Reshma Rockie George

Boy band Seventeen skipped, twisted and gyrated in a high-energy performance on Glastonbury's main Pyramid Stage on Friday, making history as the first K-Pop group to appear at the iconic music festival in southern England.
The 13-member group, dressed in shades of black, performed highly synchronised dance sequences alongside peppy hits such as "HOT", "Rock with you" and "VERY NICE", thrilling thousands of music fans in one of Glastonbury's most atypical sets.
In Britain and at Glastonbury - which sells out before its line-up is announced - Seventeen may be relatively unknown, but the South Korean group had last year's biggest-selling album globally.
"Even though the language, country and culture are all different, we can still connect as one through music," singer Joshua Hong told the crowd after performing "SOS".
Seventeen drew a smaller crowd than proceeding acts on the stage, but many of those who came to check them out sang, waved and danced along even without knowing any of the songs. Loyal Seventeen fans, who are called "carats", lined the front row.
"It was really good, it was so much fun," said Kiera Finn, 26, from Liverpool in northern England, who said she had never heard Seventeen before.
"The crowd was so good ... It was kind of, like, this is what Glastonbury's all about, and everyone was just having fun."
The K-Pop industry, which involves rigorous training in dance, singing and language skills, has produced bands like BTS and Blackpink who are increasingly appearing at Western festivals, having won international fan followings.
Seventeen's appearance is another step for Glastonbury away from its traditionally hippie and rock ethos.
This year's line-up also features Dua Lipa, who will headline the Pyramid stage later on Friday, Coldplay, R&B singer SZA and country singer Shania Twain, among hundreds of other acts.

Nike's (NKE.N), opens new tab stock slumped 20% on Friday as a forecast for a surprise drop in annual sales amplified investor concerns about the pace of the sportswear giant's efforts to stem market share losses to upstart brands such as On and Hoka.
It was the worst day ever for the stock, and the losses wiped out $28.41 billion from the company's market valuation.
The company on Thursday projected a mid-single-digit percentage fall in fiscal 2025 revenue, compared with analysts' estimates of a near 1% rise.

"Nike is at a point where they want to put out the most conservative guidance they can, such that they're setting the bar low for themselves and hopefully it's a bar they can beat," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Its forecast dragged shares of rivals and sportswear retailers across Europe, UK and the United States on Friday.
British sportswear retailer JD Sports (JD.L), opens new tab lost 5.4% at Friday's close, while Germany's Puma (PUMG.DE), opens new tab fell 1%. Adidas' (ADSGn.DE), opens new tab shares were up marginally.

"Nike's been under pressure for a couple of years now. I certainly think they have an opportunity now that the valuation's been reset extremely low to start getting some sponsorship, but it's just not going to happen today or this week," Hogan added.
The company's U.S. market share in the sports footwear category fell to 34.97% in 2023 from 35.37% in 2022, and 35.40% in 2021, according to GlobalData.

Meanwhile, other sporting goods brands such as Hoka, Asics, New Balance and On accounted for 35% of the global market share in 2023 compared to the 20% held over the 2013-2020 period, according to an RBC research report released in June.
To curb a worsening sales decline, Nike has cut back on oversupplied brands including Air Force 1, as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting plan launched late last year.

The sportswear giant is also tweaking its product lineup to roll out new $100-and-under sneakers in countries around the world to appeal to price-conscious consumers.
It will also roll out this year an Air Max version and Pegasus 41 with full-length foam midsole made from ReactX to boost sustainability.
"This is still Nike and we expect their size and scale to prove a long term competitive advantage but the burden of proof (is) on management execution at this point," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel.
MANAGEMENT SHAKEOUT?
The underperformance over the past year has led to some Wall Street analysts raising the possibility of a management shake-up ahead of the company's investor day this fall.
"In retail, if you have two bad quarters, you're usually out the door," said Jessica Ramirez, senior analyst at Jane Hali & Associates.
"I think it (a leadership change) is very much needed."
CEO John Donahoe is in his fourth year of a five-year commitment as Nike's top boss. The former eBay CEO, who succeeded Mark Parker, was hired to focus on strengthening the company's digital channel sales.
"I have seen Nike's plans for the future and wholeheartedly believe in them. I am optimistic in Nike's future and John Donahoe has my unwavering confidence and full support," Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman emeritus, said in a statement.
At least six brokerages downgraded the stock and 15 cut their price targets.

Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab shares surged about 10% on Wednesday after the electric-car maker eased some worries about slowing growth with its plans to roll out more affordable models in early 2025.
Investors had been bracing for the worst after a tumultuous week at Tesla that saw big layoffs, executive exits, price cuts and the postponement of a highly touted meeting with the Indian prime minister.
The newly minted plans also helped Wall Street shrug off the company's weak first-quarter results, including a lower-than-expected profit and the first drop in quarterly revenue in nearly four years.
"First impression for us is CEO Elon Musk is appeasing the market by accelerating new product launches," Jefferies analysts led by Philippe Houchois said in a note.
Tesla was on track to add around $50 billion to its market value of about $460 billion. The stock has slid 42% this year, as of last close, as high borrowing costs have dampened demand for EVs and a price war in major market China intensified.
Tesla's growth strategy could strengthen support for a shareholder vote in May on Musk's $56 billion compensation package, which was voided by a Delaware court in January.
Some Tesla investors - such as Ross Gerber, president and CEO at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management - had said in recent days that they planned to oppose the package, citing a decline in Tesla's share price and a compromised board.
'DE-CONTENTED MODEL Y/MODEL 3'
Several analysts took Tesla's remarks that its cheaper models would be built using current platforms and production lines as a sign it had retreated from more ambitious plans for an all-new model that had been expected to cost $25,000.
"We read 'more affordable' as potentially de-contented Model Y/Model 3 versions with improvements in software and AI/hardware capability, but at lower prices," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said.
Musk declined to provide details of the more affordable models and instead spent much of the earnings call on Tesla's efforts to diversify its business into AI, humanoid robots and operating a fleet of autonomous vehicles - all based on software and hardware products it has not yet fully developed.
Investors and analysts have long given Tesla a premium valuation for its efforts such as its driver-assistance technology.
Tesla's stock trades at 57.38 times its 12-month forward estimated earnings, a PE ratio that is comfortably higher than Ford's (F.N), opens new tab 7.06 and General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab 4.80.
Tesla shares jumped to roughly $160 apiece, a price at which short sellers have lost $1.62 billion on paper since Tuesday's close, according to data and analytics firm Ortex.
However, short-sellers are still up almost $8 billion in profit this year.
At least nine analysts lowered their price targets on Tesla, while two raised. The median view now stands at $172.83, according to LSEG.
"While the details (on the new models) are thin on the ground, this was a clever move by Musk, as it justifies the negative cash flow and the higher capital spend," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
"Unlike many companies that are shrinking capital spend in the current environment, Tesla is going against the grain ... and puts (it) in a strong position as the EV market gets more competitive and price sensitivity increases," Brooks added.

Wall Street brokerages started coverage of Astera Labs (ALAB.O), opens new tab mostly on a bullish note as they see the company benefiting from a burgeoning market for artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The Santa Clara, California-based company sells high-speed semiconductor-based data transfer technology for AI and data center applications and is positioned to gain from the AI boom.
Shares of the chip firm rose 5.7% at $76.85 in early trading on Monday after most of the ten brokerages assigned it a top rating.
J.P.Morgan and Barclays rated it "overweight" with a price target of $85, following the expiry of the mandated quiet period.
The firm, which had its IPO last month, competes with chip companies such as Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab, Marvell Technology (MRVL.O), opens new tab and Parade Technologies (4966.TWO), opens new tab.
Most brokerages cited the company's AI infrastructure offerings, new market opportunities, and rising average selling price (ASP) in their notes for the mostly positive views.
Jefferies said the company has a path to over $1 billion in annual revenue on back of multiple company-specific drivers apart from its robust double-digit AI server unit growth.
Morgan Stanley believes Astera's products are leveraged to the most important trends in computing, and has initiated coverage of the stock with an "equal weight" rating.
Astera's stock closed nearly 4% lower on Friday after rising as much as 81% on March 26 since it started trading on March 20. The stock traded as low as $50.61 on its debut.
Earlier in March, Northland Capital had started coverage on Astera Labs with an 'outperform' rating and a price target of $85.

Oppenheimer Asset Management on Monday became the most bullish among global brokerages in its year-end target forecast for the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab, citing resilient economic data and effective monetary policy.
It lifted its target for the index to 5,500 from 5,200 and also raised its annual S&P 500 earnings-per-share forecast to $250 from $240.
"A shift in (investor) mindset driven not so much by fear and greed but a need to invest for intermediate to longer-term goals suggest to us an opportunity to tweak our target higher," said John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in a note.
HSBC earlier in the day raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,400 from its prior forecast of 5,000, assuming a soft landing for the U.S. economy and implying about 3% upside to the current levels.
The revised target presupposes economic growth to remain resilient and potential rate cuts to bode well for non-technology stocks.
"The higher target stems from better earnings expectations, supported by resilient GDP growth, recent earnings beats and positive sentiment from corporates in the last earnings season," HSBC strategists wrote in a note.
HSBC joined peers BofA Global Research and UBS in forecasting that the index would end 2024 at 5,400. The S&P 500 on Friday registered its biggest weekly percentage gain of 2024.
The brokerage expects the second half of 2024 to be "more volatile" due to U.S. elections, elevated earnings expectations, and a shifting narrative from "when" to "how much" the Fed will cut interest rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve left its bank rate unchanged last week and stuck with its projection of three interest-rate cuts by year's end.

Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday that it now expects the Bank of England to deliver an interest rate cut in June, revising its prior forecast of May, citing a resilient labor market and mounting pressures from wage growth.
British wages grew at the weakest pace in more than a year at the end of 2023, data showed last week. However, the slowdown was probably not significant enough to prompt the Bank of England (BoE) to take swift action towards cutting interest rates.
Despite data showing signs of cooling in inflation, the central bank remains cautious in its approach due to persistent wage increases and a tight labor market.
"We see a 25% risk that the BoE ends up waiting longer before starting to cut rates and then proceeding more gradually, given the possibility of continued stickiness in wage growth and underlying services inflation," the brokerage warned.
Earlier this month, the central bank kept rates unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%.

Citigroup pushed forward its forecast of the U.S. Federal Reserve's 25 basis-point interest rate cut to June from July, citing the central bank's dovish stance, falling inflation, and rising pressures from geopolitical risks.
The brokerage said on Wednesday it expects 125 bps of total rate cuts in 2024, compared to its earlier forecast of 100 bps, which would take the policy rate to 4.25%.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday the United States is "within striking distance" of the Fed's 2% inflation goal.

Wall Street brokerages advanced their expectations over the timing of the first interest-rate cut after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a likely end to the historic tightening in monetary policy that began in March 2022.
Goldman Sachs said it expects the easing cycle to begin in March as the U.S. central bank kept the rates unchanged in its latest policy meeting, saying inflation was dropping faster than expected.
The stark shift in the Fed outlook with 17 of 19 policymakers seeing rates lower by the end of 2024 fueled bets of rate cuts as early as March.
U.S. borrowing costs are now in the 5.25%-5.5% range as the Fed raised rates by 525 basis points (bps) since March 2022 to tame a surge in inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goldman Sachs expects three straight rate cuts of 25 bps in March, May and June followed by one per quarter. They had earlier expected only two cuts beginning in the third quarter of 2024.

Goldman Sachs now projects two interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve next year, advancing its expectation for the first cut to the third quarter, citing cooling inflation.
The brokerage had earlier predicted the Fed to begin cutting rates next December.
Two cuts would imply a Federal Funds Rate of 4.875% by the end of 2024, compared to its previous forecast of 5.13%.
While data on Friday showed a stronger-than-expected U.S. labor market, traders bet that the Fed will still proceed with interest-rate cuts next year amid declining prices. They expect the first cut to occur in March. FEDWATCH
"Healthy growth and labor market data suggest that insurance cuts are not imminent... But the better inflation news does suggest that normalization cuts could come a bit earlier," Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius said in a note dated Dec. 10.
Inflation data last month showed U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in October as Americans paid less for gasoline, and the annual rise in underlying inflation was the smallest in two years.
Goldman Sachs believes some participants might "pencil in more cuts than before in response to the inflation news, but others might hold back to avoid encouraging the market to price too many cuts too soon."
"Our own inflation forecast is a touch lower, but FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) participants will likely still prefer to err on the side of being less optimistic," adds Hatzius.

Wall Street brokerages largely initiated Birkenstock (BIRK.N), opens new tab with their top ratings, pointing to a likely boost from the German luxury sandal maker's recent investments to increase capacity, expansion into newer styles and brand loyalty.
Birkenstock's shares dropped to as low as $35.83 in the days after listing on Oct. 11 and has traded below the IPO price of $46 apiece. Along with lackluster share moves post-debut from chip designer Arm Holdings , grocery delivery app Instacart (CART.O), opens new tab, and marketing automation firm Klaviyo (KVYO.N), opens new tab, it doused hopes for a U.S. IPO market resurgence.
The company's shares edged up nearly 1% to $41.54 after opening lower on Monday, as many of the 22 underwriters, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, started coverage following the expiry of the mandated quiet period.
Citigroup was among the most bullish, with a price target of $52, a more than 26% jump from the last close. Jefferies closely followed with a target of $50.
"Given its historic brand and loyal customer base, we believe the company is well-positioned to drive strong top-line growth, maintain its attractive margin profile, and expand its addressable market," analysts at Jefferies said.