Latest news with #Leone
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Top 10 African countries with the weakest currencies in May 2025
A weak currency has far-reaching consequences for a country's economic stability, investor confidence, and citizen well-being, beyond just exchange rates. Zimbabwe's introduction of the gold-backed ZiG currency in April 2024 aimed to stabilize its economy. However, by February 2025, the ZiG had lost 95% of its value on the unregulated market, despite significant central bank interventions. This underscores the complexities of implementing alternative currency models without robust economic fundamentals. As of April 2025, Imara Asset Management, Zimbabwe's oldest independent brokerage, noted that the ZiG is on the verge of failure due to rising irrelevance rather than fast devaluation. In 15 years, Zimbabwe has made six attempts to create a stable indigenous currency, the ZiG being the sixth. It was introduced a year ago and is supported by the central bank's $100 million foreign exchange reserves and 2.5 tons of gold. DON'T MISS THIS: Top 10 African countries with the strongest currencies in April 2025 In the nation, about 80% of transactions are still handled in US dollars, however, some are still made in South African rand. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, announced last year that the current multicurrency system would be phased out by 2030 and that the ZiG would be the only legal money. Many African countries rely heavily on imports for basic commodities such as petroleum, machinery, medications, and even food. A weak currency increases the cost of imports, exacerbating inflation and diminishing citizens' purchasing power. For example, Nigeria's continuous inflation struggles, with inflation reaching 23.71% in April 2025, show how a weak currency (the naira) raises importation costs and, by extension, the cost of living. With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the weakest currencies, presently, according to the Forbes currency converter, last updated on the 29th of May, 2025. For this month, the currencies of Guinea, Burundi, and the DRC, compared to last month, experienced a dip in value. While currencies for Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Rwanda all marginally increased in value. Top 10 African countries with the weakest currencies in May 2025 Rank Country Currency value per US$ Currency 1. São Tomé & Príncipe 22,281.8 São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra 2. Sierra Leone 20,969.5 Leone 3. Guinea 8,667.8 Guinean Franc 4. Uganda 3,636.8 Ugandan Shilling 5. Burundi 2,977.7 Burundian Franc 6. DRC 2,905.7 Congolese Franc 7. Tanzania 2,682.5 Tanzanian Shilling 8. Malawi 1,734.7 Kwacha 9. Nigeria 1,590.2 Naira 10. Rwanda 1,414.3 Rwandan Franc
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Dispatch Launches National Delivery Guarantee, Setting a New Standard in Last-Mile Logistics
Reliable, on-time delivery - guaranteed across all U.S. service areas, backed by technology and industry-leading performance. BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA / ACCESS Newswire / May 20, 2025 / Dispatch, a leading last-mile logistics platform built for innovation and scale, is proud to announce its National Delivery Guarantee* - a commitment to reliability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction that sets a new benchmark in the final-mile logistics industry, servicing the industrial and contractor delivery space. Once considered outdated, the final-mile segment of the supply chain has been revolutionized by Dispatch - the only B2B last-mile platform designed with enterprise-grade scalability, AI-powered technology, and user-centric control, all backed by a nationwide performance guarantee. Dispatch operates in all major metropolitan areas across the U.S. and has the ability to stand up markets within days based on how it manages and has control over driver supply. While others rely on fragmented carrier networks, Dispatch puts its name - and its money - on the line. "While others build tech to route work to carriers and hope for the best, we built our platform to optimize each delivery from the ground up," said Andrew Leone, CEO and Co-Founder of Dispatch. "That's how we're able to back our promise with a guarantee - because our technology gives us real-time visibility and operational oversight across every step of the delivery process." How It Works: Built for Quality, Not Just Coverage Where traditional logistics platforms act as a digital load board, Dispatch's model is different. It doesn't just assign deliveries - it orchestrates them. The platform onboards and connects directly to the vehicles and drivers performing the work, allowing Dispatch to route, monitor, and reassign deliveries in real time without losing visibility or control. This infrastructure enables Dispatch to provide: Guaranteed service quality, built into MSAs - with account credit if it's single point of contact instead of managing multiple routing and reallocation, powered by Dispatch's proprietary quality control, with the flexibility to pull underperforming APIs, custom integrations, and full visibility at every step. A Promise Backed by Technology and Risk Ownership Dispatch's guarantee is contract-backed, tech-powered, and already active with the company's numerous enterprise accounts. By owning the operational complexity and financial risk, Dispatch gives its customers something they've never had in last-mile logistics: true peace of mind and partnership. "We're not a carrier. We're not just a software layer. We're delivery orchestrators," Leone added. "We manage the chaos behind the scenes so our customers don't have to - and we stake our reputation on getting it right." Setting a New Standard in Last-Mile From Fortune 500 retailers to regional distributors, customers across industries have already tapped into Dispatch's national network - and they're seeing the results: faster delivery times, fewer touchpoints, and massive efficiency gains. And now, a guarantee that ensures the performance keeps up with the promise. "It's simple," said Leone. "Why manage 20 different carrier relationships when you can partner with one platform that handles it all - and guarantees it." For more information, visit or contact pr@ About Dispatch: Dispatch is redefining last-mile delivery for the modern business. As the premier B2B delivery platform, Dispatch empowers organizations with scalable, technology-driven solutions that streamline logistics, enhance visibility, and improve customer satisfaction. Through its robust delivery management software, seamless API integrations, and a reliable network of independent contractor drivers, Dispatch enables businesses of all sizes to simplify and optimize their last-mile operations. Operating in over 80 U.S. markets, Dispatch is trusted by thousands of businesses to deliver what matters - fast, flexibly, and reliably. Learn more at *Disclaimer: The National Delivery Guarantee is available only to eligible customers with an active Master Service Agreement (MSA) that includes defined service level commitments. Remedies are limited to account credits or other contractual remedies as specified in the MSA. Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Amerks head coach on Laval: ‘We believe we're a better hockey team'
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – After Friday's win over Laval in Game 2 of the North Division Final, Amerks head coach Michael Leone said, 'We believe we're a better hockey team.' While Laval had the advantage over the Amerks in the regular season, Leone added he doesn't care what Laval's record is. So before they hit the road to Quebec, the Amerks spoke on why they think they're the better team in the playoff series. 'I think you've got to believe, if you want to win, that you're the better team,' Leone said. 'Just our overall team speed and the way we're relentless on the puck, the way we can skate, I think those are things that have been evident all year. We just can smother teams in a different way, for sure physical, but just the pace that we can play with.' Captain Mason Jobst said Laval is 'extremely talented,' but still believes that when his team plays within its style, it has a good chance to win. 'I think that we've shown at times that when we play our game and stick to our plan and win battles and what not, that we can dominate at times,' Jobst said. Josh Dunne also touched on the team's identity playing a large factor into their playoff success. With the recent win, the center is confident in his team's abilities. 'We trust our style of play and our game and our identity, and I think all year we've been saying that when we get to that, we can beat anybody,' Dunne said. 'A lot of our game isn't focused on necessarily what the other team can do or what they have, it's what we can do and how we can play our game.' When goalie Devon Levi was asked what makes the Amerks the better team, he noted that although Laval finished above them in the division standings, the records don't always determine the outcome of the game. 'The best team doesn't always win, it's the team that plays the best in a given game,' Levi said. 'I think that going out there, we're going to give it our all. We're going to have fun. We'll see who the better team is after this series, and it's exciting to go out there and prove it with the guys to go and compete and fight every day.' Although Laval is the better team on paper, Levi added that being second to them in the North Division standings only adds motivation for his team to go on the road and win the North Division Final. The Amerks will look to pull ahead in the series in Game 3 on Wednesday, May 21st at 7 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hedge fund boss claimed ‘corrupt Jews' were trying to kill him
The head of a £1bn Mayfair hedge fund was convinced 'corrupt Jews' were trying to kill him after his EV charger exploded, an employment tribunal has heard. Davide Leone, the founder of hedge fund Davide Leone & Partners, was paranoid that 'big Jews' linked to one of his former employees were trying to sabotage his business and have him assassinated. The claims were submitted to the Central London employment tribunal by Jacapo Moretti, who alleges he was subjected to 'systematic victimisation and harassment for years' while working as a director at Mr Leone's hedge fund for more than a decade. Mr Moretti claimed Mr Leone, 49, was paranoid that powerful Jewish investors were behind various plots to burgle his home and offices, hack his computers and kill him by tampering with his car charger. He is seeking more than £100m in compensation over claims he was unfairly fired from his job at Mr Leone's hedge fund after suffering years of anti-Semitic bullying. Mr Leone spent 'countless hours' talking about his paranoid thoughts, Mr Moretti claimed, including that people were following him and 'organised criminals' had been paid millions to kill him and his family. In submissions to the employment tribunal, Mr Moretti said he was subjected to 'egregious conduct' while working at Davide Leone & Partners, including anti-Semitic remarks related to Mr Leone's 'paranoia and conspiracy theorist attitudes'. He claimed that his former boss would call him 'Rabbi' if he showed unwillingness to spend money and was 'fixated' on whether people were Jewish. Mr Moretti was fired in June 2023 following a period of extended sick leave related to his mental health. He claims the 'insufferable working conditions' he experienced at the hedge fund left him with a multitude of issues including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Evidence submitted to the tribunal includes secret recordings of conversations between Mr Moretti and Mr Leone, which Mr Moretti began making when the relationship between the pair started to deteriorate in 2021. In response to the allegations, Mr Leone said he was unaware Mr Moretti was Jewish and accused his former employee of submitting 'lurid allegations' to damage his reputation after their friendship imploded following a clash over annual bonuses. Speaking to the employment tribunal, Mr Leone apologised for his choice of words but said comments made on private phone calls or in informal conversations had been taken out of context, with some of the remarks mistranslated from Italian. He also argued that his comments about Jewish people were not derogatory. He claimed he often referred to people as 'Jews' in the same way he would refer to a person's nationality. References to 'big Jews' were indications of their status within the Jewish community, he added. In response to claims he was paranoid about a plot to kill him, submissions made by Mr Leone state: 'I was legitimately concerned for my own safety and that of my family and I accept that on occasion I spoke to Mr Moretti as my closest confidant and right hand man about some of this.' Mr Moretti was first hired by Mr Leone in 2011 just weeks after he launched his hedge fund. The two men had known each other for decades, having first been introduced by their mothers, who had worked together as school teachers in Saronno, near Milan. Mr Moretti's job paid him around £1.4m a year to oversee investment decisions at the firm, which managed more than $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in assets for investors including university endowments and pensions funds for ex-civil servants and police officers. In submissions to the employment tribunal, Mr Moretti said he 'dedicated his life' to working at Davide Leone & Partners, including by regularly working 12 to 18-hour workdays. Mr Leone denied that Mr Moretti had worked 'excessively'. A spokesman for Davide Leone & Partners said: 'The action is based on totally false allegations and his claims are completely groundless.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Leone!' Vatican crowds hail Leo XIV as new pope of the Catholic Church
Vatican City – It felt like the square could talk in one voice: 'Leone! Leone! Leone!' Thousands of people in St Peter's Square chanted in chorus the name adopted by Robert Prevost as he ascended to the papacy on Thursday: Leo XIV. Just an hour and a half earlier, white smoke had billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, announcing that a conclave of cardinals had elected a new leader for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Now, it was time to meet Pope Leo himself. A solemn silence fell across the square. The faithful waited to hear the pope's first message, which would set the tone for his papacy. 'Peace be upon you,' said Leo XIV, appearing on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica. He proceeded to repeat a blessing uttered by his late predecessor, Pope Francis, just weeks earlier: 'God loves us, God loves everyone, and evil will not prevail. We are in the hands of God.' It was a closely watched moment, with red-hatted cardinals poking out of nearby windows to catch their first glimpse at the newly minted pontiff. Pope Leo XIV was elected on the second day of the conclave, and his opening remarks as leader signalled continuity with Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88. But experts say he is likely to strike a middle path, between furthering Francis's inclusive agenda and embracing Vatican tradition. 'Peace' was one of the most used words in his brief speech — a choice meant to echo the words that Jesus pronounced after Easter, as Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni explained during a news briefing. Leo XIV called on Catholics to seek 'a disarmed peace and a disarming peace' through 'dialogue' and 'building bridges', in a brief speech heavy with themes of unity. 'Bravo! That is what we need!' one audience member in the square shouted as the new pope spoke. Another, 29-year-old Kasper Mihalak from Denmark, was squeezed in the middle of the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the first North American pope. 'I am really excited. Cardinal Prevost, now Leo XIV — it's gonna be amazing! He said a lot about peace during his speech. I think the world now really needs it,' Mihalak said. Rosaria Venuto could hardly hold back her tears. Early in the morning, she picked up her two children and drove four hours from Ascoli Satriano, a small town in the southern Italian province of Apulia, to be in St Peter's Square. 'I am deeply moved to have the chance to be here and live through this joy and be a small part of this historical event,' she said. Born in Chicago, a midwestern city in the United States, Leo XIV spent more than two decades in Peru, where he acquired dual citizenship. There, he worked in some of Peru's poorest areas, and he eventually became the bishop of Chiclayo, in the country's agricultural north. Then, in 2023, Pope Francis appointed him to lead a powerful office that manages bishops across the world. Phil Pullella, a Vatican expert who has covered the papacy for more than four decades, said that background offers a degree of continuity with Francis, who hailed from Argentina and advocated against poverty. 'He knows about poverty in Latin America,' Pullella said of Leo XIV. 'So, he's not the same thing as if they had elected some cardinal of New York, for example.' That continuity was likely appreciated by conservative camps at the Vatican, as well as liberal-leaning ones, Pullella added. 'He comes from the wealthy world, but he witnessed firsthand the problems of the Global South in a poor country,' he said. Still, Pullella noted that the way Leo XIV dressed showed that 'he is going to be his own man'. Instead of the simple white cassock that Pope Francis wore in 2013 when he was elected, Leo XIII added a traditional red cape over his vest, symbolising the spiritual and temporal powers of his office. 'In a sense, he is going back a little bit to that kind of tradition,' Pullella said. 'He would not have been elected had he not had the votes of the conservative bloc.' Leo XIV's election came as a surprise to many. Many observers were betting on a new pope by nightfall, but few expected only three rounds of voting. The crowd was stunned when white smoke started to pour out of the tiny chimney by early evening, at around 6:09pm local time (16:00 GMT). That was the signal that — of the 133 cardinals under the age of 80 who were eligible to vote — a candidate had received the two-thirds majority needed to become pope. This year's conclave had the distinction of being the most international in the Vatican's history: The participating cardinals hailed from more than 70 countries, representing divergent views for the Catholic Church's future. The diversity was part of the legacy of Pope Francis, who appointed cardinals from underrepresented countries like Laos and Haiti to broaden the church's global appeal. Francis spent 12 years as head of the Catholic Church, shaking up the establishment by adopting a distinct style and tone, focused on austerity and advocacy for marginalised populations. The late pope's efforts caused excitement among reformers but also dismay among conservatives, who accused him of diluting the Church's teachings. Experts say that led to a deep polarisation within the church, with some members criticising Francis for decentralising the church's authority. Those experts point out that Leo XIV's experience in the Roman Curia — the church's government — was likely a selling point among conservative conclave voters looking for stability in the years ahead. While Pope Leo XIV's first moves are yet to be revealed, his choice of name is noteworthy. Bruni, the Vatican spokesperson, noted that 'Leo' is a direct reference to Pope Leo XIII, who adopted a new social doctrine in the late 19th century. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical — or papal letter — known as the Rerum Novarum. It called on Catholics to address the 'wretchedness' facing the working class, amid the upheavals of industrialisation and political changes like the unification of Italy. That encyclical marked a radical new approach to workers, and it triggered the creation of Catholic newspapers, social cooperatives and banks — a social movement that is still alive today. Bruni said the current Pope Leo hoped to draw a parallel to that time, with its technological revolutions. 'It is not a casual reference to the men and women of their work at a time of artificial intelligence,' Bruni explained. Robert Orsi, a professor of religious studies at Northwestern University, said the name choice could also signify other historical parallels. Leo XIII 'strongly put down a movement called Americanism,' said Orsi. 'This movement was a kind of nationalist impulse within Catholicism, with national churches claiming to have their own identities, their own particular ways of doing things,' he explained. 'And I think by choosing the name Leo XIV, this pope was, without a doubt, signalling a return to a global Catholicism.' Pullella also believes it is noteworthy that, while Leo XIV mentioned his parishioners in Peru, he avoided highlighting his ties with the US. 'I think it's very significant that he did not give a shout-out to the United States. He didn't say, 'I'm from America.' He didn't speak in English,' Pullella said. That sent a message that 'basically he's not owned by the United States', Pullella added. Leo XIV has previously been critical of the administration of US President Donald Trump over issues like nationalism and migration, just as the late Pope Francis was. Still, Orsi predicted the Vatican under the new Pope Leo would be 'subtle and wise' in how he deals with Trump in the years to come.
