capitalize on more taxpayer largesse while states and businesses socialize the costs of their climate policies. iii Most Americans don’t know what FERC is, and in a normal world they shouldn’t need to. But as energy policy has become politicized, Democrats are using FERC to drive policy they can’t pass in Congress. The goal is to transform the U.S. electrical grid to accommodate solar and wind power while rolling over states that object. The 1935 Federal Power Act included a federalist compromise that maintained state authority over transmission-line permitting while giving FERC authority to apportion costs of regional grid upgrades. Congress recognized that power transmission affects state-regulated utilities, but also that state disputes over costs may require federal intervention. This balance has worked for nearly a century, but the left’s climate goals threaten reliable energy. Renewables are intermittent and far from population centers, which increases transmission costs. The transmission share of wholesale power costs has tripled over the last decade on the PJM grid in the eastern U.S. Many states don’t want to pay for power they don’t need. Heavily subsidized renewable power can also undercut fossil-fuel and nuclear plants, which provide 24-hour baseload power. Some states are subsidizing nuclear plants to stay open to ensure reliable power. As Mr. Schumer suggests, tens of thousands of miles of new transmission are needed to reach the climate lobby’s net-zero nirvana. But this won’t be quick or cheap. Princeton researchers in 2021 estimated the grid buildout will cost $3.5 trillion by 2050—and inflation has further run up costs for everything from copper wire to transformers. Democrats want to expedite construction of renewables and transmission, but little else. Sen. Joe Manchin’s small-beer permitting reform bill in 2022 would have let FERC overrule states and apportion transmission costs based on ill-defined benefits, including CO2 emission reductions. After Republicans balked, Mr. Schumer ordered FERC to take over. FERC’s new rule requires regional grid operators to develop a transmission plan to meet state and corporate climate goals over the next 20 years. This will free liberal state lawmakers from having to consider the effects of their climate policies on grid reliability. FERC’s rule will effectively subsidize “socially responsible” corporations, as Republican commissioner Mark Christie noted in his dissent. Google will no longer have to worry about how to move wind power in one area to support its data centers in another. That will be the job of grid operators. It gets worse. Grid operators will also socialize transmission costs across states in their region. FERC currently apportions transmission costs based on reliability and economic benefits. So if New Jersey residents mostly benefit from lower-cost and more reliable power produced by a Pennsylvania natural gas plant, they will pay most of the transmission costs. Under the FERC rule, all states will be considered beneficiaries from a new transmission line that increases renewable generation because this will supposedly reduce the likelihood of blackouts and electric prices—never mind that solar and wind must be backed up at exorbitant cost. This means Pennsylvanians will subsidize New Jersey’s anti-fossil fuels policies. iii Mr. Schumer and Democrats are cheering FERC because they believe they will also no longer have to compromise with Republicans on permitting reform to advance their climate goals. But FERC’s rules don’t override the National Environmental Policy Act, which means states and third parties can still sue to block transmission lines. The U.S. electrical grid is already wobbling under the strain of growing renewable production. By favoring transmission of renewables over fossil fuels, FERC’s rules will reduce electric reliability and increase the cost. Who will benefit? Not Joe the Plumber in Ohio, but Gavin Newsom, Google and President Biden’s donors in the climate lobby. Schumer and FERC end-run Congress on permitting reform and socialize energy costs. The Israelis Prove Biden Wrong on Rafah Remember Rafah? For months, the Biden Administration bitterly opposed an Israeli invasion of Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza. The mantra was that Israel had “no credible plan” to evacuate the city’s 1.3 million civilians. Yet the Israelis went ahead anyway, and two weeks later they have safely evacuated an estimated 950,000 people. This was supposed to be impossible. Rafah became a red line for Mr. Biden on the logic that there was no way to conduct a major operation with all those civilians present. That was the justification for the President’s arms embargo. “We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” he said. Even as the evacuation got under way, Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated that Israel had “no credible plan.” National security adviser Jake Sullivan added, “We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah.” When the evacuation began to work, the Biden team moved on to criticizing Israeli readiness for the “day after” the main fighting, as if success in Rafah were a foregone conclusion. Finally on Tuesday, the Administration claimed credit. “It’s fair to say that the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. He also said the Rafah operation might create “opportunities for getting the hostage deal back on track.” The maneuvering has costs. “This Administration never supports anything we do until we do it,” a senior Israeli official told us early this month. To win Mr. Biden’s consent, the Israelis first had to advance and succeed. But the delay his opposition caused has dragged out the war to all but Hamas’s detriment. Rafah remains critical to any day-after plan, since nothing can work if Hamas governs territory with military battalions and controls the Egyptian border. Israel has already discovered 50 tunnels crossing from Rafah into Egypt for smuggling. Once troops finish clearing a buffer zone along the border, Israel can cut off Hamas from Egypt, a key to strangling whatever insurgency may follow. It’s reasonable to ask what force will control Gaza in the future. But no one else will fight and die to defeat Hamas for Israel, or even to resist it as a civilian power. Certainly not the feeble Palestinian Authority, which wants a powersharing deal with Hamas in Gaza because otherwise it knows it would be slaughtered. Though Israeli liberals won’t like to hear it, Israel probably will need to fill the vacuum in Gaza for a time. Though Israeli right-wingers won’t like to hear it, the purpose would be to make way for local governance. The politics, there and here, explain why it has been easier to pretend there’s no plan at all. New Jersey Blows Up Its Property Tax Cap After his re-election near-defeat in 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy promised no new taxes. Last week he broke that promise by signing legislation that evades the state’s cap on higher property taxes. The cap limited annual increases to 2%, and it was one of the few protections for Garden State taxpayers against the voracious tax-andspend demands of the public unions who run Trenton and dictate to Mr. Murphy. Certain school districts will now be able to raise the local property tax by up to 9.9%. The new law is directed at localities dealing with cuts in state aid. Though it permits the override only for the coming school year, the higher new rate will become the new baseline. Legislators will return soon enough for another override. The statutory property tax cap passed in 2010 and was one of then-Gov. Chris Christie’s signature accomplishments. He sought, but failed, to pass a constitutional amendment instead of a legislative cap precisely to prevent backtracking like this. The cap wasn’t perfect, but it helped slow the rate of increases in a state whose residents pay the highest property taxes among the 50 states. The Tax Foundation rates New Jersey’s overall tax burden as fourth worst among the states in state and local tax revenue per capita. No surprise, the biggest cheerleader for overriding the cap was the New Jersey Education Association. The teachers union and its allies see schools as a jobs program. They hate the cap for its 2% limit on tax increases and because it requires voter approval anytime they wanted more. That’s why the law Mr. Murphy signed allows eligible districts to exceed the cap without getting voter approval. “Our 2% property tax cap has been the best legislative policy New Jersey has seen in the last 15 years,” says GOP Assemblyman Jay Webber. “Blowing it up because a couple of special interests can’t stand it is a terrible idea.” The cuts in state school aid that triggered this move to lift the cap are based on a formula that is a genuine problem. It is complicated and often arbitrary. In addition to end running the property tax cap, the Legislature passed $44.7 million in grants for some 140 school districts to cover up to 45% of what they are losing in reduced, formula-based state aid. But as Mr. Webber argued on the Assembly floor, the answer should be to fix the formula. And if Democrats still believe they have to override the property tax cap, they should—as the 2010 law provided—go to the voters, make their case, and get their approval. Which is the last thing New Jersey’s politicians and teachers union want to do. REVIEW & OUTLOOK OPINION When Government Agencies Fund Themselves Your editorial “A Victory for the Administrative State” (May 17) explains that the Supreme Court ruling in CFPB v. CFSA will “encourage partisans to contrive new ways to insulate agencies from Congressional control.” No encouragement needed. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is Congress’s pièce de résistance in a 40-year crawl toward complete financial delegation. Congress began to forfeit the power of the purse to the administrative state in the 1980s, when the Reagan administration popularized funding agency activity through user fees. Whether it grants giant, lump-sum appropriations or allows agencies to supplement their funds by generating revenue directly from taxpayers through fees, fines and forfeiture, Congress has willingly handed over its financial responsibilities to the administrative state. From the Farm Credit Administration to the Federal Reserve System, Congress gives dozens of agencies the power to generate revenue outside general taxation. Expect the list to grow now. The national debt is above $34 trillion. As interest payments eat up discretionary spending, lawmakers will face a choice: reduce spending, significantly raise taxes, or allow agencies to raise funds themselves, outside the appropriations process and the public eye. The importance of this decision for the composition of the federal government cannot be overstated: To permit a limitless federal budget is to permit a limitless federal government. JILL JACOBSON Visiting fellow, Independent Women’s Law Center Boston It has long been said that liberals don’t care what you do as long as it’s compulsory. The recent Supreme Court decision regarding CFPB funding now grants license to Congress to make changes to how other regulatory agencies are funded. Next, I expect the Environmental Protection Agency to be put on auto-fund, so it can claim ever-larger amounts of taxpayer dollars, soon to be followed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and the rest until the glorious new regulatory state is in full flower. DAVE ERCHULL Tucson, Ariz. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “It’s a note from our robovac. It has quit the cleaning business and gone into telemarketing.” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Letters intended for publication should be emailed to [email protected]. Please include your city, state and telephone number. All letters are subject to editing, and unpublished letters cannot be acknowledged. Would Biden Say to Shoot Hamas in the Leg? President Biden’s ill-considered hamstringing of the Israelis (“Biden’s Arms Embargo Starts to Crack,” Review & Outlook, May 16) is the international equivalent of his advice to American police in 2020: When someone is “coming at you,” he said, “shoot them in the leg.” Law enforcement hooted loudly at this nonsense, and so should Israel. When a criminal or terrorist is coming for you, as Hamas will continue to do, you shoot center-mass and hope you get them before they get you. JOHN FORTUGNO Olympia, Wash. Mr. Fortugno is a former NCIS special agent. In “Truman,” historian David McCullough relates that when the chief rabbi of Israel, Isaac Halevi Herzog, met with President Harry Truman in 1948, Herzog said, “God put you in your mother’s womb so you would be the instrument to bring the rebirth of Israel after 2,000 years.” From Mr. McCullough: “‘I thought he was overdoing things,’ remembered David Niles,” a White House adviser, “‘but when I looked over at the President, tears were running down his cheeks.’” One wonders what the rabbi would say to President Biden. ROGER BASKIN Jacksonville, Fla. It’s Easier Said Than Done Gerard Baker seems not to have understood the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame that he recommends to readers (“Higher Ed Has a Progressive Disease. Can It Be Reversed?” Free Expression, May 21). While the university’s president, Father John Jenkins, called on people to refrain from vilifying their opponents, Mr. Baker labels President Biden a crude propagandist and suggests that recent campus protests amount to little more than support for Islamic terrorism. Perhaps when Mr. Baker attends the next graduation, he can pay better attention to what the speaker is saying. PROF. RUSS CASTRONOVO University of Wisconsin-Madison Risky Lending at the Root of Banking Crises John Cochrane and Amit Seru are correct to warn of the problems of repeated bailouts (“Preventing Bailouts is Simple, But It Isn’t Easy,” op-ed, May 14). But a key part of their proposed solution, forcing deposits to be used to fund only short-term Treasurys or reserves, wouldn’t prevent bailouts but would cost the economy in terms of lost credit. Money-market funds finance themselves with lots of short-term Treasurys but, as the authors note, this didn’t prevent problems over Covid, leading to Federal Reserve intervention on their behalf. Moreover, many financial crises (and most banking crises in the U.S. before deposit insurance) were driven by reckless lending, not a maturity mismatch between long-term loans and demandable deposits. Finally, maturity transformation is a key function of the banking system. This allows consumers to smooth consumption and businesses to access revolving credit lines in response to unpredictable problems and opportunities. Many banking crises are again the result of poor lending and eventual insolvency rather than illiquidity. There are certainly other reforms, in terms of macroprudential regulation, that can and should be pursued, but preventing deposits from financing longer-term credit wouldn’t address the root problem of overly risky lending. It would, however, deprive U.S. consumers and firms of valuable financial services. PROF. WILLIAM MILES Wichita State University Wichita, Kan. Pepper ... And Salt Keep a Close Eye on the Food We Eat, Please While I agree with John Masko’s dislike of the nanny state and the government’s nosing into every aspect of our lives, he picked the wrong example in his May 6 op-ed “Is Candy Healthier Than Spinach?” We need an agency that keeps an eye on the food supply and ensures that snake-oil salesmen don’t foist harmful foods or additives on us. In the case of chocolate, the Consumer Report article that Mr. Masko references noted that cadmium, as well as the lead that is also found in chocolate, is most harmful to “pregnant people and young children because the metals can cause developmental problems, affect brain development, and lead to lower IQ.” This information needs to be in the public square. Mothers need to know that eating a seemingly innocuous food could harm their unborn child. This month the Lancet published the results of a 14-year study among French citizens that reported: “We found direct associations between the risk of type 2 diabetes and exposures to various food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.” The study noted that “similar associations were found in other cohort studies conducted in the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK.” Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. has increased threefold in the past 30 years. Maybe there’s a connection. The report also noted that “the available evidence supports a re-evaluation of regulations governing the use of food additive emulsifiers by the food industry.” Surely, the same can be said for the U.S., where between 30% and 60% of our calories come from ultraprocessed foods. NANCY KINER Homosassa, Fla.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | A15 ‘Like’ May Attract Like, But It Puts Me Off I f you’re a college graduate looking for a job, here’s some advice: Beware the like-o-meter. It’s a simple device I invented. Before interviews with a prospective hire, I put a blank sheet of paper in front of me. I then make a hash mark every time the applicant uses the word “like.” Too many and I’m already thinking about the next candidate. If the interviewee keeps his “likes” to an acceptable number, he remains in the pool. When two finalists emerge, the person with the fewest “likes” gets the edge in a tiebreaker. I’ve been doing this for several years and have hired some terrific employees because of it. I got the idea in the early 1990s from an article in an airplane magazine about McKinsey & Co.’s interviewing process. Apparently, the consultancy at one time based its hiring on candidates’ oral presentation skills, the determining factor in a pool filled with impressive academic credentials. According to the article, the process had great results in the U.S. but didn’t differentiate between candidates as well in England, where schools give priority to oral presentation skills. My kids are fascinated by the like-o-meter and wonder if I ever tell those who fail to make the cut that their excessive use did them in. I don’t, but I do tell those I hire that their low like-o-meter scores helped. This has led to some surprising conversations. One woman told me about a professor who had drilled the word out of her. I asked for his name, which turned out to be someone whose writings I had admired from afar. I emailed the professor and told him the story of our shared pet peeve, which initiated a friendship that continues today. Another woman was pleased that I had noticed her absence of “likes” and proudly told me that her background in theater had forced her to drop the verbal crutch. To the class of ’24: As you look for jobs, be aware of what you say and how you say it. The person interviewing you might be listening closely. Mr. Troy is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a senior scholar at Yeshiva University’s Straus Center. By Tevi Troy When interviewing job applicants, I have a simple test: Can you talk without that verbal crutch? OPINION New Honors Will Foster Free Speech By John Engler And Jeffrey O. Nelson J ustice Samuel Alito this month warned that freedom of speech on campuses and in many corridors of American society is imperiled. “Troubled waters are slamming against some of our most fundamental principles,” he said in a commencement address at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. “Support for freedom of speech is declining dangerously, especially where it should find deepest acceptance.” Chaos is crippling America’s universities, which are now hubs of protest rather than learning. Anti-Israel encampments on some campuses have become beachheads for violence where reasoned debate and expression once flourished. In some ways, it isn’t surprising that students are confused. Colleges have done a poor job of offering institutional models that promote free speech in theory and practice in classrooms and throughout campus social culture. They have more often than not failed to promote civilized discourse. Free speech is the healthy byproduct of America’s tradition of self-government. When such freedom is threatened, flashpoints of a larger social crisis emerge everywhere. This problem may seem irreversible, but it isn’t. Decorum and civility can coexist with robust free speech. We need fresh examples across academia, business, media, entertainment and politics that are working to revitalize our culture and polity. We need educational leaders of integrity. That is why the Russell Kirk Center launched the Richard D. McLellan Prizes for Advancing Free Speech and Expression. Through these awards, we will recognize those who have given us insights in books, journalism, public advocacy, new media or creative arts each year. It is time for champions of the free-speech tradition to promote the First Amendment. In the spirit of our benefactor, Mr. McLellan, a Michigan attorney and lifelong advocate for free speech, we’ll begin by shining a light on those making that landscape clearer. The McLellan Prizes—a $50,000 award for an exceptional work promoting free speech and two $12,500 research fellowships for scholars and writers—are meant to inspire people at all levels of American society to stand up for ordered liberty. The McLellan Prizes will support outstanding original work that asserts the enduring worth of our constitutional rights. A national blue-ribbon awards jury will choose and honor those who stand for free speech and are committed to fostering a society in which a variety of perspectives can be expressed and heard. McLellan Prize winners will contribute to the ideas that are central to the best values of the American political tradition. Our inaugural jury includes people who, among their many accomplishments, have dedicated their lives to upholding free speech. They include former Gov. Mitch Daniels, Susan Goldberg, Walter Hussman Jr., Judges Michael McConnell and James Ho, Charles Overby, Jacob Mchangama, Nadine Strossen, James Stoner Jr. and Heather Mac Donald. As Russell Kirk reminded us in his draft of the Hillsdale College Faculty Statement on Academic Freedom, “Every right is joined to a corresponding duty. So it is with the principles of academic freedom.” Academics have the right to pursue truth, which means universities have a duty to uphold it. Those opposed to free speech are loud and furious, but they won’t deter us. We can still find new methods and teachers capable of reclaiming genuine liberal education and cultivating in youth a sense of gratitude for what Americans have inherited. Building institutions to renew that culture will be paramount. Essential to that effort will be encouraging people with the imagination and talent to write, film and speak on behalf of the noble principles of our founders. Their work is invaluable, brave and worthy of acclaim. Mr. Engler served as governor of Michigan, 1991-2003. He is on the board of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. Mr. Nelson is CEO of the Kirk Center. To counter the chaos on campuses, we need fresh thinking on how to stand up for ordered liberty. India Could Become Venezuela on the Ganges If you get queasy seeing politicians try to buy voters with promises of freebies, avert your eyes from India’s current elections. Handouts dominate the economic message of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress Party. But one side will turn your stomach a good deal more than the other. Naked populism has become the common political language in India. If the country is ever to catch up with prosperous East Asian economies, it needs to stop driving away wealth creators. But no Indian politician is willing to point out hard economic truths—such as that an estimated 0.3% of people pay 80% of income taxes, or that at least 30,000 millionaires have left India since 2016 for friendlier climes. It could get worse. Congress under de facto leader Rahul Gandhi has taken a hard left turn. An opposition victory could turn the world’s fifthlargest economy into Venezuela on the Ganges. One recent ad captures Congress’s radical pitch to voters. A troupe of female BJP workers, identifiable by their saffron scarves, show up at a poor villager’s house to round up female voters for an election rally for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (The ad doesn’t mention Mr. Modi by name.) It turns out that all the women whom the BJP workers want to gather for the rally have instead queued up to receive 100,000 rupees (about $1,200) from the Congress Party. One villager declares this largess is her “right.” In the end, the BJP workers join the line for the promised check. Congress’s redistributionist fantasy goes much further than promising every poor woman a monthly stipend. The party’s platform cites the leftist French economist Thomas Piketty and claims that India under Mr. Modi “is more unequal than even under the British Raj.” Congress promises, among other things, to double the amount of free grain the federal government provides poor families, immediately hire three million new government workers, and end a program that shortens military service terms to reduce the burden of pensions on the army. The party filters all this through a DEI-style identity politics that pits roughly the 70% of the population made up of so-called lower castes against the 30% composed of upper castes. On the campaign trail, Mr. Gandhi promises that his revolution will begin with a caste census to determine the country’s precise social composition. He also proposes a wealth survey to “find out how much injustice has been done.” He regularly rails against big businesses and promises to dole out cash to tens of millions of people. The alternative to this subcontinental Hugo Chávez isn’t exactly an Indian Margaret Thatcher. The BJP platform emphasizes the party’s record of delivering handouts to the poor and “Modi’s guarantee” that this will continue. Highlights include free wheat or rice for 800 million Indians since the pandemic began, 500 million bank accounts for the poor, 34 trillion rupees (around $408 billion at current exchange rates) worth of welfare payments, free health insurance of 500,000 rupees to 340 million people, and free cooking-gas connections for 100 million women. In the past, Mr. Modi has boasted about how spiritually rewarding it is for a person “in an AC room” to pay for his welfare programs. In 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proudly imposed steep new taxes on the so-called superrich. Mr. Modi’s crackpot “demonetization” policy in 2016 nuked nearly 90% of Indian currency bills by value overnight, ostensibly to punish hoarders of “black money,” or allegedly untaxed income. For all that, it would be wrong to equate Mr. Modi with Mr. Gandhi. The prime minister at least sees a role for business in modernizing India. In a recent interview with the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, Mr. Modi said India should respect wealth creators instead of castigating them, and that in a poor country like India it is normal for some people to get rich before others. This pragmatic streak makes the BJP far less of a risk to the country than Congress. Shruti Rajagopalan, an economist at George Mason University, points out that despite splurging on welfare, Mr. Modi “has been one of India’s most fiscally prudent prime ministers.” She commends the government’s effort to control deficits during the pandemic. The government estimates the fiscal deficit for the current fiscal year will be 5.1% of gross domestic product. After 10 years in office Mr. Modi represents continuity—a combination of extensive government handouts, an impressive infrastructure build-out, and tariffs and incentives to attract investments. It’s fair to question this policy mix, but most investors will take it any day over the wild notions of a Congress Party unmoored from common sense. Modi’s party has a lot of destructive ideas, but Congress’s hard left turn threatens disaster. EAST IS EAST By Sadanand Dhume EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: Daniel Bernard, Chief Experience Officer; Mae M. Cheng, EVP, General Manager, Leadership; David Cho, Barron’s Editor in Chief; Jason P. Conti, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer; Dianne DeSevo, Chief People Officer; Jared DiPalma, Chief Financial Officer; Frank Filippo, Chief Transformation Officer; Artem Fishman, Chief Technology Officer; David Martin, Chief Revenue Officer, Business Intelligence; Dan Shar, EVP, General Manager, Wealth & Investing; Ashok Sinha, SVP, Head of Communications; Josh Stinchcomb, EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, WSJ | Barron’s Group; Sherry Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer Liz Harris, Managing Editor Charles Forelle, Deputy Editor in Chief Elena Cherney, Senior Editor; David Crow, Executive Editor; Chip Cummins, Newswires; Andrew Dowell, Asia; Taneth Evans, Associate Editor; Brent Jones, Culture, Training & Outreach; Alex Martin, Print & Writing; Michael W. Miller, Features & Weekend; Prabha Natarajan, Professional Products; Bruce Orwall, Enterprise; Philana Patterson, Audio; Amanda Wills, Video Paul A. Gigot Editor of the Editorial Page Gerard Baker, Editor at Large PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY Lachlan Murdoch Executive Chairman, News Corp Rupert Murdoch Chairman Emeritus, News Corp Emma Tucker Editor in Chief Robert Thomson Chief Executive Officer, News Corp Almar Latour Chief Executive Officer and Publisher I n his 1890 book, “The Influence of Seapower Upon History,” Alfred Thayer Mahan identified a crucial factor in the British Empire’s rise to global dominance: a battle fleet. A strong force could protect a nation’s merchant marine and maritime commerce, which could finance national power. Mahan subsequently exhorted the U.S. to build such a fleet and reap the rewards. America today faces its most significant greatpower threat since the end of the Cold War, especially on the seas. China has learned Mahan’s lessons well. Its international shipbuilding industry and expansive merchant marine, combined with its growing navy, pose a comprehensive threat to American prosperity and security. China uses the world’s oceans to pursue global supremacy, employing coercion and economic intimidation against weaker nations. In the South China Sea it has seized more than a dozen islands in waters claimed by its neighbors. China is using the islands as military outposts, which serve to choke off the region’s economic and natural-resources lifelines. Beijing’s games of chicken with foreign ships contravene international law, risk dangerous escalation, and deny freedom of navigation to American allies and partners. Yet the Communist Party’s reach and intentions extend beyond regional waters. China has become the world’s top shipbuilder. It controls one of the world’s largest China’s Sea Power Leaves U.S. Adrift shipping companies and boasts the largest navy. It has built these capabilities with the help of massive state subsidies. By flouting international standards of fair market behavior, China has secured nearly half the world’s shipbuilding market as well as control over port and shipyard infrastructure around the world. In shipbuilding, according to a conservative analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Security, China offered $132 billion in subsidies to the shipbuilding and shipping industries between 2010 and 2018. These industries are buttressed by policies like debt forgiveness, low-interest bond issuance, equity infusions and barriers to foreign competition. Functionally, China’s shipbuilding industry is state-owned and leveraged to accelerate military-vessel construction. China has also invested nearly $60 billion into port projects around the world, including in such countries as Peru. Beijing makes the vast majority of cranes in these ports, including 80% in U.S. ports. Predatory lending practices enable it to gain control over facilities when poor nations can’t pay their debts, as happened in Sri Lanka in 2017. Meanwhile, America’s commercial maritime industry has faltered. At the end of World War II, the U.S. boasted a fleet of more than 5,000 ships, which made up more than 40% of the world’s shipping capabilities. Today there are only about 90 U.S.-flagged ships involved in international trade, owing to increased international competition and scant support for the commercial maritime sector at home. At the same time, America’s maritime industrial base is shrinking. The U.S. doesn’t subsidize commercial shipbuilders. Partially as a result, the U.S. lost 300 shipyards between 1983 and 2013. Today, only 20 U.S. shipyards can produce oceangoing vessels. Most of them, moreover, exclusively produce vessels for the U.S. Navy. The U.S. trade representative is currently investigating potentially unfair trade practices by China in shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics sectors, but such inquiries won’t rebuild the U.S. merchant fleet or production capabilities. Since the end of the 1970s, the U.S. has increasingly relied on other nations to conduct trade. Today, 98% of America’s trade is done via foreign-flagged ships. Such reliance has left America less able to guarantee free access to the world’s economy. Mahan’s dictums hold true. A lack of competitiveness in maritime trade not only jeopardizes America’s ability to ensure its economic interests but also diminishes its capabilities to sustain its military power. The U.S. must change course urgently. In our Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy—and with the support of a bipartisan alliance of maritime officials, industry leaders and lawmakers—we encourage our nation and its leaders to address our pressing maritime challenges. Our framework proposes investment across the maritime sector to rebuild America’s ability to create and sustain a merchant fleet and industry. It offers proposals that will strengthen the U.S.-flagged international shipping fleet, domestic shipbuilding, and our maritime workforce. It also encourages private-sector investments and streamlines burdensome regulations. America is flanked on both sides by oceans, making our economy dependent on trade and the vessels that enable commerce. We must ensure the safe passage of U.S. exports and imports that fuel our economy. The next step is for Congress to codify our bipartisan guidance into the National Maritime Strategy, and for the president to adopt it. That will set a course for securing America’s edge at sea, recognizing the innovative and competitive spirit of the American people. China’s threat over the oceans and how we respond to it will shape our economic and national security for decades. As former service members, we know that the oceans ensure our path to prosperity and security, today no less than a century ago. Mr. Waltz, a Republican, represents Florida’s Sixth Congressional District. Mr. Kelly, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from Arizona. By Mike Waltz And Mark Kelly CFOTO/DDP VIA ZUMA PRESS With Beijing pursuing global supremacy across the oceans, America must rebuild its maritime sector. Construction at Yangzi Mitsui Shipbuilding. in Suzhou, China, March 1.

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watches that sold out with the speed of rare Nikes. By 2020, Clymer had said Hodinkee was generating around $25 million through ad sales, events, a watch-insurance program and a small online shop. The next stage was driven by a question: Would FINANCE Soccer club Inter Milan is taken over by Oaktree Capital after owners fail to repay a loan. B10 S&P 5307.01 g 0.27% S&P FIN g 0.50% S&P IT À 0.07% DJ TRANS À 0.16% WSJ $ IDX À 0.34% 2–YR. TREAS. yield 4.878% NIKKEI 38913.48 À 0.77% See more atWSJ.com/Markets WatchCharts Overall Market Index* Source: WatchCharts 2021 ’22 ’23 ’24 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 *Index for secondhand watches these days: Most people watching TV are older than those groups. Among cable channels, the median age for TNT and Bravo viewers is 56, for HGTV it is 66, and even the once-youthful MTV’s median-age viewer is 51, according to Nielsen data. The cable news audience is even older, with MSNBC’s median age at 70, Fox News’s at 69 and CNN’s, 67. Among broadcasters, CBS’s median age is 64 and ABC’s is 66. Now media executives are embracing a new sell. They are focusing more on the mass-market reach of TV, and playing down the importance of age for advertisers. What really matters, they said, is whether your ad is reaching people who are likely to buy your product, whether they are 37 or 67. “Everybody uses credit cards and buys paper towels and buys insurance and buys phone plans, so those are not age-specific things,” said Colleen Fahey Rush, chief rePlease turn to page B4 When executives at Warner Bros. Discovery took the stage at Madison Square Garden last week to give their annual pitch to advertisers, they boasted about who watches their cable TV channels. Warner, owner of TNT, TBS, CNN, Food Network and HGTV, draws a “broad audience” of “desirable and unique viewers,” said top cable networks executive Kathleen Finch. She said Warner offers advertisers “an unparalleled way to reach consumers in a trusted environment.” One thing she didn’t dwell on: how old the TV viewers are. For years, media executives built their pitches to advertisers around the idea that they could reach younger audiences, with viewers 18 to 49 years old drawing a big premium and those 25 to 54 offering the greatest appeal to news advertisers. But there is a hard reality BY ISABELLA SIMONETTI AND JOE FLINT TV Touts Virtues Of Aging Audience To Lure Advertisers Ben Clymer, the founder of the watch website Hodinkee, is the closest thing that the wonky watch world has to a celebrity—the sort of guy collectors would stop on the street to take a selfie with. His personal Instagram is peppered with gold watches, vintage Porsches and photos with celebrities like Lenny Kravitz. A former project manager at UBS, in 2008, Clymer turned his passion for watches into a chatty blog where he could spotlight watchmakers and opine on the latest Omegas. The site blossomed over its first decade. It published a glossy print magazine and launched a successful YouTube series featuring famous watch collectors like Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari and Andre Iguodala. Soon, Hodinkee was hosting champagne-filled parties with Omega and collaborating with John Mayer on collectible people who read about $50,000 watches on Hodinkee buy them there, too? When online luxury shopping boomed amid the pandemic, Hodinkee rode the wave, pocketing $40 million from investors including Mayer, LVMH Luxury Ventures, the Chernin Group and Tom Brady. At that point, Clymer said, the company was turning a profit and the investors valued it at more than $100 million. In February 2021, it acquired Atlanta watch-resale company Crown & Caliber as prices on the secondary market began steadily climbing to records. Hodinkee was looking for a way in. “I don’t want to say we were chasing it,” said Clymer, during an interview in Hodinkee’s Manhattan office in April. “But again, we’re looking out the window and I see it’s sunny, I’m not going to put on a raincoat. It’s no different than that. We saw what was happening in Please turn to page B2 BY JACOB GALLAGHER Watch Celebrity Mistimed Luxury-Shopping Market INSIDE TECHNOLOGY Nebraska files a suit charging TikTok is addictive and harmful for young users. B4 Federal officials began the process of transferring Sam Bankman-Fried to a new prison early Wednesday, overriding his wish to stay in New York while helping to prepare his appeal, according to a spokesman for the jailed FTX founder. The spokesman said he couldn’t confirm BankmanFried’s destination, but people familiar with the matter said the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange was told in recent days that he would be moved to a federal correctional facility in Mendota, Calif. Hours after the transfer process began, the judge who oversaw Bankman-Fried’s trial issued an order recommending that the Federal Bureau of Prisons keep him jailed in New York “to facilitate access to appellate counsel.” The recommendation from Judge Lewis Kaplan came in response to a request filed by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers more than six weeks ago. It was unclear whether the judge’s order could reverse the process of transferring Bankman-Fried to a new prison A spokesperson for the bureau declined to comment on the transfer, saying it only releases inmates’ locations after transfers are complete. The bureau didn’t immediately respond to questions about Judge Kaplan’s recommendation. “We appreciate the court’s consideration and hope the BOP will follow its recommendation,” Bankman-Fried’s spokesman said. Please turn to page B11 BY ALEXANDER OSIPOVICH Jailed FTX Founder Faces Move To a New Prison The Hodinkee website is an example of how precarious luxury investments often are. nell. He added that overall consumers remain resilient, and that the company saw improvement in discretionary spending. “That gives us some optimism,” he said. The Minneapolis retailer said Wednesday that it expects comparable sales for the current quarter to come in flat to up 2%, which would be the first upward movement in over a year. Target has struggled to grow as shoppers pull back on discretionary spending to deal with elevated prices for everyday necessiPlease turn to page B2 for the metal is expected to rise as the world decarbonizes and supply tightens. Copper represents about 30% of Anglo’s output, while BHP counts a majority stake in Chile’s Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine, among its assets. Under BHP’s new proposal, Anglo shareholders would get 0.8860 BHP share for each ordinary share they own in Anglo. The proposal, like BHP’s earlier bids, is contingent on Anglo spinning off shareholdings in two South Africanlisted units—a requirement that concerns some investors in part because of the time it would take to carve off those investments. Anglo said the deal values it Please turn to page B2 Anglo American rebuffed an improved roughly $50 billion takeover proposal from BHP but said it would enter talks with its larger rival, opening the door to what would be the largest-ever mining deal. The London-listed mining company on Wednesday said BHP’s latest proposal, its third, was too complex and undervalued its prospects. However, Anglo did say it was willing to engage further with BHP on the topic and agreed to extend a deadline under U.K. takeover rules for its Australian rival to make a firm offer. BHP now has until May 29 to state whether it will make a new bid. The improved bid from BHP shows an eagerness to boost exposure to copper as demand BY RHIANNON HOYLE AND CHRISTIAN MOESS LAURSEN Anglo American Rebuffs BHP Bid But Open to Talks Target has struggled to grow as shoppers pull back on discretionary spending to deal with elevated prices for necessities. Target’s business continues to shrink. Comparable sales, those from stores and digital channels operating at least a year, fell 3.7% in the three months ended May 4, the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Sales of home goods, furniture, apparel and food declined compared with the same period last year, said executives. High prices are straining wallets and shoppers continue to consume more services, which eats into their spending on other purchases, said Target Chief Executive Brian CorBY SARAH NASSAUER Target Reports Sales Decline For Fourth Quarter in a Row 2021 ’22 ’23 ’24 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25% Source: FactSet Note: Sales reflect those from stores and digital channels operating at least 12 months. 1Q 2024 ended May 4. 1Q 2024 -3.7% Target comparable sales, change from previous year JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES MADISON VOELKEL/BFA/SHUTTERSTOCK  Heard: Target takes aim at basic products................... B12  Heard: Investors aren’t buying BHP’s deal........... B12 MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS If the U.S. economy is headed for trouble, no one told the junk-bond market. The premium that investors demand to hold debt from subinvestment-grade companies instead of relatively safe Treasurys has shrunk to near pandemic-era lows, a sign of dwindling worries about an economic slowdown that would cause a big jump in defaults and bankruptcies. Low-rated debt has been swept up in a broad market rally fueled by signs of cooling inflation and hopes for interest-rate cuts. Attracted by yields around 8%, investors have added a net $3.7 billion into junk-bond funds so far this year, according to Refinitiv Lipper—the first inflows in that period since 2020. That demand has powered bond sales from companies including Jack Dorsey’s Block and Carl Icahn’s Icahn EnterPlease turn to page B2 BY VICKY GE HUANG Junk-Bond Rally Causes Shrinkage of Premiums © 2024 Dow Jones BUSINESS & Company. All Rights Reserved. * * * * * * THE WALL STREET & JOURNAL. FINANCE Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B1

B2 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. INDEX TO BUSINESSES These indexes cite notable references to most parent companies and businesspeople in today’s edition. Articles on regional page inserts aren’t cited in these indexes. A Alphabet..............................A4,B12 Amazon.com.......................B2,B4 Anglo American.............B1,B12 Apple.......................................B6,B12 Axel Springer.............................A4 B Berkshire Hathaway............B3 BHP...........................................B1,B12 Block...................................................B1 ByteDance....................................B4 C Canadian National Railway ............................................................... B3 Canadian Pacific Kansas City..................................................B3 Capital Group...........................B11 Citigroup......................................B10 Costco Wholesale........B2,B12 CSX.....................................................B3 D Dell Technologies.................B12 E Enphase Energy.....................B11 Exxon Mobil..............................B11 F First Solar...................................B11 H Hodinkee.........................................B1 Home Depot...............................B2 HP......................................................B12 I IAC......................................................A4 Icahn Enterprises....................B1 Intercontinental Exchange ..............................................................B11 K KKR...................................................B11 L Lenovo...........................................B12 Live Nation Entertainment ................................................................ A1 Lowe’s...............................................B2 M Meta Platforms...............A4,B6 Microsoft.............................A4,B12 N News Corp............................A1,A2 Norfolk Southern....................B3 Nvidia.......................................A1,B11 O Oaktree Capital.....................B10 OpenAI.....................................A1,A4 Q Qualcomm..................................B12 S Shein.................................................B4 Singapore Airlines.................A6 Squarespace...............................B6 SS&C Technologies...............B2 T Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing......................A4 Target.............................B1,B11,B12 Temu.................................................B4 Toll Brothers.............................B11 U Union Pacific..............................B3 V-W Vista Outdoor...........................A2 Wabtec............................................B3 Walmart.......................B2,B4,B12 Walt Disney................................B4 Warner Bros. Discovery ........................................................B1,B4 INDEX TO PEOPLE BUSINESS & FINANCE stop a sales slide, especially of everyday necessities such as food. Earlier this week, Target said it would reduce prices on about 1,500 products, with thousands of more price cuts coming over the summer. Those price reductions will be on everyday products such as milk, bread, summer party supplies and back-to-school items, executives said. Target is one of several companies cutting prices to boost business. Earlier this month, McDonald’s said it plans to sell a $5 meal bundle to hang on to thrifty consumers as competitors also offer discounts. Some competitors such as Walmart, Amazon.com and Costco reported strong quarterly sales of late, with shoppers drawn to fast shipping or deals on food and other essentials. Walmart, the country’s largest retailer, said its U.S. comparable sales rose 3.8% in the most recent quarter. Retailers that benefited from big pandemic-era jumps in sales, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, reported continued sales declines in the most recent quarter. U.S. inflation eased slightly in April, following three months in which consumer prices rose more quickly than expected. Overall U.S. retail sales were flat last month, compared with the previous month. Target said its total revenue fell 3.1% in the quarter to $24.5 billion. Its net earnings slid 0.8% to $942 million. Earnings per share are expected between $8.60 and $9.60 for the full year, the company said. ties. Shares closed down 8% on Wednesday as some profit measures came in lower than investors expected and the sales drop worried some. Target’s performance “is significantly worse than the overall market, which underlines that Target is losing share,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a research firm. That makes sense as consumers pull back on discretionary items, which make up a significant portion of Target’s sales, said Saunders. But it is more worrisome in food and other items where other retailers are gaining share, he said. Target executives said growth will be driven by new business initiatives such as a revamp of its member-discount program, as well as a slight return to discretionary spending on items such as apparel. In addition, during the current quarter Target will have an easier time increasing sales versus last year when comparable sales fell over 5%, executives said. “We have a number of green shoots in our business,” said Christina Hennington, chief growth officer for Target. The company is also focused on lowering prices to Continued from page B1 Target Posts Drop In Sales 3.1% Decrease in total revenue during the quarter. A Altman, Sam..............................A4 Arya, Vivek................................B12 B Bailey, Byron..............................A6 Bankman-Fried, Sam...........B1 Bateman, Toby.........................B2 Berchtold, Joe...........................A2 Bezos, Jeff...................................A4 Brill, Matt......................................B2 C Chursin, Julia..............................B2 Clymer, Ben..................................B1 Cornell, Brian..............................B1 D Davis, Corey................................B3 Dorsey, Jack.................................B1 Durant, Rosalyn.......................B4 F Finch, Kathleen.........................B1 Fowler, Jeff..................................B2 Freedman, Eric........................B11 Frost, Marcie.............................B11 G Gebhardt, Eric...........................B3 Gitlin, Mike.................................B11 Gonzales, Kari...........................B3 Groetzinger, Jack....................A2 H Hale, Danielle............................A2 Hennington, Christina........B2 Huang, Jensen...........................A1 I Icahn, Carl......................................B1 J Jameson, Lucy..........................B6 Jantos, Jackie............................B6 K Keough, Riley.............................B3 Kress, Colette............................A4 M Madan, Udit................................B4 Majors, Bascome....................B3 Moerdler, Mark......................B12 Mulligan, Kyle............................B3 N Nadella, Satya.........................B12 Nasser, Nabil..............................B6 Naussany, Kurt.........................B3 Nuttall, Scott............................B11 O O’Leary, Kevin...........................B4 S Schell, Brian................................B2 Sercel, Joel...................................A6 Silberwasser, Luis..................B4 Singer, Paul...............................B10 Stith, Matthew.......................B11 T Taylor, Theresa.......................B11 Thomson, Robert...................A4 Y Yun, Lawrence..........................A2 Z Zaslav, David..............................B4 Zuckerberg, Mark...................A4 Scan this code to watch a video about the gold rally, including in physical gold, and the factors behind it. The metal has been hitting record highs, despite the strong economy, bucking long-held trends. ALEXANDRA LARKIN Gold’s Global Rally Is Sparking A New Class of Investors FROM TOP: JACOB GALLAGHER/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; BRENDON COOK/BFA/SHUTTERSTOCK A worker at an Anglo smelter plant in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe. PHILIMON BULAWAYO/REUTERS A downtown Manhattan retail location has sat dormant since Hodinkee signed a lease for the space in 2019. To Clymer and Fowler, Hodinkee’s pullback leaves it better situated for growth. When Hodinkee announced $40 million in investments in December 2020, Clymer stepped down as chief executive, passing the reins to Toby Bateman, the former managing director of online menswear retailer Mr Porter. Clymer stayed on as executive chairman and described his current role as “the emotional leader of the business.” Within months, Hodinkee acquired Crown & Caliber, then an 8-year-old preowned watch reseller. They paid around $46 million for the company, a former employee with knowledge of the deal said. Crown & Caliber knew how to purchase bundles of highend watches, photograph them, list them and ship them out to buyers. Hodinkee knew how to attract an audience. On paper, the combination seemed like a good fit. Almost immediately, former employees said, problems with merging the two companies cropped up. Crown & Caliber customers were often horological novices who wanted a nice watch to mark a life milestone. The Hodinkee reader was a watch enthusiast, who might already have a safe full of rare Patek Philippes and wasn’t necessarily in the market for a used Rolex In the middle of 2022, the watch reselling market turned. Hodinkee felt it immediately. Suddenly, watches like the Rolex Daytona, which sold for around $45,000 in March, were fetching as much as $10,000 less in June. The company scrambled to stanch the bleeding. At first it ceased procuring specific models, including Rolex sport watches, then ultimately stopped purchasing watches altogether, adopting a trade-inonly model. When the dust settled, Hodinkee amassed roughly $2 million of preowned Rolexes above their market value at that time, former employees said. Hodinkee storefront in New York City. Website founder Ben Clymer, left, and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery Fowler are dealing with a fall in preowned watch prices since the pandemic ended and upended growth prospects. the market and we went for it.” In December 2021, the company set a goal of $141 million in revenue, according to a board presentation. Then, in early 2022, the rains came. Prices of preowned watches started declining: After hitting a peak in March 2022, they fell nearly 30% by the end of that year, according to the WatchCharts Overall Market Index, which tracks resale prices over 60 high-end timepieces. It has since only fallen further. Resale prices of some high-end watches are about half what they were just two years ago. The decline in interest has crashed into the broader industry—shares of certain luxurywatch businesses have plummeted this year, shedding as much as half their value. Now Hodinkee is an example of how precarious luxury investments often are at a time when trends whipsaw faster than ever. It also shows how the pandemic made many investors overconfident about the promise of online retail and how, years later, they are dealing with the resulting hangover. “All of us took some form of a bath on some watches at one point,” said Jeff Fowler, Hodinkee’s chief executive, during the interview in April. Hodinkee’s growth strategy now appears ill-timed. Sixteen former employees paint a picture of a company that is running out of time to turn itself around. For years, Hodinkee has been plagued by overspending and projects that failed to launch, according to the former employees, many of whom left within the past year or so. Former employees said the company had five rounds of layoffs over 18 months. Its staff today hovers around 50, down from a peak of roughly 160 people, according to Hodinkee. Revenue at the company has declined to around $70 million last year from around $100 million in 2021, according to former employees familiar with the company’s finances. It also hasn’t been profitable for the past few years, according to former employees. Continued from page B1 Watch Site Mistimes Market Anglo’s board recommends an offer. Shares in Anglo closed up about 0.4% in London, with some analysts saying a deal between the two mining companies looked more likely. BHP American depositary receipts closed down 4.7%. Anglo has so far said it favored its prospects as a standalone company. This month it set out a plan to radically overhaul the business that would include jettisoning its platinum-metals and diamonds units and sharpening its focus on copper. Many analysts and investors expect a rival bidder, citing a scarcity of large mines rich in copper and a lack of new discoveries. at £29.34 a share—or about £39.24 billion, equivalent to $49.87 billion—based on share prices before BHP’s initial proposal became public last month. BHP’s initial proposal valued Anglo at roughly $39 billion. In a separate statement, BHP said this would be its final offer, but it reserved the right to improve the proposal if other bidders emerge or if Continued from page B1 Anglo, BHP Enter Deal Talks prises in recent weeks. Collectively, low-rated businesses issued $131 billion of speculative-grade debt this year through mid-May, according to PitchBook LCD, up from about $71 billion during the same period of 2023. Investors and analysts closely watch junk bonds because companies with weaker credit ratings tend to be hit by economic problems first. Strong demand there—along with a recent surge in profits among S&P 500 companies— boosts hopes that the economy will cool enough for rates to come down, without sliding into a recession. “Markets continue to buy in that there will be a soft landing,” said Matt Brill, head of North America investmentgrade credit at Invesco. “The all-in yields are enticing buyers to invest, and there are few concerns about a declining Continued from page B1 economy.” Bonds of all kinds are rebounding after three straight months of hotter-than-expected inflation data rattled markets, denting investors’ hopes for interest-rate cuts. Now, signs of cooling price increases have rekindled bets that the Federal Reserve could cut rates more than once this year, according to CME Group data. Many companies are taking advantage of investors’ demand to refinance existing debt. SS&C Technologies, which provides software for the financial-services and healthcare industries, recently issued $750 million of bonds that will mature in 2032 to help pay back floating-rate debt that was coming due as soon as April 2025. Because of higher underlying interest rates, the bonds sold at a 6.5% yield, a percentage point more than the initial yield on the company’s older bonds that were issued in 2019. Still, the premium, or spread, to Treasurys was 1.91 percentage points—or a percentage point lower than the initial spread on the bonds sold in 2019. That suggests investors viewed the new bonds as less risky than the older bonds when they were first issued. SS&C Technologies’ refinancing effort also included a $3.9 billion loan, which was larger than initially planned because of stronger-than-expected demand from investors. “We caught an opening for the timing for the refinancing,” said Brian Schell, chief financial officer of SS&C Technologies. The company primarily used debt to finance mergers and acquisitions in the past. There are signs of stress lurking. The default rate has ticked up to 5.8% of junk-bond issuers over the 12 months through March, its highest level in three years, according to a Moody’s Ratings analysis. That figure includes bankruptcies and out-of-court debt restructurings. The rise reflects financial difficulties at some private-equity-owned companies that had struggled to refinance debt at today’s higher rates, said Julia Chursin, a senior analyst with Moody’s leveragedfinance and private-credit team. —Sam Goldfarb contributed to this article. Junk Bonds Join the Broad Rally 2020 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 0 2 4 6 8 10 12% Speculative-grade bond yields† 2020 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 percentage points Yield premium, junk bonds versus Treasurys* Source: FactSet *Shows average spread on the Bloomberg US High Yield Index †Shows average yield on the Bloomberg US High Yield Index

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ****** Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B3 BUSINESS NEWS temperatures. In recent years, major rail carriers including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, or CPKC, have tested or started using various blends of biodiesel and renewable diesel. Wabtec, which also modifies locomotives so they can burn both alternative fuels and regular diesel, has said this option has the potential to reduce carriers’ carbon emissions by as much as 60%. At least two freight railroads in North America, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX, are testing hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives. With this technology, hydrogen gas is fed into the fuel cell to generate electricity, which powers the locomotive’s motors. Hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives emit only water vapor and they have more energy capacity than battery locomotives, though not as much as diesel locomotives. eration locomotive fight,” says Bascome Majors, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group. Battery-electric locomotives are one emissions-reducing option but their power storage capacity, and therefore their range, limit how they can be used—at least for now. Major freight railroads are using or plan to use battery locomotives in some of their port-unloading and rail-yard operations. Some short-line railroads are testing them, too. But with energy capacity of around 2.4 to 2.7 megawatthours, these locomotives have far less range than a 5,000- gallon diesel locomotive, which has roughly 76 megawatt-hours of energy. This year, rail-equipment and technology provider Wabtec plans to deliver locomotives with battery capacity ranging from 7 to 8 megawatthours. Longer freight trains are often powered by multiple locomotives, so the idea is to add a battery-powered model into the mix to reduce fuel consumption. “With battery technology in locomotives, it’s ‘and’ rather than ‘or,’ ” says Eric Gebhardt, chief technology officer of Pittsburgh-based Wabtec. Still, research and testing focused on increasing battery capacity is continuing. One feature being tested is regenerative braking, which captures kinetic energy when a train decelerates or goes downhill and converts it into electrical energy that can be stored in the battery. Another hurdle facing battery locomotives is how long it takes to charge them. “Diesel locomotives can be fueled in 20 to 30 minutes today, compared to several hours of charging time, which affects operational viability,” says a spokeswoman for Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF Railway in Fort Worth, Texas. Some smaller rail operators also have reservations about the reliability of battery locomotives, especially in freezing Railroad operators like to say that trains are greener than trucks when it comes to moving goods, pointing out that one railcar can haul three to four times as much as a truck, and one freight train can remove hundreds of trucks from the highways. Although the freight-rail industry is responsible for less than 2% of transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions in the U.S., rail carriers—like the rest of the transportation industry—are under pressure to reduce those emissions, much of which are produced by dieselelectric locomotives. As a result, freight operators are investing in dieselelectric models that are more fuel-efficient, as well as exploring alternative ways to power locomotives, homing in on three main technologies: batteries, biodiesel and hydrogen. Coming up with cleaner alternatives to diesel-powered locomotives isn’t easy. Any alternative would need to be able to haul freight across mountainous and desert regions, in various weather conditions and temperatures. That, combined with the complexities involved in building new refueling infrastructure and access to constrained supplies, make it unlikely that zero-emission locomotives will be widespread by the mid-2030s as called for in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, the industry says. “At this point, there is no clear winner in the next-genBY ESTHER FUNG Railroads Look for Cleaner Fuel As Diesel Emissions Targeted Batteries, biodiesel and hydrogen seen as new ways to power locomotives Wabtec’s battery-powered FLXdrive locomotive model is designed to recharge itself. WABTEC The group said it now owns Graceland because Presley defaulted on the loan. Presley, Keough’s mother, controlled the Graceland trust until her death in January 2023. Keough then took over as trustee. Lawyers for Keough said Naussany’s loan documents are forgeries, and the firm “appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding” the trust that owns Graceland, Presley’s heirs or any purchaser of Graceland. Elvis Presley Enterprises, which manages Graceland, has also said Naussany’s claims were fraudulent. “There will be no foreclosure,” said Elvis Presley Enterprises spokeswoman Alicia Dean. “Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years.” Keough’s lawyer declined to comment. Naussany Investments and Kurt Naussany, named in the complaint as acting on behalf of the entity, couldn’t be reached for comment. A phone number listed in the complaint didn’t work, and emails sent to associated addresses weren’t answered. The Wall Street Journal couldn’t separately find contact information for a Kurt Naussany. A lawyer for the entity couldn’t be identified. The Graceland complex in Memphis, which includes an exhibition center and a 450- room hotel, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Elvis bought the property in 1957, when he was 22 and an ascendant star. He died in 1977 at the age of 42 and is buried on the Graceland property. Graceland opened to the public in 1982. Lisa Marie Presley’s mother, Priscilla Presley, reached a settlement in 2023 with Keough over who would control the trust. The settlement came after Priscilla Presley challenged a 2016 amendment to the trust filed by Lisa Marie Presley that removed her mother as trustee. —Joseph De Avila contributed to this article. A Tennessee judge on Wednesday blocked an allegedly fraudulent attempt to auction off Graceland, the former Memphis home of music legend Elvis Presley and a major tourist destination in the state. Elvis’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, says a company that had planned a Thursday sale was fake and trying to defraud the trust that owns Graceland. Judge JoeDae Jenkins in Chancery Court in Shelby County, Tenn., granted the injunction to stop the auction, according to a court clerk. The court had granted Keough a temporary restraining order on the sale last week. The auction was initiated by an entity called Naussany Investments & Private Lending. It had filed a public notice for a foreclosure sale in Tennessee, alleging Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s only child, defaulted on a $3.8 million loan it made to her. BY TALI ARBEL Judge Blocks an Effort To Auction Off Graceland Elvis Presley with actress Yvonne Lime at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., around 1957. ASSOCIATED PRESS A Singapore Airlines flight that was jolted by air movement, leading to one death and more than 100 injuries, was one of the worst turbulence-related accidents in history, aviation experts said. The frequency of such accidents is likely to increase as a result of climate change, said aviation experts and officials. On Wednesday, nearly 60 people from Flight SQ321 remained in the hospital, with 20 in intensive care. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the country’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau will investigate the incident. Singapore Airlines hasn’t disclosed the cause of the turbulence. The jet, a Boeing 777-300ER, hit severe turbulence on Tuesday about 10 hours into a flight to Singapore from London as it was flying over the Irrawaddy Basin, a stormheavy region of Southeast Asia. The plane rose 400 feet and then fell the same distance within a minute, according to data from Flightradar24, before beginning a descent into Bangkok. Passengers were flung from their seats. Oxygen masks dropped. A 73-year-old British national, Geoff Kitchen, died. Kitchen had a history of heart problems and likely died of cardiac arrest, said the general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The death was the first on a commercial flight involving heavy turbulence since 1997, said Paul Hayes, head of safety at aviation-data firm Cirium. “This should be a wake-up call for industry, for regulaBy Benjamin Katz, Jon Emont and Feliz Solomon tors,” said Hassan Shahidi, president and chief executive of the Flight Safety Foundation, an advocacy group that has warned that changing weather patterns are likely to increase the frequency and scale of turbulence. Of the 229 people on the Singapore Airlines flight, 104 received medical treatment after landing in Bangkok, an unusually heavy toll for turbulence. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board recorded 101 serious turbulence injuries from 2013 to 2022. On Wednesday, hospital officials in Bangkok said nine patients had undergone surgery and were in stable condition. Another five were expected to have operations soon. They said 27 patients had been discharged. “That’s got to be the worst severe turbulence encounter I’ve ever heard of,” said Byron Bailey, an aviation consultant with decades of experience flying commercial and military planes. “What worries me are the injuries where someone’s thrown up against the ceiling.” Bailey, who has flown similar routes many times, said the Bay of Bengal is a major incubator for thunderstorms. Pilots scan with radar to detect storms ahead to give them a wide berth. He said that it was nonetheless possible to get caught in one, though he would have expected the seat belt sign to come on in advance. One passenger on the flight, Andrew Davies from London, said the seat-belt sign came on immediately before the plane began plunging, giving passengers little time to buckle up. Singapore Airlines didn’t respond to a request for comment. —Andrew Tangel contributed to this article Singapore Air Incident Seen as Wake-Up Call The frequency of such accidents is likely to increase. FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS EVERYDAY 6-PACK SAMPLER $2999* scan for details CIGOR A .COM/ EVERYDAY ENTER THE FULL WEB ADDRESS OR SEARCH KEYWORD EVERYDAY CALL 1.800.605.4451 | MENTION: EVERYDAY *Purchase may be subject to state, local, and excise taxes where applicable. We do not ship to Hawaii or Utah. Must be 21 or older to purchase. Valid through 6.15.24 or while supplies last. Used under license. @cigora_us Connect. Shop. Share. It’s challenging when people ask what are your go-to cigars. We understand the struggle, and that’s why we’ve curated the perfect sampler to simplify your decision-making process. Our Everyday 6-cigar sampler features top-quality blends that promise a delightful smoking experience without breaking the bank.

B4 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT network and Walt Disney’s ESPN have struck a fiveyear deal to share popular College Football Playoff games starting with the coming season. The agreement comes at a critical time for TNT, which is facing the possibility of losing its NBA rights package when its deal with the league expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Amazon’s streaming platform Prime Video are both far along in deal talks with the NBA as is current rights holder ESPN, people familiar with the matter said. For Warner and Disney, this is the third alliance the two companies have formed in the past several months. In February, the two companies and Fox Corp. partnered on a new sports-centric streaming platform called Venu Sports that is set to launch later this year. TNT, ESPN to Share Rights To College Football Playoff Earlier this month, Disney and Warner agreed to bundle their streaming services together in one offering to consumers. The bundle of Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu and Warner’s Max will be available in the U.S. this summer. Under the terms of the College Football Playoff agreement, TNT will essentially sublicense games from ESPN, which already has a long-term contract in place for those rights. Major conferences that have been a part of the College Football Playoff include the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. TNT will carry two firstround games for two years and add two quarterfinal games in the three following years. There is also an option for TNT to add additional games as part of the pact. ESPN will produce the telecasts while TNT will create shoulder programming for the games. “We’re confident in the reach and promotion that this new partnership will provide as we enter the new, expanded playoff era,” said Rosalyn Durant, ESPN executive vice president, programming and acquisitions. TNT Sports Chief Executive Luis Silberwasser said the addition of marquee games will provide a boost to the network as well as the Max streaming service, which will also carry them. NBCUniversal has offered the NBA around $2.5 billion annually to carry games on its NBC broadcast network and Peacock streaming service, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. That is more than double TNT’s average annual fee of $1.2 billion under its current NBA deal. The NBA and TNT are still in negotiations on a potential deal. TNT also has matching rights for competing thirdparty offers, Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav has said. —Isabella Simonetti contributed to this article. BY JOE FLINT TNT will essentially sublicense games from ESPN under the terms of the football deal. storing large quantities of inventory, while others are less than 100,000 square feet and used to stage packages for final delivery to customers. The company over the past year has overhauled the domestic-shipping network that has been the backbone of its rapid growth in online commerce. The highly centralized network that essentially treated its national distribution network as an enormous warehouse serving the entire country is giving way to nine regions designed to operate self-sufficiently. The strategy is to place goods closer to consumers, to get everything from toasters to T-shirts delivered from nearby fulfillment centers rather than flying the products long distances around the country. The changes are meant to accelerate delivery to get more packages to customers within a day or even hours, while cutting spending on transportation. Amazon said it increased the number of orders delivered on the same day or the next day in the U.S. by more than 65% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the previous year. “We realized that how we place items when they come in from sellers and vendors is really important, and if we can place those items at facilities that are closest to customers upfront, it allows us to offer both fast speeds and lower our cost to serve,” said Udit Madan, vice president for worldwide operations at Amazon. The plan requires Amazon and third-party merchants on its platform to hold inventory across more locations rather than in a few centralized places. The retailer has been opening warehouses it calls inbound receiving centers designed to stow large numbers of goods across the country. Those facilities typically range from about 600,000 square feet to more than 1 million square feet. At the same time, Amazon has been leasing more warehouses in rural areas to use as delivery stations. Those buildings, which typically are under 100,000 square feet, help Amazon minimize its final-mile transportation costs, often the most expensive leg of package delivery. “The closer they can get to Indiana and Iowa have sued TikTok for how it handles content for minors. Montana passed a law banning the app in the state, citing concern that TikTok could be forced by the Chinese government to spy on U.S. users. A state judge blocked the law from going into effect, saying it likely violates the First Amendment. TikTok’s future in the U.S. is still unclear after President Biden signed a law requiring a sale or ban of the app by midJanuary. TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. ByteDance has said it can’t and won’t sell its U.S. operations by the deadline. Suitors have lined up with interest to acquire the platform in the U.S., including billionaire Frank McCourt, and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary. In its lawsuit, Nebraska alleges TikTok was created to target U.S. children and teens. TikTok has refused to address the risks and harms posed to children who are vulnerable to the platform’s addictive design, the complaint said. Nebraska’s complaint cited an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, published in 2021. It found the platform was flooding teen users with videos of rapid-weight-loss competitions and ways to purge food that health professionals said contributed to a wave of eating-disorder cases. TikTok said at the time that it invested in removing content that violates its rules and would continue to do so. Still, TikTok knows its platform is unsuitable for children and teenagers, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said. “Defendants know this because users, parents, educators, investigative journalists, academics, and outside consultants have all repeatedly told them so,” the complaint said. Nebraska sued TikTok on Wednesday, alleging the platform was designed to be addictive and is harmful to children. The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said TikTok designed its algorithm to feed users, many of them children, a stream of videos aimed at holding their attention. The algorithm cultivates compulsive behavior “like a sophisticated gambling machine,” Nebraska said in its complaint filed in state court. It alleged deceptive trade practices. The platform’s addictive nature, the complaint said, has contributed to an increase in mental-health problems in Nebraska children, including depression, anxiety and eating disorders. “For TikTok and companies like them, they make lots of money on being able to attract what they call their ‘golden audience’—young people under the age of 17— and get them addicted on their platform,” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said on Wednesday. TikTok said it has safeguards for teens, including age-restricted features, parental controls and an automatic 60-minute time limit each day for people under 18. “We will continue working to address these industrywide concerns,” a spokesperson for TikTok said. Social-media companies have faced scrutiny from lawmakers over how they keep children safe on platforms. Mentalhealth providers and others have criticized TikTok for failing to keep videos of sex and drug use away from children. TikTok, owned by Beijingbased ByteDance, is also under pressure in the European Union to protect minors and to manage the risks of harmful content on its platform. Other states including Utah, BY JOSEPH DE AVILA Nebraska Suit Alleges TikTok Is Harmful to Minors The complaint alleges deceptive trade practices by the platform. you, the cheaper it’s going to be,” said Zac Rogers, a supplychain professor at Colorado State University. Amazon has also said it plans to double its number of same-day fulfillment sites, which stock a more narrow assortment of popular items that are prepared for delivery within hours to customers in dense population centers. The expansion is, at least in part, a response to Walmart’s growing use of its own enormous network of more than 4,600 stores in the U.S. to fill online orders. Walmart, which Amazon is threatening to overtake as the country’s largest retailer overall, says it has stores within 10 miles of 90% of American consumers. Walmart said it delivered 4.4 billion items the same or next day in the U.S. during the 12 months ended in April. Amazon said it delivered more than 4 billion items the same day or next day in the U.S. in 2023. The cost pressure comes from discounting upstarts Shein and Temu. The sellers with Chinese roots have become popular among U.S. shoppers for rock-bottom prices. Amazon’s postpandemic pullback in logistics expansion is over as the company turns competition for consumer spending into a battle about real estate. The e-commerce market leader is buying up industrial property and restructuring its sprawling distribution network as it looks to speed up package delivery and cut shipping costs. The changes are aimed at setting up Amazon to better compete with the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, and low-price online upstarts Shein and Temu. Amazon so far this year has leased, bought or announced plans for more than 16 million square feet of new warehouse space in the U.S., according to Canadian supply-chain consulting firm MWPVL International. That adds to the company’s existing footprint of roughly 413 million square feet of industrial real estate across North America as of Dec. 31, according to company filings. Some of the new sites are massive facilities of more than 1 million square feet meant for BY LIZ YOUNG Amazon, Pressed by Rivals, Revives Effort to Expand Warehouse Chain The e-commerce giant seeks to accelerate delivery to just a few hours in some cases. A fulfillment center in Eastvale, Calif. WATCHARA PHOMICINDA/ASSOCIATED PRESS JUNFU HAN/REUTERS search officer at Paramount, owner of CBS and cable channels such as MTV and Comedy Central. The approach hasn’t stopped the overall erosion in spending on TV ads, as marketers turn to other venues— from Amazon to TikTok to Google—to reach consumers, especially younger ones. The media companies have pitched their streaming services—NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Warner’s Max, Paramount’s Paramount+, Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu—as ways to reach younger audiences. So far, though, the influx of ad dollars into streaming hasn’t been enough to offset the decline in TV viewership, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The goal for media companies is to make the most of the TV audience they do have—and cushion the blow of the industry’s decline. Recent shows such as “The Golden Bachelor,” whose star was 72-year-old Gerry Turner, reflect how networks are trying to appeal to their most loyal watchers. CBS last year premiered “NCIS Sydney,” the latest addition to a franchise that has been a sensation for two decades. The idea of reaching specific age segments traces back decades. As Nielsen, the TV ratings specialist, started to gather data not just on how many households were watching TV, but which age groups were watching certain programs, advertisers wanted to capitalize, reducing what they saw as wasteful spending reaching viewers who weren’t their target customers. —Suzanne Vranica contributed to this article. Continued from page B1 Networks Tout Aging TV Viewers UCC Sale. All assets of Municipal Finance & Services Corp, 581 Main St, Suite 660, Woodbridge, NJ 07095, including all rights to Accelerated Municipal Payments (AMP) platform, non-factoring accounts payable program for local governments, to be sold at public sale at 10:00 am local time on Friday, 5/31/24 at 5330 Yacht Haven Grande, Suite J-206, St Thomas, VI 00802. You may register to bid by phone, contact [email protected] or (340)-774-8800 for more information BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES NOTICE OF SALE The Opportunity: Colchester, Colchester Rubber Co. and Harry in the Hall Intellectual Property for Sale. Don’t Miss Out! Colchester Rubber Co. | AUCTION colchestersneakers.com Contact: [email protected] — For a Sealed Bid Form — The Sealed Bid Auction deadline June 21st at Midnight “The original 19th-century athletic shoe.” (USA registration No. 5363613; 3182789; 3847869; 5640822, EUTM 018285800). Business for Sale. 30 years established durable medical equipment importer with 7 FDA 510K mobility product approval. [email protected] The Marketplace ADVERTISEMENT To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds NOTICEOFPUBLICSALE • Property tobeSold Dock Street Capital Management LLC, on behalf of The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association, in its capacity as trustee (the “Trustee”), will be conducting one or more sales of certain collateral pledged to the Trustee. The Collateral (as defined herein) will be offered and sold by the Trustee without recourse, representations or covenants,express or implied, being made by the Trustee with respect to the Collateral (except as to title to the Collateral) or with respect to any other information then in the Trustee’s possession, including without limitation any offering circular or other financial information. Location of Sale. The sales will be held at 575-B Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. Additional Information.Please be advisedthatthesale of each ofthesecurities listed abovemay bemade onlytothe best bidder who is also a qualified bidder andmay be subject to a reserve level. For additional information,including with respect to qualified bidder status,and to obtain copies of an InvestorRepresentation and ConfidentialityAgreement,contactDavid Crowle orJeffreyHoltman by email at dcrowle@dockstreetcap. com or [email protected],respectively,by phone at (212) 457-8258,by facsimile at (212) 457-8269 or by mail addressed to575-BRiversideAvenue,Westport,CT06880.Disclaimer.TheTrustee is authorized atsuchsale,iftheTrusteedeems it advisable or is required by applicable lawto doso:(i)torestrictthe prospective bidders on or purchasers of any ofthe above identifiedsecurities(the “Collateral”) to besold to those who will represent and agree that they are purchasing for their own account for investment and not with a viewtothedistribution orresale of any ofsuch assets,(ii)to verifythat each certificatefor eachsecuritytobesoldbears a legend substantiallytothe effectthatsuchsecurity has not beenregistered underthe SecuritiesAct of 1933,as amended,(the“Act”) andmay not be disposed of in violation of the provisions ofsaid Act,(iii) to disclaim and to refuse to give any warranty (other than as to title), and(iv)to imposesuchother limitationsor conditions in connectionwith anysuchsale astheTrusteedeemsnecessaryor advisable. Public Sale No.1: Wednesday,May 29,2024 10:00 a.m.EDT Lot# CUSIP Issue AssetType OriginalFace 1 393505ND0 GT1996-5B1 MH 1,705,000.00 2 589962CV9 MESC13M1 MH 3,000,000.00 3 04542BBA9 ABFC2002-NC1M2 Subprime 5,000,000.00 4 61909QAF3 MABS2002-NC1M3 Subprime 5,000,000.00 5 760985EB3 RAMP2001-RS2MII3 Subprime 2,000,000.00 6 268617AP2 EMAC1999-1IO Zero Factor- Franchise 3,000,000.00 7 301965BT5 FFCA1999-2 C2 Zero Factor- Franchise 2,160,000.00 8 301965BV0 FFCA1999-2D2 Zero Factor- Franchise 2,160,000.00 9 301965BX6 FFCA1999-2 E2 Zero Factor- Franchise 2,150,000.00 10 393505A85 GT1998-2B1 Zero Factor-MH 5,000,000.00 11 67087TAT8 OAK1999-DB1 Zero Factor-MH 9,624,000.00 12 542514BC7 LBMLT2001-3M3 Zero Factor-RMBS 5,830,000.00 NOTICE OF SALE An experienced Church lawyer explains the details of the abuse cases, outlines steps to prevent their recurrence, and defends the enduring relevance of Christianity, and especially the Catholic Church. Available on Amazon and elsewhere. CONFESSIONS OF A CHURCH LAWYER: IN DEFENSE OF CHRISTIANITY BY MATTHEW FLYNN. [email protected] PRODUCTS NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF COLLATERAL On the 15th day of July, 2024, commencing at 11:00 a.m. prevailing Eastern Time, at the top of the front steps of the New York County Supreme Court, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York and offered virtually via online video conference, Slate Rec Holdings, LLC (together with its successors and assigns, “Secured Party”) shall cause the following collateral to be sold by public auction to the highest qualified bidder: 100% of the membership interests in New Orleans I Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which is the owner of certain real property and personal property, including that certain real property, and improvements thereon, located at 1100 Poydras Street, The Energy Centre, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112. The membership interests are being offered as a single lot on an “as-is, where-is” basis, with no express or implied warranties, representations, statements or conditions of any kind made by the Secured Party or any person acting for or on behalf of the Secured Party, without any recourse whatsoever to the Secured Party or any other person acting for or on behalf of the Secured Party. Secured Party reserves the right to reject all bids and terminate or adjourn the sale to another time or place, or to effectuate a private sale instead of a public sale, without further publication, and further reserves the right to bid for the collateral at the sale and to credit bid by applying some or all of its secured debt to the purchase price. Interested parties who would like additional information concerning the items to be sold at the sale and the terms and conditions of the sale, including the eligibility requirements to be a qualified bidder, must contact Stephen Schwalb via email at Stephen. [email protected].

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B5 We’re for tomfoolery. For made-up names and SILLY games. Shenanigans and its cousin, HORSEPLAY. We’re for goofiness and whimsy and imaginary friends with names like Charlene. We’re for giggle fits and laughing sprees balls stuck in trees and zebra-striped imaginations running free. We’re for all these childhood things. So we fight against poverty and the CYCLE it brings. We fight to keep childhood simple, carefree and good. We’re for less childhood poverty, ess childhood poverty, more childhood. ore childhood. Join us? oin us? rednoseday.org

B6 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. BUSINESS NEWS Heineken last month introduced what it calls the Boring Phone, an early-00s style flipto-answer device featuring a keypad, flashlight, FM radio, low-resolution camera and not much else. With an ability to make calls and send texts, but under no circumstances access social media, the phone is designed to be a portal back to the days when people would socialize in person without continually maintaining parallel lives on the internet. “Young generations are craving release from their smartphones and the constant buzzing and dinging, especially on nights out and during social occasions,” said Nabil Nasser, global head of the Heineken brand. “We want to give them the freedom to discover that there is more to their social life when they are less on their phone.” The Boring Phone is really a marketing campaign disguised as a product drop, with only 5,000 units available via giveaways, part of a wave of advertising tapping the widespread fear technology is ruining our ability to fully experience and enjoy the real world. Tequila brand Jose Cuervo last year ran a sweepstakes for hundreds of its own socalled dumb phones, in another example, urging drinkers to “go off” their smartphones to “go off” in real life. This year’s Super Bowl ad by web design company Squarespace imagined what would happen if nobody noticed an alien arrival because humanity wouldn’t look up from its screens. The message extends beyond borders. Chinese electronics firm Oppo last December ran a campaign encouraging consumers across Asia to put down their phones at the dinner table. The advertisers are tapping into a concern over the role of technology in society, and particularly in the mental health of young people, that has grown as social media and smartphones have become omnipresent. Even Snapchat is running an ad campaign positioning its social-media app as an “antidote to social media.” But marketing executives are treading gently, tending toward humor rather than activism, partly because their brands are at least as present in the digital world as any extremely online person. They advertise on the same socialmedia platforms that their campaigns suggest absorb too much of consumers’ time. Meta Platforms, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, generated $36.5 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year, up 27% from the yearago period, almost entirely from advertising. “We’re obviously not antitech, but what we do know is that consumers want to detox from their smartphones to dial up their social life and enjoy real world connections,” Heineken’s Nasser said. The Boring Phone campaign isn’t designed to get people buying more beer by leaving them twiddling their thumbs at the bar, but to more indirectly BY KATIE DEIGHTON Squarespace’s 2024 Super Bowl ad, above, riffed off humanity’s propensity to look down. Hinge published a book, below, with offline activity ideas for the ‘Global Day of Unplugging.’ bolster the brand’s association with the joy of socializing, he said. These advertising campaigns represent a broader shift in the industry, away from an always-sunny and aspirational style of marketing and toward an acceptance of a grimmer reality. The economy may be improving, but consumers remain gloomy. The U.S. dropped off the list of the world’s 20 happiest countries, and news of global conflicts and inflammatory politics at home is compounded by everyday annoyances, from the shrinking lifespan of refrigerators to concert tickets’ hidden fees. Marketers—who spend millions of dollars “listening” to the moods of consumers to refine their messages—can no longer tell consumers that everything is awesome. Instead, they are leaning into the fact it isn’t. Celebrating tech can be dicey in this environment, even for companies typically lionized for their accomplishments in the field. Apple this month apologized for an ad that depicted the literal crushing of art supplies and musical instruments to yield a thinner-than-ever iPad. “Marketers don’t want to be seen as out of touch, and saying, ‘Buy this and your life’s going to be amazing,’ because they know that the default where people are coming from is that things feel worse than they did 20 years ago,” said Lucy Jameson, cofounder of advertising and design agency Uncommon Creative Studio. Middle-class families, one of marketers’ most-coveted consumer groups, are particularly worried by the rise of tech use and the mental-health problems it might cause among children and teenagers, she said. “If it’s at the top of their concerns, then you’re going to see loads and loads of brands start to play into it,” especially among companies who rely on people socializing, dating and otherwise going outside into the real world, Jameson said. Brands also are leaning into the tech-use conversation to connect with Gen Z, a huge consumer group known for a lack of brand loyalty and a biting awareness of how growing up online has affected them. Companies that align themselves with Gen Z’s anxieties around their phones can improve their chances of winning them over as customers, marketing executives say. “It just dawned on us that this group is feeling a disproportionate sense of loneliness and isolation, and really the root cause of that is the lack of time spent in person,” said Jackie Jantos, the chief marketing officer of dating app Hinge. “I think we all know what that time has been displaced by.” Hinge at the end of last year began its latest push to get young people to put down their phones and hang out in person under the marketing banner of “One More Hour.” The company promised as part of the campaign to donate $1 million to social clubs in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City that provide Gen Z with opportunities to connect in person. Hinge also published a physical book of things to do without a screen in time for the annual “Global Day of Unplugging” in March. Suggestions include bird-watching, reading and “lying in a park doing nothing.” Ads Tell Consumers to Turn Off Phones More marketers are tapping into modern fears, including those around tech Campaigns mark a shift toward an acceptance of a grimmer reality. FROM TOP: SQUARESPACE; HINGE JOIN US AT JOURNAL HOUSE CANNES LIONS FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY 2024 © 2024 Dow Jones and Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 3DJ0354 June 17-20, 2024 Cannes, France Request Invitation wsj.com/jhcannes Join us June 17-20 at Journal House, your international hub for innovative ideas, networking and R&R on la Croisette during the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Enjoy exclusive interviews with WSJ editors and newsmakers. Reconnect with peers and meet new ones from a range of industries and backgrounds. Grab a morning coffee or an evening cocktail to unwind and exchange notes—and anecdotes. Journal House Cannes is your home away from home. Founding Sponsor Presenting Sponsors

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B7 Scan this code Get real-time U.S. stock quotes and track most-active stocks, new highs/lows, mutual funds and ETFs. All are available free at WSJMarkets.com Consumer Rates and Returns to Investor U.S. consumer rates A consumer rate against its benchmark over the past year 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00% 2023 J J A S O N D J 2024 F M A M t New car loan t Prime rate Selected rates New car loan Bankrate.com avg†: 7.83% First Command Bank 5.74% FortWorth, TX 888-763-7600 Firstrust Bank 5.99% Philadelphia, PA 800-220-2265 PNC Bank 6.94% Washington, DC 888-PNC-BANK Eastern Bank 6.99% Boston, MA 781-599-2100 Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB 6.99% Wilmington, DE 888-973-7226 Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 2 4 6 8 High (pct pts) Federal-funds rate target 5.25-5.50 5.25-5.50 5.00 l 5.50 5.25 Prime rate* 8.50 8.50 8.25 l 8.50 5.25 SOFR 5.31 5.31 5.05 l 5.40 5.30 Money market, annual yield 0.51 0.49 0.46 l 0.64 0.43 Five-year CD, annual yield 2.87 2.84 2.77 l 2.87 2.42 30-year mortgage, fixed† 7.45 7.53 7.01 l 8.28 4.31 15-year mortgage, fixed† 6.84 6.94 6.34 l 7.42 4.43 Jumbo mortgages, $766,550-plus† 7.54 7.61 7.07 l 8.33 4.38 Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 6.64 6.68 5.92 l 7.16 3.58 New-car loan, 48-month 7.83 7.84 7.01 l 7.88 3.82 Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest banks.† Excludes closing costs. Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Benchmark Yields and Rates Treasury yield curve Yield to maturity of current bills, notes and bonds 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00% 1 month(s) 3 6 1 years 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 maturity t Tradeweb ICE Wednesday Close t One year ago Forex Race Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs. major U.S. trading partners –16 –8 0 8 16% 2023 2024 Euro s Yen s WSJ Dollar Index s Sources: Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data International Stock Indexes Latest YTD Region/Country Index Close Net chg % chg % chg World MSCI ACWI 793.19 –2.79 –0.35 9.1 MSCI ACWI ex-USA 335.14 –1.51 –0.45 5.8 MSCIWorld 3465.55 –14.29 –0.41 9.4 MSCI Emerging Markets 1095.29 1.91 0.18 7.0 Americas MSCI AC Americas 2002.53 –6.64 –0.33 10.4 Canada S&P/TSX Comp 22346.76 –121.40 –0.54 6.6 Latin Amer. MSCI EM Latin America 2439.56 –44.80 –1.80 –8.4 Brazil Bovespa 125650.03 –1761.52 –1.38 –6.4 Chile S&P IPSA 3664.91 14.79 0.41 5.7 Mexico S&P/BMV IPC 56432.03 –328.69 –0.58 –1.7 EMEA STOXX Europe 600 521.18 –1.77 –0.34 8.8 Eurozone Euro STOXX 521.26 –1.75 –0.33 9.9 Belgium Bel-20 3996.70 5.70 0.14 7.8 Denmark OMX Copenhagen 20 2762.25 –9.24 –0.33 21.0 France CAC 40 8092.11 –49.35 –0.61 7.3 Germany DAX 18680.20 –46.56 –0.25 11.5 Israel Tel Aviv 1971.22 –3.18 –0.16 5.7 Italy FTSE MIB 34460.52 –143.09 –0.41 13.5 Netherlands AEX 910.52 –0.99 –0.11 15.7 Norway Oslo Bors All-Share 1647.35 –7.91 –0.48 8.4 South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 79492.57 –315.50 –0.40 3.4 Spain IBEX 35 11329.00 –5.90 –0.05 12.1 Sweden OMX Stockholm 1003.03 1.16 0.12 11.1 Switzerland Swiss Market 11958.67 –42.83 –0.36 7.4 Turkey BIST 100 10899.28 4.03 0.04 45.9 U.K. FTSE 100 8370.33 –46.12 –0.55 8.2 U.K. FTSE 250 20710.07 –73.30 –0.35 5.2 Asia-Pacific MSCI AC Asia Pacific 180.84 –0.31 –0.17 6.8 Australia S&P/ASX 200 7848.10 –3.58 –0.05 3.4 China Shanghai Composite 3158.54 0.57 0.02 6.2 Hong Kong Hang Seng 19195.60 –25.02 –0.13 12.6 India S&P BSE Sensex 74221.06 267.75 0.36 2.7 Japan NIKKEI 225 38617.10 –329.83 –0.85 15.4 Singapore Straits Times 3307.90 … Closed 2.1 South Korea KOSPI 2723.46 –0.72 –0.03 2.6 Taiwan TAIEX 21551.83 315.08 1.48 20.2 Thailand SET 1370.83 … Closed –3.2 Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data Major U.S. Stock-Market Indexes Latest 52-Week % chg High Low Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg YTD 3-yr. ann. Dow Jones Industrial Average 39890.91 39559.09 39671.04 -201.95 -0.51 40003.59 32417.59 20.9 5.3 5.1 Transportation Avg 15251.66 15137.36 15194.59 23.71 0.16 16695.32 13556.07 10.9 -4.4 -0.6 Utility Average 954.54 943.61 945.03 -9.98 -1.05 955.01 783.08 4.1 7.2 1.3 Total Stock Market 52904.59 52519.39 52722.71 -169.64 -0.32 52892.35 40847.04 28.4 10.3 6.8 Barron's 400 1158.74 1148.88 1151.95 -6.79 -0.59 1166.53 895.36 27.6 7.4 4.9 Nasdaq Stock Market Nasdaq Composite 16855.27 16712.09 16801.54 -31.08 -0.18 16832.62 12484.16 34.6 11.9 7.6 Nasdaq-100 18756.69 18606.16 18705.20 -8.60 -0.05 18713.80 13604.48 37.5 11.2 11.7 S&P 500 Index 5323.18 5286.01 5307.01 -14.40 -0.27 5321.41 4115.24 29.0 11.3 8.5 MidCap 400 3013.85 2981.55 2990.09 -24.42 -0.81 3046.36 2326.82 23.6 7.5 3.6 SmallCap 600 1336.05 1323.16 1327.41 -9.17 -0.69 1345.71 1068.80 16.7 0.7 -0.4 Other Indexes Russell 2000 2096.89 2075.78 2081.71 -16.65 -0.79 2124.55 1636.94 17.8 2.7 -2.1 NYSE Composite 18337.91 18192.80 18236.64 -101.27 -0.55 18388.26 14675.78 21.4 8.2 3.7 Value Line 604.71 599.40 601.11 -3.60 -0.60 615.81 498.09 12.5 1.2 -3.2 NYSE Arca Biotech 5358.99 5271.89 5326.40 54.52 1.03 5511.46 4544.40 -0.9 -1.7 -1.6 NYSE Arca Pharma 1035.85 1025.97 1035.14 1.53 0.15 1035.14 837.32 20.3 13.7 12.0 KBW Bank 106.95 105.45 105.89 -1.05 -0.98 107.64 71.71 36.9 10.3 -7.2 PHLX§Gold/Silver 148.95 144.02 144.70 -5.80 -3.85 151.36 102.94 17.0 15.1 -3.9 PHLX§Oil Service 88.11 84.91 85.33 -2.99 -3.38 98.76 69.29 13.6 1.7 12.0 PHLX§ Semiconductor 5140.82 5074.37 5126.81 52.41 1.03 5165.83 3124.09 64.1 22.8 18.9 Cboe Volatility 12.81 11.78 12.29 0.43 3.63 21.71 11.86 -38.6 -1.3 -15.2
Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data Late Trading Most-active and biggest movers among NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE Amer. and Nasdaq issues from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET as reported by electronic trading services, securities dealers and regional exchanges.Minimum share price of $2 and minimum after-hours volume of 50,000 shares. Most-active issues in late trading Volume After Hours Company Symbol (000) Last Net chg % chg High Low NVIDIA NVDA 11,044.5 1005.70 56.20 5.92 1023.51 328.67 SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY 10,703.2 530.77 0.94 0.18 531.52 528.01 Bank of America BAC 8,275.7 39.83 0.07 0.18 39.90 39.65 Direxion Dly SCOND 3 BL SOXL 7,111.7 51.30 1.92 3.89 51.90 48.18 GrShr 2x Long NVDA Dly NVDL 6,875.4 48.50 5.25 12.14 49.95 40.52 ProSh UltraPro Shrt QQQ SQQQ 6,775.7 9.63 -0.10 -1.03 9.88 9.58 Altria Group MO 5,576.3 46.21 -0.11 -0.24 46.50 46.00 iSh 20+ Year Treasury Bd TLT 5,219.6 91.62 -0.09 -0.09 91.73 89.22 Percentage gainers… Direxion NVDA Bull 2X NVDU 200.5 77.33 8.57 12.46 79.76 64.83 GrShr 2x Long NVDA Dly NVDL 6,875.4 48.50 5.25 12.14 49.95 40.52 Zuora ZUO 118.1 10.70 0.84 8.52 11.84 9.86 ProSh Ultra Semicon USD 85.9 111.50 6.69 6.38 112.50 103.05 NVIDIA NVDA 11,044.5 1005.70 56.20 5.92 1023.51 328.67 ...And losers Cytokinetics CYTK 578.3 50.90 -8.33 -14.06 59.23 50.55 GrShr 2x Sh NVDA Daily NVD 3,129.0 3.66 -0.51 -12.23 4.43 3.50 VF Corp VFC 1,245.1 10.94 -1.39 -11.27 12.50 10.91 Vanguard MBS VMBS 375.0 40.82 -4.28 -9.49 45.10 40.82 Tradr 1.25X NVDA Bear Dly NVDS 229.5 54.14 -4.02 -6.91 60.49 52.55 Trading Diary Volume, Advancers, Decliners NYSE NYSE Amer. Total volume* 866,213,362 13,904,282 Adv. volume* 278,365,509 4,214,531 Decl. volume* 581,414,335 9,686,875 Issues traded 2,894 319 Advances 799 131 Declines 2,005 177 Unchanged 90 11 New highs 117 4 New lows 47 7 Closing Arms† 0.70 1.41 Block trades* 4,027 158 Nasdaq NYSE Arca Total volume*7,277,341,335 263,199,500 Adv. volume*4,723,558,099 56,791,073 Decl. volume*2,530,778,150 202,187,903 Issues traded 4,397 1,924 Advances 1,685 281 Declines 2,527 1,618 Unchanged 185 25 New highs 124 90 New lows 109 13 Closing Arms† 0.36 0.52 Block trades* 84,851 1,131 * Primary market NYSE, NYSE American NYSE Arca only. †(TRIN) A comparison of the number of advancing and declining issues with the volume of shares rising and falling. An Arms of less than 1 indicates buying demand; above 1 indicates selling pressure. Percentage Gainers... Percentage Losers Volume % chg from Latest Session 52-Week Company Symbol (000) 65-day avg Close % chg High Low Greenwave Tech Solns GWAV 1,249,526 1201.9 0.08 33.79 1.12 0.04 Akoustis Technologies AKTS 537,560 45133.8 0.32 128.83 3.57 0.13 Crown Electrokinetics CRKN 513,981 366.5 0.13 3.10 11.70 0.04 Barnes & Noble Education BNED 300,318 4448.2 1.13 109.22 2.26 0.15 Faraday Future FFIE 198,758 47.7 1.12 -19.42 117.36 0.04 Bruush Oral Care BRSH 196,116 1044.8 0.15 25.57 9.73 0.04 Pineapple Energy PEGY 97,652 111.9 0.15 10.22 1.53 0.04 FuelCell Energy FCEL 90,306 243.8 0.89 14.51 2.94 0.64 Tesla TSLA 86,069 -11.9 180.11 -3.48 299.29 138.80 ProSh UltraPro Shrt QQQ SQQQ 84,771 -37.8 9.73 0.21 27.19 9.65 * Volumes of 100,000 shares or more are rounded to the nearest thousand Volume % chg from Latest Session 52-Week Company Symbol (000) 65-day avg Close % chg High Low Inflection Point II Cl A IPXX 2,612 3631 10.54 0.09 11.00 10.07 Valuence Merger I Cl A VMCA 276 3368 11.47 0.09 11.85 10.59 PowerUp Acquisition PWUP 383 2797 11.81 0.77 13.23 10.07 T. Rowe Price Growth ETF TGRT 662 2565 32.95 -0.33 33.10 24.25 Kairous Acquisition KACL 117 1955 11.88 0.01 12.83 10.81 Invsc Div Achievers ETF PFM 325 1595 42.85 -0.30 43.10 35.18 Overseas Shipholding A OSG 11,486 1571 8.41 -0.47 8.46 3.59 LifeStance Health Group LFST 16,403 1228 5.81 -22.33 9.59 4.74 Embotell Andina B ADR AKO.B 155 1116 18.31 -1.85 19.61 11.49 IGM Biosciences IGMS 3,175 1113 11.47 36.39 17.70 3.81 * Common stocks priced at $2 a share or more with an average volume over 65 trading days of at least 5,000 shares =Has traded fewer than 65 days Nasdaq Composite Index 16801.54 t 31.08, or 0.18% High, low, open and close for each trading day of the past three months. Last Year ago Trailing P/E ratio *† P/E estimate *† Dividend yield *† All-time high: 31.05 28.12 27.35 26.62 0.81 0.82 16832.62, 05/21/24 14900 15200 15500 15800 16100 16400 16700 Feb. Mar. Apr. May 65-day moving average EQUITIES CREDIT MARKETS Commodities Pricing trends on some raw materials, or commodities Wednesday 52-Week YTD Close Net chg % Chg High Low % Chg % chg DJ Commodity 1069.75 -6.19 -0.58 1079.94 930.59 11.37 11.69 Refinitiv/CC CRB Index 295.25 -0.70 -0.24 298.18 253.85 12.39 11.91 Crude oil, $ per barrel 77.57 -1.09 -1.39 93.68 67.12 4.34 8.26 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 2.842 0.171 6.40 3.575 1.575 18.52 13.05 Gold, $ per troy oz. 2389.20 -32.50 -1.34 2433.90 1816.60 21.72 15.85 Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Yield (%) 52-Week Total Return (%) Bond total return index Close Last Week ago High Low 52-wk 3-yr U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 2140.070 4.650 4.550 5.120 4.010 0.451 –3.185 U.S. Treasury Long, Bloomberg 3068.220 4.620 4.580 5.280 3.920 –4.345 –9.278 Aggregate, Bloomberg 2031.270 5.060 4.950 5.740 4.490 2.160 –2.916 Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 1998.110 5.290 5.130 6.050 4.590 1.607 –3.174 High Yield 100, ICE BofA 3594.512 7.327 7.223 9.101 7.030 11.627 2.144 Muni Master, ICE BofA 580.380 3.619 3.456 4.311 3.038 3.467 –0.971 EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan 862.292 7.513 7.452 8.842 7.205 10.893 –1.847 Sources: J.P. Morgan; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; ICE Data Services Latest Session 52-Week Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg IGM Biosciences IGMS 11.47 3.06 36.39 17.70 3.81 -0.8 Pulse Biosciences PLSE 11.94 2.21 22.71 13.62 3.78 102.4 Maxeon Solar Technologies MAXN 3.30 0.59 21.77 32.58 1.71 -88.4 BuzzFeed BZFD 3.01 0.51 20.40 4.56 0.64 20.0 Roadzen RDZN 3.93 0.65 19.82 17.00 2.70 -62.7 CureVac CVAC 3.91 0.62 18.84 12.36 2.22 -60.2 First Solar FSLR 251.75 39.64 18.69 253.99 129.22 26.8 Petco Health &Wellness WOOF 2.88 0.43 17.55 9.74 1.41 -65.4 Intellicheck IDN 3.22 0.48 17.52 4.25 1.56 28.3 Daqo New Energy ADR DQ 22.37 3.26 17.06 43.66 17.30 -42.9 JinkoSolar Holding ADR JKS 28.55 4.15 17.01 47.85 21.06 -37.9 Array Technologies ARRY 12.98 1.87 16.83 26.64 10.60 -45.2 Cidara Therapeutics CDTX 12.34 1.72 16.20 27.60 10.00 -54.0 Qurate Retail Series B QRTEB 4.60 0.64 16.09 9.15 3.66 -20.4 Minim MINM 3.42 0.46 15.54 10.28 0.60 -21.6 Most Active Stocks Latest Session 52-Week Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg Edible Garden EDBL 2.30 -2.03 -46.88 89.60 1.82 -92.7 Biodexa Pharma ADR BDRX 1.28 -1.05 -45.06 12.00 0.67 -87.9 Yatsen Holding ADR YSG 3.28 -1.27 -27.91 6.65 1.99 -27.2 LifeStance Health Group LFST 5.81 -1.67 -22.33 9.59 4.74 -29.2 iLearningEngines AILE 4.98 -1.12 -18.36 20.00 4.50 -51.9 Oragenics OGEN 2.51 -0.53 -17.43 7.74 1.00 -17.2 ViaSat VSAT 15.74 -3.10 -16.45 47.35 15.02 -63.8 AEye LIDR 3.25 -0.63 -16.24 24.00 0.92 -48.3 XP XP 17.99 -3.46 -16.13 27.71 17.56 1.6 Kaival Brands Innovations KAVL 1.96 -0.38 -16.06 20.27 1.11 -83.3 Blue Star Foods BSFC 2.33 -0.41 -14.96 110.00 2.05 -97.7 Linkage Global LGCB 2.63 -0.45 -14.61 4.30 1.28 ... QuantaSing Group ADR QSG 2.25 -0.38 -14.45 28.99 1.41 -88.2 AirSculpt Technologies AIRS 3.35 -0.54 -13.88 9.94 3.30 -56.5 GDS Holdings ADR GDS 8.01 -1.29 -13.87 14.24 5.01 -22.2 Volume Movers Ranked by change from 65-day average* CURRENCIES & COMMODITIES Currencies U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange rates in late New York trading US$ vs, Wed YTD chg Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Americas Argentina peso .0011889.9097 10.1 Brazilreal .1941 5.1510 6.2 Canada dollar .7302 1.3695 3.4 Chile peso .001113 898.38 2.7 Colombiapeso .000261 3830.07 –1.2 EcuadorUS dollar 1 1 unch Mexico peso .0600 16.6617 –1.8 Uruguay peso .02603 38.4200 –1.6 Asia-Pacific Australiadollar .6619 1.5108 3.0 China yuan .1381 7.2413 1.8 Hong Kong dollar .1281 7.8075 –0.03 India rupee .01201 83.276 0.1 Indonesia rupiah .0000624 16038 4.2 Japan yen .006377 156.81 11.2 Kazakhstan tenge .002262 442.04 –2.9 Macau pataca .1243 8.0460 –0.1 Malaysia ringgit .2131 4.6925 2.1 New Zealand dollar .6098 1.6399 3.6 Pakistan rupee .00359 278.625 –0.9 Philippines peso .0172 58.025 4.7 Singapore dollar .7404 1.3507 2.4 South Korea won .0007318 1366.45 5.6 Sri Lanka rupee .0033321 300.11 –7.4 Taiwan dollar .03099 32.270 5.1 Thailand baht .02742 36.470 6.1 US$ vs, Wed YTD chg Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Vietnam dong .00003927 25465 4.9 Europe Czech Rep. koruna .04378 22.843 2.1 Denmark krone .1450 6.8944 1.7 Euro area euro 1.0825 .9238 2.0 Hungary forint .002796 357.65 3.0 Iceland krona .007210 138.69 2.0 Norway krone .0933 10.7166 5.3 Poland zloty .2535 3.9455 0.2 Sweden krona .0931 10.7372 6.3 Switzerland franc 1.0918 .9159 8.8 Turkey lira .0311 32.1899 9.2 Ukraine hryvnia .0251 39.8500 4.5 UKpound 1.2716 .7864 0.1 Middle East/Africa Bahrain dinar 2.6596 .3760 –0.3 Egypt pound .0214 46.7843 51.3 Israel shekel .2720 3.6760 2.0 Kuwait dinar 3.2584 .3069 –0.1 Oman sul rial 2.5984 .3848 –0.04 Qatarrial .2745 3.643 –0.02 Saudi Arabia riyal .2666 3.7506 0.01 South Africa rand .0547 18.2752 –0.1 Close Net Chg % Chg YTD % Chg WSJ Dollar Index 99.62 0.34 0.34 3.95 Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data Dow Jones Industrial Average 39671.04 t201.95, or 0.51% High, low, open and close for each trading day of the past three months. Last Year ago Trailing P/E ratio P/E estimate * Dividend yield All-time high 27.70 21.86 19.32 17.71 2.12 2.15 40003.59, 05/17/24 36500 37100 37700 38300 38900 39500 40100 Feb. Mar. Apr. May Current divisor 0.15221633137872 Bars measure the point change from session's open t t Session high Session low Session open Close Open Close DOWN UP 65-day moving average S&P 500 Index 5307.01 t14.40, or 0.27% High, low, open and close for each trading day of the past three months. Last Year ago Trailing P/E ratio * P/E estimate * Dividend yield * All-time high 23.83 18.57 21.62 18.82 1.35 1.67 5321.41, 05/21/24 4700 4800 4900 5000 5100 5200 5300 Feb. Mar. Apr. May 65-day moving average *Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc.; †Based on Nasdaq-100 Index MARKETS DIGEST

B8 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Wednesday Energy Coal,C.Aplc.,12500Btu,1.2SO2-r,w 74.750 Coal,PwdrRvrBsn,8800Btu,0.8SO2-r,w 13.700 Metals Gold, per troy oz Engelhard industrial 2412.00 Handy & Harman base 2407.90 Handy & Harman fabricated 2672.78 LBMA Gold Price AM *2417.05 LBMA Gold Price PM *2427.30 Krugerrand,wholesale-e 2519.61 Maple Leaf-e 2543.84 American Eagle-e 2543.84 Mexican peso-e 2929.05 Austria crown-e 2377.73 Austria phil-e 2543.84 Silver, troy oz. Engelhard industrial 31.7500 Handy & Harman base 31.3500 Handy & Harman fabricated 39.1880 LBMA spot price *£24.8800 (U.S.$ equivalent) *31.6350 Coins,wholesale $1,000 face-a 22931 Other metals LBMA Platinum Price PM *1054.0 Platinum,Engelhard industrial 1059.0 Palladium,Engelhard industrial 1015.0 Aluminum, LME, $ per metric ton *2645.0 Wednesday Copper,Comex spot 4.8675 Iron Ore, 62% Fe CFR China-s *120.7 Steel, HRC USA, FOB Midwest Mill-s *760.0 Battery/EV metals BMI Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, =99.2%-v,w 14800 BMI Lithium Hydroxide, EXW China, =56.5% -v,w 13250 BMI Cobalt sulphate, EXW China, >20.5% -v,m 4250 BMI Nickel Sulphate, EXW China, >22%-v,m 4168 BMI Flake Graphite, FOB China, -100 Mesh, 94-95% -v,m 485 Fibers and Textiles Burlap,10-oz,40-inch NY yd-n,w 0.8050 Cotton,1 1/16 std lw-mdMphs-u 0.7513 Cotlook 'A' Index-t *85.60 Hides,hvy native steers piece fob-u n.a. Wool,64s,staple,Terr del-u,w 3.07 Grains and Feeds Bran,wheat middlings, KC-u,w 75 Corn,No. 2 yellow,Cent IL-bp,u 4.3100 Corn gluten feed,Midwest-u,w 99.9 Corn gluten meal,Midwest-u,w 417.3 Cottonseed meal-u,w n.a. Hominy feed,Cent IL-u,w 115 Meat-bonemeal,50% pro Mnpls-u,w 320 Oats,No.2 milling,Mnpls-u 3.9125 Rice, Long Grain Milled, No. 2 AR-u,w 36.25 Sorghum,(Milo) No.2 Gulf-u n.a. SoybeanMeal,Cent IL,rail,ton48%-u,w 381.30 Soybeans,No.1 yllw IL-bp,u 12.1900 Wheat,Spring14%-pro Mnpls-u 8.9650 Wednesday Wheat,No.2 soft red,St.Louis-u 6.7650 Wheat - Hard - KC (USDA) $ per bu-u 7.3350 Wheat,No.1soft white,Portld,OR-u 6.7000 Food Beef,carcass equiv. index choice 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 292.66 select 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 279.54 Broilers, National comp wtd. avg.-u,w 1.3203 Butter,AA Chicago-d 3.1125 Cheddar cheese,bbl,Chicago-d 203.00 Cheddar cheese,blk,Chicago-d 184.00 Milk,Nonfat dry,Chicago lb.-d 117.25 Coffee,Brazilian,Comp-y 2.1632 Coffee,Colombian, NY-y 2.4044 Eggs,large white,Chicago-u 1.5150 Flour,hard winter KC-p 19.40 Hams,17-20 lbs,Mid-US fob-u n.a. Hogs,Iowa-So. Minnesota-u 90.89 Pork bellies,12-14 lb MidUS-u n.a. Pork loins,13-19 lb MidUS-u 1.3326 Steers,Tex.-Okla. Choice-u n.a. Steers,feeder,Okla. City-u,w 294.00 Fats and Oils Degummed corn oil, crude wtd. avg.-u,w n.a. Grease,choice white,Chicago-h n.a. Lard,Chicago-u n.a. Soybean oil,crude;Centl IL-u,w 0.4402 Tallow,bleach;Chicago-h n.a. Tallow,edible,Chicago-u n.a. KEY TO CODES: A=ask; B=bid; BP=country elevator bids to producers; C=corrected; D=CME; E=Manfra,Tordella & Brookes; H=American Commodities Brokerage Co; K=bi-weekly; M=monthly; N=nominal; n.a.=not quoted or not available; P=Sosland Publishing; R=SNL Energy; S=Platts-TSI; T=Cotlook Limited; U=USDA; V=Benchmark Mineral Intelligence; W=weekly; Y=International Coffee Organization; Z=not quoted. *Data as of 5/21 Source: Dow Jones Market Data Metal & Petroleum Futures Contract Open Open High hi lo Low Settle Chg interest Copper-High (CMX)-25,000 lbs.; $ per lb. May 5.0750 5.0750 4.8185 4.8675 –0.2515 1,278 July 5.1040 5.1330 4.7915 4.8485 –0.2575 155,125 Gold (CMX)-100 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. May 2417.50 2417.60 2375.80 2389.20 –32.50 26 June 2425.40 2430.50 2378.00 2392.90 –33.00 199,098 July 2436.30 2440.80 2390.20 2403.70 –33.20 586 Aug 2448.30 2453.30 2400.80 2415.70 –33.40 269,125 Oct 2471.80 2475.00 2424.40 2438.80 –33.50 16,972 Dec 2494.00 2499.20 2447.50 2462.10 –33.80 32,775 Palladium(NYM)- 50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. May 973.50 973.50 972.50 1002.90 –26.50 6 June 1033.50 1039.50 996.50 1003.80 –26.50 13,702 Platinum(NYM)-50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. May 1055.00 1055.00 1055.00 1044.10 –12.60 2 July 1063.60 1069.10 1043.00 1049.70 –11.20 78,941 Silver(CMX)-5,000 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. May 32.030 32.030 31.160 31.295 –0.573 72 July 32.225 32.440 30.965 31.496 –0.582 149,926 Crude Oil, Light Sweet(NYM)-1,000 bbls.; $ per bbl. July 78.21 78.41 77.25 77.57 –1.09 405,848 Aug 77.90 78.03 76.85 77.15 –1.13 223,884 Sept 77.51 77.63 76.39 76.66 –1.16 167,619 Oct 76.97 77.15 75.88 76.13 –1.18 113,284 Dec 76.03 76.22 74.92 75.16 –1.17 186,349 Dec'25 71.86 71.98 70.81 70.98 –1.03 102,736 NY Harbor ULSD(NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. June 2.4587 2.4639 2.4229 2.4318 –.0305 46,287 July 2.4755 2.4803 2.4375 2.4463 –.0320 84,178 Gasoline-NY RBOB(NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. June 2.5019 2.5093 2.4611 2.4678 –.0422 48,280 July 2.4914 2.4971 2.4521 2.4587 –.0395 113,698 Natural Gas (NYM)-10,000 MMBtu.; $ per MMBtu. June 2.665 2.851 2.609 2.842 .171 66,330 July 2.834 3.060 s 2.786 3.052 .213 302,749 Aug 2.879 3.096 s 2.837 3.088 .202 87,780 Futures Contracts Contract Open Open High hilo Low Settle Chg interest Contract Open Open High hilo Low Settle Chg interest Contract Open Open High hilo Low Settle Chg interest Sept 2.840 3.039 s 2.797 3.033 .189 190,543 Oct 2.901 3.093 2.865 3.087 .182 159,870 Jan'25 3.871 4.028 3.841 4.024 .139 90,368 Agriculture Futures Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. July 458.50 463.25 458.00 461.25 3.25 658,600 Dec 482.50 486.50 481.50 484.00 1.75 423,616 Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. July 367.00 374.00 364.75 366.25 4.25 2,818 Dec 366.75 370.00 361.75 365.40 3.75 994 Soybeans (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. July 1235.00 1249.75 1233.25 1246.25 10.00 356,220 Nov 1213.00 1222.75 1210.50 1218.25 5.25 206,003 Soybean Meal(CBT)-100 tons; $ per ton. July 371.90 379.10 369.50 378.20 5.90 217,114 Dec 369.10 373.10 366.60 372.30 3.70 98,876 Soybean Oil(CBT)-60,000 lbs.; cents per lb. July 45.81 46.72 45.70 45.88 .07 223,542 Dec 46.63 47.44 46.52 46.60 –.03 136,825 Rough Rice (CBT)-2,000 cwt.; $ per cwt. July 18.58 18.80 18.57 18.76 .16 4,958 Sept 15.61 15.80 s 15.60 15.76 .15 4,158 Wheat(CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. July 697.25 716.75 s 688.50 693.00 –4.50 198,779 Sept 717.00 735.25 s 708.00 712.60 –4.75 85,381 Wheat(KC)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. July 701.00 719.25 s 696.50 699.40 –2.00 117,089 Sept 715.75 732.75 s 710.50 713.60 –2.50 59,621 Cattle-Feeder(CME)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. May 249.200 250.475 249.200 250.375 1.425 3,210 Aug 260.025 263.000 259.900 262.900 3.075 22,819 Cattle-Live (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. June 183.500 184.225 182.775 184.175 1.200 40,996 Aug 180.575 181.725 180.150 181.675 1.250 119,118 Hogs-Lean (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. June 96.400 96.400 95.125 95.400 –1.000 31,983 July 99.325 99.350 97.625 98.125 –1.200 72,284 Lumber(CME)-27,500 bd. ft., $ per 1,000 bd. ft. July 541.50 542.00 536.50 538.50 1.50 8,199 Sept 551.50 555.00 548.50 550.00 1.50 1,348 Milk (CME)-200,000 lbs., cents per lb. May 18.67 18.68 18.45 18.64 –.04 4,284 June 20.05 20.18 19.77 19.95 –.53 5,639 Cocoa (ICE-US)-10 metric tons; $ per ton. July 7,372 7,638 7,273 7,536 142 44,883 Dec 6,278 6,495 6,194 6,430 138 36,705 Coffee (ICE-US)-37,500 lbs.; cents per lb. July 218.65 221.15 216.65 220.45 3.25 91,977 Sept 217.05 219.90 215.50 219.25 3.25 65,115 Sugar-World (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. July 18.56 18.60 18.20 18.23 –.33 356,868 Oct 18.55 18.62 18.22 18.25 –.35 206,137 Sugar-Domestic (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. July 37.10 37.10 t 37.10 37.10 –.90 1,558 March'25 37.25 37.25 37.25 37.25 … 1,793 Cotton (ICE-US)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. July 76.23 79.38 76.23 79.38 3.00 103,320 Dec 75.29 77.46 75.29 77.28 2.00 93,079 Orange Juice (ICE-US)-15,000 lbs.; cents per lb. July 456.05 471.00 s 456.05 463.40 7.45 8,343 Sept 439.30 451.05 s 439.30 444.50 6.50 1,719 Interest Rate Futures Ultra Treasury Bonds (CBT)- $100,000; pts 32nds of 100% June 124-100 124-200 123-160 124-100 1.0 1,647,858 Sept 124-160 124-260 123-220 124-160 2.0 66,666 Treasury Bonds (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% June 117-110 117-170 116-240 117-090 –2.0 1,574,938 Sept 117-160 117-210 116-280 117-130 –2.0 185,056 Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% June 109-070 109-080 108-285 109-010 –6.5 4,264,272 Sept 109-165 109-175 109-060 109-105 –6.5 295,891 5 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% June 105-282 105-290 105-212 105-232 –5.2 6,048,890 Sept 106-090 106-095 106-017 106-037 –5.5 382,250 2 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$200,000; pts 32nds of 100% June 101-221 101-221 101-189 101-191 –2.7 3,914,608 Sept 102-016 102-017 101-302 101-305 –3.0 209,507 30 Day Federal Funds (CBT)-$5,000,000; 100 - daily avg. May 94.6700 94.6725 t 94.6700 94.6700 433,272 July 94.6800 94.6800 t 94.6750 94.6750 –.0050 349,552 Three-Month SOFR(CME)-$1,000,000; 100 - daily avg. March 94.6525 94.6525 t 94.6500 94.6500 –.0025 936,413 June 94.6825 94.6825 t 94.6700 94.6725 –.0125 1,249,759 Currency Futures Japanese Yen (CME)-¥12,500,000; $ per 100¥ June .6430 .6431 .6401 .6410 –.0019 295,885 Sept .6515 .6518 .6488 .6497 –.0019 3,336 Canadian Dollar(CME)-CAD 100,000; $ per CAD June .7333 .7344 .7304 .7305 –.0022 225,175 Sept .7347 .7357 .7317 .7319 –.0022 5,545 British Pound (CME)-£62,500; $ per £ June 1.2712 1.2764 1.2701 1.2716 .0002 208,843 Dec 1.2771 1.2773 1.2718 1.2729 –.0006 10,765 Swiss Franc (CME)-CHF 125,000; $ per CHF June 1.1011 1.1015 1.0952 1.0960 –.0049 93,569 Sept 1.1128 1.1129 1.1067 1.1074 –.0050 525 Australian Dollar(CME)-AUD 100,000; $ per AUD June .6673 .6691 .6614 .6619 –.0052 193,457 Sept .6690 .6707 .6631 .6636 –.0051 1,599 Mexican Peso (CME)-MXN 500,000; $ per MXN June .05982 .06001 .05965 .05973 –.00011 268,562 Sept .05907 .05916 .05883 .05889 –.00011 1,106 Euro (CME)-€125,000; $ per € June 1.0868 1.0876 1.0830 1.0834 –.0031 636,681 Sept 1.0914 1.0921 1.0876 1.0880 –.0031 7,477 Index Futures Mini DJ Industrial Average (CBT)-$5 x index June 39992 40033 39668 39783 –223 100,647 Sept 40381 40433 40086 40201 –221 680 Mini S&P 500(CME)-$50 x index June 5343.50 5349.25 s 5306.75 5328.00 –17.25 2,101,478 Sept 5407.75 5411.25 s 5369.50 5390.25 –17.25 40,731 Mini S&P Midcap 400(CME)-$100 x index June 3026.50 3029.90 2990.40 3001.20 –25.10 38,799 Sept 3049.80 3053.20 3023.50 3028.60 –24.90 4 Mini Nasdaq 100(CME)-$20 x index June 18798.25 18891.00 s 18684.25 18786.75 –12.50 245,028 Sept 19040.25 19121.50 s 18928.25 19027.50 –11.75 4,517 Mini Russell 2000(CME)-$50 x index June 2106.00 2110.20 2080.60 2089.10 –18.00 462,866 Sept 2130.10 2132.30 2104.00 2111.70 –18.40 1,530 Mini Russell 1000(CME)-$50 x index June 2922.10 2924.00 2903.10 2913.30 –10.70 6,208 U.S. Dollar Index (ICE-US)-$1,000 x index June 104.54 104.88 104.45 104.84 .28 39,070 Sept 104.10 104.47 104.10 104.43 .28 844 Source: FactSet Cash Prices Wednesday, May 22, 2024 These prices reflect buying and selling of a variety of actual or “physical” commodities in the marketplace—separate from the futures price on an exchange, which reflects what the commodity might be worth in future months. | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks Money Rates May 22, 2024 Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and international markets. Rates below are a guide to general levels but don’t always represent actual transactions. Inflation April index Chg From (%) level March '24 April '23 U.S. consumer price index All items 313.348 0.33 3.3 Core 317.978 0.28 3.6 International rates Week 52-Week Latest ago High Low Prime rates U.S. 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.25 Canada 7.20 7.20 7.20 6.70 Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475 1.475 Policy Rates Euro zone 4.50 4.50 4.50 3.75 Switzerland 2.00 2.00 2.25 2.00 Britain 5.25 5.25 5.25 4.50 Australia 4.35 4.35 4.35 3.85 Overnight repurchase U.S. 5.35 5.35 5.48 5.04 U.S. government rates Discount 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.25 Notes on data: U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks, and is effective July 27, 2023. Other prime rates aren’t directly comparable; lending practices vary widely by location; Discount rate is effective July 27, 2023. Secured Overnight Financing Rate is as of May 21, 2024. DTCC GCF Repo Index is Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s weighted average for overnight trades in applicable CUSIPs. Value traded is in billions of U.S. dollars. Federal-funds rates are Tullett Prebon rates as of 5:30 p.m. ET. Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureau of Labor Statistics; DTCC; FactSet; Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Week —52-WEEK— Latest ago High Low Other short-term rates Week 52-Week Latest ago high low Call money 7.25 7.25 7.25 7.00 Commercial paper (AA financial) 90 days n.a. n.a. 5.54 5.14 Secured Overnight Financing Rate 5.31 5.31 5.40 5.05 Value 52-Week Latest Traded High Low DTCC GCF Repo Index Treasury 5.351 24.100 5.504 5.079 MBS 5.360 35.150 5.689 5.102 Federal funds Effective rate 5.3300 5.3300 5.3500 5.0800 High 5.6500 5.5500 5.6500 5.4000 Low 5.3100 5.3200 5.3300 5.0500 Bid 5.3300 5.3300 5.3300 5.0700 Offer 5.3500 5.3400 5.3700 5.0800 Treasury bill auction 4 weeks 5.270 5.270 5.750 5.010 13 weeks 5.245 5.250 5.345 5.130 26 weeks 5.160 5.165 5.350 4.975 Secondary market Fannie Mae 30-year mortgage yields 30 days 6.460 6.351 7.495 5.788 60 days 6.481 6.359 7.554 5.791 Week —52-WEEK— Latest ago High Low Bonds | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks Global Government Bonds: Mapping Yields Yields and spreads over or under U.S. Treasurys on benchmark two-year and 10-year government bonds in selected other countries; arrows indicate whether the yield rose(s) or fell (t) in the latest session Country/ Yield (%) Spread Under/Over U.S. Treasurys, in basis points Coupon (%) Maturity, in years Latest(l)0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Previous Month ago Year ago Latest Prev Year ago 4.875 U.S. 2 4.878 s l 4.831 4.969 4.318 4.375 10 4.433 s l 4.414 4.622 3.717 4.250 Australia 2 4.008 s l 3.967 3.943 3.490 -87.8 -87.0 -85.1 3.750 10 4.295 s l 4.263 4.330 3.595 -14.2 -15.8 -12.0 2.500 France 2 3.081 s l 3.051 2.982 2.970 -180.5 -178.6 -137.2 3.500 10 3.008 s l 2.982 2.991 3.025 -142.9 -143.9 -69.0 2.900 Germany 2 3.019 s l 2.985 2.969 2.796 -186.7 -185.2 -154.6 2.200 10 2.539 s l 2.503 2.489 2.459 -189.8 -191.8 -125.5 3.600 Italy 2 3.543 s l 3.511 3.494 3.444 -134.4 -132.6 -89.7 3.850 10 3.829 s l 3.811 3.820 4.300 -60.8 -61.0 58.5 0.300 Japan 2 0.350 s l 0.342 0.286 -0.065 -453.6 -449.5 -440.6 0.800 10 1.001 s l 0.985 0.886 0.387 -343.6 -343.6 -332.7 2.800 Spain 2 3.223 s l 3.193 3.139 3.126 -166.3 -164.4 -121.5 3.250 10 3.297 s l 3.280 3.267 3.501 -114.0 -114.1 -21.4 0.125 U.K. 2 4.455 s l 4.307 4.336 4.065 -43.1 -53.1 -27.6 4.250 10 4.236 s l 4.127 4.204 4.066 -20.1 -29.4 35.1 Source: Tullett Prebon, Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close Weekly Demand, 000s barrels per day Expected Previous Year 4-week 5-year Current change week ago avg avg Total petroleum product 20,030 ... 20,056 20,701 20,198 18,512 Finished motor gasoline 9,315 ... 8,875 9,437 8,901 8,842 Kerosene-type jet fuel 1,651 ... 1,636 1,430 1,622 1,426 Distillates 3,883 ... 3,831 4,198 3,720 3,507 Residual fuel oil 131 ... 258 108 214 198 Propane/propylene 806 ... 548 818 833 ... Other oils 4,244 ... 4,909 4,710 4,910 ... Natural gas storage Billions of cubic feet; weekly totals 250 1250 2250 3250 4250 2023 J J A S O N D J 2024 F M A t Natural gas, lower 48 states t Five-year average for each week Note: Expected changes are provided by Dow Jones Newswires' survey of analysts. Previous and average inventory data are in millions. Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; U.S. Energy Information Administration; Dow Jones Newswires Macro & Market Economics Watching the Gauges: U.S. Supply and Demand Inventories, imports and demand for the week ended May 17. Current figures are in thousands of barrels or thousands of gallons per day, except natural-gas figures, which are in billions of cubic feet. Natural-gas import and demand data are available monthly only. Inventories, 000s barrels Imports, 000s barrels per day Expected Previous Year 4-week 5-year Expected Previous Year 4-week 5-year Current change week ago avg avg Current change week ago avg avg Crude oil and petroleum prod 1,250,495 ... 1,243 1,232 1,244 1,282 8,742 ... 8,608 7,864 8,884 9,019 Crude oil excluding SPR 458,845 -2,000 457 455 459 474 6,663 ... 6,744 5,850 6,787 6,634 Gasoline 226,822 ... 228 216 227 232 773 ... 726 763 799 907 Finished gasoline 16,190 -1,000 15 16 15 20 165 ... 78 115 135 149 Reformulated 17 ... 0 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 0 0 Conventional 16,173 ... 15 16 15 20 165 ... 78 115 135 149 Blend. components 210,632 ... 212 200 212 212 608 ... 648 649 664 757 Natural gas (bcf) 2,633 ... 3 2 3 2 ... ... ... ... ... … Kerosene-type jet fuel 42,505 ... 41 43 41 41 251 ... 8 132 135 191 Distillates 116,744 unch. 116 106 116 130 98 ... 89 156 100 251 Heating oil 7,289 ... 7 8 7 9 2 ... 2 0 2 1 Diesel 109,454 ... 110 97 109 60 95 ... 87 156 98 250 Residual fuel oil 29,441 ... 29 33 29 32 81 ... 194 100 112 122 Other oils 287,710 ... 285 290 285 291 767 ... 772 774 865 835 Net crude, petroleum products, incl. SPR 1,619,299 ... 1,611 1,590 1,611 1,842 -2,634 ... -1,679 -2,236 -1,936 157 Corporate Debt Prices of firms' bonds reflect factors including investors' economic, sectoral and company-specific expectations Investment-grade spreads that tightened the most… Spread*, in basis points Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week HSBC Holdings HSBC 3.900 5.26 May 25, ’26 41 –50 n.a. Royal Bank of Canada RY 4.875 5.13 Jan. 19, ’27 48 –46 47 BPCE … 3.500 5.64 Oct. 23, ’27 99 –42 98 Cisco Systems CSCO 5.900 5.25 Feb. 15, ’39 83 –38 82 Northwestern Mutual Global Funding … 5.070 5.00 March 25, ’27 36 –38 43 MassMutual Global Funding II … 5.100 5.12 April 9, ’27 48 –34 46 Conagra Brands CAG 5.300 5.43 Oct. 1, ’26 56 –29 49 Toronto–Dominion Bank TD 5.523 5.23 July 17, ’28 77 –17 76 …And spreads that widened the most Royal Bank of Canada RY 1.150 5.32 July 14, ’26 45 37 n.a. Lloyds Banking … 4.375 5.28 March 22, ’28 81 22 n.a. Morgan Stanley MS 3.125 5.30 July 27, ’26 44 11 47 Algonquin Power & Utilities … 5.365 5.70 June 15, ’26 83 8 89 Netflix NFLX 5.375 5.19 Nov. 15, ’29 73 8 n.a. Toyota Motor Credit … 5.050 5.05 May 16, ’29 58 8 n.a. Vodafone VOD 4.875 5.80 June 19, ’49 125 7 128 MassMutual Global Funding II … 5.050 5.15 Dec. 7, ’27 49 6 n.a. High-yield issues with the biggest price increases… Bond Price as % of face value Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week Bausch Health … 11.000 15.09 Sept. 30, ’28 87.250 1.25 83.750 Teva Pharmaceutical Finance … 6.150 6.38 Feb. 1, ’36 98.095 0.46 n.a. ZF North America Capital … 4.750 6.01 April 29, ’25 98.875 0.13 98.812 Venture Global Calcasieu Pass … 4.125 6.04 Aug. 15, ’31 88.898 0.02 89.250 Bath & BodyWorks BBWI 6.875 6.65 Nov. 1, ’35 101.820 0.02 101.875 …And with the biggest price decreases TransAlta … 6.500 6.65 March 15, ’40 98.503 –0.70 n.a. Hughes Satellite Systems … 5.250 19.14 Aug. 1, ’26 76.063 –0.69 82.000 Topaz Solar Farms … 5.750 5.93 Sept. 30, ’39 98.153 –0.61 n.a. Navient NAVI 5.625 8.57 Aug. 1, ’33 81.500 –0.50 82.000 Bath & BodyWorks BBWI 5.250 6.05 Feb. 1, ’28 97.375 –0.38 97.740 Rakuten … 9.750 9.50 April 15, ’29 100.925 –0.33 100.250 Paramount Global PARA 4.375 7.68 March 15, ’43 67.370 –0.25 68.089 *Estimated spread over 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year or 30-year hot-run Treasury; 100 basis points=one percentage pt.; change in spread shown is for Z-spread. Note: Data are for the most active issue of bonds with maturities of two years or more Source: MarketAxess COMMODITIES | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Broad Market Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 2031.27 -1.4 U.S. Aggregate 5.060 4.490 5.740 U.S. Corporate Indexes Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 3090.53 -0.9 U.S. Corporate 5.490 5.020 6.430 3001.80 0.3 Intermediate 5.410 4.950 6.350 4072.78 -3.4 Long term 5.660 5.160 6.600 587.00 -2.0 Double-A-rated 5.100 4.540 5.760 834.82 -0.6 Triple-B-rated 5.690 5.250 6.700 High Yield Bonds ICE BofA 535.50 1.8 High Yield Constrained 7.900 7.620 9.560 521.69 2.9 Triple-C-rated 13.202 12.616 15.455 3594.51 1.5 High Yield 100 7.327 7.030 9.101 468.30 2.6 Global High Yield Constrained 7.687 7.552 9.440 354.93 2.6 Europe High Yield Constrained 6.331 6.207 8.022 U.S Agency Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 1781.98 0.1 U.S Agency 5.040 4.380 5.390 1578.20 0.3 10-20 years 5.040 4.360 5.370 3361.48 -2.6 20-plus years 4.980 4.500 5.740 2715.13 -0.4 Yankee 5.330 4.860 6.110 Tracking Bond Benchmarks Return on investment and spreads over Treasurys and/or yields paid to investors compared with 52-week highs and lows for different types of bonds Total return YTD total Yield (%) close return (%) Index Latest Low High *Constrained indexes limit individual issuer concentrations to 2%; the High Yield 100 are the 100 largest bonds † In local currency § Euro-zone bonds ** EMBI Global Index Sources: ICE Data Services; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; J.P.Morgan Total return YTD total Yield (%) close return (%) Index Latest Low High Mortgage-Backed Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 1998.11 -1.8 Mortgage-Backed 5.290 4.590 6.050 1976.24 -1.7 Ginnie Mae (GNMA) 5.280 4.640 6.020 1174.43 -1.9 Fannie mae (FNMA) 5.290 4.570 6.050 1820.02 -1.2 Freddie Mac (FHLMC) 5.200 4.540 6.190 580.38 -1.3 Muni Master 3.619 3.038 4.311 409.90 -2.1 7-12 year 3.378 2.721 4.097 469.78 -1.3 12-22 year 3.845 3.388 4.742 445.48 -0.8 22-plus year 4.334 4.070 5.274 Global Government J.P. Morgan† 533.93 -1.8 Global Government 3.510 2.950 3.810 791.51 -1.4 Canada 3.610 3.090 4.260 351.02 -1.5 EMU§ 3.194 2.669 351.491 645.16 -2.3 France 3.150 2.540 3.630 455.44 -2.6 Germany 2.630 2.020 3.030 270.85 -2.9 Japan 1.400 0.710 1.400 495.15 -2.7 Netherlands 2.840 2.260 3.320 783.99 -3.5 U.K. 4.460 3.790 4.880 862.29 1.6 Emerging Markets ** 7.513 7.205 8.842

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. *** Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B9 IPO Scorecard Performance of IPOs, most-recent listed first % Chg From % Chg From Company SYMBOL Wed's Offer 1st-day Company SYMBOL Wed3s Offer 1st-day IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close RF Acquisition II 10.05 0.5 ... Proficient Auto Logistics 14.92 –0.5 1.2 RFAIU May 17/$10.00 PAL May 9/$15.00 JIADE 11.59 189.8 184.8 Silvaco Group 18.98 –0.1 –4.1 JDZG May 15/$4.00 SVCO May 9/$19.00 Raytech Holding 3.52 –12.0 –16.8 Nano Nuclear Energy 3.93 –1.8 –24.3 RAY May 15/$4.00 NNE May 8/$4.00 Armlogi Holding 4.83 –3.4 4.5 Churchill Capital IX 10.15 1.5 0.8 BTOC May 14/$5.00 CCIXU May 2/$10.00 GP-Act III Acquisition 10.07 0.7 –0.2 Sow Good 16.72 67.2 71.5 GPATU-USA May 9/$10.00 SOWG May 2/$10.00 Sources: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret AB Funds MuniIncmShares 11.03 -0.02 0.8 AB Funds - ADV LgCpGrAdv 106.68 -0.19 15.0 American Century Inv Ultra 84.97 -0.40 14.0 American Funds Cl A AmcpA 42.16 -0.11 10.6 AMutlA 54.54 -0.13 7.4 BalA 33.99 -0.12 6.6 BondA 11.14 -0.02 -1.5 CapIBA 68.82 -0.25 4.6 CapWGrA 65.92 -0.33 10.0 EupacA 59.68 -0.41 9.1 FdInvA 80.88 -0.31 13.4 GwthA 71.60 -0.34 13.4 HI TrA 9.60 -0.01 3.5 ICAA 56.44 -0.17 12.3 IncoA NA ... NA N PerA 61.70 -0.27 10.4 NEcoA 60.62 -0.12 12.3 Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret NwWrldA 81.09 -0.48 8.1 SmCpA 67.36 -0.42 1.7 TxExA 12.28 -0.03 -0.4 WshA 62.48 -0.21 9.6 Artisan Funds IntlVal Inst 49.82 -0.17 8.4 Baird Funds AggBdInst 9.65 -0.01 -1.0 CorBdInst 9.98 -0.02 -0.6 BlackRock Funds HiYldBd Inst 7.02 -0.01 2.5 BlackRock Funds III iShS&P500IdxK622.96 -1.68 11.9 BlackRock Funds Inst EqtyDivd 20.74 -0.10 8.7 StratIncOpptyIns 9.34 -0.02 0.8 TotRet 9.76 -0.02 NA Calamos Funds MktNeutI 14.55 -0.01 2.8 Columbia Class I DivIncom I 32.81 +0.01 8.4 Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Dimensional Fds EmgMktVa 32.17 -0.04 9.5 EmMktCorEq 24.27 -0.02 8.5 IntlCoreEq 16.24 -0.16 6.2 IntSmCo 20.31 -0.19 5.3 IntSmVa 23.07 -0.28 8.8 LgCo 35.26 -0.10 11.8 US CoreEq1 39.85 -0.16 10.8 US CoreEq2 35.69 -0.15 10.3 US Small 46.02 -0.33 4.0 US SmCpVal 46.56 -0.39 4.0 US TgdVal 32.83 -0.29 3.3 USLgVa 48.52 -0.16 9.4 Dodge & Cox Balanced 104.55 -0.47 5.0 GblStock 16.10 -0.15 7.9 Income 12.41 -0.02 -0.6 Intl Stk 52.89 -0.50 7.6 Stock 258.48 -1.03 8.7 DoubleLine Funds TotRetBdI 8.64 -0.01 -0.7 Mutual Funds Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Net YTD Fund NAV Chg %Ret Top 250 mutual-funds listings for Nasdaq-published share classes by net assets. e-Ex-distribution. f-Previous day’s quotation. g-Footnotes x and s apply. j-Footnotes e and s apply. k-Recalculated by Lipper, using updated data. p-Distribution costs apply, 12b-1. r-Redemption charge may apply. s-Stock split or dividend. t-Footnotes p and r apply. v-Footnotes x and e apply. x-Ex-dividend. z-Footnote x, e and s apply. NA-Not available due to incomplete price, performance or cost data. NE-Not released by Lipper; data under review. NN-Fund not tracked. NS-Fund didn’t exist at start of period. Data provided by Edgewood Growth Instituti EdgewoodGrInst 48.40 -0.22 10.7 Federated Hermes Int TtlRtnBdI 9.32 -0.01 -1.1 Fidelity 500IdxInstPrem184.59 -0.50 11.9 Contrafund K6 27.64 -0.07 20.0 ExtMktIdxInstPre 82.06 -0.53 5.1 FidSerInt 8.53 -0.01 -1.2 FidSerToMarket 17.37 -0.05 10.9 GrowthCompanyK6 26.57 -0.07 18.4 IntlIdxInstPrem 50.61 -0.41 7.3 LgCpGwId InstPre 33.58 -0.10 13.8 MidCpInxInstPrem 32.01 -0.17 6.9 SAIUSLgCpIndxFd 22.07 -0.06 11.9 SeriesBondFd 8.83 -0.01 -1.3 SeriesOverseas 14.09 -0.06 8.6 SerLTTreBdIdx 5.48 ... -5.2 SmCpIdxInstPrem 25.86 -0.20 3.3 TMktIdxInstPrem145.89 -0.46 10.9 TotalMarketIndex 18.45 -0.06 11.0 TtlIntIdxInstPr 14.04 -0.08 6.8 USBdIdxInstPrem 10.16 -0.01 -1.3 Fidelity Advisor I Total Bd 9.36 -0.02 -0.7 Fidelity Freedom FF2030 17.44 -0.05 5.7 FF2035 15.49 -0.06 7.1 FF2040 11.36 -0.05 8.7 Freedom2030 K 17.42 -0.05 5.8 Freedom2035 K 15.47 -0.06 7.1 Freedom2040 K 11.37 -0.05 8.8 Idx2030InsPre 19.79 -0.05 4.8 Idx2035InsPre 22.74 -0.07 6.0 Idx2040InsPre 23.83 -0.09 7.5 Idx2045InsPre 25.02 -0.10 8.1 Idx2050InsPre 25.06 -0.10 8.1 Fidelity Invest Balanc 28.95 -0.05 7.9 BluCh 207.14 -0.53 19.5 BluChpGr K6 31.76 -0.07 18.3 Contra 19.29 -0.05 20.0 ContraK 19.36 -0.04 20.0 CpInc 9.93 -0.01 4.9 GroCo 37.63 -0.12 17.9 InvGrBd 9.85 -0.01 -0.9 LowP 47.88 -0.24 8.6 Magin 14.05 -0.01 17.6 NASDAQ 213.41 -0.39 12.2 OTC 21.46 -0.05 17.3 Puritn 25.56 -0.05 10.1 SAIUSMinVolIndFd 20.32 -0.01 8.8 SAIUSQtyIdx 21.80 -0.04 12.6 SrsBlChGroRetail 18.58 -0.05 19.0 SrsEmrgMkt 18.90 -0.05 9.1 SrsGlobal 14.84 -0.09 7.1 SrsGroCoRetail 23.03 -0.07 18.3 SrsIntlGrw 18.53 -0.08 8.2 SrsIntlVal 12.79 -0.12 9.6 TotalBond 9.38 -0.01 -0.5 Fidelity SAI TotalBd 8.88 -0.01 -0.4 U.S.TreBdIdx 8.60 -0.01 -1.5 Fidelity Selects Semiconductors r 32.67 +0.21 34.7 Softwr 27.44 -0.03 1.1 Tech 33.28 +0.07 16.7 First Eagle Funds GlbA 68.63 -0.42 8.8 Franklin A1 IncomeA1 2.35 ... 3.3 FrankTemp/Frank Adv IncomeAdv 2.32 -0.01 2.9 FrankTemp/Franklin A DynaTech A 155.43 +0.13 16.2 Growth A 137.75 -0.29 12.3 RisDv A 94.28 +0.20 6.9 Guggenheim Funds Tru TotRtnBdFdClInst 23.26 -0.02 -0.6 Harbor Funds CapApInst 110.72 -0.27 14.7 Harding Loevner IntlEq 26.99 -0.10 NA Invesco Funds Y DevMktY 40.52 -0.24 4.9 JHF III DispVal DispValMCI 29.23 -0.13 6.8 John Hancock BondR6 13.32 -0.02 -0.5 JPMorgan I Class CoreBond 10.09 -0.01 -0.8 EqInc 24.52 -0.02 7.3 LgCpGwth 70.83 -0.24 17.8 JPMorgan R Class CoreBond 10.10 -0.01 -0.7 CorePlusBd 7.12 -0.01 -0.4 Lord Abbett I ShtDurInc p 3.84 ... 1.7 Metropolitan West TotRetBdI 8.89 -0.02 NA TRBdPlan 8.34 -0.02 NA MFS Funds IIE 35.17 -0.23 6.8 MFS Funds Class I GrowthI 204.37 -0.19 18.8 ValueI 51.42 -0.07 NA Natixis Funds LSGrowthY 25.98 -0.09 11.8 Northern Funds StkIdx 54.62 -0.15 11.8 Old Westbury Fds LrgCpStr 19.33 -0.08 11.3 Parnassus Fds ParnEqFd 60.31 -0.20 9.6 PGIM Funds Cl Z TotalReturnBond NA ... NA PIMCO Fds Instl AllAsset 11.16 -0.04 NA TotRt 8.48 -0.02 NA PIMCO Funds A IncomeFd NA ... NA PIMCO Funds I2 Income NA ... NA PIMCO Funds Instl IncomeFd NA ... NA Price Funds BlChip 175.64 -0.41 17.6 DivGro 77.40 -0.15 9.6 Growth 98.47 -0.25 13.7 LgCapGow I 75.84 -0.18 15.3 MidCap 106.09 -0.08 6.0 R2030 25.48 -0.11 6.4 Putnam Funds Class A PutLargCap p 35.08 -0.26 14.0 Putnam Funds Class Y PutLargCap 35.09 -0.27 14.1 Schwab Funds 1000 Inv r 114.11 -0.35 NA S&P Sel 81.78 -0.22 NA TSM Sel r 89.82 -0.29 NA TIAA/CREF Funds EqIdxInst 37.33 -0.12 10.9 IntlEqIdxInst 23.43 -0.22 7.2 LrgCpGrIdxInst 59.00 -0.19 13.8 VANGUARD ADMIRAL 500Adml 490.65 -1.33 11.9 BalAdml 46.82 -0.11 6.0 CAITAdml 11.26 -0.03 -0.8 CapOpAdml r197.48 -0.30 10.2 DivAppIdxAdm 49.79 -0.06 8.2 EMAdmr 36.94 -0.04 8.2 EqIncAdml 90.91 -0.30 8.5 ExplrAdml 108.59 -0.52 5.2 ExtndAdml 130.71 -0.85 5.1 GroIncAdml 102.51 -0.33 13.6 GrwthAdml 181.73 -0.31 13.7 HlthCareAdml r 91.74 +0.18 7.1 HYCorAdml r 5.35 -0.01 1.1 InfProAd 23.01 -0.01 0.1 InfTechIdx 276.57 +0.27 11.9 IntlGrAdml 111.46 -0.20 9.5 ITBondAdml 10.08 -0.01 -1.3 ITIGradeAdml 8.49 -0.01 -0.4 LarCapAd 122.79 -0.33 11.7 LTGradeAdml 7.70 -0.01 -3.4 MidCpAdml 307.17 -0.83 7.0 MuHYAdml 10.60 -0.02 0.4 MuIntAdml 13.49 -0.03 -0.7 MuLTAdml 10.78 -0.03 -0.7 MuLtdAdml 10.75 -0.02 0.1 MuShtAdml 15.69 -0.01 0.7 PrmcpAdml r173.90 -0.55 11.2 RealEstatAdml118.46 -1.03 -4.5 SmCapAdml107.15 -0.75 5.2 SmGthAdml 89.38 -0.50 5.3 STBondAdml 10.00 -0.01 0.2 STIGradeAdml 10.17 -0.01 0.9 STIPSIxAdm 24.16 -0.01 1.5 TotBdAdml 9.45 -0.01 -1.3 TotIntBdIdxAdm 19.46 -0.04 -0.7 TotIntlAdmIdx r 33.07 -0.23 6.6 TotStAdml 127.62 -0.40 10.9 TxMCapAdml273.94 -0.86 11.2 TxMIn r 16.24 -0.15 6.1 USGroAdml 166.43 -0.21 13.5 ValAdml 63.36 -0.24 9.4 WdsrllAdml 83.65 -0.24 10.0 WellsIAdml 61.36 -0.09 2.4 WelltnAdml 75.99 -0.19 7.0 WndsrAdml 76.92 -0.24 6.2 VANGUARD FDS DivdGro 39.12 +0.10 6.3 IntlVal 42.91 -0.33 6.3 LifeGro 44.37 -0.18 7.1 LifeMod 31.96 -0.11 5.0 PrmcpCor 35.24 -0.05 11.0 STAR 28.27 -0.07 5.3 TgtRe2020 27.72 -0.07 3.2 TgtRe2025 19.18 -0.06 4.4 TgtRe2030 37.32 -0.13 5.2 TgtRe2035 23.45 -0.09 6.0 TgtRe2040 41.97 -0.16 6.8 TgtRe2045 28.68 -0.12 7.6 TgtRe2050 48.05 -0.21 8.1 TgtRe2060 49.40 -0.21 8.1 TgtRet2055 53.61 -0.24 8.1 TgtRetInc 13.26 -0.03 2.3 Welltn 44.00 -0.12 6.9 WndsrII 47.14 -0.14 9.9 VANGUARD INDEX FDS ExtndIstPl 322.56 -2.09 5.1 IdxIntl 19.77 -0.14 6.5 MdCpGrAdml100.97 +0.10 7.0 MdCpVlAdml 80.02 -0.47 7.1 SmValAdml 80.81 -0.65 5.0 TotBd2 9.33 -0.01 -1.4 TotIntlInstIdx r132.25 -0.91 6.6 TotItlInstPlId r132.29 -0.90 6.6 TotSt 127.58 -0.41 10.8 VANGUARD INSTL FDS BalInst 46.83 -0.11 6.0 DevMktsIndInst 16.27 -0.14 6.1 DevMktsInxInst 25.42 -0.23 6.0 ExtndInst 130.70 -0.85 5.1 GrwthInst 181.74 -0.32 13.7 InPrSeIn 9.37 -0.01 ... InstIdx 437.56 -1.18 11.9 InstPlus 437.56 -1.18 11.9 InstTStPlus 90.87 -0.29 10.9 MidCpInst 67.86 -0.18 7.1 MidCpIstPl 334.65 -0.91 7.1 SmCapInst 107.15 -0.75 5.2 SmCapIstPl 309.27 -2.18 5.2 STIGradeInst 10.17 -0.01 1.0 STIPSIxins 24.18 -0.01 1.5 TotBdInst 9.45 -0.01 -1.3 TotBdInst2 9.33 -0.01 -1.3 TotBdInstPl 9.45 -0.01 -1.3 TotIntBdIdxInst 29.20 -0.06 -0.6 TotStInst 127.64 -0.40 10.9 ValueInst 63.36 -0.24 9.4 WCM Focus Funds WCMFocIntlGrwIns 25.22 -0.12 10.8 Western Asset CorePlusBdI NA ... NA 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg DieboldNixdorf DBD 45.15 -0.4 Dover DOV 187.80 0.8 DycomInds DY 170.39 8.3 EMCOR EME 392.61 0.1 ElevanceHealth ELV 550.34 0.4 EllingtonFinPfdA EFCpA 24.70 0.8 Equitable EQH 41.19 -0.2 EVeMobilityAcqnUn EVE.U 12.38 -3.0 FTAI Aviation FTAI 84.17 -1.3 FTAI Infra FIP 8.80 3.4 FirstHorizon FHN 16.28 -1.5 FirstSolar FSLR 253.99 18.7 Fitell FTEL 16.99 14.8 Flex FLEX 31.39 5.4 FormFactor FORM 60.68 2.2 Gaia GAIA 4.51 0.7 Gallagher AJG 259.35 -0.1 GasLogPtrsPfdB GLOPpB 25.90 0.1 GatosSilver GATO 12.43 -2.1 GenerationIncm GIPR 4.60 2.1 GlobalShipLease GSL 27.74 1.5 GlobusMedical GMED 67.37 1.0 GoDaddy GDDY 139.67 0.3 GoldmanSachsPfC GSpC 24.37 0.3 GreatElmNts29 GECCI 25.16 ... HamiltonIns HG 17.16 1.2 HannonArmstrong HASI 33.76 1.7 HeronTherap HRTX 3.53 0.9 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg BaringsBDC BBDC 9.93 -0.9 BenchmarkElec BHE 42.78 0.8 BlueBird BLBD 56.41 -1.5 BlueRiverAcqn BLUA.U 11.80 3.5 BostonSci BSX 76.25 -0.4 Brady BRC 67.19 11.4 BreadFinancial BFH 42.73 -2.1 Brink's BCO 100.50 -0.8 Brown&Brown BRO 91.70 1.5 BurTechAcqn BRKHU 12.90 13.8 BuzzFeedWt BZFDW 0.22 44.3 BuzzFeed BZFD 4.56 20.4 CTS CTS 54.33 -1.8 Camtek CAMT 103.95 2.0 Carlisle CSL 429.60 -0.8 Celestica CLS 54.28 2.4 ChimeraInvPfdB CIMpB 25.00 0.2 ChimeraInvPfdD CIMpD 24.83 ... CirrusLogic CRUS 115.18 0.8 Citigroup C 64.98 -1.4 ClearwaterPaper CLW 52.14 1.1 ConstructionPtrs ROAD 59.47 2.1 Corvel CRVL 280.26 1.3 Costco COST 806.35 0.1 CrineticsPharm CRNX 53.70 2.1 Danaher DHR 268.98 0.2 Danaos DAC 86.48 0.1 DescartesSystems DSGX 100.37 0.8 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg Highs ADMA Biologics ADMA 9.78 0.3 AGNC InvtPfdE AGNCO 24.95 0.2 AP Acqn A APCA 12.21 0.1 AXIS Capital AXS 72.77 0.6 AZZ AZZ 84.80 -0.1 AdTheorentWt ADTHW 0.45 2.3 Agilysys AGYS 104.97 0.9 Agric&NatSolnsA ANSC 10.25 ... AimeiHlthTech AFJK 10.32 ... AlarumTech ALAR 34.94 7.0 Alcon ALC 90.90 2.3 AltEnergyA AEAE 12.28 0.6 Altria MO 46.60 ... Amedisys AMED 96.80 0.6 Amphenol APH 136.29 -0.6 AnalogDevices ADI 240.37 10.9 ArbutusBiopharma ABUS 3.43 6.2 ArchCapital ACGL 103.30 1.0 AveryDennison AVY 229.98 ... AvidityBio RNA 30.84 0.4 Avnet AVT 54.96 1.2 B.RileyNts2025 RILYM 24.62 0.3 BadgerMeter BMI 201.87 0.5 BaldwinInsurance BWIN 35.46 -3.4 BankofAmerica BAC 39.81 0.3 Bank7 BSVN 30.53 -1.3 Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Wednesday, May 22, 2024 New Highs and Lows CoeptisTherap COEP 0.28 -10.6 Coursera COUR 7.97 -3.0 CrackerBarrel CBRL 46.22 -0.6 DeltaApparel DLA 1.21 -9.5 Denny's DENN 7.24 -1.2 DermataTherap DRMA 3.24 5.9 DermTech DMTK 0.31 18.3 DineBrands DIN 40.20 -2.6 DonegalGroup B DGICB 11.99 -4.8 ECARX ECX 1.12 -8.7 EaglePharm EGRX 3.50 -12.8 EdibleGarden EDBL 1.82 -46.9 Everi EVRI 7.18 -3.0 EverspinTech MRAM 6.00 -1.6 Expion360 XPON 1.54 8.1 FAT Brands FAT 5.11 -1.2 FiveBelow FIVE 128.64 -0.2 FutureFuel FF 4.70 0.6 GamcoGlbGoldPfB GGNpB 20.95 -0.7 Galapagos GLPG 28.07 -0.6 GinkgoBioworks DNA 0.69 -4.1 GlenBurnieBncp GLBZ 4.00 -7.3 GoldenEnt GDEN 28.62 -3.6 GoPro GPRO 1.54 -0.6 GranitePointMtg GPMT 3.25 -2.1 Gyrodyne GYRO 7.77 -1.0 HealthcrTriangle HCTI 0.72 -15.4 HeartTestLabs HSCS 5.21 -3.7 HolleyWt HLLY.WS 0.12 -37.3 Hurco HURC 17.13 -0.7 Hywin HYW 0.45 -30.6 iHeartMedia IHRT 0.98 -6.8 iLearningEngines AILE 4.50 -18.4 Jet.AI JTAI 0.66 2.2 JohnsonOutdoors JOUT 35.66 -1.5 KLX Energy KLXE 5.22 -6.1 Knightscope KSCP 0.35 -3.1 LG Display LPL 3.65 -1.6 LegatoMergerIIIWt LEGT.WS 0.13 -5.9 LightwaveLogic LWLG 3.39 -9.6 Longeveron LGVN 1.12 -2.5 lululemon LULU 295.74 -7.2 MainzBiomed MYNZ 0.56 0.7 Markforged MKFG 0.43 -5.9 MicroAlgo MLGO 1.94 -1.5 Mobile-health MNDR 1.64 0.6 Mobilicom MOB 0.89 0.1 MolsonCoorsB TAP 54.46 -1.2 MotorcarParts MPAA 4.73 3.3 MyersIndustries MYE 15.40 -1.8 MyMD Pharm MYMD 1.99 -4.3 NaaSTechnology NAAS 0.42 -9.0 Neo-Concept NCI 0.92 -4.1 NerdyA NRDY 1.83 -2.6 Nevro NVRO 8.93 -1.5 NextPlat NXPL 1.06 ... NineEnergy NINE 1.74 -5.9 Northann NCL 0.39 -2.9 Offerpad OPAD 4.86 -10.6 Oklo OKLO 7.07 -3.8 PSQ PSQH 3.50 -2.1 PapaJohn's PZZA 48.67 -0.2 PatriotNatBncp PNBK 2.40 -10.4 Patterson PDCO 24.42 -1.3 PediatrixMedical MD 7.26 2.4 PermRock PRT 3.65 0.5 Polaris PII 81.40 -0.5 PolestarAuto PSNY 0.91 -2.9 ProfDiversity IPDN 0.68 -0.8 ProjectEnReimagUn PEGRU 7.93 -7.1 Raytech RAY 3.21 -0.8 Regis RGS 5.13 -2.3 Replimune REPL 5.46 6.5 RetractableTechs RVP 0.87 0.3 RockyMtnChoc RMCF 2.92 -2.9 S&W Seed SANW 0.33 -7.0 SI-BONE SIBN 13.85 -0.1 scPharm SCPH 3.46 -7.5 ScrippsEW SSP 2.87 -1.7 SeelosTherap SEEL 1.41 -11.0 SeritageGrwPfdA SRGpA 19.20 1.7 ServiceProperties SVC 5.42 -1.1 SiriusXM SIRI 2.79 -3.1 SplashBeverage SBEV 0.25 -7.7 Stevanato STVN 18.85 0.7 Stratasys SSYS 9.06 -1.6 SunCountryAir SNCY 10.01 0.1 T Stamp IDAI 0.61 -4.4 TTEC TTEC 6.65 -3.3 TaboolaWt TBLAW 0.22 -18.5 TalosEnergy TALO 11.52 -1.8 TeladocHealth TDOC 11.67 0.8 TelekmIndonesia TLK 18.18 -0.3 TelesisBio TBIO 3.83 -9.6 10xGenomics TXG 23.69 0.5 Tharimmune THAR 0.31 -16.5 TItanIntl TWI 8.33 0.2 TivicHealth TIVC 0.44 ... 22ndCentury XXII 1.31 -4.3 UnitySoftware U 20.32 -0.5 VOC Energy VOC 5.50 -1.8 Velo3D VLD 0.18 -2.6 VenusConcept VERO 0.46 -3.7 VerveTherap VERV 5.38 1.1 Vitru VTRU 8.62 -3.2 Volato SOAR 1.40 -7.0 VolatoWt SOAR.WS 0.03 -32.9 WalgreensBoots WBA 16.31 -1.3 WheelerREIT WHLR 2.03 -7.7 Whirlpool WHR 87.85 -0.9 XTI Aerospace XTIA 1.03 -7.0 Yoshitsu TKLF 0.20 -4.0 ZoozPower ZOOZ 2.13 8.1 ZappEV ZAPP 1.04 -15.9 ZeppHealth ZEPP 0.77 -7.6 Zoomcar ZCAR 0.21 -4.5 Agrify AGFY 0.25 -14.6 AirSculptTech AIRS 3.30 -13.9 Akoya AKYA 2.21 -13.4 AllarityTherap ALLR 0.55 10.5 AlmacenesExito EXTO 4.54 -1.9 AltoIngred ALTO 1.60 -3.0 AmOncologyWt AONCW 0.05 2.1 AmOncology AONC 1.50 15.3 AnixaBiosci ANIX 2.60 -4.8 ApollomicsA APLM 0.28 -8.3 AptoseBiosci APTO 1.10 -1.7 ArcherAviationWt ACHR.WS 0.33 -9.1 ArtWayMfg ARTW 1.80 -2.2 Auddia AUUD 1.20 -5.2 BGSF BGSF 6.61 -2.0 BancoBradescoPf BBD 2.54 -3.4 BancoBradesco BBDO 2.30 -2.3 BanzaiIntl BNZI 0.23 -11.5 BauschHealth BHC 6.35 -2.7 BinahCapital BCG 3.25 56.3 BioCardia BCDA 0.30 -23.8 Bloomin'Brands BLMN 21.56 -4.0 BlueWorldA BWAQ 9.59 -3.1 BoltBiotherap BOLT 0.75 -1.3 BrenmillerEner BNRG 1.41 -13.2 BriaCellTherapWt BCTXW 0.33 -8.8 BristolMyers BMY 41.91 0.2 Brown-Forman A BF.A 47.44 -1.3 Brown-Forman B BF.B 46.61 -0.5 CableOne CABO 351.97 -3.2 CAE CAE 17.40 -5.2 CaesarsEnt CZR 34.39 -2.4 CERoTherap CERO 0.97 -3.9 Charles&Colvard CTHR 2.32 -2.5 Cheche CCG 1.49 -10.7 CheetahNetSupply CTNT 0.82 -14.4 Chuy's CHUY 26.13 -2.2 ClarosMtg CMTG 7.83 -4.7 TTM Tech TTMI 18.80 -0.4 Teekay TK 9.55 -0.3 Teradyne TER 143.01 1.8 TetraTech TTEK 221.40 0.8 TexasInstruments TXN 203.62 1.8 Thermon THR 35.64 0.7 ThirdCoastBcshs TCBX 21.99 1.3 ThomsonReuters TRI 174.55 -0.3 TraneTech TT 336.37 -0.6 Transcat TRNS 147.00 0.2 TransDigm TDG 1340.97 -0.8 TransMedics TMDX 142.30 -1.0 TripleFlagPrecMtl TFPM 17.85 -2.6 TurkcellIletism TKC 7.12 0.9 TutorPerini TPC 21.01 1.9 TylerTech TYL 500.49 0.3 UL Solutions ULS 41.22 1.4 Veralto VLTO 100.92 1.2 VeriskAnalytics VRSK 254.08 0.9 VertexPharm VRTX 449.91 1.3 ViaRenewablesPfdA VIASP 23.00 0.4 Viking VIK 30.23 -0.8 VitalFarms VITL 41.12 -3.2 Walmart WMT 65.69 0.2 WarbyParker WRBY 17.22 -0.2 Welltower WELL 102.66 0.8 WesternMidstrm WES 38.79 -2.0 WestRock WRK 53.15 0.4 Williams-Sonoma WSM 348.51 -11.0 WillisLease WLFC 67.50 -1.1 WisdomTree WT 9.79 ... ZebraTech ZBRA 327.09 1.6 ZetaGlobal ZETA 18.58 -0.5 ZionsBncpPfdA ZIONP 23.00 6.2 Lows AN2 Therap ANTX 2.10 -2.1 Accuray ARAY 1.50 0.7 NetApp NTAP 114.22 1.0 NexaResources NEXA 7.77 2.2 NortheastBank NBN 62.30 0.1 Nova NVMI 209.65 1.9 Novavax NVAX 17.40 5.3 OneSpaWorld OSW 15.49 0.8 OxbridgeRe OXBR 2.39 11.3 OxfordLaneNts2027 OXLCZ 23.35 -0.4 PDD PDD 156.50 1.1 PG&E PCG 18.95 -1.0 ParTechnology PAR 49.94 6.3 Pennant PNTG 24.06 -2.3 PhibroAnimal PAHC 18.70 0.2 Plexus PLXS 114.13 2.7 PonoCapitalTwoUn PTWOU 16.21 ... PrimorisSvcs PRIM 53.68 0.5 PropertyGuru PGRU 4.71 4.3 PureStorage PSTG 60.63 0.7 PyrophyteAcqn PHYT.U 11.50 3.5 Qualcomm QCOM 204.84 1.0 QuantaServices PWR 274.13 -0.3 RegionsFinPfdB RFpB 25.21 -0.2 RevolutionMed RVMD 40.63 0.3 Rezolute RZLT 3.72 -6.3 RothCHAcqnVUn ROCLU 13.92 -7.0 SPX Tech SPXC 144.56 -0.9 ScanSource SCSC 50.95 1.8 SchwabC SCHW 79.49 -4.6 SharkNinja SN 78.90 -2.9 ShockwaveMed SWAV 334.28 1.3 SiriusPoint SPNT 13.50 3.0 SmartShareGlbl EM 1.18 -0.1 SpringValleyII A SVII 11.10 0.1 SproutsFarmers SFM 79.77 1.0 StewartInfo STC 66.66 -2.4 StokeTherap STOK 16.66 3.0 TD Synnex SNX 129.48 1.1 TE Connectivity TEL 152.79 -0.1 TJX TJX 104.98 3.5 HumacyteWt HUMAW 2.27 27.7 Humacyte HUMA 7.78 7.5 IDT IDT 41.10 -0.1 Immersion IMMR 9.97 1.2 ImperialPetrol IMPP 4.39 3.8 IngersollRand IR 96.36 1.1 Intuit INTU 673.63 0.4 IntuitiveSurgical ISRG 408.43 -0.3 IronHorseAcqns IROHU 11.50 7.0 JohnsonControls JCI 73.28 0.5 Kanzhun BZ 22.74 1.7 Kingstone KINS 5.16 -3.8 Kirby KEX 123.06 0.3 Kyndryl KD 28.60 0.3 LakeShoreBancorp LSBK 12.49 2.8 LandosBio LABP 22.88 2.2 Leidos LDOS 151.11 -0.2 LeMaitreVascular LMAT 80.18 1.6 Limbach LMB 56.45 4.5 LloydsBanking LYG 2.87 0.4 Loar LOAR 60.82 6.7 LumentFinance LFT 2.58 -0.4 MaiaBiotech MAIA 3.91 6.4 M&T Bk Pfd J MTBpJ 25.38 0.4 Mytheresa MYTE 5.19 -1.6 ManhattanBridge LOAN 5.35 -0.4 Marex MRX 21.80 4.0 Marsh&McLen MMC 211.53 0.4 Mativ MATV 19.08 -0.9 MercuryGeneral MCY 59.89 -0.3 MicrochipTech MCHP 99.69 3.9 Moderna MRNA 164.88 13.7 monday.com MNDY 248.36 2.1 Moody's MCO 417.75 0.5 MotorolaSol MSI 372.01 0.4 Napco Security NSSC 48.44 0.4 NXP Semicon NXPI 280.24 1.6 NaborsEnerII NETDU 11.00 ... Natera NTRA 110.09 0.2 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg 52-Wk % Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg The following explanations apply to the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, NYSE American and Nasdaq Stock Market stocks that hit a new 52-week intraday high or low in the latest session. % CHG-Daily percentage change from the previous trading session. ProShUltPrQQQ TQQQ 64.53 –0.06 27.3 SPDRBbg1-3MTB BIL 91.70 0.02 0.3 SPDR DJIA Tr DIA 396.66 –0.53 5.3 SPDR Gold GLD 220.11 –1.84 15.1 SPDRPtfDevxUS SPDW 36.15 –0.93 6.3 SPDRS&P500Value SPYV 49.72 –0.30 6.6 SPDRPtfS&P500 SPLG 62.32 –0.30 11.5 SPDRS&P500Growth SPYG 75.28 –0.28 15.7 SPDR S&P 500 SPY 529.83 –0.29 11.5 SchwabIntEquity SCHF 39.30 –0.93 6.3 SchwabUS BrdMkt SCHB 61.61 –0.32 10.7 SchwabUS Div SCHD 79.20 –0.33 4.0 SchwabUS LC SCHX 62.80 –0.30 11.3 SchwabUS LC Grw SCHG 95.27 –0.32 14.8 SPDR S&PMdCpTr MDY 546.83 –0.79 7.8 SPDR S&P Div SDY 131.42 –0.45 5.2 TechSelectSector XLK 215.14 0.22 11.8 VanEckSemicon SMH 236.59 0.82 35.3 VangdSC Val VBR 188.03 –0.84 4.5 VangdExtMkt VXF 172.41 –0.58 4.9 VangdDivApp VIG 183.48 –0.13 7.7 VangdFTSEAWxUS VEU 59.81 –0.75 6.5 VangdFTSEDevMk VEA 50.56 –0.94 5.6 VangdFTSE EM VWO 44.40 –0.29 8.0 VangdFTSE Europe VGK 69.50 –0.79 7.8 VangdGrowth VUG 353.04 –0.23 13.6 VangdHlthCr VHT 267.39 0.18 6.7 VangdHiDiv VYM 120.58 –0.36 8.0 VangdInfoTech VGT 539.94 0.02 11.6 VangdIntermBd BIV 74.49 –0.13 –2.5 VangdIntrCorpBd VCIT 79.67 –0.17 –2.0 VangdIntermTrea VGIT 57.89 –0.14 –2.4 VangdLC VV 243.17 –0.30 11.5 VangdMegaGrwth MGK 293.46 –0.23 13.1 VangdMC VO 247.98 –0.27 6.6 VangdMBS VMBS 45.10 –0.22 –2.7 VangdRealEst VNQ 83.60 –0.90 –5.4 VangdRuss1000Grw VONG 88.59 –0.33 13.5 VangdS&P500ETF VOO 487.06 –0.29 11.5 VangdST Bond BSV 76.35 –0.09 –0.9 VangdSTCpBd VCSH 77.05 –0.06 –0.4 VangdShortTrea VGSH 57.81 –0.07 –0.9 VangdSC VB 223.80 –0.67 4.9 VangdTaxExemptBd VTEB 49.91 –0.28 –2.2 VangdTotalBd BND 71.80 –0.13 –2.4 VangdTotIntlBd BNDX 48.64 –0.23 –1.5 VangdTotIntlStk VXUS 61.56 –0.76 6.2 VangdTotalStk VTI 262.22 –0.34 10.5 VangdTotWrldStk VT 111.97 –0.51 8.8 VangdValue VTV 162.43 –0.39 8.6 WT FRTrea USFR 50.50 0.02 0.5 Closing Chg YTD ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) CommSvsSPDR XLC 82.84 0.12 14.0 CnsmrDiscSel XLY 176.65 –1.04 –1.2 DimenUSCoreEq2 DFAC 31.96 –0.44 9.3 EnSelSectorSPDR XLE 92.08 –1.92 9.8 FinSelSectorSPDR XLF 41.94 –0.57 11.5 GrayscaleBitcoin GBTC 61.95 0.57 78.9 HealthCrSelSect XLV 146.51 0.18 7.4 IndSelSectorSPDR XLI 125.31 0.12 9.9 InvscNasd100 QQQM 187.52 –0.03 11.3 InvscQQQI QQQ 455.71 –0.02 11.3 InvscS&P500EW RSP 167.19 –0.38 6.0 iShCoreDivGrowth DGRO 58.19 –0.36 8.1 iShCoreMSCIEAFE IEFA 75.05 –0.96 6.7 iShCoreMSCIEM IEMG 54.25 –0.33 7.3 iShCoreMSCITotInt IXUS 69.28 –0.77 6.7 iShCoreS&P500 IVV 532.53 –0.28 11.5 iShCoreS&P MC IJH 59.77 –0.83 7.8 iShCoreS&P SC IJR 109.39 –0.70 1.1 iShCoreS&PTotUS ITOT 116.35 –0.37 10.6 iShCoreTotUSDBd IUSB 45.09 –0.13 –2.1 iShCoreUSAggBd AGG 96.74 –0.12 –2.5 iShEdgeMSCIMinUSA USMV 83.84 –0.06 7.4 iShEdgeMSCIUSAQual QUAL 165.74 –0.31 12.6 iShGoldTr IAU 44.99 –1.81 15.3 iShiBoxx$IGCpBd LQD 107.16 –0.15 –3.2 iShMBS MBB 91.26 –0.23 –3.0 iShMSCIACWI ACWI 111.72 –0.47 9.8 iShMSCI EAFE EFA 80.80 –0.94 7.2 iSh MSCI EM EEM 43.22 –0.32 7.5 iShNatlMuniBd MUB 106.23 –0.23 –2.0 iSh1-5YIGCpBd IGSB 51.10 –0.06 –0.3 iSh1-3YTreaBd SHY 81.38 –0.07 –0.8 iShRussMC IWR 82.83 –0.50 6.6 iShRuss1000 IWB 290.85 –0.33 10.9 iShRuss1000Grw IWF 344.20 –0.37 13.5 iShRuss1000Val IWD 178.13 –0.31 7.8 iShRuss2000 IWM 206.58 –0.84 2.9 iShS&P500Grw IVW 86.90 –0.30 15.7 iShS&P500Value IVE 185.37 –0.30 6.6 iShSelectDiv DVY 124.47 –0.81 6.2 iSh7-10YTreaBd IEF 93.09 –0.13 –3.4 iShShortTreaBd SHV 110.37 0.02 0.2 iShTIPSBond TIP 106.72 –0.02 –0.7 iSh20+YTreaBd TLT 91.70 0.12 –7.3 iShUSTreasuryBd GOVT 22.46 –0.04 –2.5 iSh0-3MTreaBd SGOV 100.60 0.01 0.3 JPM EqPrem JEPI 57.26 0.07 4.1 JPM UltShIncm JPST 50.40 –0.02 0.3 PacerUSCashCows COWZ 55.13 –1.02 6.0 Closing Chg YTD ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Exchange-Traded Portfolios Largest 100 exchange-traded funds. Preliminary close data as of 4:30 p.m. ET Net Stock Sym Close Chg ABC AECOM ACM 89.24 -0.90 AES AES 20.93 -0.11 Aflac AFL 87.66 0.07 AGCO AGCO 108.54 0.40 Ansys ANSS 326.36 -0.43 APA APA 30.13 -0.59 ASE Tech ASX 10.94 0.08 ASML ASML 922.33 -2.94 AT&T T 17.50 0.23 ATI ATI 59.35 -1.14 AbbottLabs ABT 104.82 1.86 AbbVie ABBV 159.61 -3.32 Accenture ACN 307.11 3.47 AcuityBrands AYI 263.44 -1.54 Adobe ADBE 483.93 2.08 AdvDrainageSys WMS 177.06 -2.18 AdvMicroDevices AMD 165.52 0.86 Aegon AEG 6.79 -0.08 AerCap AER 91.38 -0.31 AffirmA AFRM 30.61 -1.67 AgilentTechs A 152.87 -0.80 AgnicoEagleMines AEM 68.01 -2.11 AirProducts APD 264.65 -0.01 Airbnb ABNB 142.71 -1.39 AkamaiTech AKAM 95.29 0.79 Albemarle ALB 126.48 -0.16 Albertsons ACI 20.61 0.11 Alcoa AA 42.15 -1.94 s Alcon ALC 90.75 2.05 AlexandriaRlEst ARE 122.78 -0.71 Alibaba BABA 82.68 -3.45 AlignTech ALGN 261.12 -2.90 Allegion ALLE 123.07 -0.48 AlliantEnergy LNT 51.17 -0.95 Allstate ALL 166.17 -2.02 AllyFinancial ALLY 39.10 -0.26 AlnylamPharm ALNY 150.90 1.28 Alphabet C GOOG 178.00 -1.54 Alphabet A GOOGL 176.38 -1.47 AltairEngg ALTR 90.65 -0.09 s Altria MO 46.32 -0.01 Amazon.com AMZN 183.13 -0.02 Ambev ABEV 2.30 -0.02 Amcor AMCR 10.07 ... Amdocs DOX 81.97 -0.17 Ameren AEE 73.20 -1.36 AmericaMovil AMX 19.71 0.06 AmerAirlines AAL 14.10 0.07 AEP AEP 91.48 -1.14 AmerExpress AXP 240.09 -2.99 AmericanFin AFG 131.40 -1.22 AmHomes4Rent AMH 36.37 -0.35 AIG AIG 78.91 0.23 AmerTowerREIT AMT 191.34 -2.79 AmerWaterWorks AWK 133.75 -0.61 Ameriprise AMP 437.99 3.91 Ametek AME 174.13 5.00 Amgen AMGN 309.41 -5.44 AmkorTech AMKR 33.22 0.42 s Amphenol APH 134.57 -0.83 s AnalogDevices ADI 240.16 23.52 AngloGoldAsh AU 24.70 -0.69 AB InBev BUD 65.19 -1.05 AnnalyCap NLY 19.89 -0.28 AnteroResources AR 34.11 -0.27 Aon AON 284.65 -5.33 APi Group APG 36.09 -0.53 ApolloGlblMgmt APO 113.84 -0.86 AppFolio APPF 237.18 -1.19 Apple AAPL 190.90 -1.45 AppliedIndlTechs AIT 199.07 -2.01 ApplMaterials AMAT 218.15 -1.25 AppLovin APP 80.00 -4.00 Aptargroup ATR 148.79 0.20 Aptiv APTV 81.71 -0.60 Aramark ARMK 32.40 -0.51 ArcelorMittal MT 25.81 -0.38 s ArchCapital ACGL 102.70 1.05 ADM ADM 61.90 0.63 AresMgmt ARES 144.75 1.13 argenx ARGX363.73 7.07 AristaNetworks ANET 316.50 -0.49 Arm ARM 112.43 -2.34 AspenTech AZPN 220.71 -0.57 Assurant AIZ 169.51 -1.87 AsteraLabs ALAB 73.14 -0.20 AstraZeneca AZN 78.80 -0.38 Atlassian TEAM 174.80 -3.25 AtmosEnergy ATO 117.19 -1.31 Autodesk ADSK 219.96 -0.32 Autoliv ALV 124.96 -0.62 ADP ADP 254.02 1.88 AutoZone AZO 2772.64 -48.19 Avalonbay AVB 197.60 -0.87 Avangrid AGR 35.92 -0.07 Avantor AVTR 24.78 -0.12 s AveryDennison AVY 229.22 0.08 AxaltaCoating AXTA 35.28 0.33 AxonEnterprise AXON 284.87 -3.08 BCE BCE 34.15 0.30 BHP Group BHP 58.73 -2.90 BJ'sWholesale BJ 80.49 0.02 BP BP 36.56 -0.50 BWX Tech BWXT 88.68 0.22 Baidu BIDU 102.41 -2.73 BakerHughes BKR 32.09 -0.93 Ball BALL 70.12 -0.19 BBVA BBVA 10.83 -0.04 t BancoBradesco BBDO 2.30 -0.06 BancodeChile BCH 24.28 -0.26 BancSanBrasil BSBR 5.43 -0.06 BcoSantChile BSAC 19.70 -0.25 BancoSantander SAN 5.13 -0.07 BanColombia CIB 35.94 -1.33 s BankofAmerica BAC 39.76 0.11 BankMontreal BMO 94.48 -0.15 BankNY Mellon BK 58.97 -0.11 BankNovaScotia BNS 47.61 -0.92 Barclays BCS 10.84 -0.33 BarrickGold GOLD 17.29 -0.51 Bath&BodyWks BBWI 48.70 -1.31 BaxterIntl BAX 34.35 -0.10 BectonDicknsn BDX 234.45 -0.41 BeiGene BGNE 167.92 0.53 BellRing BRBR 58.39 0.11 BentleySystems BSY 53.25 -3.47 Berkley WRB 80.09 0.86 BerkHathwy B BRK.B 413.99 -0.38 BerkHathwy A BRK.A 625100 -50.00 BestBuy BBY 70.50 -2.17 Bio-Techne TECH 82.98 0.30 Bio-RadLab A BIO 291.84 2.39 Biogen BIIB 225.21 -2.48 BioMarinPharm BMRN 76.45 -0.89 BioNTech BNTX 102.30 10.23 Birkenstock BIRK 46.34 -1.26 BlackRock BLK 799.61 -5.32 Blackstone BX 126.68 -1.03 BlockHR HRB 52.99 -0.84 Block SQ 67.34 -4.17 BlueOwlCapital OWL 18.91 -0.01 Boeing BA 186.28 1.50 Booking BKNG 3825.10 2.76 BoozAllen BAH 153.46 -0.69 BorgWarner BWA 35.85 -0.65 BostonProps BXP 61.73 -0.62 s BostonSci BSX 75.37 -0.30 t BristolMyers BMY 42.34 0.07 BritishAmTob BTI 31.36 -0.11 Broadcom AVGO 1392.24 -6.96 BroadridgeFinl BR 203.96 3.99 BrookfieldAsset BAM 39.74 -0.76 Brookfield BN 44.35 -0.23 BrookfieldInfr BIP 29.95 -0.30 BrookfieldRenew BEPC 32.17 0.50 s Brown&Brown BRO 91.16 1.31 t Brown-Forman A BF.A 47.50 -0.62 t Brown-Forman B BF.B 47.06 -0.25 Bruker BRKR 78.29 1.89 BuildersFirst BLDR 165.97 -1.97 BungeGlobal BG 103.13 -0.18 BurlingtonStrs BURL 185.20 -4.80 CACI Intl CACI 427.72 0.83 CAVA CAVA 78.74 0.52 CBRE Group CBRE 89.61 -0.81 CDW CDW 236.27 5.89 CF Industries CF 79.68 1.10 CGI A GIB 104.92 -0.26 CH Robinson CHRW 84.34 1.74 CME Group CME 211.48 1.13 CMS Energy CMS 61.84 -0.77 CNA Fin CNA 44.59 -0.34 CNH Indl CNH 11.02 0.03 CRH CRH 80.25 -0.86 CSX CSX 34.01 0.94 CVS Health CVS 57.44 0.12 CadenceDesign CDNS 292.84 2.74 t CaesarsEnt CZR 34.72 -0.87 CamdenProperty CPT 105.36 -0.56 Cameco CCJ 52.14 -1.59 CampbellSoup CPB 46.29 0.26 CIBC CM 48.39 -0.68 CanNtlRlwy CNI 127.52 0.83 CanadianNatRscs CNQ 75.42 -1.72 CdnPacKC CP 80.29 -0.92 CapitalOne COF 139.43 -0.99 CardinalHealth CAH 96.32 0.31 s Carlisle CSL 423.52 -3.28 Carlyle CG 43.71 -0.68 CarMax KMX 69.76 -2.21 Carnival CCL 15.65 -0.55 Net Stock Sym Close Chg Net Stock Sym Close Chg Carnival CUK 14.23 -0.42 CarrierGlobal CARR 65.35 -0.87 Carvana CVNA 115.72 0.69 CaseysGenStores CASY 337.08 0.91 Catalent CTLT 54.97 0.01 Caterpillar CAT 355.94 -3.13 Celanese CE 153.21 -2.22 CelsiusHldg CELH 93.49 -2.47 Cemex CX 7.61 -0.14 Cencora COR 216.75 -0.33 CenovusEnergy CVE 19.97 -0.30 Centene CNC 78.43 0.03 CenterPointEner CNP 30.06 -0.35 CentraisElBras EBR 7.05 -0.30 CerevelTherap CERE 41.65 -0.12 CharlesRiverLabs CRL 219.00 -2.48 CharterComms CHTR 271.09 -4.02 CheckPoint CHKP 153.52 1.94 Chemed CHE 558.12 -1.69 CheniereEnergy LNG 158.89 -0.96 CheniereEnerPtrs CQP 48.93 -0.54 ChesapeakeEner CHK 89.75 -0.98 Chevron CVX 157.57 -2.40 Chipotle CMG 3153.38 -19.42 ChordEnergy CHRD 177.68 -2.71 Chubb CB 267.44 2.44 ChunghwaTel CHT 39.16 0.28 Church&Dwight CHD 107.31 0.25 ChurchillDowns CHDN 135.95 0.48 Cigna CI 336.47 0.09 CincinnatiFinl CINF 118.82 0.23 Cintas CTAS 701.79 1.84 CiscoSystems CSCO 47.43 0.49 s Citigroup C 63.82 -0.92 CitizensFin CFG 35.91 -0.66 CleanHarbors CLH 214.90 -0.62 Cleveland-Cliffs CLF 17.15 -0.36 Clorox CLX 134.04 -0.32 Cloudflare NET 74.98 0.60 Coca-Cola KO 63.00 0.09 CocaColaCon COKE 998.01 16.84 Coca-ColaEuro CCEP 73.25 -0.76 Cognex CGNX 48.27 0.11 CognizantTech CTSH 69.05 0.26 Coherent COHR 57.06 -0.76 CoinbaseGlbl COIN 231.51 5.73 ColgatePalm CL 94.76 -0.41 Comcast A CMCSA 38.89 -0.32 ComfortSystems FIX 328.81 1.45 SABESP SBS 14.49 -0.49 ConagraBrands CAG 30.76 -0.03 Confluent CFLT 31.96 0.42 ConocoPhillips COP 118.19 -2.22 ConEd ED 96.13 -0.21 ConstBrands A STZ 248.94 -2.04 ConstellationEner CEG 220.11 -2.48 Cooper COO 96.60 -0.16 Copart CPRT 53.95 -0.98 Core&Main CNM 59.73 -0.90 CorebridgeFin CRBG 31.10 0.09 Corning GLW 36.58 0.10 Corpay CPAY 272.77 -0.34 Corteva CTVA 56.98 0.33 CoStar CSGP 87.19 0.34 s Costco COST 801.86 0.93 CoterraEnergy CTRA 27.49 -0.35 Coty COTY 10.36 -0.13 Coupang CPNG 22.41 -0.55 Crane CR 146.64 -1.30 Credicorp BAP 163.29 -2.38 Crocs CROX 141.54 -2.88 CrowdStrike CRWD 345.42 -3.90 CrownCastle CCI 100.22 -0.53 Crown Holdings CCK 84.78 -0.95 CubeSmart CUBE 43.17 -0.24 Cummins CMI 287.01 1.05 Curtiss-Wright CW 280.75 -4.46 CyberArkSoftware CYBR 244.52 -1.32 DEF DTE Energy DTE 115.06 -2.12 s Danaher DHR 267.19 0.64 Darden DRI 148.71 -0.98 Datadog DDOG 122.75 0.42 DaVita DVA 134.75 -3.94 Dayforce DAY 63.04 1.99 DeckersOutdoor DECK 892.94 -6.80 Deere DE 386.01 -0.73 DellTechC DELL 147.78 0.54 DeltaAir DAL 51.58 -0.65 s DescartesSystems DSGX 99.39 0.82 DeutscheBank DB 16.73 -0.15 DevonEnergy DVN 48.80 -0.97 DexCom DXCM 130.53 -0.31 Diageo DEO 139.03 -0.70 DiamondbkEner FANG 192.34 -4.22 Dick's DKS 183.74 -4.77 DigitalRealty DLR 143.15 -1.11 DiscoverFinSvcs DFS 124.31 -0.17 Disney DIS 103.02 0.01 DocuSign DOCU 58.04 -1.85 DolbyLab DLB 81.13 -0.50 DollarGeneral DG 141.55 -1.05 DollarTree DLTR 113.77 -0.93 DominionEner D 53.50 -0.44 Domino's DPZ 511.92 -1.80 Donaldson DCI 74.93 -0.21 DoorDash DASH 111.63 -1.19 s Dover DOV 187.55 1.49 Dow DOW 57.60 -1.31 DrReddy'sLab RDY 69.69 0.77 DraftKings DKNG 41.90 -1.48 Dropbox DBX 22.88 -0.75 DukeEnergy DUK 103.44 -0.94 Duolingo DUOL 176.76 -4.13 DuPont DD 78.55 -0.97 Dynatrace DT 47.76 -0.53 elfBeauty ELF 155.63 -3.34 s EMCOR EME 388.50 0.26 ENI E 30.90 -0.48 EOG Rscs EOG 126.05 -2.85 EPAM Systems EPAM 189.37 -1.89 EQT EQT 41.21 0.02 EagleMaterials EXP 238.80 -3.49 Net Stock Sym Close Chg EastWestBncp EWBC 74.88 -1.14 EastGroup EGP 165.36 -0.09 EastmanChem EMN 99.42 -0.53 Eaton ETN 336.18 -0.55 eBay EBAY 52.80 0.63 Ecolab ECL 233.70 -1.30 Ecopetrol EC 11.88 -0.41 EdisonIntl EIX 75.55 -1.22 EdwardsLife EW 90.21 -0.13 ElancoAnimal ELAN 16.93 0.23 Elastic ESTC 107.86 -1.54 ElbitSystems ESLT 199.29 -0.31 ElectronicArts EA 135.14 6.29 s ElevanceHealth ELV 547.80 2.19 EmersonElec EMR 114.68 0.98 Enbridge ENB 36.61 -0.17 EncompassHealth EHC 85.35 -0.45 Endeavor EDR 26.73 -0.04 EnergyTransfer ET 15.73 -0.20 EnphaseEnergy ENPH 121.23 9.73 Entegris ENTG 131.01 0.42 Entergy ETR 112.70 -1.52 EnterpriseProd EPD 28.43 -0.25 Equifax EFX 242.11 4.06 Equinix EQIX 781.46 -10.78 Equinor EQNR 28.55 -0.12 s Equitable EQH 40.65 -0.09 EquityLife ELS 64.10 -0.53 EquityResdntl EQR 66.26 -0.54 ErieIndemnity ERIE 388.42 -8.21 EssentialUtil WTRG 38.53 -0.83 EssexProp ESS 262.94 -1.22 EsteeLauder EL 130.77 -1.95 EvercoreA EVR 201.85 -3.92 Everest EG 399.53 5.37 Evergy EVRG 54.84 -0.79 EversourceEner ES 59.81 -1.41 ExactSciences EXAS 53.49 -0.03 Exelon EXC 37.90 -0.62 Expedia EXPE 112.07 0.36 ExpeditorsIntl EXPD 117.20 -0.52 ExtraSpaceSt EXR 146.37 0.29 ExxonMobil XOM 115.48 -2.37 F5 FFIV 173.22 -0.22 FMC FMC 63.62 -0.41 s FTAI Aviation FTAI 81.89 -1.04 FTI Consulting FCN 224.15 1.01 Fabrinet FN 234.22 2.65 FactSet FDS 447.79 -2.14 FairIsaac FICO 1366.64 -8.16 Fastenal FAST 66.66 0.35 FederalRealty FRT 101.09 -0.20 FedEx FDX 252.07 -0.26 Ferguson FERG 210.14 -1.77 Ferrari RACE 415.05 -3.32 Ferrovial FER 40.12 -0.78 FidNatlFinl FNF 51.16 -1.67 FidNatlInfo FIS 77.24 -0.87 FifthThirdBncp FITB 37.59 -0.45 FirstCitizBcshA FCNCA 1780.14 2.73 s FirstHorizon FHN 16.00 -0.25 s FirstSolar FSLR 251.75 39.64 FirstEnergy FE 39.90 -0.53 Fiserv FI 152.57 -0.20 s Flex FLEX 31.37 1.62 Floor&Decor FND 114.98 -1.85 FlutterEnt FLUT206.43 -3.26 FomentoEconMex FMX 116.89 -0.62 FordMotor F 12.03 -0.12 Fortinet FTNT 61.57 0.26 Fortis FTS 40.46 -0.45 Fortive FTV 77.07 -0.03 FortuneBrands FBIN 70.88 -0.93 FoxA FOXA 33.01 0.14 FoxB FOX 30.57 0.17 Franco-Nevada FNV 124.51 -3.87 FranklinRscs BEN 23.76 -0.11 FreeportMcM FCX 51.23 -3.09 FreseniusMedCare FMS 20.85 -0.57 FullTruck YMM 9.23 -0.01 Futu FUTU 76.59 -0.17 GHI GE Aerospace GE 160.81 -0.19 GE HealthCare GEHC 80.62 -1.32 GE Vernova GEV 163.85 -0.08 GFLEnvironmental GFL 31.79 0.18 GSK GSK 45.78 1.32 s Gallagher AJG 257.65 -0.19 Gaming&Leisure GLPI 45.67 -0.66 Gap GPS 20.55 -0.94 Garmin GRMN 162.06 -8.67 Gartner IT 451.93 2.58 GenDigital GEN 25.00 -0.05 Generac GNRC 151.79 -2.44 GeneralDynamics GD 298.01 0.95 GeneralMills GIS 70.35 -0.28 GeneralMotors GM 43.97 -0.95 Genmab GMAB 29.81 0.66 Gentex GNTX 34.30 -0.05 GenuineParts GPC 149.59 -1.92 GileadSciences GILD 67.80 0.51 GitLab GTLB 57.44 -0.73 GlobalPayments GPN 106.27 -1.09 GlobalFoundries GFS 55.21 0.37 Globant GLOB 170.60 -3.40 GlobeLife GL 85.60 2.27 s GlobusMedical GMED 67.15 0.65 s GoDaddy GDDY 139.28 0.41 GoldFields GFI 16.13 -0.43 GoldmanSachs GS 462.38 -8.03 Grab GRAB 3.70 -0.02 Graco GGG 83.00 -0.15 Grainger GWW 963.91 7.14 GraphicPkg GPK 27.75 0.05 GpoAeroportuar PAC 194.86 0.14 GpoAeroportSur ASR 349.47 3.53 Guidewire GWRE 123.01 -0.39 HCA Healthcare HCA 318.41 -2.71 HDFC Bank HDB 56.15 -0.02 HF Sinclair DINO 56.52 -0.38 HP HPQ 33.01 0.32 HSBC HSBC 44.21 -0.37 H World HTHT 36.93 -0.83 Net Stock Sym Close Chg Haleon HLN 8.50 -0.02 Halliburton HAL 36.37 -1.26 HartfordFinl HIG 102.38 0.26 Hasbro HAS 60.33 -2.15 HealthpeakProp DOC 19.52 -0.23 Heico HEI 215.73 -0.43 Heico A HEI.A 173.46 -1.09 HenrySchein HSIC 72.38 -0.87 Hershey HSY 205.57 -1.78 Hess HES 151.33 -3.28 HessMidstream HESM 35.51 -0.30 HewlettPackard HPE 18.15 0.37 Hilton HLT 204.43 -1.37 Hologic HOLX 74.81 0.26 HomeDepot HD 330.59 -5.56 HondaMotor HMC 33.08 -0.30 Honeywell HON 202.80 -0.71 HormelFoods HRL 35.47 -0.96 DR Horton DHI 144.59 -4.79 HostHotels HST 18.41 0.07 HoulihanLokey HLI 134.33 -1.88 HowmetAerospace HWM 83.46 -1.33 Hubbell HUBB 401.14 -2.86 HubSpot HUBS 612.82 1.87 Humana HUM 356.60 0.97 JBHunt JBHT 157.98 -1.38 HuntingtonBcshs HBAN 13.92 -0.23 HuntingIngalls HII 254.49 0.73 HyattHotels H 150.01 -0.29 ICICI Bank IBN 26.77 -0.23 IdexxLab IDXX 517.94 -0.50 ING Groep ING 17.80 -0.18 IQVIA IQV 226.03 -3.35 ITT ITT 138.65 -0.52 IcahnEnterprises IEP 16.53 0.10 Icon ICLR 316.94 -0.94 IDEX IEX 217.99 0.87 IllinoisToolWks ITW 248.74 -0.04 Illumina ILMN 107.39 -0.22 ImperialOil IMO 68.04 -1.54 Incyte INCY 58.20 0.80 Informatica INFA 30.57 0.41 Infosys INFY 17.27 0.26 s IngersollRand IR 96.28 1.08 Ingredion INGR 118.32 -0.49 Insulet PODD 181.08 -1.71 Intel INTC 31.42 -0.32 InteractiveBrkrs IBKR 125.06 -1.54 ICE ICE 136.89 -0.38 InterContinentl IHG 100.64 0.36 IBM IBM 173.69 0.22 IntlFlavors IFF 95.94 -1.96 IntlPaper IP 42.10 0.21 Interpublic IPG 31.90 0.42 s Intuit INTU 670.27 2.45 s IntuitiveSurgical ISRG 400.90 -1.21 InvitatHomes INVH 34.98 -0.20 IronMountain IRM 80.96 -1.89 ItauUnibanco ITUB 6.28 -0.17 JKL JD.com JD 32.68 -0.61 JPMorganChase JPM 198.31 -1.21 Jabil JBL 118.18 0.39 JackHenry JKHY 169.63 0.55 JacobsSolns J 137.87 -0.92 JamesHardie JHX 30.55 -0.44 JefferiesFinl JEF 46.71 -0.50 J&J JNJ 153.50 2.26 s JohnsonControls JCI 73.19 0.33 JonesLang JLL 198.54 -1.49 JuniperNetworks JNPR 34.68 0.13 KB Financial KB 57.44 -2.26 KBR KBR 66.07 -0.51 KE Holdings BEKE 18.87 -0.04 KKR KKR 105.77 -0.72 KLA KLAC 771.71 6.57 s Kanzhun BZ 22.36 0.38 Kaspi.kz KSPI 118.08 2.28 Kellanova K 61.64 -0.61 Kenvue KVUE 19.88 -0.09 KeurigDrPepper KDP 34.27 0.31 KeyCorp KEY 15.03 -0.29 KeysightTech KEYS 147.48 1.12 KimberlyClark KMB 133.87 0.13 KimcoRealty KIM 19.00 -0.02 KinderMorgan KMI 19.39 -0.35 KinrossGold KGC 7.93 -0.29 KinsaleCapital KNSL 393.41 7.97 Knight-Swift KNX 47.11 0.64 Philips PHG 27.18 -0.13 KoreaElecPwr KEP 7.41 -0.03 KraftHeinz KHC 36.38 0.46 Kroger KR 53.92 0.26 LKQ LKQ 43.92 -0.58 LPL Financial LPLA 272.67 3.02 L3HarrisTech LHX 225.32 0.07 Labcorp LH 201.19 -4.15 LamResearch LRCX 965.77 1.77 LamarAdv LAMR 119.61 -1.13 LambWeston LW 88.77 1.54 LasVegasSands LVS 45.87 -0.34 LatticeSemi LSCC 76.50 3.21 LegendBiotech LEGN 42.60 -0.36 s Leidos LDOS 149.92 -0.36 Lennar A LEN 155.88 -6.83 Lennar B LEN.B 144.07 -6.00 LennoxIntl LII 498.44 5.09 LeviStrauss LEVI 21.74 -0.21 LiAuto LI 20.77 -0.19 LibertyBroadbandC LBRDK 52.02 -0.65 LibertyBroadbandA LBRDA 52.26 -0.65 LibertyLiveC LLYVK 41.36 -0.60 LibertyLiveA LLYVA 39.82 -0.64 LibertyFormOne C FWONK 71.43 -0.92 LibertyFormOne A FWONA 65.83 -0.58 LibertySirius A LSXMA 22.77 -0.82 LibertySirius C LSXMK 22.70 -0.85 LibertySirius B LSXMB 22.93 -1.35 Light&Wonder LNW 95.11 -1.81 EliLilly LLY 802.91 -0.26 LincolnElectric LECO 227.12 2.09 Linde LIN 434.79 -0.25 LiveNationEnt LYV 101.40 -0.58 s LloydsBanking LYG 2.84 0.01 Net Stock Sym Close Chg LockheedMartin LMT 469.71 1.40 Loews L 75.89 -0.32 LogitechIntl LOGI 94.75 2.29 Lowe's LOW 221.13 -3.73 t lululemon LULU 299.63 -23.35 LyondellBasell LYB 98.52 -1.62 M N M&T Bank MTB 153.03 -0.35 MGM Resorts MGM 40.20 -0.61 MKS Instrum MKSI 131.91 0.08 MPLX MPLX 40.33 -0.57 MSCI MSCI 503.83 -1.70 MagnaIntl MGA 46.09 -0.40 MakeMyTrip MMYT 78.12 -3.61 ManhattanAssoc MANH 223.98 -1.69 ManulifeFinl MFC 26.27 -0.10 Maplebear CART 32.87 0.29 MarathonOil MRO 25.88 -0.41 MarathonPetrol MPC 176.02 -0.56 Markel MKL 1648.06 10.85 MarketAxess MKTX 219.41 1.85 Marriott MAR 236.16 -2.12 s Marsh&McLen MMC 210.82 0.89 MartinMarietta MLM 573.25 -8.06 MarvellTech MRVL 73.68 0.38 Masco MAS 69.25 -0.65 MasTec MTZ 109.44 0.58 Mastercard MA 456.52 -2.58 MatadorRscs MTDR 60.63 -1.87 MatchGroup MTCH 29.61 -0.42 McCormickVtg MKC.V 74.15 ... McCormick MKC 73.64 -0.36 McDonald's MCD 265.77 -0.10 McKesson MCK 557.38 4.99 Medpace MEDP 389.82 -6.83 Medtronic MDT 85.76 0.59 MercadoLibre MELI 1736.78 -35.29 Merck MRK 131.10 0.34 MetaPlatforms META 467.78 3.15 MetLife MET 72.87 0.28 Mettler-Toledo MTD 1501.78 -19.51 s MicrochipTech MCHP 99.49 3.71 MicronTech MU 126.28 -1.22 Microsoft MSFT 430.52 1.48 MicroStrategy MSTR 1647.00 -8.42 MidAmApt MAA 136.00 -0.50 MitsubishiUFJ MUFG 9.91 -0.07 MizuhoFin MFG 4.01 -0.07 Mobileye MBLY 27.81 0.30 s Moderna MRNA 163.33 19.64 MohawkInds MHK 117.41 -2.15 MolinaHealthcare MOH 345.40 3.08 t MolsonCoorsB TAP 54.48 -0.68 s monday.com MNDY 246.44 4.99 Mondelez MDLZ 70.22 -0.44 MongoDB MDB 361.28 -3.98 MonolithicPower MPWR 760.62 3.88 MonsterBev MNST 53.10 -0.28 s Moody's MCO 415.09 2.14 MorganStanley MS 100.74 -0.79 Morningstar MORN 299.18 -0.86 Mosaic MOS 31.75 0.89 s MotorolaSol MSI 371.07 1.33 MurphyUSA MUSA 441.01 ... NICE NICE 196.58 -3.27 NIO NIO 5.24 -0.01 NNN REIT NNN 41.92 -0.53 NOV NOV 18.24 -0.87 NRG Energy NRG 81.07 -1.96 NVR NVR 7457.73-162.49 s NXP Semicon NXPI 278.83 4.41 Nasdaq NDAQ 62.45 0.01 s Natera NTRA 108.51 0.25 NationalGrid NGG 71.99 -0.73 NatWest NWG 8.17 -0.04 s NetApp NTAP 114.11 1.16 NetEase NTES 98.36 -0.54 Netflix NFLX 640.47 -10.14 Neurocrine NBIX 139.43 -1.12 NewOrientalEduc EDU 79.98 0.23 NYTimes A NYT 49.50 0.26 Newmont NEM 42.39 -1.65 NewsCorp A NWSA 25.95 -0.34 NewsCorp B NWS 26.73 -0.36 NextEraEnergy NEE 76.32 -0.63 Nike NKE 92.50 -0.32 NiSource NI 28.87 -0.34 Nokia NOK 3.95 0.11 Nomura NMR 5.93 0.10 Nordson NDSN 243.12 -0.02 NorfolkSouthern NSC 230.62 5.91 NorthernTrust NTRS 83.90 -0.70 NorthropGrum NOC 474.69 2.79 Novartis NVS 101.96 -0.88 NovoNordisk NVO 134.03 -1.13 NuHoldings NU 11.70 -0.32 Nucor NUE 171.10 -1.02 Nutanix NTNX 71.86 -1.51 Nutrien NTR 60.33 0.75 nVentElectric NVT 82.14 -1.06 NVIDIA NVDA 949.50 -4.36 OPQ ONEOK OKE 81.66 -1.35 ON Semi ON 76.29 3.47 OReillyAuto ORLY 991.44 -4.15 OccidentalPetrol OXY 62.66 -0.69 Okta OKTA 100.87 -0.51 OldDomFreight ODFL 172.49 -2.97 OldRepublic ORI 31.80 -0.05 OmegaHealthcare OHI 31.92 0.20 Omnicom OMC 95.26 0.29 OnHolding ONON 37.59 0.28 OntoInnovation ONTO 228.87 -1.71 OpenText OTEX 30.94 0.01 Oracle ORCL 124.60 -0.03 Orange ORAN 11.52 -0.25 Orix IX 107.43 -0.09 Oshkosh OSK 116.48 -1.92 OtisWorldwide OTIS 98.70 0.55 Ovintiv OVV 48.72 -0.73 OwensCorning OC 177.51 -1.00 s PDD PDD 147.09 1.64 s PG&E PCG 18.73 -0.19 PNC Finl PNC 156.50 -2.05 POSCO PKX 71.13 -1.10 PPG Ind PPG 134.70 0.97 PPL PPL 29.51 -0.33 PTC PTC 183.76 1.09 Paccar PCAR 108.33 2.73 PackagingCpAm PKG 181.30 -0.55 PalantirTech PLTR 21.17 -0.07 PaloAltoNtwks PANW 308.58 -3.08 PanAmerSilver PAAS 21.33 -0.89 ParamountA PARAA 21.97 0.26 ParamountB PARA 12.20 0.10 ParkerHannifin PH 546.07 -0.80 Paychex PAYX 126.98 1.08 PaycomSoftware PAYC 180.67 1.00 Paylocity PCTY 169.82 -2.76 PayPal PYPL 62.19 -1.91 Pearson PSO 11.96 -0.19 PembinaPipeline PBA 36.63 -0.50 PenskeAuto PAG 152.69 -2.23 Pentair PNR 84.09 -0.18 Penumbra PEN 198.97 -1.26 PepsiCo PEP 182.09 1.01 PerformanceFood PFGC 71.62 0.05 PermianRscs PR 15.70 -0.49 PetroleoBrasil PBR 15.00 -0.02 Net Stock Sym Close Chg PetroleoBrasilA PBR.A 14.37 0.12 Pfizer PFE 29.60 1.04 PhilipMorris PM 101.07 0.84 Phillips66 PSX 142.90 -1.24 Pilgrim'sPride PPC 36.40 -1.39 PinnacleWest PNW 77.77 -0.85 Pinterest PINS 41.38 -0.13 PlainsAllAmPipe PAA 17.22 -0.37 PlainsGP PAGP 18.30 -0.37 Pool POOL 367.60 -3.54 Primerica PRI 229.87 -1.08 PrincipalFinl PFG 83.28 -0.21 ProcoreTech PCOR 69.57 -0.67 Procter&Gamble PG 167.81 -0.54 Progressive PGR 206.34 -3.04 Prologis PLD 109.22 -1.38 PrudentialFinl PRU 119.49 1.65 Prudential PUK 20.00 -0.48 PublicServiceEnt PEG 74.33 -0.82 PublicStorage PSA 283.01 -0.02 PulteGroup PHM 114.20 -3.70 s PureStorage PSTG 60.31 0.40 Qiagen QGEN 43.50 -1.52 Qorvo QRVO 99.55 1.56 s Qualcomm QCOM 202.93 2.08 s QuantaServices PWR 271.10 -0.95 QuestDiag DGX 141.86 -1.48 R S RBC Bearings RBC 294.06 -1.30 RB Global RBA 76.01 0.48 RELX RELX 44.36 0.13 RPM RPM 112.38 -0.36 RTX RTX 106.31 0.88 RalphLauren RL 164.20 -3.80 RangeResources RRC 37.22 -0.34 RaymondJames RJF 123.60 -1.19 RealtyIncome O 53.72 -1.36 Reddit RDDT 56.69 -2.62 RegalRexnord RRX 158.40 0.55 RegencyCtrs REG 60.32 0.15 RegenPharm REGN 983.80 -10.15 RegionsFinl RF 19.48 -0.41 ReinsGrp RGA 212.20 2.51 Reliance RS 302.27 1.72 RenaissanceRe RNR 231.02 -0.75 RentokilInit RTO 26.46 -0.45 Repligen RGEN 165.13 -1.77 RepublicSvcs RSG 186.77 0.29 ResMed RMD 218.27 -0.01 RestaurantBrands QSR 68.30 -0.70 Revvity RVTY 112.67 -0.56 RexfordIndlRealty REXR 45.46 -0.34 RioTinto RIO 72.22 -1.26 Rivian RIVN 10.70 0.65 Robinhood HOOD 19.66 -1.30 Roblox RBLX 33.13 0.58 RocketCos. RKT 14.07 -0.47 Rockwell ROK 270.81 0.45 RogersComm B RCI 39.32 0.09 RoivantSciences ROIV 11.29 0.06 Roku ROKU 58.52 0.55 Rollins ROL 46.11 -0.39 RoperTech ROP 547.45 6.05 RossStores ROST 131.51 -0.79 RoyalBkCanada RY 105.96 0.08 RoyalCaribbean RCL 147.37 -3.38 RoyalGold RGLD 130.45 -3.86 RoyaltyPharma RPRX 27.33 0.16 RyanSpecialty RYAN 55.50 1.50 Ryanair RYAAY123.39 1.62 SAP SAP 193.91 -0.81 S&P Global SPGI 442.30 2.43 SBA Comm SBAC 193.77 -3.62 SEI Investments SEIC 68.06 -0.39 SK Telecom SKM 21.38 0.19 SS&C Tech SSNC 62.98 -0.35 Saia SAIA 377.26 -2.26 Salesforce CRM 283.82 0.06 Samsara IOT 40.46 -0.49 Sanofi SNY 50.36 1.41 SareptaTherap SRPT 128.30 -0.82 Schlumberger SLB 46.48 -1.81 s SchwabC SCHW 75.27 -3.63 Sea SE 73.67 0.41 Seagate STX 94.67 1.07 Sempra SRE 77.33 -1.07 ServiceIntl SCI 71.21 1.11 ServiceNow NOW 770.83 -6.22 s SharkNinja SN 75.19 -2.22 Shell SHEL 70.49 -0.91 SherwinWilliams SHW 307.22 -2.74 ShinhanFin SHG 35.07 -1.05 s ShockwaveMed SWAV 334.01 4.37 Shopify SHOP 58.70 1.68 SimonProperty SPG 146.19 -1.78 t SiriusXM SIRI 2.80 -0.09 SkechersUSA SKX 67.85 -0.54 Skyworks SWKS 93.43 0.98 SmithAO AOS 85.07 -0.67 Smith&Nephew SNN 25.63 -0.22 Smucker SJM 111.82 -0.24 Snap SNAP 15.91 0.28 Snap-On SNA 276.17 0.07 Snowflake SNOW 163.34 0.63 SOQUIMICH SQM 47.51 0.20 Solventum SOLV 61.89 0.67 Sony SONY 81.26 -0.74 Southern SO 78.69 -1.09 SoCopper SCCO 116.66 -10.05 SouthwestAir LUV 27.88 -0.09 SouthwesternEner SWN 7.36 -0.09 Spotify SPOT 298.76 -6.17 s SproutsFarmers SFM 79.17 0.75 StanleyBlackDck SWK 87.17 -1.00 Stantec STN 80.87 0.48 Starbucks SBUX 80.72 3.00 StateStreet STT 76.49 -0.59 SteelDynamics STLD 132.73 -1.62 Stellantis STLA 22.10 0.01 Steris STE 230.60 ... StifelFinancial SF 82.02 -0.13 STMicroelec STM 42.27 1.31 Stryker SYK 335.42 4.91 SumitomoMits SMFG 12.51 -0.14 SunComms SUI 122.42 -0.30 SunLifeFinancial SLF 50.74 -0.50 SuncorEnergy SU 40.49 -0.56 SuperMicroComp SMCI 873.27 -25.68 Suzano SUZ 9.38 -0.22 Symbotic SYM 42.78 -0.77 SynchronyFinl SYF 43.54 -1.26 Synopsys SNPS 573.13 1.60 Sysco SYY 72.73 -2.59 TUV TAL Education TAL 12.37 ... TC Energy TRP 38.83 -0.33 s TD Synnex SNX 129.30 1.40 s TE Connectivity TEL 151.66 -0.14 Telus TU 16.54 0.15 Ternium TX 43.49 0.05 TFI Intl TFII 132.85 0.93 TIM TIMB 16.39 0.15 s TJX TJX 101.12 3.42 TKO TKO 106.97 -0.56 T-MobileUS TMUS 165.50 1.14 TPG TPG 43.08 -0.33 T.RowePrice TROW 117.68 0.05 TaiwanSemi TSM 156.15 2.48 Net Stock Sym Close Chg TakeTwoSoftware TTWO 150.61 -0.81 TakedaPharm TAK 13.06 -0.14 Tapestry TPR 41.48 -0.87 TargaResources TRGP 114.92 -3.28 Target TGT 143.27 -12.51 TechnipFMC FTI 25.39 -1.20 TeckResourcesB TECK 50.71 -2.69 TeledyneTech TDY 409.22 1.32 Teleflex TFX 213.09 0.10 Ericsson ERIC 5.95 0.16 TelefonicaBras VIV 8.95 0.11 Telefonica TEF 4.49 -0.05 t TelekmIndonesia TLK 18.33 -0.06 TempurSealy TPX 50.98 -1.57 Tenaris TS 33.61 -0.83 TencentMusic TME 14.72 -0.27 TenetHealthcare THC 130.42 0.06 s Teradyne TER 142.86 2.59 Tesla TSLA 180.11 -6.49 s TetraTech TTEK 220.40 1.85 TevaPharm TEVA 16.88 0.29 s TexasInstruments TXN 202.54 3.53 TexasPacLand TPL 608.02 -10.26 TexasRoadhouse TXRH 167.20 -0.59 Textron TXT 89.08 0.26 ThermoFisher TMO 590.80 0.68 s ThomsonReuters TRI 172.63 -0.47 3M MMM 101.49 -1.65 Toast TOST 26.68 0.15 TollBros TOL 119.20 -11.02 TopBuild BLD 402.23 -5.40 Toro TTC 86.26 0.03 TorontoDomBk TD 56.10 -0.76 TotalEnergies TTE 70.47 -1.38 ToyotaMotor TM 216.63 -2.73 TractorSupply TSCO 282.76 -2.92 TradeDesk TTD 95.32 -0.33 Tradeweb TW 110.60 -0.69 s TraneTech TT 333.53 -2.05 s TransDigm TDG 1326.19 -10.65 TransUnion TRU 77.13 0.51 Travelers TRV 216.54 0.29 Trex TREX 87.93 -0.02 Trimble TRMB 57.60 0.30 Trip.com TCOM 54.50 -1.33 TruistFinl TFC 38.89 -0.65 TrumpMedia&Tech DJT 44.59 0.40 Twilio TWLO 60.17 -0.28 s TylerTech TYL 497.51 1.53 TysonFoods TSN 60.30 -0.74 UBS Group UBS 30.05 -0.35 UDR UDR 39.60 -0.09 U-Haul UHAL 66.41 -1.15 U-Haul N UHAL/B 63.90 -0.64 s UL Solutions ULS 40.62 0.57 US Foods USFD 54.68 -0.03 UWM UWMC 7.02 -0.16 Uber UBER 65.48 1.51 Ubiquiti UI 152.06 0.67 UiPath PATH 19.59 -0.31 UltaBeauty ULTA 378.33 -3.50 Unilever UL 54.21 -0.07 UnionPacific UNP 234.71 -0.25 UnitedAirlines UAL 52.42 -0.61 UnitedMicro UMC 8.65 0.15 UPS B UPS 143.77 -1.65 UnitedRentals URI 682.60 -11.99 US Bancorp USB 40.77 -0.41 US Steel X 36.22 0.06 UnitedTherap UTHR 276.44 1.25 UnitedHealth UNH 521.35 -2.20 t UnitySoftware U 20.45 -0.11 UnivDisplay OLED 176.33 1.24 UniversalHealthB UHS 178.90 -1.30 UnumGroup UNM 52.92 0.17 VICI Prop VICI 29.53 -0.59 VailResorts MTN 195.57 -5.03 Vale VALE 12.65 -0.23 ValeroEnergy VLO 162.00 -0.39 Vaxcyte PCVX 71.36 -2.29 VeevaSystems VEEV 205.76 -3.48 Ventas VTR 48.47 0.10 s Veralto VLTO 100.76 1.23 VeriSign VRSN 175.07 0.85 s VeriskAnalytics VRSK 253.64 2.14 Verizon VZ 39.79 0.17 s VertexPharm VRTX 447.53 5.53 Vertiv VRT 100.13 1.00 Viatris VTRS 10.88 -0.09 s Viking VIK 29.12 -0.23 VinFastAuto VFS 4.67 -0.47 Vipshop VIPS 16.52 0.07 Visa V 275.58 -0.37 Vistra VST 94.27 0.03 Vodafone VOD 9.52 -0.02 VulcanMatls VMC 260.87 -1.31 WXYZ WEC Energy WEC 82.31 -2.27 WEX WEX 194.88 2.36 W.P.Carey WPC 59.17 -0.82 WPP WPP 51.85 -1.19 Wabtec WAB 169.60 -0.45 t WalgreensBoots WBA 16.47 -0.21 s Walmart WMT 65.25 0.10 WarnerBrosA WBD 8.06 0.17 WarnerMusic WMG 31.36 -0.16 WasteConnections WCN 165.57 0.42 WasteMgt WM 209.92 1.59 Waters WAT 348.80 -2.85 Watsco WSO 483.19 -2.21 Wayfair W 62.58 -1.66 WeatherfordIntl WFRD 117.59 -6.06 WebsterFin WBS 45.12 -0.86 WellsFargo WFC 60.93 -0.53 s Welltower WELL 101.87 0.77 WescoIntl WCC 187.86 -0.44 WestPharmSvcs WST 334.29 -2.72 WesternDigital WDC 73.54 -0.47 s WesternMidstrm WES 37.77 -0.77 Westlake WLK 157.24 -3.34 s WestRock WRK 52.95 0.22 Weyerhaeuser WY 30.70 -0.41 WheatonPrecMtls WPM 56.61 -1.21 Williams WMB 40.72 -1.06 s Williams-Sonoma WSM 279.93 -34.45 WillisTowers WTW 256.36 2.47 WillScotMobile WSC 40.40 -1.47 Wingstop WING 378.54 -1.80 Wipro WIT 5.41 0.01 Wix.com WIX 167.19 -5.81 WoodsideEnergy WDS 18.09 -0.56 Woodward WWD 182.32 -0.17 WooriFinl WF 32.88 -0.37 Workday WDAY 259.88 1.02 WynnResorts WYNN 95.48 -1.11 XP XP 17.99 -3.46 XPO XPO 105.51 -1.50 XcelEnergy XEL 55.52 -1.22 Xylem XYL 145.20 -0.75 YPF YPF 21.77 -1.76 Yum!Brands YUM 139.13 -0.17 YumChina YUMC 37.14 -1.16 ZTO Express ZTO 24.76 0.01 s ZebraTech ZBRA 326.98 5.20 Zillow C Z 41.52 -0.81 Zillow A ZG 40.84 -0.96 ZimmerBiomet ZBH 119.33 0.33 Zoetis ZTS 172.05 -0.74 ZoomVideo ZM 64.38 0.52 Zscaler ZS 174.16 -2.82 Net Stock Sym Close Chg Wednesday, May 22, 2024 How to Read the Stock Tables The following explanations apply to NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American and Nasdaq Stock Market listed securities. Prices are consolidated from trades reported by various market centers, including securities exchanges, Finra, electronic communications networks and other broker-dealers. The list comprises the 1,000 largest companies based on market capitalization. Underlined quotations are those stocks with large changes in volume compared with the issue’s average trading volume. Boldfaced quotations highlight those issues whose price changed by 5% or more if their previous closing price was $2 or higher. Footnotes: s-New 52-week high; t-New 52-week low; dd-Indicates loss in the most recent four quarters. Stock tables reflect composite regular trading as of 4 p.m. ET and changes in the official closing prices from 4 p.m. ET the previous day. BIGGEST 1,000 STOCKS F

B10 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. BANKING & FINANCE Call it the $78 million typo. That is how much Citigroup agreed to pay U.K. regulators for a trader’s fat finger when typing in an order to sell shares, an episode that caused a “flash crash” in European stocks. In May 2022, the unnamed trader in Citigroup’s global markets unit was working from home in London on a public holiday, The Wall Street Journal reported. He planned to sell a basket of shares worth $58 million, but made an “inputting error” when punching in the order in the bank’s computer system, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday, entering the value of the stocks into the wrong field. Instead of $58 million, the basket created had a value of $444 billion. A warning sign popped up on his screen but he failed to heed it, the agency said. Citigroup’s controls kicked in and blocked most of that sum from being traded, but a big chunk made it onto the markets. Roughly $189 billion of the basket went to an algorithm that sliced it into portions to be sold throughout the day, the FCA said. As a result, $1.4 billion of equities was sold on European exchanges before the trader canceled the order, the FCA said. The sales “coincided with a material short-term drop” in some European indexes, the agency said. Trading was halted momentarily in several markets that morning. Nordic stocks were hit the hardest, though other European stocks fell briefly. “These failings led to over a billion pounds of erroneous orders being executed and risked creating a disorderly market,” said Steve Smart, the FCA’s co-head of enforcement and market oversight. The FCA and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority faulted Citigroup’s internal controls for having no hard block that would have rejected the entire basket of equities from making it to the market. “Due to poor design, the trader was also able to manually override a pop-up alert, without being required to scroll down and read all the alerts within it,” the FCA said. Citigroup didn’t dispute the findings and agreed to settle, the FCA said. Citigroup suffered a trading loss of $48 million after unwinding the erroneous transactions. Citigroup said it was pleased to resolve the matter, “which arose from an individual error that was identified and corrected within minutes. We immediately took steps to strengthen our systems and controls, and remain committed to ensuring full regulatory compliance.” BY JOSH MITCHELL Citi Is Fined For ‘Fat Finger’ Trading Error U.S. investor Oaktree Capital has seized control of FC Inter Milan after the owners of the Italian champions failed to repay a rescue loan, marking Wall Street’s latest foray into European soccer. Oaktree is capitalizing on a loan it made at the height of the Covid pandemic to take over from a Chinese conglomerate that used the borrowed money to keep the team afloat. The power transfer comes just as the team, one of Italy’s most successful clubs, has hit an upswing. Inter Milan, founded in 1908, won this year’s Serie A title. It has at times struggled to keep up with other top clubs, reflecting the challenging financial environment facing even storied European teams, which need to spend ever-increasing sums to nab top players. “Oaktree is dedicated to achieving the best outcome for the long-term prosperity of Inter Milan, with an initial focus on operational and financial stability for the club and its stakeholders,” the investment firm said. Large U.S. private-credit fund managers such as Oaktree have expanded from traditional corporate lending to areas such as sports, consumer lending and equipment finance. Many of them gave lifelines to sports teams during the pandemic shutdowns, when stadiums stood empty. Some of the loans included tight covenant packages, or contractual terms, unlike more-traditional bank loans. Oaktree is taking ownership from Chinese retailer Suning, which bought a majority stake in the Italian club in 2016 for €270 million, then the equivalent of about $307 million. Inter Milan’s holding companies borrowed about €275 million from Oaktree in May salaries. The need for financing has attracted various investors, including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund as well as U.S. banks. Private credit funds also have flocked to the space. Chelsea Football Club in the U.K. raised about $500 million from Ares Management last year, part of the latter’s multibillion-dollar strategy in sports finance. Sixth Street Partners extended €360 million to Spain’s Real Madrid and roughly €530 million to FC Barcelona in recent years, but those investments weren’t directly in the teams. The firm bought rights to some of Real Madrid’s stadium operations and partial broadcasting rights from FC Barcelona, giving the firm claims on specific assets. Oaktree, founded by billionaire Howard Marks, manages about $192 billion of assets. Brookfield bought a majority stake in the business in 2019. The power shift comes as the team, one of Italy’s most successful clubs, has hit an upswing. MATTEO BAZZI/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK BY MATT WIRZ Oaktree Capital Assumes Control Of Italian Soccer Champ Inter Milan 2021 to fund payroll and operations after the club forecast record financial losses, a person familiar with the loan said. Interest on the debt accrued rather than being paid in cash, boosting the owed amount to €395 million, or about $429 million, when the loan fell due this week. Suning had been negotiating a refinancing of the Oaktree debt this year with other lenders, including Pacific Investment Management, but a deal failed to materialize, people familiar with the matter said. Oaktree is one of a growing number of large U.S. private fund managers investing in international sports clubs to diversify their portfolios. Its use of a so-called loan-to-own strategy is unusual, but not unprecedented. Elliott Management, the hedge-fund firm owned by billionaire Paul Singer, took control of Inter Milan’s crosstown rival, AC Milan, in 2018 from Chinese businessman Yonghong Li. The fund had provided rescue financing to AC Milan and backed Li’s purchase of the club. RedBird Capital bought AC Milan from Elliott in 2022. Both Elliott and Oaktree have deep roots in distressed-debt investing, a strategy that often involves lending money to troubled borrowers as a prelude to takeovers. European soccer teams generate billions of euros in revenue annually but their costs are high, in part because there are no caps on player Some large U.S. private fund managers are investing in sports clubs. WSJ’s Molly Ball joins The Journal—live from the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival. In a special episode, we discuss American perceptions of the economy, the actual numbers and what it means for the upcoming presidential election. Watch the live recording on Spotify or listen wherever you get your podcasts. ©2024 Dow Jones & Co, Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ0417 LISTEN NOW How Will Economic Perceptions Shape the Election? May 2 11 a.m. –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1% Sweden Belgium Netherlands Index performance on May 2, 2022 Source: FactSet Note: Shows BEL20 (Belgium), OMX Stockholm All Share (Sweden) and AEX Index (Amsterdam)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ****** Thursday, May 23, 2024 | B11 BY HANNAH MIAO Intercontinental Exchange caused its exchanges to violate a rule that governs how they report cyber threats to the government, regulators said on Wednesday. ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange and other bourses, didn’t immediately tell its subsidiaries about an intrusion it first identified in April 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Under SEC rules, ICE was supposed to tell the exchanges about the threat so they could quickly decide whether the incident was significant enough to disclose to regulators. ICE didn’t share the information for four days, the SEC said, which delayed the exchanges’ assessment of the intrusion. They ultimately determined the threat was minor and didn’t need to be reported to regulators. ICE agreed to pay a $10 million fine to the SEC without admitting or denying the misconduct claims. “When it comes to cybersecurity, especially events at critical market intermediaries, every second counts and four days can be an eternity,” SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal said. “Today’s order and penalty not only reflect the seriousness of the respondents’ violations, but also that several of them have been the subject of a number of prior SEC enforcement actions, including for violations of “ the cybersecurity rule. The commission’s two Republican members, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, said they disagreed with the size of the penalty, which makes it look like “the commission is more concerned with generating large penalties than with ensuring that important market entities address technological vulnerabilities.” BY DAVE MICHAELS ICE Pays Fine to Resolve SEC Probe Capital Group, the stockpicking juggernaut whose American Funds have been a staple in brokerage accounts for nearly a century, is tapping private-equity pioneer KKR to step into the lucrative world of private investments. Capital and KKR plan a series of hybrid funds that will invest in publicly and privately traded assets. The first two strategies, expected to launch next year, will hold about 60% in public bonds picked by Capital managers and 40% in direct and assetbased loans sourced by KKR. The new funds will target mass-affluent clients, or those who invest between $100,000 and $1 million. These customers hold the biggest chunk of the assets in wealth accounts and represent the next frontier for firms that manage alternative assets such as private companies, loans and real estate. Capital and KKR also intend to explore multiple flavors of hybrid funds and private assets in different markets around the world. “We’ve been referring to this as a marriage,” said Scott Nuttall, KKR’s co-CEO. “We’re going to try to figure this out, and this is the first step.” The two managers are betting their complementary investing strengths and Capital’s deep ties to financial advisers give them a better chance than others that have struggled to win over this cohort of well-off but not superrich investors. Of the 290,000 financial advisers in the U.S., some 220,000 hold at least one Capital fund, Capital CEO Mike Gitlin said. Managers have made inroads in alternatives with ultrawealthy individuals and families considered accredited investors, meaning they can be sold less-liquid, riskier funds. KKR, for one, manages more than $70 billion in wealth-client assets as of December. The pitch gets trickier at lower wealth brackets, where managers need to package private assets in vehicles that give investors more frequent access to their money. They also need to persuade the investors and their advisers that the fund’s potential returns are worth higher fees. BY JUSTIN BAER The Securities and Exchange Commission under the Biden administration has made it easier for investors to try to drag corporations into political and cultural battles, but brewing lawsuits seek to silence the activists. After a change in SEC policy eased the path for shareholders to bring forward certain proposals, investors of all political stripes have increasingly pressed companies on hot-button issues such as climate, abortion, guns and diversity, filing hundreds of proposals each year. The trend continued into this year’s proxy season—the period when most companies have their annual meetings— which is unfolding now. But companies, many of which don’t want to wade into reputationally risky areas, might get the chance to tell shareholders to pipe down. In one suit challenging the status quo, oil-and-gas company Exxon Mobil, a frequent target of shareholder proposals, sued two shareholder proponents, arguing they were activists pursuing a “Trojan horse” strategy to gain a platform to deliberately hurt its business despite only holding a tiny amount of shares. In another suit now before a federal appeals court in New Orleans, the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington trade association, serve more lactose-free and vegan food. “The shareholder proposal process is akin to a public town square. It’s a way to engage in a public and noisy way on a particular topic,” said Michael Littenberg, a partner at law firm Ropes & Gray who advises companies facing proposals. “In some cases…it is being abused.” Shareholders with as little as $2,000 in company stock for at least three years are eligible to put forward proposals under the SEC’s rule. The Exxon proponents targeted in that lawsuit have now withdrawn their proposal and argued that the lawsuit is moot—one proponent, known as Follow This, says it wants Stocks fell after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed concerns about persisting inflation and cast more doubt on when officials might cut interest rates. The S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.2% lower after both indexes closed at record highs in the prior session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 200 points, or 0.5%. Minutes from the Fed’s meeting three weeks ago showed policymakers were uncertain about sticky price pressures and agreed that recent data didn’t make them confident that inflation was moving toward the central bank’s 2% WEDNESDAY’S MARKETS goal. Some officials mentioned “a willingness to tighten policy further should risks to inflation materialize in a way that such an action became appropriate,” the minutes said. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note—a benchmark for mortgages and other borrowing costs—rose to 4.433% from 4.414% on Tuesday. Investors’ expectations for rate cuts were upended earlier this year after a string of firmer-than-anticipated inflation reports. But after a pullback in April, stocks have rallied this month. A slowdown in jobs growth and more encourMARKETS aging inflation data revived hopes that rate cuts are still in the cards this year. The S&P 500 is up 5.4% this month. Eric Freedman, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group, said his firm believes the Fed is likely to cut rates twice this year but noted that the risk of inflation picking up isn’t priced into the stock market. “High inflationary tendencies are not necessarily subsiding anytime soon,” said Freedman. Investors braced for earnings results from Nvidia after the market closed Wednesday, with shares slipping 0.5% in the regular session. The stock rose in after-hours trading after the chip maker reported record quarterly revenue, raised its dividend and announced a 10-for-1 stock split. Traders see Nvidia’s results as a test of strength for the artificial-intelligence enthusiasm that has helped power the market for the past year. “We’re still in the early innings of what appears to be this next big evolution in technology and technology spending,” said Matthew Stith, portfolio manager and director of equity research at Bartlett Wealth Management. “That being said, coming into 2024, some of the expectations were probably a little bit elevated.” In other quarterly earnings, Target shares fell 8% after the company reported a fourth consecutive quarter of declining comparable sales. Its results showed shoppers pulling back on discretionary spending, as they contended with elevated prices for everyday necessities. Toll Brothers shares declined 8.5% despite the home builder’s better-than-expected profit report. Shares of solar companies extended a recent rally, boosted by optimism that new tariffs on Chinese solar panels, surging power demand and federal subsidies will boost the sector. First Solar shares rose 19% and Enphase Energy added 8.7%. Copper futures pulled back to around $4.87 a pound in its biggest one-day percentage decline since July 2022, having settled Tuesday at an record high. Gold futures also edged lower, as did oil prices. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3%. At midday Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.3% and the Shanghai Composite was off 0.8%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%. Stocks Retreat as Fed Shows Uncertainty Policymakers aren’t confident inflation is subsiding, minutes show –0.8 –0.7 –0.6 –0.5 –0.4 –0.3 –0.2 –0.1 0 0.1 0.2% 10 a.m. 11 noon 1 p.m. 2 3 4 Index performance on Wednesday Source: FactSet Nasdaq Composite S&P 500 Dow Jones Industrial Average Five-minute intervals AUCTION RESULTS Here are the results ofWednesday's Treasury auctions. All bids are awarded at a single price at the market-clearing yield. Rates are determined by the difference between that price and the face value. 17-WEEK BILLS Applications $173,799,517,600 Accepted bids $60,221,252,600 " noncompetitively $763,454,500 " foreign noncompetitively $0 Auction price (rate) 98.269542 (5.235%) Coupon equivalent 5.401% Bids at clearing yield accepted 72.70% Cusip number 912797LJ4 The bills, dated May 28, 2024, mature on Sept. 24, 2024. 20-YEAR BONDS Applications $41,168,092,400 Accepted bids $16,949,904,400 " noncompetitively $83,899,600 " foreign noncompetitively $0 Auction price (rate) 99.866542 (4.635%) Interest rate 4.625% Bids at clearing yield accepted 30.20% Cusip number 912810UB2 The bonds, dated May 31, 2024, mature on May 15, 2044. is arguing the SEC overstepped its bounds and shouldn’t be involved in deciding which proposals make it through. Under the current system, shareholders are allowed to commandeer company proxy statements to try to advance their social or political goals in the corporate sphere after they failed in the political arena, NAM said in a court filing. The SEC is the gatekeeper on what companies must include in their proxy statements. After a 2021 rule change made it easier to float resolutions on issues that have a “broad societal impact,” the number of proposals crept up, hitting a record 739 this year, according to an analysis released on Wednesday by ISS-Corporate, a data and analytics provider. This year, investors proposed votes on whether investment bank JPMorgan Chase should audit the impact of its climate policy on developing countries, whether technology giant Apple should be more transparent about its use of artificial intelligence and if food and beverage maker PepsiCo’s diversity program discriminates against white job applicants. The SEC greenlighted those three proposals despite objections from the companies. The agency did permit several U.S. airlines to exclude proposals on changing their offerings to to avoid a precedent that could stop “shareholder democracy” and keep carbon emissions off the agenda. But Exxon wants a court’s blessing to exclude them in the future, bypassing the SEC. “When rules aren’t enforced against activists masquerading as investors, who have publicly stated they’re working to stop production of oil and natural gas, it undermines the whole system,” Exxon said. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or Calpers, will vote to unseat Exxon’s board and chief executive in the company’s annual meeting this month, Calpers Chief Executive Marcie Frost and Board President Theresa Taylor said on Monday in an open letter citing the lawsuit against investors as the public pension fund’s rationale. Other state officials on Tuesday also called for change at the top. Some companies may view activist shareholders as badfaith meddlers, but advocates for the current process argue that shareholder proposals can alert companies to changing sentiments and let investors push for new corporate policy without having to unseat the board. “Shareholders need to have a voice because management doesn’t always get it,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, a left-leaning nonprofit foundation that is behind many proposals. “Boards are not always focused.” As You Sow put forward more than 80 shareholder proposals this year, including one on alleged employee harassment at carmaker Tesla and another on competitor General Motors’ policies on deep-sea mineral mining. Right-leaning organizations in recent years also have tried to hold companies to account. ISS-Corporate said the number of so-called counter-ESG proposals increased in 2024. One proposal targeted drug company Pfizer for donating to an “equity index” that rates hospitals and scores them higher if they display LGBT symbols. The backer, the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project, says Pfizer is spending money on promoting a divisive agenda. Shareholders rejected that proposal at Pfizer’s annual meeting. Though the NCPPR, a conservative think tank that owns shares in a range of companies, brought this and other proposals, it favors a system where companies can exclude more proposals and the SEC isn’t the decider, said Scott Shepard, the director of the NCPPR’s Free Enterprise Project, which writes the proposals. Shepard said he supports Exxon’s suit. “This proposal is a proposal that asks Exxon to lose money, to kick itself in the teeth,” Shepard said. The NCPPR is a party to the lawsuit in which NAM is arguing to overturn the current system. The SEC said in its own filing that the appeals court shouldn’t upend settled expectations. But some argue that today’s system, though it may produce proposals that companies don’t necessarily welcome, can help promote longer-term thinking on big issues. And investors have put up the money to get their concerns heard, said Heidi Welsh, the executive director of the Sustainable Investments Institute, a nonprofit that researches organized efforts to influence corporations. “There’s not really any basis for saying that some investors are better than others,” Welsh said. “This is about suppression of voice in general. If you are going to make it really hard for people to participate in questioning the powers that be, people will question it less. Is that good for us?” BY RICHARD VANDERFORD Some Companies Aim to Silence Trojan-Horse Activists 2020 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Shareholder proposals submitted for annual meetings Source: ISS-Corporate Note: Proposals submitted for Russell 3000 company meetings from Jan. 1 to May 31. Details are available before the meetings. ICE owns the New York Stock Exchange and other bourses. PETER MORGAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS ‘Shareholders need to have a voice,’ said Danielle Fugere of As You Sow. Jailed FTX Founder Faces Move In March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for committing what prosecutors called one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history. Since last summer, Bankman-Fried has been jailed in New York. In April, his lawyers requested that he be allowed to stay at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while helping to prepare briefs for his appeal. In the longer run, his team had pushed for BankmanFried to serve his sentence in California, so he could be closer to his parents’ home near Stanford University. Bankman-Fried learned that the transfer was in the works several days ago and was roused early Wednesday morning for the move, the people said. Mendota, located southeast of San Francisco, is home to both a medium-security prison and an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. It wasn’t immediately clear which of the facilities would house Bankman-Fried, but due to the length his sentence, the FTX founder is likely to be placed initially in the medium-security prison, under federal guidelines Continued from page B1 KKR and Parent Of American Funds Plan Hybrid Offers

B12 | Thursday, May 23, 2024 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. HEARD ON THESTREET FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY BHP’s third potential offer for Anglo American just about keeps prospects of a mining megadeal alive, but investors are keeping their hopes firmly in check. The world’s largest mining group increased the ratio of the shares it is tentatively offering per Anglo share by roughly 9% to 0.886. According to BHP, that equates to £31.11, or about $39, for each Anglo share, including the company’s South African listed subsidiaries at their latest share prices. Anglo calculated the latest offer, which it rejected, at £29.34 based on the share prices from a month ago, before news of BHP’s interest emerged. Anglo’s shareholders aren’t putting much stock in these numbers, which value the miner at roughly $50 billion. The shares closed up less than 1% on Wednesday at roughly £27. The message from the market is that this deal isn’t going ahead. That is understandable given that BHP can’t easily go hostile. Anglo’s deep links with South Africa are considered something of a “poison pill,” as the country’s public pension fund owns roughly 7% of the company. The latest statements do, however, leave the door more open to a negotiated outcome than previous ones. Anglo agreed to extend the deadline for a formal bid by one week to give the parties time to discuss risks associated with the complex structure of BHP’s proposal, which is conditional on Anglo first spinning off its listed South African subsidiaries. And while BHP said its offer ratio was “final,” it footnoted that word with exceptions should, for example, Anglo’s board agree to recommend a deal to shareholders. The new deadline for a formal deal is Wednesday next week. If one does emerge—against the seeming odds—Anglo shares would likely jump by at least 10%. If one doesn’t, they might not fall much given that Anglo will be under pressure to deliver on the breakup plan it outlined last week. Some investors might warm to that kind of asymmetry. —Stephen Wilmot Net gold purchases by central banks, quarterly 2010 ’15 ’20 ’24 –50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 tons Source: World Gold Council –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70% Share-price and index performance over the past year Source: FactSet June 2023 ’24 Amazon Alphabet Microsoft Nasdaq Gold is having its moment. Geopolitical hedging from global central banks could keep it shining. Now at its highest level ever, around $2,400 per troy ounce, general jitters about the world alone can’t explain gold’s strength. The metal got a boost after the death of Iran’s president this week, but it has been on a tear over the past two years, appreciating 33% since the end of 2022. The rally defies some typical headwinds. Prices surged this year even though real interest rates picked up: Yields on 10-year U.S. inflation-protected Treasury securities rose by around 0.37 percentage point in 2024. Gold typically moves in the opposite direction of real yields since it doesn’t generate any income and higher-real rates make it less attractive to hold. And, notwithstanding trends like Americans buying gold bars at Costco, retail investment demand for gold hasn’t provided much support. Gold-backed exchangetraded funds have seen net outflows for three consecutive years. The big buyers behind gold’s rally? Global central banks, especially those in emerging markets. Central banks added around 2,200 tons of the metal since the third quarter of 2022, according to the World Gold Council—an increase of nearly $170 billion at current prices. Central bank net purchases account for more than a fifth of global gold demand or about twice the proportion between 2012 and 2021. The likely trigger? Western sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022 might prompted some central banks to diversify away from dollar-based assets. Russia’s roughly $300 billion in international reserves were frozen and there has even been talk of using the income on them to help defend or rebuild Ukraine. Featuring prominently in Russia’s reserves before and especially after the invasion: gold, which is easy to stockpile beyond foreigners’ reach. Most gold buying from central banks isn’t reported, but among the purchases that have been, six central banks, including China, India and Turkey, have driven all the net buying since mid-2022, aclion more than Google’s parent. The stock is also trading at a rich valuation of nearly 34 times forward earnings—17% above its five-year average and 47% over Alphabet’s multiple, according to FactSet data. Microsoft’s shares enjoyed a strong lift this past year following its aggressive move into AI, which included a close partnership with OpenAI. But investors have become increasingly worried about the rising capital expenditures needed to power AI services and the potentially slow payoff those services can generate for tech giants whose existing businesses rival the gross domestic product of midsize countries. In a report last weekend, Bernstein software analyst Mark Moerdler predicted that the first wave of generative AI deployment “will center around incremental functionalities for existing apps” such as Microsoft Office. “More transformative, custom, and industry-centric apps would be part of a second wave, which could be out at least 1-2 years in the future,” he wrote. Hence, Microsoft will do whatcording to Goldman Sachs. China’s central bank has been buying gold for 18 straight months since November 2022, boosting its gold reserves by 16%, or 10 million troy ounces. China’s economy is much larger and more important to the world than Russia’s was in 2022, which would make imposing sanctions tougher if it invaded Taiwan. A direct military conflict with the U.S. would be a different matter. Clearly, China can’t move all of its $3.4 trillion in reserves into bullion, but increasing its exposure to gold could move the market quite significantly. Gold was approaching 5% of China’s total reserves as of April—a rise from around 3% in 2022. If China allocates just 1% more of its reserves into gold, that would be equal to around 9% of total global supply last year, using current prices. Continuing geopolitical tensions between China and the West should keep gold bugs happy. —Jacky Wong New Gold Allure: It’s Sanctions-Proof Buying from central banks can keep the gold rally going even if anxious investors don’t jump in Satya Nadella’s Microsoft is working on getting its Copilot artificialintelligence assistant in front of as many users as it can. Why Microsoft Is Spreading Its AI Bets to PCs Microsoft has come a very long way from depending on personal computers for its livelihood. But the world’s most valuable company needs all the help it can get these days. The software giant kicked off its annual Build developers conference this week with a focus on hardware. The wares on display were mostly new versions of the company’s Surface laptops and tablets designed with generative artificialintelligence capabilities on the device. The new machines also use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors and an optimized version of Windows that together are designed to perform powerful AIcomputing functions with smartphonelike battery life. Microsoft’s early lead in AI now has the company feeling bold enough to challenge even Apple on its home turf. “We’re going to outperform them,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told The Wall Street Journal of his expectation for the new Surface devices against Apple’s Mac computers. It is a tall order. Apple sold nearly $30 billion of Macs in the 12- month period that ended in March. Microsoft generated less than $5 billion in device revenue over the same period. But Microsoft’s main mission these days is to get its AI assistant, known as Copilot, in front of as many users as it can. It is already doing so by adopting the technology across its powerful base of enterprise software services. But that can also be a slow process—one that depends on big companies’ signing major deals to deploy the Copilot tool and drive its use. Google, by contrast, told its own developers conference last week that it will be embedding its Gemini AI tool directly into its search engine, which powers more than 90% of the world’s internet searches. The stock of Google’s parent, Alphabet, has risen 4% since that conference, bringing its year-todate gain to 26%. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s shares picked up less than 1% on Tuesday following the opening keynote of its Build conference, paring a nearly 2% morning gain ahead of the event. The stock is lagging behind its archrival’s yearto-date gain by more than 10 percentage points. Microsoft is still worth about $3.2 trillion, which is about $1 trilever it can to give Copilot more lift now, and that won’t stop with its own devices. The PC makers Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo Group and others also are embracing ondevice AI for their Windows-powered machines, with major launches coming later this year. In a note Tuesday, Vivek Arya of BofA Securities projected that annual sales of AI-enabled PCs will hit 127 million in 2027—a big number considering zero were sold last year. One would hope Microsoft’s AI assistant knows how to sell itself. —Dan Gallagher Is the “Tar-Jay” magic still alive? Investors aren’t sure. The retailer on Wednesday said comparable sales declined 3.7% from a year earlier in its quarter ended May 4. That was only slightly worse than the 3.6% decline Wall Street was expecting. Perhaps more concerning was the fact that rival Walmart U.S. reported a 3.8% increase in comparable sales in its corresponding quarter. Target shares slid some 8% in Wednesday’s trading. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of on-year comparable sales declines for Target. Consumers are still cautious about discretionary purchases, a sentiment that makes it difficult for Target’s merchandising magic to shine. Target relies more on categories like apparel, toys and kitchen gadgets than big-box peers like Costco and Walmart. Target on Wednesday said sales in discretionary categories continue to decline, especially in home and hardlines, a category that includes appliances. Investors have reasons to fret. The retailer said it expects comparable sales for the current quarter to be flat to up 2%, implying a midpoint growth expectation of 1%. That falls well below the 1.8% analysts were penciling in. And while a sales decline in discretionary categories isn’t surprising—Walmart experienced it too in the U.S.—Target said it saw lower unit volume sales in groceries and essentials, too. This is yet another indication that Target isn’t top of mind for consumers searching for everyday needs. The retailer is trying to change that. In February, it launched a brand similar to Amazon Basics called “dealworthy” that sells essentials like charging cords and underwear at bargain prices. On Monday, Target said that it will lower prices on about 5,000 frequently shopped items such as milk, bread and diapers. Of course, the low-price grocery space isn’t an easy one to compete in given Walmart’s strong foothold. Nevertheless it is a good place to start, and reducing “shrink”—or theft—levels at the retailer should help offset the impact on margins. Target left its full-year earnings guidance unchanged, implying that price cuts won’t have a material impact. Target looks cheap relative to big-box peers, and its valuation gap to Walmart has widened. Its shares are now trading at 0.61 times forward-12-month sales, 21% cheaper than Walmart on the same metric and 22% cheaper than its own five-year average. Through most of the pandemic, Target’s multiple exceeded Walmart’s by a bigger margin. This suggests the selloff could be overdone. After all, Target’s top- and bottom-line results largely fell within Wall Street expectations last quarter. Its operating margins have stabilized and were in fact up slightly in the quarter. Target’s own guidance for the current quarter should be easy to beat given easier comparisons: Last year, comparable sales at Target fell 5.4% in the summer quarter after the consumer backlash over its Pride Month merchandise. It might not take that much good news to trigger a rebound in Target’s stock in the coming quarters. —Jinjoo Lee As Consumers Pull Back, Target Aims At Basics Investors Aren’t Buying BHP’s Mining Megadeal Anglo American share price, past three months March 2024 April May 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500p Value of BHP’s latest offer* *Valuing Anglo American’s listed subsidiaries at the latest market value Note: 100 GB pence = $1.27 Source: FactSet FROM TOP: JASON REDMOND/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES; JAAP ARRIENS/NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS