New Zealand vs India 4th T20I prediction, lineups and Eden Park pitch report — who will win? originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
India have already won the series, and New Zealand are running out of bowlers. The fourth T20I at Eden Park on Friday (12.30pm IST) will offer the hosts little comfort.
India chased 199 in 13.2 overs in Wellington, scoring 118 in the first six, the highest powerplay total in men's T20I history. Now they move to a ground where the boundaries are very short.
India have scored at 10.45 an over across 38 T20Is this year, the best of any Full Member. New Zealand have managed 9.37 across 23 innings. Finn Allen apart, their batters do not hit with the same power, and their bowling attack has been stripped back further. Lockie Ferguson is out for the rest of the series, joining Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes on the injury list. Blair Tickner may play.
India have won 22 of their 34 T20Is against New Zealand, losing 11 with one tie, and they have taken eight of the last nine meetings. Their only real choice is how much to rest, with the ODI and Test series still to come. Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube have yet to play on this tour, and Mayank Yadav could return. Even so, the top order of Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer would be hard for any attack to contain.

#zealand #t20i #eden

Princess Eugenie's close ties with Meghan Markle have reportedly raised concerns that she could potentially be a "double agent." The daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson is known to be close to both the Waleses and the Sussexes. Hence, sources claim that some palace insiders believe she cannot keep one foot in both camps and may eventually have to choose a side.
Princess Eugenie may need to decide whether she is on Meghan Markle's side or not. The 36-year-old shares a good bond with Meghan and Prince Harry, as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton. Now that Meghan and Harry are back in Britain for an extended stay, people are eager to see how their bond with Eugenie develops.
However, a source told Woman's Day that Meghan and Eugenie haven't seen much of each other recently. The reason, according to the source, is that both women are extremely busy. However, the source noted that it could also be a conscious decision on Eugenie's part. They reportedly believe that she may want to distance herself from Meghan.
After the large-scale controversy last year, Eugenie's parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, were asked to leave the Royal Lodge. In fact, Andrew was even stripped of his ****** les. However, the ****** les of Eugenie and Princess Beatrice remained intact. Keeping that in mind, the source said that the growing consensus is that Eugenie wants to maintain friendly ties with the royals. If she is seen spending too much time with Meghan, it may not be a good look for her.
The source continued that palace insiders feel she "can't continue to have the best of both worlds." The insider added, "If she wants to stay on decent terms with the likes of William and Kate then she can't be seen as this double agent type of figure." Hence, they believe that she now needs to pick a side.

#meghan #andrew #seen

King Charles and Ex-Prince Andrew reportedly have a $1.3 million allowance arrangement, with the monarch allegedly providing financial support to his younger brother from his own pocket. According to a new report, the former Duke of York may now be "idling away" his days at Marsh Farms on the Sandringham estate after leaving Royal Lodge.
Speculation about Andrew's whereabouts has intensified since his departure, while recent reports have claimed that Charles is giving his brother a substantial annual allowance.
King Charles reportedly gives his brother, Ex-Prince Andrew, more than $1 million in annual allowance. The Times of London recently reported that the alleged arrangement has raised eyebrows. Since the former duke left Royal Lodge, speculation has been rife about how he has been spending his days at his new home.
For those unfamiliar with the situation, Charles stripped his brother of his royal ****** les last year. Andrew was also sent to Marsh Farms on the Sandringham estate, where he was expected to keep a low profile.
However, his arrest in February sparked another controversy for the royal family. Since then, questions have continued to surround Andrew's day-to-day life, with some wondering whether he was simply "idling away his days in misery."

#king #marsh

Charles Spencer recalled an unusual memory involving ex-Prince Andrew in his Princess Diana memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. He described an incident at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham when Andrew was a teenager. The revelation comes as Andrew challenges the legality of police searches connected to his arrest.
According to the Express UK, in his memoir, Spencer recalled attending the Church of St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham with Diana when Andrew was a teenager. He wrote that he and Diana saw Andrew raise his eyebrows with "theatrical exaggeration" and smirk after a priest referred to "the virgin's womb." "He was clearly greatly amused by a reference to that part of a woman's anatomy in such a solemn setting," Spencer added.
This is one of the many controversial revelations he made in his memoir, one of which also included a heated conversation between him and King Charles following Princess Diana's death. Spencer alleged that the monarch told him over the phone call that "We'll forget her [Diana] soon enough."
This shocking revelation comes amid Andrew pursuing a judicial review, asking the court whether the police lawfully searched his properties and made his arrest. This review is in relation to warrants used to search his home at Sandringham and his former home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor. By doing so, he has become the first royal to challenge a proceeding.
According to the BBC, Thames Valley Police said in a statement: "We are engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court." Adding, "As these legal proceedings are currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further." Andrew was stripped of his remaining military affiliations and royal patronages in 2022. In 2025, he announced that he would no longer use his ****** les and honors, including the Duke of York ****** le.

#memoir

Ex-Prince Andrew is reportedly fully "convinced" that he will emerge victorious in his legal case against the police. Multiple publications reported that the disgraced former Duke of York would be pursuing legal action against the Thames Valley Police over his headline-making February arrest. Notably, Andrew has demanded a judicial review of whether the circumstances of his arrest were lawful.
Ex-Prince Andrew is reportedly positive that he will win his legal case against the Thames Valley Police. For those unversed, the search warrants were issued in February over suspicions of misconduct in public office and allegations concerning his ties to convicted **** offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, eight months after the incident, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has reportedly pursued legal action against police who arrested him and searched his homes earlier this year. A private hearing regarding the case is scheduled for Thursday, October 8. Ahead of the hearing, the disgraced royal is "utterly convinced" he will win the legal battle (via The Sun).
A source alleged that the former Duke of York feels "upbeat" and "buoyant". Also, he is sure of the fact he will be "completely exonerated" one day. The insider added that Andrew views the judicial review as the "first step" towards clearing the allegations and restoring his reputation.
Notably, Andrew's older brother, King Charles, stripped his brother of royal **** les. The king also banished him from royal accommodation. The disgraced prince disappeared from royal life and stopped making official public appearances.

#Legal #police #reportedly

Greta Lee stripped everything back this week while in Paris, stepping out for a dinner in a Jil Sander two-piece ensemble.
On Monday (September 28), the Morning Show actor turned up to Tiffany & Co.'s Jean Schlumberger dinner at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in a monochrome fit that left people doing a double take.
The black satin pencil skirt and a silky ***** on-down shirt, designed by Jil Sander creative director Simone Bellotti, was deliberately quiet and cut back so the jewelry could carry the evening.
As or the bling, Lee wore the Bird on a Rock by Tiffany & Co. Wings pavé necklace in platinum set with diamonds, high jewelry offset against the flat black of the Jil Sander separates.
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#tiffany #greta

Kim Kardashian is giving fans another glimpse into her latest fashion collaboration. The mogul shared a new video documenting a fitting for her upcoming capsule collection. Fans see her trying on pieces inside a dimly lit studio alongside the collection's designer. Naturally, the highlight was her strapless sequined minidress, a bold bronze-gold number that perfectly matched the shoot's moody, intimate mood.
In the clip, Kim Kardashian stands in a dressing room lined with clothing racks, trying on the finished look in real time. The post was captioned, "A collaboration built on shared language: the body as material."
For the fitting, Kardashian wore a strapless, sequined micro minidress in a warm bronze-gold tone. The fitted, bandage-style design featured horizontal ribbing that wrapped tightly around her torso. It boasted a sweetheart neckline, a mini-length hem, and an all-over metallic sheen. The dress highlighted her famous curves while fitting right into the collection's aesthetic.
Kardashian kept the rest of the look stripped back, skipping jewelry and accessories altogether. With nothing else competing for attention, the dress itself became the clear focal point of the clip. She wore her dark hair sleek and straight, leaving it loose to frame her face throughout the fitting. Her makeup stayed soft and natural, keeping the focus on the dress rather than a full glam beauty look. For Kardashian, it's a reminder that when it comes to this particular launch, the body truly is the material.
The strapless silhouette is free of accessories and distractions, allowing the dress's clinging shape to do all the talking. The clip comes as the capsule officially hits shelves, with the post confirming fans can now purchase the collection. With the capsule now live, the bronze-gold minidress offers an early preview of just how body-conscious the full collection is likely to run. The post offered fans a rawer, closer look at the collaboration than its earlier campaign imagery provided.

#kardashian #fans #capsule #minidress

Princess Diana's brother says Prince Harry has been "very supportive" of a eulogy he gave at her funeral that was famous for its veiled criticisms of the monarchy.
Charles Spencer also said he could not recall Prince William making any comments about the funeral oration he gave in 1997. In the speech, which was delivered in front of the royals, he vowed to ensure that Diana's sons would "not simply" be "immersed by duty and tradition."
His words were received at the time as a swipe at royal protocol in defense of his sister, whose divorce from the now-King Charles III had seen her stripped of her HRH status. Spencer was asked in an interview what his nephews thought of his comments.
"Well, I know Harry's been very supportive of it, and, I don't remember any comments from William," Spencer said, quoted by People.
To sign up to Newsweek's The Royal Report newsletter, click here.

#william #supportive #funeral

On August 6, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) reported second-quarter numbers that point in opposite directions. Net earnings climbed to $825 million, helped along by investment losses that shrank to $153 million from $421 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, though, fell 7.7% to $883 million. Both numbers are real, but they answer different questions. Which measure you trust changes the story, so here is what sits underneath.
Start with the yen, because it is muddying the picture. The average rate was 159.45 to the dollar, 9.3% weaker than a year earlier, and that cost adjusted earnings $0.05 a share. Take the currency out of the first half and adjusted earnings per share rose 4.1% to $3.57. ******* an is also running more profitably. Its pretax adjusted margin widened to 34.3% from 32.0% as claims took a smaller bite out of premiums, and yen-based pretax adjusted earnings rose 3.4%. So part of the decline in ******* an's dollar-reported profit is currency, not operations.
The US business is still growing at the top line. Net earned premiums rose 2.3% to $1.5 billion, and sales climbed 2.6% to $349 million, led by group voluntary benefits along with dental and vision plans. In ******* an, the refreshed Tsumitasu life policy and the new Anshin Palette medical product grew strongly in the quarter, and first-half sales rose 7.0% to ¥37.3 billion. Then there is the cash. Aflac returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, $983 million of it through buybacks, and declared a $0.61 third-quarter dividend, payable September 1 to holders of record on August 19, 2026. Management notes 43 straight years of dividend increases through 2025 and says the board is on a path to extend that in 2026.
The catch is that ******* an's profit gains came from lower claims, not a bigger business. Net earned premiums in yen fell 3.7%, mainly because of a new external reinsurance deal and older limited-pay policies reaching paid-up status. Premium persistency, the share of policies customers keep, slipped to 92.7% from 93.7%. ******* an's pretax adjusted earnings still fell 2.1% once currency is stripped out, and new sales dipped 5.6% in the quarter against a tough comparison for the Miraito cancer product, which launched in March 2025.
The US segment has its own soft spot. Pretax adjusted earnings fell 4.6% to $370 million, and the margin narrowed to 20.9% from 22.5% as claims and benefits took a bigger share of premiums. Corporate and Other swung to a $10 million pretax adjusted loss from a $20 million gain a year earlier, with interest expense up 21.6% to $62 million. And adjusted book value per share, excluding foreign currency remeasurement, slid to $41.22 at June 30 from $42.97 a year earlier.

#earnings #fell

On August 6, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) reported second-quarter numbers that point in opposite directions. Net earnings climbed to $825 million, helped along by investment losses that shrank to $153 million from $421 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, though, fell 7.7% to $883 million. Both numbers are real, but they answer different questions. Which measure you trust changes the story, so here is what sits underneath.
Start with the yen, because it is muddying the picture. The average rate was 159.45 to the dollar, 9.3% weaker than a year earlier, and that cost adjusted earnings $0.05 a share. Take the currency out of the first half and adjusted earnings per share rose 4.1% to $3.57. **** an is also running more profitably. Its pretax adjusted margin widened to 34.3% from 32.0% as claims took a smaller bite out of premiums, and yen-based pretax adjusted earnings rose 3.4%. So part of the decline in **** an's dollar-reported profit is currency, not operations.
The US business is still growing at the top line. Net earned premiums rose 2.3% to $1.5 billion, and sales climbed 2.6% to $349 million, led by group voluntary benefits along with dental and vision plans. In **** an, the refreshed Tsumitasu life policy and the new Anshin Palette medical product grew strongly in the quarter, and first-half sales rose 7.0% to ¥37.3 billion. Then there is the cash. Aflac returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, $983 million of it through buybacks, and declared a $0.61 third-quarter dividend, payable September 1 to holders of record on August 19, 2026. Management notes 43 straight years of dividend increases through 2025 and says the board is on a path to extend that in 2026.
The catch is that **** an's profit gains came from lower claims, not a bigger business. Net earned premiums in yen fell 3.7%, mainly because of a new external reinsurance deal and older limited-pay policies reaching paid-up status. Premium persistency, the share of policies customers keep, slipped to 92.7% from 93.7%. **** an's pretax adjusted earnings still fell 2.1% once currency is stripped out, and new sales dipped 5.6% in the quarter against a tough comparison for the Miraito cancer product, which launched in March 2025.
The US segment has its own soft spot. Pretax adjusted earnings fell 4.6% to $370 million, and the margin narrowed to 20.9% from 22.5% as claims and benefits took a bigger share of premiums. Corporate and Other swung to a $10 million pretax adjusted loss from a $20 million gain a year earlier, with interest expense up 21.6% to $62 million. And adjusted book value per share, excluding foreign currency remeasurement, slid to $41.22 at June 30 from $42.97 a year earlier.

#adjusted #pretax

On September 14, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that read like two different companies at once. Revenue fell, and the company posted a net loss for the period ended August 4, yet comparable sales, which had been sliding for more than a year, kept getting less bad every month from June through the first five weeks of the third quarter. New CEO Darin Harper is betting that improvement compounds into something bigger.
The clearest evidence is the trend line itself. Comparable store sales fell 5.4% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, then 2.9% in the second quarter, then just 1.6% in July after a 5% decline in June, and Harper said trends improved further over the first five weeks of the third quarter. Food and beverage sales are moving in the opposite direction entirely, up 7.6% in the quarter and positive for five straight quarters, helped by the Eat & Play Combo, a bundled meal and game credit offer sold through kiosks. Special event sales have now grown for seven consecutive quarters.
Behind that shift sits a rebuilt leadership bench. Dave & Buster's went more than a year without a chief marketing officer, and Harper has since added a CMO, a chief operations officer, a chief technology officer, and a chief legal officer since taking over. The company also leaned on new content, launching 10 games and attractions this year, including tie-ins with Mandalorian and Grogu, John Wick and Stranger Things, after research found more than 70% of guests said new games would bring them back more often. Changes to game pricing pushed play and dwell time up 16% to 20% or more. Six remodeled stores are already outperforming the rest of the chain, and management says the newest remodel template costs less to build than the last one. Net capital spending dropped to $127.6 million through the first half of the year from $155.4 million, and adjusted free cash flow swung to positive $19.5 million from negative $36.5 million, a $56 million improvement.
The headline figures were still rough. Total revenue slipped 2.4% to $544.1 million from $557.4 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA dropped to $98.9 million, an 18.2% margin, from $129.8 million and a 23.3% margin. On a GAAP basis, the company posted a net loss of $12.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, versus net income of $11.4 million in the same quarter last year. About $15 million of the EBITDA decline came from items management calls non-normalized, including a $10 million noncash deferral adjustment that did not repeat this year, $3 million in extra preopening costs and $2 million in higher insurance expenses, but even stripped of those, the underlying decline was still roughly $16 million.

#year #first #harper #play

On September 14, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that read like two different companies at once. Revenue fell, and the company posted a net loss for the period ended August 4, yet comparable sales, which had been sliding for more than a year, kept getting less bad every month from June through the first five weeks of the third quarter. New CEO Darin Harper is betting that improvement compounds into something bigger.
The clearest evidence is the trend line itself. Comparable store sales fell 5.4% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, then 2.9% in the second quarter, then just 1.6% in July after a 5% decline in June, and Harper said trends improved further over the first five weeks of the third quarter. Food and beverage sales are moving in the opposite direction entirely, up 7.6% in the quarter and positive for five straight quarters, helped by the Eat & Play Combo, a bundled meal and game credit offer sold through kiosks. Special event sales have now grown for seven consecutive quarters.
Behind that shift sits a rebuilt leadership bench. Dave & Buster's went more than a year without a chief marketing officer, and Harper has since added a CMO, a chief operations officer, a chief technology officer, and a chief legal officer since taking over. The company also leaned on new content, launching 10 games and attractions this year, including tie-ins with Mandalorian and Grogu, John Wick and Stranger Things, after research found more than 70% of guests said new games would bring them back more often. Changes to game pricing pushed play and dwell time up 16% to 20% or more. Six remodeled stores are already outperforming the rest of the chain, and management says the newest remodel template costs less to build than the last one. Net capital spending dropped to $127.6 million through the first half of the year from $155.4 million, and adjusted free cash flow swung to positive $19.5 million from negative $36.5 million, a $56 million improvement.
The headline figures were still rough. Total revenue slipped 2.4% to $544.1 million from $557.4 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA dropped to $98.9 million, an 18.2% margin, from $129.8 million and a 23.3% margin. On a GAAP basis, the company posted a net loss of $12.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, versus net income of $11.4 million in the same quarter last year. About $15 million of the EBITDA decline came from items management calls non-normalized, including a $10 million noncash deferral adjustment that did not repeat this year, $3 million in extra preopening costs and $2 million in higher insurance expenses, but even stripped of those, the underlying decline was still roughly $16 million.

#quarter #sales

On September 10, Lovesac (NASDAQ:LOVE) reported record second quarter revenue of $161.2 million, its highest Q2 total ever, even as its entry-level furniture shopper kept pulling back. The 0.4% sales increase came almost entirely from showrooms rather than higher-margin online orders, and the quarter's real profit boost was traced to a one-time source. A $20 million tariff refund lifted gross margin by 1,200 basis points to 68.4%, masking an underlying business that actually lost money once that windfall is stripped out.
Configurations priced above $6,000 grew by double digits during the quarter, even against a strong comparison from a year earlier, and management pointed to that segment as the clearest sign the brand's value proposition still resonates. Showroom net sales climbed 4.6% to $114.1 million, helped by 14 net new locations opened over the past year and a double-digit jump in conversion rates that offset softer foot traffic.
The Snugg platform, a smaller and more digitally oriented sofa line, helped push "other products" revenue up 198.2%, with more than half of Snugg sales happening online, giving Lovesac a lower-priced entry point into the brand. The Loved by Lovesac resale program is doing similar work, with 70% of its customers new to the company.
Behind all of this sits a pipeline of four major launches set for the second half: a personalized comfort feature for Sactionals, an entirely new large-format premium seating platform, Snugg accessories including a corner piece and swivel base, and the start of onshore Sactionals seat manufacturing, alongside a national rollout of White Glove and Room of Choice delivery. The balance sheet backs it up, with $68.8 million in cash, no debt, $34 million in unused borrowing capacity, and $7.2 million in buybacks with $46.9 million left under the current authorization.
Omni-channel comparable sales fell 1.9%, driven by demand pressure below $6,000, where management said inflation, higher interest rates, and a spike in gas prices have hit the same buyers for several quarters running. Internet sales dropped 5.3%, Sacs sales fell 8.6%, and the exit of the Best Buy shop-in-shop partnership cut "other" net sales by 23.2%. Strip out the tariff refund and adjusted EBITDA was actually a loss of $1.3 million, compared with income of $0.8 million a year earlier, a sign the core business is less profitable than the headline numbers suggest.

#million #quarter #revenue

Uncrowned has Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn live results, round-by-round updates, ring walks, highlights and start time for the Garcia vs. Benn fight card on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Two of boxing's biggest and most polarizing stars go head-to-head as Ryan Garcia defends his WBC welterweight ******* le against Conor Benn in the night's main event.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) captured the WBC welterweight ******* le with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mario Barrios this past February in Las Vegas. He has two defeats: a 2025 decision loss to Rolando "Rolly" Romero for the WBA welterweight ******* le and a seventh-round TKO at the hands of Gervonta "Tank" Davis in 2023.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) narrowly fell short against Chris Eubank Jr. in a Fight of the Year in April 2025. He avenged that defeat last November, knocking down Eubank twice in Round 12 to seal a masterclass performance.
Benn shocked the boxing world this past February by announcing a defection from Eddie Hearn's Matchroom to Dana White's Zuffa Boxing. Benn outpointed Regis Prograis in his Zuffa debut in April.
In the night's co-feature, former two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) challenges WBC champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs). Although there is no official confirmation yet, the WBC cruiserweight ******* le isn't expected to be on the line, with Mikalian set to be stripped by the sanctioning body upon the start of the bout.

#garcia #vegas

Sydney Sweeney is facing scrutiny yet again for appearing nude in a commercial for Novig, a sports trading app and prediction market. But she's just one more celebrity getting heat for using their image to promote these platforms.
The new Novig ad features Sweeney posing nude with a variety of sports equipment covering herself. It's a play on the fact that, unlike other prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi, Novig — which launched nationwide last month — is only about betting on sports, not world events, politics, or "wars or deaths" as Sweeney says in the ad.
"Think you know sports? Prove it. Novig is just sports. So they wanted to show just sports," Sweeney says in the ad while perched atop a basketball hoop naked to seemingly show how stripped down Novig is.
Given the scrutiny Sweeney has received in the past over her ads for American Eagle jeans and soap made from her "used bathwater," it may come as no surprise that the Euphoria actor is once again raising eyebrows. In comments on her Instagram page, Sweeney was criticized for using her body to promote the prediction market.
"This is sad at this point," one person wrote. "Can't sell or be a normal girl if she doesn't use her body as a tool. **** ualizing sports like this is crazy."

#sports #prediction #promote

SEYMOUR - An inadvertent whistle by a game official with under two minutes played in the game sealed an incredibly unusual 6-0 victory for the Ansonia football team over Seymour Thursday night at DeBarber Field.
With Ansonia clinging to its marginal lead, Chargers running back Jacob Branch took a handoff, got stood up from a Seymour defender and then continued to churn away, getting stripped of the ball in the process.
The Seymour players began celebrating as Ronan Carboni scooped up the loose ball at the Ansonia 19-yard line. Then a little bit of confusion and chaos ensued.
The game officials huddled on the field and after significant discussion determined that the whistle had been blown when Branch was first stood up, because the official near the Ansonia sideline felt his forward progress had been halted.
The Chargers maintained possession of the ball, and ultimately ran out the clock to seal the victory.

#game #victory

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, according to a report by The New York Times.
The team is accused of circumventing the NBA salary cap involving Kawhi Leonard.
Last week, the NBA punished the franchise with a $30 million fine and suspended owner Steve Ballmer. The league also stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks.
The Clippers have said they intend to vigorously challenge the findings and penalties.
This is a developing story. This article will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

#clippers #kawhi #last

On August 27, ****** an Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) reported results for the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, and the numbers point in two different directions at once. Revenue fell to $496.4 million from $546.4 million a year earlier, and the net loss widened to $9.2 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared with a $6.0 million loss a year ago. Yet gross margin climbed to 18.6% from 17.1%, and management held its full year profitability targets steady even while cutting its outlook for Europe. Sorting out that mix is the real story of the quarter.
The clearest bright spot is margin. Gross profit margin expanded 150 basis points to 18.6%, which the company attributed to stronger equipment margins as aged inventory keeps shrinking, plus a richer mix of parts and service revenue. That improvement showed up directly in the segments. Agriculture's pretax loss narrowed sharply to $3.3 million from $12.3 million a year ago, even though segment revenue fell to $310.2 million on an 8.4% same-store sales decline. Construction told an even better story, with revenue rising to $78.6 million from $72.0 million on 9.2% same-store growth, and the segment flipped to $0.4 million of pretax income from a $1.2 million pretax loss last year, helped by data center and infrastructure project activity.
Management raised its Construction revenue ****** umption for the year to up 5% to 10%, from flat to up 5% previously. Australia also improved, with revenue up 22.5% once currency effects are stripped out, and its full-year outlook was raised to up 15% to 20% on better moisture levels and farmer sentiment. Floorplan and other interest expense fell to $8.1 million from $11.5 million as interest-bearing inventory levels came down, another sign the cleanup is easing pressure on the business.
The offsetting weakness is just as clear. Consolidated revenue dropped across nearly every line, and Agriculture's same-store decline reflects continued pressure on grower profitability in North America. The bottom line moved the wrong way too, with Adjusted EBITDA slipping to $4.6 million from $5.6 million and operating expenses rising to 19.0% of revenue from 17.0%. Europe was the sharpest problem. Segment revenue fell to $66.1 million from $98.1 million, and once a $1.1 million currency benefit is excluded, revenue was down $33.1 million, or 33.7%. The wind-down of the company's German operations accounted for roughly $11 million of that decline, with the rest coming from softer demand after the boost Romania saw from European Union stimulus programs faded.

#million #once #even

On August 5, Cytek Biosciences (NASDAQ:CTKB) reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, and the report reads like two different companies at once. Revenue climbed, margins widened, and the installed base of instruments kept expanding. At the same time, the net loss more than doubled from a year earlier and adjusted EBITDA swung negative. For a company selling hardware into cell ***** ysis labs, that split between growing revenue and growing losses is the story investors need to untangle.
Total revenue reached $48.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 6% from the second quarter of 2025, and the growth came from more than one source. Cytek expanded its installed base to 3,933 instruments as of June 30, 2026, adding 142 units in the quarter, and each new machine tends to pull in service and reagent sales over time. That dynamic already shows up in the numbers: recurring revenue from service and reagents hit $18.5 million in the quarter, and on a trailing 12-month basis it now makes up 35% of total revenue, up from 32% a year earlier.
Gross profit told a similar story, climbing 19% to $28.3 million, with GAAP gross margin rising to 59% from 52% and adjusted gross margin reaching 61% from 56%. Some of that lift came from a one-time tariff refund, but even stripped of it, adjusted gross margin still improved to 56%. Cytek also launched the Borealis, a 7-laser flow cytometer built for 60-color panels, and rolled out more automated configurations of its Aurora Evo line, giving the sales team new hardware to sell into the rest of 2026. Full-year revenue guidance moved up to a range of $207 million to $212 million, raising the midpoint by $1 million.
The same quarter that grew revenue also widened the losses. Operating expenses rose 15% year over year to $39.7 million, with general and administrative costs jumping 24% to $16.8 million because of litigation-related expenses, severance, and other personnel costs. R&D spending grew 10% to $9.7 million, and sales and marketing rose 9% to $13.2 million, so the increase was not confined to one line item. The loss from operations widened to $11.4 million from $10.6 million a year earlier, and net loss more than doubled to $12.2 million from $5.6 million.
Adjusted EBITDA, which strips out stock-based compensation and currency swings, swung to a $1.5 million loss from a positive $1.3 million a year earlier, after also adjusting for a write-off tied to an early-stage technology investment. The tariff refund that boosted this quarter's headline gross margin also means the underlying figures, 53% GAAP and 56% adjusted, are the more honest baseline going forward. Cash and marketable securities held roughly flat at $262.0 million as of June 30, 2026, down only slightly from $262.2 million three months earlier, so the balance sheet has not yet felt the strain.

#quarter #adjusted

A stunning new rumor claims the Los Angeles Clippers might scrap the planned trade sending Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for a very petty reason.
When Pablo Torre broke the news last year about Clippers management creating shell companies to pay Leonard extra money and win his free agent sweepstakes in 2019, many wondered how severe the punishment for salary cap circumvention would be. Well, the long-awaited hammer dropped last week.
After the NBA found undeniable evidence of illegal violations by the Clippers, the franchise was fined $30 million. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from all league and team activities for a year. Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for a year, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for 6 months. The team was also stripped of five future first-round picks in upcoming seasons.
It is the stiffest penalty in NBA history. However, the one individual involved who got a slap on the wrist was Leonard. After speculation that he could be suspended or have his contract voided, the seven-time All-Star received a $700,000 fine. He also released a statement taking partial ownership of the fiasco.
With the punishment for cap circumvention finalized, the Clippers are expected to complete a previously agreed-upon trade sending the 35-year-old to the Raptors. Or maybe not. It is a bit odd that the two teams haven't completed a deal over a week after the penalty was handed down. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, some around the league believe there is a surprising reason the trade is still in limbo.

#clippers #year #trade

Salma Hayek has stripped down to her birthday suit to celebrate turning 60.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, the actress-producer posted a photo of herself posing nude in the water at a beach and smiling at the camera.
In a second photo, Salma frolicked in the waves at the beach, with her long brunette hair covering her back.
"60 and grateful," she wrote in the caption.
Accordingly, the Frida star was quickly inundated with messages from her celebrity followers.
"Forever icon," praised Vanessa Hudgens, while Elle Fanning declared, "Beautiful! Happy birthday!"

#hayek

Jennifer Lopez stripped down to nothing but a plunging swimsuit on Labor Day.
The 57-year-old star shared selfies of her sunbathing in the bedazzled suit.
Lopez has been serving up glamorous style inspiration over the past few months during her European summer adventures.
Jennifer Lopez is closing out the unofficial end of summer exactly how she started it: Wearing nothing but statement swimwear. On September 7, the 57-year-old star gave fans a glimpse of her sun-soaked Labor Day plans, stripping down to a plunging patterned swimsuit that was encrusted in J.Lo-approved bling.
Jennifer Lopez sunbathes in a plunging swimsuit on Labor Day
Credit: Instagram/Jennifer Lopez

#jennifer #plunging #swimsuit

The punishment the NBA handed down to the Los Angeles Clippers for circumventing the league salary cap through no-show sponsorship deals signed by Kawhi Leonard is unprecedented in American professional sports.
The Clippers were stripped of five future first-round NBA Draft picks, received one-year suspensions for owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker, and a six-month suspension for president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. In addition, the Clippers and Ballmer were fined $30 million.
While the draft-pick penalty mirrors the initial penalty for the Minnesota Timberwolves when they developed a scheme to sign Joe Smith in 2000, two of those picks were eventually restored. And the $3.5 million fine is no comparison, even with inflation, to the monetary penalty for the Clippers.
But for David Samson, it still wasn't enough.
Appearing on The Dan Le Batard Show, the former Miami Marlins executive said the severity of the salary cap circumvention called for even harsher punishment, perhaps up to and including firing the executives in question and forcing Ballmer to sell the team.

#show #picks

Yesterday was a really bad day for the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA found the franchise guilty of salary-cap circumvention in the Kawhi Leonard case, stripped them of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, fined the team $30.0 million, suspended Steve Ballmer for one year, and suspended Lawrence Frank for six months. Leonard was also fined $700,000, incredibly escaping barely harmed in all of this.
The one piece of good news, if we can even call it that, is that the league didn't block Leonard's move back to the Raptors. That trade had been on hold while the investigation was happening, and with the case now finished, the deal can move forward. Toronto had agreed to send Brandon Ingram, Gradey ****** , two unprotected first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a 2027 first-round pick swap for Leonard.
Those five lost first-round picks hurt the most. The Clippers were finally getting close to controlling their own future again starting in 2029, but now they won't make a first-round selection with one of those picks until 2034, although they should get the Raptors' 2031 and 2033 picks. Still, for a team entering a rebuild, that is brutal. Tanking doesn't help much when there is basically no first-round pick waiting for you at the end of the season, since the 2027 pick swap from Toronto is the worst one among the Raptors, the Clippers, and the Thunder, and the 2028 pick goes entirely to OKC.
So if the Clippers can't rely on landing a future franchise player through the Draft, and they also can't use any of their upcoming first-round picks as trade ****** ets since they belong to other teams, they will have to get creative. There are still other ways to find young talent, from taking chances on former high picks to using cap ****** e, trades, the G League, and overlooked free agents.
With almost a decade of Draft problems ahead of them, here are five different ways the Clippers can try to survive this rebuild and find young players without waiting until 2034.

#raptors

What NBA's Kawhi Leonard-Clippers Punishment Means for Celtics' 2028 Pick originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NBA did not let the LA Clippers off lightly.
After a nearly year-long investigation, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that the NBA has stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks as part of the franchise's punishment for violating salary cap circumvention rules related to the 2019 signing of Kawhi Leonard.
The announcement impacts a number of teams, including the Boston Celtics, who control one of LA's future first-round draft picks.
MORE: Is Kevin Durant Going to the Celtics? Debunking Viral Trade Rumor

#celtics #picks #means

After months of speculation and anticipation, the NBA dropped the hammer on the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday over their reported scheme to circumvent the salary cap for Kawhi Leonard.
And what a hammer it was. The league has stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million, fined Leonard $700,000 and suspended Ballmer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and president of business operations Gillian Zucker.
It is a team-changing blow to LA, which many have noted also gave up five first-rounders, two pick swaps and future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a trade for Paul George at Leonard's request.
The Clippers have already released a statement rejecting the NBA's findings and promising to challenge them. It remains to be seen how that will play out, but the NBA has certainly thrown down a harsh first move.
But how harsh is it compared to other cheating scandals in recent sports history? Let's compare the Clippers' sanctions to the bites other teams have received for bending the rules for a competitive advantage in recent sports history, which we are cutting off at the year 2000.

#fined #operations

On August 25, The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) closed out a fiscal year of records, even as reported quarterly sales slipped 2.2% to $465.0 million. The drop traces to the planned expiration of a temporary supply agreement rather than any softness in the core business, and once that noise is stripped out, adjusted sales actually grew. Behind the headline number sits a company generating more cash and profit than it ever has, just as a fresh food safety scare threatens to interrupt the streak.
Fiscal 2026 marked the fourth straight year of record net sales and gross profit and the third straight year of record operating income, with fourth-quarter gross profit alone reaching $114.0 million. Gross margin expanded 220 basis points to 24.5%, the twelfth consecutive quarter of improvement, as procurement, manufacturing and network changes kept squeezing out costs. Adjusted operating income rose 17.5% to $52.2 million. Growth is increasingly coming from newer names. Bachan's, the barbecue sauce brand acquired mid-year, added $15.4 million in sales in its first two months and contributed 320 basis points to consolidated growth. Scanner data showed Bachan's sales up 8.7% for the quarter with distribution points up 16.6%, and household penetration climbing from 5% to 6% since the deal closed.
Management is now extending the brand into mayo, a category it pegs at $3.4 billion in potential, and into a wing sauce made at its own Kentucky plant. Texas Roadhouse dinner rolls kept up an even faster pace, up 28.1% in the quarter and 76% for the year to $58 million, selling nearly twice as fast per distribution point as the category average. New York Bakery grew 2.8% and took 220 basis points of share to a leading 45.5%, while branded croutons picked up another 100 basis points. Record operating cash flow of $283.8 million helped fund $36.3 million in buybacks and a 63rd straight annual dividend increase.
That momentum is about to run into a real headwind. A Cyclospora outbreak is expected to cut fiscal first-quarter net sales by roughly 250 basis points in both the retail and foodservice segments, and management is modeling the recovery on a similar 2018 episode that took about four months to fade. CFO Tom Pigott was blunt about the near-term cost, saying the company does "not expect to be able to grow our margins" in the first quarter, and Marzetti is guiding to a roughly 15% decline in first-quarter operating income.

#quarter #sales

The NBA has stripped the Los Angeles Clippers of five first-round draft picks and fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million at the conclusion of its probe into alleged salary cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard.
The league is also fining Leonard $700,000.
The NBA announced the decision Wednesday.
The decision comes months after journalist Pablo Torre unveiled the possible violation during an episode of his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out." During the program, Torre revealed an agreement between Leonard and a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, in which Ballmer was heavily invested. The agreement paid Leonard $28 million to essentially do nothing. Ballmer was accused of using the $28 million deal as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap and give Leonard more money to sign with the franchise.
On the day the story originally broke, the Clippers and Ballmer denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement denying the allegations made by Torre.

#ballmer #salary

Just weeks after losing her Miss North Carolina USA crown, Brittany Boltinhouse is heading back to the pageant stage.
The 27-year-old dethroned state ******* leholder was announced as Miss Global Honduras 2026 in the pageant's Aug. 31 Instagram post, and now she will represent Honduras at the Miss Global competition in Thailand this October. The announcement marks her first major public step since being stripped of the Miss North Carolina USA ******* le in early August, ending a reign that lasted little more than a month.
"Road to Thailand!" Boltinhouse wrote on Instagram, while unveiling her new sash. She paired the announcement with a Winston Churchill quote echoing "never give in," signaling resilience after weeks of public scrutiny and legal battles.
Her appointment comes as Boltinhouse continues to challenge the public fallout from her removal through a defamation lawsuit, alleging that the Miss USA Organization and A Blaize Productions, which holds the state license for the Miss North Carolina USA pageant, unfairly characterized her after she lost her ******* le.

#honduras

Brittany Boltinhouse, the former Miss North Carolina USA 2026 winner who had her ****** le stripped due to conduct that violated the organization's standards, has announced her return to the pageant world.
Boltinhouse, 27, revealed that she has been crowned Miss Global Honduras 2026 and will compete in the Miss Global pageant in Thailand in October.
"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense," she shared via Instagram on Monday, August 31. "Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. — Winston Churchill."
The news comes just four weeks after the Chairman and President of Miss USA, Thom Brodeur, announced the end of Boltinhouse's reign.
"I want to speak to the issue plainly, because our ****** leholders, our state directors, fans and every young woman watching deserves to hear where I stand," he shared via Instagram on August 5. "The Miss USA organization does not tolerate racism, ****** phobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity — whoever they are. That is not a policy written for a press release, it is the floor of what it means to represent the brand."

#miss #Instagram