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The mystery of the black balls that washed up on some of Sydney’s most iconic beaches last month has now been solved – and it’s more disgusting than you could ever imagine.

Australian beachgoers were turned away from seven beaches last month after lifeguards spotted thousands of black spheres, prompting closures and clean-up efforts.

Initially thought to be made of tar, a team of scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has revealed the black balls were actually mini “fatbergs,” made up of human feces, methamphetamine, human hair, fatty acids, and food waste, among hundreds of other vile and befuddling substances.

The New South Wales Environment and Protection Authority (EPA) first warned Sydney residents to avoid swimming or touching the balls on October 17, after they were spotted at seven beaches including Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.

At that stage their contents were “a mystery” and local officials ordered a series of tests to find out what they were and where they came from.

Initial testing suggested they were made from unrefined oil, potentially from an oil spill, Beves and UNSW professor William Alexander Donald wrote in the Conversation.

“However, further testing indicated a different, more disgusting, composition.”

The balls were consistent with fatbergs, congealed masses of fats, oils and greasy molecules that can accumulate in sewage, the scientists wrote, noting their presence highlights the issue of pollution along Sydney’s coastline.

“I wouldn’t want to be swimming with them,” Donald told 9news.

Fatbergs come in all shapes and sizes. In 2021, a massive, 330-ton fatberg wreaked havoc in Birmingham, UK when it clogged a city sewer for weeks.

These Sydney fatbergs were no ordinary fatbergs, however. The blobs contained everything from fecal matter to medication and recreational drugs, the scientists wrote.

Where these gross balls came from still remains a mystery.

The balls likely originated from “a source that releases mixed waste,” according to a media release from the EPA Wednesday.

“Authorities have considered several possible causes, such as a shipping spill or wastewater outflow,” the statement said.

“However, due to the complex composition of the balls and the time they have spent in the water, testing has not been able to confirm their exact origin.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Amazon said Tuesday it received regulatory approval to begin flying a smaller, quieter version of its delivery drone, the latest step in its long-running efforts to get the futuristic program off the ground.

The company unveiled the new drone, called the MK30, in November 2022. It said then that the MK30, in addition to the other changes, would fly through light rain and have twice the range of earlier models.

Amazon said the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval includes permission to fly the MK30 over longer distances and beyond the visual line of sight of pilots. The agency granted a similar waiver for Amazon’s Prime Air program in May, though that was limited to flights in College Station, Texas, one of the cities where it has been conducting tests.

Alongside the FAA approval, Matt McCardle, head of regulatory affairs for Prime Air, said the company is starting to make drone deliveries Tuesday near Phoenix, Arizona. In April, Amazon said it planned to spin up drone operations in Tolleson, a city west of Phoenix, after it shut down an earlier test site in Lockeford, California. The company will dispatch the drones near one of its warehouses in Tolleson as it looks to integrate Prime Air more closely into its existing logistics network and further speed up deliveries.

An FAA spokesperson said the agency granted Amazon permission to conduct beyond visual line of sight deliveries in Tolleson on Oct. 31.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first unveiled plans for the ambitious service more than a decade ago, remarking at the time that the program could be up and running within five years. Despite Amazon investing billions of dollars into the program, progress has been slow.

Prime Air encountered regulatory hurdles, missed deadlines and had layoffs last year, coinciding with widespread cost-cutting efforts by CEO Andy Jassy. The program also lost some key executives, including its primary liaison with the FAA and its founding leader. Amazon hired former Boeing executive David Carbon to run the operation.

It has also encountered pushback from some residents in the cities where it is trialing drone deliveries. Residents in College Station complained about the noise levels enough that it prompted the city’s mayor to mention the concerns in a letter to the FAA, CNBC previously reported. In response, Amazon executives told residents the company would identify a new drone delivery launch site by October 2025.

Amazon is not the only company trying to crack delivery by drone. It is competing with Wing, owned by Google parent Alphabet; UPS; Walmart; and a host of startups including Zipline and Matternet.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot who became a billionaire philanthropist and GOP donor, has died at the age of 95.

‘The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the death of our co-founder Bernie Marcus,’ the company said. ‘We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie. He was a master merchant and a retail visionary. But even more importantly, he valued our associates, customers and communities above all. He’s left us with an invaluable legacy and the backbone of our company: our values. 

Marcus’ death was first reported by CNN.

Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in 1929, Marcus grew up in Newark, New Jersey, according to a biography shared by Home Depot. He eventually enrolled in pharmacy school and graduated from Rutgers University.

At age 49, Marcus formed Home Depot with Arthur Blank, the Atlanta Falcons owner and a billionaire supporter of Democrats, in Atlanta in 1978 after both were fired from another home improvement firm. They were assisted with financing from Ken Langone, another major philanthropist and Republican donor.

In a statement, Blank said he was “heartbroken at the passing” of his “dearest friend.”

“Today, I’ve lost a father-figure, mentor, brother and business and life partner,” Blank said. “While this loss is profoundly painful, I am grateful for the close to 60 years we spent together, navigating challenges and celebrating successes, and I am honored to have been part of Bernie’s remarkable life.”

In 2023, Marcus announced his support of Donald Trump for president. On Tuesday, Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social app mourning Marcus’s death.

‘I just learned of the passing of legendary entrepreneur and political genius Bernie Marcus,’ Trump wrote. ‘He was my supporter from the beginning and was always there when I needed help or advice. He strongly endorsed me for this election, as well as my other runs, and I will never forget him for that. He was an extraordinary man and I look forward to powerfully honoring him in the future. Warmest condolences to his wonderful family, and all of his many friends!’

In 1981, Home Depot was listed on the Nasdaq exchange for $12 a share. Today, the company’s shares are worth $395, equating to a market cap of about $392 billion. Home Depot now employs almost half a million workers.

Marcus served as CEO for about the first two decades of the company, and as chairman until he retired in 2002. According to Forbes, Marcus had a net worth of about $11 billion at the time of his death.

Thanks to that fortune, Marcus became a prolific philanthropist. Through a foundation he created, he gave to a variety of causes and projects focused on medicine and health care, Jewish and Israeli issues, free enterprise and veterans support, and community efforts.

A longtime booster of Atlanta civic projects, Marcus donated $250 million to help build the Georgia Aquarium, among the largest in the world.

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Marcus initially donated to a political action committee that supported candidates such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. He eventually threw his support behind Donald Trump, writing in an online op-ed that his experience turning Home Depot into a multibillion-dollar business meant he could not support the policies being advocated by Hillary Clinton, who competed with Trump in that election.

In 2023, Marcus endorsed Trump again. In another online op-ed, he said that while he had been ‘frustrated’ at times by Trump’s behavior, ‘we cannot let his brash style be the reason we walk away from his otherwise excellent stewardship of the United States during his first term in office.’

‘Now is the time for unity to save The American Dream for future generations,’ he wrote.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Yum Brands on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street’s expectation as same-store sales at KFC and Pizza Hut slid more than expected.

“The complex consumer environment that exists in many markets around the globe has contributed to pronounced regional sales variations, which has caused our system-sales growth to fall short of our long-term algorithm this year,” CEO David Gibbs said on the company’s conference call.

In 2022, Yum raised its long-term target to 5% unit growth, 7% system-sales growth and 8% operating profit growth.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Yum reported third-quarter net income of $382 million, or $1.35 per share, down from $416 million, or $1.46 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.37 per share.

Net sales rose 7% to $1.83 billion.

Yum’s worldwide same-store sales fell 2% in the quarter, dragged down by weaker performances at KFC and Pizza Hut, which both reported same-store sales declines of 4%.

The company’s sales have been hurt by pressures related to “geopolitical conflicts and challenged consumer sentiment,” Gibbs said in a statement.

Conflict in the Middle East has weighed on Yum’s results since the fourth quarter of last year. KFC’s same-store sales have tumbled as much as 45% over that period in the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia, for example.

KFC’s U.S. same-store sales slid 5% this quarter. The market is KFC’s second largest, trailing only China, but the chain has ceded market share to Popeyes in recent years. Last year, Popeyes overtook KFC as the No. 2 chicken chain in the U.S.

Executives said Tuesday that KFC will focus on value in the fourth quarter.

Pizza Hut, on the other hand, had a steeper decline in its international markets. The pizza chain saw its international same-store sales shrink 6%, while U.S. same-store sales fell just 1%. Pizza Hut has shifted to offering more discounts in China, India and some Middle Eastern countries, according to Gibbs.

Taco Bell, the gem of Yum’s portfolio, reported same-store sales growth of 4%. The launch of the Cheesy Street Chalupas, the return of the Big Cheez-It and the rollout of a $7 value meal boosted Taco Bell’s sales during the quarter.

Gibbs said Taco Bell led the industry in the third quarter in value perception among all fast-food consumers, helping its sales even during an industrywide slowdown.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

In this StockCharts TV video, Mary Ellen reviews the negative price action in the broader markets while highlighting pockets of strength. She shares how the rise in interest rates is impacting the markets ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. Last up is a segment on how to use longer term charts to uncover long term winners and ride out short term volatility.

This video originally premiered November 1, 2024. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen on StockCharts TV.

New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.

In this video from StockCharts TV, Julius begins by looking back at the completed monthly bars for October to assess the long term trends in the 11 S&P sectors. He follows that up with an updated view for SPY in coming weeks. After that, Julius looks forward using seasonality to find sectors that have strong seasonal tendencies and overlays them on a Relative Rotation Graph, in order to see whether these seasonals are aligning with current relative trends.

This video was originally published on November 1, 2024. Click anywhere on the icon above to view on our dedicated page for Julius.

Past episodes of Julius’ shows can be found here.

#StayAlert, -Julius

The stock market closed on a down note on Monday. It’s just one day before the general election and, as you know from experience, elections tend to be like an adrenaline shot to the market, the effects of which can last from days to months.

Positioning Yourself for Post-Election Market Stress

Several analysts have hinted that Wall Street may have already priced in a Trump win. If that outcome materializes, and depending on the outcome of the Senate and House races, the markets may readjust, depending on how it forecasts changes in policy and its effect on the economy.

At this stage of the game, with a market poised for adjustments and overreactions, it might work in your favor to get a big-picture view of how sectors will respond in the coming days, and which stocks within those sectors may be gaining strength as the political fog clears.

Scanning the Market in a Rapidly Shifting  Environment

After Monday’s market close, Energy and Real Estate emerged as the top performers, while Utilities and Financials lagged. To quickly scan this outcome, from your StockCharts Dashboard click the arrow next to the Charts & Tools tab and select MarketCarpets. From the Select Group dropdown menu, choose S&P Sector ETFs.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS CHART OF SECTOR ETFS ON NOVEMBER 4. The Energy sector was the top performer while Utilities was the weakest performer.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The top-performing sectors were Energy, up 1.74%, and Real Estate, up 1.15%. Energy stocks got a boost after OPEC+ hit pause on planned oil production increases. Meanwhile, real estate stocks rallied thanks to big acquisition moves and some pre-election bets on policy changes that could favor property.

The big losing sectors were Utilities, down 1.17%, and Financials, sliding 0.80%. Utilities dropped as regulatory concerns emerged after FERC blocked a capacity increase for an Amazon-linked nuclear plant. Financials slid amid pre-election uncertainty, with investors wary of potential policy shifts affecting major institutions within the industry.

Let’s zoom in on the Energy sector to see which industries and stocks are outperforming.

FIGURE 2. MARKETCARPETS CHART FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR. Most industries within the sector are bullishly green.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The size of the squares is weighted by market cap, and the largest and most recognizable outperformer on this list, Exxon (XOM), is up 3.18%. However, the leading performers aren’t all well-known names; you can see these top stocks listed in the table to the right of MarketCarpets among the day’s top 10.

Real Estate is another sector that’s been quietly creeping up. While the stocks comprising it haven’t been making headline news, investors have made their moves in the sector.

FIGURE 3. MARKETCARPETS CHART FOR REAL ESTATE SECTOR. Lots of green, but not many well-known stocks.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Fangdd Network Group Ltd (DUO) had the largest jump, up 9.09%, but beware—it’s virtually a penny stock despite its high trading volume and market cap, all of which can be seen in its Symbol Summary.

Public Storage (PSA) had a sizable jump, up 2.71%, while Simon Property (SPG) also had a comparable gain of 2.64%. Again, these aren’t necessarily stocks to invest in, but they are large stocks that help paint a picture of what’s driving the sector. It’s up to you to dig deeper using technical tools to assess whether the sector’s strength—or certain stocks within it—might offer a potential opportunity.

Those were Monday’s strongest sectors. Now let’s look at the weakest sectors in the market.

FIGURE 4. MARKETCARPETS CHART OF THE UTILITIES SECTOR. The sector was dragged down by its largest stocks.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The regulatory ruling that impacted Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG), causing a 12.46% drop, pulled down the entire Utilities sector. Public Service Enterprise (PEG) faced the next biggest loss, falling 6.23%. While there were a few gainers, none were particularly well-known names.

The manner of Utilities’ decline differs from the Financial sector, as you will see below.

FIGURE 5. MARKETCARPETS CHART OF THE FINANCIAL SECTOR. Bearish pretty much all the way around.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

While negative sentiment painted the financial sector with broad strokes, none of the biggest losers were any of the sector’s heavyweights. But again, neither were its biggest winners. This is the market expressing its pre-election jitters. Weighing the prospect of continuing inflation, whether it’s driven by tariffs or fiscal spending, there seems to be no clear path out of the price conundrum, and that’s what we’re seeing in the sector.

So, what might you do next?

How To Position Yourself During and After the Election

Here are five MarketCarpets tips.

  1. Identify Sector Trends Quickly. Get a fast, visual snapshot of which sectors are leading and lagging.
  2. Monitor Sector Performance. Focus on sectors that are sensitive to policy outcomes.
  3. Look for Surprising Movers. Sometimes, the largest stock movers aren’t the sector’s heavyweights, and sometimes they are. Use MarketCarpets’ display to identify these changes quickly.
  4. Drill Down to Industry-Specific Strengths. Zoom into individual sectors on MarketCarpets to see which industries within sectors are performing best.
  5. Look for Signs of Rapid Reversal. Post-election, stocks and entire sectors might overreact to news, leading to quick sell-offs or rallies. Follow the MarketCarpets to catch any quick reversals in sectors or stocks that signal re-adjustment and drill down on each stock using your preferred technical tools. You might find opportunities early on.

At the Close

MarketCarpets can be a reliable tool for making sense of post-election market chaos. It gives you a clear snapshot of sector trends, showing which areas are gaining or lagging as the market reacts to the evolving political realities. By highlighting top performers, undervalued plays, and industry-specific movers, you can spot the biggest opportunities quickly before swooping in for a deeper dive into your targets.


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Back in the day, I used to look at the weekly S&P 500 chart every weekend and ask myself the same three questions:

  1. What is the long-term trend?
  2. What is the medium-term trend?
  3. What is the short-term trend?

My goal was to make sure that I was respecting the broader market direction, and not fighting it by taking too many contrary positions in my portfolio.  I eventually realized through some trial and error that I could use a series of weekly exponential moving averages to get me to the same place, allowing me to spend more time focusing on what was coming next.

The Construction of the Market Trend Model

As I discussed with Mike Turner in a recent episode of the Market Misbehavior podcast, staying on the right side of market trends is arguably the most important role for any investor.  I realized that by comparing the 21 and 34-week exponential moving averages every week, I was able to clearly define uptrends and downtrends over long-term time frames.

Our short-term Market Trend Model turned bearish on November 1, 2024.

To try and address the lagging nature of such a long-form moving average combination, I added the 5 and 13-week exponential moving averages and found that the signals provided gave me a better signal to track what I consider the medium term time frame of about a couple months.  

I finally added a short-term signal, making a comparison of Friday’s weekly close to the 5-week exponential moving average.  As you can see from the chart above, the PPO indicator allows a very easy and visually attractive method to track these comparisons and recognize shifts from bullish phase to bearish phase.

The Short-Term Model Turned Bearish… Now What?

On Friday, November 1st, the short-term model turned negative for only the fourth time in 2024.  Previous bearish signals in August, July, and April had lined up quite well with tactical pullbacks within the fairly consistently bullish year of 2024.  But note how the medium-term and long-term models are still firmly in the bullish camp?

For now, the current configuration makes me comfortable labeling the current trend as short-term bearish but still long-term bullish.  As we’ve noted in recent weeks, the market breadth indicators I follow have certainly suggested a bearish tilt as they have trended lower into November.

But the point of the Market Trend Model is to show how short-term weakness can often occur within bullish primary trends.  The key is to differentiate between the garden variety “buy on the dips” pullback with a pullback that may be the beginning of a more significant drawdown.

Learning From Previous Market Cycles

Look back at 2021 for a similar example of long-term primary uptrend with a series of short-term bearish signals along the way.  Even as the S&P 500 a remarkably strong and low-volatility uptrend, there were a number of hiccups that caused the short-term model to turn negative.

The key in 2021 was that the medium-term and long-term models remained bullish, at least until they didn’t!  In January 2022, the short-term model turned bearish again, and a couple weeks later, the medium-term model pivoted to a negative signal as well.  The long-term model followed suit in May 2024. 

You can add the Keller Market Trend Model to your Market Dashboard!

For now, I’m watching the medium-term model closely for a potential bearish reversal.  If that comes to pass in November, that would mean that once again the market is resisting the normal seasonal tendencies and showing weakness where there is often strength.  But if the medium-term model remains bullish through year-end, that will tell me to remain positioned for potential further upside as the market trends remain positive.

I am a big fan of analyzing price action using subjective methods to evaluate trends based on the traditional tools of the technical analyst.  And I’m also a big fan of making life easier, using systematic trend-following models to make sure I’m on the right side of the primary trend in the markets!

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

China’s air force is set to officially debut its new stealth fighter jet, the J-35A, giving observers the first look at a highly anticipated asset that adds to the country’s fast growing military capabilities.

The fighter, an image of which was released during an air force press conference Tuesday, will appear at an air show in the southern city of Zhuhai next week, officials said.

The development of the jet is widely seen as part of Beijing’s bid to match the United States’ stealth fighter capabilities – as it pushes to modernize its armed forces and assert its military might in Asia.

The J-35A is “designed mainly for air combat operations and can also conduct air-to-surface attack,” according to a report from a Chinese military-affiliated outlet.

If the aircraft is commissioned into operation, it would make China the second country after the US to have two types of stealth fighter jets, according to experts cited by Chinese state media.

China’s J-20 stealth fighter entered service in 2017, officials said at the time.

Stealth fighters are those that are designed to evade radar and other monitoring to conduct missions without being detected or intercepted.

The J-35 is likely to be designed as a series and may also be used as carrier-based aircraft in the future, Chinese military expert Li Li told state broadcaster CCTV. This would “greatly improve the overall strength of China’s sea and air combat,” she said.

The fighter’s debut follows what analysts at Janes global open-source intelligence firm have described as China’s “bolstering” of its forward theater commands with additional J-20s.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force between July 2023 and this June inducted more than 70 J-20s, bringing the force’s operational fleet up to approximately 195, according to a Janes report published earlier this year.

It’s not clear when the new J-35A fighter would be commissioned into military use and where the fighters would be deployed.

The sparse details released about the fighter so far also make it difficult to compare with other stealth fighters, including the US’ F-22 and F-35.

Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said the J-35A, which has been in development for more than 10 years, was likely intended for the PLA Navy.

“The J-35 made its maiden flight in 2021, but as a derivative of an earlier prototype, it may be ready for production by early next year,” Schuster said, adding that the J-35A model likely improved on that earlier design with more powerful engines.

China’s development of stealth fighters has for years been dogged by accusations that it stole crucial stealth fighter technology from the US.

Beijing has vigorously denied those claims, which came to light with the 2015 publication by German magazine Der Spiegel of documents purportedly from US National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

The J-35A is a “new type of stealth fighter jet independently developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC),” a Chinese military affiliated outlet said this week.

China’s J-35A is not the only technology that will be on show for the first time at next week’s airshow, which takes place in Zhuhai from November 12 to 17.

The H-19 surface-to-air missile system and new “reconnaissance and strike” UAVs will also have their public debut, Col. Niu Wenbo of the air force’s equipment department said Tuesday.

CCTV has also reported that Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter would join the air show for the first time, among equipment from 49 different countries and regions that would be represented this year.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

A French court on Friday convicted six teenagers in connection with the 2020 beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty, whose murder shocked the country.

The teacher had shown his pupils caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering some Muslim parents. Most Muslims avoid depictions of prophets, considering them to be blasphemous.

Among those on trial was a teenage girl who had allegedly told her parents that Paty had asked Muslim pupils to leave the room before showing the caricatures.

The court found her guilty of having made false accusation charges and slanderous comments, as it was established that she was not in the class at the time.

The other adolescents were found guilty of charges related to taking part in a pre-meditated criminal conspiracy and helping to prepare an ambush.

Paty, 47, was killed outside his school in a Paris suburb by an 18-year-old assailant of Chechen origin, who was shot dead by police soon after the attack.

The court found those adolescents guilty of having pointed out Paty to the murderer.

Louis Cailliez, lawyer for Paty’s sister Mickaelle, told reporters his client was “satisfied with the full conviction,” but less so with the sentences, that she found “too lenient”.

Dylan Slama, a lawyer for one of the teenagers, said that though it was hard to talk about satisfaction in such tragic circumstances, there was a sense of relief for his client.

The heaviest sentence was given to an adolescent who was formally given a 6-month prison sentence, although he should be able to serve this at home while under electronic surveillance.

The girl who was found guilty of making false accusations and slanderous comments was given an 18-month suspended sentence and put on probation measures for two years.

All six teenagers’ suspended sentences are tied to them following a strict set of probation measures for two to three years.

Another trial in connection with Paty’s killing, involving adults this time, is set to take place at the end of next year.

This post appeared first on cnn.com