Author: ricardofrancois

When a hacker called the company his gang claimed to have hacked, he felt the same feeling most of us feel when calling the front desk: frustration. The phone call between the hacker, who claims to represent the DragonForce ransomware gang, and the victim company employee was posted by the ransomware gang on its dark web site in an apparent attempt to pressure the company into paying a ransom demand. In fact, the call recording shows just a laughable and somewhat unsuccessful attempt to blackmail and intimidate ordinary company employees. The recording also shows how ransomware gangs are always looking…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.AstraZeneca's chief executive, Pascal Soriot, is on extremely low pay and is entitled to a proposed pay rise of £1.8m, according to a major shareholder in the pharmaceutical company. The British pharmaceutical company is preparing to vote on the pay of its long-serving leader at its annual meeting on Thursday, including a rise that would take his total pay to a maximum of £18.7 million. Influential shareholder advisors Glass Lewis and ISS have recommended investors vote against the company's pay policy.But Rajeev…

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Good morning. There are only 209 days left until the election, and Donald Trump is feeling the pressure. But not from the sun that disappeared on Monday. And the world has not ended! There was not even a plague of locusts or killing of crows. What a disappointment, especially for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was so excited that the eclipse was a warning from her God.“God is sending America strong signals asking us to repent,” she posted on X. the news You're reading the Los Angeles Times Politics newsletter Anita Chhabria and David Lauter provide insights into legislation,…

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John Lovett | Stone | Getty ImagesThere are a record number of areas in the United States where the value of a “typical” home is $1 million or more.In February, the country had 550 “million-dollar” cities, or areas where the “typical” home was worth $1 million or more, according to a new analysis by Zillow. This represents an increase of 59 cities from 2023, and exceeds the previous record of 522 such cities when home values ​​peaked in 2022.The increase in million-dollar cities is the result of the impact of mortgage caps, which have prevented homeowners with very low interest…

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WARREN, MICHIGAN —” General Motors Buick has redesigned Buick's flagship Enclave SUV as the latest testament to the automaker's ongoing reinvention of the nearly 125-year-old brand.The updates to the 2025 Enclave — from new technology to exterior redesign to interior styling — complement Buick's refresh of its current four-vehicle lineup. In 2022, Buick unveiled an aggressive concept car called the Wildcat, beginning a new design direction for the brand.While the Enclave is the latest of Buick's current vehicles to receive the Wildcat treatment, it may not be the last. GM is expected to expand Buick's lineup with a new all-electric…

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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: American Eagle Outfitters – Shares rose 4% after JPMorgan upgraded to overweight from neutral. The company cited the retailer's promotional initiatives and operational changes for the call. Freeport-McMoRan – Shares jumped 1.9% after Bank of America upgraded the U.S. miner to buy from neutral, saying it has “premium copper exposure.” Molson Coors – Shares rose 1.9% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the brewing company to buy, saying the company could benefit from expanding shelf space at retailers. Ally Financial – The financial services company added nearly 2% after being upgraded to buy…

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Housing rights activists and tenants protest evictions and the poor condition of their apartments outside the offices of landlord Broadway Capital in Chelsea, Massachusetts on April 25, 2022.Brian Snyder | ReutersFor many years, Conemaugh Health System, a hospital chain in west-central Pennsylvania, has been a nonprofit entity, serving patients in the small communities of Johnstown, Hastings, Meyersdale and Roaring Spring. Today, this is a for-profit system partly owned by Apollo Global Management, one of the largest private equity firms in the United States.Since an ownership change in 2018, which includes a hospital chain known as LifePoint Health, care at the…

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Kevin Gordon is a senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab and, more importantly, a co-winner of the FTAV charting contest. In the markets, it's impossible to go through a day without being overwhelmed by the reasons why stocks are rising or falling. Or why they should go up or down. Everyone is always looking for a narrative.However, in the past few months, the abundance of novels has increased dramatically, making trying to describe the current market almost painful. It is human nature to demand to know who is responsible for any given event. But it is also human nature to…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is the on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. We hope our fellow American eclipse observers come out in high spirits and without fried corneas. There was much discussion in the Financial Times' New York office yesterday: Was the eclipse an economic boost or a drag? Supporters argued that caravans of eclipse tourists flocking to…

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The gold was hidden as air compressor partsSource: Hong Kong Customs and Excise DepartmentIn the largest gold smuggling bust in Hong Kong, city authorities seized an estimated $10.7 million worth of the precious metal that was hidden while shipping machinery parts to Japan.A government statement on Monday said that 146 kilograms of gold had been “molded and camouflaged” as part of two air compressors in the cargo of a plane parked in the city.Pictures provided by officials show that the gold was formed into spiral and cylindrical shaped pieces with a layer of paint to hide it. Scratches on the…

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