An XRP holder proposed raising XRP Ledger fees 100x, but even that hike would cost only $0.0015 per transaction, which amounts to a negligible dent across 63 billion circulating tokens.
David Schwartz called higher fees 'truly bizarre,' warning they would drive away payment processors and undermine XRP Ledger's core advantage of cheap, fast settlement.
Higher fees would force active users to subsidize passive holders, and any fee change requires validator approval, which is a threshold this proposal hasn't reached.
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Recently, an XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) holder made a bold proposal on X, suggesting that XRP Ledger fees be raised 10 to 100 times to enable a larger XRP burn with each transaction. Burning tokens reduces the total supply, a move many holders support because it could increase the value of their remaining tokens.

#tokens #ledger

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the child savings accounts known as Trump Accounts will complement Social Security, improving retirement security for the youngest Americans.
"Depending on which age a beneficiary decides to take Social Security — 62, 65, 70 — on the other side of the ledger, if they have maintained their Trump accounts into retirement age, then they will also have a substantial nest egg that they can grow upon for their retirement needs," Bessent said at an event on Monday, highlighting the Trump Accounts in Harrisburg, Pa.
As of Oct. 1, the Treasury Department shifted the accounts from a voluntary index-fund investment to automatic enrollment to ensure broader access to the child savings accounts.
Read more: How to open a Trump Account for your child: A step-by-step guide
Nearly 70 million children under 18 with a valid Social Security number now have Trump accounts established in their names. That's up from 7 million signups last week. It's now up to parents and guardians to claim their child's account.

#accounts #security #Retirement #account

Prosper Stars & Stripes, a long/short equity fund, recently released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. In Q2 2026, the portfolio delivered a strong net return of +30.1% compared to the Russell 2000 Index's +21.5% return and the HFRX Equity Hedge Index's +10.3% return. The long book drove performance, generating a 43.2% gross contribution, while average net exposure remained relatively modest at 47%. U.S. economic growth remained resilient despite inflation concerns, elevated energy prices, and geopolitical uncertainty. Markets rallied sharply after easing U.S.-Iran tensions pushed oil prices lower, supporting renewed risk appetite. Small-cap equities benefited significantly, with Information Technology, Industrials, and Health Care leading gains, while Energy declined as crude prices fell. Year to date, the Composite returned +23.7%, slightly ahead of the Russell 2000's +22.6% and well above the HFRI Equity Hedge Index's +9.7%. Additionally, you can review the Portfolio's top 5 holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Prosper Stars & Stripes highlighted Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG). Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) specializes in precision measurement and sensing technologies. On September 14, 2026, Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) closed at $60.49 per share. Over the past month, Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) declined 10.77%, while its shares gained 85.95% over the past 52 weeks. Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) has a market capitalization of $805.75 million, and its shares traded within a 52-week range of $28.71 and $151.78.
Prosper Stars & Stripes stated the following regarding Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) was the largest contributor to our long book during the second quarter of 2026. Vishay's core technologies, bulk metal foil resistors and bonded foil strain gauges, are niche, designed-in sensor solutions embedded in precision instruments, such as semiconductor test equipment and aerospace, medical, military, and robotics applications. Vishay has done a lot of work during the industrial downturn to improve its footprint to have more profitable growth as the industrial economy recovers after years of tepid performance. In addition, Vishay is pursuing a substantial secular growth opportunity in humanoid robotics, with $500 to $1,200 in content per robot. Management is executing on both sides of the ledger: cutting costs while strengthening the leadership bench with new Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer roles. Together, these initiatives are expected to lift gross margins and EBITDA margins from 39% and 8% in 2025 toward long-term targets of 46% and 20% over the next several years. We reduced and then exited our position in Vishay during the quarter but still see good value in th

On August 6, PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) reported second-quarter results for the period ended June 30, and buried in the numbers was something the plastics recycler has chased for years: an actual branded product on store shelves. Select Downy detergent caps made with PureCycle's PureFive resin entered commercial production for Procter & Gamble during the quarter, the first tangible sign the company's purification technology can clear a major consumer brand's supply chain. Revenue came in at $4.5 million, up roughly 173% from a year earlier and the sixth straight quarter of sequential growth.
The Downy win was not an isolated event. PureCycle said select Tide caps are scheduled for retail production in the third quarter, with Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. Seven customer conversions took place during the quarter, alongside six new commercial partnerships spanning closures, automotive, film, and food packaging, including Amcor, Motherson, and Innovia Films. Regulation is doing real work here too. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection approved PureFive as post-consumer recycled content, a decision that arrives as the state's food contact exemption expires in January 2027 and its recycled content requirement climbs to 20%, while California's SB54 is already in effect.
Operationally, the Ironton facility's planned turnaround finished ahead of schedule and under budget, with more than 170 reliability and rate projects completed and inspections showing no corrosion on major equipment. On-site compounding, commissioned in April, is now running 24 hours a day, five days a week, with plans to expand to seven by the fourth quarter. PureCycle also picked up ISO 9001:2015 certification in May and closed the quarter with $236.9 million in total liquidity after a June capital raise.
The other side of the ledger is harder to ignore. PureCycle posted a net loss of $142.2 million for the quarter, and adjusted EBITDA actually widened to a loss of $31.7 million from a loss of $27.8 million a year earlier, a shift the company attributes to smaller non-cash addbacks rather than weaker operations. PureFive production fell to 4.5 million pounds for the quarter, a direct result of the planned turnaround, even though output was still up about 32% from a year ago. Growth is not coming cheap either. Full-year 2026 project spending guidance was raised to a range of $45 million to $50 million, up from the prior $39 million to $45 million.

#year #loss

Three Polk County runners won their individual cross country meet on Saturday, and two county quarterbacks excelled in both running and passing to lead their team and are among the top athletes in this week's Tremendous 10 poll. They joined by volleyball players and a boys golfer to fill out the list.
In last week's poll, Lake Gibson running back Raymond Diaz finished with 48 percent of the vote to edge Lake Wales boys cross country Gabriel Harris (41.5 percent).
Nominees for the Tremendous 10 poll can be sent to roy.fuocotheledger.com by 9 a.m. every Monday.
Football: Lakeland Christian still finds challenges in blowout victory
Football: Fort Meade wins defensive showdown over Tenoroc

#lake #boys

XRP trades at $1.44, up 40% in 30 days, but remains down 23% year-to-date and needs $1.84 to break even for 2026.
A Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act and an FOMC rate decision converge mid-month, but the House canceled September votes, pushing final crypto legislation into a lame-duck session.
The XRP Ledger earned BIS approval for recording official statistics hashes, adding long-term institutional demand context without predicting near-term price moves.
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XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) trades at about $1.42 on September 9, 2026, up roughly 38% from its $1.03 close a month ago and about 5.3% from its September 2 close. The move comes just ahead of two major U.S. events: a September 15 Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act and the Federal Reserve's September 15–16 policy meeting.

#september #vote

Iran is increasingly using cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border trade as the country faces intensifying U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, the Financial Times reported on Sep. 8.
A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that runs on a blockchain, a shared public ledger, allowing money to move across borders without passing through the traditional banking system.
The country's central bank has in recent months quietly eased its strict foreign currency controls, encouraging businesses to bring funds back into the country through whatever channels are available, including crypto exchanges that handle Tether's USDT and Bitcoin (BTC), citing regime insiders, business executives and **** ysts, the report said.
Tether's USDT is a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value against the U.S. dollar, making it useful for trade settlements.
Bitcoin is the world's first and largest decentralized cryptocurrency which has seen a wild appreciation in its value since its launch in 2009.

#trade #Iran

The Iowa football program has always prided itself on a strong running game led by a tough offensive line and gritty backs. Even though football has evolved into more of a passing sport, Kirk Ferentz hasn't forgotten the fundamentals of what he's built his program on.
That was evident in the Hawkeyes' 2026 season opener on Saturday.
Iowa established the run game early and often in its 40-0 win over Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes finished the game with 38 carries for 289 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. They also had two rushing touchdowns, which both came in the first quarter courtesy of fourth-year running back Kamari Moulton.
Moulton opened 2026 with a 50-yard score behind pristine blocking from the offensive line. A few minutes later, he added a 37-yard touchdown run to his ledger, once again following some fantastic blocks. By the time the first quarter came to an end, Moulton had already rushed for over 130 yards.
Kamari Moulton has 6 carries for 132 yards and 2 TD’s today. It’s still the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/qJsJGwszdC

#program

On August 5, Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) reported second-quarter results that read less like a snapshot of today and more like a countdown to a verdict. The clinical-stage vaccine maker has no product on the market yet, but its three late-stage trials for its lead pneumococcal candidate are now fully enrolled, with the first major readout due before year-end. Add a net loss that nearly doubled and a boardroom that just brought in two vaccine-industry veterans, and you have a company betting its near-term story on data still to come.
Vaxcyte's three Phase 3 studies of VAX-31, its next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, have dosed 6,191 adults combined, with roughly 3,500 of them receiving the actual candidate. The largest, OPUS-1, put 4,049 participants through head-to-head comparisons against Prevnar 20 and Capvaxive, the two shots VAX-31 needs to beat to earn a spot in the standard vaccination schedule. Data on safety, tolerability, and immune response from that trial are due in the fourth quarter of 2026, with results from OPUS-2 and OPUS-3 following in the first half of 2027.
A separate Phase 2 study testing VAX-31 in infants, covering both the primary immunization series and a booster dose, is on a similar timeline. In June, Vaxcyte also dosed the first participants in a Phase 1 study of VAX-A1, aimed at preventing disease from Group A Streptococcus, with topline data expected in the second half of 2027. As of June 30, cash and investments stood at $2.5 billion, up from $2.44 billion at the end of 2025, and the board added Dr. Moncef Slaoui, previously chief scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed and a three-decade GSK veteran, alongside Dr. John Markels, the former president of Merck's global vaccines business.
None of that pipeline progress comes cheap. Vaxcyte's net loss for the quarter ended June 30 was $284.3 million, up from $166.6 million in the same period a year earlier, and the increase shows up on both sides of the ledger. R&D spending rose to $267.9 million from $194.2 million, driven by manufacturing work to prepare for a possible launch and by the cost of running three simultaneous Phase 3 trials at once. G&A expenses climbed too, to $34.9 million from $32 million, largely from adding headcount.
Because Vaxcyte has no approved product generating sales, every one of those dollars comes straight off the balance sheet. The calendar adds pressure of its own: even a clean OPUS-1 readout in the fourth quarter of 2026 still leaves the OPUS-2 and OPUS-3 results, plus a required manufacturing consistency study, sitting in the first half of 2027, pushing any license application and launch well beyond that. The newer VAX-A1 program is earlier still, with its second stage contingent on a safety board signing off on the first.

#phase

On August 5, Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) reported second-quarter results that read less like a snapshot of today and more like a countdown to a verdict. The clinical-stage vaccine maker has no product on the market yet, but its three late-stage trials for its lead pneumococcal candidate are now fully enrolled, with the first major readout due before year-end. Add a net loss that nearly doubled and a boardroom that just brought in two vaccine-industry veterans, and you have a company betting its near-term story on data still to come.
Vaxcyte's three Phase 3 studies of VAX-31, its next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, have dosed 6,191 adults combined, with roughly 3,500 of them receiving the actual candidate. The largest, OPUS-1, put 4,049 participants through head-to-head comparisons against Prevnar 20 and Capvaxive, the two shots VAX-31 needs to beat to earn a spot in the standard vaccination schedule. Data on safety, tolerability, and immune response from that trial are due in the fourth quarter of 2026, with results from OPUS-2 and OPUS-3 following in the first half of 2027.
A separate Phase 2 study testing VAX-31 in infants, covering both the primary immunization series and a booster dose, is on a similar timeline. In June, Vaxcyte also dosed the first participants in a Phase 1 study of VAX-A1, aimed at preventing disease from Group A Streptococcus, with topline data expected in the second half of 2027. As of June 30, cash and investments stood at $2.5 billion, up from $2.44 billion at the end of 2025, and the board added Dr. Moncef Slaoui, previously chief scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed and a three-decade GSK veteran, alongside Dr. John Markels, the former president of Merck's global vaccines business.
None of that pipeline progress comes cheap. Vaxcyte's net loss for the quarter ended June 30 was $284.3 million, up from $166.6 million in the same period a year earlier, and the increase shows up on both sides of the ledger. R&D spending rose to $267.9 million from $194.2 million, driven by manufacturing work to prepare for a possible launch and by the cost of running three simultaneous Phase 3 trials at once. G&A expenses climbed too, to $34.9 million from $32 million, largely from adding headcount.
Because Vaxcyte has no approved product generating sales, every one of those dollars comes straight off the balance sheet. The calendar adds pressure of its own: even a clean OPUS-1 readout in the fourth quarter of 2026 still leaves the OPUS-2 and OPUS-3 results, plus a required manufacturing consistency study, sitting in the first half of 2027, pushing any license application and launch well beyond that. The newer VAX-A1 program is earlier still, with its second stage contingent on a safety board signing off on the first.

#opus #data

The Ripple dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD has surpassed a $2Bn market capitalization, with more than $1Bn of that supply issued on the XRP Ledger, according to Jack McDonald, Ripple's senior vice president responsible for stablecoins.
The milestone arrived less than two years after RLUSD's launch, McDonald said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, first reported by blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic.
This is not simply a supply-growth headline. It is Ripple's clearest signal yet that RLUSD is meant to function as dollar-based settlement infrastructure across tokenized finance, payments, and lending, rather than as a token confined to exchange order books.
McDonald's disclosure stated that RLUSD issued on the XRP Ledger alone has exceeded $1Bn, a figure distinct from the token's total market capitalization across all networks.
The primary reporting places this announcement in early September, with The Crypto Basic's account crediting the milestone to McDonald's own attestation post rather than to a third-party data aggregator.

#ledger #dollar #market

Sam Darnold snubbed at No. 100 as ESPN Buries Seahawks' super bowl winner before ***** le defense originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Landing dead last on ESPN's list of the top 100 NFL players for 2026 is a strange fate for a quarterback who just lifted a Lombardi Trophy. Yet that is exactly where Seattle's Sam Darnold sits.
A dozen ESPN ***** ysts and reporters built the ranking around what they expect in 2026 rather than what a player has already banked, which is how a 14-3 record, an NFC crown, and a championship end up buried at the bottom of the ledger.
Seahawks beat writer Brady Henderson wrote the note attached to Darnold's placement, and it read less like a takedown than a backhanded compliment.
"No quarterback has more wins over the past two seasons than Darnold, who has 31 with the Vikings and Seahawks," Henderson wrote. "He'd be higher on this list if not for his league-high 20 turnovers in 2025, though he went the final four games without one. One reason Darnold could be better in 2026: This is the first time since 2020 that he returns to the same team as its unquestioned starter."

#seahawks #sporting #quarterback #wrote

Ripple just unlocked 1 billion XRP. On Sept 1, blockchain tracker Whale Alert flagged three separate transactions, 500 million, 400 million, and 100 million XRP from Ripple's escrow system.
The move is part of Ripple's long-established monthly escrow release schedule, but the size and timing, arriving as XRP shows signs of technical strength, makes it worth understanding what it does mean for investors.
At the time of writing, about 31.28 billion XRP remained locked in Ripple's on-chain escrow, roughly 31.3% of the total 100 billion supply, according to XRP insights.
Last week, Australian lawyer and digital ******* ets enthusiast Bill Morgan flagged about this transaction while reviewing a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the Cryptex Digital Market Cap ETF.
Morgan shared that Ripple has indicated it could release additional XRP from escrow to support on-ledger liquidity for stablecoin and foreign exchange trading pairs if the CLARITY Act is passed.

#million #exchange #release #sept

McKeel finished second at the George Whitmire Invitational and Geneva Classical and Lakeland Christian finished fifth and sixth, respectively. They are three of the top boys team in Polk County, but George Jenkins hasn't run its top four runners yet this season.
While the team competition is up for grabs, so is the individual boys competition. Lake Wales' Gabriel Harris heads into the season as the to returning runner, but he could be challenged by McKeel' Aidan Alam and Geneva Classical's Ryder Dempsey. Or perhaps another runner will emerges.
Let us know who you think the top runner is.
Bosy cross country: Here are the top boys runners in Polk to watch in 2026
Top boys runners in 2025: Meet The Ledger's 2025 All-County Boys Cross Country Team

#boys

On Aug. 18, Ripple closed a bond sale in an upsized $275 million private placement of senior unsecured notes. The cash is intended to fund the operation and expansion of Ripple Prime, the company's relatively new institutional brokerage arm. XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), for its part, was coasting near $1 that week, one of its weakest weekly closes in nearly two years.
Since then, XRP's price has surged by around 52% thanks to strength in the wider crypto market, but that still leaves its holders with an uncomfortable thought. Ripple raised real money while the coin went nowhere, suggesting that XRP's fortunes are, at least in the market's eyes, distinct from those of its issuer. So, is there actually a way that Ripple's raise can end up helping XRP down the line, or not?
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The senior unsecured notes issued by Ripple are normal corporate debt, and not anything that could be considered bearish for XRP, as it's a coin ****** ociated with a blockchain, and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has no balance sheet that can be affected by Ripple taking on liabilities.
But investors should take note of the financing approach that Ripple chose.

#Crypto #flashing #senior

Four Jackson State football players — Reid Pulliam, Kazaraius Bowie, BJ Washington and Tymon Wells — were granted temporary restraining orders in Hinds County Chancery Court on Aug. 27 to grant them eligibility for now.
The four sued the NCAA on Aug. 24 in an attempt to gain an extra year of eligibility after they weren't included for a fifth year in the NCAA's new age-based model.
The news comes two days before the Tigers begin their 2026 season at Tennessee State on Aug. 29 (7:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
The temporary restraining order, obtained by the Clarion Ledger, lasts for 10 days. Jackson State's home opener is Sept. 5 against Edward Waters.
The order also states the NCAA is temporarily restrained and enjoined from any and all action "that penalizes petitions or JSU as a result of the entry of this order or such participation."

#order #state #temporary #year

Investors poured more than $56 billion into US-listed ETFs during the week ending Aug. 21, lifting year-to-date inflows past $1.3 trillion.

US equity ETFs took in about half the total at $25 billion. US fixed income added $12.5 billion, international equity funds gathered $5.6 billion, and international fixed income took in $2.5 billion.

Commodity ETFs were the notable standout, pulling in almost $5 billion, while currency funds at $2.2 billion and alternatives at $2.8 billion also had strong weeks.

The S&P 500 slipped a little over 1% last week, pulling back from the record highs it had set the week before. Bonds stayed under pressure even after the Treasury Department moved to support the market, announcing it would double the size of its long-dated debt buybacks.

Yields fell briefly on the news but quickly reversed, leaving the 30-year Treasury yield not far from the 19-year high above 5.3% it reached on Aug. 17.

The Treasury's attempts to keep long-term yields down revived the so-called debasement trade. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) took in $3.4 billion and the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) added more than $1 billion as both gold and bitcoin spiked. Gold is now back in the green, up around 8% on the year after spending much of the summer underwater. IBIT remains down about 10% in 2026, though that is a marked improvement from the 33% loss it was nursing at its worst point in June.

On the other side of the ledger, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) led outflows, shedding $1.7 billion. Semiconductor stocks have been treading water lately, chopping up and down after starting the third quarter under pressure.

The broader AI trade remains intact, but it has grown increasingly volatile as investors go back and forth over whether the rally is sustainable and whether the group has already peaked.

For a full list of last week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below
Ticker
Name
Net Flows ($, mm)
AUM ($, mm)

#etfs #year #took #down

By Khushi Malhotra
MUMBAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - India will launch tokenised corporate bonds next month, as it tests the use of blockchain technology to enable instant settlement of ‌bond transactions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.
The notes, ‌to be issued for the first time by state-owned power financier REC, would place India alongside markets such as Europe and Hong Kong in using the technology for issuance and settlement.
Tokenised bonds are securities whose ownership, issuance, trading and settlement are recorded digitally on a blockchain or distributed ledger, allowing transactions to be completed almost instantly.
India's markets regulator and central bank are working together on pushing the technology, according ‌to the sources, who spoke on ⁠the condition of anonymity as the discussions are ongoing and confidential.

#Blockchain #transactions #sources #issuance

By Khushi Malhotra
MUMBAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - India will launch tokenised corporate bonds next month, as it tests the use of blockchain technology to enable instant settlement of ‌bond transactions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.
The notes, ‌to be issued for the first time by state-owned power financier REC, would place India alongside markets such as Europe and Hong Kong in using the technology for issuance and settlement.
Tokenised bonds are securities whose ownership, issuance, trading and settlement are recorded digitally on a blockchain or distributed ledger, allowing transactions to be completed almost instantly.
India's markets regulator and central bank are working together on pushing the technology, according ‌to the sources, who spoke on ⁠the condition of anonymity as the discussions are ongoing and confidential.

#tokenised

Altcoins, which are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), are usually considered speculative and volatile investments. But they're also high-risk, high-reward tokens that could have much greater upside potential than Bitcoin.
Two of the market's most closely watched altcoins are XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Ether (CRYPTO: ETH). Both altcoins have struggled over the past year as fears of interest rate hikes and other macro headwinds drove investors toward more conservative investments, but will one recover faster than the other when the crypto market warms up again?
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain that was designed to provide fast, low-cost cross-border payments. It was created by the founders of Ripple, a fintech company that specializes in blockchain-based money transfers. It's still primarily used as a bridge currency for fiat transactions on Ripple's platform, but it's being adopted by other financial institutions (especially in **** an) to accelerate cross-border transactions with lower fees. The bulls believe XRP's value will rise as its ledger replaces those legacy financial rails.
Ether is the native token of Ethereum, the world's largest proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. As a PoS blockchain, it supports staking (locking up tokens to earn yield) and smart contracts (for developing decentralized apps and other tokenized **** ets). Every time a user makes a transaction on Ethereum, they must pay a "gas fee" in Ether. Therefore, Ether's value is driven by Ethereum's ability to draw more developers and decentralized app users to its ecosystem.

#Crypto #altcoins #flashing #ledger

On August 7, Hawaiian Electric (NYSE:HE) reported second-quarter net income of $123.2 million, or $0.71 per share, numbers that look strong at first glance. Much of that gain traces back to a non-cash Maui wildfire settlement adjustment, not the underlying business, and core net income actually dropped once it's stripped out. The quarter tells the story of a utility making real regulatory progress on wildfire recovery and grid investment while its day-to-day operating costs keep climbing.
Hawaiian Electric has cleared several regulatory hurdles this year. In June, the Public Utilities Commission approved recovery of roughly $350 million in Wildfire Mitigation Plan spending, and the company now plans to finance that spending through securitization under Act 258 rather than the more limited Exceptional Project Recovery Mechanism, a move it says lowers the cost to customers.
The commission also accepted the company's rate rebasing methodology in June, and Hawaiian Electric resubmitted its request last month seeking a total base rate increase of $170 million phased in over two years, with $125 million taking effect in 2027 if the commission issues an interim decision by December 18. On the generation side, the company submitted a request for proposals on July 17 ahead of the August 7 issuance date, seeking nearly 1,650 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy, one of the largest competitive procurements in state history. Credit agencies have taken notice, with S&P upgrading Hawaiian Electric one notch in July, following Moody's upgrade in April.
The cost side of the ledger tells a rougher story. Core net income and earnings per share fell to $22.5 million and $0.13 in the quarter, down from $35.4 million and $0.20 a year earlier, and utility core net income slipped to $32.6 million from $42.5 million. Higher interest expense from last September's high-yield debt issuance is part of the drag, along with increased spending on vegetation management, generation overhauls, and inspection and maintenance. The company also lost a deferral it used last year for roughly $28 million in wildfire-related expenses, including insurance premiums, and it is now absorbing storm response costs from the severe flooding that hit Hawaii in February and March.
Management expects to hit the maximum penalty under its Fuel Cost Risk Sharing Mechanism this year and to book a loss under its performance incentive mechanisms. Regulators are also pushing back in places. On August 5, the commission told Hawaiian Electric it needs to demonstrate a clear need before it can proceed with a proposed request for up to 500 megawatts of additional firm generation capacity on Oahu.

#million #wildfire #august #core

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) delivered a second quarter that beat its own outlook on nearly every line, then turned around and eliminated jobs and reshuffled its leadership team. On the call held August 5, CEO Jeremy Wacksman and newly expanded COO and CFO Jeremy Hofmann laid out a business growing far faster than the housing market around it, alongside a restructuring meant to fund that growth. The two stories sitting side by side are worth pulling apart.
Q2 revenue rose 18% year-over-year to $772 million, ahead of the high end of guidance, while EBITDA hit $176 million for a 23% margin. For Sale revenue climbed 14% to $549 million even though the purchase mortgage market was flat, and mortgages revenue jumped 75% to $84 million as purchase loan origination volume nearly doubled. Rentals revenue grew 31% to $209 million, powered by 42% growth in multifamily and a record 79,000 multifamily properties on the platform, up 23% from a year earlier.
Management is also leaning into AI Mode, now live for about 20% of signed-in users, where engaged consumers spend more than three times as long on the site and contact an agent at nearly three times the rate of everyone else. Zillow Home Loans has become a top-25 purchase lender nationally, and the shift toward its "preferred" agent model generated 23% more revenue per connection in 2025, with management targeting 35% by the end of 2026. The company backed that confidence with $200 million in buybacks during the quarter and $826 million year-to-date.
The other side of the ledger is messier. A day before the call, Zillow eliminated roughly 7% of its workforce, booking $36 million in restructuring costs in the quarter with another $23 million to $28 million expected in the third quarter. Chief Operating Officer Jun Choo is stepping down to focus on his health, replaced in an expanded role by Hofmann. Despite the adjusted net income of $118 million, Zillow posted a GAAP net loss of $4 million.
Management also revised its view of the purchase mortgage market lower, now expecting originations down low to mid single digits rather than flat, citing rates that have risen since their lows earlier in the year. The accounting mechanics of the preferred transition are adding real drag too: residential revenue is expected to be flat in the third quarter and only in line with a shrinking mortgage industry in the fourth, as 600 to 800 basis points of revenue shifts from residential into mortgages and seasonality adds another 200 to 300 basis points of headwind in Q4.

#market

The PJM Interconnection set an all-time peak demand record on July 2 of this year, preliminarily estimated at more than 168,000 MW. That broke a mark that had stood since 2006. There were no rolling blackouts, and the commentary that followed carried a note of relief, even congratulation: the system held up. That is true. It is also dangerously incomplete.Consider the ledger of what holding up required:
Two federal emergency orders under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, one waiving environmental limits so plants could run past permit restrictions and one authorizing forced curtailment of data centers onto backup generation.
A recall of generators from scheduled maintenance.
Activation of emergency demand response.
Operating reserves roughly halved in a single day to about 5,100 MW.

#consider

During Mad Money's episode aired on August 3, host Jim Cramer spotlighted Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) after the enterprise software firm surged 31% in July, placing it among the top four gainers in the S&P 500 for the month. Cramer highlighted how Workday began reclaiming ground after extended selling pressure tied to artificial intelligence concerns. He stated:
Fourth best performer in July was Workday, up 31%. Now, this is an enterprise software stock that's also been hammered by the AI displacement trade, and it's still down nearly 50% from its peak in early 2024. Now, we know ServiceNow reported and roared when we saw those new numbers. It was just a couple of weeks ago. Workday could do the same thing if its numbers impress us later this month.
As Cramer detailed, July's impressive 31% gains represent an initial step toward recovery for a stock that remains down over 40% from its early 2024 highs. Wall Street's fear that generative AI technologies would reduce demand for traditional software platforms severely weighed on Workday, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:WDAY) valuation over the past quarters. However, recent quarterly results across the broader cloud software sector suggest enterprise software platforms may be positioning themselves as major distribution channels for corporate AI applications rather than victims of replacement.
While Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) and ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) both serve Fortune 500 software requirements, their underlying platform architectures target distinct enterprise operations. Workday operates as the central repository for core human capital management, payroll, and financial planning operations. Its core platform handles sensitive employee records, executive organizational charts, and corporate ledgers, creating exceptionally deep customer retention and high switching costs across enterprise clients.
On the other hand, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) focuses primarily on IT service management, digital workflow orchestration, and customer service automation. While ServiceNow automates cross-departmental tasks across enterprise IT infrastructure, Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) controls the foundational system of record for workforce and financial data. Rather than competing head-to-head, both platforms serve significant, non-overlapping functions within enterprise software systems. Workday's launch of specialized AI tools and agent integration frameworks within its HR and finance platform aims to capture similar enterprise AI spending momentum as ServiceNow.

#workday

As Dana Brown works through the final year of his current contract as Astros general manager, it's fair to start evaluating his tenure the same way you would any executive in professional sports.
Create a ledger.
Put the good decisions on one side, the questionable ones on the other, and determine whether the positives outweigh the negatives.
There have certainly been positives.
Perhaps Brown's biggest success came when the Astros realized they weren't going to sign Kyle Tucker to the massive long-term contract he was eventually going to command. Rather than allowing another star player to simply walk out the door, Brown acted.

#contract #create

OXFORD — Ole Miss football great Archie Manning will be getting a statue outside the Manning Center.
An Ole Miss spokesperson confirmed the news to the Clarion Ledger on Aug. 8, and said the school will have more information in the coming days.
Manning, 77, is one of the most revered figures in the history of the Ole Miss program. He was the star quarterback for Ole Miss from 1968-70 under coach Johnny Vaught. Manning also played baseball at Ole Miss.
Manning ended his Ole Miss career with 56 touchdowns, which was a school record, and 5,576 yards of total offense. He finished No. 3 in Heisman Trophy voting in 1970. He was a 1989 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame and was drafted No. 2 overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1971 NFL Draft.
Additionally, Manning is the father of NFL greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Eli played for Ole Miss from 2000-03 and was third in Heisman Trophy voting in 2003. Archie Manning now runs the Manning Passing Academy with his sons.

#manning

Hollywood is no stranger to meteoric rises and quiet retreats. Over the decades, certain stars have become household names only to vanish from the limelight, leaving fans wondering where they've gone. Take a look at these 11 iconic actors who captivated audiences, made unforgettable marks on the industry, and then faded, whether for a break or a bold new chapter.
MEGA
Julia Stiles, once the face of smart teen romances and dramatic favorites, turned heads on the red carpet, showing she still has the poise and style that made her famous. After unforgettable roles in classics like 10 Things I Hate About You, she embraced quieter projects and TV work, stepping back from mainstream blockbusters. In the 1999 film, a Seattle-set teen retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Stiles played the sharp-tongued Kat Stratford opposite Heath Ledger, according to HuffPost. Her recent appearances rekindled nostalgia and underscored her ability to enchant in any era.
Mike T / AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Dana Carvey, beloved for his stint on Saturday Night Live and his comedic chops in Wayne's World, brought joy to audiences for decades. He spent seven seasons on the sketch show between 1986 and 1993, crafting some of its most memorable characters, including the Church Lady and Hans, as reported by Deadline. He later pulled back from the spotlight after undergoing a series of heart operations, choosing instead to focus on family and stand-up work, per TV Insider. Fans cherish his appearances, which always come with a dose of humor and infectious positivity.

#mega #fans #unforgettable

Circle—the company behind USDC (the digital dollar used by millions worldwide for payments, savings, and international transfers)—just bought the blockchain patent library IBM spent more than a decade building. The deal, announced July 27, hands Circle over 1,000 blockchain patents issued by IBM worldwide.
Patents are legal rights that give the holder exclusive control over a specific invention. If you hold a patent on a method for processing transactions on a blockchain—the shared digital ledger where crypto activity is permanently recorded and can't be altered—you get to decide who else uses it and on what terms. IBM had been building that kind of leverage since its mid-2010s enterprise blockchain push.
By December 2025, patent ******* ytics firm PatSnap credited IBM with 790 U.S. blockchain patents—more than any other American company, with Bank of America a distant second at roughly 200. Circle, which received its first-ever patent in December 2023 (covering parallel blockchain data processing—a technique for verifying multiple groups of transactions simultaneously), went from essentially zero to the top of the U.S. rankings overnight.
"The portfolio comprises over 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide, spanning foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations," Circle said in its official announcement.
Circle plans to put them to work across its entire stack. "The expanded IP position directly supports Circle's foundation for building the internet financial system, including USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc, and a growing suite of onchain products and agentic financial tools," the company added. Arc is Circle's own payment-focused blockchain built for institutional finance. The agentic tools are AI-powered software programs that can execute financial transactions autonomously—no human required for each step.

#building

Mississippi is suing two former football players who transferred to LSU this offseason, alleging both failed to repay portions of their NIL compensation after leaving the program.
According to the Clarion Ledger — part of the USA TODAY Network — the Rebels filed civil complaints against defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper on Monday, July 27 in a Lafayette County Circuit Court.
The Rebels are seeking almost $1 million between the two lawsuits combined for unreceived payments —$550,000 for Umanmielen's early termination penalty and $400,000 for Harper's early termination penalty — as well as litigation fees resulting from the lawsuit.
RANKINGS: Who has the best college football stadium? Our top 25 rankings starts with LSU
"The University of Mississippi values its student-athletes and is committed to honoring all obligations made to them," Ole Miss said in a statement to the Clarion Ledger. "In return, the university expects that same commitment from its student-athletes and their representatives in upholding their contracts.

#termination #penalty

ONE Championship has finalized the ONE Fight Night 46 on Prime Video lineup with the addition of a highly anticipated flyweight MMA contest between New Zealand-Vietnamese finisher Viet Anh Do and Brazilian promotional newcomer Davi "Ajuricaba" Brandao.
The bout goes down on Friday, August 14, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on a blockbuster card headlined by a ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship clash between reigning two-sport queen Stella "Always Hungry" Hemetsberger and dangerous Russian challenger Natalia "Karelian Lynx" Diachkova.
The 29-year-old Auckland MMA and Oliver MMA South Auckland product carries a perfect 6-0 career MMA record into this contest, all six victories coming via finish, and a 5-0 promotional ledger built on a series of increasingly emphatic performances that have made him one of the most talked-about stars in the flyweight MMA division.
After competing at ONE Warrior Series twice in 2019, Do returned to the ONE Friday Fights event series in 2025 with a TKO victory in less than three minutes, then followed it up nearly two months later by flatlining Jean Claude Saclag in under a minute.
The performance that defined his rise came in May this year, when he demolished South Korea's "Money" Kyungjung Kim via TKO to claim not only the win and a performance bonus but the coveted US$100,000 main roster contract that brings him to August 14.

#Friday