Latest news with #SLF
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Republicans revive ‘they/them' attack ads on Kamala Harris for 2026 midterm elections
US Republicans are reusing a slogan from the 2024 presidential race — 'Kamala is for they/them' — in their new ads for next year's congressional and governor's races, CNN reported. In 2024, Donald Trump's campaign used this slogan to mock then Vice President Kamala Harris' past support for policies that gave detained immigrants access to gender-transition-related healthcare. The campaign contrasted that with 'President Trump is for you.' The phrase 'they/them' refers to pronouns often used by non-binary people, meaning individuals who do not identify strictly as male or female. Now, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a major Republican group, is running similar ads in states like North Carolina and Georgia. These ads attack Democrats for supporting transgender rights, especially in sports and healthcare. Chris LaCivita, Trump's co-campaign manager in 2024 and the creator of the original ads, told CNN the message worked well. 'The purpose of the ads… was built around the need to increase our vote share with men, Hispanics, and moms,' LaCivita said. 'The ads… achieved the results that we were looking for.' In North Carolina, a new SLF ad targets Democratic Senate candidate and former governor Roy Cooper, claiming he 'sides with they/them.' It also criticises his vetoes of bills banning transgender women from competing in women's sports. The state Republican Party accused Cooper of supporting 'radical transgender ideology.' In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff is facing similar attacks. One ad shown during a basketball game said: 'Man-to-man defense isn't woke enough for Ossoff, he's playing for they/them.' Ossoff's campaign called these ads a distraction from public anger over Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid, a government health program for low-income people. In Virginia, Republican candidate for governor Winsome Earle-Sears has attacked Democrat Abigail Spanberger. 'Think your daughter should compete and share a locker room with biological men.' Democrats argue Republicans are focusing on transgender issues to avoid talking about the economy and healthcare. 'Republicans have given in to the most extreme fringes of their party by abandoning pocketbook issues in favour of an anti-freedom agenda,' said Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democrats' House campaign arm, reported CNN. He urged Republicans to work on 'expanding the middle class, lowering costs, and protecting freedoms.' The renewed Republican focus comes as some Democrats express sympathy for conservative concerns about transgender women competing in women's sports. California Governor Gavin Newsom told conservative commentator Charlie Kirk the issue was 'deeply unfair.' US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said there were 'serious fairness issues' in some cases.. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, warned that ignoring trans rights would make Democrats look weak. 'I think it's a mistake to focus just on economics and allow trans children to get bullied,' he said as per CNN. In California, Democratic candidate for governor Stephen Cloobeck released an ad showing Donald Trump alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The narrator says: 'Trump is for they/them,' before adding, 'Stephen Cloobeck is for you.' (With inputs from CNN)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sun Life (SLF) Matches Q2 Earnings Estimates
Sun Life (SLF) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate . This compares to earnings of $1.25 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. A quarter ago, it was expected that this financial services company would post earnings of $1.22 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.27, delivering a surprise of +4.1%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Sun Life, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Life Insurance industry, posted revenues of $6.65 billion for the quarter ended June 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.39%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $6.52 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Sun Life shares have added about 4.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 7.9%. What's Next for Sun Life? While Sun Life has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Sun Life was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.33 on $7.48 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.34 on $30.52 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Insurance - Life Insurance is currently in the top 20% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sun Life Financial Second-Quarter Underlying Earnings Beat Estimate
Sun Life Financial ( after-hours on Thursday reported higher second-quarter underlying incom Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
NBC News
01-08-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Republican super PACs bank millions ahead of midterm battles
Republicans are betting that they can defend their slim congressional majorities in next year's midterm elections, and the party's biggest donors are putting their chips on the table, too. New fundraising reports filed Thursday for outside groups show that GOP megadonors are engaged in the fight for Congress, steering $59.2 million to the main two super PACs involved in House and Senate races aligned with GOP leadership, Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, throughout the first six months of the year. The two major super PACs aligned with Democratic congressional leadership, Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC, raised $38.6 million combined. The GOP groups had $62 million left in their accounts as of June 30, while the Democratic groups had $35.8 million. And neither those figures nor the totals raised include all of the groups' nonprofit arms, which can also raise unlimited funds but do not have to disclose their donors. While Republicans may have an early advantage in the super PAC money chase, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to swamp the airwaves. Democratic candidates have typically raised more money directly for their campaigns than the average Republican candidate has in recent years, riding a wave of small-donor enthusiasm unleashed in response to President Donald Trump's first election in 2016. That candidate-to-candidate financial advantage pays dividends, since candidates can reserve television airtime at lower rates than outside groups. Still, the big hauls from Republican groups are a sign that the party's donors are tuned into the midterm battle ahead, with both groups raising substantially more than the first six months of 2021, the last midterm election cycle. That period was also marked by GOP donors pulling back from Republican causes after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. SLF, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, pulled in $26.5 million during the first six months of the year, four times the size of its haul at this point in 2021. CLF, which is aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson, raised $32.7 million, more than double its 2021 haul. The same group of megadonors — hedge fund manager Paul Singer, current United Kingdom Ambassador Warren Stephens, investor Mark Rowan and poultry businessman Ronald Cameron — gave $1 million or more to each of the groups. The biggest checks came from billionaire Elon Musk, who donated $5 million each to SLF and CLF on June 27, after he had left his role as a White House. Musk, who also donated to a pro-Trump super PAC, made his contributions before publicly musing about starting a third party in July. On the Democratic side, HMP saw a 50% increase compared to its 2021 haul, bringing in $21.2 million so far this year. But SMP saw a slight decrease, raising $17.3 million so far. And the groups drew from different big donors. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave $1 million to HMP but not SMP, the filings show. And HMP also benefited from Democratic megadonors including Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel. SMP, meanwhile, had million-dollar donations from software company founder Phillip Ragon, Olan Mills and real estate mogul George Marcus. Senate GOP candidates aren't just going to be boosted by SLF's significant resources; some will benefit from strong fundraising by outside groups specifically devoted to their elections, both in red and swing states. These candidate-specific Republican Senate super PACs have emerged to push back against the Democratic candidates' hard-money advantage. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican defending a seat in a state Democrats regularly win statewide, has overcome a big fundraising discrepancy before — her Democratic opponent in 2020, Sarah Gideon, outraised her $75.6 million to $27.8 million between 2019 and 2020, but Collins won that race by almost 9 percentage points. After outraising her top Democratic opponent last quarter, Collins' allied super PAC, Pine Tree Results PAC, reported raising $5.6 million in the first six months of 2025, thanks to some key seven-figure checks from private equity CEO Stephen Schwarzman and New Balance executive James Davis. In Michigan, home to what's expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle, a group backing Republican Mike Rogers could help him combat strong fundraising on the Democratic side. Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, a pro-Rogers group, raised $5.1 million through June, virtually all from oil billionaire Timothy Dunn. In Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn faces a tough GOP primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton, Cornyn is trying to counter Paxton's direct fundraising lead with a strong fundraising showing from outside groups. Texans for a Conservative Majority, a super PAC backing Cornyn, raised almost $11 million in the first six months of the year. And Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who faces a primary challenge from state Treasurer John Fleming, is also getting an outside boost from a group called Louisiana Freedom Fund, which raised $2.5 million over that same time period.
STV News
25-07-2025
- Business
- STV News
Community charity wins £60,000 grant to renovate former library
A West Lothian charity has been awarded more than £60,000 to build a new home in its former library base. Craigshill-based Spark took control of the former Almondbank Library for just £1 in a Community Asset Transfer from West Lothian Council earlier this year. Now grant funding secured from the Scottish Land Fund will enable the charity to refurbish the building to create a permanent home for a community group which has spread from its neighbourhood roots to help thousands across the county. Chair of Spark, the former long serving Craigshill councillor Frank Anderson, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'It is great to finally see the aspirations of our organisation reach a conclusion with the award of this grant funding. It has been a daunting task but one which will see our organisation go from strength to strength. 'Our community will continue to benefit from the many and varied activities we provide and will continue to provide. There will be no change to our activities and the fabulous atmosphere generated at Spark.' Frank continued: 'Whilst this award secures our ambition to take community ownership of the building, securing our future, we are already seeking funding to bring the building to a higher standard and become more energy efficient. We know that the improvements will enhance the Mall area and secure the building for future generations to enjoy.' Alex Fleming, Chief Officer at Spark, said: 'Spark are deeply thankful to the Scottish Land Fund for supporting us in taking this vital step toward community ownership of our building in the heart of our community. This funding means we can secure a long-term home where we can continue to grow, create opportunities, and make a real difference for those who live, work and visit our community.' The SLF grant will help the charity with the initial costs of taking on ownership of the former council property including legal fees for ownership, the decoupling of utilities we have to pay as part of the acceptance. Frank told the LDRS: 'We have applied for other grants to enable us to have a more efficient heating system.' The council's Community Asset Transfer Committee agreed to the transfer of the library building in March after hearing that a measure of just part of the work the charity does suggested its social value was in excess of £500,000. Spark's membership and volunteer numbers have grown significantly over the last 18 months, as has the number and type of activities and events it delivers. Events such as our inaugural Spark in the Park, last year which saw approx. 3,000 people attend a free family event in Craigshill. The charity has been awarded a total of £63, 961 to fund the transformation of the building that has long been its home. Spark was founded as the Craigshill Good Neighbour Network almost 40 years ago. Cara Gillespie, the chair of the Scottish Land Fund Committee said: 'The focus of this round of SLF funding has been on providing groups with the funds to secure spaces where they can come together as communities in both rural and urban locations, forging social ties and helping to meet local needs.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
