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Trump Media, gun stocks surge after assassination attempt

Trump Media, gun stocks surge after assassination attempt
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP)
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Updated 16 July 2024
Reuters
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Trump Media, gun stocks surge after assassination attempt

Trump Media, gun stocks surge after assassination attempt
Updated 16 July 2024
Reuters
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Crypto stocks, gun stocks and shares of other companies that could benefit from a Donald Trump presidency jumped on Monday after an assassination attempt on the Republican candidate boosted expectations he would win the November election. Trump’s survival after he was shot in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday increased his already considerable lead in betting odds over President Joe Biden. Those odds rose more later on Monday after Trump chose US Senator J.D. Vance to be his vice presidential running mate as the Republican Party officially nominated the former president to run again at the start of the party’s national convention in Milwaukee. On politics-wagering website PredictIt, contracts for a Trump election victory traded at 70 cents, up from 60 cents on Friday, with a potential payout of $1. Contracts for a Biden victory were at 26 cents. Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, majority-owned by Trump, soared 31 percent, lifting its stock market value to $7.7 billion, despite revenue comparable to two US Starbucks shops.
Trump Media is the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, and its shares have now surged 132 percent in 2024 as retail traders bet Trump will win a second term as president. Added: He previously served from 2017 to 2021.
“It’s nearly four months to go (until the election) and things can change, but today the markets are betting on Trump being the victor,” said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco BBI, adding that Trump Media “is the tip of the spear and the most sensitive to a Trump victory.” Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla ended 1.8 percent higher after billionaire CEO Elon Musk publicly endorsed Trump following the shooting.
Tesla gave back earlier gains of as much as 7 percent after the announcement of Vance as Trump’s running mate.
Vance last year introduced legislation to eliminate EV tax subsidies and replace them with tax credits for US-made gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles. The bill would gut a core part of the White House clean vehicle strategy and has no realistic chance of winning approval in the current Democratic-controlled Senate. Crypto stocks soared on Monday, tracking a 10 percent rally in bitcoin to a two-week high. Trump has presented himself as a champion of cryptocurrency. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global and bitcoin miners Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital jumped between 11 percent and 18 percent. Long-dated US bond yields rose on expectations that Trump policies would drive up government debt and stoke inflation, while the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent.
“Most investors are not changing their overall commitment to US equities. After all, the broad stock market rose under the last Trump administration and has risen under the Biden administration as well,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.
Gun makers and ammunition stocks Smith & Wesson Brands , Sturm Ruger & Company and Ammo jumped between 5 percent and 15 percent. Gun stocks in the past have surged following mass shootings, civil unrest and fears of gun control that have led to people to buy more firearms out of fear that their availability would become limited.
Shares of private prison operators Geo Group and CoreCivic each jumped about 8 percent. Both are potential beneficiaries of a Trump presidency as he has promised to crack down on illegal immigration, which could boost demand for detention centers.
Video-sharing platform Rumble, popular with conservatives, soared 21 percent. Clean energy stocks slipped as Trump has said he would reverse many of the Biden administration’s signature climate policies, including tax incentives, if he wins the election.
The Invesco Solar ETF fell 5.9 percent and the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF fell 3.9 percent.
The iShares MSCI China ETF dropped about 2 percent. Investors believe a second Trump presidency could fuel trade tensions between Beijing and the United States. US voters view Trump as the better candidate for the economy, according to Reuters/Ipsos polls, even as Biden’s White House seeks to benefit from a solid economy with inflation slowing and low unemployment.
“In the absence of any real policy proclamations from Trump, traders are finding themselves having to speculate,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer of Siebert Financial Corp.
“A second Trump presidency would mean expansionary economic stimulus in general, lower income taxes, less regulation, and increased tariffs.”

Topics: 2024 US Elections

UN team in Bangladesh to discuss modalities of human rights probe

UN team in Bangladesh to discuss modalities of human rights probe
Updated 1 min ago
Reuters
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UN team in Bangladesh to discuss modalities of human rights probe

UN team in Bangladesh to discuss modalities of human rights probe
  • About 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began in July
  • The student demonstrations led to the ousting of long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Updated 1 min ago
Reuters
DHAKA: A United Nations team will meet Bangladesh’s interim government and other stakeholders from Thursday to discuss the process to investigate alleged human rights violations during the recent deadly violence in the South Asian country, officials said.
About 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began in July with students agitating against quotas in government jobs before the events spiraled into demonstrations to oust long-serving former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
An interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in after Hasina fled the country and flew to New Delhi following the students-led uprising.
The UN office in Bangladesh said in a media advisory that the team from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be visiting Dhaka from Sept. 22-29.
“The purpose of this visit is to understand their priorities for assistance in promoting human rights,” said the media advisory, adding that Bangladesh’s interim government had requested the UN to probe the killings during the protests.
“It is important to note that this visit is not an investigation, but rather it will focus on discussing the process for investigating human rights violations in light of the recent violence and unrest.”
Rory Mungoven, chief of the Asia Pacific region at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was leading the UN team, which met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Thursday, according to two Bangladesh foreign ministry officials.
UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, made a phone call to Yunus last week and said a UN-led investigation will be launched “very soon” to probe the killing of the protesters, Yunus’ office said.
A separate fact-finding team will be dispatched to Dhaka in coming weeks to conduct the investigation once details are finalized, the UN added.

Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces

Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces
Updated 25 min 9 sec ago
AFP
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Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces

Indian state plans law for Muslim marriages and divorces
  • The bill is seen as a state-level step toward the government’s proposed common civil code of law
Updated 25 min 9 sec ago
AFP

Guwahati: Indian authorities in Assam state have introduced a bill that would require Muslims to register their marriages and divorces, with the chief minister claiming the measure will help stop child marriage.
The bill is seen as a state-level step toward the government’s proposed common civil code of law, which is bitterly opposed by Muslim activists as an attack on their faith.
India’s 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law, but personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by varying rules based on the traditions of different communities and faiths.
In Assam, it is already mandatory for other religions to register marriages with civil authorities.
Assam’s state government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the bill would be tabled during the next state assembly.
“Our basic intention is to stop child marriages,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of the northeastern state, told reporters Wednesday.
Sarma said the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill would not restrict religious rituals, but only ensure marriages and divorces were registered.
The bill will “provide safeguards and benefits... especially to women and prevent the menace of child marriages,” he said.
Modi said this month he wanted to press ahead with a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to standardise laws for personal matters across faiths and religious communities.
Many communities, particularly Muslims, fear a UCC would encroach on their religious laws.
Modi maintains it would serve as an equalizer.
“Those laws that divide the country on the basis of religion, that become reason for inequality, should have no place in a modern society,” Modi said during an Independence Day address on August 15.
“That is why I say: the times demand that there is a secular civil code in the country.”
Modi won a third successive term in office in June but was forced into a coalition government for the first time in a decade.
The BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric has left India’s Muslim population of more than 220 million increasingly anxious about their future.

Topics: Islam India

India’s Modi urges peace ahead of Ukraine visit

India’s Modi urges peace ahead of Ukraine visit
Updated 33 min 10 sec ago
AFP
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India’s Modi urges peace ahead of Ukraine visit

India’s Modi urges peace ahead of Ukraine visit
  • Narendra Modi will be the first Indian premier to make a Ukraine trip
  • The Indian government has avoided explicit condemnations of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine
Updated 33 min 10 sec ago
AFP

WARSAW: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said no conflict could be resolved on a battlefield as he spoke in Poland on the eve of his historic visit to war-torn Ukraine.
Modi will be the first Indian premier to make a Ukraine trip and is the first in 45 years to visit Poland, Kyiv’s loyal ally that is a key transit for foreign leaders heading to its war-torn neighbor.
The Indian government has avoided explicit condemnations of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to resolve their differences through dialogue.
“It is India’s strong belief that no problem can be resolved on a battlefield,” Modi said in Warsaw, adding his country supports “dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed Modi and his delegation at the seat of government, with flags of both countries hoisted outside the building and their anthems played by the military band.
“History has taught our nations the importance of respecting the rules, respecting borders, territorial integrity,” Tusk said as he spoke to reporters alongside the Indian leader.
Tusk also added that Modi “reaffirmed his willingness to commit himself personally to a peaceful, just, quick end to the war.”
After the talks, Modi will lay a wreath at a war memorial in central Warsaw before heading for talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Later on Thursday the Indian leader is expected to leave the Polish capital to travel to neighboring Ukraine for his first visit to the country fighting to stave off the Russian invasion.
Modi has trodden a delicate balance between maintaining India’s historically warm ties with Russia while courting closer security partnerships with Western nations as a bulwark against regional rival China.
“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” Modi said in a statement published Wednesday before his departure for Poland.
In Kyiv, Modi will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and “share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Modi commemorated an Indian maharaja who sheltered Polish children during World War II, laying flowers at the marble lotus-crowned monument erected in Warsaw in honor of the maharaja.
In a little-known story linking the two nations, the maharaja hosted Polish children in what is now Gujarat — Modi’s home state where he was chief minister before launching national political career.
The Indian leader announced a youth exchange program named after the maharaja, under which 20 Polish young people would be invited to India each year.
“We are finally starting to have the right level of political and diplomatic relations,” Polish deputy foreign minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski said about the visit.
He said Warsaw was counting on cooperation with India in “in the agricultural sector, in the IT sector, in the security sector, in the new technology sector, especially green technology.”
Modi on Wednesday delivered a speech in Hindi to the Indian community in Warsaw, promising “a drastic expansion of Indian economy in coming years.”
He is expected to meet with Leszek Balcerowicz, a former Polish finance minister and free market pioneer who steered Poland’s economic transition from communism to capitalism in early 1990s.
According to the Indian Embassy, Modi will also meet captains of kabaddi teams — a tag-meets-rugby contact team sport rooted in Indian mythology and said to date back 5,000 years.

Topics: India Narendra Modi Ukraine

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Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests

Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests
Updated 42 min 38 sec ago
AFP
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Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests

Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests
  • At least two people have died and hundreds of thousands are stranded in the floods in at least eight districts
  • Around 2.9 million people have been affected and more than 70,000 people have been taken to shelters
Updated 42 min 38 sec ago
AFP

DHAKA: Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swath of low-lying Bangladesh, disaster officials said Thursday, adding to the new government’s challenges after weeks of political turmoil.
At least two people have died and hundreds of thousands are stranded in the floods in at least eight districts in southern and eastern areas.
“Around 2.9 million people have been affected and more than 70,000 people have been taken to shelters,” Mohammad Nazmul Abedin, senior official in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, told AFP.
Long-time premier Sheikh Hasina quit as prime minister this month and fled to India after weeks of deadly student-led protests, ending her 15-year autocratic rule.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades.
It is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
The annual monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.
The army and the navy have been deployed, with speedboats and helicopters rescuing those stranded by the swollen rivers.
Much of the country is made up of deltas where the Himalayan rivers the Ganges and the Brahmaputra wind toward the sea after coursing through India.
Neighbouring India’s foreign ministry rejected accusations it was to blame for the floods, denying it had deliberately released water from an upstream dam.
It said the catchment area had experienced the “heaviest rains of this year over the last few days,” and that the flow of water downstream was due to “automatic releases.”
Asif Mahmud, a key leader of the student protests that ousted Hasina, and now the sports minister in the interim cabinet, had accused India of not only hosting Hasina, but of “creating a flood” by deliberately releasing water from dams.
India said that was “factually not correct.”
“Floods on the common rivers between India and Bangladesh are a shared problem inflicting sufferings to people on both sides, and requires close mutual cooperation toward resolving them,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government preferred Hasina over her rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which it saw as closer to conservative Islamist groups.
Modi has offered his support to the new Bangladeshi leader Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is heading the caretaker administration.

Thailand confirms Asia’s first known case of new mpox strain

Thailand confirms Asia’s first known case of new mpox strain
Updated 22 August 2024
AFP
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Thailand confirms Asia’s first known case of new mpox strain

Thailand confirms Asia’s first known case of new mpox strain
  • Clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children more at risk, according to the WHO
  • Mpox much less likely to spread rapidly than COVID-19 because of the close contact needed to catch it
Updated 22 August 2024
AFP

BANGKOK: Thailand on Thursday confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox in a patient who had traveled to the kingdom from Africa.
The patient landed in Bangkok on August 14 and was sent to hospital with mpox symptoms.
The Department of Disease Control said laboratory tests on the 66-year-old European confirmed he was infected with mpox Clade 1b.
“Thailand’s Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the department said in a statement, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be informed of the development.
“We have monitored 43 people who have been in close contact with the patient and so far they have shown no symptoms, but we must continue monitoring for a total of 21 days.”
Anyone traveling to Thailand from 42 “risk countries” must register and undergo testing on arrival, the department said.
Mpox cases and deaths are surging in Africa, where outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July.
The World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency over the new variant of mpox, urging manufacturers to ramp up production of vaccines.
The disease — caused by a virus transmitted by infected animals but passed from human to human through close physical contact — causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
While mpox has been known for decades, a new deadlier and more transmissible strain — known as Clade 1b — has driven the recent surge in cases.
Clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children more at risk, according to the WHO.
Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Thai Department of Disease Control, said that mpox was much less likely to spread rapidly than COVID-19 because of the close contact needed to catch it.

Topics: Health public health MPOX Thailand

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