WSJ

For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

How Restaurants Are

Reinventing Pasta
OFF DUTY

harrison ford

WSJ. MAGAZINE
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WEEKEND
* * * * * * * * SATURDAY/SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 - 16, 2025 ~ VOL. CCLXXXV NO. 38 WSJ.com HHHH $6.00

What’s
Eagles Feel the Brotherly Love on Valentine’s Day Bribery
News Worries
Business & Finance Shadow
 Paramount Global is wres-
tling with whether to settle
President Trump’s lawsuit
Trump,
CBS Suit
against its CBS News unit,
and how it might do so with-
out exposing executives to fu-
ture legal threats, such as ac-
cusations of bribery. A1 Paramount executives
 Birkin bag maker Hermès fear liability from a
reported higher sales for the
final quarter of 2024, potential settlement
boosted by a strong perfor- paid before a merger
mance in the Americas. B9
 Johnson & Johnson’s halt BY JESSICA TOONKEL
of U.S. sales of a new heart-
rhythm device because of Paramount Global is wres-
safety concerns is hobbling a tling with whether to settle
major strategic push. B10 President Trump’s lawsuit

.
against its CBS News unit, and
 Cocoa futures have retreated
how it might do so without

ly
some from their latest record
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS

exposing executives to future

reached in December, but they
legal threats, such as accusa-
ended Friday about 85% higher
tions of bribery.
than a year ago, more than
three times the typical price
over the last two decades. B10
 Stocks finished the week
on Company executives in re-
cent weeks have talked about
the risk that paying such a set-
tlement could expose directors
higher after a mixed Friday in and officers to liability in po-
us ,

which the S&P 500 fell short GREEN DAY: Philadelphia fans turned out Friday as MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles celebrated their Super tential future shareholder liti-
l

of a new record. For the week, Bowl LIX victory with a parade through the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. gation or criminal charges for
e
al a

the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq in- bribing a public official, ac-
dexes gained 1.5%, 0.5% and cording to people familiar with
the conversations. Some execu-
ci on

2.6%, respectively. B11

 Buffett’s Berkshire Hatha-

How Trump Got GOP Senators

tives have expressed an addi-
way reduced its positions in tional concern that such litiga-
several financial stocks in the tion might not be protected by
fourth quarter, but didn’t sell director and officer insurance,
any Apple shares. B11 some of the people with knowl-

To Get to ‘Yes’ on His Cabinet

er s

edge of the discussions said.

World-Wide Paramount is awaiting reg-
m er

ulatory approval for its

merger with Skydance Media.
 Russia’s spy services Some executives have flagged
have a shadowy new unit BY JOSH DAWSEY offices, pressuring them to cast mix of wooing and pressuring questioned vaccines; his choice the potential risk that if the
taking aim at the West with AND LINDSAY WISE yes votes. And Trump’s nomi- lawmakers, striking backroom to lead the intelligence commu- company settles and the deal
m rp

covert attacks across Europe nees themselves were striking deals and enlisting Republican nity, Tulsi Gabbard, had ap- is approved in short order, the
and elsewhere, Western in- WASHINGTON—Inside a unusual deals with vacillating senators to ensure that previ- peared to embrace Washing- payment could be construed
telligence officials say. A1 large room at the Republican senators, leading to dramatic ously inexperienced nominees ton’s adversaries and celebrated as a bribe, the people familiar
National Committee’s Capitol encounters, sometimes minutes were prepared for public hear- past intelligence leaks. His with the matter said.
 A U.S. Army helicopter
Hill headquarters, senators, before key votes. ings, according to more than a nominee to run the Federal Bu- Some executives involved
crew may not have heard an
co Fo

longtime Trump operatives and Trump has assembled one of dozen people involved in the reau of Investigation, Kash Pa- in the merger see settling the
instruction from air-traffic
business executives spent hours the most unorthodox cabinets process. tel, had previously advocated suit, which is focused on how
control before colliding with
preparing an unconventional ever, including two former Defense pick Pete Hegseth investigations into people CBS edited a “60 Minutes” in-
a jet last month, according
set of cabinet choices for gruel- Democrats and several ex-talk- faced allegations of excessive Trump considered his enemies. terview with former Vice
to the NTSB. A3
ing confirmation hearings. show hosts. His team has drinking and sexual assault, Please turn to page A4 President Kamala Harris, as a
 The Justice Department Meanwhile, Republican ac- pushed almost all of them which he denied; Trump’s selec- way to alleviate tensions with
asked a judge to dismiss the tivists and donors were making through the Senate—often on tion for the top health post,  DOJ asks judge to dismiss the Trump administration,
bribery case against New thousands of calls to senators’ tight, party-line votes—using a Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has long Adams case.......................... A4 Please turn to page A6
York City Mayor Eric Adams,
after a standoff between ca-
reer prosecutors and Trump
appointees that prompted a
wave of resignations. A4
Chefs Say EXCHANGE Russian Spy Unit Spreads
n-

 A federal judge ordered the

No Thanks
Trump administration to tem-
porarily lift a freeze on U.S. aid
abroad, citing the shutdown’s To Michelin Violence, Sabotage in West
no

damaging effects on busi-

nesses and nonprofits. A5
 A Russian drone struck Star Rating BY BOJAN PANCEVSKI been previously reported, have
included attempted killings,
sian security officials.
The Kremlin sees the West
the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Russia’s spy services have a sabotage and a plot to put in- as complicit in Ukraine’s at-
Plant, Ukraine said. A7 BY CHRISTINA CACOURIS shadowy new unit taking aim cendiary devices on planes. tacks on Russia such as the
at the West with covert at- The department’s creation sabotage of the Nord Stream
 Vice President Vance blasted
Last fall, the restaurant tacks across Europe and else- reflects Moscow’s wartime pipelines, the killings of senior
European allies, accusing them
Giglio in Lucca, Italy, made a where, Western intelligence footing against the West, the officials in Moscow, and
of repressing free speech and
surprising request: to have its officials said. officials said. It was set up in Ukrainian strikes using long-
ignoring the will of voters. A7
Michelin star removed from BROMANCE Known as the Department 2023 in response to Western range Western missiles, ac-
 Hamas said it would re- the 2025 guide. TO BRAWL of Special Tasks, it is based in support for Ukraine and in- cording to these officials.
lease the last living Ameri- The Tuscan eatery had been the Russian military-intelli- cludes veterans of some of Ukraine has denied it was be-
can-Israeli civilian held hos- awarded the star in 2019 for its
The inside story of gence headquarters, a sprawl- Russia’s most daring clandes- hind the sabotage of the Nord
tage in Gaza along with two traditional Italian food with a how Elon Musk and ing glass-and-steel complex on tine operations in recent Please turn to page A6
other men on Saturday. A8 modern flair, such as potatoes Sam Altman became the outskirts of Moscow years, according to two Euro-
with squid sauce, chanterelles such bitter enemies. B1 known as the aquarium. Its pean intelligence chiefs and  Russian drone damages
and spicy parsley. Then came operations, which haven’t other U.S., European and Rus- Chernobyl shell................... A7
NOONAN new clientele with heightened
expectations. The owners, who
Lovesick Brazilians Seek Out
Trump, Jackson desired a more relaxed envi-
and the politics
of crisis A13
ronment, had come to think of
the award as a burden.
Sorcerers to Fix Relationships
An American Retiree
“Such recognition repre-

NOTICE TO READERS
sents the highest achieve-
ment a young chef can aspire
i i i Lost at Sea Drifts
to,” said Stefano Terigi, a chef Some bemoan spells that work too well,
WSJ.com and WSJ.com
mobile apps will publish
throughout the holiday
at Giglio. “We didn’t have
time to figure out if it was as clingy partners make life ‘hell on earth’ From Bad to Worse
weekend. The print edition truly our path; we didn’t seek
won’t be published on it out.” BY SAMANTHA PEARSON wrapping frogs in underwear
Monday, Washington’s For more than a century, or dipping a chicken’s feet in
Birthday (Presidents Day). the Michelin Guide has func- SÃO PAULO—A broken honey. They say it will keep a
Eric Arthur was living large aboard a
tioned as a culinary lodestar heart takes time to heal. In spouse from cheating or bring catamaran when his fortunes sank
for chefs the world over, Brazil, you’ll also back one who left.
CONTENTS Obituaries................... C6 bringing them international need the feet of a Some customers BY KEJAL VYAS ture. It began with a cross-
Books..................... C7-12 Opinion................. A11-13 customers and fame that has dead chicken, some say the spells have AND PATRICIA GARIP ing of the Atlantic. He had
Business&Fin... B9-10 Sports.......................... A10
Food..........................D9-10 Style & Fashion D2-4
led to cookbooks, kitchen red ribbon, honey backfired, making bought his 48-foot catama-
Gear & Gadgets.....D6 Travel........................ D7-8 products and more. The and a pot of glue. their spouses un- Talk about living the ran in Greece and gave it his
Heard on Street. B12 U.S. News.............. A2-6 French tire-company’s guides Lovesick Brazil- bearably clingy. dream. Eric Arthur was 62 own nickname, the Tambo, a
Markets...................... B11 World News........ A7-8 have expanded across the ians are turning to “My life became years old, retired, financially mashup of the 1980s movie
world, creating yearly regional magic to get their hell on earth,” said secure and, for the past four characters the Terminator
> guides listing top-notch dining partners back as Rekindled Josefina, who de- years, sailing carefree and Rambo.
spots as determined by the the country grap- clined to give her around the Mediterranean Arthur, described by
company’s anonymous taste- ples with one of the world’s surname for fear of angering in his catamaran. friends as an affable thrill-
testers. Now, some chefs have fastest-rising divorce rates. the spirits. In December, the lifelong seeker, completed his trans-
said the prestigious award can Witches thought to have Concerned her husband sailor who grew up in Los Atlantic voyage and cele-
s 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
become a gilded cage for res- magic powers guide the heart- was cheating on her, the 67- Angeles embarked on what brated the New Year’s
All Rights Reserved Please turn to page A6 broken through rituals such as Please turn to page A9 became his greatest adven- Please turn to page A9
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A2 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS
Federal Job Cuts Would Be Felt Far and Wide
From space centers to federal penitentiaries, Musk’s cuts to the government workforce would affect many GOP-leaning communities

BY JOHN MCCORMICK AND MAX RUST

P
resident Trump has Federal employees in each congressional district
Elon Musk and the De-
partment of Govern- Democrat-held Republican-held
ment Efficiency working to D.C. (Delegate District)
dramatically cut the size and 71,226 employees
scope of the federal govern-
ment. To do so, he would have The Washington Area
to strike in both Democratic
and Republican areas. The Washington region— gion, which includes the
Washington, D.C., and its including the District of Co- headquarters of the federal
two neighboring states are in- lumbia, Maryland and Vir- government, has been the
disputably home to the highest ginia—is home to about 1 in 5 area conservatives have heav-
concentration of federal em- civilian federal employees, ac- ily focused on in their initial
ployees, according to data from cording to the Office of Per- efforts to reduce the number
the Office of Personnel Man- sonnel Management. This re- of employees.
agement. But America’s
2.3 million federal employees— Estimated federal workers in congressional districts held by
not including uniformed mili-
tary or Postal Service work- Democrats Republicans
ers—are scattered across the 86% 14%
country, making up a sizable
percentage of the civilian labor Workers MD.
100,000
force in many of the nation’s Virginia
50,000 District 8:
435 congressional districts. D.C.
72,651 workers
They are in Alabama’s 10,000
Fifth Congressional District
at NASA’s Marshall Space VA.
Flight Center. They are in guarding federal inmates. by Republican lawmakers, ac- administration’s buyout offer
Kentucky’s Second District More than half of the 100 cording to a Wall Street Jour- before its Wednesday deadline.
supporting agriculture and congressional districts with nal analysis. That is more than 3% of the to- Maryland
rural development. And they the largest proportion of fed- Roughly 75.000 federal tal workforce, but shy of the District 5:
77,510 workers
are in Kansas’ Second District eral workers are represented workers accepted the Trump stated goal of 5% to 10%.

.
ly
The South and Southeast is
The South

Air Force Base. Those bases are

on The Midwest and Northeast

This region has more fed- data from the Office of Per- Federal civilian workers
The West and Beyond

In Wyoming, workers for the

heavy on military installations among the district’s largest eral workers who specialize in sonnel Management. Ohio’s employed by the Department Department of the Interior
us ,

and veterans, which require ci- employers. In Alabama, the agriculture and also its share 10th Congressional District is of the Interior, which manages represent roughly a quarter of
l

vilian support and Department Fifth Congressional District is of civilian workers associated home to Wright-Patterson Air America’s vast natural and civilian federal workers there.
e
al a

of Veterans Affairs employees. home to the Redstone Arsenal with military installations. In Force Base, the largest Air cultural resources, are more Alaska and Hawaii both have
Oklahoma’s Fourth Congressio- and other national security as- Iowa, for example, a fifth of Force base in the world and common in western states, as larger proportions of federal
nal District, for example, is sets as well as NASA’s Marshall all federal civilian workers are the largest single-site em- are those who work for the employees supporting military
ci on

home to Fort Sill and Tinker Space Flight Center. employed by the Department ployer in the state, according Department of Agriculture installations, as well as Veter-
of Agriculture, according to to the local representative. and the Department of Energy. ans Affairs workers.
Estimated federal workers in congressional districts held by
Democrats Republicans
Estimated federal workers in congressional districts held by Estimated federal workers in congressional districts held by
er s

Democrats Republicans Democrats Republicans

27% 73%
54% 46% N.H. ME. 62% 38%
W.V. DEL.
m er

VT. ALASKA WASH. IDAHO MONT.

Oklahoma District 4: KY. MINN. N.Y.
MICH.
28,184 workers MASS.
N.D. WIS.
N.C.
TENN.
S.D. WYO.
m rp

OKLA. ARK. Alaska

GA. NEB. IOWA ILL. OHIO (District ORE.
MISS. R.I. At Large): Wyoming
LA. 21,790 (District At Large):
S.C. MO. CONN. workers 11,763 workers
PA. CALIF.
KAN. IND. N.J.
co Fo

TEXAS
Kansas Ohio
ALA. District 2: District 10: NEV. COLO.
FLA.
15,757 workers 22,137 workers UTAH.
Alabama District 5:
25,844 workers

Hawaii
District 1: ARIZ. N.M.
28,328 workers

Note: Congressional district estimates have a margin of error and Census relies on self-identification by federal civilian employees. Employee’s
location reflects place of residence rather than a duty station. Census estimates differ from Office of Personnel Management data.
HAWAII
Sources: Census Bureau, Congressional Research Service (federal worker estimates); Office of Personnel Management; congressional office websites
n-

Pentagon Prepares Potential Rollbacks Ahead of DOGE

no

BY NANCY A. YOUSSEF systems, ships and vehicles are their districts would then rou- make major cuts, some services of companies who have built at different levels, and so some
AND LINDSAY WISE the cornerstone of local econo- tinely reject those proposed are revamping the list to get their business around govern- of those are going to be much
mies around the country, and cuts. The result has been a ahead of the process. ment funding, and the new ad- more difficult and much more
WASHINGTON—In a bid to often large military weapons steadily growing Pentagon bud- “They want to inoculate ministration is not worried sensitive to oversight for some-
get ahead of what could be are built across several states. get since the Sept. 11, 2001, at- themselves. The services are about the reaction it will get one that may not have an ap-
drastic cuts by Elon Musk’s De- For example, construction of tacks. looking at this as an opportu- from the Hill,” he said. propriate classification,” said
partment of Government Effi- the F-35 touches 48 states. “It was in the permissive nity to get rid of things they Defense spending has been Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.),
ciency, some parts of the mili- DOGE didn’t respond to a re- post-9/11 envi- couldn’t before cut in the past, particularly af- who supports Musk’s efforts.
tary are preparing lists of quest for comment. ronment that because of con- ter the collapse of the Soviet Critics of DOGE’s effort are
weapons they have long wanted Some military services have we saw a whole s t i t u e n c i e s,” Union. In the 1990s, the U.S. also likely to flag that Musk has
to cancel but couldn’t get past already drawn up their own slew of ill-con- DOGE has yet to said Bryan sought to shrink or close mili- billions of dollars of Pentagon
lawmakers seeking to protect wish lists of cuts. “People are ceived weapons tackle a budget Clark, senior fel- tary bases, but the costs of do- contracts through his compa-
spending in their districts. offering up things sacrificially, programs,” said low at Hudson ing so were far higher than ex- nies such as SpaceX and its
DOGE members were ex- hoping that will prevent more Dan Grazier, se- as complex as Institute, who pected in the short term and Starlink system, raising poten-
pected at the Defense Depart- cuts,” one defense official said. nior fellow and closely tracks devastated some local econo- tial conflicts of interest.
ment as soon as Friday, defense The Army list includes out- director of the
the Defense the U.S. Navy mies. Democratic lawmakers have
officials said. The Pentagon has dated drones and vehicles that National Secu- Department’s. budget. Because much of what the already expressed concern, say-
received a list of DOGE officials have been produced in surplus rity Reform Pro- There is Pentagon operates is on classi- ing that there should be greater
assigned to the department but and, if cut, could add up to bil- gram at the room for major fied systems and accessing oversight over members of
hasn’t publicly released it, they lions of dollars in savings. Stimson Center, cost savings them requires security clear- DOGE.
added. “We’re taking a proactive ap- a Washington nonprofit. “Now without dramatically affecting ances, navigating defense sys- “The White House should be
“We welcome DOGE to the proach to making our spending we are seeing the results— the department because it is so tems may also prove difficult. enforcing the law and making
Pentagon,” Defense Secretary more efficient,” said Col. Dave failed program after failed pro- big, Clark said, but until now “There are classified systems sure he’s not in conflict,” Sen.
Pete Hegseth said earlier this Butler, an Army spokesman. gram.” cuts came at a political cost. in the Pentagon that others do Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.) said, of
past week. “There are several systems that But with DOGE promising to “You are going to upset a lot not have, and they are classified Musk.
In the weeks since President we know won’t survive on the
Trump took office, DOGE staff- modern battlefield.”
ers have been embedded at sev-
eral federal agencies, reviewing
The U.S. Navy is proposing
cuts to its frigates and littoral
CORRECTIONS  AMPLIFICATIONS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660)
(Central Edition ISSN 1092-0935) (Western Edition ISSN 0193-2241)
government systems to look for combat ships, people familiar Editorial and publication headquarters: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036
excessive spending. Trump with the plans said. Danielle Sassoon’s letter Mansion article on Friday Published daily except Sundays and general legal holidays.
signed an executive order Tues- The Air Force declined to was addressed to Attorney about the Texas home incor- Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and other mailing offices.
day giving DOGE more author- comment on any proposed cuts, General Pam Bondi. In some rectly spelled it as Cyprus. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Wall Street Journal, 200 Burnett Rd., Chicopee, MA 01020.
ity to reduce the size of the fed- but Musk in the past has taken editions Friday, a Page One ar- All Advertising published in The Wall Street Journal is subject to the applicable rate card, copies of
which are available from the Advertising Services Department, Dow Jones & Co. Inc., 1211 Avenue of
eral workforce. aim at the service’s F-35 stealth ticle about the resignations of Rose Uniacke’s mother the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036. The Journal reserves the right not to accept an advertiser’s
But DOGE has yet to tackle a jet fighters. several federal prosecutors in- studied piano at London’s order. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance of the advertiser’s order.
budget as large and complex as In the past, the services put correctly said Sassoon’s letter Guildhall School of Music & Letters to the Editor: Fax: 212-416-2891; email: [email protected]
the Defense Department’s. The forth lists of potential cuts in a was addressed to Emil Bove. Drama. An article about the Need assistance with your subscription?
By web: customercenter.wsj.com; By email: [email protected]
department employs three mil- bid to shift funding toward British interior designer in By phone: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625)
lion troops and civilians and newer programs they wanted to The wood used in the con- February’s WSJ. Magazine in- Reprints & licensing:
has a budget in excess of $800 fund instead. Such lists were of- struction of the Ford family’s correctly said her mother By email: [email protected]
By phone: 1-800-843-0008
billion, accounting for at least ten regarded as a political ploy home and kitchen island is cy- studied at a guild hall in Ox- WSJ back issues and framed pages: wsjshop.com
12% of the $6.75 trillion federal meant to suggest the services press and burnt cypress. A ford, England. Our newspapers are 100% sourced from sustainably certified mills.
budget. were underfunded.
Military spending on bases Lawmakers who sought to Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by GOT A TIP FOR US? SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS
as well as money for weapons preserve military spending in emailing [email protected] or by calling 888-410-2667.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A3

U.S. NEWS

Voice Recorder
Hints Warning
Wasn’t Heard
BY ALISON SIDER fic transmission, the Black
AND ANDREW TANGEL Hawk responded that it could
see the traffic and requested
A U.S. Army helicopter for a second time to take re-
crew may not have heard an sponsibility for avoiding the
instruction from air-traffic jet under visual-separation
control just before colliding rules, which the air-traffic
with an American Airlines re- controller approved, according
gional jet over the Potomac to the safety board.
River last month, according to An instructor pilot told the
the National Transportation pilot who was flying the heli-
Safety Board. copter they believed the con-
Jennifer Homendy, the troller wanted them to move

NTSB/ASSOCIATED PRESS
safety board’s chairman, said left toward the Potomac’s east
on Friday that the crew flying bank.
the Black Hawk helicopter po- The crew of the regional jet
tentially missed an instruction heard a verbal caution stating
to “pass behind the” jet “Traffic, Traffic” from the
roughly 17 seconds before the plane’s traffic alert and colli-
accident. Based on a readout sion-avoidance system less Investigators and salvage-crew members recovering wreckage of the Army Black Hawk helicopter from the Potomac River.
from the cockpit-voice re- than 20 seconds before the
corder, those words were crash. The Black Hawk didn’t proximity to jets carrying pas- showed it was at 313 feet, Ho- she said. “We are seeing con- crew’s use of the goggles, she
“stepped on,” she said, as the have that system, Homendy sengers. mendy said. flicting information in the said.
Black Hawk pilots started said in an interview Friday. The NTSB is also studying Homendy said the NTSB is data.” About one second before
their own transmission back The accident, which killed whether the Black Hawk pilots confident in certain data Investigators believe the impact, the regional jet’s pi-
to the control tower at that 67 people, was the deadliest were seeing accurate data showing that the helicopter helicopter crew was wearing lots raised the plane’s nose
exact moment. U.S. plane crash in more than about the helicopter’s altitude. was at an altitude of 278 feet night-vision goggles at the nine degrees, suggesting the
The jet was making a cir- two decades. It has brought The crash occurred in an area at the time of the collision. time of the accident, Homendy crew was reacting, Homendy
cling approach to a runway at heightened scrutiny to the where helicopters aren’t al- “But I want to caution, that said. The NTSB will analyze said in an interview.
Ronald Reagan Washington congested skies surrounding lowed to fly higher than 200 does not mean that’s what the what the Black Hawk pilots “The pitch-up at the end
National Airport. Reagan airport, and routes feet. The last radio altitude Black Hawk crew was seeing” could and couldn’t see, ac- indicates they saw some-
Seconds after that air-traf- that bring helicopters into reading from the regional jet on their cockpit instruments, counting for the helicopter thing,” she said.

.
ly
Rents Are Poised to Rise, Muddling Inflation Fight on
BY REBECCA PICCIOTTO tion of the overall inflation U.S. new apartment deliveries spective renters were compet- other fourth quarter since at
measure is attributed to hous- ing for every open apartment least 1985, according to real-
The era of falling apartment ing costs. unit on the market, according estate firm CBRE.
us ,

500 thousand
rents looks to be nearly over. “It will be very hard for the to RentCafe. Apartment investors are
l

A surge in rents during the headline inflation number to Amber Melhouse, a long- placing bets on the Sunbelt’s
e
al a

early years of the pandemic reach the Fed’s 2% goal with- 400 time Brooklyn renter, looked 2025 rebound. Equity Residen-
sparked a historic apartment out a slowdown in housing for a New York apartment last tial, a publicly traded multi-
construction boom in 2023 costs,” said Lisa Sturtevant, March after her landlord family landlord, paid more
ci on

300
and 2024. That crush of new chief economist at Bright raised the rent on her two- than $274 million in the fourth
inventory, especially in hot MLS. bedroom unit to $5,600 from quarter for three properties in
Sunbelt markets like Austin, Shelter costs rose 4.4% in 200 $4,250. Atlanta and Denver.
Texas, and Phoenix, led to January from last year. That The 50-year-old small-busi- While both cities experi-
oversupply and caused rents to was the smallest annual uptick ness owner submitted roughly enced negative annual rent
er s

fall in much of the country. since January 2022, and well 100 60 inquiries to open apart- growth in the fourth quarter,
But more people are renting below the peak period of 2023, ment listings. Often, she found Equity Residential said it in-
m er

longer as mortgage rates stay according to the Bureau of La- 0 herself waiting behind a dozen tends to invest even more in
high and the costs of home- bor Statistics. other prospective renters. The those regions. CBRE projects
ownership remain unafford- Now, the looming prospect 2015 '20 '25 longer she searched, the that both cities will be back to
able for many Americans. of higher rents could reverse Note: Data for 2024 to 2027 are estimates. higher rent prices rose. positive rent growth this
Landlords say the new con- that progress. Rents have al- In December, she settled for year.
m rp

Source: RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data

struction pipeline should be ready been on a steady climb renting out a spare room, Some investors that previ-
mostly drained by year-end, in certain parts of the country struction labor and materials New apartment construc- done with the endless search ously exited the Sunbelt mar-
setting the stage for rents to where new supply has been as well as delay building time- tion is already starting to ta- for her own apartment. “It’s ket are returning. After selling
rise nationwide later this year. more muted, such as the Mid- lines. per off. The number of multi- just a sport I don’t have an ap- all of its Sunbelt properties
“The relationship is going west, Northeast and parts of The U.S. depends on Canada family building permits issued petite for anymore,” she said. three years ago, Gaia Real Es-
co Fo

to very quickly flip from a the West Coast. and Mexico for roughly 25% of in the South over the past Multifamily asking rents tate, a national real-estate in-
renter-friendly environment to By the end of this year, ev- its building material imports, year is 4 percentage points be- are still trending relatively flat vestment and management
a landlord-friendly environ- ery major metropolitan market according to the National As- low its prepandemic 2019 av- nationally, but they are headed firm, told The Wall Street
ment,” said Lee Everett, the is expected to see positive rent sociation of Home Builders. erage, according to Bank of upward. On average, apart- Journal that it launched a new
head of research and strategy growth, said Jay Lybik, na- And undocumented workers America’s analysis of Census ments were three dollars more Sunbelt-specific acquisition
at multifamily giant Cortland. tional director of multifamily make up about 13% of the con- Bureau data. expensive nationwide in Janu- arm with Raymond James as
Rising rents would compli- analytics at CoStar. struction workforce. And demand for rentals is ary, the first increase in six its investment bank. The new
cate the inflation picture and President Trump’s policy In a January letter, the rising steadily. The multifam- months, according to property REIT has already bought three
likely give the Federal Reserve mix, meanwhile, might slow NAHB asked Trump to “con- ily vacancy rate is now below data firm Yardi Matrix. Sunbelt properties.
another reason to pause on fu- the pace of new construction sider the effects of tariffs on its long-term average for the Apartment absorption, a “We assume that the sec-
ture rate cuts. Shelter costs even further. Migrant deporta- Americans struggling to afford first time in about two years. metric of rental demand that ond half of 2025 [into] 2026
account for roughly a third of tions and threats to hit Canada housing” and to “exempt criti- More tenants are in heated measures the change in how will be back to rent growth,”
the consumer-price index, and Mexico with tariffs would cal construction materials battles for vacant space. Last many units are leased, was said Gaia CEO Danny Fishman.
n-

which means a significant por- likely boost the cost of con- from such actions.” year, an average of nine pro- higher last quarter than any “We are playing the wave.”
no
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A4 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X ******** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS

DOJ Asks Judge to Dismiss Adams Case

Trump appointees’
order to drop bribery
charges spurs wave
of resignations
BY CORINNE RAMEY
AND SADIE GURMAN

The Justice Department

asked a judge Friday to dis-
miss the bribery case against
New York City Mayor Eric Ad-
ams, following a standoff be-
tween career prosecutors and
top Trump appointees that
prompted a wave of resigna-
tions and exposed deep divi-
sions over the department’s
pursuit of politically sensitive
cases.
The filing in Manhattan
federal court was signed by
Edward Sullivan, a veteran
prosecutor in the Justice De-
partment’s public integrity
section. He agreed earlier to
put his name on it to protect
others in the unit, people fa-
miliar with the matter said,
following an ultimatum from

DAVID DEE DELGADO/REUTERS

Emil Bove, the department’s
acting No. 2 official.
Bove “has determined, pur-
suant to an authorization by
the Attorney General, that dis-
missal is necessary and appro-
priate, and has directed the
same,” the four-page filing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has denied wrongdoing, at an awards ceremony on Thursday. He has said he would run for re-election this year.
said. It reiterated grounds

.
previously cited by Trump of- to prosecute.” rial power to influence other who would sign a court motion Sassoon and Scotten both the prosecutors. Such individu-
ficials, that Adams was tar- At least seven career prose- citizens, much less elected of- to dismiss the case, people fa- offered scathing appraisals of als have no place at the DOJ.”

ly
geted for political reasons and cutors resigned in protest of ficials, in this way,” Scotten miliar with the matter said. Ap- the Justice Department’s rea- Sassoon and Scotten, both
that the prosecution inter- Bove’s instruction to drop the wrote to Bove. pearing on a video call, Bove sons for seeking to drop the registered Republicans, came
fered with his ability to fight criminal case against Adams. “If no other lawyer within told them they had an hour to case in their resignation letters. to the U.S. attorney’s office af-
illegal immigration and violent
crime, both Trump adminis-
tration priorities.
The department said it
The first was Danielle Sassoon,
the acting U.S. attorney in
Manhattan, who quit on Thurs-
day. Five career Justice De-
on
earshot of the President is
willing to give
him that ad-
vice, then I ex-
decide who would step up. Near
the end of that
hour, Sullivan
agreed to do so
Sassoon told Attorney General
Pam Bondi that the law didn’t
support dismissal and that she
was “confident that Adams has
ter serving as law clerks for
prominent conservative Su-
preme Court judges.
Prosecutors had accused
wanted to reserve the right to partment prosecutors followed pect you will At least seven to spare other committed the crimes with Adams of illegally accepting
us ,

revive the case later, giving suit after it became clear they eventually find career career staff in which he is charged.” more than $100,000 in travel
l

the Trump administration were next in line to handle the someone who is the section from Trump appointees stood perks and other benefits in ex-
e
prosecutors
al a

powerful leverage over the request to dismiss the case. enough of a potentially being their ground even as the dis- change for using his official
big-city Democrat. The seventh, Hagan Scot- fool, or enough fired, the people agreement roiled the depart- power to aid his benefac-
The Justice Department’s ten, was one of the assistant of a coward, to
have resigned said. People fa- ment. Bondi’s chief of staff, tors. Sassoon in her letter said
ci on

motion will be decided by U.S. U.S. attorneys in Manhattan file your mo- in protest. miliar with his Chad Mizelle, called the move to that prosecutors had additional
District Judge Dale Ho, who is assigned to prosecute the Ad- tion,” Scotten decision to put dismiss the case “yet another new evidence that Adams ob-
presiding over the case. The ams case. Scotten said in his wrote. “But it his name on the indication that this DOJ will re- structed their investigation.
judge could do his own analysis resignation letter that it was was never go- document de- turn to its core function of pros- Adams, who has said he
of whether dismissal is appro- illegitimate for the Justice De- ing to be me.” scribed it as a courageous act. ecuting dangerous criminals, would run for re-election this
er s

priate, said Robert Frenchman, partment to order the dis- Bove took over the case Sullivan, senior litigation not pursuing politically moti- year, has denied wrongdoing.
a defense attorney in New York. missal of bribery charges as a when the New York office re- counsel for the public-integrity vated witch hunts.” He blasted He said Friday: “I want to be
m er

“The judge can make it un- way to induce the mayor to fused to comply. During a tense section, has handled sensitive the attorneys who resigned: crystal clear with New York-
comfortable, and the judge support the administration’s meeting Friday in Washington, public corruption cases. Bove “The fact that those who in- ers: I never offered—nor did
can scrutinize,” said French- efforts to fight illegal immi- he assembled the Justice De- also signed the filing, along dicted and prosecuted the case anyone offer on my behalf—
man. “But as a practical mat- gration and violent crime. partment’s entire public integ- with Antoinette T. Bacon, the refused to follow a direct com- any trade of my authority as
ter, it’s extremely difficult to “Our laws and traditions do rity section—about two dozen Trump-appointed head of the mand is further proof of the dis- your mayor for an end to my
m rp

force the Justice Department not allow using the prosecuto- lawyers—looking for someone DOJ’s criminal division. ordered and ulterior motives of case. Never.”

How Trump meant to sometimes enrage the

nominees before their Senate Judge Puts
co Fo

appearances.

Got Senate “We do not pull punches at

all,” said Mullin, a former
Mixed Martial Arts fighter.
Pause on
To a ‘Yes’ Scott Bessent, now the Trea-
sury secretary, grew irritated at
first when he was interrupted,
CFPB Job
Continued from Page One
The selections rattled a
and seemed to struggle to
sometimes find his thoughts
during his first mock hearing,
Cutbacks
number of Republican senators, but performed better in the
and some inside his administra- second session, participants BY DYLAN TOKAR
tion feared another stalled said. Davis, the Trump ally,
n-

nomination could become an questioned Patel about whether A federal judge on Friday
JASON C. ANDREW/BLOOMBERG NEWS

embarrassing setback after for- he would make an enemies list ordered a temporary halt to
mer Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, at the FBI. He also played the the Trump administration’s
stymied by widespread GOP role of an adversarial senator in attempts to slash jobs and dis-
no

Senate opposition, withdrew the mock hearing for Russ mantle the Consumer Finan-
from consideration as Trump’s Vought, who was later con- cial Protection Bureau.
first attorney general pick. firmed as budget director. Gab- The order, from a U.S. dis-
But after Gaetz’s withdrawal bard got asked about her meet- trict judge in Washington,
in November, Trump dug in. He ing with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad D.C., said the agency can’t fire
wanted the rest of his nominees and her defense of Edward any employee, except for
to fight for their posts, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as secretary of Health and Human Services this past week. Snowden. cause, and can’t proceed with
that’s what they did, said Sen. Davis said he was so aggres- any large-scale reduction-in-
Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.). nedy’s vaccine views. political price if they voted many had told Trump they sive at one nominee’s mock force of staff.
“He wanted the tenacity, and Short said other senators “no.” A Republican group with would vote for the entire slate, hearing that he wasn’t asked to The CFPB had begun laying
that’s exactly what he got,” told him that they appreciated ties to Elon Musk, Building advisers said. return for a second. off dozens of employees and
Mullin said. the campaign but didn’t want America’s Future, funded ads in “Have you killed anyone?” Gabbard stumbled in her staff had been bracing for sig-
Both Kennedy and Gabbard to vote against Trump. Iowa to pressure Sen. Joni Sen. Lindsey Graham of South first private meeting with Sen. nificant cuts in the coming
won confirmation this past Ernst, a former Army National Carolina asked one Justice De- Mike Rounds of South Dakota, days, leading their union and
week, in part through reaching Guard commanding officer who partment nominee, as the nom- seemingly confusing a key U.S. other parties to file a lawsuit
side deals with lawmakers in Spoken out loud had expressed reservations inee met with a group of sena- national-security surveillance requesting a temporary re-
which they promised to accept The political consequences about Hegseth, to vote for him. tors at the Capitol. The power. After a second meet- straining order.
longstanding U.S. policy. For didn’t need to be spoken out Trump supporters targeted sen- nominee laughed and said no. ing—and some friendly advice The judge said the CFPB
Kennedy, that entailed agreeing loud, but sometimes they were. ators on social media who were “Do you have a meth lab in from the Republican senator— can’t transfer any of its re-
to keep vaccine recommenda- The day that Sen. Thom Tillis of waffling on other picks, such as your backyard?” Graham asked. Rounds said Gabbard showed serve funds back to the Fed-
tions in place, in a deal he North Carolina was considering Gabbard and Kennedy. The president’s nominee again improvement. “We can say, eral Reserve or the Treasury
reached nine minutes after his casting the decisive vote said no. maybe you need to go back and Department, a move that
committee vote was scheduled against Hegseth, for example, “That’s good enough for revisit that,” Rounds said on could have left the agency
to begin. For Gabbard, it meant the president asked the state’s ‘Attitude adjustment’ me,” Graham said, laughing. Thursday, after Gabbard’s con- without any money. The judge
reassurances that she wouldn’t congressional delegation if one Mike Davis, a Trump ally, The Republican Senate has firmation. also said it can’t delete any
condone intelligence leaks. Pa- of them would consider run- said he orchestrated more than long been one of the last bas- Trump himself was unsure data or records.
tel cleared a committee vote on ning against Tillis in 2026. 200,000 calls and emails to Re- tions of the party with skepti- that some of the nominees The judge’s order will re-
Thursday and is on track to be “Maybe one of his challengers publican lawmakers, largely fo- cism of Trump. But after Trump could easily be confirmed. Be- main in place until March 3
confirmed for the job. is right here,” Trump said to cusing on Kennedy, Patel, Heg- won the 2024 popular vote and fore Patel’s selection, Trump, while she hears arguments in
“The American people gave the lawmakers in his conference seth and Gabbard in a bid to much of corporate America then president-elect, said he the union’s suit.
[Trump] a historic mandate to room aboard Air Force One, as give the Senate what he seemed willing to back him, was concerned that Patel The Trump administration
Make America Great Again and they prepared to tour flood-rav- deemed an “attitude adjust- senators offered to help his wouldn’t be able to get suffi- has been seeking to gut the
he is doing just that,” White aged Asheville together, accord- ment.” most controversial nominees. cient votes, Trump advisers agency in recent weeks, install-
House spokesman Steven Che- ing to a person with direct Trump’s confirmation team said. Patel himself reached out ing as an interim director
ung said. knowledge of his comments. also asked deep-pocketed con- to Republican allies, asking Trump’s budget manager Rus-
Marc Short, Trump’s first (Tillis, who wasn’t on the servative leaders and donors to Mock hearings them to assuage Trump’s con- sell Vought and sending in a
director of legislative affairs, plane, became the pivotal 50th tell Republican senators they Mullin, the Oklahoma sena- cerns. Trump received a flood team from Elon Musk’s Depart-
said the president was daring vote to confirm Hegseth hours were behind all of the nomi- tor, helped organize mock hear- of calls, and eventually agreed ment of Government Efficiency.
the Senate to oppose him by later. He told The Wall Street nees, particularly those that ings that included other current to the selection, the advisers In his first week, Vought closed
making picks such as Kennedy. Journal Thursday that no one seemed outside the party main- and former senators and Trump said. the CFPB headquarters, or-
Short spearheaded an unsuc- had threatened him with a pri- stream, according to people fa- advisers. Drew Maloney, an ex- Tillis, who had wavered on dered all staff to stop working
cessful campaign against Ken- mary or twisted his arm.) miliar with the outreach. “We ecutive of an association repre- Hegseth, volunteered in early and set up a tip line for people
nedy focusing on his previous “He is testing his power,” can’t let the Democrats get a senting the private-equity in- December to personally guide to report on employees who
support of abortion rights. In Short said of Trump. “He has scalp here,” said Ralph Reed, dustry who worked in Trump’s Patel through the Judiciary may be conducting work.
the end, only one Republican effectively neutered the Sen- who lobbied a number of sena- first administration, and Joyce Committee. The panel voted Staff and outsiders have
senator, former Majority ate.” tors and leads the Faith and Meyer, a Trump alumna who 12-10 to advance Patel’s nomi- raised concerns about the ac-
Leader Mitch McConnell of Important to securing the Freedom Coalition. now works for a life-insurance nation on Thursday. “He did ev- cess DOGE had to CFPB’s net-
Kentucky, a polio survivor, nominations was convincing Some senators needed more trade group, ran much of the erything I asked him to,” Tillis work, and the sensitive infor-
voted against him, citing Ken- senators that they could pay a convincing. But by December, process. The hearings were said. mation the regulator holds.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A5

U.S. NEWS

U.S. Is Ordered U.S.WATCH

To Lift Its Freeze

On Foreign Aid
BY MICHAEL WRIGHT effects” that the administra-
tion’s decision has had on busi-
A federal judge ordered the nesses and organizations, in-
Trump administration to tem- cluding layoffs and closures.
porarily lift a freeze on U.S. aid He said the administration
abroad, citing the shutdown’s hadn’t “offered any explana-
damaging effects on American tion for why a blanket suspen-
businesses and nonprofits. sion of all congressionally ap-
The 15-page ruling, issued propriated foreign aid, which
by the U.S. District Court in set off a shock wave and up-
Washington late Thursday, ended reliance interests for
comes as the administration thousands of agreements with
has moved quickly to dismantle businesses, nonprofits, and or-
the U.S. Agency for Interna- ganizations around the coun-
tional Development, which has try, was a rational precursor to
been responsible for around reviewing programs.”
two-thirds of the nation’s tens Ali ordered administration
of billions of dollars in foreign officials to file a status report
assistance annually. by Tuesday regarding compli-

JEENAH MOON/REUTERS
Upon taking ance with the
office, President ruling. He
Trump ordered stopped short of
a pause in much A judge cited barring Trump’s
of the spending ‘devastating executive order
on foreign aid in its entirety, LOVEFEST: Ariadna Hazel and Mars Carbonell walk down a red carpet after exchanging their vows at their Valentine’s Day
for 90 days. effects’ from a which included wedding ceremony in Times Square in Manhattan on Friday.
Days later, Sec- an internal re-
retary of State
blanket halt view of govern- WASHINGTON STATE porary restraining order will ECONOMY MICHIGAN
Marco Rubio to spending. ment programs.
Judge Halts Trump last 14 days but could be ex-
Retail Sales Fell Shoplifters Ordered
signed a waiver The White tended, and essentially puts
for lifesaving House didn’t re- Trans Care Ban Trump’s directive on hold 0.9% in January To Wash Cars
humanitarian spond to a re- A second federal judge on while the case proceeds. Hur- U.S. retail sales fell more A Michigan judge is put-
assistance to allow projects quest for comment. Friday paused President Don- ston and King were both ap- than expected in January, ting sponges in the hands of
such as field hospitals in war Thursday’s order is one of ald Trump’s executive order pointed by former President dropping a seasonally ad- shoplifters, ordering them to

.
zones to resume. several this past week across halting federal support for Joe Biden. justed 0.9% from December wash cars in a Walmart park-
Trump’s aggressive early the judiciary that have paused

ly
gender-affirming care for Trump signed an executive to $723.9 billion, the Com- ing lot when spring arrives.
moves against USAID and rapid-fire efforts by the admin- transgender youth under 19. order last month halting fed- merce Department said. Judge Jeffrey Clothier of
many of the agencies and non- istration to target federal U.S. District Court Judge eral funding for institutions Economists surveyed by Genesee County District
profits that rely on it come as spending and personnel. Lauren King granted a tem- that provide the care and di- The Wall Street Journal had Court hopes the unusual
part of a broader push to slash
government spending across
the federal estate.
Elon Musk, a close adviser
The U.S. has been the
world’s largest funder of for-
eign aid for decades—prop-
ping up education, health ser-
on
porary restraining order after
the Democratic attorneys
general of Washington state,
Oregon and Minnesota sued
recting federally run insur-
ance programs, including
Medicaid and TRICARE for
military families, to exclude
expected a drop of 0.2%.
The larger-than-expected
decline was partly because of
the government revising up
form of community service
discourages people from
stealing from Walmart and
rewards shoppers who could
to the president, has acted vices and human rights in the Trump administration coverage for it. The order the December result, saying re- see higher prices, or possibly
us ,

swiftly to halt the work of the developing countries and sup- last week. Three doctors also calls on the Department tail sales rose 0.7% that month lose stores, if thefts continue.
l

10,000-person, $40 billion porting the militaries of stra- joined as plaintiffs in the suit, of Justice to pursue litigation over November. Previously, The car washes will be free.
e
al a

agency as part of his role lead- tegic allies. which was filed in the West- and legislation to oppose it. that estimate was a 0.4% rise. Clothier said he was
ing the newly created Depart- While humanitarian assis- ern District of Washington. Medicaid programs in The figures include spend- shocked to see the breadth
ment of Government Efficiency. tance makes up a large slice of
ci on

The decision came one day some states cover gender-af- ing at establishments ranging of retail thefts when he
Judge Amir Ali issued the the total, significant funding after a federal judge in Balti- firming care. Trump’s order from gas stations to restau- joined the bench in January.
order in a lawsuit brought by also goes to strengthening mili- more temporarily blocked the suggests that the practice rants to department stores. And shoplifters won’t be
two nonprofit organizations, taries in allied nations and executive order in response could end, and targets hospi- Economists said a snap of the only people up to their el-
the Global Health Council and helping governments phase out to a separate lawsuit filed on tals and universities that re- cold weather last month bows in suds. “I will be there
the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Co- fossil fuels or contain the pro- behalf of families with trans- ceive federal money and pro- likely weighed on sales at washing cars with them,” the
er s

alition. He said they had pro- duction of opioids that could gender or nonbinary children. vide the care. some outlets. judge said.
vided evidence of “devastating end up in the U.S. Judge Brendan Hurson’s tem- —Associated Press —Jeanne Whalen —Associated Press
m er

GOP’s Right Flank Is Winning

m rp

Battles on Spending Reductions

co Fo

BY RICHARD RUBIN

WASHINGTON—The right
flank of the GOP pulled the
House in its direction this past
week, locking in commitments
for deeper spending cuts and
potentially complicating the
path forward for some of Pres-
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ident Trump’s tax priorities.

Party leaders struck a deal
with House Freedom Caucus
members that ties the spend-
n-

ing cuts and tax cuts together

more firmly. The more money
that gets pulled from Medicaid,
food stamps and other pro-
no

grams, the more space Repub-

licans will make for extending Reps. Jodey Arrington (R., Texas) and Ralph Norman (R., S.C.).
expiring tax cuts and removing The Budget Committee backed the plan on a party-line vote.
taxes on tips, overtime pay and
Social Security benefits. The Senate hasn’t fully em- rural hospitals. House Republi-
That intraparty agreement braced the House approach. In- cans currently have a 218-215
propelled a budget blueprint stead, senators are advancing a majority, leaving them little
forward this past week and
kept open a path for a bill that
two-track plan, starting with
spending on national defense
room if they start losing sup-
port from moderates.
CITY OF LIGHTS
Trump and House Speaker
Mike Johnson (R., La.) are try-
and border enforcement—seen
as urgent—and delaying the
On tax cuts, $4 trillion or
$4.5 trillion might be too small
EDOUARD LÉON CORTÈS
ing to craft. The first version messier tax-and-spending fight to fit all of Trump’s priorities,
of the budget released on until later in the year. Key sen- forcing trade-offs over the Renowned artist. Iconic style. Vibrant palette.
Wednesday called for at least ators have said, however, that coming months. Rep. Jason
$1.5 trillion in spending cuts they are open to the House’s Smith (R., Mo.), chairman of This original oil on canvas by
through 2034 and a maximum one-bill strategy if it can hap- the tax-writing Ways and Edouard Léon Cortès, renowned
of $4.5 trillion in net tax cuts. pen quickly. Means Committee, had sought as the “Parisian Poet of Painting,”
The updated deal says that The latest version of the a $5.5 trillion target. captures the enchanting essence of
if the spending cuts don’t House framework puts pres- Republicans do have options Paris. In Place de la Bastille, Cortès
reach $2 trillion, the tax cuts sure on the two largest levers to squeeze the tax cuts into a showcases his mastery, bringing
get dialed down. The tax cut available to Republicans: Med- smaller target. They could re-
to life a foggy autumn evening
tally could go as low as $4 tril- icaid and tax cuts. Although move tax breaks, such as the
lion, depending on how far the Medicare and Social Security clean-energy tax credits created through his signature luminous
spending reductions fall short. are bigger programs than Med- in the 2022 Inflation Reduction brushwork. The scene radiates
The House Budget Commit- icaid, Republicans aren’t al- Act. They could also reduce the magic of the city, embodying
tee backed the plan on a 21-16 lowed to touch Social Security spending in the Ways and Cortès at his best. Mid-20th century. Signed “Edouard Cortès”
party-line vote late Thursday in the fast-track legislative Means Committee’s jurisdiction. (lower left). Canvas: 17”h x 21”w. Frame: 29”h x 33”w. #31-9437
as the House headed into a re- process they are using, and But a core group of senators
cess. If the budget deal gets Trump has said he opposes re- seemingly took one path off
approval from the House and ducing Medicare benefits, put- the table that could lower the Learn more about
Senate, a subsequent detailed ting that off-limits. headline cost of a tax bill. Most this painting
bill can move through on a On Medicaid, the insurance Republicans on the Finance
party-line fast track and avoid program for low-income Ameri- Committee said Thursday that
a Senate filibuster. cans, Republicans haven’t set- they would oppose any short-
Rep. Jodey Arrington (R., tled on what they want to do, term extension of the tax cuts,
Texas), the Budget Committee but they are asking the commit- insisting that the cuts be per-
chairman, said he and his tee that controls it to find at manent.
party are dedicated to restrain- least $880 billion in total sav- Democrats highlighted the
ing spending and are prepared ings. Options on the table in- contrast between Medicaid
to parry arguments that the clude work requirements for beneficiaries and the high-in-
reductions would harm mid- able-bodied recipients and come households and corpora-
dle-class Americans. changes to the funding formulas tions that would get some of 622 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA • 888-767-9190 • [email protected] • msrau.com
“This is for our kids. This is for the federal-state program. the tax cuts. “House Republi-
for the next generation of At some point, House Re- cans have crafted a plan that Since 1912, M.S. Rau has specialized in the world’s finest art, antiques and jewelry.
Americans, the true voiceless publicans’ drive to lower Med- takes from working Americans Backed by our unprecedented 125% Guarantee, we stand behind each and every piece.
people,” he said. “We know icaid spending might run into to give to their billionaire do-
there’s enormous waste and trouble among some members nors,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle
opportunity to right-size this who worry about the potential (D., Pa.), the top Democrat on
bloated government.” effects on state budgets and the Budget Committee.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A6 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * ****** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

FROM PAGE ONE

New Spy showed that he had been in-

teracting with Kasianenko.
In December, the European
connecting flight was late, and
the device went off while at
the airport, he said.

Unit Leads Union sanctioned a unit of the

department, without identify-
ing the SSD by name, for or-
Security officials said the
incendiary devices that ig-
nited in July appeared to be

Russia Plots chestrating “coups, assassina-

tions, bombings,
cyberattacks” in Europe and
and
part of a test run for putting
similar devices on planes
bound for North America.
elsewhere. The U.S. indicted Warnings were quietly sent in
Continued from Page One members of the SSD on simi- August to major shipping
Stream pipelines. lar charges in December. The companies, airlines and air-
“Russia believes it is in State Department is offering a ports, and some of them en-
conflict with what it calls ‘the reward of up to $10 million for hanced security screenings,
collective West,’ and is acting any information about five according to officials and in-
accordingly, up to and includ- members accused of cyberat- dustry representatives famil-
ing threatening us with nu- tacks on Ukraine. iar with the procedures.

NATALIA KOLESNIKOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

clear attack and building up Hostile activities by the SSD The details of the plot,
its military,” said James Ap- peaked last summer, but have which was discovered in late
pathurai, deputy assistant sec- subsided recently, according to summer 2024, were first re-
retary-general of the North U.S. and European officials. ported by The Wall Street
Atlantic Treaty Organization The lull in activity could be Journal. The threat was as-
in charge of hybrid warfare. aimed at creating diplomatic sessed to be so high that the
“These are, as usual, com- space for Moscow to negotiate then national security adviser
pletely unsubstantiated accu- with the new U.S. administra- Jake Sullivan and Central In-
sations,” Kremlin spokesman tion, according to the two Eu- telligence Agency chief Wil-
Dmitry Peskov said. The department is based in the Russian military-intelligence headquarters, seen above. ropean intelligence chiefs. liam Burns called Russian
The new department, which In May, Ukraine’s security leaders in August and asked
is known to Western intelli- Western companies and uni- volvement in the occupation ternally by his initials KIS, he service said it had foiled a plot them to stop the attack, ac-
gence officials by its Russian versities, and recruiting and and annexation of Crimea. joined Russia’s military intelli- by Russia to set several super- cording to U.S. and Russian of-
acronym SSD, is believed to be training foreign agents. The Western intelligence offi- gence, known as the GRU, after markets and a cafe on fire. ficials. The calls were first re-
behind a host of recent attacks department has been seeking cials said they believe his dep- serving in Russia’s air force. Ukraine said the plan had been ported by the New York Times.
against the West, including to recruit agents from Ukraine, uty, Kasianenko, coordinated A Persian speaker who once coordinated by Maj. Yuri Sizov. Sullivan called Yuri Usha-
the attempted killing of the developing nations and coun- the operation to poison Skri- operated in Tehran under the Western intelligence offi- kov, an aide to Putin and a
chief executive of a German tries seen as friendly to Russia, pal and his daughter, Yulia, in guise of a diplomatic posting, cials said Sizov, who is an offi- former ambassador to the U.S.
arms maker and a plot to put such as Serbia. The depart- the U.K. Both survived the poi- Kasianenko was recently in- cer in Senezh, now part of the Burns called his counterpart,
incendiary devices on planes ment also runs an elite special soning but were critically in- volved in facilitating a trans- SSD, coordinated another op- Sergei Naryshkin, as well as
used by shipping giant DHL. operations center, known as jured. A third woman died af- fer of skills and technology eration days later to set a mall Russia’s most senior security
The SSD has brought to- Senezh, where Russia trains ter picking up a perfume from Russia to Iran, according in the Polish capital of War- official, Sergei Shoigu, accord-
gether various elements of some of its special forces. bottle contaminated with the to European intelligence offi- saw ablaze. He has since been ing to three people familiar
Russia’s intelligence services. It Two men—Col. Gen. Andrey poison that the attackers had cials. Tehran provides drones sanctioned by the EU for his with the conversations.
has taken over some powers Vladimirovich Averyanov and discarded. Russia denied in- and missiles for Moscow’s war role in the plots. Both Shoigu and Ushakov,
from the FSB, the country’s his deputy, Lt. Gen. Ivan Ser- volvement in the poisoning. in Ukraine. Then, in July, similar incen- who are among a handful of of-
largest intelligence service, and geevich Kasianenko—oversee Kasianenko’s role includes Kasianenko was earlier diary devices that were sent ficials with regular access to
absorbed Unit 29155, which the operations of the SSD. Av- overseeing covert operations identified by Christo Grozev, via DHL ignited in transit Putin, denied any knowledge of
Western intelligence and law- eryanov, a veteran of Russia’s in Europe and the takeover of an investigative journalist, in hubs in Leipzig, Germany, and the DHL plot, these people said.
enforcement officials said was Chechen wars, is wanted by the Wagner paramilitary oper- a report for the online news Birmingham, England. If one Some lawmakers and secu-

.
behind the 2018 poisoning of a Czech police for his suspected ations in Africa after the kill- outlet the Insider. Grozev said of the devices had ignited rity officials have called for
Russian double agent, Sergei role in an operation to blow ing of its founder, Yevgeny he originally identified GRU while on a flight, it could have the West to step up covert ef-

ly
Skripal, in the U.K. up an ammunition depot in Prigozhin, in 2023. Details of operatives from a scene in a taken down the plane, the for- forts in response to Russia’s
The SSD has at least three 2014, an attack that killed two Kasianenko’s role haven’t been recent documentary about the mer head of Germany’s inter- operations. Appathurai, the
broad tasks, according to people. President Vladimir Pu- previously reported. Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, nal intelligence agency, NATO official, warned that the
Western intelligence officials:
carrying out killings and sabo-
tage overseas, infiltrating
tin awarded him Russia’s
highest honor, the Hero of
Russia medal, following his in-
on Kasianenko was born in
1975 in Kazakhstan, then part
of the Soviet Union. Known in-
“Hollywoodgate.” He was then
able to obtain phone records
of one of the operatives, which
Thomas Haldenwang, told
lawmakers in October. That
didn’t happen only because a
U.S. and its allies needed to
adopt a wartime mindset
“across society” in response.
us ,

Worries age as part of its review of the

l

merger. CBS recently published

e
al a

a full transcript of the interview

Overshadow and said it showed the broad-

cast wasn’t doctored or deceit-
ci on

ful.

CBS Suit Trump’s suit against CBS al-

leges the network committed
election interference by favor-
ably editing portions of the
er s

Continued from Page One Harris interview, giving her an

people close to them said. At edge in the campaign. The pres-
m er

Paramount, some executives ident recently amended the suit

oppose the settlement and the to seek $20 billion in damages,
precedent it might establish. up from $10 billion when he
People involved in the first filed it in the fall.
merger have floated the possi- Trump, a Republican, alleges
m rp

bility of Larry Ellison, who is that CBS aired one version of

close to Trump and is the fa- the interview on “60 Minutes”
ther of Skydance owner David and another version on its
Ellison, negotiating a deal show “Face the Nation,” each
with the administration that containing different answers
co Fo

would allow the merger to go about Israel. CBS has said it

through in the near term, aired a more-succinct version of
some of the people familiar Harris’s interview on “60 Min-
with the discussions said. utes.”
A person close to the Elli- Insurance policies for com-
sons said they are hesitant to pany directors and officers typ-
close the deal with Paramount ically cover legal costs for indi-
unless a settlement is reached. viduals accused of “bad acts,”
The Paramount-Skydance such as criminal acts or bribery,
deal has cleared unless they are
other regulatory found guilty or
ALAMY

hurdles. On liable ultimately,

Thursday, the Could Paramount said Bill Passan-
n-

execs be
Securities and
Exchange Com-
mission ap- sued for settling
nante, co-chair
of the insurance
recovery group
Some Chefs sidered, some restaurant
owners including Olesen feel
they would need to maintain
proved Para-
Trump’s at Anderson
Blanch at perfection at every level in
no

m o u n t ’ s Kill. This would exchange for a star, down to

information CBS lawsuit? be the case for the ply of the toilet paper in
statement in
connection to its
registration fil-
both criminal
charges and
civil shareholder
Michelin the bathrooms.
This can make it hard to
run a restaurant, owners said.
ing for the merger, a key disclo- lawsuits. A star can lead to an uptick in
sure for investors. The Euro- Still, he said, there is always Continued from Page One business and sales, but a
pean Commission also approved the risk of an “unusual uni- taurants loaded with financial slump almost inevitably fol-
the proposed merger this week. corn” case—in which the direc- and creative drawbacks. lows, according to a 2021 re-
Trump’s lawsuit and the reg- tors and officers are found lia- While not every restaurant port on the impact of the Mi-
ulatory review of Paramount’s ble or guilty in a final appeal, listed in the guides achieves chelin star on restaurants in
merger with Skydance are pro- and thus aren’t covered. a star, a select few are New York City published in
ETHEL’S FANCY

ceeding on different tracks. The consideration is differ- awarded between one to the Strategic Management
Federal Communications Com- ent for Paramount than for three stars, a distinction re- Journal, a research publica-
mission Chairman Brendan Carr other companies without major garded as the pinnacle of tion. For some places, this can
has said that a third-party news pending deals. Several media achievement for a chef. Scott Nishiyama is the chef and owner at Ethel’s Fancy in be a fatal blow, as they strug-
distortion complaint about the and technology companies have Every year, the company Palo Alto, Calif. Top photo, Giglio in Lucca, Italy, requested to gle to sustain new costs such
way “60 Minutes” edited the resolved outstanding lawsuits rolls out their regional guides have its Michelin star removed from the 2025 guide. as higher-quality ingredients,
Harris interview could factor with Trump since the election, in ceremonies all over the rising rents from landlords
into the agency’s review of the paying millions in legal settle- world; on Monday, the 2025 2024 Denmark guide. He said their award. “Often they who re-evaluate their prop-
merger. The FCC has authority ments. guide for the United Kingdom that many workers expensing didn’t come for us but for the erty and staff who demand
over the Paramount-Skydance Disney in December settled a and Ireland, which represents meals to their employers star,” said Terigi, the Giglio pay commensurate with their
deal because it would involve defamation suit Trump had one of the larger-scale lo- would avoid restaurants that chef. “We felt a little deper- perceived newfound value, the
the transfer of broadcast televi- filed against ABC News and an- cales, was feted at an event appear too extravagant. Some sonalized.” report said.
sion licenses held by CBS. chor George Stephanopoulos in Glasgow. corporate types “probably eat Poullennec regards restau- “If I wanted to get myself
Based on the third-party over comments he made on air “In some respects [a star] here three times a week,” rants who try to return their to that caliber [of a star], it
complaint, Carr is pursuing an stating that Trump had been can be a little stifling,” said Olesen said. “If we got the star as anomalies. In the six would require a lot more time
inquiry into how CBS News found civilly liable for raping Scott Nishiyama, the chef and star and they were not al- years that Poullennec has and energy on my end to put
handled the interview edit and writer E. Jean Carroll. A federal owner at Ethel’s Fancy in Palo lowed to come, they’re not held his position, he esti- that together,” said Justin
demanded the company release jury determined Trump was lia- Alto, Calif., who trained under going to spend their private mated he has dealt with four Kent, a U.S. chef who trained
the full transcript and raw foot- ble for sexual abuse. Michelin-star chefs before money because they prefer instances of restaurants no with the esteemed David
opening his own restaurant. eating here.” longer wishing to retain their Toutain and Alain Passard be-
He said the possibility of a Being recognized is a “free star, out of the hundreds that fore opening his own Paris
Michelin inspector walking recommendation” for restau- are awarded annually. He said eatery, Milagro, which was
through the door at any mo- rants that are outside of ma- he suspects that some of featured without a star in
ment could be unnerving: jor cities or don’t have the re- these restaurants might no France’s 2024 guide.
“You don’t have that neces- sources to advertise, said longer be operating at a star- It would also be an invest-
sary freedom or joy to make Gwendal Poullennec, the Mi- level and believe they are ment financially, Kent said,
discoveries and to make mis- chelin Guide’s international about to lose it. Despite Mi- one that he has seen drain
takes because you’re simply director. chelin’s stance that restau- fellow chefs who have had
worried about losing that “The Michelin Guide is a rants do not get to decide on difficulty maintaining the
star, or trying to achieve that real blessing,” he said. “We their star-status, Giglio is newfound costs once they
CBS NEWS/60 MINUTES

first star.” put a spotlight on talent.” still listed online in the guide, have achieved the star’s
A star could also harm a Poullennec said restaurants but no star appears next to golden status.
restaurant’s income, said Si- don’t get to opt out of being its name. “I’m very happy with my
mon Olesen, who runs the recognized by Michelin, de- Although the Michelin life the way it is,” he said.
popular brasserie Møntergade spite efforts from places such Guide says that only factors Kent regularly brings his tiny
The Trump lawsuit is focused on how CBS edited a ‘60 in Copenhagen, which was as Giglio, the Italian eatery such as quality of cooking and dog Tofu to work, delighting
Minutes’ interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. listed without stars in the whose clientele changed after mastery of technique are con- the customers.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A7

WORLD NEWS
Russian Drone Damages Chernobyl Shell
Radiation levels at sion, condemned the attack. plant in 2022, according to a
“It shows once again that Rus- number of soldiers who took
site of 1986 nuclear sia is not looking for peace,” part in those operations.
meltdown remain she wrote on X. “These ongoing threats
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry continue to jeopardize the nu-
normal, IAEA says Peskov denied any Russian at- clear safety and security of
tack on nuclear infrastructure. nuclear power plants,” Rafael
BY IAN LOVETT “This is most likely another Grossi, director of the IAEA,
false-flag manipulation,” the said last month. “No one
A Russian drone struck the Russian state news agency stands to gain from attacks on
Chernobyl Nuclear Power TASS reported him as saying. nuclear facilities.”
Plant early Friday, Ukrainian In the first weeks of the Russian attacks on
officials said, setting fire to war, Russian forces occupied Ukraine’s electric grid have, in
the shelter that contains radi- the Chernobyl plant and drove part, prompted Ukraine to em-
ation from the site of history’s armored vehicles through some bark on expanding one of its
largest nuclear disaster. of the most contaminated nuclear plants, in the western
Ukrainian President Volod- parts of the exclusion zone, Khmelnytskiy region. Zelensky
ymyr Zelensky said the fire kicking up radioactive dust. said this week that the expan-

GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS
had been extinguished and no The Zaporizhzhia nuclear- sion would allow Ukraine to
increase in radiation levels power plant—the largest nu- operate its grid without im-
had been recorded. Speaking clear-power station in Eu- porting electricity.
to reporters at the opening rope—has also been the site of “Nuclear energy is the
day of the Munich Security repeated explosions and skir- backbone of Ukraine’s electric-
Conference, Zelensky said the mishes since Moscow seized ity supply—it ensures we have
drone flew at about 280 feet, The attack left a hole in the containment shell enclosing the reactor that exploded in 1986. control of it. The plant is per- light, power and life,” he said.
below radar level. ilously close to the front line.
“The blow to the sarcopha- containment shell at around 2 tor 4, whose explosion in 1986 but that there was no indica- Russia has militarized the
gus was very dangerous,” he a.m. Photos and videos sent radiation across Europe. tion that the inner contain- site, stationing hundreds of Watch a Video
said. He wrote on social media showed a hole in the outer The International Atomic ment shell had been breached. troops there and launching Scan this code
that the damage was signifi- layer of the structure. Energy Agency, which moni- The agency said radiation lev- rockets at Ukrainian positions. to see a Russian
cant. Videos posted by Ukrai- The containment shell was tors nuclear safety, posted on els remained normal. Ukraine launched repeated drone hitting
nian officials showed a large installed in 2016 to enclose ra- X that its personnel at Cher- Kaja Kallas, the vice presi- raids on the site in an unsuc- the Chernobyl
explosion igniting a fire on the diation from the plant’s reac- nobyl had heard the explosion, dent of the European Commis- cessful effort to retake the nuclear plant.

Vance Accuses European Allies of Repression

.
MUNICH—Vice President Conference. Vance said conser- live in a Europe that defends ganizers for what he said was said Sen. Andy Kim (D, N.J.), a
JD Vance blasted European al- vatives have been investigated, our democracy and our way of banning the far-left and far- member of the congressional

ly
lies Friday, accusing them of arrested, prosecuted or fined life, both against internal and right parties of Germany from delegation to the conference.
repressing free speech and ig- for protesting abortion and ex- against external enemies,” Pis- attending. Leaders are in- Not all conference partici-

SVEN HOPPE/DPA/ZUMA PRESS

noring the will of voters on is- pressing their views on social torius said to loud applause. creasingly repressing dissent- pants disagreed with Vance.
sues such as mass migration.

By Bojan Pancevski,
Alexander Ward and
media. He called for German
politicians to abandon the so-
called firewall, an agreement
among mainstream parties not
on Vance appeared to threaten
that America wouldn’t sup-
port allies who, in his view,
are stifling democracy.
ing views under the guise of
fighting disinformation, as the
Soviet Union once did, he said.
German President Frank-
Many applauded his speech,
while some of the leaders in
the audience later said he was
right on certain points.
Laurence Norman to govern or collaborate with “If you are running in fear Walter Steinmeier, who met In his concluding remarks,
us ,

the Alternative for Germany, of your own voters, there is with Vance, said the Trump Vance ridiculed protests in
l

Vance said growing censor- or AfD, a far-right party that nothing I can do for you,” he administration’s worldview Germany against Elon Musk’s Vance addressing the Munich
e
al a

ship, isolation of populist par- some see as extremist. said. Vance cited a suspected “must not become the domi- campaigning for the AfD in Security Conference on Friday.
ties and the erosion of democ- Germany’s minister of de- terrorist attack by an Afghan nant paradigm.” the Feb. 23 elections.
racy posed a greater threat to fense, Boris Pistorius—who oc- immigrant in Munich a day “The absence of rules must “German democracy will unworthy of consideration.”
ci on

Europe than Russia or China. casionally interrupted Vance before his speech, when a car not become the guiding prin- survive Elon Musk,” Vance Steinmeier said in response,
“Europe faces many chal- with cries of “No!”—called the slammed into a crowd. ciple of a new world order,” he said, but won’t survive “tell- “It causes me great concern to
lenges, but the crisis this con- speech unacceptable. Democ- “No voter in Europe went said, arguing that Russia and ing tens of millions of your see how a small elite group of
tinent faces right now—the racy doesn’t mean a loud mi- to the ballot box to open the China would benefit most. own voters that their thoughts businesspeople has both the
crisis you face right now—is nority should determine truth, floodgates to millions of eco- Some U.S. Democrats also and concerns, their aspira- means and the desire to re-
er s

one of your own making,” he he said in a speech after Vance. nomic migrants,” he said. panned Vance’s address. “I was tions, their pleas for relief, write a significant part of the
said at the Munich Security “I am grateful and proud to He chastised conference or- embarrassed for America,” and their votes are invalid and liberal democracy playbook.”
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A8 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

WORLD NEWS

Hamas to Release Who Owns the Gaza Strip?

Last American Legal framework
involves a knot of
Key dates in Gaza’s history
Under Egyptian control British forces Egypt controls as Fatah, under the Military
after Ibrahim Pasha enter Palestine the All-Palestine Palestinian Authority operations
Hamas said it would release day that Israel would resume British, Egyptian Protectorate rules after Oslo Accords by Israel
captures Palestine during WWI
the last living American-Is- intense fighting if the hos-
raeli civilian held hostage in tages weren’t freed Saturday. and Palestinian laws
Gaza along with two other Both Israel and Hamas have
1516 1831 1840 1917 1920 1948 1967 1993 2007 2023 2025
men on Saturday, after negoti- accused each other of violat- BY RORY JONES
ators resolved a dispute over ing the terms of the truce,
though this past week’s dis- President Trump wants the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire Under British rule Israeli occupation Hamas seizes
invades and recovers Palestine after a League of after the Six-Day War control from the
By Feliz Solomon, pute marked the most serious U.S. to control the Gaza Strip,
occupies after defeating Pasha Nations mandate Palestinian Authority
Anat Peled threat to the pact since it en- but it isn’t even clear who
and Summer Said tered into force on Jan. 19. owns it. Determining that
Mediators said tensions eased might be among the most The marks left by Gaza’s many rulers
the delivery of humanitarian after aid deliveries resumed complicated territorial ques- 1979: Philadelphi 1960: Nasser Hospital 1994: Gaza port 1946: Al-Shifa hospital
aid that had threatened to de- on Thursday, with some tents tions on Earth. Corridor (partly functional (halted in 2000) (rebuilt by Israel in the
rail the shaky cease-fire. entering the enclave and doz- The Palestinian enclave has West
since 2024)
Mediterranean Sea
1980s)
The militant group said it ens of mobile homes lined up an almost unique status, as Gaza
Bank
would free American-Israeli at the Rafah crossing between well as a history of changing
ISRAEL
Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, Russian- Egypt and Gaza. hands, which makes figuring JOR . Gaza City
Israeli Sasha Troufanov, 29, Mediators remain con- out who ultimately owns the EGYPT Khan Younis
and Argentinian-Israeli Iair cerned by a lack of discussion tiny territory a matter of un-
Rafah
Horn, 46. In exchange, Israel of the transition to the second packing overlapping land laws
is expected to release 369 Pal- phase of the deal, which laid down over centuries. 1994: Gaza-Israel ISRAEL
estinian prisoners, including would involve releasing all re- perimeter fence 2000s: 1917: Gaza
36 serving life sentences. maining hostages in exchange 1949: Gaza Strip boundaries Tunnels War Cemetery
Dekel Chen was kidnapped for a permanent end to the Who controls it now? 5 miles
1998: Gaza Intl. Airport were demarcated by the
from kibbutz Nir Oz near the war. The first phase is due to Gaza is effectively run by 5 km (destroyed by Israel in 2001) Egyptian-Israeli armistice
Gaza border. He has three end March 1. Hamas militants, but the
young daughters, the youngest Under the terms of the United Nations says it is un- Sources: Institute for Palestine Studies (timeline, Nasser Hospital); United Nations, British National Army Museum (timeline); Government of Israel
(boundaries and barriers); Forensic Architecture (perimeter fence); WSP International Management Consulting (port); Commonwealth War Graves
born in December 2023 while four-week-old cease-fire, lawfully occupied by Israel. Commission (Gaza War Cemetery); Project Unified Assistance (airport); The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Philadelphi Corridor); American
he was in captivity. Hamas agreed to release 33 Most countries consider the Jewish Committee (Al-Shifa); Israeli Defense Forces (tunnels as of 2014)
Troufanov, an Amazon em- hostages during a six-week war-torn strip part of Pales- DANIEL KISS/WSJ
ployee, was also taken from initial phase in exchange for tine, which itself isn’t recog-
kibbutz Nir Oz along with his Israel’s freeing some 1,700 nized as a state by the U.S., the past been required to
grandmother, mother and girl- Palestinian prisoners. So far, among others. Israeli Prime build in Gaza, where about
friend, all of whom were freed 16 living hostages have been Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one-third of the territory is
in an earlier cease-fire deal in freed under the deal, includ- has said Israel doesn’t want to considered land for public use,
November 2023. Russia had ing a 65-year-old American-Is- occupy Gaza at the end of the though that is often occupied
pressured Hamas to release raeli man and several young war and he has praised Trump by private individuals, the
Troufanov early, mediators women. Of those yet to return for what he said was creative study said.

.
said. under the initial phase, Israel thinking in proposing to relo- Before the recent war, plots
Horn was kidnapped with believes eight are dead. Five cate Palestinians, something of land in Gaza were regis-

ly JEHAD ALSHRAFI/ASSOCIATED PRESS

his brother, Eitan Horn, who Thai hostages have also been the U.N. has warned could tered with the Palestinian
remains in released. contravene international law. Land Authority and taxed by
captivity until Mediators the Property Tax Directorate
the second
phase of the
cease-fire
along with oth-
say Israel
wants to ex-
tend the first
phase to bring
Trump’s vision on
Trump has offered few de-
tails about his plans beyond
in Gaza’s Finance Ministry.

Widespread ruin
HOSTAGES FAMILY FORUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ers generally more living saying the U.S. would invoke Estimates vary, but the U.N.
us ,

thought to be hostages home “United States authority” to The United Nations says approximately 70% of the says about 70% of the struc-
l

uninjured men quickly. The control Gaza. He has said the structures in the Gaza Strip are destroyed or damaged. tures in Gaza are either de-
e
al a

younger than frail condition U.S. wouldn’t buy Gaza or use stroyed or damaged, including
50, who would of recently re- American troops to take it, of a Palestinian state that in- 2015 study of land ownership more than 245,000 housing
be released leased hos- but the U.S. should have long- cludes the strip. Regular Ga- in the enclave by the Norwe- units. Entire city blocks are
ci on

only if Israel tages has term control to turn the Phila- zans, most descended from gian Refugee Council. flattened, and Palestinians say
and Hamas raised con- delphia-size territory into the Palestinians who were moved But more than one-third of their neighborhoods are un-
agree to extend cerns about “Riviera of the Middle East.” in 1948 from land that is now that land is estimated to be recognizable, making working
the deal. His fa- the health of The nearly two million Pal- Israel, have pledged to stay. unregistered because of diffi- out who owns what and where
ther recently Sagui Dekel Chen was those who re- estinians living in Gaza would culties, including establishing even more challenging.
er s

told The Wall kidnapped from Nir Oz. main in captiv- relocate to Jordan and Egypt what is called a chain of own-
Street Journal ity, and Israel’s in Trump’s vision. Who owns the land? ership, and complex land laws
What the law says
m er

that he had run the script of government is reluctant to The plan has been de- Because Gaza has changed and registration procedures,
their reunion many times in his give up the ability to resume nounced by Arab states, and hands so often, the legal according to the study. The U.N. says international
head and was ready to help his fighting Hamas. The militant European allies of the U.S. framework governing individ- Unregistered private land law generally prohibits the
son’s return to normalcy. Horn group has rejected the re- have said they don’t support ual ownership of the land is a can be registered by the own- forced displacement of people
also was taken from Nir Oz. quest, mediators said. it. The Palestinian Authority, knot of British, Egyptian and ers only if they are able to from land, but exceptions can
m rp

Hamas cast uncertainty Israel’s war against Hamas which ruled Gaza before Palestinian laws. Some rules prove a historical chain of own- be made for national-security
over the exchange this past was triggered by attacks led Hamas, has said Trump’s pro- date to when the area was un- ership. If not, owners are sub- or public-order reasons, ac-
week, when it threatened to by the group on Oct. 7, 2023, posal represents a violation of der the control of the Ottoman ject to restrictions: They can cording to the U.N. High Com-
suspend the hostage release to during which around 1,200 international law. It has Empire during the 400 years sell the land but can’t mort- missioner for Refugees. In
protest delays in the delivery people were killed and some pledged that Palestinians leading up to World War I. gage it, for example. Unregis- those instances, the U.N. says,
co Fo

of tents and mobile shelters to 250 were taken hostage. Pales- won’t relinquish their goal of Private individuals own as tered land owners are consid- the people affected should be
Gaza, where the war has flat- tinian health officials say a Palestinian state. much as half of the land in ered the owners unless proved given the opportunity to chal-
tened civilian infrastructure more than 48,000 Gazans have Hamas has vowed to fight Gaza, which can be freely otherwise, the study said. lenge the decision and provide
and displaced most of the been killed in the ensuing con- Israel until the establishment bought or sold, according to a Deeds of ownership have in their consent.
population. Hamas blamed Is- flict; it doesn’t specify how
rael for the holdup. many were combatants.
The threat prompted Presi- About 70% of buildings in
dent Trump to warn Hamas to the Gaza Strip have been dam-
WORLD WATCH
release all of the hostages on aged or destroyed during Is-
Saturday, or else the deal rael’s offensive, according to
would be canceled and he the United Nations. The
would “let hell break out.” Is- roughly two million Palestin-
raeli Prime Minister Benjamin ians who live in the enclave
n-

Netanyahu threatened Tues- are in need of aid.

no

AMERICAN ART
Signature Auction | May 16
®

Now Accepting Consignments | Deadline: March 21

ETNA WALK/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

RIVER OF FIRE: Lava flowed Friday from a fracture on Mount Etna, a clearly active volcano on the Italian island of Sicily.

EUROZONE SOUTH KOREA TAIWAN PHILIPPINES

Growth Estimate Is Deadly Fire Hits President Responds Tropical Nation Has
Slightly Improved Construction Site To Trump on Chips First Winter Medal
The eurozone’s September- A fire at a resort construc- Taiwan President Lai Ching- The Philippines men’s curl-
December gross domestic tion site in Busan killed at te said Friday he would com- ing team claimed the coun-
product was up 0.1% from the least six people Friday, fire of- municate more with the U.S. try’s first Asian Winter
previous quarter, EU statis- ficials said. About 100 work- over President Trump’s chip- Games medal with a victory
tics agency Eurostat said Fri- ers managed to get out, while industry concerns and invest Friday against South Korea.
day in new estimates. Euro- 14 were rescued by helicopter more in the U.S. Trump said The Philippines became a
stat had previously said GDP from atop the structure, the Thursday that Taiwan had member of the World Curling
was flat. But Germany con- local fire department said. taken away the U.S. chip busi- Federation in 2023 and
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) To Keep Myself Physically Strong, tracted, France’s pace slowed The department said six ness and that he wanted it started a bid to qualify for the
conceived 1962; published 1964, Sold for: $1,125,000 | November 2025 and Italy remained anemic. people were found uncon- back. Taiwan’s TSMC is the 2026 Olympics. The men’s
The eurozone’s fourth-largest scious on the first floor, near world’s largest chip maker; its team is based in Switzerland,
HA.com/American economy, Spain, was the where the fire was believed customers include Apple. where four of the curlers
Inquiries: 877-HERITAGE (437-4824) main bright spot. to have started. All six were Lai said his government were born; they are eligible to
Aviva Lehmann | ext. 1519 | [email protected] Economists expected to later pronounced dead at would propose a “global play for the Philippines
see little more than stagna- hospitals. At least other 25 semiconductor democratic through their Filipino mothers.
tion in the currency area in people sustained minor inju- supply chain partnership ini- Teams from 34 countries
the first months of 2025, in ries, the department added, tiative” and said he would be competed in 10 sports at the
part because of a looming and the cause of the fire willing to work with partners Games, which were due to
Paul R. Minshull #16591. BP 15-25%; see HA.com. 83024 tariff battle with Washington. wasn’t immediately clear. such as the U.S. finish Friday.
—Joshua Kirby —Associated Press —Associated Press —Associated Press
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A9

FROM PAGE ONE

A Retiree’s tention of Arthur, who wasn’t

yet charged with a crime or
given access to a lawyer. That

Fortunes left him out of any deal.

Then his luck turned.
At the last minute, two of

Sank Fast the prisoners Venezuela had

selected for release refused to
leave their cells, thinking the
guards were replaying a cruel
Continued from Page One trick they had pulled before,
holiday in Barbados. Then he lying about a surprise release.
set off for the balmy weather The Americans’ refusal
and stunning beaches of Vene- opened two slots, Grenell said.
zuela—in his mind, maybe an Arthur and another Ameri-
appealing place to settle can were unexpectedly pulled
down. from their cells. Arthur was
Years of smooth sailing ordered to record a video say-
around southern Europe and ing the guards treated him
North Africa had blinded him well. He also had to promise
to the risks. that he wouldn’t sue the re-
“I didn’t realize it was that gime.
bad,” Arthur said, not giving He was handcuffed, blind-
thought about disembarking folded and driven in a car to
into the regime of Nicolás Ma- what looked like an aban-
duro, who has ruled Venezuela doned airfield. “I thought they
with an iron grip for 12 years. were going to kill me,” Arthur

RICHARD GRENELL /AFP/GETTY IMAGE

Venezuela’s coast guard said.
stopped Arthur in Venezuelan Grenell greeted him on the
waters, and 12 officers runway. Arthur hugged him
boarded his vessel with drug- and thanked God before they
sniffing dogs, he said. Later in boarded the U.S. Air Force jet
the day, they told him to turn with the other freed Ameri-
back, rejecting his pleas to cans and took off for Joint
rest for the night. Base Andrews in Maryland.
Exhausted, Arthur later fell Arthur said he was in shock
asleep at the wheel. and his body hurt. Yet he still
At about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. Clockwise from top, White House Special Envoy Richard tried to enjoy the onboard
6, his vessel slammed into Grenell, third from right, and Eric Arthur, giving a thumbs-up, meal of chicken cordon bleu
rocks and sank within min- flying home with the other freed Americans; Arthur visiting and mashed potatoes.
utes. Arthur boarded a life a friend’s house in Cornelius, N.C., after his return to the U.S. State Department officials
raft with a radio, fresh water asked the freed men whether
and a laptop, cast adrift in the they knew anything about the
vastness, far from land. He other Americans left behind.
huddled under the raft’s or- Some of the men shared a
ange tarp and radioed SOS brief call with Trump.
messages every hour. After arriving in the U.S.,

.
After three days, Arthur the six men were dropped off
was rescued by fishermen who at a Marriott Hotel in Arling-

ly ANGELA OWENS/WSJ (2)

picked up his distress calls. ton, Va. They signed an IOU
The men brought him to a pledging to reimburse the U.S.
Venezuelan military base on a for the rooms.
remote island. Naval officers
lent him a mattress for his
first night’s sleep.
The next morning, officers
on They all left for home the
following day.
“I’m still trying to figure
out if this whole thing was
filmed Arthur having break- real,” Arthur said.
us ,

Tambo ship positions

fast and walking around. He spoke by phone as he
l

Later, they asked him to read rummaged through his storage

e
al a

Arthur was off the

a statement to the camera, unit in New Smyrna Beach,
coast of Western MOROCCO
thanking Maduro for rescuing Last known Africa on Dec. 1 Fla., trying to patch his life
him. Arthur refused. back together after three
ci on

location on Jan. 8 WESTERN

“They wanted to do propa- off the coast of ATLANTIC OCEAN SAHARA weeks in brutal detention and
ganda. They wanted me to say Isla Fraile Grande come to terms with the loss of
how great the president was,” MAURITANIA his boat, a nest egg from a
he said. lifetime in business.
From the naval outpost, Ar- “I’m broke now. Got to
er s

thur said he was taken on a Arthur spent start all over,” Arthur said. “It
10-hour boat ride to Margarita VENEZUELA New Year’s in was a horrible experience, but
m er

Island, where he was held at Barbados I have to say I feel blessed. I

COLOMBIA
the residence of a military can’t believe it. I could still be
commander. there.”
In the few WhatsApp mes- hours a day—hip-hop, Latin, “They were just trying to BRAZIL Venezuela’s Attorney Gen-
sages he was permitted to pop and grunge. wear you down so that when eral and its Information Min-
m rp

send, Arthur told friends Guards pushed him around they interviewed you, you’d Source: MarineTraffic EMMA BROWN/WSJ istry didn’t respond to re-
about his predicament. “I have when they ushered him from agree to whatever they’re say- quests for comment.
been under coast guard watch, room to room, aggravating Ar- ing,” he said. Grenell’s trip signaled that 16 Americans and the return Arthur and the other men
house arrest,” he wrote. thur’s chronic blood pressure In Washington, President Washington was open to eas- of Malaysian businessman weren’t designated by the
“Want to make sure I can and back trouble. Air condi- Trump embarked on his sec- ing up on a yearslong pressure Leonard Francis, known as State Department as “wrong-
co Fo

leave of my own free will.” tioning and cold showers ond term, racing to make good campaign against the Maduro “Fat Leonard,” who had es- fully detained,” making them
Arthur shared a room with made him ill—dizzy, weak, on campaign promises, includ- regime. The U.S. asked Vene- caped U.S. custody. ineligible for medical treat-
an officer who kept a close shivering—and ing the swift zuela to accept flights ferrying In exchange, Maduro re- ment and psychological coun-
watch on him. Military offi- he was given deportation of deportees, as well as free ceived two nephews serving seling usually provided by the
cials told Arthur he would be intravenous flu- illegal immi- some Americans who had drug sentences in the U.S., as U.S. to released hostages.
freed, that he could buy a ids. The food, A radio blasted grants. Federal been locked up in recent well as his top financier, Alex The State Department said
plane ticket to Trinidad and mostly bread, loud music 24 o f f i c e r s months. Saab, who was facing trial in only that the U.S. was commit-
Tobago. kept him con- rounded up Many of the American men Miami on money-laundering ted to freeing Americans un-
The offer didn’t stand. He stipated for hours a day— scores of Vene- imprisoned in Venezuela had charges. justly held abroad.
was instead moved to a prison days, he said. zuelan nation- come to meet partners or An officer from the British “Noises just screw with me
in Caracas where other for- When Arthur
hip-hop, Latin, als who were women they knew only from embassy in Caracas visited Ar- right now,” Arthur said. “I’m
eigners, including Americans, complained in pop and grunge. living without dating sites. They were thur at the prison and told scared of being pulled over by
were held. On arrival, guards his broken permission in charged with terrorism, espio- him that the U.S. and Venezu- a cop. I may start crying.”
n-

took away his laptop, phone Spanish, guards the U.S. nage or plotting to assassinate ela were in negotiations over After four years at sea and
and watch, cutting him off shackled his The problem Maduro. All of them had been the release of Americans. three weeks in Venezuelan de-
from the outside world. wrists and ankles. “You can’t was that Maduro wouldn’t arrested between September Arthur learned nothing tention, Arthur says he plans
take a shower,” Arthur said, take them back. and January, a period when more about it until later. to spend the next couple of
no

“you have no way to eat” or On Jan. 31, White House U.S.-Venezuela relations had months with friends and fam-
Shackled use a toilet. Special Envoy Richard Grenell frayed. The regime is alleged ily.
Inside the prison, Arthur Again and again, guards in- was sent to Caracas. Critics of to have taken the hostages to Old tricks His 87-year-old father is
said he was forced to sit in a terrogated Arthur about the Trump’s outreach said the U.S. try to coerce the U.S. to end Venezuela agreed to accept urging Arthur to move in with
chair for 14 hours a day. He condom and lubricant manu- envoy’s visit conferred a sense its opposition, which the gov- deportees from the U.S. and to him in Los Angeles.
wasn’t permitted to talk, facturing business he had sold of legitimacy to a leader ac- ernment has denied. turn over six of the more than “I don’t know if I ever want
stand or get much sleep. before retiring, seeming to try cused of stealing last year’s Maduro had agreed to pris- a dozen Americans they held. to leave the country again,”
Lights were always on, and a to catch him in a lie. They ac- election. Maduro has denied oner swaps in 2022 and 2023, The Maduro regime hadn’t Arthur said. “I’m 62. I do not
radio blasted loud music 24 cused him of being a spy. any wrongdoing. which included the release of publicly acknowledged the de- like looking at the abyss.”

Brazilians with you in 24 hours,” prom-

ises one online advertisement,
boasting a $25 ritual with a
Candomblé leader.
“Everyone wants to be
loved and rich,” he said.
tween two chicken’s feet, he
binds them together with red
thread or ribbon and covers

Seek Magic 98% success rate. You can pay

via credit card.
Tech-savvy sorcerers, often
More sinister forces are
sometimes at work. A handful
of swindlers masquerading as
the offering in honey.
He also addresses more
mundane concerns: rituals to

For Love dressed in the robes of tradi-

tional Afro-Brazilian spiritual
leaders, teach their witchery
Umbanda leaders online have
used love-binding rituals to
blackmail clients into paying
get lucky at gambling, magical
bay leaf baths for sex workers
to attract wealthy clients, and
online over YouTube and Tik- as much as a thousand dollars spells using earth from freshly
Continued from Page One Tok to hundreds of thousands in hush money, victims say. dug graves to force a noisy
ANDRE COELHO/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

year-old housewife from São of followers. Rafael Alves, a 36-year-old neighbor to move away.
Paulo asked a woman who Most spells fall under the English teacher and restau- “It took a while, but that
identified as a sorceress to category of “love-binding,” rant owner in Rio de Janeiro good-for-nothing is gone!”
cast a spell on her man, only which promises to make any who moonlights as a sorcerer, marveled one follower after
to have him follow her around chosen target smitten and said about 75% of requests for carrying out the spell at
the house all day. loyal for life. But videos also his love-binding spells come home.
“He wouldn’t leave me include step-by-step guides to from women. Such success isn’t always
alone, it drove me crazy,” Jo- casting deadly curses on ene- Men tend to ask for spells down to the spirits. “I couldn’t
sefina said. She paid another mies by stuffing raw beef liver Brazilians have long been believers in spiritualism. to get rich or overcome infer- understand why my neighbor
witch $50 to undo the spell. into a miniature coffin and tility problems. “But some kept throwing soil on my
Once home to one of the dousing it with rum. a banana tree. easier to ditch a spouse. men do also come to me in house,” said Barbara Viana, a
world’s largest slave popula- Among the most popular Spellmaking has surged in Mending a broken heart is tears, begging me to help nanny in São Paulo. When a
tions, Brazil is steeped in reli- rituals are those that promise the years since the pandemic, such big business that ban- them after being abandoned friend explained it was proba-
gions with African roots that to keep cheating husbands when fear of death prompted ners offering love-binding by their wife,” said Alves, who bly earth from a cemetery, Vi-
rely on magic to invoke spirits, faithful by giving them erec- people to seek spiritual guid- spells have appeared at stop- often practices in Rio’s fave- ana said she couldn’t leave her
such as Candomblé and Um- tile dysfunction. ance, practitioners said. lights. Stores sell DIY spell las, as the city’s poorest set- home soon enough.
banda. Led by respected prac- “This one’s infallible,” says The country’s lockdown ac- kits, from “cry-at-my-feet” tlements are known. But not all spells go to
titioners, they combine African a man, dressed in white, who celerated Brazil’s rising di- shower gel blessed by African Known as Father Rafael the plan. After Valdir Oliveira’s
beliefs with Catholic traditions identifies himself in a video vorce rate, leaving swaths of spirits to bottles of love-bind- Slick One from the Favela, Al- wife became angry with him
inherited from the country’s posted online as Father John heartbroken customers des- ing powder to sprinkle over a ves now has almost a quarter for coming home late one
Portuguese colonizers. of Ogun, in reference to an Af- perate to try anything for husband’s pants. of a million subscribers on the night, the laborer from São
But a new generation of rican warrior. love. Some 420,000 divorces Practitioners of Afro-Brazil- YouTube channel he started in Paulo jokingly performed a
self-proclaimed witches has “He’ll never look at another were filed in 2022, a 76% in- ian religions don’t take these 2016. A Panama hat often atop love-binding spell that he
emerged in recent years, woman again!” he says, bind- crease from 2010, a trend also spells seriously. But that his head, Alves demonstrates found online while at a bar.
drawing on these religions to ing up a piece of tissue cov- driven by greater financial in- hasn’t stopped people believ- a popular ritual to keep loved The magic hasn’t returned
make a fast buck. ered in what he says is sperm dependence among women ing them, said Rodney Wil- ones close. Inserting a piece of to his marriage yet. “She’s still
“Make a man fall in love and planting it in the stem of and a 2007 law that made it liam, an anthropologist and paper with their name be- mad at me.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A10 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

SPORTS
BY LAINE HIGGINS
AND RACHEL BACHMAN

I
Top: Auburn’s Johni
t’s been a rough few months for Broome blocks a shot
the pigskin-worshipping state of by Alabama’s Mark
Alabama. Sears. Bottom:
The Crimson Tide football team Auburn’s Miles Kelly.
suffered through an ignominious
season that included a shocking
loss to Vanderbilt. Auburn ca-
reened to a 16th place finish in the
Southeastern Conference and
missed out on a bowl game.
But around the same time that
their football teams were sinking
to new depths, something came
along to rescue both programs:
basketball season.
These traditional southern
gridiron powerhouses have rein-
vented themselves as stalwarts of
the hardwood, a fact underlined
by their meeting on Saturday,
which pits No. 1-ranked Auburn
against the No. 2 Crimson Tide in
Tuscaloosa. Although epic battles
between these archrivals are com-
monplace on the football field, this
will be the first-ever top-two
men’s basketball matchup in
Southeastern Conference history.
The showdown didn’t come out
of nowhere. Auburn basketball
reached the top 10 last season and
Alabama made its first-ever Final
Four. But the two teams got even
better this year for one big reason:
Their top players dipped a toe in
the NBA Draft waters, found them
a little chilly, and turned right
around and went back to college.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was
blunt in concluding that the play-
ers in Saturday’s matchup made
the right choice.
The College Football Rivalry
That Crashed College Basketball
“This game, 1 versus 2 on na-
tional television, is going to be

.
something that’s significantly
more watched than the Maine

ly
Celtics against the Westchester
Knicks,” he said.
The No. 1 Auburn Tigers face the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in a matchup highlighted by a
Last spring, Mark Sears showed bunch of star players who returned to college after being told not to jump to the NBA
how to execute a perfect U-turn.
The guard, whose 21.5
points led Alabama last
season, declared for the
on with five of 30 picks coming from
overseas last year. And now that
This time, his professional flir-
tation was much more short-lived.
draft on April 17. Six the NCAA lets athletes earn money On April 17—the same day Sears
us ,

weeks later, Sears re- from their name, image and like- declared for the NBA Draft—
l

versed course. “Last ness, players have another reason Broome announced he was coming
e
al a

dance #rolltide,” he to stay in college rather than risk- back for a fifth season.
posted on X. Fans ing being a low pick—or winding With the NCAA’s looser trans-
cheered his return to up on the Maine Celtics. fer rules now, some players ex-
ci on

college for a fifth sea- “If NIL wasn’t in the game plore switching schools and going
son—with one posting a right now, I probably would have pro at the same time. That’s what
photo of the NCAA went [to the NBA] last year or the Alabama’s Grant Nelson did. In
championship trophy. year before,” Broome said. “The fi- 2023 the native of tiny Devils
Auburn’s top scorer, nancial side is what allowed me to Lake, N.D., was a junior at North
er s

Johni Broome, has run have a choice to come back to col- Dakota State when he threw his
an almost identical play lege.” name into the NBA Draft and the
m er

each of the last two Last year, more than half of the NCAA transfer portal.
springs. Following the 157 college players who submitted The second one prevailed. The
2022-23 season, he their names as NBA draft early en- mustachioed forward transferred
played well enough at trants chose to withdraw after to the Tide and is now the team’s
the G League Elite Camp seeing their likely draft position. leading rebounder and second-
m rp

BUTCH DILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS; CAMDEN HALL/ZUMA PRESS

to earn an invitation to Armed with feedback from leading scorer.

the NBA Draft Combine. scouts, Broome understood that he Auburn’s Miles Kelly did some-
But he decided to come needed to prove his effectiveness thing similar. He entered his name
back to the Plains when outside the post to improve his in the transfer portal while declar-
it became clear he was draft stock. Pearl says he did— ing for the 2024 NBA Draft after
co Fo

most likely to be se- Broome remained prodigious at three seasons at Georgia Tech.
lected in the second scoring, rebounding and blocking Scouts lauded his long-range
round. The return ramp to college through something called the NBA in 2023-24 while his assists per shooting, but were less impressed
The drop-off between the started getting crowded after Undergraduate Advisory Commit- game went up 70%. with the rest of his skill set. He
draft’s first and second rounds is 2016. That’s when the NCAA gave tee about where they were likely Then, after the Tigers’ season chose another year of college
steep: Top picks can make as athletes a few more weeks to to be picked—or whether they came crashing to a halt with an hoops over G League purgatory.
much as $14 million a season. Sec- change their mind about entering would be taken at all. NCAA tournament upset by Yale, “He had the three, but he didn’t
ond-round picks don’t even get a the draft. Players also started get- The draft’s first round has got- Broome faced yet another NBA de- have the ‘D,’” Pearl said. “He came
guaranteed salary. ting written, anonymous feedback ten tougher for college players, cision. to Auburn to get the ‘D’.”

A Zero-Time All-Star Is One of the NBA’s Most Important Players

n-

BY ROBERT O'CONNELL 300 tries.

no

Powell’s story isn’t simply one

San Francisco of a good player finally getting his
THE BEST PLAYERS in basketball chance, though. He’s pulled off
will gather in the Bay Area this something even more remarkable
weekend to play in the NBA All- this season. Backup players’ stats
Star game. They include aging leg- can sometimes be misleading,
ends, next-generation superstars since they get to pick their spots
and world-famous athletes from against the other teams’ second-
every corner of the globe. stringers as well. But as Powell
But one of the most important has seen his minutes rise and has
players in the NBA won’t be suit- gone head-to-head against the
ing up in the marquee event. In best competition in the NBA, he’s
fact, you’ve likely never heard of actually become more efficient.
him. His effective field-goal percent-
His name is Norm. age—which accounts for the rela-
Norman Powell, a 31-year-old tive value of 3-pointers and 2s—is
guard for the Los Angeles Clip- 59.5%, the best mark he’s posted
pers, has played for three different in his entire career. (It’s also
franchises during a decade in the higher than that of a couple guys
NBA. He’s never made an All-Star named Stephen Curry and LeBron
team. And he spent last season James.) Powell has responded to
coming off the bench. his promotion just the way any
This year, though, the Clippers employer would hope: doing better
have had no choice but to thrust the more work he’s given.
him into a starring role. And the Clippers coach Tyronn Lue
former second-round draft pick drew a direct link between more
and longtime backup has turned responsibility and better results.
them into one of the surprises of “He has been way more efficient,
the season. being a starter, knowing he’s going
“We’re a team that’s in the to get the minutes” Lue said in
playoffs,” Powell said, “and no- December. “Not trying to cram it
body thought we were going to all in when he comes off the
be.” bench.”
That’s no exaggeration. Back in Since he missed out on the All-
October, the Clippers faced the Norman Powell has never made an NBA All-Star team but he has turned the Clippers into surprise contenders. Star game, Powell will make do
daunting prospect of starting the with trying his hand in the 3-point
season without their two best Powell—a 6-foot-4 guard with a scoring. The Milwaukee Bucks stuffed full of journeymen players contest on Saturday night. And
players from the year before. sweet shooting stroke and a salty drafted him in the second round in who believe they deserve more op- he’s a leading candidate for an-
Nine-time All-Star Paul George competitive streak—took a differ- 2015 and traded him to Toronto, portunity than they’ve been given. other award: Most Improved
had left for Philadelphia over the ent view. where he developed into a solid The difference with Powell, as Player. If he wins it, he’ll be the
summer. Kawhi Leonard was out “I saw it as addition by sub- rotation player by the time the he’s shown this year, is that he oldest player in the history of the
recovering from a knee injury that traction,” Powell said of George’s Raptors won the championship in was right. NBA to do so.
would end up costing him the first departure. 2019. Starting in all 45 of the Clip- Some players win that award
34 games. Pundits figured L.A.’s That’s because it was exactly Though he got more minutes pers’ games that he’s appeared in, because they reworked their jump
less glamorous team would quickly the opportunity Powell had spent and scored more points as he Powell has scored a career-high shot or committed to their condi-
KIRBY LEE/REUTERS

settle in a familiar place: the his entire basketball life waiting bounced from Toronto to Portland 24.2 points. He’s made 42.8% of tioning. Powell is in the running
Western Conference’s cellar. for. He spent four years in college to Los Angeles, there was almost his 3-pointers—the second-best for a different reason. When op-
If it looked like an impending at UCLA, and it took him until his always someone ahead of Powell percentage in the entire NBA, portunity knocked, he was already
disaster for the Clippers, though, senior year to lead the Bruins in on the depth chart. Pro sports are among players who had more than standing right at the door.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A11

OPINION
Did U.S. Caution Cost Ukraine a Flying Ace?
By Jillian Kay Melchior

T
Kyiv, Ukraine
he F-16s arrived in
Ukraine in time for one

COURTESY OF YULIIA MES; VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS

of Russia’s largest aerial
attacks. Oleksiy Mes—
known by his call sign,
“Moonfish”—had recently returned
from training on the fighter jets in
Denmark. He shot down two Rus-
sian cruise missiles and a drone
that morning. “But then, his jet ex-
ploded in the air,” says Daria Kale-
niuk, a co-founder of the Interna-
tional Center for Ukrainian Victory.
Ukraine hasn’t said what caused
the crash that killed Moonfish, 30,
on Aug. 26, 2024. An investigation Left: Yuliia and Oleksiy ‘Moonfish’ Mes. Above: Ukrainian F-16s.
is under way, and most fighter-
plane crashes have several causes. tired officer who spent most of his to literally be the consummate
But friendly fire likely was in- military career training pilots. In fighter pilot.”
volved, according to a Ukrainian wartime, Ukraine can turn a novice Moonfish leaves a widow, Yuliia
lawmaker and other sources, who into a fighter pilot in three to four Mes, and a 3-year-old daughter,
spoke on the condition of anonym- years. whose name Yuliia asked me to
ity. When the F-16s arrived in Training is tailored for each pi- withhold for privacy reasons. Olek-
Ukraine, the Biden administration lot. Switching from a Soviet siy and Yuliia were high-school
withheld a key technology that MiG-29 to an F-16 requires more sweethearts who met at a science
helps ground-based air defense man of the parliamentary defense weapons, capabilities and permis- specialization. And for air commu- fair. They dated long-distance as
distinguish between friend and foe. committee, says she received her in- sions. That made powerful weap- nication, pilots require fluent Eng- she went to college in Kyiv and he
“You have to prep yourself for a formation “from tactical-level mili- ons less powerful, forced Ukraini- lish—and a knowledge of jargon. trained as a pilot in Kharkiv. No
specific mission, to know where the tary, from an air force source, but ans to use scarce Western Example: An “emergency” is when phones were allowed for cadets
threats are, to know how you act not a general.” Ms. Bezuhla’s tweet weapons less efficiently, cost fuel is low, and “May Day” is when during the week, but every day
and your comrades, your group, will also noted that Lt. Gen. Mykola Ole- Ukrainian lives, and squandered the tank is empty. “It’s really tech- she’d text him romantic poetry so
work at a specific scenario,” Moon- schuk—the most senior official in opportunities to drive the Rus- nical, and there’s no room for am- it would be waiting come the
fish told me in October 2023 as he charge of air defense—remained in sians back on the battlefield. biguity,” Mr. Melnyk says. “If you weekend.

A
described fighting Russia in the air. office. Not for long—the following “We have purposely been slow misunderstand one thing, it may
“The more situational awareness day, President Volodymyr Zelensky at training F-16 pilots” for Ukraine, cost you a life.” quintessential stickler, he
you have, the better.” dismissed Gen. Oleschuk as com- says retired U.S. Air Force Gen. When Russia invaded in 2022, broke the rules for her. Once
For situational awareness, the mander of the Ukrainian Air Force Philip Breedlove, a former supreme Moonfish had the right stuff. He during a field study, he “ran

.
U.S. and its European allies use a without explanation. allied commander for Europe. “We had studied at the prestigious Na- away to Kyiv for a day” to see her.
tactical network called Link 16, Before his dismissal, Gen. Ole- didn’t want to do it quickly be- tional University of the Air Force Juice, the only one privy to the ro-

ly
which provides a real-time view of schuk accused Ms. Bezuhla of being cause that might actually affect the in Kharkiv. The most studious mantic escapade, was the best man
all network members—airplanes, “the main newsmaker of hostile war. We in the West are morally member of his cohort, Moonfish at their October 2016 wedding.
propaganda” and said information and intellectually incapable of con- “was always showing better re- “The distance part is always very

An August F-16 crash

killed Oleksiy ‘Moonfish’
on
about incidents like the crash “can-
not be released instantly into the
public space and cannot be detailed
for the media” given the “WAR IN
ceiving a defeated Russia and a de-
feated Putin. We could be training
more, and we could be training
faster.” Yulia Marushevska, a
sults than anyone else,” says his
classmate Ivan Smerechanskyi. In
a 2016 ceremony attended by
then-President Petro Poroshenko,
hard,” Yuliia says, and that contin-
ued when he returned to Ukraine
from the U.S. and joined the fight
against the Russians and their sep-
Mes. America withheld a THE COUNTRY!” Ukrainian Defense Ministry official, Moonfish was honored as the best aratist proxies, which began in
us ,

critical tactical system Ms. Bezuhla’s critics fear the Rus- says: “We are continuing to ask the graduate. 2014.
l

sians could use such information to U.S.—to beg the U.S.—to give us The next year he traveled to the Yuliia longed for a “normal fam-
e
al a

that might have averted it. hone their attacks on Ukraine and more spots for training pilots.” U.S., where he studied at the De- ily life,” and their daughter was
its pilots. Ukraine hasn’t said where Ukraine lacks enough air de- fense Language Institute and flew born in September 2021. Less than
the crash occurred, and it keeps the fenses to protect its whole terri- T-6 planes at Mississippi’s Colum- six months later, Russia launched
ci on

ground units, ground-based air de- whereabouts of air defenses, fighter tory. The first F-16s arrived last bus Air Force Base. He trained with its full-scale invasion. Between
fenses and command, among oth- jets and their personnel secret be- summer, and Ukraine has used the California Air Guard in Fresno combat missions, Oleksiy sang his
ers. This visibility makes opera- cause they are priority targets for them “primarily to shoot down in 2019. Flying an F-15D, he im- little girl lullabies over the phone
tions safer for allies and deadlier the Russians. Russian missiles and UAVs”—un- pressed the American pilot in and played hide-and-seek after she
for the enemy. Link 16 also eases The first Patriot missile systems manned aerial vehicles, or charge with his superb hand-eye started walking. When he left to
er s

the risk to pilots flying at the same arrived in Ukraine in April 2023. drones—the U.S. State Department coordination, says retired U.S. Air train on the F-16s in Denmark, he
time as a barrage of enemy mis- At the time, Ms. Kaleniuk says, Office of Inspector General said. Force Col. Rob Swertfager, who brought “my girls” along at his
m er

siles and drones by ensuring their Link 16 was “taken away from Pa- They’re performing this mission calls Moonfish “the quiet profes- own expense, renting a little home
ground-based counterparts know triots that were sent to Ukraine be- well. sional that is the most lethal killer near the airfield. “Those three

O
where their jets are. cause nobody [had] planned or in the room.” months were the longest period he
The International Center for foreseen in the near future for n the morning Moonfish Another Ukrainian pilot had a was uninterruptedly with us,” she
Ukrainian Victory led an advocacy Ukraine to receive F-16s.” When died, Russia fired 127 mis- comparable résumé: Moonfish’s says.
m rp

campaign for the F-16, working the West approved the fighters siles and 109 drones at best friend, Andrii Pilshchykov, Oleksiy spent his last night at
alongside Ukrainian diplomats and months later, “that was not fixed.” Ukraine. Amid that intense attack, whose call sign was “Juice.” They home. “Our daughter ran to meet
the military and meeting with U.S. Sources say that efforts are under Moonfish’s three aerial kills were were opposites in personality: him by the elevator,” Yuliia says. It
and European officials. But Ms. Ka- way to address this deficiency but impressive. The U.S. Air Force rec- Moonfish once told me Juice had a was late, but he wanted to go on a
leniuk says that at the time of the declined to offer specifics. ognized American pilots with some “rebel-ness of personality,” a ten- walk in the park with his daughter
co Fo

fighter jets’ arrival, neither they In response to a query, the U.S. of the top awards for valor for sim- dency to speak up against bureau- and wife. Later he got the girl
nor the country’s Patriot air-de- State Department referred me to ilar feats in April, when they coun- cratic stupidity. Moonfish worked ready for bed. “He bathed her,
fense systems were equipped to the Pentagon, which said in an tered a large-scale drone and mis- patiently within the system to im- brushed her hair.”
use Link 16. Former Defense Minis- email: “As a matter of policy, we sile attack against Israel from Iran prove it. Early the next morning, “his
ter Andriy Zagorodnyuk confirms do not comment on the specific and Houthi-controlled portions of The duo traveled to Washington phone rang, and—well, we already
that, as do others speaking on con- configurations of U.S.-provided ca- Yemen. and lobbied U.S. officials to provide understood. There were air-raid si-
dition of anonymity. pabilities to partners. We would Moonfish “probably felt accom- Ukraine with F-16s. In July 2022 rens going off around the country.”
“According to my information, refer you to the Government of plished that day in the sky,” Ms. six senators they had met urged Yuliia watched him drive away. At
the F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy Ukraine for any comment on the Marushevska says. “He must have the Biden administration to pro- 7:04 a.m., he texted that she
‘Moonfish’ Mes was shot down by cause of the tragic F-16 crash.” been happy with his work. And vide “fourth-generation fighter air- should take shelter—a drone was
a Patriot antiaircraft missile sys- Link 16 is such a vital and sen- knowing that he was such a perfec- craft and necessary flight train- flying toward the city. “After that, I
tem due to a lack of coordination sitive tool that the U.S. might tionist, that’s very important.” ing.” The U.S. finally gave continued to write him, but I did
between units,” Ukrainian law- have been reluctant to provide When someone like Moonfish is permission for third countries to not receive an answer,” she says.
n-

maker Mariana Bezuhla tweeted on it—in keeping with the abundance killed in action, it’s a major loss for provide F-16s to Ukraine in August “Now, I come to his grave every
Aug. 29, three days after Moonfish of caution that characterized the the Ukrainian military. “It’s easier 2023, with Moonfish chosen for day and I can’t comprehend it,” she
died. A source with firsthand Biden administration’s Ukraine to replace a plane than a pilot,” the first cohort of pilots to train in says. “I only understand one thing:
knowledge of the investigation policy. Russia deterred the U.S. says Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the the West. Juice was supposed to be A part of me is lying there with
no

says physical evidence at the crash from bold support for Ukraine by minister of strategic industries. In in the second—but on Aug. 25, him.”
site suggested Moonfish was shot making it fear Moscow’s response peacetime, a fighter pilot’s educa- 2023, he was killed in a training
down by a missile. to perceived escalation. As a re- tion is the equivalent of a master’s exercise. Col. Swertfager suggests Ms. Melchior is a member of the
Ms. Bezuhla, then deputy chair- sult, the U.S. was slow to provide degree, says Oleksiy Melnyk, a re- that “losing Juice drove Moonfish Journal’s editorial board.

Trump’s Colorblind Message Energizes Black Americans

Chicago that bureaucrats would uplift us Douglass, who said after slavery, “I riage so that every child knows sta- man mind is the wondrous creation
In his Second Inau- through social programs, housing, have had but one answer from the bility from the beginning. They must of God and knows no limits. Oppor-
gural Address, Presi- food vouchers, busing, racial prefer- beginning. Do nothing with us! Your read to their children every night. tunities abound. To achieve prosper-
dent Trump prom- ences and one education plan after doing with us has already played the The worst thing black families can ity we must demand that govern-
ised that his another. mischief with us.” do is surrender their children to ment free us of the red tape and
administration It would be easy to blame the fed- There are those who would call schools that wave failing students regulations that stifle entrepreneur-
would “forge a soci- eral government for failure to realize this an outrage and accuse Mr. through. The elementary school in my ship and prevent growth and trans-
CROSS
COUNTRY ety that is colorblind success. The reality is that we didn’t Trump of racism. Let them. They South Side Chicago neighborhood pro- formation.
and merit-based.” believe in ourselves. We didn’t have want to trap people in poverty. They duces graduates who are illiterate and Mr. Trump once asked black Amer-
By Corey B.
Those words were faith in our own abilities. We deluded prefer a permanent underclass. That innumerate. These children have no fu- icans to support him. “What have you
Brooks
bittersweet. On the ourselves into thinking that entitle- is why I am asking the president to ture. Their parents should be outraged. got to lose?” he said. The answer was
one hand, I live by ments were a form of reparations. challenge my people to make some- The mayors who allowed it should be nothing. We already lost it all. Now
them everyday as I minister to my What a price we have paid for our thing of themselves—sink or swim. ashamed. Parents must have school that he’s president again, we have ev-
community. On the other hand, I can delusions. Black Americans have When you give someone that choice to ensure their children aren’t erything to gain. Together with all
only wonder where our community never recovered from losing the cul- choice, it creates a new energy. locked into systems of failure. Americans, we will be part of the new
would be today if we had followed ture of opportunity, self-reliance and There is nothing purer. Looking My neighborhood is famous for golden age.
those words since the 1960s. meritocracy that prevailed before within and pulling that strength out producing business owners and
the ’60s. Today, single-parent house- makes you a somebody, instead of a sports stars. I know there’s more tal- Rev. Brooks is founder and senior
holds are the norm. Illiteracy in nobody. It will lead to a new culture ent to be found. Stable families and pastor of New Beginnings Church of
Self-reliance, stable reading and math is sky-high. Street of thriving, not merely surviving. education will lift our people to un- Chicago and the CEO of Project
violence remains an ever-present The naysayers warn that some told heights. We can achieve this H.O.O.D. Communities Development
families and education threat. Faith in God has declined. But black people will sink. That is true. within a single generation—the hu- Corp.
will lift neighborhoods belief in government as our savior But people of other races sink as
remains, shamefully so. well. We have to learn that we are in-
like mine to untold heights.
Notable & Quotable: Scotten
My neighborhood today doesn’t dividuals and stop thinking that we
look the same as it did in the 1940s must limit our personal potential out
and ’50s. McDonald’s left years ago. of racial loyalty.
During the dark period of segrega- So did Walgreens. What remains is The people in my community From Hagen Scotten’s Feb. 14 let- missal-with-leverage as a good, if dis-
tion, African-Americans made the a massive housing project, some li- won’t be alone. I have been here for ter resigning as an assistant U.S. at- tasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S.
most of our limited freedoms. When quor stores and murals to dead rap- more than 25 years. I have seen gen- torney. A related editorial is nearby: attorney would know that our laws
Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil- pers. That’s why Mr. Trump’s words erations born into a world where it and traditions do not allow using the
rights movement, we believed we were so bittersweet. My heart aches is normal to think that government No system of ordered liberty can prosecutorial power to influence
were on the verge of entering the to see how a once God-fearing and is your parent—an omniscient force allow the Government to use the car- other citizens, much less elected offi-
promised land—our own “golden hard-working people betrayed itself to organize your life around. For rot of dismissing charges, or the stick cials, in this way. If no lawyer within
age,” to borrow Mr. Trump’s term. into poverty and, worse, into mental years, I have stressed to people in of threatening to bring them again, to earshot of the President is willing to
We thought we would finally live in enslavement to the government. my neighborhood that they must induce an elected official to support give him that advice, then I expect
freedom and by our own merit. In- I want only one thing from Mr. take responsibility for their lives. To its policy objectives. . . . I can . . . un- you will eventually find someone who
stead, far too many of us were se- Trump—to come to my neighborhood take the path of upward mobility, derstand how a Chief Executive whose is enough of a fool, or enough of a
duced by post-’60s liberalism. We and tell the people: “You are on your they must marry and stay married. background is in business and politics coward, to file your motion. But it
were told by the federal government own.” He’d be echoing Frederick They must have children after mar- might see the contemplated dis- was never going to be me.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A12 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * ******** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Trial of Danielle Sassoon Readers Reflect on Noonan’s Advice for DOGE

T
he resignations of prosecutors at the ment, has the right to order a prosecution dis- Peggy Noonan rightly laments the Ms. Noonan worries about any cat-
U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern missed. If he thinks cooperation on immigration inability of Democrats to say why or astrophic effects from DOGE. Fine.
how their party committed itself to But we already face a catastrophe:
District of New York this week are play- matters more than fighting political corruption,
such unpopular positions (“Govern- $36 trillion in debt and more than a
ing in the press as typical “re- he can make that call, however ment Keeps Going Too Far,” Declara- trillion in yearly deficit spending.
sistance” to Donald Trump. The young prosecutor unwise. tions, Feb. 8). But that inability gives The objective of our Constitution is
They’re far from that, and the But Mr. Bove didn’t leave it away the game: People who have spe- to “secure the blessings of liberty to
real story speaks well of the
behaved well in there. He responded with a cialized in going too far for decades ourselves and our posterity.”
prosecutors but sends a rotten resigning, not so the blistering letter to Ms. Sas- now don’t seem to recognize that Every dollar of spending proposed
message to any lawyer who soon that threatened her ca- they’ve reached a limit. Their tan- at all levels of government should be
might want to join the Trump
Justice Department. reer and those of assistant trums suggest a plan to demonize accompanied with the question “Is
Administration. U.S. Attorneys who worked on their critics and keep on getting this debt worth the burden we im-
The story begins with the the Adams case. “The [assis- away with it. pose on our children?” I hope Mr.
memo this week by acting deputy attorney gen- tant U.S. Attorneys] principally responsible for To wish for reformers to be rea- Musk can save the baby before
sonable in confronting increasingly throwing out the bath water.
eral Emil Bove instructing the Southern District this case are being placed on off-duty, adminis-
obvious malfeasance is to ask that KURT ERICKSON
to drop criminal charges without prejudice trative leave pending investigations by the Of- nothing serious be done about it. Chicago
against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The memo fice of the Attorney General and the Office of Why? Because those who regard
cited two grounds for dismissal: The prosecu- Professional Responsibility, both of which will themselves as the permanent govern- Here’s a thought experiment: Take
tion was an example of lawfare because Mr. Ad- also evaluate your conduct,” Mr. Bove wrote. ment are masters at exploiting the what Ms. Noonan writes about iden-
ams had criticized President Biden’s immigra- An investigation because she resigned on reasonableness of others. tity, replace the word “gender” with
tion policies, and Mr. Trump needs Mr. Adams principle? Really? DAVID HOOPMAN “race” and you’ll be transported back
to help on immigration enforcement. One of the assistant attorneys who worked Monona, Wis. nearly 75 years. Did President Harry
i i i the Adams case, Hagan Scotten, responded with Truman “go too far and ask too
The Trump transition had recently made his own resignation letter to Mr. Bove: “No sys- While I admire Ms. Noonan’s even- much” when he integrated the armed
handedness, there is a fundamental forces? “This is a dangerous usurpa-
Danielle Sassoon the acting U.S. Attorney until tem of ordered liberty can allow the Govern-
difference between the excesses on tion of power by Washington,” some
Mr. Trump’s nominee is confirmed. But Ms. Sas- ment to use the carrot of dismissing charges, the left and right. Joe Biden ran as a said at the time. “The states alone
soon had watched the prosecution of Mr. Adams or the stick of threatening to bring them again, moderate, then governed as a pro- should decide their racial policies.”
and didn’t agree with the Bove memo. We know to induce an elected official to support its policy gressive. Donald Trump promised a Should black players be allowed on
from sources close to her that she agonized objectives.” swift unwinding of almost everything all-white baseball teams? “If you let
over how to respond. She decided to send a Mr. Scotten is a Special Forces veteran and Mr. Biden did, which is exactly what them into baseball, what’s next? Will
memo to newly confirmed Attorney General winner of two bronze stars who clerked for then is happening. In software parlance: they take over our schools, our
Pam Bondi explaining her views, and seeking a Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit Court “Going too far” was a recurring bug neighborhoods? This is just the be-
meeting to discuss the matter. of Appeals and Chief Justice John Roberts on in Mr. Biden’s program but appears ginning.” Then and now, those who
Ms. Sassoon is a member of the Federalist the Supreme Court. to be a feature of Mr. Trump’s. take a stand against equal rights will
Society and clerked for two conservative pillars i i i JOHN NINOMIYA eventually find themselves on the
Sedona, Ariz. wrong side of history.
of the judiciary, Justice Antonin Scalia and None of this reflects well on the Bondi Jus-
HUGH BETHELL
Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the Fourth Circuit tice Department. Rather than accept a meeting I don’t think it’s fair to say Mr. Baltimore
Court of Appeals. She led the prosecution of with the leader of the most important U.S. At-

.
Musk thinks “life can be rationally
crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and is a torney’s office, the new AG passed the buck to shaped” or that he wants to engineer It seems as if Ms. Noonan is de-

ly
rising star in conservative legal circles. her acting deputy. That deputy then showed desired outcomes. It seems he simply scribing Thomas Jefferson’s letter to
Her memo to Ms. Bondi explained in detail awful political judgment in a scorched-earth wants to return decisions to the peo- James Madison in 1787: “I hold it
that the prosecution wasn’t a case of weap- letter that turned an internal debate into a dam- ple, who in their collective wisdom that a little rebellion now and then is
onized politics and why it is improper to dis- aging spectacle.
miss a case based on a quid pro quo for policy
on
The Trump Administration is acting on its be-
cooperation by Mr. Adams. “Because the law lief in the unitary executive that enforces disci-
will achieve rational results. It is the a good thing, and as necessary in the
social planning of the bureaucracy
that is worthier of vivisection.
CHRISTOPHER BOKAS
political world as storms in the phys-
ical.”
MARK MCDONALD
does not support a dismissal, and because I am pline across the executive branch, and we sympa-
Springfield, Pa. Los Angeles
us ,

confident that Adams has committed the crimes thize with that goal. But one argument against
l

with which he is charged,” Ms. Sassoon wrote, the unitary executive is that there is no check on
e
“I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by corruption. The Adams case, with its tolerance
al a

improper considerations.” of alleged corruption, isn’t a good look to per-

If the meeting with the AG didn’t take place, suade judges ruling on its executive actions.
Mark Janus Would Like a Word on Precedent
ci on

Ms. Sassoon said she’d resign. This is how a Worse is the lesson for Administration law- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia 41 years later. If that was too soon,
public official is supposed to behave when dis- yers. The message is that rather than exercise Sotomayor recently said she wishes then I must ask: Should the court
agreeing on policy or ethical principle. If you individual legal judgment, they’d simply better her court “went a little more slowly have waited longer than 58 years to
can’t in good conscience follow instructions, salute without cavil—or else the Administration in undoing precedent” (“Sonia Soto- overturn Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
you should offer to resign so your bosses can will ruin their reputations. mayor’s Elegy for Precedent,” Review with Brown v. Board of Education
er s

& Outlook, Feb. 10). That’s interesting (1954)? How slowly does she want
do what they want. Mr. Trump was saved many times in his first
to me because my Supreme Court the court to act in overturning an un-
That’s where this should have ended. We term by lawyers willing to tell him when he was
m er

case, Janus v. Afscme, decided in just precedent?

should add that we believe Mr. Trump, as the wrong. Let’s hope the trial of Danielle Sassoon 2018, overturned Abood v. Detroit MARK JANUS
President who supervises the Justice Depart- isn’t the model for the next four years. Board of Education, decided in 1977, Punta Gorda, Fla.

On This One, Tesla Is a DOGE Loser

m rp

Hindsight Is 20/20 on Dr. Ridley’s Invention

D
emocrats accuse Elon Musk of using ing plans “align with current U.S. DOT policy I was deeply gratified to read An- tution or ophthalmology professor,
the Department of Government Effi- and priorities.” As well it should. Some feder- drew Lam’s tribute to Dr. Harold Rid- the more intense and often personal
ciency to benefit his businesses. But in ally funded stations have reportedly broken ley, “The Doctor and the Pilot Who the resistance seemed to be.
co Fo

Saved the Eyesight of Millions,” op- When I finally met Ridley after his
one prominent example so far, Tesla is the big- down.
ed, Feb. 8). Ridley chose not to seek a retirement, he confided how discour-
gest loser: President Trump’s freeze on electric- States warned in their grant applications patent or personal profit from the in- aged he had been over the years. As a
vehicle charging grants and rollback in CO2 that Biden mandates, including one that sta- traocular lens, viewing it as a gift to country eye doctor, he had inadver-
emissions standards. tions be located every 50 miles along interstate humanity. However, as a young eye tently antagonized the dominant fig-
The 2021 infrastructure bill allocates $5 bil- highways, could lead to “stranded assets.” A surgeon in the late 1970s, I can attest ures in our field. That he was never
lion for states to install EV chargers with the goal dearth of customers in rural areas could make that the eventual success and wide- considered for the Nobel Prize, lack-
of building a nationwide network of 500,000 sta- stations unprofitable and require states to spread adoption of IOLs wasn’t sim- ing a university’s backing to advocate
tions by 2030. The Biden Administration was spend taxpayer dollars maintaining them. Such ply because of growing comfort with his candidacy, is one of medicine’s
slow to disburse the money because it layered on risks are amplified by stalling EV sales. the technology. great injustices.
mandates. Only $511 million has been awarded, Mr. Trump has also directed a rollback of the If anything, Dr. Lam’s account of J. TREVOR WOODHAMS, M.D.
and a mere 58 stations are in operation. Biden auto emissions standards and waiver for the fierce opposition from the oph- Naples, Fla.
thalmology establishment understates
Tesla boasts the nation’s largest fast-charg- California’s EV mandate. Most auto makers can’t
n-

the challenges early adopters faced.

ing network, so it’s no surprise it has received meet either and would likely have to buy regula- No medical journal would accept sub- A Lot of Ruin in 43 Pounds
a large share of money doled out so far—about tory credits from Tesla to comply. Tesla made missions on IOLs, forcing us to create
$31 million. Only Francis Energy and Love’s $2.8 billion from credit sales in 2024. If EV man- In “Pray for Surrender in Trump’s
our own. A new professional organi-
Travel Stops, whose stations are concentrated dates disappear, so do Tesla’s credit sales, which Dumb Trade War” (Free Expression,
no

zation had to be established to facili-

Feb. 4), Gerard Baker assumes Presi-
in the Midwest, have received more. comprise a quarter of its profit. tate meetings and exchange knowl-
dent Trump’s voice and addresses
It’s likely that Tesla would get an outsize, if Mr. Musk’s business conflicts need to be po- edge. On graduating from my
Canada. “You may not be responsible
not the biggest, share of unspent federal money. liced, but there’s scant evidence so far that he’s residency, I had to seek an IOL fel-
for burying us in fentanyl (a total of
Alas for Mr. Musk, the Transportation Depart- trying to make government smaller and more lowship in private practice because
43 pounds seized at the border last
ment paused the program to ensure state charg- efficient out of self-interest. that was where the experts were. The
year, according to U.S. Border Pa-
more prestigious the academic insti-
trol),” he writes, “but you’ve sent us

Republicans Reconcile on Taxes

a lot of noxious material over the
decades.”
When the Eagles Soared True, the U.S. isn’t awash in Cana-

M
iracle of miracles, Republicans on the House Republicans passed the first test on In Pre-Super Bowl Days dian fentanyl, but we shouldn’t play
House Budget Committee advanced a Thursday by advancing a blueprint that directs down efforts to eliminate it. With le-
The Super Bowl doubtless com-
thal doses as low as two milligrams,
budget resolution on Thursday that committees to find $2 trillion in savings over 10 mands all the hype these days, as Ed-
43 pounds has the potential to kill
sets in motion the process to extend their 2017 years to offset $4.5 trillion in tax cuts or new ward Kosner notes in his review of
more than nine million Americans. As
tax reform. spending. Dennis Deninger’s book “The Football
a medical examiner and forensic pa-
House Republicans are facing pressure to Sorry to get into the technical weeds, but the Game That Changed America” (Book-
thologist, I see the carnage of the
pass a budget blueprint as the Senate presses $4.5 trillion refers to the deficit impact based on shelf, Feb. 7). But before that season-
opioid epidemic every day. In my
end contest, there were classic Na-
ahead with its own. As a refresher in arcane what’s known in budget parlance as the “current- view, any measure that helps stem
tional Football League championships
Congressional Procedure 101, each chamber law” baseline. This assumes that most individual such as the 1960 slugfest between the
the flow of narcotics is worthwhile.
must pass a resolution with spending and and some corporate provisions in the 2017 tax THOMAS SPORN, M.D.
Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay
revenue targets to kick off budget reconcilia- reforms expire next year. The Congressional New Bern, N.C.
Packers, played at the venerable
tion. That’s the process that lets Republicans Budget Office projects that extending them will Franklin Field.
bypass a Senate filibuster. cost $4 trillion over 10 years. I recall that a melting snow mud-
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has The blueprint requires that the $4.5 trillion died the field and iced the bleachers Pepper ...
pushed a two-bill strategy for the sake of politi- in deficit headroom be reduced dollar-for-dollar where we sat for $8. As the seconds
cal expedience. The first bill aims to combine if spending savings fall short of the $2 trillion on the play clock ticked down, the
And Salt
increased spending on defense and border secu- target. So if committees propose only $1.5 tril- “Last 60 Minute Man,” Chuck Bed- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

rity with energy provisions that open more fed- lion in spending offsets, Republicans will have narik, tackled and sat on fullback Jim
Taylor on the nine-yard line, giving
eral land for oil and gas leasing. Passing such only $4 trillion for tax cutting. This could help
the Eagles its last championship for
a bill should be easy and give President Trump Republicans muster more political courage to the next 58 years. Meanwhile, the
a quick victory. shrink bloated programs like Medicaid and food Packers under the legendary Vince
Extending the 2017 tax reform, on the other stamps so they can spend more on defense and Lombardi went on to win several
hand, will be a bigger lift given Republican dis- the border. more championships, including the
agreements over lifting the cap on the state- We think a straight-up extension of the 2017 first two Super Bowls. I still have a
and-local tax deduction (SALT), spending cuts, tax reform doesn’t need to be paid for, not least small piece of the wooden goal posts
and whether to include new tax cuts Mr. Trump because Democrats didn’t offset most of their that we tore down in the long shad-
proposed in his campaign. blowout spending during Joe Biden’s first two ows of an unforgettable winter day.
But Speaker Mike Johnson prefers to pass years. Under a “current policy” baseline, letting JON FOX
Linwood, N.J.
“one big, beautiful bill,” as Mr. Trump calls it. the tax reforms lapse would result in a $4 tril-
The strategy is to use border money as leverage lion tax increase in 2026 that would hit almost
Letters intended for publication should
to get holdouts—for instance, Republicans from every American. be emailed to [email protected]. Please
New York, New Jersey and California who want The GOP’s top priority should be to avoid include your city, state and telephone
a bigger SALT deduction—to vote for a bill that this massive tax hike by whatever strategy can number. All letters are subject to “At that amount it’s just a donation.
extends the tax reform even if they don’t get ev- get enough votes in both chambers to pass. editing, and unpublished letters cannot Add a few zeros and
be acknowledged.
erything they want. Godspeed to Messrs. Johnson and Thune. we can call it philanthropy.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | A13

OPINION

Trump, Jackson and the Politics of Crisis

Musk in his jeans and his jacket son’s supporters came to see his
bragging about feeding federal survival as the work of Providence.
agencies into the wood chipper— The other crisis revolved around
that is Jacksonian. the Supreme Court case Worcester
DECLARATIONS Having been cheated out of the v. Georgia (1832). Samuel Worces-
By Peggy Noonan 1824 election—he really was, in ter, a white Christian missionary

W
grim bargaining between Secretary living in Cherokee territory, op-
e aren’t in a constitu- of State John Quincy Adams and posed Georgia’s imposition of its
tional crisis. If the House Speaker Henry Clay—Jackson laws removing Cherokee control
administration takes defeated Adams four years later af- from their lands. He brought suit on
an action, a court ter an embittering campaign their behalf. The justices found
holds it unconstitu- marked by “slander, slight and innu- Georgia’s efforts unconstitutional
tional, and President Trump defies endo.” That is H.W. Brands in his ex- because the Cherokee nation was a

KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS
the court, then we will enter a con- cellent “Andrew Jackson: His Life sovereign entity.
stitutional crisis. and Times.” Jackson saw the theft Jackson refused to enforce the
The president said this week he of the 1824 election as “emblematic decision. He literally ignored it, see-
will obey all court orders as he did of a deeper corruption that under- ing it as undemocratic. He is often
throughout his first administra- mined American liberty and pre- misquoted as saying, of the court’s
tion, and appeal if necessary. But vented the ordinary people of Amer- chief justice, “John Marshall has
he said that Tuesday, and next ica from controlling their President Trump and the portrait of President Jackson. made his decision; now let him en-
week it may be different. As Mark government.” force it.” It was New-York Tribune
Halperin has observed, no Trump What a showman he was. He Mr. Brands sums up his thinking: “A them to state banks. His first Trea- editor Horace Greeley who used
decision is ever really made be- rode a white stallion down Pennsyl- little fear would have a sobering ef- sury secretary refused to make the those words to capture Jackson’s at-
cause every Trump decision may vania Avenue after he was sworn in. fect on the tipsy, a vivifying effect transfer and Jackson fired him, hir- titude. What Jackson said is that
soon be reversed, by Mr. Trump. A longtime Washingtonian quoted on the lazy, a straightening effect ing a more compliant replacement the decision “fell stillborn.” The
by Mr. Brands was shocked. “Such a on the wayward.” Replaced workers while the Senate was in recess. Clay, court “cannot coerce Georgia to
cortege as followed him! Country saw their slots filled by Jackson en- by then a senator, said Jackson had yield to its mandate.”
The 47th president says men, farmers, gentlemen, mounted thusiasts. “To the victor belongs the no constitutional authority to do Jackson allowed Georgia to annex
and dismounted, boys, women and spoils,” Jackson is often quoted, but what he was doing. The Senate cen- Cherokee lands and pursue the
he’ll comply with court children, black and white.” No one it was a friendly observer, Sen. Wil- sured the president. Cherokee, contributing to the forced
decisions. The seventh called them “deplorables,” but liam Marcy (D., N.Y.), who said it. The transfer of funds went relocation of the American tribes to
that’s how official Washington In Jackson’s terms there were through and was followed by finan- the west of the Mississippi—the cat-
didn’t always do so. viewed them. The White House re- two major clashes between the ex- cial panic. Jackson claimed there astrophic Trail of Tears in which
ception was famously overwhelmed ecutive branch and the judiciary. was no real distress beyond that felt thousands perished from disease
by “the rabble mob,” in the long- The first was what came to be by speculators and fraudsters. It and exposure.
But if you go by two things—the timer’s words. China and glass were called the Bank War. The charter of was bitter. The president of the But a precedent, of sorts, had
temperament of this White House broken, fights broke out. “Those the Bank of the U.S. was expiring in bank said just because Jackson had been established: The Supreme
and the ability of its adversaries to who got in could not get out by the 1836. Jackson didn’t like the bank. I “scalped Indians and imprisoned Court had limited power in enforc-
launch innumerable cases within all door again, but had to scramble out think as a once-impoverished fron- judges” didn’t mean he’d succeed ing its decisions without the execu-
levels of the judicial system—odds of windows.” tiersman he just didn’t like banks, here. Jackson said the Bank was try- tive branch’s support.
are good a crisis will come. The nation had been a constitu- but his arguments came down to a ing to kill him, “but I will kill it!” It was the anti-Jacksonian Sen.
What then? A hellacious struggle. tional republic only 40 years. Jack- populist trope: The bank favored a Federal money flowed into the Daniel Webster of Massachusetts

.
I’ve been going back to Andrew son saw much that had settled in moneyed elite over common people. states, liquidity eased, and the bank who grasped the underlying dy-
Jackson’s presidency (1829-37), and needed undoing. His trained his In December 1829 he informed Con- was blamed for the panic. Jackson namic of the age. Though the Con-

ly
which can be seen as a nonstop con- fire on the federal workforce, mov- gress, with a faint air of menace, left the White House in triumph. stitution specified a separation of
stitutional crisis. Trump supporters ing against permanent tenure. “No that not only did he oppose the But his successor, Martin Van Bu- powers, day-to-day democracy could
used to trace parallels between Mr. one man has any more intrinsic bank, so did “a large portion of our ren, buffeted by continual economic override it. “Were it not for the fear
Trump and the seventh president,
whose portrait the 45th president
displayed in the Oval Office and the
47th brought back. Now they natter
on
right to official station than an-
other.” He favored “rotation”—em-
ployees should work a few years
and make way for new ones. Mr.
fellow citizens.”
Congress voted in 1832 to rechar-
ter the bank. Jackson vetoed the
bill. As a struggle ground on, he was
aftershocks, was thrown out after
one term.
Mr. Brands: “Politics in the age of
Jackson wasn’t for the faint of heart
of the outdoor popularity of General
Jackson,” he wrote, “the Senate
would have negatived more than
half his nominations.” Congress
on about William McKinley. But Brands put the best estimate at “be- re-elected in a landslide. and especially not for the weak of feared or was tempered by Jack-
us ,

their spirit isn’t of the placid tween one-tenth and one-fifth of The Supreme Court had held in mind.” In 1835 a man aimed a pistol son’s support.
l

McKinley, it is Jacksonian. They are federal office holders replaced dur- 1819 that the bank was constitu- at Jackson’s heart from 10 feet. The That is where Trumpism puts its
e
al a

denying their own spirit, burying it ing Jackson’s tenure other than by tional, and its charter hadn’t ex- gun misfired. So did a second pistol. bet, on his popularity “outside.”
in a well-dressed, even-toned pro- ordinary attrition.” Jackson didn’t pired. Jackson pulled all federal de- Afterward, when police tested the Though Jackson’s election victories
fessionalism. The outsider Elon mind that they feared being fired. posits from the bank and disbursed pistols they fired perfectly. Jack- were landslides.
ci on

Trump Somehow Lowers the Temperature in Washington

er s

By Barton Swaim honeymoon in 2017. And I find it That Democrats find themselves traitor, a conspiracy theorist, a What Democrats didn’t account

T
impossible to believe there would without rhetorical thunder, how- crazy person who should be re- for is Mr. Biden’s abysmal perfor-
m er

he prediction that Donald be one now if Ron DeSantis or ever, is their own fault. Mr. Trump’s moved from office via the 25th mance as president, the undeni-
Trump’s re-election would re- Nikki Haley had won the presidency. victory has robbed them of the ex- Amendment. ability of his dementia and his
duce the intensity of this The Democrats would have vilified pansive body of language they had There seemed to be no moral vice president’s inability to ap-
country’s political rhetoric was either as a smarter, more effective formulated since Nov. 8, 2016, and failing his Democratic adversaries pear minimally competent. They
made by approximately nobody. Yet version of the extremist xenophobe especially since Jan. 6, 2021. thought him innocent. The conclu- lost—to the man they’d spent
m rp

it is so. and authoritarian Mr. Trump. For nearly a decade they have sion of a Manhattan criminal trial, years calling the Worst Thing in
The invective of the typical host Why have the Democrats, having in which Mr. Trump was found the Universe.
and commentator on MSNBC, it’s gotten what they feared and hated guilty of 34 counts of “falsifying The one event that vast body of
true, is nearly as acidic as it was most, gone comparatively quiet? A Democrats still attack business records” in furtherance of opprobrium couldn’t survive was a
in 2017 and 2020. For a few col- plausible reading holds that Mr. unnamed crimes, allowed Demo- popular-vote victory by the Worst
him, but they’ve reverted
co Fo

umnists on the left, Mr. Trump is Trump has been so maniacally ac- crats to add “convicted felon” to Thing. After nearly a decade of
perpetrating a putsch, destroying tive in so many areas that his op- from catastrophizing to the list of pejoratives. disparaging him, about 2.2 million
the country and doing violence to ponents find themselves unable to By 2024 Democrats had con- more people preferred him to the
the innocent, the same as ever. But formulate a coherent response. He ordinary partisan rhetoric. structed a colossal infrastructure nominee they spent 3½ months
the language of ordinary Demo- has also chosen to begin his sec- of disapprobation. Every literate praising to the skies. That out-
cratic politicos has become—I ond term by addressing a set of person in America knew some- come was less an embrace of Mr.
wouldn’t say fair or responsible, topics that don’t lend themselves reveled in totalizing rhetoric about thing, or thought he did, of Donald Trump than a repudiation of his
but less manic. to easy left-right divides: tariffs Mr. Trump. He was a threat to de- Trump’s moral failings and corrupt enemies’ catastrophizing hooey.
Democrats’ attacks on Elon Musk and trade, cuts to foreign aid, cur- mocracy, a wannabe dictator, a de- intentions. After his defeat in The only proper response to such
and the Department of Government tailing of waste. Some of these stroyer of institutions and norms. 2020, Democrats had every reason a repudiation is to use milder
Efficiency may or may not pay off topics are novel: retaking the Pan- He and his followers were semi- to think that infrastructure would words, and fewer. May this blessed
in political terms, but the dispute ama Canal, buying Greenland, fascist, according to Mr. Biden. prevent Mr. Trump from winning circumstance last longer than a
over DOGE officials’ access to the statehood for Canada, evacuating Various Democratic politicians, lib- another election. Accordingly, they few weeks.
n-

Treasury Department’s payment da- Gaza. The savvy Democratic re- eral commentators and left-wing encouraged Republicans, some-
tabase strikes me as an entirely le- sponse to any one of these issues celebrities called Mr. Trump a rac- times overtly, to renominate him Mr. Swaim is an editorial page
gitimate subject for a heated argu- isn’t obvious. ist, a misogynist, a rapist, a liar, a in 2024. writer at the Journal.
ment. Some Democrats called the
no

matter a “constitutional crisis,” but

even that bit of overripe rhetoric
feels tame by comparison to what
we’d become accustomed to: claims
NATO Is Ukraine’s Future and Always Will Be
that Mr. Trump is a stooge of Vladimir Putin wanted to make real trouble, he’d priority until he was forced out of one democratic election away from
Vladimir Putin, that he reckons Na- might be out of be the one demanding membership the race on July 21. a government bent on riling up vot-
zis “very fine people,” that he touch but not so for Ukraine just to watch the mum- But the news is also potentially ers over stolen lands. NATO wants
thinks American soldiers killed in out of touch that blers and prevaricators (which in- better than it seems. NATO won’t be no part of this. It would be a con-
battle are “suckers” and “losers,” he would have paid cludes the U.S. and other big mem- Ukraine’s savior but the right kind of stant incitement to the Igor Girkins
that he and his followers want a re- a penny for the bers) get all wheezy. Were he half Ukraine deal can be NATO’s savior. on both sides, i.e., nationalist ad-
turn to Jim Crow, that the Supreme concession Pete as far-seeing as purported, this The right kind of peace deal venturers seeking to embroil the al-
BUSINESS
Court justices he appointed have Hegseth allegedly might be his scheme to confound would be a quasi-template for the al- liance in revanchist intrigues. It
WORLD
placed him above the law, and on offered him, sug- the alliance—at least it would be if liance’s own future. It would inter- would be an incitement to the
By Holman W.
and on. gesting that mem- he didn’t also need Ukraine non- nalize one big lesson of the war: Kremlin’s strategists, always on the
Jenkins, Jr.
We are back, more or less, to the bership in the membership as a “victory” to pres- Russia is a conventional military lookout for new ways to test the
accusations Democrats preferred North Atlantic ent to his own people. power that can be thwarted, de- West’s cohesion.
for decades—that Republicans want Treaty Organization was off the ta- So the harrumphing of a handful feated and deterred by conventional Mr. Hegseth vaguely walked back
to gut Social Security and Medi- ble for Ukraine. of countries about the U.S. giving means. his words a day later. But let’s face
care, and that the GOP president is Of 32 members of the alliance, away the store depends on a great it: His concession was less a conces-
doing the bidding of his wealthy which unanimously must admit any deal of disingenuousness plus the sion than an admission that saves
friends. This is comity and concord. new member, only nine have seri- big dogs keeping mum or mouthing An illusory concession the U.S. a pantomime of negotiating
The new state of affairs has sev- ously advocated for Ukraine. These slogans about Ukraine’s “irrevers- with Mr. Putin over an outcome no
eral precipitating causes, but it isn’t are mostly countries that unfortu- ible path” to membership (i.e., once to Vladimir Putin clears more agreeable to the U.S. and its
the simple outcome of a “honey- nately don’t make up with their it stops mattering). the way for the business major allies than to Russia.
moon,” the consequence of a Re- front-line status what they lack in The important focus should be Meanwhile, it supplies real le-
publican having won the presiden- manpower and gross domestic elsewhere. Donald Trump is Donald that really matters. verage to keep Mr. Putin outside
tial election. There was no product. In fact, if Mr. Putin Trump. If he saw Europe as the the talks that matter, which he
source of political and resource should have no role in: What the
commitment to Ukraine’s future se- It would internalize a second U.S. and Europe will do for Ukraine
curity that would let him reach one lesson. Banished would be the con- after a cease-fire is reached. Does
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY kind of deal, he would jump at it. If venient nuclear fatalism that Ger- Mr. Trump see it this way? Beats
Lachlan Murdoch Europe is not willing, then he will many especially has relied on over me. Some statements and signals
Executive Chairman, News Corp look for a different kind of success the decades to justify its passivity. suggest so. It should be a very sim-
Rupert Murdoch Robert Thomson
Chairman Emeritus, News Corp Chief Executive Officer, News Corp that will be less to Europe’s and Europe’s security no longer needs ple calculation for Mr. Putin: Get
Emma Tucker Almar Latour Ukraine’s liking. to depend on Washington’s willing- out now while the getting is good,
Editor in Chief Chief Executive Officer and Publisher This is the state of play now. ness to risk nuclear war over Esto- because Europe and the U.S. are
Liz Harris, Managing Editor DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: It’s true Mr. Trump might be see- nia. In the post-Cold War world, committed to raising the Ukrainian
Charles Forelle, Deputy Editor in Chief Mae M. Cheng, EVP, General Manager, ing different opportunities and in- nuclear threats turn out to be of military to a NATO standard even
Elena Cherney, Senior Editor; David Crow, Leadership; David Cho, Barron’s Editor in Chief; centives if the Biden administration little actual use to an aggressor at without it being a NATO member.
Jason P. Conti, General Counsel, Chief
Executive Editor; Chip Cummins, Newswires; had proceeded differently. These least against the first party-victim Mr. Putin has learned his military
Taneth Evans, Digital; Alex Martin, Print & Compliance Officer; Dianne DeSevo, Chief People
Officer; Jared DiPalma, Chief Financial Officer; possibilities are no longer in play of its aggression. If the Ukraine is no match for a properly equipped
Writing; Michael W. Miller, Features & Weekend;
Bruce Orwall, Enterprise; Philana Patterson, Artem Fishman, Chief Technology Officer; but don’t kid yourself: President Bi- war proves anything, the nuclear NATO force. His Ukraine misadven-
Audio; Amanda Wills, Video David Martin, Chief Revenue Officer, Business den wasn’t paralyzed by Russian taboo holds for a country like Rus- ture is rapidly degrading his ability
Intelligence; Dan Shar, EVP, General Manager,
Wealth & Investing; Ashok Sinha, Chief
nukes as if Mr. Putin is suicidal. Mr. sia because, to put it simply, Russia to compete in the long run. Mr. Pu-
Paul A. Gigot
Editor of the Editorial Page Communications Officer; Josh Stinchcomb, EVP & Biden wanted to keep the stakes low still needs customers for its oil if tin will continue to pretend his war
Gerard Baker, Editor at Large Chief Revenue Officer, WSJ | Barron’s Group; lest voters at home take fright at it’s to survive. isn’t a disastrous miscalculation for
EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS:
Sherry Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer his shambling state and promptly Ukraine will always be a many- which his country will be paying for
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 disqualify him for the second term faceted headache for the alliance. generations to come. The peanut
Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES that was Mr. Biden’s sole, exclusive No deal would stop it from being gallery should not be fooled.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A14 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on
er s
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no
 EXCHANGE
For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

Winging It Bittersweet
Boeing vows to The price of cocoa
close its ‘shadow isn’t coming down
factories’ B9 anytime soon B10

BUSINESS | FINANCE | TECHNOLOGY | MANAGEMENT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B1
DJIA 44546.08 g 165.35 0.37% NASDAQ 20026.77 À 0.4% STOXX 600 552.41 g 0.2% 10-YR. TREAS. À 13/32 , yield 4.475% OIL $70.74 g $0.55 GOLD $2,883.60 g $42.30 EURO $1.0493 YEN 152.30

Amazon’s
Messy
Return to
The Office
BY KATHERINE BINDLEY AND
PREETIKA RANA

Amazon.com told hundreds of

thousands of workers to be back at
their desks full-time or look for an-
other job. One hitch: In many of-
fices there weren’t enough desks to
go around.
The space crunch has led the e-
commerce giant to postpone the
mandate at dozens of offices
around the U.S., including in Hous-
ton, Atlanta and New York City.
Workers assigned to some loca-
tions are still waiting to hear when
they can actually go to the office
full-time.
Others who are back in five days
don’t have any teammates in the
same location. They find them-
selves jockeying for parking, a
place to sit, and private rooms to
make video calls.
Amazon has been a loud voice
calling for workers to get back to

.
the office. It sent shock waves
across the tech world in September

ly
on A space crunch has led
the giant to postpone
the mandate at dozens
us ,

of offices including in
l

Houston, Atlanta and

e
al a

New York City.

ci on
TAYLOR CALLERY

with its declaration that its

350,000 corporate employees
would need to return to the office
er s

five days a week starting in Janu-

ELON MUSK VS. SAM ALTMAN ary of this year. Those workers
m er

represent about a quarter of its to-

These Guys Really Hate Each Other

tal head count, which also includes
warehouse workers. Having every-
one in the office was critical be-
cause “collaborating, brainstorming
m rp

and inventing are simpler and

more effective,” Chief Executive
Andy Jassy told employees at the
BY KEACH HAGEY, BERBER JIN, history. The outcome could determine ev- time. Amazon hired a lot during
DANA MATTIOLI AND JOSH DAWSEY The fight between these erything from the future of a world-chang- the pandemic when work was re-
co Fo

ing technology to who will help set the na- mote, and if employees leave be-
On the first full day of the second
once-close friends just tion’s technology agenda with a new cause they don’t want to go to an
Trump presidency, Elon Musk was in the went nuclear. The stakes president. office, that’s fine with the com-
White House complex when he This article is based on conversations pany.
got word that his nemesis couldn’t be higher. with more than a dozen people familiar “If it’s not for you, then that’s
was about to hold a with Altman and Musk’s relationship over OK. You can go and find another
press conference the years, as well as OpenAI and Musk’s company if you want to,” Amazon
with the president. He business and political decisions. Web Services CEO Matt Garman
turned on the televi- In many ways, Sam Altman, 39, and said at a Wall Street Journal event
sion and watched in Palm Beach and phone calls with the Elon Musk, 53, couldn’t be more different. in October. “But for us, that’s what
as OpenAI’s chief White House, while keeping the plan se- While Musk was beaten up and verbally we’ve decided is the best way to
executive, Sam Alt- cret from the president’s “first buddy.” abused as a child, Altman was a teacher’s operate our company.”
man, and a beaming Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI pet whose parents routinely told him he Implementing this policy at a gi-
n-

Donald Trump touted a $500 in 2015, but their relationship soured could be whatever he wanted to be. Where ant employer with scores of loca-
billion investment in AI infra- when Musk left in 2018 following a Musk was often abrasive, Altman tended tions has run into glitches.
structure called Stargate. power struggle. It worsened when Musk to tell people what they wanted to hear. In the San Francisco Bay Area,
Despite having rarely left the presi- responded to the launch of ChatGPT by And while Musk is an engineer, steeping where Amazon has 18 offices, the
no

dent’s side over the preceding few months, launching his own rival startup, xAI. himself in the details of rocket and battery company is short by at least 800
Musk was blindsided by the announce- This week the feud went nuclear when design, Altman is a technology-obsessed desks, according to a manager who
ment, according to people familiar with Musk followed the Stargate unveiling intellectual, reading widely across philoso- inquired with a member of the fa-
the matter. with his own bombshell: a hostile $97.4 phy, science and literature and penning es- cilities team. Amazon says it’s
Musk fumed to aides and allies about billion bid for the assets of the nonprofit says on how society should organize itself. working to make sure all Bay Area
the announcement, claiming Stargate’s that controls OpenAI. A decade after join- But both have a strikingly similar taste personnel have seating assign-
backers didn’t have the money they ing forces, they are now fighting for con- for power. ments.
needed. The deepest cut was Altman’s suc- trol of the very thing that brought them For years, the millennial Altman looked A group of employees is working
cess navigating Trump-world, via a care- together in one of the highest-stakes and up to the Gen X Musk as a hero, a real-life on a plan they intend to present to
fully coordinated series of recent meetings most personal fights in recent business Please turn to page B5 Please turn to page B4

SCIENCE OF SUCCESS | BEN COHEN

The Star Who’s Been With ‘SNL’ Longer Than Anyone

This production designer pulls all-nighters once a week and still uses a fax
machine. He’s lasted for 50 years because he knows how to say yes.
When he walked into He’s been a crucial part of “Sat- today’s cast was alive. He’s been
30 Rockefeller Center urday Night Live” ever since. there for everyone from Chris Far-
MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS/NBC, RAYMOND BONAR/NBC/GETTY IMAGES

to interview for a job “SNL,” which celebrates its 50th ley to Tina Fey. He’s even been
on a TV show that anniversary with a blowout special there longer than Michaels, who
didn’t exist yet, Leo this weekend, is one of the most created “SNL” but had a five-year
Yoshimura had no successful television shows of all hiatus in the 1980s. Lorne left; Leo
idea what to expect. time, a true American institution stayed. He’s missed a total of one
He hadn’t heard anything about that millions of people have been show in 50 years—to attend his
this weekly series coming to NBC— watching for a half-century—and son’s college graduation.
and the young set designer wasn’t lamenting that it’s not as good as it On “SNL,” everyone has a role to
looking to work in comedy. used to be for nearly as long. play. The success of the show de-
“I don’t have a sense of humor,” It takes hundreds of people to pends on the celebrity host and
he says. bring the show to life, but one per- cast members on screen, and the
The funny thing is he didn’t need son has been there the whole time. hundreds of hidden figures behind
one. The interview for the job that And it’s not Lorne Michaels. the scenes: the writers, the cue-
he would keep for the rest of his Leo Yoshimura is a production card guy, the camera operators,
career amounted to one question: designer who has been drawing lighting specialists and costume de-
When are you available? sets for the show—and occasionally signers. In other words, the Leo
Leo Yoshimura grew up drawing As it turned out, he was avail- appearing on the show—since the Yoshimuras. Yoshimura was long the default
and painting, and rarely able the next week—and for the very first episode. I called him as he was preparing choice for Asian characters
watched TV. next 50 years. He was there before anyone in Please turn to page B4 including Connie Chung in 1989.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B2 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

EXCHANGE

THE SCORE | THE BUSINESS WEEK IN 6 STOCKS

Trump Boosts Robinhood,

Airbnb Expands Abroad
ROBINHOOD MARKETS
 Crypto trading fueled a bumper fourth quarter for
Robinhood. The company late Wednesday posted a
HOOD sharp jump in quarterly profit, helped by a flurry of
14% postelection activity on its trading platform, includ-
ing trading in crypto. Robinhood’s net income to-
taled $916 million in the fourth quarter, up from $30 mil-
lion a year earlier, and its revenue more than doubled to
$1.01 billion. The results beat Wall Street’s expectations.
The company was a big beneficiary of the so-called Trump
bump, the end-of-year market rally fueled by investors’ ex-
pectations that the new administration would be more
business-friendly. Robinhood shares rocketed 14% higher
Thursday.

Performance of crypto stocks this past week

20%
Robinhood
15 MicroStrategy
S&P 500
Coinbase
10

.
–5
THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR | JASON ZWEIG

ly
Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri.

Inflation Isn’t Going Away.

Source: FactSet

on
COCA-COLA

 Coca-Cola has plans to

UNILEVER

 Investors will soon be able That Makes It a Great Time for TIPS.
us ,

keep a lid on its alumi- to scoop up shares of Ben

l

KO num costs. President UL &to Jerry’s, as Unilever plans

e
al a

Trump—a fan of Diet spin off its ice-cream

4.7% Coke—signed off on 25% 5.6% business—which also in- Treasury inflation-protected securities are offering some of
tariffs on imports of steel cludes brands such as
ci on

and aluminum Monday. Chief Execu- Magnum, Breyers and Talenti. The their best yields in years. Buying them has never been easier.
tive James Quincey said Coca-Cola— consumer-goods giant said compa-
which imports aluminum from Can- nywide revenue grew less than ex-
ada for its U.S. soda cans—is looking pected in the latest quarter, as sales Inflation just won’t of a block of TIPS maturing in a more TIPS. And TIPS were yielding
for ways to use less of the material fell in China, where the company is stand down. But you successive year. As each block ma- well over 2% above inflation.
er s

and find different sources. The bev- battling weak consumer sentiment. can stand up to it. tures, you can use it to buy TIPS So I sold my TIPS mutual funds
erage maker on Tuesday unveiled The company also gave a subdued This past week, that pay off further in the future— and built a ladder with the pro-
m er

better-than-expected quarterly reve- outlook for 2025. American deposi- the government re- or to fund your living expenses in ceeds. It turned out to be almost
nue and profit. Coke shares jumped tary receipts of Unilever fell 5.6% ported that con- retirement. shockingly easy.
4.7% Tuesday. Thursday. sumer prices rose Laura Kelly is a 64-year-old edi- At TIPSLadder.com, I down-
3% in January from a year earlier, tor and website designer in Mt. loaded a spreadsheet that told me
reversing inflation’s sluggish de- Kisco, N.Y. A couple of years ago, how many TIPS I needed for each
m rp

cline from its 2022 peak of 9.1%. she and her husband, Warren year—including each issue’s Cusip,
I’ve written before about Trea- Berger, determined that their in- or unique identifier, so I wouldn’t

6% $8.6 billion sury inflation-protected securities.

These days, TIPS are offering
close to their highest yields in
come was likely to decline over
time.
“I realized that even a regular
buy the wrong one by mistake.
The site also told me the aver-
age annual, inflation-adjusted cash
Increase in Coke’s U.S. prices Sales generated by Unilever’s
co Fo

more than a decade. And buying rate of inflation would be eating flow my ladder will produce
in the latest quarter ice-cream business last year.
them has never been easier. our lunch, literally, very quickly,” through 2055: tens of thousands of
I praised TIPS in my last col- she recalls. dollars a year in peace of mind. I
umn, but many readers rightly Kelly spent months researching may be in a wheelchair, or a
called me out for not offering inflation hedges, finally finding wooden box, by then—but my
more specifics. Should you buy TIPSLadder.com, a free website heirs could use the money.
them directly, or through a mutual run by Kevin Esler, a retired soft- I bought all my TIPS in the sec-
fund or exchange-traded fund? ware engineer. Esler says he in- ondary market, rather than di-
Should you buy TIPS in your tax- tends to keep it free. rectly in a Treasury auction. That
able accounts or your retirement “I knew what our Social Secu- way I could build the ladder all at
plan? What are the pros and cons? rity would be and how much more once, rather than having to wait
Let’s start with the basics: we would need to pay our bills,” for new issues to come to market.
TIPS, first issued in 1997, mature says Kelly, “so I knew exactly how Unlike in an auction, I did incur
n-

in five, 10 or 30 years. Their prin- much I was going to put in over- a small expense: Across my IRAs at
cipal value adjusts up with infla- all.” Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Van-
tion (or down with deflation), as At TIPSLadder.com, Kelly down- guard, I estimate I paid something
measured by the government’s loaded a spreadsheet that told her like 0.05% in trading costs. Still,
no

consumer-price index. Although how many TIPS she needed to that’s less than the annual fees at
they pay a fixed interest rate, it’s form each rung of a 20-year lad- most TIPS mutual funds or ETFs—
applied to the changing principal der, offering a stream of inflation- and it’s a one-time expense, not a
value, enabling the dollar amounts adjusted cash flow in the amount recurring toll.
of the interest payments to track she sought. Each year, I’ll have to remember
the cost of living. It took her about an hour to buy to reinvest a maturing issue, but
TIPS funds—and individual the TIPS in the couple’s retirement that’s what calendar reminders are
TIPS—are volatile if interest rates accounts at Vanguard.com, she for.
move sharply, as many investors says. Although she and Berger still Some readers asked whether in
Airbnb is looking to expand in Asia and Latin America. learned painfully in 2022. have some money in the stock the future, given the reckless be-
However, if you hold TIPS to market, Kelly is “happy and re- havior of politicians, inflation sta-
AIRBNB 25% maturity, you can be sure that the lieved” that the TIPS ladder as- tistics might be faked or Treasurys
purchasing power of their interest sures the couple of a constant pay- might become risky.


Airbnb
Airbnb is moving into new 20 payments, plus the principal out into their mid-80s. Anything is possible, so I don’t
performance
businesses. The online amount you’ll get back, will keep I can relate to her relief. think you should put all your re-
this past week
ABNB short-term rentals market-
place swung to a profit in
15 pace with inflation. You’ll know
exactly how much cash, in con-
I’m incorrigibly blazy: busy and
lazy. For nearly two years, I’ve
tirement assets in TIPS. (Of course,
if Treasurys become unsafe, your
14% the latest quarter and said 10
Airbnb stant dollars, the TIPS will gener- been telling myself to build a TIPS other assets may suffer, too.)
it aims to expand its do- ate along the way. ladder. Yet, in the few minutes of And TIPS are for protecting
mestic and cross-border travel busi- 5 That’s the main reason to buy spare time I can wring out of a your wealth, not making it grow
ness in Asia and Latin America. Chief directly rather than through a mu- day, the last thing I want to do is robustly, so they’re not ideal for
Financial Officer Ellie Mertz said the 0 tual fund or ETF. Although funds think harder than I need to about younger investors. But for retirees
company will increase its head count are more convenient, in most my investments. and people within shouting dis-
to support the new effort, and ex- –5 S&P 500 cases their holdings are dynamic, Right around New Year’s Day, tance of retirement, there may be
pects to spend $200 million to $250 Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs.
so their future cash flows aren’t though, I had free time. I’d re- no better way to climb toward se-
Fri.
million. Airbnb shares jumped 14% precisely knowable. cently committed, publicly, to buy curity than a TIPS ladder.
Friday. Source: FactSet Individual TIPS come with
some quirks.
None mature in years 2036 Yield on 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities
through 2039, although they will 2.5%
ALIBABA LYFT become available in the next few
years. RECESSION
2.0

 Alibaba’s U.S.-traded
shares got a boost on re-  Lyft is hitting some speed
bumps. The ride-hailing
If inflation increases the face
value of TIPS, that growth is fed- 1.5
BABA ports of its AI partnership
with Apple. The Wall
LYFT company on Tuesday
braced investors for a de-
erally taxable in the year it occurs,
even though you can’t collect any
4.9% Street Journal reported 7.9% celeration in bookings cash from it until the TIPS ma-
1.0

that Apple recently sub- growth. Chief Financial Of- tures or you sell. (TIPS are ex- 0.5
mitted Apple Intelligence features ficer Erin Brewer said the worse- empt from state and local income
for China—developed with the Chi- than-expected guidance was af- tax.) 0
nese e-commerce giant—for approval fected by a decline in prices, and by To avoid this “phantom in-
by the country’s cyberspace regula- Lyft users taking fewer and shorter come” tax headache, the best –0.5
tor. Alibaba offers a conversational rides after the holidays. Brewer also place for TIPS is generally in a
chatbot service, Qwen, and has also cited the end of a long exclusive tax-deferred retirement plan like –1.0
embedded AI models into its e-com- partnership with Delta Air Lines, an individual retirement account,
BLOOMBERG NEWS

merce services. American depositary which recently tapped Uber in a Roth IRA or 401(k). –1.5
ALEX NABAUM

receipts of Alibaba increased 4.9% new deal. Lyft shares declined 7.9% I think the best solution is to 2016 ’20 ’25
Wednesday. Wednesday. —Francesca Fontana build a TIPS ladder in your retire-
ment account. Each rung consists Source: Federal Reserve via St. Louis Fed
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B3

EXCHANGE
CAITLIN MCCABE

Boaz Weinstein’s
“Finding mispricings and understanding
why they are there, and unraveling the puz-

A
London zle, is the thing that gives me the most joy,”
s a star trader at Deutsche Bank, Weinstein said. Today, his fund oversees $5.7
Boaz Weinstein suffered sharp billion in assets.
losses in the financial crisis. Then
he set off on his own to create
hedge fund Saba Capital. He’s
known for helping to bring down the “Lon-
No Good, Very Bad The battle against U.K. investment trusts
began in December, when Weinstein unveiled
huge stakes in seven trusts, attacking their
performance records and steep valuation dis-
don whale,” a trader who lost more than $6
billion for JPMorgan Chase, and for pre-
sciently positioning for the Covid-19 market
mayhem.
British Adventure counts. The trusts are a sort of closed-end
mutual fund with a set number of shares that
can’t be redeemed and instead trade on an
exchange like stocks. That means that when
Now he’s facing one of his biggest fights demand for a trust wanes, its share price can
ever, and it isn’t going well. slip below the net value of the fund’s assets.
For two months, the New York hedge-fund The New York hedge-fund manager isn’t backing down in his Weinstein has long targeted these types of
manager has waged a public battle to shake funds as a trading strategy at Saba, jostling
up the underperforming, 150-year-old U.K. in- battle against the $300 billion U.K. investment trust industry firms to narrow those discounts. In the U.K.,
vestment-trust industry, which oversees he initially planned to oust the boards, offer
more than $300 billion in assets. The activist “trapped” investors a way to exit and then
has tried to largely apply a playbook he’s enact other measures, like changing the
used in the U.S. before. He proposed to oust trusts’ investment strategies. He has had suc-
the trusts’ boards, install his own nominees, cess against U.S. giants, most recently reach-
change their strategies and make money by ing a settlement with BlackRock that in-
reducing the discount at which the funds cluded the asset manager agreeing to buy
trade relative to their assets. back shares in two large closed-end funds.
But London’s old financial guard is having The Edinburgh Worldwide Investment
none of his populist pitch for unlocking value Trust, one of Weinstein’s British targets,
for everyday investors, which they see as an rolled out a #StopSaba
opportunistic land grab of a significant part campaign on social me-
of the British financial system. The Mail, a dia. Independent proxy
British tabloid, branded him a “ruthless cor- Boaz Weinstein adviser Glass Lewis
porate raider.” recommended voting
“My mother used to say, ‘You have to  Intro to Wall Street: against Saba Capital’s
bounce back,’” Weinstein said in an interview Merrill Lynch proposal. Karen Brade,
in London. “I have taken amazing pride in internship at age 15 the chair of another
surviving and handling disappointing periods  Chess: Earned ‘life Weinstein target, Key-
of bad luck or bad performance or bad skill.” master’ from U.S. stone Positive Change
Shareholders in all seven of the invest- Chess Federation Investment Trust,
ment trusts he targeted have turned out in at 16 urged shareholders to
droves to overwhelmingly vote against him. be wary of Saba’s
 College: University of
He’s now moving on to the second phase of “vague and theatrical
Michigan
his battle, because the 51-year-old chess ace promises – this is no
has no intention of backing down.  Personal hero: Ed knight in shining ar-
“I’ve never had this happen before,” he Thorp, mathematician, mour.”
said of his defeat so far. “I didn’t realize just gambler and hedge- Advocates for in-
how clubby” the U.K. financial world is. fund manager vestment trusts say

.
Weinstein and his sister were raised in a they offer ordinary in-
Jewish family in a small Manhattan apart- vestors access to a

ly
ment. Their father owned an insurance bro- range of assets, includ-
kerage, and their mother ran the household, ing private investments like SpaceX or other
helping with the business and frequently clip- illiquid assets like renewable-energy infra-
ping out articles for them to read. She immi-
grated to the U.S. decades after her parents
hid her with a Polish family to help her sur-
vive World War II.
on structure or real estate. Investment trusts
can borrow to magnify returns and often pay
dividends.
According to Weinstein, the seven funds
Weinstein watched “Wall Street Week he initially targeted—the Miserable Seven, as
us ,

With Louis Rukeyser” on PBS with his par- he calls them—had traded at discounts rang-
l

ents, sparking a fascination with markets. ing from 12% to nearly 15% on average over
e
al a

Later, at the prestigious Stuyvesant High three years. Industry advocates and analysts
School, Weinstein won a stock-picking con- argue that many investors in British trusts
test, outperforming 5,000 other students. take longer-term views, making them less
ci on

“The grit that helped my mom survive the concerned about swings in prices.
war and then come to this country, and for With the first six of Weinstein’s U.K. tar-
the two [of my parents] to make their way gets, fewer than 2% of the funds’ sharehold-
without much, it instilled in us grit and per- ers who cast ballots voted in line with Saba’s
sistence and not taking no for an answer,” plan to install its handpicked board nomi-
er s

said Weinstein’s sister, Ilana D. Weinstein, nees.

who works as a headhunter for top hedge- This week, Weinstein unleashed his second
m er

fund firms as chief executive of the IDW phase, a fresh campaign in the U.K. that in-
Group. cludes two new trusts. This time, he’s no lon-
As Weinstein tells it, his deep voice helped ger after board control, but wants to convert
him land a Merrill Lynch internship at 15; he derivatives was taking off. Before long, his Behind the scenes, a JPMorgan trader was the trusts into open-ended funds. He says
made calls after school and in the summer to proprietary-trading team—called Saba, a He- making huge trades on an index tracking in- that would help investors who currently can’t
m rp

set up sales-pitch appointments. At 18, he brew word meaning “grandfather”—was rak- surance-like products called credit-default exit their investments at fair value.
talked his way into a Goldman Sachs summer ing in profits. Then the financial crisis shook swaps. Weinstein took the opposite side. Saba has bought up $2.7 billion of U.K. in-
program intended for graduate students after markets. His team suffered losses of $1.8 bil- The “London whale” ultimately saddled vestment trusts, including some holdings in
CARLOTTA CARDANA FOR WSJ

connecting with a Goldman partner over lion, or roughly 18% of its capital, in 2008. JPMorgan with $6.2 billion in losses and funds that Weinstein isn’t actively campaign-
their shared love of chess. He learned black- The next year, Weinstein launched his own hefty payouts to regulators. Weinstein, mean- ing against.
co Fo

jack and how to count cards—a skill that hedge fund, naming it Saba Capital, focusing while, earned several hundreds of millions of His U.K. strategy is profitable, said a per-
would eventually lead to him being banned initially on credit trading and a “tail” fund dollars in profits. son familiar with the matter. Last month,
from the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. that is expected to profit in down markets. The pandemic brought another windfall. In Saba’s fund focused on closed-end fund
Weinstein joined Deutsche Bank a few In 2011, Weinstein noticed unusual moves 2020, Saba’s master fund earned a 73% re- trades had its largest monthly inflow ever.
years later, as the market for complex credit in an obscure corner of the credit markets. turn, while the tail fund returned 63%. “I’m not going anywhere,” Weinstein said.

TAX REPORT | LAURA SAUNDERS penses, first-time home buyers

($10,000) and the cost of health

The Smart Way to Raid insurance for many people who are
n-

unemployed.

 Penalty-free withdrawals from

Your Retirement Fund 401(k)s and similar plans only. The

no

10% penalty doesn’t apply to sev-

eral types of early withdrawals
from 401(k) and similar plans. In
Tax traps to avoid when making early withdrawals particular, workers who retire in
the year they turn 55 or later and
Sometimes in an creditors. IRAs may or may not be, make withdrawals before age 59½
emergency you just depending on state laws. owe tax but not a penalty on them.
have to break the Differences in the 10% penalty Note: When taking a loan
glass. on early withdrawals are also against a 401(k), many plans allow
While tapping a common—and the IRS and Tax employees to borrow and pay back
retirement plan for Court are seldom sympathetic the loan within five years. The
an early withdrawal when people make mistakes. danger here, says James, is that if
should always be a last resort, it Keith Lamar Jones, a professor a worker leaves the company the
can be unavoidable. The cause of accounting at the University of loan is due immediately, and un-
could be a job loss, a natural disas- Kansas, learned this the hard way. less it’s paid back it will be consid-
ter or even an opportunity like a In 2001, he withdrew about ered a withdrawal. Some plans
coveted house for sale. $30,000 from an inactive 401(k) to also allow hardship withdrawals,
If your only option is to access help pay for a Ph.D. and a first but they will be subject to tax and
funds held in tax-favored retire- home. He paid tax on the with- the 10% penalty unless covered by
ment accounts like IRAs or drawal but not the 10% penalty ings on that money. contributions were in after-tax an existing exemption.
401(k)s, though, watch out. usually owed by those under 59½, The same is true for money con- dollars, so taxes were already paid.
To preserve retirement funds because he thought there were ex- tributed to Roth 401(k)s, if com- The main disadvantage here is that  Another option for penalty-free
for retirement, the law typically ceptions for higher-education ex- pany rules allow for such with- the withdrawn dollars can’t be re- withdrawals. The law also provides
requires people who withdraw penses and first-time home buyers. drawals. But this rule doesn’t stored, so it means forgoing future strapped savers with another op-
money from these accounts before The Internal Revenue Service apply to contributions to tradi- tax-free earnings on those dollars. tion: “Rule 72(t)” payments from
age 59½ to pay income tax plus a noticed, and it assessed a penalty tional IRAs and 401(k)s. their IRAs or 401(k)s for at least
stiff 10% penalty. But not always: of about $3,000 because the excep- For example, say a 35-year-old  Penalty-free withdrawals from five years. The 10% penalty doesn’t
The cost of early payouts can vary tions he counted on apply only to has been contributing to a Roth both IRAs and 401(k)s. Most early apply to these withdrawals.
widely, so savers considering one withdrawals from IRAs, not IRA since age 18 and has a total of withdrawals from IRAs and This option sounds good but is
should strategize. 401(k)s. Jones says the judge was $60,000 in contributions. If he 401(k)s will incur taxes, but not all perilous, says Brad Pistole, the
“People are surprised at how sympathetic but ruled for the IRS wants those funds for a down pay- incur the 10% penalty. Currently chief executive of Trinity Insur-
heavily taxed early retirement because of the law’s wording. ment for a house, he could with- both IRAs and 401(k)s offer ex- ance & Financial Services in Ozark,
withdrawals are, and they don’t “I’m still mad about it. The IRS draw them without owing tax or emptions for a number of reasons, Mo. Among other dangers: If the
know the strategies for lowering chose form over substance,” Jones penalty. although limits can apply. saver misses a payout, then tax,
them,” says Martin James, a CPA says. “I could have rolled the funds This provision is one reason There are full exceptions for interest, and the 10% penalty could
and adviser with Modern Wealth into an IRA and taken them out the some savers look to Roth contribu- death, disability and terminal ill- be due retroactive to the beginning
Management near Indianapolis. next day without penalty.” tions as emergency funds. To de- ness, as well as for medical ex- of the arrangement. The payments
Although savers often think of To help savers considering early termine total contributions, savers penses exceeding 7.5% of savers’ must last until at least age 59½,
IRAs and 401(k)s—or similar ac- withdrawals avoid mishaps, here’s can check with their plan custodi- adjusted gross income. Exceptions and sometimes longer.
counts like 403(b)s—as equivalent useful information. For details, see ans, who typically offer a break- also apply for birth or adoption ex- Pistole says he has 2,000 clients
because some rules are the same, IRS Publication 590-B. down of contributions and earn- penses ($5,000); qualified disas- and has done fewer than a dozen
they spring from separate laws ings. But savers should also track ters ($22,000); and domestic- 72(t) arrangements since 2010.
and have major differences.  Tax-free, penalty-free withdraw- contributions and conversions on abuse victims ($10,300). “They are the last option when
For example, IRAs are owned by als from Roth accounts. Savers IRS Forms 8606 and 5498, as it nothing else works, usually for
KIERSTEN ESSENPREIS

savers directly, while 401(k)s and younger than 59½ avoid both in- may be hard to get prior informa-  Penalty-free withdrawals from early retirees who are 52 or 53,”
similar accounts are maintained by come taxes and the 10% penalty tion in some cases, especially if a IRAs only. The 10% penalty doesn’t he adds.
employers for workers and have on early withdrawals if they are saver has changed custodians. apply to early withdrawals from Savers who want to do 72(t)
more variations. Funds in 401(k)s from dollars that were contrib- To be sure, savers don’t owe tax IRAs, including SEP and Simple payments should probably get pro-
are also usually protected from uted to Roth IRAs, not the earn- on these withdrawals because the IRAs, for higher-education ex- fessional tax help.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B4 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

EXCHANGE

He’s Worked On Every

‘SNL’ Episode But One
Continued from page B1 up drawing and painting, his pas-
for Sunday’s extravaganza to find sion to this day. He rarely watched
out why he’s still working on “SNL” TV, which his mother called the id-
and what he’s learned there that iot box.
applies beyond Studio 8H. He started building theater sets
A seven-time Emmy winner, at Loyola University Chicago and
Yoshimura has developed some became friends with Paul Sills, a
tricks that helped him survive the founder of the pioneering Second
weekly grind for decades. He tries City improv company. With his en-
to keep just enough distance from couragement, Yoshimura studied
“SNL” to keep a healthy perspective, design at Yale’s drama school after
which is hard in a job so hectic that college, then moved to New York
he doesn’t sleep on Wednesdays. It’s and worked in opera and on Broad-
why he goes home right before the way.
show airs—and he doesn’t watch it Now he does exactly what he
live on Saturday nights. was trained to do in a way he
For years, he told Michaels that couldn’t have imagined doing it.
he would retire after the 50th sea- “They never told me that I would
son. But now he’s not so sure. be working on Saturday night on a
He’s still addicted to the rush, comedy television show,” he says.
the instantaneous gratification, the When cast members audition for
pure satisfaction of working under “SNL,” they get five minutes to im-
pressure and beating the craziest press Michaels. Yoshimura’s inter-
deadline in television. view was shorter. He brought a le- Leo Yoshimura, center, with decades of ‘SNL’ cast members and guests, plus creator Lorne Michaels, in tuxedo.
“There’s a certain amount of gal pad to his meeting with
adrenaline that flows through you production designer Eugene Lee
when you start a project on and costume designer Franne Lee, wouldn’t be ready in time. “If I Japanese legacy. One night in 1976, comes back at 6 a.m. to a quiet of-
Wednesday and finish it on Satur- answered their one question and don’t get it hung by 11:30,” Yoshimura’s mother turned on the fice and spends the first part of his
got the job. Yoshimura shot back, “you can fire idiot box, watched the show morning organizing the chaos from
“It was awfully interesting and me.” He kept his job. through the credits and noticed her the night before. At that point, he
The number of ‘SNL’ appearances by awfully tiring and awfully stress- In fact, he didn’t just work on son’s name written as Akita, like ships designs over to the carpen-
notable guests, writers and staffers ful,” he said. that first episode. He was a back- the dog. ters in Brooklyn so they can build
And he liked it an awful lot. ground actor in the first episode. She called and told him that his the sets.
Steve Martin On “SNL,” the writers dream up Since then, he’s been dragged in formal name wasn’t Akita. It was And he doesn’t email them. He
ideas and the production designers front of the camera for dozens of Akira. sends a fax.
Leo Yoshimura
make them reality. They created the cameos. For the first 19 episodes of “It’s a machine that I can rely
Tom Hanks look of all the show’s classic He did sketches with Bill Murray, “SNL,” he’d spelled his own name on,” Yoshimura says.
sketches, like the stained-glass win- Dana Carvey, Gilda Radner, Dan wrong. On Friday, he turns his attention
Paul Simon dow behind Church Lady and the Aykroyd, Chevy Chase and John Be- “I never lived that error down,” to the cold open. Part of his job is

.
recording studio in More Cowbell. lushi. For most of the show’s his- Yoshimura said. assigning each set to the right per-
They’re the ones who transformed tory, he was also the default choice These days, he avoids the office son, and Yoshimura handles this

ly
Jon Hamm
Scarlett Wayne’s basement into an entire for Asian characters: Mr. Sulu from on Monday and Tuesday, so his one himself. The first sketch of the
Johansson world. “Star Trek,” a chef at Rev. Al week starts when he attends read- show comes together last. In the
Other stage designers make Sharpton’s Casa de Sushi, Connie through on Wednesday afternoon. morning, he begins tracking down
Larry David

Emma Stone

John Mulaney
on
beautiful sets that last for months
and years. Most sets on “SNL” get
used for one night—if that. Some
don’t even make it past the dress
Chung. (“I’m glad Bowen Yang has
taken that from me,” Yoshimura
says.)
He didn’t need a wig for his re-
That night, he meets with the
show’s director and writers to hear
what they have in mind for the
sketches and how he can make it
the writers.
By early afternoon, he gets a
brief description of their idea. He
takes out a pencil, draws the set
rehearsal. But that has never cent appearances playing someone three-dimensional. and faxes his design to the shop.
us ,

0 10 20 30 40
stopped the show’s designers from else: himself. One of the most important les- It’s in the studio that night.
l

Source: SNLarchives.net making a set the best it can possi- When Aubrey Plaza hosted the sons he’s learned from 50 years of Then it’s Saturday.
e
al a

bly be. “And way better than it show in 2023, the former “SNL” in- those meetings is to avoid saying The host and cast perform in full
needs to be,” says longtime “SNL” tern visited old bosses in the design the dirtiest word in comedy: no. costume. The writers punch up
day,” says Yoshimura, 78. “It’s very writer James Downey. “They’re like, department during her monologue “If you say no, you shut any dis- their jokes. The designers polish off
ci on

pleasing to feel that.” do you mind if we make it really and teed up his punchline: cussion down. My feeling is that it’s their sets. There’s a run-through,

CLOCKWOSE FROM TOP: ILLUSTRATION BY EMIL LENDOF/WSJ, GETTY IMAGES, SNL; NBCUNIVERSAL/GETTY IMAGES (2); MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS/NBC/GETTY IMAGES
Some of his biggest fans are the good, instead of just good enough?” more productive to say yes,” dress rehearsal at 8 p.m. and the fi-
people who know what that feels They do this under infamously Aubrey: “Hey Leo, when I was Yoshimura said. “You have to al- nal lineup is set—and Yoshimura is
like. As it happens, they’re also frenetic conditions—and they have showing up an hour late and barely ways find a way to say yes.” gone by 10:30.
some of the funniest people in the since 1975. working, did you ever expect to see That philosophy is valuable in When “SNL” comes on TV at
er s

show’s history. At first, stagehands warned me hosting?” any business—and essential at 11:30, he’s cooking dinner and doing
When I asked former “SNL” Yoshimura not to get comfortable Leo: “We always believed in you, “SNL.” laundry.
m er

writer John Mulaney what he likes because this subversive TV show Avery.” Late on Wednesday, the produc- “I like going home,” he says. “I
about Leo Yoshimura, he wrote: “I wouldn’t make it past six weeks. On tion designers in an office labeled think there’s a pleasure in being
like everything about Leo the night of the premiere, he was It wasn’t his first time botching the Moody Room work undisturbed able to say that you’ve done your
Yoshimura.” hanging a skylight over the main someone’s name. Even though he through early Thursday. When job.”
Born and raised in Chicago as set when NBC executive Dick Eber- goes by Leo, he uses his formal Yoshimura goes home around 2:30 And live from New York, it’s time
m rp

one of 11 children, Yoshimura grew sol rushed over, nervous that it name professionally to honor his a.m., he tries not to sleep. He for everyone else to do theirs.
co Fo
n-
no

Yoshimura, in blue hoodie, nailed his punchline during Aubrey Plaza’s 2023 ‘SNL’ monologue, left. He played Mr. Sulu in numerous ‘Star Trek’ sketches,
including one from 1976, center, with Chevy Chase and John Belushi. And he portrayed a chef at Rev. Al Sharpton’s Casa de Sushi, right, in 2003.

A Bumpy pal technologist for critical capaci-

ties, didn’t respond to requests for
comment.
As part of the return-to-office
London, Paris or Munich. Some
employees would have been re-
quired to move out of the countries
where they were working. The
direct co-workers working from the
same location, and she had to store
her belongings in a locker over-
night or bring them home.
a lot of time in virtual meetings
with others working in different
locations.
Amazon says it is working to

Road Back plan, some operations were consol-

idated in a few locations. A large
division within Amazon Web Ser-
company put the requirement on
hold in Europe after some employ-
ees complained that it violated lo-
“As productive as before? Nope.
Riffing, community, culture, buzz-
ing with creativity? Nope.” she
bring more teams together in per-
son. “While we’ve heard ideas for
improvement from a relatively

To Amazon vices, the company’s main profit

driver, ordered employees to relo-
cate to a handful of cities across
cal laws.
Elizabeth Robillard, who works
for AWS in Portland, Ore., recently
wrote in a post she has since taken
down. “Worth it? Nope.”
Robillard declined to com-
small number of employees and are
working to address those, these an-
ecdotes don’t reflect the sentiment
Continued from page B1 the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin chronicled on LinkedIn what her ment. we’re hearing from most of our
management asking for a new of- America, according to a Nov. 6 first week back in the office full- As is the case at many compa- teammates,” the company spokes-
fice in the area. An employee in- email reviewed by the Journal. time was like: She posted that she nies, Amazon employees in the of- woman said. “What we’re seeing is
volved in the push cited a lack of In Europe, those cities were sat in three different desks, had no fice still find themselves spending great energy across our offices.”
space and parking, along with com- Leala Smith, a senior technical
mutes that are too long now that writer, left Amazon after 10 years
workers need to be in five days a in December. She’d been classified
week. as a virtual employee for seven
JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES; FREDERIC J. BROWN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Nearly 600 employees added years but was told she couldn’t
their names to a spreadsheet sup- keep working on a remote basis.
porting the effort, the person said. Smith either would have to com-
“The overwhelming majority of mute 65 miles each way from the
our employees have dedicated outskirts of Olympia, Wash., to Se-
workspaces,” an Amazon spokes- attle or file for a medical exemp-
woman said in an email. “Of the tion because she has a disability.
hundreds of offices we have all But she wasn’t confident her ex-
around the world, there are only a ception would be approved. She
relatively small number that are took a fully remote job with soft-
not quite ready to welcome every- ware company GitLab.
one back a full five days a week.” Jon Conradt, an AI scientist, left
Jeff Ferris, who has worked at the company in July after 12 years
Amazon Web Services for over a to co-found an artificial-intelli-
decade in Austin, Texas, said he gence startup. Before 2020, he
scrambled to find parking on Jan. said, no one seemed concerned
6, his first day back full-time. “Got  Amazon Web Services CEO Matt about attendance at the Northern
turned away by security at the ga- Garman said employees who don’t Virginia Amazon office where he
rage,” he wrote on X. “2,000 peo- want to come back in person are was based. “We also had enormous
ple, 900 parking spaces.” free to work elsewhere. flexibility. Nobody cared where we
Ferris, whose job title is princi-  Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. worked,” he said.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B5

EXCHANGE
Continued from page B1
Tony Stark who provided a
counterexample to the coun-
try’s technological stagnation
Inside the Meanest Fight in Business cause OpenAI was in the
midst of becoming a for-
profit company and he be-
lieved Altman planned to un-
that Altman railed against dervalue the assets of the
when he was president of the nonprofit, which would be-
startup accelerator Y Combi- come an independent charity
nator. Altman met Musk with a stake in the for-profit.
years earlier when Y Combi- But Musk’s more primal
nator partner Geoff Ralson message for the investors:
introduced them, and helped Let’s go to war with Sam
arrange for Altman to tour Altman.
Musk’s SpaceX rocket fac- Altman was at the Paris AI
tory. Summit when news of Musk’s
Altman’s time leading Y $97 billion bid was reported
Combinator—from 2014 to by The Wall Street Journal.
2019—put him at the epicen- He scrambled to come up
ter of power in Silicon Valley. with a response, telling em-
He became known as a fixer ployees in a Slack message
with an unrivaled Rolodex that this was yet another one
who could call in favors for of Musk’s tactics to derail
the startups he invested in, OpenAI.
or punish investors who On X, he tweeted at Musk:
crossed them. His special tal- ‘No thank you but we will
ent was raising money, which buy twitter for $9.74 billion if
he would do by arriving in you want.’ That’s a tiny frac-
his signature uniform of jeans tion of the $44 billion Musk
and sneakers, curl his small spent to acquire Twitter in
frame up cross-legged in a 2022.
conference room chair, and Musk later in the week
unspool a vision so grandiose, said he’d abandon the bid if
compelling and earnest that Altman keeps Open AI non
it often seemed like investors profit.
were powerless to keep from Elon Musk, left, and Sam Altman, right, at the 2015 Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in a rare photo together. On Friday, OpenAI said in
funding his projects. a letter to Musk’s lawyer that
In early 2015, Musk and the company and the board
Altman began having regular entreaties. Altman came to the inau- reject the $97.4 billion propo-
dinners each Wednesday in So Altman tried to work guration festivities, but he sition.
the Bay Area. Their conversa- around Musk. In December, didn’t sit with other tech “OpenAI is not for sale,
tions tended toward the he greenlighted a technology CEOs alongside Musk. He told and the board has unani-
apocalyptic: how the world partnership between OpenAI others he wanted to avoid mously rejected Mr. Musk’s
might end, how they might and the defense startup An- any kind of public run-in latest attempt to disrupt his
prepare for it, to where they duril, whose co-founder with Musk. competition,” said Bret Tay-
might have to flee. A likely ‘The perfidy and Palmer Luckey is one of the The next day, Altman and ‘Probably his lor, chairman of OpenAI’s
cause, they agreed, would be tech industry’s most notable his partners arrived at the board. “Any potential reorga-
artificial intelligence that deceit are of Trump supporters. Musk ex- White House, where they whole life is nization of OpenAI will
grows smarter than humans Shakespearean pressed frustration to some more fully explained their from a position strengthen our nonprofit and

.
and impossible to control. proportions.’ associates about the deal. plans for Stargate to Trump. of insecurity.’ its mission to ensure AGI
That May, Altman sug- More recently, Altman Trump told the group he benefits all of humanity.”

ly
gested they create a “Man- —MUSK’S LAWYERS tried to connect OpenAI to a wanted to go ahead with the —ALTMAN ON MUSK Musk had said he wanted
hattan Project” to develop ar- ON ALTMAN Trump family member. He announcement. The new to save the company from the
tificial general intelligence, or unsuccessfully lobbied Repub- president loved that they dangerous direction in which
AGI, that is as smart as hu-
mans at most tasks. They
wanted to ensure Google,
which had a huge lead in de-
what’s possible (still a lot of
limitations—it’s very much a
research release)” Altman
on
lican-aligned venture firm
1789 Capital to invest—it is
led by financier Omeed Malik,
and Donald Trump Jr. joined
were aiming to invest $500
billion during his term—a
number sure to make head-
lines.
called the project “fake” on
X—shocking some Trump al-
lies with the tech billionaire’s
his co-founder had taken it.
“It’s time for OpenAI to re-
turn to the open-source,
safety-focused force for good
veloping the technology, wrote on X. the firm in November. A Announcing that figure public break from the presi- it once was,” he pronounced.
us ,

didn’t end up deciding what That research release spokesman for 1789 declined was a risk. Stargate needed dent. “We will make sure that hap-
l

it would mean for the human turned out to be one of the to comment. outside money and key inves- Musk was already plotting pens.”
e
al a

race. most successful and transfor- Altman’s advisers told him tors hadn’t finalized their a counter move, and had Altman responded with his
By the end of the year, mative consumer-technology that to avoid unpleasant run- specific commitments. But been considering making a signature brand of nice-guy
Musk and Altman joined products of the century, in ins with Musk at Mar-a-Lago, Altman had achieved his goal bid for the nonprofit that savagery: “Probably his whole
ci on

forces to create a new, non- the company of the iPhone, he should schedule meetings of blindsiding Musk. controls OpenAI since early life is from a position of inse-
profit AI lab called OpenAI Facebook and TikTok. As with Trump allies elsewhere The head of the new De- January. By the middle of the curity,” he said on Bloomberg
backed by up to $1 billion, shocked as the rest of the in Palm Beach. partment of Governmental month, his team had begun TV. “I feel for the guy. I don’t
which Musk pledged to sup- world that AI had gone main- One of those meetings was Efficiency fumed to aides engaging with potential co- think he’s a happy person. I
ply the lion’s share of. Musk stream and upset that he with Howard Lutnick, co- about how the partners investors for a bid. do feel for him.”
er s

and Altman would lead it as wasn’t part of it, Musk began head of the presidential tran- didn’t really have the funding Musk said he was inspired —Tom Dotan contributed to
co-chairmen. publicly criticizing OpenAI sition. Altman told him Ope- lined up for the project. He to make the bid in part be- this article.
m er

A couple months before for moving too fast and not nAI was committed to
OpenAI was announced, Alt- taking safety seriously. He investing billions of dollars
man and Musk appeared to- signed an open letter calling into U.S. data centers.
gether on stage at a Vanity for a six-month pause on AI Altman presented it as a
Fair conference, both stuffed development. potential signature Trump
m rp

awkwardly into blazers, Alt- Within a few months, initiative. The project, known
man’s sneakers as loud as Musk launched his own for- inside OpenAI as Stargate,
ever, and agreed with each profit, open-source artificial- had been in the works for
other on various topics, in- intelligence company, xAI, but years.
cluding the wisdom of “nuk- its technology and market Altman first mentioned
co Fo

ing Mars” (to heat it up and impact have lagged well be- Stargate to OpenAI’s board in
create an atmosphere). hind OpenAI. Musk hoped he 2023 as a way to vastly in-
Their relationship began to would become a serious rival crease the computing power
disintegrate in 2017, after to Altman, but didn’t even his company could tap to de-
OpenAI researchers realized become a nuisance. velop and operate AI.
they would need far more In 2024, he attacked Alt- He originally brought the
money than a nonprofit could man in a new venue: court. idea to Microsoft, asking it to
raise to develop advanced AI. After suing OpenAI and its invest upward of $100 billion.
The management team CEO that February, he with- But, in the wake of an epi-
agreed to explore some kind drew the suit in June, refiled sode in 2023 when Altman
of transition to a for-profit it in August, and amended it was ousted from the CEO
company, according to inter- in November. His primary perch for five days, the tech
nal emails submitted in court complaint was that Altman giant balked. We celebrate the life of Gary Seevers
n-

Altman soon found part-

ners. One was SoftBank, the as an esteemed partner alumnus of
Japanese conglomerate
whose outspoken chief,
Goldman Sachs whose leadership and
no

Masayoshi Son, is known for

making huge bets on charis-
matic entrepreneurs. Altman expertise have had a lasting impact.
had known him since his Y
Combinator days.
The second was Larry Elli-
son, a longtime friend of
Musk’s who was hung out to
We recognize Gary’s many contributions
dry when xAI pulled out of a
Texas data-center project to the firm, including building our
that Ellison’s company, Ora-
cle, was working on. Altman
agreed OpenAI would take it
Futures Services into an industry-leading
Altman at the White House a day after the inauguration. over. The project grew into
the foundation for Stargate. operation and co-leading our
Beyond their deep pockets
documents. But they couldn’t had allegedly violated their and technological capabilities,
agree on how to structure it. original agreement that Ope- Son and Ellison brought Alt-
Goldman Sachs (Japan) Corporation.
According to one of the nAI would prioritize the pub- man another advantage: Both
emails, Musk demanded ma- lic good over profit. had relationships with Trump We acknowledge his years of public service
jority control and to be CEO. “The perfidy and deceit dating back years.
Altman’s successful move are of Shakespearean propor- In December, Son played
to block his mentor would tions,” Musk’s lawyers de- golf with the president-elect as a member of the President’s Council
mark the beginning of their clared. Altman said Musk was at Mar-a-Lago and announced
rupture. He convinced an- bitter he left before the com- his intention to invest $100 of Economic Advisors and as a
other co-founder, Greg Brock- pany succeeded. billion in U.S. infrastructure
man, to back him over Musk. As Musk’s legal attacks es- projects—alongside Trump
Commissioner of the Commodity
FROM TOP: MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES FOR VANITY FAIR; ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES

Brockman reeled in OpenAI’s calated, Altman watched with and Lutnick. Their press con-
chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, growing alarm as Musk grew ference effectively previewed
to also back Altman. closer and closer to Donald Stargate without making any Futures Trading Commission.
Brockman and Sutskever Trump, campaigning by his of the details public—which
wrote in an email to Musk side and spending hundreds ensured Musk still didn’t
that since OpenAI was of millions of dollars to sup- know about OpenAI’s in-
founded “to avoid an AGI dic- port him. volvement.
tatorship,” it seemed like “a The OpenAI CEO was a Son also met with Ellison
bad idea to create a structure lifelong Democrat who once at his nearby estate.
where you could become a said Trump’s principles rep- Four days before the inau- Gary Seevers
dictator if you chose to.” resented an “unacceptable guration, Ellison helped bro-
Within hours, Musk wrote threat to America.” His com- ker a call between Altman 1937 – 2025
back that “this is the final pany had few ties to Trump and Trump to discuss the ini-
straw.” By early 2018, he had and his circle of advisers and tiative. As Altman sketched
left the company, and Altman began trying to work its way out his ambitious plans to in-
took over leadership. in. vest in AI infrastructure in
Over the next few years, Musk proved a formidable the U.S., Trump peppered him
OpenAI continued to quietly obstacle. His hatred of his with questions about the
focus on research. Then on former protégé was so well- building process, drawing on
Nov. 30, 2022, it released a known at Mar-a-Lago that his years of experience build-
new product called ChatGPT. people close to Trump were ing hotels, casinos and golf
“this is an early demo of wary of passing on Altman’s courses.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B6 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

MARKETS DIGEST
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index Track the Markets: Winners and Losers
Last Year ago Last Year ago Last Year ago A look at how selected global stock indexes, bond ETFs, currencies
44546.08 Trailing P/E ratio 26.76 25.66 6114.63 Trailing P/E ratio * 25.65 22.85 20026.77 Trailing P/E ratio *† 33.78 32.08 and commodities performed around the world for the week.
t 165.35 P/E estimate * 20.58 18.49 t 0.44 P/E estimate * 22.47 22.79 s 81.13 P/E estimate *† 27.92 30.27
Index Currency, Commodity, Exchange-
Dividend yield 1.83 1.93 Dividend yield * 1.23 1.49 or 0.41% Dividend yield *† 0.69 0.84 vs. U.S. dollar traded in U.S.* traded fund
or 0.37% or 0.01%
All-time high: Nymex natural gas 12.57%
All-time high Current divisor All-time high
20173.89, 12/16/24
45014.04, 12/04/24 0.16268413125742 6118.71, 01/23/25 Hang Seng 7.04
S&P 500 Information Tech 3.76
45000 6300 20000 DAX 3.33
Wheat 2.96
19700 Euro STOXX 2.95
44300 6200
Nasdaq-100 2.90
65-day
moving average 19400 Bovespa Index 2.89
43600 6100
Dow Jones Transportation Average 2.84
Session high KOSPI Composite 2.74
DOWN UP 42900 6000 19100
Nasdaq Composite 2.58
t

Session open Close

CAC-40 2.58
Close Open 42200 5900 18800 Lean hogs 2.56
t

65-day moving average FTSE MIB 2.49

Session low 41500 65-day moving average 5800 18500 S&P/BMV IPC 2.39
Bars measure the point change from session's open IBEX 35 2.10
40800 5700 18200 S&P 500 Communication Svcs 1.99
Dec. Jan. Feb. Dec. Jan. Feb. Dec. Jan. Feb. Corn 1.79
Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc. † Based on Nasdaq-100 Index STOXX Europe 600 1.78
S&P 500 Materials 1.75
S&P 500 Consumer Staples 1.73
Major U.S. Stock-Market Indexes Trading Diary Comex copper 1.64
Latest 52-Week % chg Volume, Advancers, Decliners Bloomberg Commodity Index 1.59
High Low Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg YTD 3-yr. ann. NYSE NYSE Amer.
Euro area euro 1.58
Dow Jones Total volume* 978,639,214 14,417,826 U.K. pound 1.48
Industrial Average 44769.05 44498.96 44546.08 -165.35 -0.37 45014.04 37735.11 15.3 4.7 8.8 Adv. volume* 471,753,279 3,989,374 S&P 500 1.47
Transportation Avg 16622.97 16420.79 16606.53 211.29 1.29 17754.38 14781.56 6.3 4.5 3.2 Decl. volume* 498,065,585 10,403,165 Comex silver 1.44
Utility Average 1019.69 1005.97 1006.28 -5.58 -0.55 1079.88 832.73 19.2 2.4 3.1 Issues traded 2,843 296 Shanghai Composite 1.30
Total Stock Market 60921.92 60708.52 60790.36 5.66 0.01 60885.79 49376.46 21.7 4.1 10.8 Advances 1,544 134 Indian rupee 1.29
Barron's 400 1311.92 1304.30 1305.58 -2.69 -0.21 1356.99 1087.14 19.0 4.3 9.0 Declines 1,229 152 Nymex ULSD 1.28
Unchanged 70 10 Australian dollar 1.24
Nasdaq Stock Market New highs 114 6 Mexican peso 1.23
Nasdaq Composite 20045.76 19932.15 20026.77 81.13 0.41 20173.89 15282.01 26.9 3.7 13.2 New lows 39 1 Swiss franc 1.14
Nasdaq-100 22139.43 22010.35 22114.69 83.98 0.38 22114.69 17037.65 25.0 5.2 15.7 Closing Arms† 1.29 1.86 Norwegian krone 1.07
Block trades* 5,043 179 S&P 500 Energy 1.06
S&P
500 Index 6127.47 6107.62 6114.63 -0.44 -0.01 6118.71 4967.23 22.2 4.0 11.6 Nasdaq NYSE Arca S&P 500 Utilities 1.05
MidCap 400 3219.72 3193.80 3198.61 -2.46 -0.08 3390.26 2807.96 13.1 2.5 6.7 Total volume*7,995,729,650 253,079,823 South Korean won 0.93
SmallCap 600 1443.31 1427.46 1429.84 -2.29 -0.16 1544.66 1241.62 9.6 1.5 3.3 Adv. volume*4,611,047,513 168,603,704 NIKKEI 225 0.93

.
Decl. volume*3,294,042,666 83,531,375 Indonesian rupiah 0.91
Other Indexes

ly
Issues traded 4,501 2,098 Canadian dollar 0.76
Russell 2000 2297.71 2276.63 2279.98 -2.20 -0.10 2442.03 1942.96 12.2 2.2 4.1 Comex gold 0.57
Advances 2,334 1,314
NYSE Composite 20239.27 20120.80 20130.49 -50.81 -0.25 20272.04 17340.17 15.6 5.4 6.8 Declines 2,021 759 Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.55
Value Line 628.83 623.87 624.42 -0.57 -0.09 656.04 568.94 5.7 2.2 -0.3 Unchanged 146 25 S&P/ASX 200 0.52
NYSE Arca Biotech
NYSE Arca Pharma
KBW Bank
6152.27
981.47
139.30
6077.75
964.15
137.89
6089.46 -23.66
964.83 -16.64
138.92 1.46
-0.39
-1.70
on
1.07
6318.63
1140.17
140.59
4861.76
912.71
95.03
18.8
-4.8
45.6
6.0
3.3
9.0
6.6
7.3
-0.3
New highs
New lows
Closing Arms†
233
91
0.83
213
30
0.94
iShiBoxx$HYCp
Chinese yuan
iShiBoxx$InvGrdCp
0.52
0.47
0.43
PHLX§ Gold/Silver 167.91 160.95 161.18 -6.21 -3.71 175.74 102.94 49.4 17.5 5.5 Block trades* 58,288 1,173 South African rand 0.41
us ,

PHLX§ Oil Service 74.90 73.05 73.14 -0.84 -1.14 95.25 68.88 -9.7 0.7 3.0 iShJPMUSEmgBd 0.38
l

* Primary market NYSE, NYSE American NYSE Arca only.

FTSE 100 0.37
PHLX§ Semiconductor †(TRIN) A comparison of the number of advancing and declining
e
5176.33 5132.92 5160.94 4.55 0.09 5904.54 4306.87 14.0 3.6 15.3
al a

issues with the volume of shares rising and falling. An S&P 500 Consumer Discr 0.28
Cboe Volatility 15.42 14.74 14.77 -0.33 -2.19 38.57 11.86 3.7 -14.9 -19.5 Arms of less than 1 indicates buying demand; above 1 VangdTotalBd 0.26

Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data indicates selling pressure.
ci on

S&P 500 Real Estate 0.22

iSh 7-10 Treasury 0.19
International Stock Indexes Percentage Gainers... iSh 1-3 Treasury 0.16
Latest YTD Latest Session 52-Week
Region/Country Index Close Net chg % chg % chg Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg S&P/TSX Comp 0.16
iSh TIPS Bond 0.16
0.21 Jet.AI JTAI 6.03 3.45 133.72 315.00 2.30 -97.5
er s

World MSCI ACWI 884.24 1.87 5.1 S&P 500 Industrials 0.15
WeRide ADR WRD 31.50 14.33 83.46 42.24 12.22 ...
MSCI ACWI ex-USA 348.26 2.07 0.60 6.9 Russell 2000 0.01
INLIF INLF 16.33 7.32 81.24 21.00 3.51 ...
MSCI World 3898.87 4.63 0.12 5.2
m er

Forian FORA 3.59 0.83 30.07 4.15 1.96 37.3 -0.01 iShNatlMuniBd
MSCI Emerging Markets 1125.23 11.98 1.08 4.6 Blaize Holdings BZAI 5.15 1.15 28.75 29.61 2.85 -52.3 -0.08 S&P 500 Financials
0.02 Udemy UDMY 10.01 2.19 28.01 11.65 6.67 -9.5 -0.10 S&P SmallCap 600
Americas MSCI AC Americas 2307.69 0.37 4.3
Defiance Dly Target 2X Lg SMCX 81.69 17.25 26.77 412.20 16.80 ... -0.13 iSh 20+ Treasury
Canada S&P/TSX Comp 25483.23 –215.28 –0.84 3.1
m rp

2.15
Tucows TCX 19.15 4.02 26.57 26.48 14.50 -12.3 -0.25 S&P MidCap 400
Latin Amer. MSCI EM Latin America 2120.00 44.53 14.4
GrShr 2x Long SMCI Daily SMCL 30.14 6.25 26.16 30.17 9.50 ... -0.26 VangdTotIntlBd
Brazil Bovespa 128218.59 3368.41 2.70 6.6
Recursion Pharm RXRX 10.53 2.03 23.88 15.74 5.60 -19.9 -0.37 Nymex crude
Chile S&P IPSA 3947.32 16.93 0.43 9.2
Avita Medical RCEL 10.57 1.79 20.39 18.93 7.51 -39.5 -0.59 Japanese yen
Mexico S&P/BMV IPC 54077.94 –82.17 –0.15 9.2
Kingsoft Cloud ADR KC 20.81 3.46 19.94 21.69 2.02 640.6 -0.72 Nymex RBOB gasoline
Medicus Pharma MDCX 3.68 0.60 19.48 6.00 1.80 -10.2
co Fo

EMEA STOXX Europe 600 552.41 –1.34 –0.24 8.8 -0.88 WSJ Dollar Index
Eurozone 10.9
Amtech Systems ASYS 5.84 0.94 19.18 6.96 4.35 26.7 -1.11 S&P 500 Health Care
Euro STOXX 560.25 –0.45 –0.08
Yoshiharu Global YOSH 13.81 2.21 19.05 16.50 2.70 170.8
Belgium Bel-20 4396.58 –36.30 –0.82 3.1 -1.29 Soybeans
Denmark OMX Copenhagen 20 1987.59 –16.26 –0.81 –5.5 Percentage Losers -2.47 BSE Sensex
Latest Session 52-Week *Continuous front-month contracts
France CAC 40 8178.54 14.43 0.18 10.8
Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg
Germany DAX 22513.42 –98.60 –0.44 13.1 Sources: FactSet (indexes, bond ETFs, commodities), Tullett Prebon (currencies).
TEN Holdings XHLD 2.10 -4.70 -69.12 8.54 1.45 ... THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Israel Tel Aviv 2499.31 … Closed 4.4
Bellevue Life Sciences BLAC 3.01 -4.04 -57.30 13.40 3.01 -71.5
Italy FTSE MIB 37977.59 69.54 0.18 11.1
Cloudastructure Cl A CSAI 19.05 -18.63 -49.44 52.43 5.10 ... Methodology
Netherlands AEX 946.61 0.03 0.003 7.7 Firefly Neuroscience AIFF 9.01 -6.45 -41.72 17.20 1.86 16.0 Performance reflects price change (except DAX, Bovespa, and Tel Aviv 35, which
Norway Oslo Bors All-Share 1705.66 6.07 0.36 3.7 Serve Robotics SERV 13.85 -9.07 -39.57 37.00 1.77 ... reflect total returns). Commodities are represented by the continuous front-month
South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 88717.13 1.00 5.5 futures contract. Bond exchange-traded fund performance may diverge from that of
875.67 SoundHound AI SOUN 10.97 -4.29 -28.10 24.98 3.39 187.0 their underlying index. Bond categories are represented by the following ETFs: U.S.
Spain IBEX 35 12956.00 19.70 0.15 11.7 ESS Tech GWH 4.01 -1.48 -26.96 15.15 4.00 -71.5 Bonds Total Market: Vanguard Total Bond Market; 1-3 Yr U.S. Treasurys: iShares 1-3
n-

Sweden OMX Stockholm 1046.07 –1.36 –0.13 9.6 Alpha Modus Holdings Cl A AMOD 2.65 -0.97 -26.80 13.49 1.32 -75.4 Year Treasury; U.S. 7-10 Yr Treasurys: iShares 7-10 Year Treasury; 20+ Yr U.S.
Treasurys: iShares 20+ Year Treasury; Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS):
Switzerland Swiss Market 12839.87 –109.19 –0.84 10.7 InflaRx IFRX 2.00 -0.70 -25.93 2.82 1.17 29.0 iShares TIPS; Investment Grade Corporate Bonds: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade
Turkey BIST 100 9877.59 –37.09 –0.37 0.5 Perpetua Resources PPTA 9.29 -2.68 -22.39 13.23 2.69 210.7 Corporate; High Yield Corporate Bonds: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate; Municipal
Bonds: iShares National Muni; International Bonds: Vanguard Total International;
U.K. FTSE 100 8732.46 –0.37 6.8 Informatica INFA 19.75 -5.42 -21.53 39.80 16.37 -42.1
no

–32.26 Emerging Market Bonds: iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets.
U.K. FTSE 250 20913.01 –3.13 –0.01 1.4 Wang & Lee Group WLGS 6.65 -1.80 -21.30 9.66 0.44 836.9
Vera Therapeutics VERA 27.46 -6.72 -19.66 51.61 25.99 -40.3 Scan this code
Asia-Pacific MSCI AC Asia Pacific 188.05 1.68 0.90 3.5 Alliance Ent Hldg AENT 4.19 -0.99 -19.11 11.57 1.10 120.5
Australia S&P/ASX 200 8555.80 15.85 0.19 4.9 Callan JMB CJMB 3.73 -0.87 -18.91 7.76 3.38 ... Get real-time U.S. stock quotes and
0.43
track most-active stocks, new highs/lows
China Shanghai Composite 3346.72 14.24 –0.2
Hong Kong Hang Seng 22620.33 805.96 3.69 12.8
Most Active Stocks and mutual funds.
Volume % chg from Latest Session 52-Week
India BSE Sensex 75939.21 –199.76 –0.26 –2.8 Company Symbol (000) 65-day avg Close % chg High Low Available free at WSJMarkets.com
Japan NIKKEI 225 39149.43 –312.04 –0.79 –1.9 CNS Pharmaceuticals CNSP 484,561 2852.6 0.14 29.87 23.90 0.08
Singapore Straits Times 3877.50 –5.08 –0.13 2.4 MGO Global MGOL 396,290 677.1 0.72 -15.08 18.30 0.10
South Korea KOSPI 2591.05 7.88 0.31 8.0
SRM Entertainment SRM 252,885 8600.1 0.70 95.53 1.85 0.30 Currencies
Intel INTC 228,141 197.1 23.60 -2.20 46.63 18.51
Taiwan TAIEX 23152.61 –246.80 –1.05 0.5 U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange rates in late New York trading
NVIDIA NVDA 194,212 -19.4 138.85 2.63 153.13 66.25
Thailand SET 1272.10 –12.01 –0.94 –9.1 * Common stocks priced at $2 a share or more with an average volume over 65 trading days of at least
US$vs, US$vs,
Fri YTDchg Fri YTDchg
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data 5,000 shares =Has traded fewer than 65 days Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%)
Americas Thailand baht .02965 33.730 –1.7
Vietnam dong .00003939 25390 –0.4
Argentina peso .00091056.2049 2.4
Consumer Rates and Returns to Investor Benchmark
Treasury Yields
yield curve Forex Race Brazil real .1753 5.7044 –7.8 Europe

Selected rates
and
Yield toRates
maturity of current bills, Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs. Canada dollar .7049 1.4186 –1.4 Czech Rep. koruna .04192 23.855 –2.0
U.S. consumer rates notes and bonds major U.S. trading partners Chile peso .001051 951.19 –4.3 Denmark krone .1406 7.1111 –1.3
Colombiapeso .000243 4117.75 –6.5 Euro area euro 1.0493 .9531 –1.3
A consumer rate against its Five-year ARM, Rate Hungary forint
Ecuador US dollar 1 1 unch .002611 383.04 –3.6
benchmark over the past year 6.00% Iceland krona .007133 140.20 0.9
Bankrate.com avg†: 6.33% 8% Mexico peso .0492 20.3141 –2.5
One year ago Uruguay peso .02307 43.3450 –0.8 Norway krone .0899 11.1250 –2.3
5-year Florence Savings Bank 5.50% 5.00 WSJ
t Poland zloty .2517 3.9726 –3.9
adjustable-rate 8.00% 4 Dollar Index Euro Asia-Pacific
Florence, MA 800-644-8261 s s Sweden krona .0935 10.6947 –3.4
mortgage (ARM) t 4.00 Australiadollar .6351 1.5746 –2.6
The Torrington Savings Bank 5.63% Switzerland franc 1.1114 .8998 –0.8
t 6.00 0 China yuan .1379 7.2540 –0.6
Tradeweb FTSE Friday Close 3.00 Turkey lira .0276 36.2344 2.5
Torrington, CT 860-496-2152 Hong Kong dollar .1285 7.7846 0.2 Ukraine hryvnia .0241 41.5500 –1.2
4.00 Grow Financial FCU 5.88% 2.00 –4 India rupee .01154 86.668 1.3 UK pound 1.2587 .7945 –0.6
t
Hillsborough, FL 800-839-6328 s Indonesia rupiah .0000618 16180 –0.5
Yen Middle East/Africa
5-year Treasury 2.00 1.00 –8 Japan yen .006566 152.30 –3.1
Star One Credit Union 5.88% Bahrain dinar 2.6534 .3769 –0.1
note yield 1 3 6 1 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 Kazakhstan tenge .002017 495.83 –5.5
Sunnyvale, CA 408-742-2801 2024 2025 Egypt pound .0198 50.6224 –0.4
0.00 month(s) years Macau pataca .1247 8.0220 0.2 Israel shekel .2820 3.5460 –2.6
MA M J J A S O N D J F Chemung Canal Trust Company 6.13% Malaysia ringgit .2255 4.4345 –0.8
maturity Kuwait dinar 3.2434 .3083 ...
2024 2025 Elmira, NY 607-737-3711 New Zealand dollar .5730 1.7452 –2.4 Oman sul rial 2.5973 .3850 0.01
Sources: Tradeweb FTSE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data Pakistan rupee .00358 279.250 0.3 Qatar rial .2746 3.641 –0.1
Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg Philippines peso .0173 57.738 –0.6 Saudi Arabia riyal .2666 3.7507 –0.2
Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 2 4 6 8 High (pct pts) Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Singapore dollar .7469 1.3389
South Korea won .0006937 1441.45
–1.9
–2.5
South Africa rand .0543 18.4072 –2.5
Federal-funds rate target 4.25-4.50 4.25-4.50 4.25 l 5.50 4.25 Yield (%) 52-Week Total Return (%) Sri Lanka rupee .0033928 294.74 0.5 Close Net Chg % Chg YTD%Chg
Prime rate* 7.50 7.50 7.50 l 8.50 4.25 Bond total return index Close Last Week ago High Low 52-wk 3-yr Taiwan dollar .03060 32.681 –0.4 WSJ Dollar Index 101.12 –0.28–0.27 –1.59
SOFR 4.33 4.36 4.27 l 5.40 4.28
U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 2213.110 4.410 4.430 4.880 3.630 3.577 –1.361 Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data
Money market, annual yield 0.41 0.40 0.40 l 0.51 0.34
2.86 l 2.43 U.S. Treasury Long, Bloomberg 3105.250 4.750 4.740 5.050 3.990 1.203 –8.954
Five-year CD, annual yield
30-year mortgage, fixed† 7.22
2.86
7.23
2.80
6.69 l
2.89
7.72 3.20 Aggregate, Bloomberg 2113.440 4.830 4.850 5.310 4.100 4.420 –0.718
Commodities Friday 52-Week YTD
15-year mortgage, fixed† 6.57 6.58 6.02 l 7.11 3.20
Pricing trends on someClose
raw materials, or commodities
Net chg % Chg High Low % Chg % chg
Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 2088.930 5.120 5.140 5.570 4.340 4.764 –0.696
Jumbo mortgages, $806,500-plus† 7.24 7.25 6.78 l 7.79 3.19 DJ Commodity 1076.98 -0.14 -0.01 1079.94 936.51 13.94 5.34
High Yield 100, ICE BofA 3856.106 6.457 6.535 7.871 6.208 9.242 5.169
Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 6.33 6.33 5.88 l 6.78 3.43 FTSE/CC CRB Index 312.08 -1.12 -0.36 313.43 265.48 14.49 5.18
New-car loan, 48-month 7.31 7.30 7.18 l 7.94 3.80 Muni Master, ICE BofA 596.762 3.435 3.383 3.760 3.074 1.996 0.782 Crude oil, $ per barrel 70.74 -0.55 -0.77 86.91 65.75 -10.67 -1.37
Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan 915.259 7.399 7.413 8.073 7.084 9.388 1.447 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 3.725 0.097 2.67 4.258 1.575 131.51 2.53
banks.† Excludes closing costs.
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Sources: J.P. Morgan; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; ICE Data Services
Gold, $ per troy oz. 2883.60 -42.30 -1.45 2925.90 2011.50 43.36 9.68
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B7

MARKET DATA
Futures Contracts Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest

Metal & Petroleum Futures May 3.693 3.831 s 3.685 3.770 .086 191,269 April 94.100 94.325 92.325 92.600 –.500 127,840
July 3.996 4.121 3.996 4.065 .064 97,945 Lumber (CME)-27,500 bd. ft., $ per 1,000 bd. ft. Currency Futures
Contract Open March 607.00 619.00 607.00 610.00 2.00 4,183
Oct 4.044 4.154 4.044 4.102 .051 125,512
Open High hi lo Low Settle Chg interest May 629.00 634.00 624.00 627.50 3.50 1,651 Japanese Yen (CME)-¥12,500,000; $ per 100¥
Jan'26 4.901 4.973 4.891 4.921 .024 121,305
Copper-High (CMX)-25,000 lbs.; $ per lb. Milk (CME)-200,000 lbs., cents per lb. Feb .6537 .6577 .6531 .6565 .0025 107
Feb 4.7660 4.7700 s 4.7640 4.6565 –0.1125 1,667 Feb 20.33 20.35 20.33 20.33 .01 3,703 March .6565 .6600 .6551 .6592 .0031 268,405
Agriculture Futures Canadian Dollar (CME)-CAD 100,000; $ per CAD
May 4.8290 4.8850 s 4.6840 4.7130 –0.1125 91,204 March 19.75 19.84 19.52 19.70 –.09 5,685
Gold (CMX)-100 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Cocoa (ICE-US)-10 metric tons; $ per ton. Feb .7046 .7064 s .7029 .7063 .0035 289
Feb 2937.30 2944.40 2874.80 2883.60 –42.30 5,851 March 493.00 499.75 s 492.50 496.25 2.75 384,127 March 10,400 10,545 10,079 10,159 –222 6,541 March .7057 .7075 s .7051 .7071 .0034 321,974
March 2943.80 2950.60 2878.00 2888.90 –43.40 15,804 May 505.25 512.00 s 505.00 508.75 2.75 707,836 May 10,572 10,715 10,255 10,325 –213 54,950 British Pound (CME)-£62,500; $ per £
April 2957.30 2964.10 2889.90 2900.70 –44.70 393,731 Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Coffee (ICE-US)-37,500 lbs.; cents per lb. Feb 1.2569 1.2625 s 1.2543 1.2611 .0073 588
March 333.00 344.00 331.75 337.50 5.75 1,423 March 435.40 438.15 411.60 419.75 –19.15 20,026 March 1.2562 1.2630 s 1.2549 1.2595 .0058 198,367
Dec'27 2942.00 2942.00 t 2942.00 3254.50 –47.80 28
Palladium (NYM) - 50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. May 338.75 348.75 338.25 341.75 3.75 2,422 May 422.25 423.90 398.85 407.40 –17.70 79,243 Swiss Franc (CME)-CHF 125,000; $ per CHF
Soybeans (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sugar-World (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. March 1.1110 1.1182 1.1087 1.1165 .0065 99,162
Feb 1027.00 1005.00 1005.00 1005.00 –10.30 34 March 20.15 20.45 s 20.05 20.42 .25 177,080
March 1030.00 1046.75 1029.50 1036.00 6.00 209,887 June 1.1216 1.1301 1.1208 1.1286 .0066 168
March 1024.50 1039.50 990.00 1009.30 –10.70 13,493 May 18.80 19.19 s 18.71 19.16 .32 376,396
May 1047.00 1062.50 1046.50 1052.75 5.75 321,929 Australian Dollar (CME)-AUD 100,000; $ per AUD
Platinum (NYM)-50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Soybean Meal (CBT)-100 tons; $ per ton. Sugar-Domestic (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Feb .6320 .6365 s .6309 .6360 .0057 78
Feb 1033.20 1033.20 1033.20 1009.80 –23.90 1 March 292.70 300.50 292.10 295.90 3.20 130,324 May 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50 … 2,573 March .6317 .6370 s .6312 .6360 .0057 190,590
April 1048.70 1058.60 1009.60 1019.20 –24.00 78,176 May 300.80 308.40 300.20 304.00 3.20 199,690 Sept 36.75 36.75 s 36.75 36.76 .26 1,964 Mexican Peso (CME)-MXN 500,000; $ per MXN
Silver (CMX)-5,000 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Soybean Oil (CBT)-60,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Cotton (ICE-US)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Feb .04852 .04881 .04881 .04933 .00052 205
Feb 33.745 34.080 s 32.750 32.801 0.151 162 46.07 March 67.00 67.73 66.94 67.11 .28 40,150
March 46.20 46.77 45.54 –.18 96,937 March .04880 .04914 .04872 .04906 .00045 146,630
34.240 s 32.855 0.129 May 68.18 68.85 68.10 68.31 .33 133,772
March 32.990 32.585 84,388 May 46.62 47.20 46.03 46.52 –.16 205,222 Euro (CME)-€125,000; $ per €
Crude Oil, Light Sweet (NYM)-1,000 bbls.; $ per bbl. Rough Rice (CBT)-2,000 cwt.; $ per cwt. Orange Juice (ICE-US)-15,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Feb 1.0460 1.0502 1.0449 1.0499 .0061 1,725
March 350.50 351.30 t 324.65 339.45 –15.20 3,447
March 71.52 72.02 70.52 70.74 –0.55 110,925 March 14.04 14.11 13.98 14.02 –.02 9,168 March 1.0481 1.0529 1.0462 1.0514 .0063 606,791
May 352.30 352.30 t 324.30 338.60 –15.70 6,510
April 71.38 71.88 70.50 70.71 –0.43 274,207 May 14.09 14.16 14.04 14.07 –.04 3,287
May 71.10 71.61 70.35 70.56 –0.32 139,911 Wheat (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Index Futures
March 577.25 602.75 s 577.25 600.00 22.25 108,034 Interest Rate Futures
June 70.72 71.26 70.11 70.34 –0.23 171,279
May 591.50 616.50 s 591.25 613.50 21.50 175,384 Ultra Treasury Bonds (CBT) - $100,000; pts 32nds of 100% Mini DJ Industrial Average (CBT)-$5 x index
Sept 69.54 69.94 69.00 69.25 –0.12 103,290 March 44825 44879 44590 44635 –176 79,756
Dec 68.31 68.70 67.87 68.15 –0.04 179,577
Wheat (KC)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. March 119-290 121-100 119-190 120-220 18.0 1,799,516
March 598.00 623.75 s 597.75 621.25 23.00 57,390 June 45220 45266 44983 45027 –175 1,606
NY Harbor ULSD (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. June 119-260 121-050 119-160 120-180 18.0 2,560
635.00 s 632.75 Mini S&P 500 (CME)-$50 x index
March 2.4544 2.4828 2.4417 2.4618 .0131 66,252
May 609.00 608.75 23.25 111,906 Treasury Bonds (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% March 6131.75 6146.75 6121.25 6132.00 –3.25 2,102,028
Cattle-Feeder (CME)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. March 114-270 115-300 114-190 115-170 17.0 1,986,228
April 2.3955 2.4210 2.3799 2.3983 .0078 80,160 June 6191.00 6205.50 6180.50 6190.50 –3.50 18,360
March 268.125 269.325 265.925 266.350 –1.625 23,722 June 114-190 115-230 114-130 115-110 17.0 44,374
Gasoline-NY RBOB (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. 266.425 –1.550
Mini S&P Midcap 400 (CME)-$100 x index
April 267.975 269.175 266.000 20,142 Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% March 3211.00 3228.80 3201.10 3205.70 –4.10 42,671
March 2.1125 2.1295 2.0808 2.0899 –.0208 58,739 Cattle-Live (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. March 108-295 109-155 108-260 109-100 11.0 4,878,057 June 3233.00 3248.70 3234.10 3232.10 –2.40 1
April 2.3305 2.3471 2.3075 2.3155 –.0112 111,737 Feb 199.675 200.075 197.575 197.750 –1.800 8,491 June 108-300 109-155 108-265 109-100 11.0 250,021
Natural Gas (NYM)-10,000 MMBtu.; $ per MMBtu. Mini Nasdaq 100 (CME)-$20 x index
April 196.675 197.050 t 194.000 194.250 –2.275 159,916 5 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% March 22071.00 22225.00 s 22042.50 22196.25 83.00 276,307
March 3.650 3.801 s 3.635 3.725 .097 135,954 Hogs-Lean (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. March 106-075 106-195 106-062 106-162 7.7 6,304,588 June 22320.50 22460.25 s 22284.25 22437.75 85.00 2,993
April 3.635 3.774 s 3.622 3.710 .089 167,510 Feb 89.600 89.725 s 89.400 89.475 .100 18,263 June 106-100 106-227 106-085 106-190 8.2 402,642 Mini Russell 2000 (CME)-$50 x index
2 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$200,000; pts 32nds of 100% March 2287.80 2306.00 2281.60 2285.40 –2.60 411,972
March 102-210 102-254 102-210 102-243 3.1 4,058,451 June 2308.00 2326.20 2302.80 2306.30 –2.60 3,178
Exchange-Traded Portfolios | wsj.com/market-data/mutualfunds-etfs June 102-265 102-311 102-261
30 Day Federal Funds (CBT)-$5,000,000; 100 - daily avg.
102-301 3.7 89,756 Mini Russell 1000 (CME)-$50 x index
March 3367.00 3373.40 3363.60 3367.60 –1.20 5,984
Feb 95.6700 t 95.6700 95.6725 .0025 489,938
95.6725 U.S. Dollar Index (ICE-US)-$1,000 x index
Closing Chg YTD
Largest 100 exchange-traded funds. Preliminary close data as of 4:30 p.m. ET April 95.6750 t 95.6750 95.6800 .0000 281,900
95.6800 March 106.99 107.08 t 106.45 106.58 –.64 39,406
ETF Symbol Price (%) (%)
Three-Month SOFR (CME)-$1,000,000; 100 - daily avg. June 106.53 106.68 t 106.10 106.19 –.65 698
SchwabUS LC SCHX 24.20 0.04 4.4 Nov 95.5525 95.5550 95.5550 95.5550 .0000 4,763
Friday, February 14, 2025 Closing Chg YTD
SchwabUS LC Grw SCHG 28.94 0.24 3.8
ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) March'25 95.6900 95.7000 95.6850 95.6925 .0025 1,215,051 Source: FactSet
Closing Chg YTD SPDR S&PMdCpTr MDY 583.99 –0.06 2.5
ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) iShMSCIEAFEValue EFV 57.09 0.33 8.8 SPDR S&P Div SDY 134.26 –0.46 1.6
iShNatlMuniBd MUB 106.70 0.15 0.1 TechSelectSector XLK 239.97 0.34 3.2
CommSvsSPDR XLC 105.31 0.61 8.8
iSh1-5YIGCpBd IGSB 51.96 0.15 0.5 VanEckSemicon SMH 252.58 0.26 4.3
227.00 –0.04 1.2
CnsmrDiscSel
DimenUSCoreEq2
XLY
DFAC 35.95 0.03 3.9
iSh1-3YTreaBd
iShRussMC
SHY
IWR
82.10
92.30
0.13
–0.01
0.1
4.4
VangdSC Val
VangdExtMkt
VBR
VXF
203.47
199.51
–0.01
0.16
2.7
5.0
Bonds | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks
EnSelSectorSPDR XLE 90.07 0.40 5.1
iShRuss1000 IWB 336.03 0.01 4.3 VangdSC Grwth VBK 290.89 0.26 3.9
FidWiseBTC FBTC 85.02 1.12 4.2
FinSelSectorSPDR
GrayscaleBitcoin
XLF
GBTC
51.80
77.01
0.19
1.04
7.2
4.0
iShRuss1000Grw
iShRuss1000Val
IWF
IWD
416.37
194.48
0.15
–0.09
3.7
5.1
VangdDivApp
VangdFTSEAWxUS
VIG
VEU
203.86
61.32
–0.38
0.21
4.1
6.8
Global Government Bonds: Mapping Yields
iShRuss2000 IWM 225.97 –0.08 2.3 VangdFTSEDevMk VEA 51.51 0.04 7.7
HealthCrSelSect XLV 144.80 –1.09 5.3
iShS&P500Grw IVW 106.63 0.18 5.0 VangdFTSE EM VWO 45.88 0.61 4.2 Yields and spreads over or under U.S. Treasurys on benchmark two-year and 10-year government bonds in
IndSelSectorSPDR XLI 137.55 –0.25 4.4 VangdGrowth 427.52 0.18 4.2
iShS&P500Value IVE 196.62 –0.21 3.0 VUG
InvscNasd100 QQQM 221.56 0.43 5.3 iShSelectDiv DVY 135.71 –0.02 3.4 VangdHiDiv VYM 133.77 –0.13 4.8 selected other countries; arrows indicate whether the yield rose(s) or fell (t) in the latest session
InvscQQQI QQQ 538.15 0.42 5.3 iSh7-10YTreaBd IEF 93.32 0.42 0.9 VangdInfoTech VGT 639.87 0.46 2.9
InvscS&P500EW RSP 181.08 –0.10 3.3 iSh20+YTreaBd TLT 89.15 0.53 2.1 VangdIntermBd BIV 75.32 0.39 0.8 Country/ Yield (%) Spread Under/Over U.S. Treasurys, in basis points
iShBitcoin IBIT 55.33 1.08 4.3 iShUSTech IYW 165.87 0.53 4.0 VangdIntrCorpBd VCIT 80.98 0.37 0.9 Coupon (%) Maturity, in years Latest(l) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Previous Month ago Year ago Latest Prev Year ago

.
iShCoreDivGrowth DGRO 63.81 –0.41 4.0 22.62 0.31 –1.5 VangdIntermTrea VGIT 58.29 0.31 0.5
iShCoreMSCIEAFE IEFA 76.00 0.11 8.1
iShUSTreasuryBd GOVT
281.44 0.02 4.4
4.125 U.S. 2 4.258 t l 4.309 4.364 4.576
iSh0-3MTreaBd SGOV 100.50 0.04 0.2 VangdLC VV

ly
iShCoreMSCIEM IEMG 54.94 0.68 5.2 JPMNasdEqPrem JEPQ 58.27 0.28 3.4 VangdMegaGrwth MGK 357.43 0.27 4.1 4.625 10 4.475t l 4.524 4.787 4.266
iShCoreMSCITotInt IXUS 70.67 0.24 6.8 JPM EqPrem JEPI 59.17 –0.19 2.9 VangdMC VO 275.69 –0.29 4.4
iShCoreS&P500 IVV 612.68 0.00 4.1 JPM UltShIncm JPST 50.50 0.06 0.3 VangdRealEst VNQ 91.63 –0.46 2.9 4.750 Australia 2 3.830 t l 3.850 4.009 3.958 -43.5 -47.1 -62.8
iShCoreS&P MC IJH 63.90 –0.06 2.6 PacerUSCashCows COWZ 58.16 0.17 3.0 VangdRuss1000Grw VONG 107.15 0.10 3.7
iShCoreS&P SC IJR 117.09 –0.08 1.6 ProShUltPrQQQ TQQQ 89.83 1.17 13.5 VangdS&P500ETF VOO 560.69 0.00 4.1 3.500 10 4.429 t l 4.482 4.625 4.277 -5.0 -5.4 2.4
iShCoreS&PTotUS ITOT 134.00 0.03 4.2 SPDRBbg1-3MTB BIL 91.58 0.03 0.2 VangdST Bond BSV 77.49 0.22 0.3
France 2 2.245 s -180.6
iShCoreS&PUSGrw
iShCoreS&PUSVal
iShCoreTotUSDBd
iShCoreUSAggBd
iShEdgeMSCIMinUSA
iShEdgeMSCIUSAQual
IUSG
IUSV
IUSB
AGG
USMV
QUAL
146.00
95.39
45.58
97.70
92.95
185.11
0.13
–0.20
0.37
0.37
–0.79
–0.37
4.8
3.0
0.8
0.8
4.7
3.9
SPDR DJIA Tr
SPDR Gold
SPDRPtfDevxUS
SPDRS&P500Value
SPDRPtfS&P500
SPDRS&P500Growth
DIA
GLD
SPDW
SPYV
SPLG
SPYG
445.79
266.29
36.77
52.71
71.72
92.33
on
–0.33
–1.49
0.03
–0.17
–0.01
0.23
4.8
10.0
7.7
3.1
4.0
5.0
VangdSTCpBd
VangdShortTrea
VangdSC
VangdTaxExemptBd
VangdTotalBd
VangdTotIntlBd
VCSH
VGSH
VB
VTEB
BND
BNDX
78.37
58.26
247.95
50.19
72.53
49.18
0.19
0.14
–0.06
0.10
0.32
–0.20
0.5
0.1
3.2
0.1
0.9
0.3
2.500
3.000
2.200
2.500
Germany 2
10

10
3.119 s
2.116 s
2.433 s
l

l
l
l
2.236
3.112
2.094
2.423
2.523
3.476
2.324
2.629
2.781
2.838
2.724
2.344
-202.0
-136.1
-214.9
-204.6
-208.5
-142.5
-222.7
-211.3
-141.5
-186.3
-190.8
iShGoldTr IAU 54.46 –1.48 10.0 SPDR S&P 500 SPY 609.70 –0.00 4.0 VangdTotIntlStk VXUS 62.91 0.19 6.8
us ,

iShiBoxx$IGCpBd LQD 107.99 0.39 1.1 SchwabIntEquity SCHF 19.96 0.05 7.9 VangdTotalStk VTI 301.84 –0.01 4.2 3.100 Italy 2 2.430 s l 2.401 2.698 3.336 -183.5 -192.0 -125.0
iShMBS MBB 92.43 0.39 0.8 SchwabUS BrdMkt SCHB 23.65 0.04 4.2 VangdTotWrldStk VT 123.49 0.11 5.1
l

iShMSCI EAFE EFA 81.93 0.15 8.4 SchwabUS Div SCHD 27.79 –0.22 1.7 VangdValue VTV 177.37 –0.23 4.8 3.850 10 3.520 s l 3.492 3.838 3.862 -95.9 -104.4 -39.1
e
al a

0.700 Japan 2 0.799 s l 0.784 0.684 0.144 -346.6 -353.7 -444.2

1.200 10 1.356 s l 1.350 1.244 0.760 -312.3 -318.6 -349.3
Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks Spain 2 2.318 s -160.7
ci on

2.500 l 2.289 2.471 2.980 -194.7 -203.2

3.050 s -96.6
Money Rates February 14, 2025 3.450 10 l 3.032 3.327 3.287 -142.9 -150.5
4.125 U.K. 2 4.209 s l 4.192 4.608 4.550 -5.6 -12.9 -3.6
Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and international markets. Rates below are a 4.509 s -20.9
4.250 10 l 4.501 4.895 4.044 3.0 -3.5
guide to general levels but don’t always represent actual transactions.
Source: Tullett Prebon, Tradeweb FTSE U.S. Treasury Close
Week —52-WEEK— Week —52-WEEK—
er s

Inflation Latest ago High Low Latest ago High Low

Jan. Index Chg From (%)
level Dec. '24 Jan. '24 Britain 4.50 4.50 5.25 4.50 13 weeks 4.225 4.220 5.255 4.195 Corporate Debt
4.35 4.185
m er

Australia 4.35 4.35 4.35 26 weeks 4.155 5.170 4.110

Prices of firms' bonds reflect factors including investors' economic, sectoral and company-specific
U.S. consumer price index
Overnight repurchase Other short-term rates expectations
All items 317.671 0.65 3.0
U.S. 4.38 4.38 5.45 4.00 Investment-grade spreads that tightened the most…
Core 323.842 0.57 3.3 Week 52-Week
Latest ago high low Spread*, in basis points
U.S. government rates
m rp

Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
International rates Call money
Discount –14
6.25 6.25 7.25 6.25 MassMutual Global Funding II* … 5.100 4.40 April 9, ’27 14 34
Week 52-Week 4.50 4.50 5.50 4.50
Latest ago High Low –10
Commercial paper (AA financial) Netflix NFLX 4.875 4.50 April 15, ’28 23 42
Federal funds
Prime rates Effective rate n.a. 4.3300 5.3400 4.3300 90 days n.a. n.a. 5.37 4.26 Pharmacia … 6.600 4.72 Dec. 1, ’28 45 –8 n.a.
U.S. 7.50 7.50 8.50 7.50 High n.a. 4.5500 5.6500 4.4700 Secured Overnight Financing Rate Cooperatieve Rabobank … 4.883 4.51 Jan. 21, ’28 24 –8 25
co Fo

Canada 5.20 5.20 7.20 5.20 Low n.a. 4.3200 5.3300 4.3000
Japan 1.625 1.625 1.625 1.475 Bid n.a. 4.3200 5.3300 4.3200 4.33 4.36 5.40 4.27
ONEOK Partners … 6.650 5.82 Oct. 1, ’36 135 –5 135
Offer n.a. 4.3300 5.3600 4.3300 Value 52-Week
Policy Rates Latest Traded High Low –5
Treasury bill auction Swedbank … 4.998 4.94 Nov. 20, ’29 54 63
Euro zone 2.90 2.90 4.50 2.90
Switzerland 1.00 1.00 2.25 1.00 4 weeks 4.250 4.250 5.285 4.230 DTCC GCF Repo Index John Deere Capital … 4.700 4.72 June 10, ’30 39 –3 39
Treasury 4.393 37.400 5.471 4.286
Notes on data: MBS 4.395 69.466 5.526 4.294 GA Global Funding Trust … 5.400 5.16 Jan. 13, ’30 83 –3 n.a.
U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks,
Weekly survey
and is effective December 19, 2024. Other prime rates aren’t directly comparable; lending practices
vary widely by location; Discount rate is effective December 19, 2024. Secured Overnight Financing
…And spreads that widened the most
Latest Week ago Year ago
Rate is as of February 13, 2025. DTCC GCF Repo Index is Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s
weighted average for overnight trades in applicable CUSIPs. Value traded is in billions of U.S. dollars. John Deere Capital … 4.200 4.49 July 15, ’27 23 8 27
Federal-funds rates are Tullett Prebon rates as of 5:30 p.m. ET. Freddie Mac
Constellation Energy Generation CEG 6.250 5.85 Oct. 1, ’39 137 7 n.a.
Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureau of Labor Statistics; DTCC; FactSet; 30-year fixed 6.87 6.89 6.77
Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. 15-year fixed 6.09 6.05 6.12 Sprint Capital … 8.750 5.38 March 15, ’32 90 5 86
Swedbank … 4.998 4.86 Nov. 20, ’29 55 5 n.a.
n-

Anheuser–Busch InBev Worldwide … 5.875 5.14 June 15, ’35 67 4 n.a.

Dividend Changes Intesa Sanpaolo ISPIM 7.200 5.68 Nov. 28, ’33 120 4 122
Amount Payable / Amount Payable /
Company Symbol Yld % New/Old Frq Record Company Symbol Yld % New/Old Frq Record Oracle ORCL 5.375 5.79 July 15, ’40 130 4 131
no

Increased Stocks High-yield issues with the biggest price increases…

Brunswick BC 2.6 .43 /.42 Q Mar14 /Feb24 5E Advanced Materials FEAM 1:23 /Feb18
Bond Price as % of face value
Community Healthcare Tr CHCT 9.3 .4675 /.465 Q Mar05 /Feb24 Boxlight Cl A BOXL 1:5 /Feb18 Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
Enpro NPO 0.6 .31 /.30 Q Mar19 /Mar05 Cyngn CYN 1:150 /Feb18
Financial Institutions FISI 4.2 .31 /.30 Q Apr02 /Mar14 Mullen Automotive MULN 1:60 /Feb18 Eagle Bancorp EGBN 10.000 8.13 Sept. 30, ’29 107.082 2.08 n.a.
HA Sustain Infr Cap HASI 6.0 .42 /.415 Q Apr18 /Apr04
iRadimed IRMD 1.1 .17 /.15 Q Mar05 /Feb24 Foreign Brixmor BRX 7.650 6.09 Nov. 2, ’26 102.500 1.50 n.a.
Iron Mountain IRM 3.3 .785 /.715 Q Apr04 /Mar17 Agnico-Eagle Mines AEM 1.7 .40 Q Mar14 /Feb28 1.13
Rakuten … 9.750 6.77 April 15, ’29 110.625 109.750
Karat Packaging KRT 4.4 .45 /.40 Q Feb28 /Feb24 Ardmore Shipping ASC 9.1 .08 Q Mar14 /Feb28
Knight-Swift Transport KNX 1.2 .18 /.16 Q Mar25 /Mar07 Barclays ADR BCS 2.7 .27372 SA Apr04 /Feb28 QVC … 5.950 11.73 March 15, ’43 57.000 1.12 54.938
Meta Platforms META 0.3 .525 /.50 Q Mar26 /Mar14 British Amer Tobacco ADR BTI 7.6 .73907 Q May12 /Mar28
Molson Coors A 3.0 .47 /.44 Mar14 /Feb27 Telecom Italia Capital … 7.721 7.21 June 4, ’38 104.333 1.08 103.848
TAP.A Q British Amer Tobacco ADR BTI 7.6 .73907 Q Aug06 /Jun27
Molson Coors B TAP 3.1 .47 /.44 Q Mar14 /Feb27 British Amer Tobacco ADR BTI 7.6 .74907 Q Nov13 /Oct03 Paramount Global* PARA 5.500 6.11 May 15, ’33 96.117 1.07 96.037
Moody's MCO 0.7 .94 /.85 Q Mar14 /Feb25 British Amer Tobacco ADR BTI 7.6 .74907 Q Feb09 /Dec30
Murphy USA MUSA 0.4 .49 /.48 Q Mar05 /Feb24 Rockies Express Pipeline … 6.875 6.99 April 15, ’40 98.947 0.95 97.591
Brookfield BN 0.6 .09 Q Mar31 /Mar14
Penske Automotive PAG 2.6 1.22 /1.19 Q Mar06 /Feb24 Brookfield Wealth Solns BNT 0.6 .09 Q Mar31 /Mar14 Venture Global Calcasieu Pass … 4.125 5.93 Aug. 15, ’31 90.375 0.63 90.500
PHINIA PHIN 2.1 .27 /.25 Q Mar14 /Feb28 Copa Holdings Cl A CPA 6.6 1.61 Q Mar14 /Feb28
PPL Corp 3.2 .2725 /.2575 Apr01 /Mar10
Quad/Graphics
PPL
QUAD 3.0 .075 /.05
Q
Q Mar14 /Feb28
Fortis FTS 3.8 .43241 Q Jun01 /May16 …And with the biggest price decreases
GasLog Ptrs Pfd. A GLOPpA 8.3 .53906 Q Mar17 /Mar10
RLI Corp RLI 0.8 .15 /.145 Q Mar20 /Feb28 GasLog Ptrs Pfd. B GLOPpB 11.4 .65308 Q Mar17 /Mar10 Dish DBS … 7.750 19.18 July 1, ’26 86.750 –0.25 87.063
TransUnion TRU 0.5 .115 /.105 Q Mar14 /Feb27 TELUS Corp. TU 7.1 .28286 Q Apr01 /Mar11
Walker & Dunlop WD 3.1 .67 /.65 Q Mar14 /Feb28 OneMain Finance … 7.125 5.17 March 15, ’26 102.009 –0.06 102.106
Unilever ADR UL 3.4 .4674 Q Mar28 /Feb28
Weyerhaeuser WY 2.7 .21 /.20 Q Mar21 /Mar07 Teva Pharmaceutical Finance … 6.150 6.12 Feb. 1, ’36 100.240 –0.01 101.000
Note: Dividend yields as of 3:30 p.m. ET
Reduced Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data
*Estimated spread over 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year or 30-year hot-run Treasury; 100 basis points=one percentage pt.; change in spread shown is for Z-spread.
Mach Natural Resources MNR 17.0 .50 /.60 Q Mar13 /Feb27 KEY: A: annual; M: monthly; Q: quarterly; r: revised; SA: semiannual;
PPLUS FR Call Ser GSC-2 PYT 6.9 .3718 /.39801 Q Feb18 /Feb14 Note: Data are for the most active issue of bonds with maturities of two years or more
S2:1: stock split and ratio; SO: spin-off. Source: MarketAxess

New Highs and Lows Stock

52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg
GRAIL GRAL 55.32 4.6 LaureateEduc LAUR 20.35 0.6 OxfordLaneNts2027 OXLCZ 24.37 ... SuperGroup SGHC 8.51 0.4 AmphastarPharm AMPH 30.95 -2.3 ESSTech GWH 4.00 -27.0 PDF Solutions PDFS 22.85 -18.2
The following explanations apply to the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, NYSE Gallagher AJG 329.60 -2.1 LexinFintech LX 9.00 -5.0 PENN Entmt PENN 23.08 1.3 TD Synnex SNX 144.48 2.0 ApogeeEnt APOG 48.86 0.5 ElancoAnimal ELAN 10.77 -3.5 PG&E PfdA PCGpX 40.13 0.7
American and Nasdaq Stock Market stocks that hit a new 52-week intraday high or low Gambling.com GAMB 17.14 1.9 LibertyFormOne A FWONA 95.33 -2.5 PactivEvergreen PTVE 17.83 0.2 T-MobileUS TMUS 271.41 2.2 AptevoTherap APVO 3.01 -8.2 enCoreEnergy EU 2.78 -2.4 Parsons PSN 72.12 0.1
in the latest session. % CHG-Daily percentage change from the previous trading session. GileadSciences GILD 106.69 -1.8 LibertyLiveC LLYVK 80.44 0.9 PalantirTech PLTR 120.67 1.1 TXNM Energy TXNM 51.16 0.4 ArdmoreShipping ASC 10.22 -2.8 FGMergerII FGMC 9.61 -0.3 PebblebrookPfdH PEBpH 17.18 -2.0
GorillaTechWt GRRRW 1.55 -19.5 LibertyLiveA LLYVA 79.31 1.0 PhilipMorris PM 151.22 0.9 Talkspace TALK 4.31 -2.2 AspenAerogels ASPN 8.25 -4.1 FTI Consulting FCN 187.21 -2.0 PowerUpAcqn PWUP 8.05 -14.8
GrafGlobalWt GRAF.WS 0.23 -9.1 LifeTime LTH 32.59 -0.1 Phreesia PHR 30.53 -0.6 Tapestry TPR 88.07 1.2 AspiraWomen's AWH 0.21 -15.7 FibroBiologics FBLG 1.06 -4.7 Premier PINC 17.70 -1.5
Friday, February 14, 2025 GrandCanyonEduc LOPE 185.52 0.4 Lightbridge LTBR 16.90 -10.7 Pilgrim'sPride PPC 57.16 3.5 Telephone&Data TDS 39.54 2.9 PrestigeWealth PWM 0.45 -18.1
AtlasClear ATCH 2.52 -17.0 Flowco FLOC 25.62 0.2
52-Wk % 52-Wk % 52-Wk % Group1Auto GPI 490.09 -0.6 LincolnNational LNC 39.85 -0.4 PioneerBancorp PBFS 12.03 -1.0 Telesat TSAT 23.62 -5.6 AureusGreenway AGH 3.02 -9.2 ForemostCleanEner FMST 0.89 5.5 Primega PGHL 0.72 -4.4
Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg HealthStream HSTM 34.24 0.1 LiveNationEnt LYV 153.94 0.8 PonyAI PONY 17.90 11.3 TempurSealy TPX 69.55 0.5 Avantor AVTR 17.83 -1.3 ForemostCleanEnWt FMSTW 0.11 -0.7 QuestResource QRHC 4.31 -4.6
HelloGroup MOMO 8.30 1.0 LogitechIntl LOGI 105.65 1.7 PraxisPrecision PRAX 91.83 4.7 TempusAI TEM 91.45 6.8 Baijiayun RTC 0.55 -7.5 GEN Restaurant GENK 5.46 -2.3 RMR Group RMR 17.94 -0.9
BellevueLifeSciRt BLACR 0.26 25.0 Dillard's DDS 503.14 -1.1
Highs BetterHomeWt BETRW
BioCryst BCRX
0.29 -48.7
9.11 2.6
DocGo
DoorDash
DCGO
DASH
5.61 -0.4
214.64 3.8
Hims&HersHealth HIMS
HorizonTechNts27 HTFC
64.84 2.2
24.80 0.6
LucidDiag LUCD
MFA FinPfdC MFApC 25.03 0.7
1.51 7.4 Precigen
PremierFinl
PGEN
PFC
2.10
29.64
-1.0
-0.1
ThredUp
TileShop
TDUP
TTSH
2.75
7.71
-0.4
0.8
BellevueLifeSci BLACU
BellevueLifeSci BLAC
3.36 -52.7
3.01 -57.3
GencorInds
GeneralDynamics GD
GENC 13.30 -4.4
239.87 -1.7
RainEnhTech RAIN
ReadyCapPfdC RCpC
2.96 -4.5
17.35 1.5
Adtran ADTN 12.16 -1.5 HowmetAerospace HWM 133.92 4.2 MPLX MPLX 54.52 0.2 PriviaHealth PRVA 25.49 1.5 TranslationalDev TDACU 10.30 ... BensonHill BHIL 1.03 5.3 GlucoTrack GCTK 0.46 -5.2 RedHillBio RDHL 5.20 -2.5
Brainsway BWAY 11.50 2.5 DraftKings DKNG 53.61 15.2
AT&T T 25.93 0.9 IBEX IBEX 27.83 0.2 Maplebear CART 51.33 2.0 ProcoreTech PCOR 87.90 16.5 TruBridge TBRG 28.58 0.1 BetaBionics BBNX 21.35 0.3 Greenlane GNLN 1.17 -1.7 ReShapeLife RSLS 2.32 -8.3
BroadridgeFinl BR 244.47 -1.0 Duolingo DUOL 436.98 0.6
A10Networks ATEN 21.90 0.1 IHS Holding IHS 4.19 -3.2 MarblegateAcqnWt GATEW 0.05 -16.1 QifuTechnology QFIN 46.25 0.6 UGI UGI 32.66 -0.2 BioceresCrop BIOX 4.42 4.8 Huhutech HUHU 3.35 -11.3 ResourcesConnect RGP 7.85 -1.9
ButterflyNtwk BFLY 4.95 2.6 DynexCapital DX 13.82 2.4
AbbottLabs ABT 132.65 -0.9 INLIF INLF 21.00 81.2 Materialise MTLS 9.69 2.2 Qudian QD 3.34 10.1 UnitedNatFoods UNFI 34.76 -1.1 Bloomin'Brands BLMN 10.85 -1.0 Helm&Payne HP 26.32 -1.8 ReynoldsCnsmr REYN 23.88 -2.0
CBL&Assoc CBL 33.53 3.4 ECARX Wt ECXWW 0.08 61.4
AdaptiveBiotech ADPT 8.74 -2.2 INNOVATE VATE 13.79 -4.6 Mattel MAT 22.07 0.1 QuestDiag DGX 171.30 ... USComdtyIndxFd USCI 71.62 -0.4 SBCMedical SBC 4.74 -6.3
CNO Financial CNO 42.02 -0.2 Ecolab ECL 268.00 -0.3 BoozAllen BAH 115.97 0.3 Hologic HOLX 62.94 -0.6
AffirmA AFRM 80.72 1.8 Imax IMAX 27.29 0.5 MetaPlatforms META 740.91 1.1 RedViolet RDVT 43.28 1.9 VNET VNET 13.04 -1.8 SFL SFL 9.43 -4.1
CRH CRH 108.39 1.7 EHang EH 29.76 -1.0 BorrDrilling BORR 3.10 -4.3 IDEAYA Bio IDYA 20.63 1.2
Agora API 6.89 -7.6 InariMedical NARI 79.97 ... MetalphaTechnology MATH 2.77 14.4 RemitlyGlobal RELY 27.24 3.6 VeriskAnalytics VRSK 296.94 -0.7 SPS Commerce SPSC 145.90 -1.5
CAE CAE 27.62 13.9 eHealth EHTH 11.16 6.6 BowenAcqn BOWNU 2.77 -28.4 Informatica INFA 16.37 -21.5
AlamosGold AGI 23.32 -3.4 Innodata INOD 55.81 3.0 MizuhoFin MFG 5.76 2.5 RepublicSvcs RSG 232.52 3.1 VeronaPharma VRNA 65.50 4.1 ScorpioTankers STNG 43.32 -1.2
CartesianGrwIIA RENE 11.80 0.1 8x8 EGHT 3.52 -10.2 BowenAcqn BOWN 2.71 -13.8 InteractStrength TRNR 1.16 3.1
AldeyraTherap ALDX 6.61 0.3 InspiredEnt INSE 11.23 0.2 MoneyLionWt ML.WS 0.23 3.8 RibbonComms RBBN 5.26 2.6 Walmart WMT 105.30 -1.0 Seadrill SDRL 31.04 -0.4
Carvana CVNA 286.38 4.7 Endeavor EDR 35.99 -0.9 BrazilPotash GRO 2.87 3.5 JPMFlexIncm JFLI 49.32 -0.2
Alibaba BABA 126.80 4.3 Intapp INTA 77.74 -2.4 Moody's MCO 531.93 -0.9 RiminiStreet RMNI 3.46 1.2 WarnerMusic WMG 36.64 3.4 ShoeCarnival SCVL 24.28 -0.6
CaseysGenStores CASY 445.17 -2.3 EnelChile ENIC 3.42 0.6 CACI Intl CACI 334.05 -1.3 JupiterNeurosci JUNS 0.78 -2.0
Alkermes ALKS 36.24 -0.3 InteractiveBrkrs IBKR 236.53 -0.3 MrCooper COOP 109.72 -0.7 RisingDragonRt RDACR 0.19 11.8 Waystar WAY 45.49 1.5 SiyataMobile SYTA 3.61 -2.6
cbdMD PfdA YCBDpA 1.54 43.0 Entergy ETR 84.46 -0.9 C4 Therap CCCC 3.15 -0.6 KBR KBR 51.32 -0.9
AlphaTech ATGL 27.61 11.1 ICE ICE 169.78 -1.1 Nathan's NATH 102.50 -1.8 RithmCapital RITM 12.10 0.3 WeaveComms WEAV 17.58 0.3 TCBioPharm TCBP 2.03 -0.8
CenterPointEner CNP 33.85 -0.1 EquinoxGold EQX 7.09 -3.3 IntercorpFinSvcs IFS CallanJMB CJMB 3.38 -18.9 KaziaTherap KZIA 0.89 -5.3
Ameren AEE 100.62 -0.2 33.62 1.1 Nebius NBIS 47.68 6.7 Roku ROKU 104.96 14.1 WeRide WRD 42.24 83.5 TEN Holdings XHLD 1.45 -69.1
ChefsWarehouse CHEF 65.43 3.4 Equitable EQH 55.78 3.0 InterDigital IDCC Netflix NFLX 1064.50 1.4 RoyalGold RGLD Cemtrex CETX 2.12 ... L3HarrisTech LHX 196.67 -1.2 TNF Pharm TNFA
AmerStratInvt NYC 12.52 6.2 216.00 -0.3 155.64 -4.3 WesternAlliancePfd WALpA 23.00 1.5 0.45 0.5
Chimerix CMRX 4.65 -3.9 Evergy EVRG 67.89 -0.3 Intra-Cellular ITCI NewburyStreetII NTWOU 10.14 0.3 RoyaltyPharma RPRX ChansonIntl CHSN 0.43 4.9 LiBangIntl LBGJ 1.75 5.7 TechTarget TTGT
AmerGold&Silver USAS 0.60 -2.6 128.19 -0.2 32.89 -0.3 WheatonPrecMtls WPM 69.58 -2.5 15.69 -5.2
AnnalyCap NLY 21.29 1.4 Citigroup C 84.67 3.1 Everi EVRI 13.77 -0.1 IturanLocation ITRN 36.09 2.9 NewsCorp A NWSA 30.25 2.4 RushStreetInt RSI 16.74 6.2 ChinaLiberalEduc CLEU 0.10 -6.6 LightwaveLogic LWLG 1.40 5.6 Teleflex TFX 166.76 -0.1
WyndhamHtls WH 110.94 1.9
AnteroMidstream AM 16.99 -0.9 ClimateRockRt CLRCR 0.20 ... Ezcorp EZPW 14.50 -2.3 Joyy YY 48.38 1.2 NicoletBankshares NIC 120.26 -0.6 S&P Global SPGI 545.39 -0.5 Cognex CGNX 32.41 -2.1 LockheedMartin LMT 419.70 -2.7 TernsPharm TERN 4.03 -0.5
XFinancial XYF 9.20 2.2
AtlasNts2027 ATCOL 25.25 0.6 Cloudflare NET 177.37 -3.0 FS KKR Cap FSK 23.73 1.6 JPMorganChase JPM 279.23 0.1 NiSource NI 39.99 0.2 SLR Invt SLRC 17.63 1.2 Cohu COHU 19.52 -1.6 LogicMark LGMK 0.58 -12.8 TetraTech TTEK 30.42 -0.6
Xunlei XNET 3.58 13.1
AtourLifestyle ATAT 31.23 4.2 CocaColaEuropac CCEP 85.61 2.6 Ferrari RACE 507.20 2.7 Jiayin JFIN 10.50 1.7 Nokia NOK 5.06 ... SS&C Tech SSNC 89.25 0.1 Constellium CSTM 9.26 -2.0 MediromHlthcr MRM 0.79 -7.0 Textron TXT 72.03 -1.1
Zhihu ZH 5.49 15.7
AuroraInnov AUR 10.77 8.2 CognizantTech CTSH 90.82 1.3 FinVolution FINV 8.78 0.5 JPMFlexIncm JFLI 50.35 -0.2 NorthpointeBcshs NPB 14.70 ... SailPoint SAIL 24.95 11.6 ContineumTherap CTNM 7.54 0.5 Merck MRK 82.09 -1.7 TridentDigital TDTH 0.65 -2.4
AuroraInnovWt AUROW
AvePoint AVPT
3.00
19.90
13.6
-1.8
CohenCircleAcqnIUn CCIRU
CohenCircleI A CCIR
12.20 1.8
11.78 0.8
FlexSolInt
FlutterEnt
FSI
FLUT
7.24 13.0
299.73 5.9
Karman KRMN
KeenVisionAcqn KVAC
32.07 6.5
11.13 0.1
NutexHealth NUTX 69.45 -1.9
OFSCapNts2028 OFSSH 22.73 0.1
Samsara
Sea
IOT
SE
59.04
135.06
4.6
1.4
Lows CorbusPharm CRBP
Coty COTY
8.01 -10.2
5.55 -3.0
MixedMartialArts MMA
Moderna MRNA
0.75 -1.1
29.25 3.4
Tronox
TwinDisc
TROX
TWIN
7.72 -10.5
9.38 -3.6
BEST BEST 2.79 ... CollectiveMining CNL 6.50 -2.9 FormulaSys FORTY 100.00 3.0 Kellanova K 82.41 0.1 OldPointFinl OPOF 29.50 9.3 Shopify SHOP 128.57 0.5 AIM Immuno AIM 0.12 -6.9 CriticalMetals CRML 3.56 -18.7 ModularMed MODD 1.10 -4.3 VCIGlobal VCIG 0.88 4.0
BBVA BBVA 12.73 1.4 CommvaultSys CVLT 186.52 0.7 Fortinet FTNT 112.37 1.5 KeysightTech KEYS 184.35 2.3 OneSpan OSPN 20.36 -0.1 SimonProperty SPG 188.14 -0.6 ASGN ASGN 74.94 -2.4 CrownElectrokin CRKN 4.62 -6.6 NIP NIPG 2.93 -0.7 VeraTherap VERA 25.99 -19.7
BancodeChile BCH 26.96 1.9 CorceptTherap CORT 74.61 -1.2 FoxA FOXA 55.86 0.3 KingsoftCloud KC 21.69 19.9 OneSpaWorld OSW 22.61 0.1 Sony SONY 24.25 4.1 AeriesTech AERT 0.51 1.3 CullinanTherap CGEM 9.47 -0.6 NationalBeverage FIZZ 39.26 -0.3 WabashNational WNC 12.35 ...
BcoSantChile BSAC 22.89 1.0 CyberArkSoftware CYBR 419.49 -0.2 FranklinWireless FKWL 6.28 2.1 LatamAirlines LTM 32.88 -0.1 Opera OPRA 22.00 ... Spire SR 74.50 0.7 Agriforce AGRI 1.63 -2.3 DLH Holdings DLHC 5.85 -3.0 Neogen NEOG 9.70 -0.9 WarriorMetCoal HCC 49.33 -8.4
BancoSantander SAN 6.06 1.7 Cytosorbents CTSO 1.61 -0.8 FullTruck YMM 13.03 -0.1 LPL Financial LPLA 376.11 0.4 OriginBancorp OBK 41.17 -1.1 SproutsFarmers SFM 178.46 0.4 AimeiHlthTechRt AFJKR 0.10 -6.9 Denny's DENN 4.83 -9.5 NovoNordisk NVO 77.82 -1.2 X3 XTKG 0.56 -6.0
BanColombia CIB 41.00 1.0 Dave DAVE 119.50 6.7 GCLGlobalWt GCLWW 0.20 60.1 LaunchOneAcqnA LPAA 10.14 0.1 OxbridgeRe OXBR 5.33 6.6 StarGroup SGU 13.20 1.9 AlphaMetal AMR 168.04 -8.9 DigitalBridge DBRG 10.15 -0.5 OrganiGram OGI 1.27 -5.9 YatraOnline YTRA 0.98 -1.0
BankNY Mellon BK 88.25 1.1 Diginex DGNX 58.50 -13.8 GDS Holdings GDS 41.83 8.7 LaunchTwoAcqnWt LPBBW 0.32 9.1 OxbridgeReWt OXBRW 0.78 6.8 Starbucks SBUX 113.47 0.1 AmerEagle AEO 14.08 0.3 DorianLPG LPG 22.23 -0.9 Owens&Minor OMI 7.42 -3.7 YouxinTechnologyA YAAS 2.85 -0.9
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B8 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BIGGEST 1,000 STOCKS

YTD 52-Week Yld Net YTD 52-Week Yld Net YTD 52-Week Yld Net
How to Read the Stock Tables % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg
The following explanations apply to NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American and Nasdaq Stock Market listed 14.54 52.54 25.82 FoxB FOX 1.0 11 52.39 0.22 6.05 38.84 27.66 MatchGroup MTCH 2.2 17 34.69 0.68 7.15 74.61 60.15 Shell SHEL 4.1 13 67.13 0.48
securities. Prices are consolidated from trades reported by various market centers, including securities s 14.51 55.86 28.29 FoxA FOXA 1.0 12 55.63 0.18 1.17 85.02 64.58 McCormickVtg MKC.V 2.3 26 76.69 -0.76 4.98 400.42 282.09 SherwinWilliams SHW 0.8 34 356.86 -4.27
exchanges, Finra, electronic communications networks and other broker-dealers. The list comprises the 17.63 144.27 103.64 Franco-Nevada FNV 1.1 dd 138.32 -5.66 0.94 85.49 64.86 McCormick MKC 2.3 26 76.96 -0.55 16.86 123.25 55.87 Shift4Paymts FOUR ... 66 121.28 1.89
1.18 28.61 18.82 FranklinRscs BEN 6.2 31 20.53 0.29 6.44 317.90 243.53 McDonald's MCD 2.3 27 308.55 -1.47 2.95 46.05 29.25 ShinhanFin SHG 3.6 5 33.85 -0.19
1,000 largest companies based on market capitalization. 20.16 164.82 64.00 FreedomHolding FRHC ... 29 157.04 -3.94 4.17 637.51 464.42 McKesson MCK 0.5 27 593.69 -8.78 s 20.71 128.57 48.56 Shopify SHOP ... 83 128.35 0.70
Underlined quotations are those stocks with large changes in volume compared with the issue’s 3.65 55.23 34.89 FreeportMcM FCX 1.5 30 39.47 -0.75 2.39 459.77 302.01 Medpace MEDP ... 27 340.18 -2.24 s 7.46 188.13 139.25 SimonProperty SPG 4.5 25 185.05 -1.17
3.53 25.25 17.93 FreseniusMedCare FMS 1.9 19 23.44 -0.81 16.19 93.08 75.96 Medtronic MDT 3.0 28 92.81 0.61 18.90 48.70 20.47 SiriusXM SIRI 3.9 dd 27.11 0.67
average trading volume. 2.97 39.21 20.51 FrontierComms FYBR ... dd 35.73 -0.01 24.08 2161.73 1324.99 MercadoLibre MELI ... 74 2109.99 43.84 -4.67 78.85 55.67 SkechersUSA SKX ... 15 64.10 -0.20
Boldfaced quotations highlight those issues whose price changed by 5% or more if their previous s 17.38 13.03 5.70 FullTruck YMM 1.0 31 12.70 -0.01 t -16.56 134.63 82.09 Merck MRK 3.9 12 83.01 -1.41 -25.65 120.86 62.01 Skyworks SWKS 4.2 20 65.93 -0.25
s 25.82 740.91 414.50 MetaPlatforms META 0.3 31 736.67 8.11 -2.92 92.44 64.55 SmithAO AOS 2.1 18 66.22 0.22
closing price was $2 or higher.
GHI -0.22 89.05 67.30 MetLife MET 2.7 14 81.70 -0.64 4.56 31.72 23.65 Smith&Nephew SNN 2.8 37 25.70 -0.01
Footnotes: 3.94 1546.93 1142.91 Mettler-Toledo MTD ... 31 1271.91 -25.23 ... 22.03 19.10 SmithfieldFds SFD ... ... 21.23 0.05
24.87 211.42 117.76 GE Aerospace GE 0.5 35 208.27 -0.09 -2.77 100.56 50.21 MicrochipTech MCHP 3.3 98 55.76 1.50 -7.35 127.59 99.81 Smucker SJM 4.2 21 102.03 -2.06
s-New 52-week high; t-New 52-week low; dd-Indicates loss in the most recent four quarters. 17.95 94.80 74.51 GE HealthCare GEHC 0.2 21 92.21 -1.27 18.25 157.53 79.15 MicronTech MU 0.5 29 99.52 3.86 -0.39 56.99 38.55 SmurfitWestrock SW 2.6 44 53.65 -0.57
11.75 447.50 115.00 GE Vernova GEV 0.3 65 367.59 -2.72 -3.10 468.35 385.58 Microsoft MSFT 0.8 33 408.43 -2.11 0.74 17.33 8.29 Snap SNAP ... dd 10.85 -0.40
Stock tables reflect composite regular trading as of 4 p.m. ET and 4.51 48.87 30.57 GFLEnvironmental GFL 0.1 dd 46.55 1.25
changes in the official closing prices from 4 p.m. ET the previous day. 16.61 543.00 66.43 MicroStrategy MSTR ... dd 337.73 12.81 -0.16 373.89 252.98 Snap-On SNA 2.5 17 338.92 -0.81
6.95 45.92 31.71 GSK GSK 4.2 23 36.17 -0.38 1.57 167.39 123.23 MidAmApt MAA 3.9 35 157.00 0.01 21.49 235.66 107.13 Snowflake SNOW ... dd 187.60 -5.06
s 13.26 329.60 230.08 Gallagher AJG 0.8 49 321.50 -7.06 24.27 177.90 118.41 Middleby MIDD ... 23 168.33 1.33 6.24 51.90 32.24 SOQUIMICH SQM 3.5 dd 38.63 -1.54
Friday, February 14, 2025 YTD 52-Week Yld Net -13.85 64.83 9.95 GameStop GME 0.0151 27.00 0.66 9.30 12.96 8.75 MitsubishiUFJ MUFG 1.8 12 12.81 0.22 5.26 18.42 6.01 SoFiTech SOFI ... 44 16.21 1.02
% Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg 0.93 52.59 41.80 Gaming&Leisure GLPI 6.3 17 48.61 -0.69 s 17.38 5.76 3.45 MizuhoFin MFG 2.0 12 5.74 0.14 12.38 96.05 47.16 Solventum SOLV ... 14 74.24 -0.07
YTD 52-Week Yld Net -3.60 30.75 18.72 Gap GAP 2.6 11 22.78 -0.26 -9.79 34.00 10.48 Mobileye MBLY ... dd 17.97 0.53 s 14.08 24.25 15.02 Sony SONY 0.3 20 24.14 0.95
% Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg 5.46 26.14 12.50 Carnival CUK 0.0 17 23.74 0.27 3.08 223.33 121.20 Garmin GRMN 1.4 27 212.62 2.39 t -20.66 170.47 29.25 Moderna MRNA ... dd 32.99 1.07 2.76 114.27 70.68 SouthState SSB 2.1 15 102.23 -0.43
11.04 213.65 62.99 CarpenterTech CRS 0.4 36 188.44 5.27 6.23 584.01 411.15 Gartner IT ... 32 514.67 -2.50 -6.45 423.92 262.32 MolinaHealthcare MOH ... 13 272.28 1.61 3.96 94.45 65.80 Southern SO 3.4 20 85.58 -1.20
ABC -4.59 83.32 53.13 CarrierGlobal CARR 1.4 16 65.13 1.46 1.24 31.72 19.57 GenDigital GEN 1.8 27 27.72 -0.18 7.86 68.60 52.91 MolsonCoorsA TAP.A 3.0 12 61.76 3.65 7.52 127.34 77.33 SoCopper SCCO 2.1 23 97.27 -0.57
s 40.31 286.38 48.15 Carvana CVNA ...33967 285.33 12.93 -5.29 195.94 108.89 Generac GNRC ... 28 146.85 0.02 5.30 69.18 49.19 MolsonCoorsB TAP 3.1 11 60.36 1.82 -9.93 36.12 23.58 SouthwestAir LUV 2.4 43 30.28 0.35
-3.84 144.06 70.28 AAON AAON 0.3 50 113.16 0.30 s 9.07 445.17 285.59 CaseysGenStores CASY 0.5 30 432.17 -10.37 t -8.18 316.90 239.87 GeneralDynamics GD 2.3 18 241.94 -4.22 35.28 342.64 174.75 monday.com MNDY ...527 318.50 -1.83 42.65 652.63 239.66 Spotify SPOT ...107 638.18 -10.14
-6.00 118.56 82.23 AECOM ACM 0.9 29 100.41 -1.78 -2.60 418.50 307.05 Caterpillar CAT 1.6 16 353.32 -0.38 -7.73 75.90 57.85 GeneralMills GIS 4.1 13 58.84 -0.70 1.82 76.06 53.95 Mondelez MDLZ 3.1 18 60.82 -0.34 s 39.39 178.46 52.06 SproutsFarmers SFM ... 51 177.12 0.75
-0.10 115.50 78.38 Aflac AFL 2.2 11 103.34 -0.74 43.08 144.27 36.11 Celestica CLS ... 35 132.06 2.28 -9.20 61.24 38.12 GeneralMotors GM 1.0 8 48.37 0.48 24.41 477.00 212.74 MongoDB MDB ... dd 289.63 -3.34 7.35 34.38 22.50 StandardAero SARO ...433 26.58 -0.41
13.25 10.85 8.92 AGNC Invt AGNC 13.8 11 10.43 0.11 18.97 9.27 5.00 Cemex CX 0.9 22 6.71 0.05 2.06 31.88 18.64 Genmab GMAB ... 12 21.30 0.38 15.76 959.64 546.71 MonolithicPower MPWR 0.9 19 684.93 -15.06 8.48 110.88 77.70 StanleyBlackDck SWK 3.8 46 87.10 0.29
0.47 363.03 289.82 Ansys ANSS ... 52 338.93 -0.24 7.99 262.25 214.77 Cencora COR 0.9 35 242.63 -1.35 28.17 56.76 30.23 Genpact G 1.2 19 55.05 -0.49 -6.30 61.23 43.32 MonsterBev MNST ... 32 49.25 -0.27 -1.48 88.42 73.18 Stantec STN 0.8 35 77.29 -0.53
0.22 36.05 20.32 APA APA 4.3 3 23.14 0.65 1.06 21.90 13.76 CenovusEnergy CVE 2.1 11 15.31 -0.06 6.97 164.45 112.74 GenuineParts GPC 3.2 16 124.90 0.22 s 10.45 531.93 360.05 Moody's MCO 0.7 46 522.84 -4.64 s 23.34 113.47 71.55 Starbucks SBUX 2.2 36 112.55 0.16
8.04 12.86 8.10 ASE Tech ASX 2.1 24 10.88 0.07 -6.14 81.42 55.03 Centene CNC ... 9 56.86 0.05 s 12.68 106.69 62.07 GileadSciences GILD 3.0281 104.08 -1.88 10.52 142.03 84.43 MorganStanley MS 2.7 17 138.95 2.11 1.03 103.00 70.20 StateStreet STT 3.1 12 99.16 0.14
8.44 1110.09 645.45 ASML ASML 0.8 36 751.55 -25.44 s 5.29 33.85 25.41 CenterPointEner CNP 2.6 22 33.41 -0.02 20.37 76.58 40.72 GitLab GTLB ... dd 67.83 -2.73 -3.49 365.00 269.51 Morningstar MORN 0.6 43 325.02 -3.78 19.08 155.56 104.60 SteelDynamics STLD 1.4 14 135.83 2.95
52.13 39.08 1.97 AST Space ASTS ... dd 32.10 2.05 15.03 9.11 5.45 CentraisElBras EBR 3.0 8 6.58 0.26 15.24 63.25 28.11 Global-EOnline GLBE ... dd 62.84 0.10 7.85 33.44 23.56 Mosaic MOS 3.3 23 26.51 0.08 7.66 29.51 12.12 Stellantis STLA 11.8 3 14.05 0.52
s 13.61 25.93 15.94 AT&T T 4.3 17 25.87 0.24 5.11 415.27 236.08 CharterComms CHTR ... 10 360.27 -0.50 -5.74 140.38 91.60 GlobalPayments GPN 0.9 17 105.63 1.50 -5.21 507.82 318.20 MotorolaSol MSI 1.0 48 438.14 -27.91 6.70 248.24 197.82 Steris STE 1.0 47 219.34 0.11
10.90 68.92 44.15 ATI ATI ... 24 61.04 -0.19 18.96 226.03 145.75 CheckPoint CHKP ... 30 222.09 0.97 0.58 61.98 35.85 GlobalFoundries GFS ... dd 43.16 0.34 2.42 96.81 47.46 MuellerIndustries MLI 1.0 15 81.28 0.66 4.04 120.64 72.78 StifelFinancial SF 1.7 18 110.37 1.59
s 15.47 132.65 99.71 AbbottLabs ABT 1.8 17 130.61 -1.18 4.49 654.62 512.12 Chemed CHE 0.4 28 553.59 -7.02 4.68 238.32 151.68 Globant GLOB ... 59 224.46 -4.27 -2.96 561.08 382.04 MurphyUSA MUSA 0.4 20 486.89 -5.82 -1.96 49.05 21.36 STMicroelec STM 1.2 15 24.48 0.57
8.54 207.32 153.58 AbbVie ABBV 3.4 80 192.87 -0.58 -0.63 257.65 152.31 CheniereEnergy LNG 0.9 14 213.52 3.53 9.25 132.00 38.95 GlobeLife GL 0.8 10 121.84 -1.70 3.92 270.73 151.52 NICE NICE ... 27 176.49 -1.74 6.98 406.19 314.93 Stryker SYK 0.9 50 385.18 -3.19
10.29 398.35 278.69 Accenture ACN 1.5 33 388.00 -1.53 16.08 66.47 45.51 CheniereEnerPtrs CQP 5.0 16 61.66 -0.67 1.48 94.93 49.33 GlobusMedical GMED ...127 83.93 -0.20 1.83 7.71 3.61 NIO NIO ... dd 4.44 0.18 4.42 15.56 10.58 SumitomoMits SMFG 2.2 12 15.13 0.30
12.65 345.30 217.64 AcuityBrands AYI 0.2 24 329.09 3.79 7.25 167.11 135.37 Chevron CVX 4.4 16 155.34 1.17 -7.69 216.00 108.02 GoDaddy GDDY ... 28 182.19 -30.35 19.26 115.38 51.42 NRG Energy NRG 1.6 26 107.60 1.35 19.75 33.89 2.10 SummitTherap SMMT ... dd 21.37 -0.45
3.48 590.14 403.75 Adobe ADBE ... 37 460.16 0.94 12.51 40.09 14.69 Chewy CHWY ... 41 37.68 -0.29 42.95 19.71 12.28 GoldFields GFI 1.7 27 18.87 -0.51 -9.94 9964.77 7227.09 NVR NVR ... 15 7365.72 24.24 1.64 147.83 110.98 SunComms SUI 3.0 67 124.99 -1.62
9.80 184.27 110.75 AdvDrainageSys WMS 0.5 21 126.93 0.85 -5.34 69.26 47.98 Chipotle CMG ... 51 57.08 -1.05 15.36 663.87 380.85 GoldmanSachs GS 1.8 16 660.55 11.60 7.84 296.08 198.21 NXP Semicon NXPI 1.8 23 224.14 4.55 -7.09 62.85 46.41 SunLifeFinancial SLF 4.2 12 55.13 -0.15
-6.37 227.30 106.50 AdvMicroDevices AMD ...113 113.10 1.29 -4.26 302.05 238.85 Chubb CB 1.4 12 264.52 -3.22 3.81 5.72 2.98 Grab GRAB ... dd 4.90 -0.06 4.66 84.15 54.90 Nasdaq NDAQ 1.2 42 80.91 -0.78 10.87 41.95 32.62 SuncorEnergy SU 4.1 11 39.56 -0.39
13.07 6.96 5.53 Aegon AEG 4.5 dd 6.66 -0.04 2.31 40.62 35.92 ChunghwaTel CHT 2.9 26 38.52 -0.09 1.79 94.77 77.49 Graco GGG 1.3 30 85.80 -0.26 9.53 183.00 68.03 Natera NTRA ... dd 173.39 2.66 10.96 64.89 49.45 Sunoco SUN 6.2 9 57.08 -0.27
5.22 100.81 75.96 AerCap AER 1.0 8 100.70 1.68 0.28 113.50 96.35 Church&Dwight CHD 1.1 44 105.00 -2.23 -2.50 1227.66 874.98 Grainger GWW 0.8 26 1027.73 -0.10 2.20 73.40 55.13 NationalGrid NGG 5.7 22 60.73 -0.54 57.19 122.90 17.25 SuperMicroComp SMCI ... 24 47.91 5.63
s 32.50 80.72 22.25 AffirmA AFRM ... dd 80.69 1.41 -8.56 150.21 111.09 ChurchillDowns CHDN 0.3 22 122.11 -0.98 12.11 204.37 139.64 GpoAeroportuar PAC 0.0 20 196.18 -2.90 6.59 11.37 5.74 NatWest NWG 4.1 8 10.84 -0.26 2.47 12.98 8.78 Suzano SUZ 2.6 dd 10.37 0.08
0.25 155.35 124.16 AgilentTechs A 0.7 30 134.67 -1.78 5.88 101.44 43.30 Ciena CIEN ...156 89.80 0.95 9.89 357.90 248.88 GpoAeroportSur ASR 3.8 12 283.11 -5.58 s 60.61 47.68 14.09 Nebius NBIS ... dd 44.49 2.79 14.13 50.41 17.11 Symbotic SYM ... dd 27.06 -0.66
22.55 101.45 46.63 AgnicoEagleMines AEM 1.7 25 95.85 -4.96 5.86 370.82 262.03 Cigna CI 2.1 24 292.32 -7.50 -5.65 74.00 20.05 GpoFinGalicia GGAL 0.0 6 58.80 -0.24 2.57 135.45 83.80 NetApp NTAP 1.7 22 119.06 1.33 0.32 70.93 39.26 SynchronyFinl SYF 1.5 8 65.21 1.13
8.99 341.14 225.26 AirProducts APD 2.3 18 316.12 0.96 -4.68 161.75 109.93 CincinnatiFinl CINF 2.5 9 136.97 -0.22 25.85 219.59 107.00 Guidewire GWRE ...600 212.15 -4.49 16.02 114.50 75.85 NetEase NTES 2.4 18 103.50 -1.31 7.66 629.38 457.51 Synopsys SNPS ... 36 522.53 -5.76
22.84 170.10 110.38 Airbnb ABNB ... 39 161.42 20.38 11.78 228.12 152.77 Cintas CTAS 0.8 49 204.22 -1.38 5.35 417.14 289.98 HCA Healthcare HCA 0.9 14 316.21 -5.71 s 18.77 1064.50 542.01 Netflix NFLX ... 53 1058.60 14.91 -7.01 82.33 69.03 Sysco SYY 2.9 18 71.10 -0.77
4.56 113.36 84.70 AkamaiTech AKAM ... 30 100.01 0.35 9.58 66.50 44.50 CiscoSystems CSCO 2.5 28 64.87 1.03 -5.68 68.50 53.00 HDFC Bank HDB 1.0 18 60.23 0.06 -15.74 157.98 110.95 Neurocrine NBIX ... 35 115.02 -1.85
s 20.93 23.32 11.34 AlamosGold s 20.20 84.67 53.51 Citigroup C 2.6 14 84.61 2.51 3.10 39.80 27.43 HP HPQ 3.4 12 33.64 0.34
16.97 76.45 32.62 AlaskaAir
AGI 0.4 37 22.30 -0.78
ALK 0.0 25 75.74 3.20 5.92 49.25 30.30 CitizensFin CFG 3.6 15 46.35 0.30 11.38 55.36 36.93 HSBC HSBC 5.5 9 55.09 -0.10
-13.56 98.20 44.46 NewOrientalEduc EDU 0.0 24 55.48 2.01 TUV
-4.42 58.16 41.55 NYTimes A NYT 1.4 28 49.75 -1.00
-5.66 143.19 71.97 Albemarle ALB 2.0 dd 81.21 1.96 -0.16 267.11 176.02 CleanHarbors CLH ... 30 229.78 -1.30 10.38 42.98 27.03 H World HTHT 3.3 23 36.46 1.66 25.04 58.72 29.42 Newmont NEM 2.1 dd 46.54 -1.21 44.71 15.32 7.34 TAL Education TAL ... 75 14.50 -0.29
6.06 21.75 17.00 Albertsons ACI 2.9 12 20.83 -0.51 -8.92 171.37 127.60 Clorox CLX 3.3 40 147.92 -2.85 1.78 10.80 7.89 Haleon HLN 1.6 33 9.71 -0.24 14.56 34.97 23.99 NewsCorp B NWS 0.6 48 34.86 0.56 -1.31 50.37 31.84 TC Energy TRP 4.9 13 45.92 -1.48
-4.08 47.77 24.86 Alcoa AA 1.1 dd 36.24 -0.14 s 58.95 177.37 66.24 Cloudflare NET ... dd 171.16 -5.34 -3.79 41.56 25.16 Halliburton HAL 2.6 9 26.16 -0.12 s 9.69 30.25 22.65 NewsCorp A NWSA 0.7 42 30.21 0.70 s 23.14 144.48 99.95 TD Synnex SNX 1.2 18 144.42 2.82
6.08 101.10 77.20 Alcon ALC 0.3 38 90.05 -0.19 10.62 73.53 57.93 Coca-Cola KO 2.8 28 68.87 -0.63 5.50 203.72 103.42 HamiltonLane HLNE 1.3 29 156.19 4.36 -5.06 86.10 53.95 NextEraEnergy NEE 3.0 20 68.06 -0.54 6.85 159.98 137.61 TE Connectivity TEL 1.7 24 152.77 -0.45
-2.77 130.14 93.25 AlexandriaRlEst ARE 5.6 53 94.85 -0.97 11.79 1460.92 800.76 CocaColaCon COKE 0.7 27 1408.59 -49.87 2.36 124.90 92.54 HartfordFinl HIG 1.9 11 111.98 -0.30 -3.48 106.62 68.62 Nike NKE 2.2 23 73.04 -0.17 13.42 18.16 13.24 Telus TU 7.1 32 15.38 0.13
s 47.10 126.80 68.36 Alibaba BABA 0.8 26 124.73 5.19 s 10.53 85.61 65.94 CocaColaEuropac CCEP 2.5 22 84.90 2.19 8.78 73.46 48.63 Hasbro HAS 4.6 dd 60.82 0.57 s 7.94 39.99 25.45 NiSource NI 2.8 25 39.68 0.08 -4.55 162.13 124.36 TFI Intl TFII 1.4 23 128.94 -0.39
-0.83 335.40 196.09 AlignTech ALGN ... 37 206.77 1.88 s 17.95 90.82 63.79 CognizantTech CTSH 1.4 20 90.70 1.12 17.45 115.59 65.01 HealthEquity HQY ...103 112.69 -1.25 s 12.64 5.06 3.29 Nokia NOK 1.8 20 4.99 ... 2.92 128.00 92.35 TJX TJX 1.2 29 124.34 -1.51
2.07 156.10 113.27 Allegion ALLE 1.5 20 133.39 0.24 -8.37 113.60 48.78 Coherent COHR ... dd 86.80 0.34 -3.35 23.26 16.02 HealthpeakProp DOC 6.2 56 19.59 -0.07 16.75 6.99 4.66 Nomura NMR 3.2 10 6.76 -0.01 23.50 179.09 78.69 TKO TKO 0.0 dd 175.50 1.01
3.70 64.19 46.80 AlliantEnergy LNT 3.3 24 61.33 0.23 10.48 349.75 146.12 CoinbaseGlbl COIN ... 47 274.31 -23.80 -7.10 283.60 182.47 Heico HEI 0.1 60 220.85 -3.83 3.43 279.38 196.83 Nordson NDSN 1.4 27 216.42 -0.86 s 22.69 271.41 158.84 T-MobileUS TMUS 1.2 28 270.81 5.74
-3.25 122.53 67.61 AllisonTransm ALSN 1.0 13 104.55 2.95 -5.36 109.30 83.29 ColgatePalm CL 2.3 24 86.04 -1.71 -4.51 219.22 146.91 HeicoA HEI.A 0.1 48 177.68 -3.44 9.07 277.60 206.71 NorfolkSouthern NSC 2.1 22 255.99 -1.23 -5.51 72.98 39.18 TPG TPG 2.9 dd 59.38 0.89
-2.68 209.88 153.87 Allstate ALL 2.0 11 187.63 -5.14 -5.70 45.31 32.50 Comcast A CMCSA 3.7 9 35.39 0.01 9.83 82.63 63.67 HenrySchein HSIC ... 31 76.00 -1.62 8.07 114.67 78.75 NorthernTrust NTRS 2.7 11 110.77 -0.73 -5.23 125.81 100.49 T.RowePrice TROW 4.7 12 107.17 -0.07
6.58 45.46 31.95 AllyFinancial ALLY 3.1 15 38.38 1.08 8.47 73.45 45.32 Comerica CMA 4.2 13 67.09 0.33 -6.77 211.92 140.13 Hershey HSY 3.5 14 157.88 -1.56 -6.48 555.57 418.60 NorthropGrum NOC 1.9 15 438.90 -16.16 3.25 226.40 122.91 TaiwanSemi TSM 1.0 29 203.90 2.07
8.98 304.39 141.97 AlnylamPharm ALNY ... dd 256.45 -8.44 -7.74 553.09 239.80 ComfortSystems FIX 0.4 30 391.22 -3.83 10.18 163.98 123.79 Hess HES 1.4 16 146.55 0.70 2.53 29.29 14.69 NorwegCruise NCLH ... 26 26.38 0.05 13.41 215.84 135.24 TakeTwoSoftware TTWO ... dd 208.76 -1.33
-2.15 207.05 130.66 Alphabet A GOOGL 0.4 23 185.23 -0.91 5.50 72.75 47.89 CommerceBcshrs CBSH 1.7 17 65.74 -0.70 7.70 42.15 32.75 HessMidstream HESM 7.0 16 39.88 0.29 8.34 120.92 92.35 Novartis NVS 3.0 18 105.43 -2.28 2.27 15.08 12.57 TakedaPharm TAK 4.0 32 13.54 -0.08
-1.87 208.70 131.55 Alphabet C GOOG 0.4 23 186.87 -1.01 23.80 18.36 13.10 SABESP SBS 1.2 7 17.74 0.64 1.69 24.66 14.46 HewlettPackard HPE 2.4 11 21.71 0.43 t -9.47 148.15 77.82 NovoNordisk NVO 1.3 24 77.87 -0.96 19.89 258.03 67.01 TalenEnergy TLN ... 13 241.54 1.16
1.59 113.12 75.71 AltairEngg ALTR ...295 110.85 0.15 -8.90 33.24 24.18 ConagraBrands CAG 5.5 25 25.28 0.30 7.57 275.22 193.86 Hilton HLT 0.2 43 265.87 -3.65 32.24 16.14 9.67 NuHoldings NU ... 38 13.70 -0.09 s 34.24 88.07 35.23 Tapestry TPR 1.6 25 87.70 1.06
1.91 58.03 39.25 Altria MO 7.7 8 53.29 -0.33 24.64 37.90 17.79 Confluent CFLT ... dd 34.85 -1.38 s 150.08 64.84 9.22 Hims&HersHealth HIMS ...140 60.47 1.29 18.04 203.00 112.25 Nucor NUE 1.6 16 137.77 2.22 15.05 218.51 93.49 TargaResources TRGP 1.5 37 205.36 0.94
4.23 242.52 151.61 Amazon.com AMZN ... 41 228.68 -1.69 -2.93 135.18 94.23 ConocoPhillips COP 3.2 12 96.26 0.14 t -12.28 84.67 62.94 Hologic HOLX ... 20 63.24 -0.38 15.18 75.80 43.35 Nutanix NTNX ... dd 70.47 -0.34 -5.40 181.86 120.21 Target TGT 3.5 14 127.88 -0.70
2.70 2.72 1.76 Ambev ABEV 5.4 11 1.90 0.03 6.38 107.75 85.85 ConEd ED 3.6 18 94.92 -0.74 5.27 439.37 323.77 HomeDepot HD 2.2 28 409.50 -2.93 13.74 60.87 43.70 Nutrien NTR 4.2 34 50.90 0.20 4.91 33.45 19.44 TechnipFMC FTI 0.7 20 30.36 0.08
7.01 11.48 8.80 Amcor AMCR 5.1 18 10.07 -0.03 -26.27 274.87 160.46 ConstBrands A STZ 2.5 44 162.94 -0.26 0.49 37.90 23.41 HondaMotor HMC 4.0 7 28.69 0.74 0.25 86.57 56.44 nVentElectric NVT 1.2 35 68.33 0.99 6.29 55.13 37.30 TeckResourcesB TECK 0.8 69 43.08 -0.78
3.71 94.04 74.41 Amdocs DOX 2.4 20 88.30 1.07 41.84 352.00 129.39 ConstellationEner CEG 0.4 35 317.30 5.81 -10.24 242.77 189.75 Honeywell HON 2.2 23 202.75 -2.52 3.40 153.13 66.25 NVIDIA NVDA 0.0 55 138.85 3.56 5.52 522.50 355.41 TeledyneTech TDY ... 28 489.73 -9.55
10.84 34.00 10.11 AmerSports AS ... dd 30.99 0.11 -4.17 112.38 84.76 Cooper COO 0.0 45 88.10 -5.58 -9.28 36.86 28.27 HormelFoods HRL 4.1 19 28.46 -0.08 -2.36 8.90 4.77 Ericsson ERIC 2.22186 7.87 -0.04
s 10.02 100.61 68.60 Ameren AEE 2.9 22 98.07 -0.20 3.48 64.38 48.05 Copart CPRT ... 42 59.39 -0.44 -6.62 199.85 125.84 DR Horton DHI 1.2 9 130.57 1.23 OPQ 24.50 11.43 7.46 TelefonicaBras VIV 2.9 15 9.40 0.16
6.78 20.31 13.62 AmericaMovil AMX 3.4 31 15.28 0.45 6.68 62.15 37.22 Core&Main CNM ... 26 54.31 0.27 -6.45 21.31 15.71 HostHotels HST 4.9 16 16.39 -0.03 6.47 4.93 3.83 Telefonica TEF 5.4 dd 4.28 -0.06
-8.38 19.10 9.07 AmerAirlines AAL 0.0 14 15.97 0.23 10.86 34.66 23.77 CorebridgeFin CRBG 2.8 9 33.18 1.16 2.65 192.10 121.81 HoulihanLokey HLI 1.3 34 178.27 -0.21 5.53 44.41 32.37 OGE Energy OGE 3.9 23 43.53 -0.19 -5.65 26.85 14.16 TelekmIndonesia TLK 10.9 11 15.52 0.31
10.41 105.18 79.16 AEP AEP 3.7 18 101.83 0.84 10.56 55.33 30.72 Corning GLW 2.1 90 52.54 0.43 s 21.99 133.92 62.70 HowmetAerospace HWM 0.3 47 133.42 5.34 -2.54 118.07 70.94 ONEOK OKE 4.2 20 97.85 -1.12 s 21.33 69.55 45.04 TempurSealy TPX 0.8 31 68.78 0.34
4.80 326.27 209.10 AmerExpress AXP 0.9 22 311.04 3.54 11.49 400.81 247.10 Corpay CPAY ... 27 377.31 8.90 -6.86 481.35 346.13 Hubbell HUBB 1.4 27 390.14 -3.09 -17.80 85.16 46.57 ON Semi ON ... 14 51.83 0.91 s 164.93 91.45 22.89 TempusAI TEM ... dd 89.44 5.69
-9.97 150.19 118.97 AmericanFin AFG 2.6 12 123.28 -1.04 12.29 66.24 50.01 Corteva CTVA 1.1 50 63.96 1.10 16.53 881.13 434.84 HubSpot HUBS ...9463 811.95 -7.76 11.22 1350.27 947.49 O'ReillyAuto ORLY ... 32 1318.80 -16.88 2.25 40.73 27.24 Tenaris TS 0.0 8 38.64 0.15
-5.83 41.41 34.01 AmHomes4Rent AMH 3.4 37 35.24 -0.59 3.45 100.38 68.26 CoStar CSGP ...172 74.06 0.50 0.05 406.46 213.31 Humana HUM 1.4 25 253.83 0.95 -2.73 71.19 45.17 OccidentalPetrol OXY 1.8 13 48.06 0.18 19.91 15.77 9.14 TencentMusic TME 1.0 26 13.61 0.85
2.12 80.83 68.05 AIG AIG 2.2 15 74.34 -2.06 16.98 1078.23 697.27 Costco COST 0.4 63 1071.85 -5.01 -0.40 218.65 153.12 JBHunt JBHT 1.0 31 169.98 4.52 22.20 114.50 70.56 Okta OKTA ... dd 96.29 -3.97 5.61 171.20 88.94 TenetHealthcare THC ... 4 133.31 -0.26
3.26 243.56 170.46 AmerTowerREIT AMT 3.4 80 189.38 -0.61 7.75 29.95 22.30 CoterraEnergy CTRA 3.1 17 27.52 -0.07 2.83 18.45 12.05 HuntingtonBcshs HBAN 3.7 14 16.73 0.12 16.97 233.26 165.49 OldDomFreight ODFL 0.5 38 206.34 -0.05 -10.06 163.21 95.80 Teradyne TER 0.4 34 113.25 0.53
0.94 150.68 113.34 AmerWaterWorks AWK 2.4 25 125.66 -1.21 15.29 26.91 15.50 Coupang CPNG ... 45 25.34 0.34 -9.06 168.20 128.91 HyattHotels H 0.4 11 142.75 -4.63 0.61 39.27 28.20 OldRepublic ORI 2.9 11 36.41 -0.10 -11.89 488.54 138.80 Tesla TSLA ...175 355.84 -0.10
2.54 582.05 385.74 Ameriprise AMP 1.1 17 545.93 6.19 13.01 188.52 118.48 Crane CR 0.5 34 171.49 2.87 -2.34 32.14 24.62 ICICI Bank IBN 0.7 18 29.16 0.01 -3.83 44.41 29.66 OmegaHealthcare OHI 7.4 24 36.40 0.05 -26.27 22.80 12.51 TevaPharm TEVA ... dd 16.25 -0.38

.
1.82 198.33 149.03 Ametek AME 0.7 31 183.54 -0.89 1.52 200.00 153.27 Credicorp BAP 5.0 10 186.10 2.33 7.52 583.39 398.50 IdexxLab IDXX ... 42 444.53 -15.23 -4.50 107.00 80.31 Omnicom OMC 3.4 11 82.17 0.23 -2.39 220.38 159.11 TexasInstruments TXN 3.0 35 183.03 2.23
11.71 346.85 253.30 Amgen AMGN 3.3 39 291.16 -3.43 5.19 86.69 16.82 CredoTech CRDO ... dd 70.70 0.22 9.19 18.72 13.30 ING Groep ING 5.9 ... 17.11 0.29 -5.00 64.05 27.37 OnHolding ONON ...119 52.03 -0.34 24.09 1769.14 493.40 TexasPacLand TPL 0.5 70 1372.40 19.22
-0.82 79.39 52.06 Amphenol APH 1.0 36 68.88 -0.49 32.03 454.13 200.81 CrowdStrike CRWD ...892 451.74 -2.03 -1.56 261.73 187.62 IQVIA IQV ... 26 193.44 -2.61 5.93 238.93 145.15 OntoInnovation ONTO ... 44 176.55 2.70 -4.84 206.04 144.82 TexasRoadhouse TXRH 1.4 30 171.70 0.27

ly
1.01 244.14 182.57 AnalogDevices ADI 1.7 65 214.61 5.27 -3.09 120.92 84.20 CrownCastle CCI 7.1 31 87.96 -1.91 3.29 161.13 121.01 ITT ITT 1.0 23 147.58 -0.37 4.51 198.31 106.51 Oracle ORCL 0.9 43 174.16 0.30 t -5.50 97.33 72.03 Textron TXT 0.1 17 72.28 -0.82
39.47 33.77 16.93 AngloGoldAsh AU 1.3394 32.19 -1.05 6.46 98.46 70.84 Crown Holdings CCK 1.1 25 88.03 -0.39 14.42 22.59 8.53 IcahnEnterprises IEP 20.2 dd 9.92 -0.01 -2.85 125.84 90.57 Orix IX 3.2 9 103.20 0.10 2.23 627.88 493.30 ThermoFisher TMO 0.3 32 531.85 -0.79
6.09 67.49 45.94 AB InBev BUD 1.2 18 53.12 ... -2.92 55.14 39.80 CubeSmart CUBE 5.0 23 41.60 -0.43 -11.21 347.72 181.51 Icon ICLR ... 21 186.21 3.57 4.46 106.33 90.12 OtisWorldwide OTIS 1.6 24 96.74 -0.89 8.30 179.45 149.50 ThomsonReuters TRI 1.4 35 173.69 -5.25
s 16.01 21.29 17.67 AnnalyCap NLY 12.2 13 21.23 0.30 7.08 147.64 94.09 Cullen/Frost CFR 2.6 16 143.75 -0.03 -6.73 246.36 189.51 IDEX IEX 1.4 29 195.21 2.18 8.96 55.95 36.91 Ovintiv OVV 2.7 6 44.13 0.86 15.13 155.00 75.65 3M MMM 2.0 20 148.62 0.63
13.67 41.53 23.25 AnteroResources AR ...221 39.84 -0.31 7.22 387.90 259.06 Cummins CMI 1.9 13 373.78 4.46 1.79 279.13 232.77 IllinoisToolWks ITW 2.3 22 258.11 -1.98 5.32 214.53 138.70 OwensCorning OC 1.5 15 179.38 1.34 11.08 44.12 20.49 Toast TOST ... dd 40.49 0.29
7.75 395.33 268.06 Aon AON 0.7 31 386.99 -3.30 -8.92 393.40 232.81 Curtiss-Wright CW 0.3 31 323.20 -14.75 -24.99 156.66 97.27 Illumina ILMN ... dd 100.24 -1.54 28.01 164.69 88.01 PDD PDD ... 12 124.16 2.62 -1.84 169.52 100.47 TollBros TOL 0.7 8 123.63 0.10
4.25 40.89 31.44 APi Group APG ... dd 37.50 0.03 s 24.06 419.49 223.09 CyberArkSoftware CYBR ... dd 413.31 -1.00 -24.23 21.72 14.99 PG&E PCG 0.4 13 15.29 -0.56 4.78 495.68 302.70 TopBuild BLD ... 16 326.21 -0.91
-1.42 189.49 95.11 ApolloGlbMgmt APO 1.1 22 162.81 4.89
-2.32 260.10 164.07 Apple

57.53 525.15 54.50 AppLovin

-7.84 178.03 135.04 Aptargroup
10.78 85.56 51.47 Aptiv
AAPL 0.4 39 244.60 3.07
10.80 282.98 177.68 AppliedIndlTechs AIT 0.7 27 265.34 2.66
4.04 255.89 158.96 ApplMaterials AMAT 0.9 22 169.20 -15.07
APP ...112 510.13 38.46
ATR 1.2 26 144.79 2.02
APTV 0.0 10 67.00 0.59
DEF
6.87 131.66 103.06 DTE Energy
on DTE 3.4 17 129.04
0.73 114.50 53.06 DT Midstream DTM 2.9 24 100.16
-10.13 281.70 196.80 Danaher
2.41 201.94 135.87 Darden
DHR 0.5 39 206.30
DRI 2.9 22 191.19
1.23
-1.30
2.71
-2.27
12.42 80.17 58.60 ImperialOil
1.95 83.95 50.35 Incyte
t -23.83 39.80 16.37 Informatica
-1.60 23.63 16.04 Infosys
-5.24 106.03 83.72 IngersollRand IR
-7.82 155.44 109.51 Ingredion
14.88 82.04 21.92 Insmed
7.47 289.46 160.19 Insulet
IMO 2.6 11 69.25
INCY ...260 70.42
INFA ...652 19.75
INFY 1.9 27 21.57
0.1 42 85.72
INGR 2.5 13 126.80
INSM ... dd 79.31
PODD ... 48 280.56
-1.03
0.41
-5.42
-0.17
-6.83
-1.45
0.64
-1.56
0.55 216.26 139.69 PNC Finl
-1.48 86.10 39.40 POSCO
-1.42 145.60 110.20 PPG Ind
3.91 35.15 25.87 PPL
-6.95 203.09 163.30 PTC
1.87 125.50 90.04 Paccar
PNC 3.3 14 193.91
PKX 3.6 19 42.72
PPG 2.3 25 117.75
PPL 3.2 28 33.73
PTC ... 53 171.10
PCAR 1.2 13 105.96
-5.61 250.82 166.02 PackagingCpAm PKG 2.4 24 212.50
-1.52
-0.22
-0.17
-0.68
3.17
0.70
0.35
12.23 64.91 51.25 TorontoDomBk TD 4.9 17 59.75
12.68 74.97 53.29 TotalEnergies TTE ... 9 61.41
-5.33 255.23 159.04 ToyotaMotor

-31.80 141.53 76.12 TradeDesk

-2.97 141.69 98.93 Tradeweb
-1.65 422.00 270.50 TraneTech
TM 2.6 7 184.24
7.69 61.53 46.76 TractorSupply TSCO 1.5 28 57.14
TTD ...103 80.16
TW 0.4 54 127.03
TT 1.0 32 363.26
-0.18
0.35
0.23
0.15
-1.76
-1.32
1.98
1.18 42.49 29.78 Aramark ARMK 1.1 30 37.75 -0.93 -8.31 170.08 98.80 Datadog DDOG ...255 131.01 -4.88 17.71 46.63 18.51 Intel s 57.56 120.67 20.33 PalantirTech PLTR ...634 119.16 1.25 3.70 1451.32 1136.27 TransDigm TDG 0.0 46 1314.19 -21.77
INTC 0.0 dd 23.60 -0.53
us ,

23.52 29.38 20.52 ArcelorMittal MT 1.5 17 28.57 -0.14 5.26 179.60 118.60 DaVita DVA ... 15 157.42 -19.64 s 32.52 236.53 102.27 InteractiveBrkrs IBKR 0.4 34 234.12 -0.73 9.93 207.24 130.04 PaloAltoNtwks PANW ...113 200.03 -1.85 7.58 113.17 66.07 TransUnion TRU 0.5 69 99.74 -0.51
-4.49 116.47 83.97 ArchCapital ACGL 0.0 8 88.20 -1.96 -8.56 82.69 47.08 Dayforce DAY ...591 66.42 -0.26 s 11.88 169.78 124.34 ICE ICE 1.2 35 166.71 -1.86 20.97 26.05 12.19 PanAmerSilver PAAS 1.6 dd 24.46 -0.61 -1.08 269.56 200.21 Travelers TRV 1.8 11 238.30 -4.71
-23.64 223.98 131.39 DeckersOutdoor DECK ... 25 155.07 -3.04
l

-8.75 66.08 44.92 ADM ADM 4.4 13 46.10 0.39 6.93 137.25 91.56 InterContHtls IHG 1.2 35 133.58 -1.33 10.10 718.44 492.71 ParkerHannifin PH 0.9 29 700.25 6.43 5.14 77.78 48.65 Trimble TRMB ... 12 74.29 0.63
5.17 200.49 125.23 AresMgmt ARES 2.4 91 186.18 1.79 13.34 485.84 340.20 Deere DE 1.3 21 480.22 14.00 18.86 265.72 162.62 IBM IBM 2.6 41 261.28 2.09 5.01 151.72 114.72 Paychex PAYX 2.7 31 147.25 -1.38 0.86 77.18 38.23 Trip.com TCOM ... 21 69.25 -0.49
e
3.97 678.21 349.86 argenx ARGX ... dd 639.41 -11.93 -0.75 179.70 80.49 DellTechC DELL 1.6 20 114.38 4.12 1.22 106.77 72.94 IntlFlavors 2.07 242.74 139.50 PaycomSoftware PAYC 0.7 24 209.22 -2.76 7.91 49.05 34.26 TruistFinl TFC 4.4 14 46.81 0.87
al a

8.08 69.98 37.29 DeltaAir DAL 0.9 12 65.39 1.33

IFF 1.9 dd 85.58 -0.42
-3.31 133.57 60.08 AristaNetworks ANET ... 51 106.87 -2.88 4.27 60.36 33.16 IntlPaper IP 3.3 36 56.12 0.68 8.77 223.80 129.94 Paylocity PCTY ... 56 216.96 -0.60 15.81 151.95 52.51 Twilio TWLO ... dd 125.17 -22.11
29.33 188.75 85.61 Arm ARM ...211 159.54 -5.29 2.59 124.31 84.12 DescartesSystems DSGX ... 74 116.54 -0.24 -3.46 35.17 26.30 Interpublic IPG 4.9 15 27.05 0.09 -8.65 93.66 56.97 PayPal PYPL ... 20 77.97 1.38 11.28 661.31 397.80 TylerTech TYL ...106 641.70 -5.04
4.66 161.00 111.09 AscendisPharma ASND ... dd 144.08 1.59 18.48 20.45 12.79 DeutscheBank DB 1.6 10 20.20 0.25 s 53.04 128.19 62.78 Intra-Cellular ITCI ... dd 127.82 -0.24 5.09 17.08 11.78 Pearson PSO 1.7 27 16.94 0.09 -0.59 66.88 52.05 TysonFoods TSN 3.5 19 57.10 -0.47
6.07 277.37 171.25 AspenTech AZPN ...2923 264.78 -0.06 5.84 55.09 30.39 DevonEnergy DVN 3.6 6 34.64 0.42 -6.54 714.78 557.29 Intuit INTU 0.7 57 587.38 3.48 -1.89 43.44 33.60 PembinaPipeline PBA 5.6 15 36.25 -0.63 10.65 35.84 26.00 UBS Group UBS 2.1 22 33.55 0.06
14.53 142.00 62.34 DexCom DXCM ... 63 89.07
ci on

-4.81 230.55 160.12 Assurant AIZ 1.6 14 202.96 -5.06 4.98 14.10 616.00 364.17 IntuitiveSurgical ISRG ... 93 595.55 4.16 14.43 180.12 142.32 PenskeAuto PAG 2.5 13 174.44 -1.45 -1.06 47.55 34.76 UDR UDR 4.0168 42.95 -0.20
-33.67 147.39 36.22 AsteraLabs ALAB ... dd 87.85 -0.34 -15.42 154.71 105.72 Diageo DEO 3.8 17 107.53 -1.85 -1.69 37.80 30.13 InvitatHomes INVH 3.7 77 31.43 -0.40 -3.89 110.71 72.63 Pentair PNR 1.0 26 96.73 -0.46 7.48 79.03 59.70 U-Haul UHAL 0.0 35 74.26 0.45
12.30 87.67 62.75 AstraZeneca AZN 2.1 33 73.58 -0.87 -4.18 214.50 152.00 DiamondbkEner FANG 2.3 9 156.99 0.82 -10.32 54.74 6.22 IonQ IONQ ... dd 37.46 -1.19 13.13 277.89 148.00 Penumbra PEN ...312 268.67 -4.22 3.68 73.97 57.03 U-Haul N UHAL/B 0.3 32 66.41 0.92
28.65 326.00 135.29 Atlassian TEAM ... dd 313.10 -2.90 4.16 254.59 165.31 Dick's DKS 1.8 17 238.36 -4.25 -9.23 130.24 67.09 IronMountain IRM 3.3157 95.41 0.16 -5.70 183.41 141.51 PepsiCo PEP 3.8 21 143.39 -1.19 13.67 59.23 33.15 UL Solutions ULS 0.9 37 56.70 -0.65
5.20 152.65 110.97 AtmosEnergy ATO 2.4 21 146.51 -1.47 -7.36 198.00 131.42 DigitalRealty DLR 3.0101 164.28 -0.53 22.78 7.27 4.86 ItauUnibanco ITUB 6.4 8 6.09 0.21 3.00 92.44 61.60 PerformanceFood PFGC ... 35 87.09 -0.86 5.62 73.00 48.27 US Foods USFD ... 35 71.25 0.14
s 61.75 10.77 2.10 AuroraInnov AUR ... dd 10.19 0.77 13.13 205.76 109.68 DiscoverFinSvcs DFS 1.4 13 195.97 5.86 -1.46 18.28 12.62 PermianRscs PR 4.2 9 14.17 -0.04 8.86 9.74 5.31 UWM UWMC 6.3 dd 6.39 0.07
2.42 326.62 195.32 Autodesk ADSK ... 60 302.72 -0.76 -0.87 123.74 83.91 Disney DIS 0.9 36 110.38 0.79 11.35 17.91 12.55 PetroleoBrasil PBR 18.6 6 14.32 31.66 87.00 54.84 Uber
5.27 311.67 231.27 ADP ADP 2.0 32 308.15 -2.07 -2.89 107.86 48.70 DocuSign DOCU ... 18 87.34 -1.29 JKL 11.06 17.32 11.52 PetroleoBrasilA PBR.A 20.3 5 13.15
0.61
0.54 2.80 469.98 104.24 Ubiquiti
UBER ... 17 79.42
UI 0.7 46 341.22
-0.87
-2.24
8.01 3484.42 2680.96 AutoZone AZO ... 23 3458.55 -11.16 -4.30 168.07 66.43 DollarGeneral DG 3.3 12 72.56 -0.28 19.35 47.82 21.18 JD.com JD 1.8 13 41.38 1.79 -3.77 31.54 24.48 Pfizer PFE 6.7 18 25.53 -0.11 17.47 25.48 10.37 UiPath PATH ... dd 14.93 -0.21
-0.74 239.29 172.85 Avalonbay AVB 3.2 29 218.35 -1.75 -4.51 151.22 60.49 DollarTree DLTR ... dd 71.56 -0.45 s 15.39 279.23 178.16 JPMorganChase JPM 1.8 14 276.59 0.27 s 25.02 151.22 87.82 PhilipMorris PM 3.6 33 150.46 1.28 -16.05 574.76 318.17 UltaBeauty ULTA ... 15 365.14 4.70
t -15.19 28.00 17.83 Avantor 3.21 61.97 44.17 DominionEner D 4.8 20 55.59 -1.12 17.89 174.80 95.84 Jabil JBL 0.2 16 169.65 0.98
er s

AVTR ... 17 17.87 -0.23 12.38 174.08 108.91 Phillips66 PSX 3.6 26 128.04 2.50 -3.19 65.87 46.45 Unilever UL 3.4 22 54.89 -1.07
-2.95 233.47 178.72 AveryDennison AVY 1.9 21 181.61 -1.27 13.56 542.75 396.06 Domino's DPZ 1.3 29 476.66 -3.22 -5.04 189.63 157.00 JackHenry JKHY 1.4 30 166.47 -4.00 s 18.70 57.16 28.22 Pilgrim'sPride PPC ... 12 53.88 1.83 9.29 258.66 218.55 UnionPacific UNP 2.2 22 249.22 -1.75
14.99 698.67 260.26 AxonEnterprise AXON ...177 683.41 18.71 1.83 78.95 65.91 Donaldson DCI 1.6 20 68.58 -1.51 -3.55 150.54 92.82 JacobsSolns J 1.0 27 128.88 -1.47 5.11 131.91 73.62 PinnacleFinPtrs PNFP 0.8 20 120.24 0.39 7.37 116.00 37.02 UnitedAirlines UAL ... 11 104.26 3.37
2.76 38.14 21.87 BCE BCE 11.7339 23.82 0.19 s 27.20 214.64 99.32 DoorDash DASH ...792 213.38 7.74 5.45 43.57 29.88 JamesHardie JHX 0.0 32 32.49 -0.11 5.30 95.42 66.77 PinnacleWest PNW 4.0 17 89.26 -0.09 -3.54 9.00 5.61 UnitedMicro UMC 5.6 10 6.26 -0.04
5.57 63.21 48.06 BHP Group BHP 5.6 17 51.55 -0.28 7.85 222.31 159.47 Dover DOV 1.0 10 202.33 -0.36 -8.83 82.68 40.66 JefferiesFinl JEF 2.2 24 71.48 0.98 34.03 45.19 27.00 Pinterest PINS ... 14 38.87 -0.22 -7.84 158.95 109.40 UPS B UPS 5.6 17 116.22 0.58
m er

18.58 108.00 68.36 BJ'sWholesale BJ ... 25 105.95 -1.00 -3.64 60.69 36.66 Dow DOW 7.2 25 38.67 0.33 7.97 168.85 140.68 J&J JNJ 3.2 27 156.15 -1.10 15.93 21.00 15.80 PlainsAllAmPipe PAA 7.7 27 19.80 0.26 5.23 896.98 596.48 UnitedRentals URI 0.9 19 741.26 11.89
18.40 40.40 27.82 BP BP 5.4443 35.00 0.51 44.35 85.21 22.96 Doximity DOCS ... 77 77.07 0.08 13.73 89.95 56.28 JohnsonControls JCI 1.6 34 89.77 1.22 14.80 22.30 16.57 PlainsGP PAGP 7.2 40 21.10 0.19 -0.17 53.98 37.81 US Bancorp USB 4.2 13 47.75 0.36
-4.09 136.31 86.70 BWX Tech BWXT 0.9 35 106.83 -2.29 -13.87 16.89 13.36 DrReddy'sLab RDY 0.6 18 13.60 -0.39 11.67 288.50 171.45 JonesLang JLL 0.0 29 282.69 3.36 2.14 110.00 54.35 PlanetFitness PLNT ... 54 100.99 -2.87 13.06 48.12 26.91 US Steel X 0.5 26 38.43 -0.39
-4.68 90.11 56.46 BXP BXP 5.5802 70.88 -0.38 s 43.79 53.61 28.69 DraftKings DKNG ... dd 53.49 7.04 -2.40 39.79 33.72 JuniperNetworks JNPR 2.4 43 36.55 0.21 0.98 422.73 293.51 Pool POOL 1.4 30 344.28 3.96 5.03 417.81 211.61 UnitedTherap UTHR ... 16 370.58 0.14
15.62 116.25 77.19 Baidu BIDU ... 12 97.48 0.89 9.12 33.33 20.68 Dropbox DBX ... 19 32.78 0.29 -1.97 72.89 45.59 KB Financial KB 4.1 7 55.78 -0.51 3.60 307.91 184.76 Primerica PRI 1.5 21 281.18 -2.96 3.49 630.73 436.38 UnitedHealth UNH 1.6 34 523.51 -7.67
13.12 49.40 28.66 BakerHughes BKR 2.0 16 46.40 0.25 3.58 121.25 90.09 DukeEnergy DUK 3.7 20 111.60 -1.31 11.29 26.05 12.44 KE Holdings BEKE 1.5 42 20.50 0.11 7.80 34.14 14.10 PrimoBrands PRMB 1.1 ... 33.17 -0.38 -4.27 34.91 13.89 UnitySoftware U ... dd 21.51 0.77
-9.58 71.32 49.00 Ball BALL 1.6 dd 49.85 0.52 s 33.45 436.98 145.05 Duolingo DUOL ...239 432.69 2.37 -4.97 170.40 91.92 KKR KKR 0.5 43 140.56 1.44 10.64 91.97 72.21 PrincipalFinl PFG 3.5 13 85.65 -1.30 1.18 243.25 152.69 UniversalHealthB UHS 0.4 12 181.54 -1.27
s 29.94 12.73 9.23 BBVA BBVA 4.7 7 12.63 0.17 9.18 90.06 67.70 DuPont DD 1.8 50 83.25 -0.80 19.14 896.32 609.40 KLA KLAC 0.9 32 750.74 -13.54 s 16.78 87.90 49.46 ProcoreTech PCOR ... dd 87.50 12.40 1.82 79.43 48.28 UnumGroup UNM 2.3 8 74.36 -1.08
m rp

12.01 2.67 1.71 BancoBradesco BBDO 6.5 7 2.00 0.09 56.49 86.42 26.38 DutchBros BROS ...239 81.97 -1.57 15.29 143.72 86.24 Kaspi.kz KSPI 4.9 10 109.19 -0.04 -2.84 180.43 153.52 Procter&Gamble PG 2.5 26 162.89 -8.13 19.25 29.02 11.00 VF VFC 1.4 dd 25.59 0.05
s 18.03 26.96 20.93 BancodeChile BCH 4.6 10 26.77 0.50 12.79 63.00 39.42 Dynatrace DT ... 38 61.30 -1.08 s 1.59 82.41 52.46 Kellanova K 2.8 21 82.26 0.05 9.59 270.62 186.94 Progressive PGR 0.2 19 262.60 0.47 3.97 34.29 27.07 VICI Prop VICI 5.7 11 30.37 -0.06
20.72 6.01 3.75 BancSanBrasil BSBR 4.6 ... 4.72 0.23 -6.08 545.29 248.31 EMCOR EME 0.2 22 426.29 -1.26 2.72 24.46 17.67 Kenvue KVUE 3.7 41 21.93 0.48 14.33 135.76 100.82 Prologis PLD 3.2 31 120.85 -0.05 10.03 13.77 8.38 Vale VALE 9.4 5 9.76 0.19
s 20.57 22.89 17.73 BcoSantChile BSAC 2.5 12 22.74 0.22 7.31 33.78 26.12 ENI E 4.9 17 29.36 0.21 -1.46 38.28 28.61 KeurigDrPepper KDP 2.9 19 31.65 -0.22 -5.88 130.55 104.44 PrudentialFinl PRU 4.8 15 111.56 -0.35 10.38 184.79 116.84 ValeroEnergy VLO 3.3 16 135.31 4.32
s 32.02 6.05 3.91 BancoSantander SAN 2.5 7 6.02 0.10 5.49 139.67 109.06 EOG Rscs EOG 3.0 10 129.31 0.29 3.38 20.04 13.11 KeyCorp KEY 4.6 dd 17.72 0.24 14.87 21.42 14.39 Prudential PUK 2.3 29 18.31 -0.01 2.61 121.06 58.10 Vaxcyte PCVX ... dd 84.00 0.16
s 29.20 41.00 30.25 BanColombia CIB 8.4 12 40.71 0.39 13.81 317.50 169.43 EPAM Systems EPAM ... 35 266.12 -1.51 s 14.21 184.35 119.72 KeysightTech KEYS ... 52 183.46 4.16 -0.94 95.22 59.02 PublicServiceEnt PEG 3.0 21 83.70 -0.18 11.30 258.93 170.25 VeevaSystems VEEV ... 58 234.00 -0.15
6.85 48.08 32.49 BankofAmerica BAC 2.2 15 46.96 0.63 15.88 54.85 30.02 EQT EQT 1.2 63 53.43 0.56 1.24 149.31 117.93 KimberlyClark KMB 3.8 18 132.67 -2.69 -0.68 369.99 256.31 PublicStorage PSA 4.0 31 297.40 -3.84 12.97 67.61 41.45 Ventas VTR 2.9349 66.53 1.59
4.12 104.63 76.98 BankMontreal BMO 4.5 14 101.05 0.58 2.29 321.93 211.44 EagleMaterials EXP 0.4 18 252.42 1.92 -6.96 25.83 17.57 KimcoRealty KIM 4.6 39 21.80 -0.64 -1.35 149.47 100.24 PulteGroup PHM 0.8 7 107.43 0.73 ... 25.50 14.75 VentureGlobal VG ... ... 15.96 0.67
s 14.33 88.25 52.64 BankNY Mellon BK 2.1 15 87.84 0.96 2.93 113.95 68.78 EastWestBncp EWBC 2.4 12 98.57 0.91 -3.10 31.48 16.91 KinderMorgan KMI 4.3 23 26.55 -0.01 10.37 73.67 38.78 PureStorage PSTG ...179 67.80 0.26 -3.79 115.00 83.34 Veralto VLTO 0.4 29 97.99 -1.76
-4.64 57.07 43.67 BankNovaScotia BNS 6.1 12 51.23 0.06 11.91 192.61 155.10 EastGroup EGP 3.1 39 179.61 -0.81 8.13 67.60 32.96 Kinetik KNTK 5.1 23 61.32 0.05 -12.95 49.30 39.27 Qiagen QGEN 0.0107 39.87 -0.19 10.77 230.30 167.04 VeriSign VRSN ... 29 229.24 -0.10
11.96 15.43 7.44 Barclays BCS 2.7 5 14.88 0.34 10.61 114.50 83.72 EastmanChem EMN 3.3 13 101.01 -0.57 21.57 12.29 4.75 KinrossGold KGC 1.1 15 11.27 -0.14 12.11 230.63 148.90 Qualcomm QCOM 2.0 18 172.23 0.08 s 6.55 296.94 217.34 VeriskAnalytics VRSK 0.5 46 293.48 -2.02
co Fo

15.74 21.35 14.27 BarrickGold GOLD 2.2 15 17.94 -0.50 -6.84 379.99 255.65 Eaton ETN 1.2 33 309.17 1.36 -3.39 548.47 355.12 KinsaleCapital KNSL 0.2 25 449.34 -37.77 -9.68 365.88 206.58 QuantaServices PWR 0.1 53 285.45 -5.41 2.50 45.36 37.59 Verizon VZ 6.6 10 40.99 -0.05
5.69 44.01 28.34 BaxterIntl BAX 2.2134 30.82 0.20 12.83 71.52 42.14 eBay EBAY 1.5 18 69.90 0.64 13.97 49.55 21.26 Klaviyo KVYO ... dd 47.00 -1.00 s 11.87 171.30 123.30 QuestDiag DGX 1.9 22 168.77 0.05 13.98 519.88 377.85 VertexPharm VRTX ... dd 459.00 -3.58
-0.91 251.99 218.75 BectonDicknsn BDX 1.9 37 224.80 -0.21 s 12.98 268.00 213.94 Ecolab ECL 1.0 36 264.74 -0.73 2.13 61.51 45.55 Knight-Swift KNX 1.2 75 54.17 -0.29 -4.89 155.84 55.00 Vertiv VRT 0.1 84 108.05 -1.23
24.99 248.16 126.97 BeiGene ONC ... dd 230.86 5.37 29.42 12.90 7.21 Ecopetrol EC 29.7 6 10.25 0.03 11.33 32.91 18.90 Philips PHG 0.0 dd 28.19 -0.42 RS -13.25 13.62 9.93 Viatris VTRS 4.4 dd 10.80 ...
1.78 80.67 48.06 BellRing BRBR ... 36 76.68 -0.87 -37.30 88.77 49.06 EdisonIntl EIX 6.6 15 50.06 -1.46 6.98 9.54 6.68 KoreaElecPwr KEP 0.0 3 7.36 0.13 16.82 53.14 25.71 Viking VIK ... dd 51.47 -0.89
1.18 57.19 43.82 BentleySystems BSY 0.5 42 47.25 0.54 2.92 96.12 58.93 EdwardsLife EW ... 11 76.19 0.19 -5.83 38.96 27.25 KraftHeinz KHC 5.5 13 28.92 -0.33 21.87 372.51 241.43 RBC Bearings RBC ... 50 364.56 1.79 -6.45 6.42 2.25 VinFastAuto VFS ... dd 3.77 0.05
3.13 65.49 50.73 Berkley WRB 0.5 14 60.35 -1.14 14.18 136.06 69.00 Elastic ESTC ...205 113.13 -4.46 6.51 66.18 46.83 Kroger KR 2.0 17 65.13 -0.18 6.75 99.79 65.98 RB Global RBA 1.2 52 96.30 0.67 11.95 356.08 252.70 Visa V 0.7 36 353.81 -1.82
5.61 741971 596000 BerkHathwy A BRK.A ... 10 719146 -2354.00 15.08 313.89 175.30 ElbitSystems ESLT 0.7 51 296.98 0.64 20.78 43.61 19.23 Kyndryl KD ... 75 41.79 0.25 12.44 51.99 40.25 RELX RELX 1.5 39 51.07 -0.84 21.61 199.84 45.19 Vistra VST 0.5 32 167.66 2.01
5.80 491.67 395.66 BerkHathwy B BRK.B ... 10 479.59 -0.90 -11.55 168.50 115.21 ElectronicArts EA 0.6 33 129.40 -0.42 s 18.35 32.88 21.83 LatamAirlines LTM ... 10 32.64 -0.02 0.33 141.79 103.69 RPM RPM 1.7 24 123.46 0.67 -1.53 10.39 8.00 Vodafone VOD 8.2 8 8.36 -0.07
6.18 103.71 69.29 BestBuy BBY 4.1 16 91.10 1.93 5.52 567.26 362.21 ElevanceHealth ELV 1.8 15 389.25 -2.35 6.42 53.68 35.56 LKQ LKQ 3.1 14 39.11 0.51 5.78 132.43 88.90 RTX RTX 2.1 34 122.41 -3.43 0.71 46.63 22.42 VornadoRealty VNO 1.71075 42.34 0.49
-8.45 85.57 61.16 Bio-Techne TECH 0.5 67 65.94 -0.75 -0.48 134.85 96.62 EmersonElec EMR 1.7 29 123.34 -1.43 s 14.54 376.11 187.19 LPL Financial LPLA 0.3 27 373.98 1.64 22.36 289.33 155.96 RalphLauren RL 1.2 26 282.63 4.10 5.14 298.31 225.36 VulcanMatls VMC 0.7 43 270.46 1.13
-15.63 387.99 262.12 Bio-RadLab A BIO ... dd 277.16 -29.20 1.51 45.78 32.85 Enbridge ENB 6.2 20 43.07 -1.72 t -6.03 265.74 196.67 L3HarrisTech LHX 2.3 25 197.61 -2.39 7.48 41.95 27.29 RangeResources RRC 0.8 20 38.67 -0.13
-10.19 238.00 128.51 Biogen BIIB ... 12 137.33 -1.12 9.21 104.55 73.02 EncompassHealth EHC 0.7 23 100.86 0.72 7.49 258.59 191.97 Labcorp LH 1.2 28 246.49 1.62 2.90 174.32 104.23 RaymondJames RJF 1.3 16 159.84 -0.55 WXYZ
-1.34 94.85 60.63 BioMarinPharm BMRN ... 39 64.85 0.43 s 12.40 35.99 23.14 Endeavor EDR 0.7 dd 35.17 -0.33 14.56 113.00 68.87 LamResearch LRCX 1.1 25 82.75 -0.55 2.02 64.88 50.65 RealtyIncome O 5.8 52 54.49 -0.43
5.16 131.49 76.53 BioNTech BNTX 0.0 dd 119.83 -2.95 2.04 21.45 14.36 EnergyTransfer ET 6.5 16 19.99 0.17 6.82 139.88 105.44 LamarAdv LAMR 4.3 26 130.04 1.55 20.15 230.41 37.35 Reddit RDDT ... dd 196.38 -8.57 9.50 104.01 76.50 WEC Energy WEC 3.5 21 102.97 0.08
-2.49 64.78 41.00 Birkenstock BIRK ... 50 55.25 -1.67 8.14 147.57 94.92 Entegris ENTG 0.4 56 107.12 -1.73 -15.56 56.60 36.62 LasVegasSands LVS 2.3 22 43.37 1.16 -11.58 185.28 130.94 RegalRexnord RRX 1.0 47 137.17 0.76 7.73 64.26 52.91 W.P.Carey WPC 6.0 28 58.69 -0.18
-4.99 1084.22 745.55 BlackRock BLK 2.1 23 973.92 -6.38 s 8.80 84.46 49.50 Entergy ETR 2.9 20 82.49 -0.76 13.72 85.69 40.65 LatticeSemi LSCC ...146 64.42 1.03 -2.15 76.53 56.51 RegencyCtrs REG 3.9 34 72.34 -2.66 -6.09 57.37 43.02 WPP WPP 5.2 41 48.27 -0.59
-4.40 200.96 115.82 Blackstone BX 2.4 45 164.84 4.36 6.63 34.63 26.86 EnterpriseProd EPD 6.4 12 33.44 0.23 -8.19 202.90 121.04 Leidos LDOS 1.2 14 132.26 1.61 -5.44 1211.20 642.00 RegenPharm REGN 0.5 18 673.60 -0.67 -0.74 210.88 133.38 Wabtec WAB 0.5 31 188.19 -8.29
-1.16 99.26 55.00 Block XYZ ... 47 84.00 -0.29 -2.10 309.63 213.02 Equifax EFX 0.6 52 249.50 -1.37 -5.50 186.23 119.25 Lennar A LEN 1.6 9 123.84 0.09 3.40 27.96 17.72 RegionsFinl RF 4.1 13 24.32 0.27 3.97 22.47 8.08 WalgreensBoots WBA 0.0 dd 9.70 -0.05
2.92 26.73 15.18 BlueOwlCapital OWL 3.0147 23.94 0.42 -0.99 994.03 684.13 Equinix EQIX 2.0109 933.60 10.60 -4.23 168.22 115.33 Lennar B LEN.B 1.7 8 120.29 0.01 -6.45 233.81 167.80 ReinsGrp RGA 1.8 19 199.85 -4.65 s 15.15 105.30 56.43 Walmart WMT 0.8 43 104.04 -1.01
4.19 208.10 137.03 Boeing BA 0.0 dd 184.42 -1.02 -2.53 29.32 21.85 Equinor EQNR 5.0 7 23.09 0.38 2.12 682.50 442.74 LennoxIntl LII 0.7 28 622.20 2.25 10.56 342.20 256.98 Reliance RS 1.5 16 297.69 6.43 -2.18 12.70 6.64 WarnerBrosA WBD ... dd 10.34 0.14
1.53 5337.24 3180.00 Booking BKNG 0.7 34 5044.40 35.70 s 17.32 55.78 32.96 Equitable EQH 1.7 14 55.34 1.60 -10.03 37.99 19.88 LeonardoDRS DRS ... 39 29.07 -3.09 -7.19 300.00 208.98 RenaissanceRe RNR 0.7 7 230.93 -2.47 s 17.10 36.64 27.06 WarnerMusic WMG 2.0 37 36.30 1.19
t -8.52 190.59 115.97 BoozAllen BAH 1.9 18 117.73 0.40 -1.77 76.60 59.82 EquityLife ELS 3.1 35 65.42 -1.50 7.71 46.44 17.44 LiAuto LI ... 19 25.84 0.64 6.67 34.07 22.40 RentokilInit RTO 1.9 28 27.01 0.52 10.18 194.83 160.34 WasteConnections WCN 0.7 79 189.04 0.19
18.80 107.17 65.33 BostonSci BSX ... 85 106.11 -0.03 -0.74 78.83 58.81 EquityResdntl EQR 3.8 27 71.23 -0.29 9.12 101.50 46.46 LibertyBroadbandC LBRDK ... 15 81.58 0.52 s 15.01 232.52 179.48 RepublicSvcs RSG 1.0 36 231.37 6.88 12.85 230.39 196.59 WasteMgt WM 1.3 33 227.73 0.13
n-

-4.70 61.10 39.35 BristolMyers BMY 4.6 dd 53.90 -2.07 -5.65 547.00 345.09 ErieIndemnity ERIE 1.4 37 388.95 -3.66 8.61 100.44 47.17 LibertyBroadbandA LBRDA 0.0 15 80.76 0.38 1.88 263.05 170.56 ResMed RMD 0.9 28 232.98 -6.50 -0.34 423.56 279.24 Waters WAT ... 35 369.73 -9.38
6.88 42.74 28.25 BritishAmTob BTI 7.6 23 38.82 -0.79 -3.08 41.78 33.18 EssentialUtil WTRG 3.7 18 35.20 -0.63 s 9.65 95.33 57.43 LibertyFormOne A FWONA ... dd 92.15 -2.39 -1.01 83.28 59.67 RestaurantBrands QSR 3.8 20 64.52 -1.87 -9.57 535.00 424.75 Watsco B WSOB 2.2 38 483.79 13.05
-0.61 30.67 20.80 BrixmorProp BRX 4.2 25 27.67 -0.45 1.03 317.73 225.40 EssexProp ESS 3.4 25 288.37 -3.25 6.30 102.33 64.37 LibertyFormOne C FWONK ... dd 98.50 -3.70 0.58 129.50 97.31 Revvity RVTY 0.2 48 112.26 -0.62 2.07 571.41 373.33 Watsco WSO 2.2 38 483.69 7.19
0.52 251.88 119.76 Broadcom AVGO 1.0191 233.04 -2.76 -8.39 159.54 62.29 EsteeLauder EL 2.0 dd 68.69 -0.98 s 18.81 79.31 32.55 LibertyLiveA LLYVA ... dd 79.08 0.82 4.35 53.88 36.92 RexfordIndlRealty REXR 4.3 34 40.34 -0.23 7.06 63.99 39.34 WebsterFin WBS 2.7 14 59.12 0.16
s 6.30 244.47 188.30 BroadridgeFinl BR 1.5 38 240.33 -2.42 -2.84 324.06 175.24 EvercoreA EVR 1.2 30 269.31 1.97 s 18.06 80.44 33.50 LibertyLiveC LLYVK ... dd 80.35 0.74 7.74 74.24 57.85 RioTinto RIO 6.8 10 63.36 0.07 13.87 81.50 50.15 WellsFargo WFC 2.0 15 79.98 1.13
10.41 62.61 37.29 BrookfieldAsset BAM 2.9 54 59.83 2.26 -8.21 407.30 327.37 Everest EG 2.4 11 332.69 -2.72 12.32 115.00 84.00 Light&Wonder LNW ... 30 97.02 -0.79 5.49 18.86 8.26 Rivian RIVN ... dd 14.03 0.73 19.00 151.96 87.87 Welltower WELL 1.8183 149.97 -1.47
6.04 62.78 38.18 Brookfield BN 0.6202 60.92 0.54 s 8.30 67.89 48.59 Evergy EVRG 4.0 18 66.66 -0.23 9.36 972.53 711.40 EliLilly LLY 0.7 72 844.27 -26.09 75.20 66.91 13.32 Robinhood HOOD ... 42 65.28 1.48 8.78 216.17 141.02 WescoIntl WCC 0.8 15 196.85 3.18
3.30 36.50 24.84 BrookfieldInfr BIP 5.2819 32.84 -0.34 7.16 69.01 54.75 EversourceEner ES 4.9 27 61.54 -0.96 14.06 261.13 169.51 LincolnElectric LECO 1.4 26 213.82 0.01 15.36 75.74 29.55 Roblox RBLX ... dd 66.75 1.22 -34.45 400.88 197.01 WestPharmSvcs WST 0.4 32 214.73 15.62
no

0.25 35.14 21.35 BrookfieldRenew BEPC 5.4 dd 27.73 0.24 -12.24 79.62 40.62 ExactSciences EXAS ... dd 49.31 -1.28 9.16 487.49 410.69 Linde LIN 1.2 34 457.00 -4.05 16.34 21.38 10.06 RocketCos. RKT 0.0 dd 13.10 0.24 6.24 98.09 53.75 WestAllianceBcp WAL 1.7 13 88.75 1.78
5.81 62.72 38.25 BrookWealth BNT 0.0 ... 60.78 0.47 5.11 37.59 20.14 Exelixis EXEL ... 20 35.00 0.51 -3.76 89.85 52.75 Lineage LINE 3.2 ... 56.37 0.15 10.01 33.34 3.47 RocketLab RKLB ... dd 28.02 -0.28 14.69 81.55 52.77 WesternDigital WDC 0.0 16 68.39 0.83
8.41 114.15 80.33 Brown&Brown BRO 0.5 32 110.60 -0.33 13.84 43.45 34.01 Exelon EXC 3.7 17 42.85 -0.12 6.21 405.68 243.00 LithiaMotors LAD 0.6 13 379.62 -5.07 3.01 308.69 242.81 Rockwell ROK 1.8 37 294.40 -4.26 5.59 43.33 28.75 WesternMidstrm WES 8.6 10 40.58 0.08
-17.98 60.97 30.48 Brown-Forman B BF.B 2.9 15 31.15 -0.21 5.81 109.47 69.12 ExpandEnergy EXE 2.2 65 105.33 0.30 s 18.73 153.94 86.81 LiveNationEnt LYV ...165 153.76 1.18 -8.79 45.93 26.57 RogersComm B RCI 5.0 12 28.03 -0.23 0.54 162.64 108.56 Westlake WLK 1.8162 115.27 2.69
-16.53 61.32 30.82 Brown-Forman A BF.A 2.9 15 31.46 -0.16 8.61 207.73 107.25 Expedia EXPE 0.8 22 202.38 -0.82 18.38 3.24 2.11 LloydsBanking LYG 4.5 9 3.22 0.02 s 33.27 104.96 48.33 Roku ROKU ... dd 99.07 12.27 5.19 36.27 26.73 Weyerhaeuser WY 2.7 55 29.61 -0.09
7.68 214.70 130.75 BuildersFirst BLDR ... 15 153.90 1.40 2.60 131.59 108.36 ExpeditorsIntl EXPD 1.3 22 113.65 0.91 t -12.91 618.95 419.70 LockheedMartin LMT 3.1 19 423.19 -11.53 9.45 52.84 40.41 Rollins ROL 1.3 53 50.73 -1.19 s 20.02 69.58 38.57 WheatonPrecMtls WPM 0.9 50 67.50 -1.76
-9.34 114.92 67.40 BungeGlobal BG 3.9 9 70.50 0.71 3.56 184.87 131.02 ExtraSpaceSt EXR 4.2 41 154.92 -1.03 -1.98 88.29 72.91 Loews L 0.3 13 83.01 -1.11 10.34 584.43 499.47 RoperTech ROP 0.6 40 573.58 0.15 5.28 61.46 33.85 Williams WMB 3.5 24 56.98 -0.48
-14.02 298.88 174.64 BurlingtonStrs BURL ... 34 245.10 -3.26 0.62 126.34 102.64 ExxonMobil XOM 3.7 14 108.24 0.11 s 27.58 105.65 74.72 LogitechIntl LOGI 1.1 25 105.06 1.76 -8.27 163.60 127.53 RossStores ROST 1.1 22 138.76 -1.68 15.89 219.98 108.73 Williams-Sonoma WSM 1.1 25 214.60 7.54
16.20 172.43 48.10 CAVA CAVA ...288 131.07 0.57 23.35 312.76 159.00 F5 FFIV ... 31 310.18 -0.27 2.02 287.01 211.80 Lowe's LOW 1.8 21 251.79 -0.87 -1.22 128.05 95.84 RoyalBkCanada RY 5.0 14 119.04 -0.27 2.29 334.99 245.04 WillisTowers WTW 1.1 dd 320.40 -1.88
9.48 147.75 84.24 CBRE Group CBRE ... 46 143.73 0.60 -21.14 181.64 52.14 FTAI Aviation FTAI 1.1 dd 113.59 5.67 9.60 4.43 1.93 Lucid LCID ... dd 3.31 0.05 14.04 277.08 113.10 RoyalCaribbean RCL 1.0 25 263.09 3.00 7.21 433.86 266.44 Wingstop WING 0.4 89 304.69 -7.24
8.82 263.37 168.43 CDW CDW 1.3 24 189.39 1.80 -5.04 499.87 391.84 FactSet FDS 0.9 33 456.09 -3.30 -4.11 480.94 226.01 lululemon LULU ... 26 366.68 -24.17 s 11.36 155.64 100.55 RoyalGold RGLD 1.2 29 146.83 -6.66 3.93 142.04 91.38 WintrustFinl WTFC 1.5 13 129.61 -0.30
-3.33 98.25 69.13 CF Industries CF 2.4 13 82.48 1.52 -9.63 2402.51 1105.65 FairIsaac FICO ... 83 1799.19 -3.60 3.27 107.02 72.21 LyondellBasell LYB 7.0 18 76.70 0.46 s 26.85 32.89 24.05 RoyaltyPharma RPRX 2.7 17 32.36 -0.10 2.54 3.79 2.54 Wipro WIT 1.7 34 3.63 ...
10.06 122.79 96.92 CGI A GIB 0.3 22 120.32 -2.01 3.99 84.88 61.36 Fastenal FAST 2.3 37 74.78 -0.01 18.64 80.00 28.34 Rubrik RBRK ... dd 77.54 -1.18 4.26 247.11 117.58 Wix.com WIX ...141 223.70 -2.48
-3.71 114.82 65.00 CH Robinson CHRW 2.5 26 99.49 0.87 -6.18 118.34 95.97 FederalRealty FRT 4.2 31 105.03 -6.79 MN 7.14 75.97 45.40 RyanSpecialty RYAN 0.6 90 68.74 0.13 -0.45 20.30 14.34 WoodsideEnergy WDS 8.0 16 15.53 -0.11
5.71 253.53 190.70 CME Group CME 4.3 25 245.48 -4.63 -4.82 313.84 234.45 FedEx FDX 2.1 18 267.77 4.65 4.01 60.29 36.96 Ryanair RYAAY 1.9 6 45.34 -0.31 12.08 201.64 136.25 Woodward WWD 0.6 31 186.53 -4.20
3.24 72.40 56.31 CMS Energy CMS 3.2 21 68.81 -0.47 6.15 225.62 167.28 FergusonEnts FERG 1.8 22 184.25 0.74 -5.23 152.50 82.36 Macom Tech MTSI ... dd 123.12 1.03 18.07 293.70 174.88 SAP SAP 0.6102 290.69 -3.00 12.54 38.05 28.49 WooriFinl WF 6.0 5 35.17 -0.25
0.58 52.36 42.33 CNA Fin CNA 3.8 14 48.65 -0.71 s 18.60 507.20 388.83 Ferrari RACE 0.5 55 503.84 13.39 5.75 225.70 133.03 M&T Bank MTB 2.7 14 198.82 1.68 s 8.36 545.39 407.69 S&P Global SPGI 0.7 44 539.69 -2.63 0.01 311.28 199.81 Workday WDAY ... 43 258.05 -2.08
13.06 13.32 9.28 CNH Indl CNH 3.7 12 12.81 0.35 7.28 48.29 35.30 Ferrovial FER 0.0 40 45.09 0.22 14.89 48.24 31.61 MGM Resorts MGM 0.0 17 39.81 -0.56 0.77 252.64 183.64 SBA Comm SBAC 1.9 32 205.37 -2.75 s 8.46 110.94 67.67 WyndhamHtls WH 1.4 30 109.32 2.00
s 17.06 108.39 71.17 CRH CRH 1.3 22 108.30 1.80 3.22 64.83 46.85 FidNatlFinl FNF 3.5 21 57.95 0.25 s 12.47 54.52 38.44 MPLX MPLX 7.1 13 53.83 0.12 -0.24 87.25 62.38 SEI Investments SEIC 1.2 19 82.28 -0.34 3.09 110.38 71.63 WynnResorts WYNN 1.1 21 88.82 8.35
3.41 40.12 31.43 CSX CSX 1.6 19 33.37 0.27 -14.60 91.98 62.17 FidNatlInfo FIS 2.3 47 68.98 -1.55 -4.56 642.45 439.95 MSCI MSCI 1.3 41 572.63 2.13 s 17.00 89.25 59.63 SS&C Tech SSNC 1.1 30 88.66 0.08 11.05 161.00 97.03 XPO XPO ... 45 145.64 2.21
46.65 80.75 43.56 CVS Health CVS 4.0 18 65.83 -0.54 4.21 49.07 33.03 FifthThirdBncp FITB 3.4 14 44.06 0.48 -9.43 56.12 35.05 MagnaIntl MGA 5.0 10 37.85 -1.82 6.98 628.34 358.90 Saia SAIA ... 36 487.53 5.34 1.61 73.38 46.79 XcelEnergy XEL 3.2 20 68.61 0.21
-1.75 328.99 241.29 CadenceDesign CDNS ... 78 295.19 -0.97 1.35 2412.93 1475.86 FirstCitizBcshA FCNCA 0.4 11 2141.49 34.47 -7.75 123.00 55.60 MakeMyTrip MMYT ... 56 103.58 -0.68 s ... 24.95 20.77 SailPoint SAIL ... dd 24.55 2.55 14.85 60.00 0.56 XChangeTEC.INC XHG ... ... 0.99 0.26
2.61 127.69 92.26 CamdenProperty CPT 3.5 80 119.07 -0.09 9.73 22.44 13.71 FirstHorizon FHN 2.7 16 22.10 0.11 -29.54 312.60 169.94 ManhattanAssoc MANH ... 54 190.41 2.83 -2.33 369.00 212.00 Salesforce CRM 0.5 54 326.54 -3.31 40.95 17.70 6.55 XPeng XPEV ... dd 16.66 0.71
-8.17 62.55 35.43 Cameco CCJ 0.2240 47.19 -1.89 -9.35 306.77 141.70 FirstSolar FSLR ... 14 159.76 -0.58 -3.32 33.07 22.61 ManulifeFinl MFC 3.0 14 29.69 0.05 s 34.95 59.04 27.14 Samsara IOT ... dd 58.96 2.59 11.52 146.08 113.26 Xylem XYL 1.2 35 129.38 -1.71
-7.83 52.80 36.92 Campbell's CPB 4.0 21 38.60 -0.01 0.55 44.97 36.01 FirstEnergy FE 4.2 26 40.00 -0.26 s 23.06 51.33 25.55 Maplebear CART ... 32 50.97 0.98 13.00 58.97 45.22 Sanofi SNY 2.7 30 54.50 0.51 -12.44 47.43 16.18 YPF YPF 0.0 dd 37.22 0.08
-1.83 67.45 45.49 CIBC CM 4.1 12 62.07 0.06 12.26 233.26 145.98 Fiserv FI ... 43 230.60 0.73 11.87 221.11 130.54 MarathonPetrol MPC 2.3 16 156.06 1.97 -11.22 173.25 102.16 SareptaTherap SRPT ... 90 107.95 -1.51 10.25 149.30 122.13 Yum!Brands YUM 1.9 28 147.91 -0.84
0.08 134.02 98.69 CanNtlRlwy CNI 2.4 20 101.59 -0.98 10.73 45.10 25.27 Flex FLEX ... 17 42.51 0.12 8.21 2063.68 1417.65 Markel MKL ... 9 1868.01 -28.93 8.89 55.69 36.52 Schlumberger SLB 2.7 13 41.75 -0.33 2.06 52.00 28.50 YumChina YUMC 2.0 21 49.16 0.84
-2.43 41.29 28.65 CanadianNatRscs CNQ 5.1 12 30.12 -0.28 -2.11 135.67 89.06 Floor&Decor FND ... 54 97.60 -0.28 1.64 307.52 204.55 Marriott MAR 0.9 34 283.52 -4.72 8.55 84.50 61.01 SchwabC SCHW 1.3 27 80.34 -0.96 2.76 27.50 17.89 ZTO Express ZTO 4.7 14 20.09 0.16
7.12 91.58 70.89 CdnPacKC CP 0.8 27 77.52 -0.76 s 15.62 299.73 174.03 FlutterEnt FLUT ... ... 298.81 16.59 7.73 235.50 196.17 Marsh&McLen MMC 1.4 28 228.83 -2.27 s 27.19 135.06 43.27 Sea SE ...806 134.95 1.82 -17.57 427.75 266.75 ZebraTech ZBRA ... 31 318.36 -5.06
13.37 208.63 128.22 CapitalOne COF 1.2 17 202.16 4.85 6.57 142.04 81.08 FomentoEconMex FMX 2.3 25 91.11 1.40 2.11 633.23 482.72 MartinMarietta MLM 0.6 16 527.38 -4.28 17.56 115.32 82.31 Seagate STX 2.8 19 101.47 -0.01 7.99 89.39 38.45 Zillow C Z ... dd 79.97 1.26
6.71 132.84 93.17 CardinalHealth CAH 1.6 24 126.21 -0.57 -4.24 14.85 9.10 FordMotor F 6.3 6 9.48 0.13 -3.57 127.48 53.19 MarvellTech MRVL 0.2 dd 106.51 3.01 -4.13 95.77 66.40 Sempra SRE 2.9 19 84.10 0.24 8.53 86.58 38.06 Zillow A ZG ... dd 76.89 1.49
-2.99 481.26 339.10 Carlisle CSL 1.1 10 357.81 -2.80 s 18.16 112.37 54.57 Fortinet FTNT ... 49 111.64 1.66 8.02 86.70 63.81 Masco MAS 1.6 21 78.39 0.77 -3.45 89.37 67.19 ServiceIntl SCI 1.6 22 77.07 -4.41 -4.84 133.90 97.69 ZimmerBiomet ZBH 1.0 23 100.52 0.61
2.54 57.50 36.65 Carlyle CG 2.7 19 51.77 0.74 7.96 46.06 36.86 Fortis FTS 3.8 19 44.88 0.56 9.69 183.14 101.61 Masimo MASI ...124 181.31 1.72 -6.93 1198.09 637.99 ServiceNow NOW ...144 986.63 -2.85 -3.32 200.53 144.80 Zoetis ZTS 1.3 29 157.52 -7.41
8.73 91.25 65.83 CarMax KMX ... 30 88.90 1.30 7.47 87.10 66.15 Fortive FTV 0.4 34 80.60 -1.07 -0.26 166.94 68.68 MasTec MTZ ...121 135.78 -1.17 -2.74 112.00 91.04 ServiceTitan TTAN ... dd 100.05 1.53 4.28 92.80 55.06 ZoomComms ZM ... 28 85.10 -0.06
5.26 28.72 13.78 Carnival CCL 0.0 19 26.23 0.37 0.91 90.53 62.54 FortuneBrands FBIN 1.5 18 68.95 0.60 7.25 576.94 428.86 Mastercard MA 0.5 41 564.76 -1.55 13.30 123.00 51.39 SharkNinja SN 0.0 35 110.31 -4.13 17.90 254.68 153.45 Zscaler ZS ... dd 212.70 -2.14

Mutual Funds Data provided by

Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg % Ret
FIDZroLgCpIx 21.82 +0.01 4.3 NASDAQ 253.96 +1.05 3.8 EqInc 25.18 -0.01 5.3 MidCap 101.42 -0.16 1.7 MuIntAdml 13.60 +0.02 0.6 TgtRet2055 58.18 +0.03 4.6
Top 250 mutual-funds listings for Nasdaq-published share classes by net assets. GlexUSIdxInstPre 15.47 +0.04 7.3 OTC 22.25 +0.08 3.6 LgCpGwth 83.35 +0.17 4.6 R2030 26.63 +0.03 3.9 MuLTAdml 10.82 +0.02 0.3 TgtRetInc 13.39 +0.02 2.2
e-Ex-distribution. f-Previous day’s quotation. g-Footnotes x and s apply. j-Footnotes e and s GrowthCompanyK6 31.57 +0.09 3.8 Puritn 25.70 +0.07 3.4 JPMorgan R Class Putnam Funds Class A MuLtdAdml 10.88 +0.01 0.7 Welltn 44.28 +0.05 3.4
apply. k-Recalculated by LSEG, using updated data. p-Distribution costs apply, 12b-1. r- IntlIdxInstPrem 51.55 +0.03 8.4 SAIUSMinVolIndFd 22.27 -0.10 3.8 CoreBond 10.20 +0.03 1.1 PutLargCap p 36.35 -0.05 5.5 MuShtAdml 15.79 ... 0.6 WndsrII 46.28 -0.06 4.5
Redemption charge may apply. s-Stock split or dividend. t-Footnotes p and r apply. v-Footnotes LgCpGwId InstPre 40.64 +0.04 3.8 SAIUSQtyIdx 22.32 -0.07 4.9 CorePlusBd 7.19 +0.03 1.4 Putnam Funds Class Y PrmcpAdml r 176.73 +0.05 6.2 VANGUARD INDEX FDS
x and e apply. x-Ex-dividend. z-Footnote x, e and s apply. NA-Not available due to incomplete MidCpInxInstPrem 35.28 ... 4.5 SrsBlChGroRetail 20.67 +0.11 4.2 Lord Abbett I PutLargCap 36.37 -0.05 5.5 RealEstatAdml 129.86 -0.55 2.8 ExtndIstPl 373.66 +0.50 5.1
price, performance or cost data. NE-Not released by LSEG; data under review. NN-Fund not SAIUSLgCpIndxFd 24.19 ... 4.1 SrsEmrgMkt 19.41 +0.20 5.9 ShtDurInc p 3.87 +0.01 0.9 Schwab Funds SmCapAdml 118.85 +0.07 3.2 IdxIntl 20.16 +0.02 6.4
tracked. NS-Fund didn’t exist at start of period. SeriesBondFd 8.93 +0.03 1.1 SrsGlobal 15.21 +0.03 7.3 Metropolitan West 1000 Inv r 131.34 +0.04 4.3 SmGthAdml 102.24 +0.13 3.9 MdCpGrAdml 117.39 -0.51 7.4
SeriesOverseas 14.68 -0.02 9.2 SrsGroCoRetail 24.72 +0.06 3.1 TotRetBdI NA ... NA S&P Sel 93.98 +0.01 4.1 STBondAdml 10.15 +0.02 0.6 MdCpVlAdml 85.50 -0.02 2.0
SerLTTreBdIdx 5.41 +0.04 2.3 SrsIntlGrw 19.01 -0.07 9.1 MFS Funds TSM Sel r 103.29 +0.03 4.2 STIGradeAdml 10.34 +0.02 0.8 SmValAdml 87.46 ... 2.7
Friday, February 14, 2025 SmCpIdxInstPrem 28.33 -0.02 2.3 SrsIntlVal 13.03 +0.06 9.3 IIE 36.59 +0.13 8.2 TIAA/CREF Funds STIPSIxAdm 24.58 +0.03 1.2 TotBd2 9.42 +0.03 1.1
Net YTD Net YTD Net YTD TMktIdxInstPrem 168.10 +0.05 4.2 TotalBond 9.47 +0.03 1.3 MFS Funds Class I BdIdxInst 9.55 +0.03 1.1 TotBdAdml 9.55 +0.03 1.2 TotIntlInstIdx r 134.89 +0.17 6.4
Fund NAV Chg % Ret Fund NAV Chg % Ret Fund NAV Chg % Ret TotalMarketIndex 21.23 +0.01 4.2 Fidelity SAI GrowthI 211.25 +0.42 4.7 EqIdxInst NA ... NA TotIntBdIdxAdm 19.68 -0.02 0.5 TotItlInstPlId r 134.92 +0.17 6.4
TtlIntIdxInstPr 14.34 +0.03 6.8 TotalBd 8.97 +0.02 1.2 ValueI 50.66 -0.23 3.8 IntlEqIdxInst NA ... NA TotIntlAdmIdx r 33.73 +0.04 6.4 TotSt 146.91 +0.01 4.2
AB Funds WshA 64.86 -0.27 5.3 LgCo 40.59 +0.01 4.1 VANGUARD INSTL FDS
MuniIncmShares 11.19 +0.02 0.7 Artisan Funds US CoreEq1 45.03 +0.02 4.1 USBdIdxInstPrem 10.29 +0.04 1.1 Fidelity Selects Natixis Funds LrgCpGrIdxInst 69.49 +0.09 3.8 TotStAdml 146.95 +0.01 4.2
Fidelity Advisor I Semiconductors r 34.50 +0.41 3.1 InvGradeBdY 9.81 +0.03 1.3 VANGUARD ADMIRAL TxMCapAdml 315.56 -0.03 4.3 BalInst 49.94 +0.06 3.0
AB Funds - ADV IntlVal Inst 50.04 +0.03 6.4 US CoreEq2 40.18 +0.04 4.1 DevMktsIndInst 16.57 -0.02 7.7
LgCpGrAdv 114.79 -0.31 4.9 Baird Funds US Small 50.18 -0.01 2.6 GrOppI 213.28 +2.55 7.7 Softwr 28.52 -0.31 4.0 LSGrowthY 30.93 +0.08 4.6 500Adml 565.06 +0.09 4.1 TxMIn r 16.55 -0.01 7.7
DevMktsInxInst 25.90 -0.02 7.7
American Century Inv AggBdInst 9.74 +0.03 1.2 US SmCpVal 49.39 +0.06 1.8 Total Bd 9.46 +0.03 1.3 Tech 37.68 +0.34 2.2 Northern Funds BalAdml 49.94 +0.07 3.0 USGroAdml 197.32 +0.68 6.6
First Eagle Funds StkIdx NA ... NA CAITAdml 11.36 +0.01 0.5 ValAdml
ExtndInst 151.41 +0.20 5.1
Grwth 59.96 -0.05 3.4 CorBdInst 10.09 +0.03 1.1 US TgdVal 35.21 +0.02 2.4 Fidelity Freedom 69.19 -0.15 4.8
GlbA 71.28 -0.19 6.4 Old Westbury Fds CapOpAdml r 199.95 ... 5.6 WdsrllAdml
FTScinst 42.30 +0.01 4.2
Ultra 95.70 -0.14 2.6 ShtTBdInst 9.49 +0.01 0.6 USLgVa 51.79 +0.11 5.1 Freedom2030 K 18.28 +0.05 4.2 82.09 -0.10 4.5
LrgCpStr 20.72 +0.03 4.5 DivAppIdxAdm 55.32 -0.23 4.1 WellsIAdml GrwthInst 220.08 +0.40 4.2
American Funds Cl A BlackRock Funds Dodge & Cox Freedom2035 K 16.37 +0.04 4.6 Franklin A1 61.52 +0.06 2.6
InPrSeIn 9.34 +0.02 1.9
AmcpA 44.74 -0.10 4.7 HiYBlk 7.16 +0.01 1.7 Balanced 106.87 +0.10 5.1 Freedom2040 K 12.17 +0.03 5.3 IncomeA1 2.39 ... 2.2 Parnassus Fds EMAdmr 37.95 +0.28 3.2 WelltnAdml 76.46 +0.08 3.4 InstIdx 498.58 +0.08 4.1
AMutlA 58.09 -0.23 5.3 HiYldBd Inst 7.16 +0.01 1.7 Income 12.53 +0.04 1.2 Idx2030InsPre 20.92 +0.04 3.7 FrankTemp/Frank Adv ParnEqFd 61.96 -0.23 4.0 EqIncAdml 92.52 -0.19 4.9 WndsrAdml 73.16 +0.10 3.6
PGIM Funds Cl Z
InstPlus 498.57 +0.08 4.1
BalA 35.69 -0.02 3.9 BlackRock Funds III Intl Stk 54.55 +0.18 9.3 Idx2035InsPre 24.28 +0.05 4.1 IncomeAdv 2.37 ... 2.3 ExplrAdml 110.30 -0.19 3.2 VANGUARD FDS
InstTStPlus 103.25 +0.01 4.2
BondA 11.21 +0.04 1.2 iShS&P500IdxK 716.19 ... 4.1 Stock 274.60 -0.19 6.8 Idx2040InsPre 25.78 +0.04 4.7 FrankTemp/Franklin A TotalReturnBond NA ... NA ExtndAdml 151.42 +0.20 5.1 DivdGro 36.81 -0.27 1.7 MidCpInst 75.45 -0.17 4.5
CapIBA 72.38 -0.17 5.0 BlackRock Funds Inst DoubleLine Funds Idx2045InsPre 27.23 +0.04 5.1 DynaTech A 184.81 +0.37 5.8 PIMCO Fds Instl GroIncAdml 106.42 +0.16 4.4 IntlVal 40.10 +0.18 6.7 MidCpIstPl 372.13 -0.80 4.5
CapWGrA 67.28 -0.15 5.9 StratIncOpptyIns 9.54 +0.01 1.3 TotRetBdI 8.74 +0.03 1.2 Idx2050InsPre 27.28 +0.04 5.0 Growth A 137.40 -0.34 2.9 TotRt 8.57 +0.03 NA GrwthAdml 220.07 +0.41 4.2 LifeGro 46.03 +0.04 4.2 SmCapInst 118.84 +0.06 3.2
EupacA 57.98 +0.09 7.9 TotRet 9.76 ... 0.9 Edgewood Growth Instituti Fidelity Invest RisDv A 91.71 -0.36 3.0 PIMCO Funds A HlthCareAdml r 78.94 -0.89 2.7 LifeMod 32.40 +0.03 3.4 SmCapIstPl 343.03 +0.19 3.2
FdInvA 85.25 -0.15 5.6 Calamos Funds EdgewoodGrInst 46.13 +0.12 4.1 Balanc 30.40 +0.06 2.8 Guggenheim Funds Tru IncomeFd NA ... NA HYCorAdml r 5.47 +0.02 1.7 PrmcpCor 35.37 -0.09 5.8 STIGradeInst 10.34 +0.02 0.8
GwthA 79.42 +0.03 6.7 MktNeutI 15.07 +0.01 0.9 Federated Hermes Int BluCh 236.82 +1.31 4.2 TotRtnBdFdClInst 23.61 +0.07 1.2 PIMCO Funds I2 InfProAd 22.93 +0.06 1.8 STAR 28.68 +0.06 4.4 STIPSIxins 24.59 +0.02 1.2
HI TrA 9.87 +0.02 1.8 Columbia Class I TtlRtnBdI 9.39 +0.03 1.0 BluChpGr K6 38.73 +0.20 5.2 Harbor Funds Income NA ... NA InfTechIdx 327.55 +1.38 2.9 TgtRe2020 27.14 +0.04 2.5 TotBdInst 9.55 +0.03 1.2
ICAA 60.85 -0.18 5.5 DivIncom I 34.69 -0.11 5.1 Fidelity Contra 22.58 +0.06 8.2 CapApInst 120.48 +0.28 6.0 PIMCO Funds Instl IntlGrAdml 113.30 +0.51 11.5 TgtRe2025 19.26 +0.02 3.0 TotBdInst2 9.42 +0.03 1.1
IncoA 25.66 -0.02 5.1 Dimensional Fds 500IdxInstPrem 212.59 +0.04 4.1 ContraK 22.66 +0.06 8.2 JHF III DispVal IncomeFd NA ... NA ITBondAdml 10.19 +0.03 1.1 TgtRe2030 39.17 +0.04 3.4 TotBdInstPl 9.55 +0.03 1.2
N PerA 66.09 -0.08 6.4 EmgMktVa 30.88 +0.13 3.2 Contrafund K6 33.56 +0.09 8.1 CpInc 10.34 +0.02 2.4 DispValMCI 27.92 +0.09 3.6 Price Funds ITIGradeAdml 8.62 +0.03 1.3 TgtRe2035 24.87 +0.02 3.7 TotIntBdIdxInst 29.53 -0.03 0.5
NEcoA 65.00 -0.11 6.3 EmMktCorEq 23.88 +0.11 2.6 ExtMktIdxInstPre 95.51 +0.13 5.1 GroCo 41.57 +0.10 3.0 John Hancock BlChip 195.46 +0.55 4.9 LarCapAd 142.12 +0.01 4.4 TgtRe2040 44.95 +0.03 4.0 TotStInst 146.98 +0.02 4.2
NwWrldA 80.80 +0.07 4.8 IntlCoreEq 16.48 ... 6.9 FidSer5 7.55 +0.03 2.4 InvGrBd 9.95 +0.03 1.2 BondR6 13.44 +0.05 1.3 DivGro 80.99 -0.23 5.4 LTGradeAdml 7.63 +0.04 2.0 TgtRe2045 30.96 +0.02 4.3 ValueInst 69.19 -0.15 4.8
SmCpA 69.31 +0.06 2.8 IntSmCo 20.51 +0.01 5.7 FidSerInt 8.69 ... 0.1 LowP 42.05 +0.02 3.2 JPMorgan I Class Growth 110.20 +0.17 4.5 MidCpAdml 341.57 -0.73 4.5 TgtRe2050 52.15 +0.03 4.6 WCM Focus Funds
TxExA 12.40 +0.03 0.4 IntSmVa 23.51 ... 7.2 FidSerToMarket 20.01 +0.01 4.2 Magin 15.59 -0.08 5.1 CoreBond 10.19 +0.04 1.2 LgCapGow I 85.78 +0.06 4.3 MuHYAdml 10.66 +0.02 0.5 TgtRe2060 53.62 +0.03 4.6 WCMFocIntlGrwIns 24.27 -0.02 11.5
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B9

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Boeing Vows to Lift Output, Birkin Bag Maker
Hermès Signals
Close ‘Shadow Factories’ Luxury Rebound
BY SHARON TERLEP Quarterly deliveries of
Boeing's 737
SEATTLE—Ihssane Mounir BY ANDREA FIGUERAS The company joined the
120
stood before the skeptical and elite club of those smashing
anxious crowd filled with hun- Hermès reported higher fourth-quarter forecasts, Bern-
JENNIFER BUCHANAN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
dreds of manufacturers whose 100 sales for the final quarter of stein analyst Luca Solca said
fortunes rise and fall with Boe- 2024 boosted by a strong per- in a note.
ing. 80 formance in the Americas, The earnings season fueled
The Boeing executive ticked adding to signs of a rebound hopes among investors that a
off a list of accomplishments— in demand for luxury goods. sector recovery could be under
60
fewer defects and more fre- The French luxury group way, with strong demand in
quent supplier updates—since known widely for its Birkin the U.S. lifting luxury groups
he had addressed the group last 40 bags reported revenue of 3.96 out of the doldrums after a
February, weeks after a door- billion euros, equivalent to postpandemic spending boom
plug blew off an Alaska Air- 20 $4.15 billion, for the fourth came to an end. China, which
lines jet. Despite the progress, quarter, up nearly 18% at con- drove the industry’s growth
the supply-chain guru confessed stant exchange rates compared for years, has been a weak
a fundamental problem. 0 with the prior-year period. Fri- spot lately.
“We’re selling more than we 2023 ’24 day’s report compares with In Asia excluding Japan,
can build,” he said. Source: the company Boeing vows to shut lines that fix, maintain and update planes. analysts’ expectations of €3.73 Hermès reported a 9% increase
Boeing is promising this year billion, according to a Visible in quarterly revenue, despite a
to get its jet production to pre- quality problems that slowed its it by the end of 2024, but clear- an update or repair—a common Alpha poll of estimates. downturn in traffic in China
crisis levels and chip away at a production lines, then when a ing out the planes has proven occurrence in machinery as Hermes’s update follows that started earlier in the year.
growing backlog of orders. machinist strike stopped work vexing. complicated as a jetliner—crews Cartier owner Richemont and Hermès is affected by the
First, the manufacturer needs for about two months. Ortberg The biggest chunk are MAXs must do the relevant work on U.K. luxury group Burberry struggles in China, but the
to clear out the dozens of aims to reverse its cash burn parked at a facility in Moses every unfinished plane. In the flagging improving trends in group is quite resilient, Chief
planes in its shadow factories. this year by pumping out 38 of Lake, Wash. They are mainly fall of 2023, for instance, the the U.S., which emerged as a Executive Axel Dumas said
A shadow factory is what its 737 MAX jets a month and remnants of a global grounding company had to repair around bright spot for luxury groups during an earnings call. “There
Boeing executives call a produc- closing the shadow factories by of MAX jets following a pair of 160 737s in the shadow factory amid a consumer pullback in are positive signs, but not
tion line where engineers and midyear. Analysts estimate the fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. after misdrilled holes were China. enough to expect a full recov-
mechanics work on fixing, company produced about 20 in Boeing continued making the found in the fuselage of a com- Hermès reported revenue ery,” he added.
maintaining or updating air- January. planes even though airlines pleted jet. increases across all regions in Hermès was one of the few
craft instead of building new There is also political pres- weren’t taking them, and is still Doing away with shadow fac- the quarter, with Japan and companies that bucked a sec-
ones. They exist for the com- sure. President Trump, who has working to deliver them. An- tories is one of the moves by the Americas growing the fast- tor-wide slowdown in demand
pany’s two-bestselling models, been frustrated by long-delayed other couple of dozen are 787s Ortberg to tackle factory quality est at 22% when excluding for luxury goods thanks to its

.
the 737 MAX and 787 Dream- replacements for Air Force One, sitting in Everett, Wash., await- problems. The company is add- currency movements. exposure to the wealthiest
liner. said Wednesday he was “not ing checks to ensure parts of ing weeks of education for new shoppers, who have continued

ly
As Boeing is struggling to happy” with Boeing. The follow- the planes are properly pieced hires, freeing up managers to Hermés annual revenue to splurge on pricey accesso-
hire and train enough machin- ing day, Transportation Secre- together following quality ques- spend more time on the factory €15.2B ries and clothes despite the
€15 billion
ists, the shadow factories can tary Sean Duffy said he asked tions raised years ago around floor and simplifying work in- economic environment.
occupy some of the company’s
most experienced workers. In
some cases, Boeing spends
more hours inspecting and re-
Ortberg to come to Washington
to discuss quality and safety is-
sues and that he planned to
visit Boeing’s factory.
on the jet’s production process.
A year ago, Boeing estimated
it had about 225 jets in the
shadow factories. It fell to 115 at
structions so they are easier to
follow.
Boeing is also working to im-
prove quality at its biggest sup-
12
Analysts point out that de-
mand for the company’s prod-
ucts is higher than supply,
which enables Hermès to raise
working planes than it did to “It’s been a long journey,” fi- the end of 2024, with Boeing plier, Spirit AeroSystems, prices if needed. In light of the
us ,

9
produce them in the first place. nance chief Brian West said in a clearing out a chunk of planes which made the fuselage in- potential implementation of
l

“It seems like 30% of every- call last month with analysts, during last fall’s machinists volved in the Alaska Airlines U.S. tariffs on European goods,
e
al a

body’s job is fixing something referring to the shadow facto- strike. Not only do the planes blowout. Ortberg said Spirit’s 6 the French group will be one
that’s bad quality or late prod- ries. He predicted Boeing will be take up space and tie up billions work has improved to the point of the handful of companies to
uct or something that shouldn’t rid of its pileup by the middle of in much-needed revenue, they that Boeing has a pileup of pris- have more room to maneuver
ci on

have happened,” Chief Execu- this year and doing so will de- require sophisticated care and tine fuselages awaiting final as- 3 and pass on import duties to
tive Kelly Ortberg told employ- liver a “massive productivity reworking, which means some sembly, a reversal from last consumers through price hikes
ees last year at his first town benefit.” of the company’s most skilled year when a fuselage shortage if needed, analysts said.
hall meeting. It isn’t the first time Boeing machinists are charged with fix- was slowing Boeing’s factories. 0 “One of the things that
Boeing burned through $14 has pledged to solve its shadow- ing jets rather than with build- The plane maker is in the pro- 2019 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 worries me the most is the
er s

billion last year. It built far factory problem. The company ing new planes. cess of acquiring Spirit, which it Note: €1 = $1.05 evolution of geopolitical rela-
fewer planes, first because of had initially vowed to be rid of Any time a model requires spun off decades ago. Sources: S&P Capital IQ; the company tions,” Dumas said.
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B10 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * ****** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

J&J’s High Hopes for Heart Device Grounded

Recent pause in U.S. vices treating irregular heart ally, more than 3,000 patients device like a pacemaker to help billion in annual sales. The divi- never launched in the U.S. be-
rhythms, and to revive the com- have been treated with the heart beat in a regular sion’s sales growth, though, has cause of safety issues, Wells
sales of Varipulse pany’s medical-device business Varipulse. rhythm. Other patients can un- lagged behind the company’s Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen
hampers bid to catch generally. “We continue our commer- dergo a minimally invasive pro- pharmaceutical unit, and J&J said in a research note.
Rivals Boston Scientific and cialization of Varipulse outside cedure called an ablation, which has tried to boost growth via J&J said the Varipulse cath-
up in key market Medtronic have dominated the of the U.S., and we’re working involves snaking a catheter acquisitions such as last year’s eter has unique features that
market for so-called pulsed-field very hard to be able to identify through a blood vessel to the purchase of Shockwave Medical are different from the older
BY PETER LOFTUS ablation devices, which research the root cause heart. for $13 billion. catheter, though some features
firm Clarivate estimates will and bring Older abla- The medical-device business are similar.
Johnson & Johnson’s halt of reach about $12 billion by 2032, Varipulse back tion devices de- was a market leader for older There were two strokes in
U.S. sales of a new heart- from $1.6 billion last year. into the U.S.,” J&J’s medical- stroyed un- ablation products, but in patients in the pivotal U.S.
rhythm device due to safety More than 10 million Ameri- J&J Chief Exec- device business healthy heart pulsed-field ablation, it fell be- clinical trial of more than 270
concerns is hobbling a major cans have the heart-rhythm utive Joaquin cells by zapping hind Boston Scientific and patients. J&J said the inci-
strategic push by the company disorder that the devices Duato said at an is one of the them with mi- Medtronic, which were first to dence of adverse events
into one of the industry’s fast- treat. “This is a huge hit for investor confer- crowaves or launch their newer models among patients in the trial
est-growing markets. J&J,” said Dr. John Mandrola, ence last month.
biggest in the other energy. about a year ago. wasn’t outside thresholds in
The healthcare company an electrophysiologist at Bap- The Food and industry. The older de- Unusually for a medical de- clinical literature.
paused use of the device, known tist Health in Louisville, Ky., Drug Adminis- vices, however, vice, sales quickly soared. Bos- After concluding the device’s
as Varipulse, last month after who treats patients with heart- tration, which could also dam- ton Scientific recently reported benefits outweighed the risks,
receiving reports of neurovas- rhythm problems. “The mar- regulates device age the nearby more than $1 billion in sales the FDA approved it in Novem-
cular events in several patients. ket’s so big, and this just sets safety, is aware of the side ef- esophagus, potentially fatally. last year for its Farapulse prod- ber. J&J then began a limited
The company didn’t explain them back.” fects and is working with J&J, Device makers say pulsed- uct’s use in more than 200,000 rollout in the U.S. to collect
what the events were, but sev- The company said it paused an agency spokesperson said. field ablation procedures are patients. Medtronic hasn’t bro- feedback from doctors.
eral strokes have been reported U.S. use of the device out of an The pulsed-field ablation de- faster and safer. The new de- ken out sales for its devices, The company issued its
to a federal device-safety data- abundance of caution and is in- vices promise to transform the vices zap heart cells with rapid, PulseSelect and Affera. pause last month after four out
base, and doctors’ concerns are vestigating the health problems treatment of hearts that beat high-voltage bursts of electric- Varipulse was going to help of 130 patients experienced the
centered on strokes. in collaboration with U.S. regu- too fast, too slow or erratically. ity through a catheter. J&J defend its ablation market undefined neurovascular events.
J&J has been racing to catch lators. The company said the For patients at high risk of J&J’s medical-device busi- share. The design of the cathe- Neither J&J nor regulators have
up to competitors in the fast- pause didn’t affect use of cardiac arrest, doctors had pre- ness is one of the biggest in the ter component was based on an said whether the device caused
growing market for medical de- Varipulse outside the U.S. Glob- scribed drugs or implanted a industry, with more than $31 earlier J&J device that was the side effects, or why.

Why Chocolate Is Getting More Costly

ADVERTISEMENT

The Marketplace
To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds
BY OWEN TUCKER-SMITH
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
This Valentine’s Day marked
a bittersweet time for chocolate
lovers.

.
ONLINE That is because of sky-high

auction
prices for chocolate’s key ingre-

ly
dient, cocoa. While cocoa fu-
tures have retreated some from
their latest record reached in

Lke Ry Hbbrd Werfr Ese

HEATH, TEXAS
on December, they ended Friday at
$10,325 a metric ton. That is
around 85% higher than a year
ago and more than three times
the typical price over the last
us ,

two decades.
l

There are several reasons for

e
al a

SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

cocoa’s melt-up. Bad weather
and plant diseases have wrecked
crops in West Africa’s growing
ci on

regions. Meanwhile, a European

Union deforestation law and low
returns for growers have limited
the planting of new groves. The
extent of the supply issues Chocolate prices are unlikely to return soon to levels consumers have been used to paying.
er s

means that prices are unlikely

to return soon to the levels was a modest increase, and it $12,000 a metric ton
m er

chocolate makers and consum- was necessary.” Plus, she thinks

ers have been accustomed to her customers are willing to pay Cocoa futures price, most-active contract
10,000
ONLINE AUCTION BEGINS MON., MARCH 10TH paying, analysts say. a premium for high-quality
“The price of a ton of cocoa chocolate. “When people taste
butter is practically the price of the good stuff, they don’t want 8,000
m rp

a small car,” said Judy Ganes, of to go back.”

J. Ganes Consulting, an agricul- The world’s biggest chocolate 6,000
ture commodity analysis firm. makers, like Hershey and Mon-
After cocoa prices reached a delēz International, said their
record high last year, analysts prices are rising much more 4,000
co Fo

forecast stronger output during slowly than the price of cocoa,

PREVIOUSLY LISTED FOR $3.9M, STARTING BID ONLY $1.5M! 2025. But a string of dry months and they prefer taking a hit to 2,000
• Lakefront 4 Bedroom, 4 Full & 2 Half Bath 5,213± Sq. Ft. Estate
has disappointed chocolate sell- profits over a blow to demand.
ers, setting up the industry for a Mondelēz Chief Executive Weekly
• Gourmet Kitchen w/Thermador Appliances • Multiple Private Patios
fourth consecutive year of sup- Dirk Van de Put told investors 0
• Coffee Bar • Wine Room • Game Room • Media Room • Wet Bar
ply shortfalls. Prices have eased recently that the company March 2020 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25
• Outdoor Kitchen w/Beverage Fridge • Fireplace • In-Ground Trampoline
slightly since their December needed to maintain its price Source: FactSet
• Heated Pool w/Spa & Fire Bowls • Private Dock w/Jet Ski & Boat Lifts
peak after weather conditions in thresholds “so that consumers
• Garage w/Space For A Car Lift, 16-Foot Door, and 20x40 Ft Bonus Bay Africa improved, but it takes can continue to enjoy their cocoa’s center of output is eas- about what we’re seeing in the
((866) 924-5294
4 years to grow a new cacao tree. chocolate,” adding that cocoa ier said than done. In an indus- market fundamentals.”
The pressure has flowed prices would “eventually” come try like corn, farmers can re- True relief still appears some
INTERLUXE.COM/WJTX through the supply chain, taking down. spond to a weak harvest by distance away. While the Ivory
a bite out of Hershey’s earnings Many trees in West Africa planting more the next year. But Coast and Ghana’s market share
n-

This property is listed for sale by Melisa Bouchard - TX Lic.# 623176 - @properties -
(214) 385-3319. Not a solicitation for listings or offer to sell real property.
and jolting smaller chocolatiers. have died due to cacao swollen- cacao trees take years to grow. dropped to around 50% during
Interluxe provides advertising and online bidding services.
For full terms please visit www.interluxe.com. At Roni-Sue’s Chocolates, a shoot virus, which causes root Farmers can respond to drought the last growing season, that
bright-red storefront tucked necrosis. And due to the indus- by adding external water change was mostly driven by
into the edge of New York City’s try’s reliance on the region, a sources to trees, but doing so plummeting supply in Africa,
no

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Chinatown, owner Rhonda Kave few months of dry weather can doesn’t help the tree until the not a substantial rise in output
just raised the price of her choc- tank the season’s harvest and following year’s harvest. outside the continent.
olates for the first time in years prolong the high prices. Hershey CEO Michele Buck Chocolate manufacturers
and stabilized her business by Some analysts said that to told shareholders last week that promised last summer that this

ISLAND offering chocolate-making

classes. “People really aren’t
balking about it,” Kave said. “It
shore up supply, the industry
should invest in production out-
side West Africa. But shifting
production was on the rise in
regions outside West Africa,
saying “we continue to feel good
year’s harvest would be fruitful,
Jefferies analysts noted, but the
early signs are grim.

FOR SALE BUSINESS WATCH

Bahamas Safe: NO TAXES - INCOME or ESTATE
42 Years of owning and enjoying paradise in Abaco
Bahamas. Here is a list of what I have built during MODERNA DIAMONDBACK SAKS FIFTH AVENUE SAFRAN
these 42 years. Drugmaker Posts Oil Producer Is in Retailer Warns Aerospace Firm
PRIVATE Island in Abaco, Bahamas Quarterly Loss Talks to Buy Rival Over Bill Payments Raises Outlook
over 200 acres - no debt - same deed as USA Moderna posted a quarterly Diamondback Energy is in The marriage of Saks Fifth Safran raised its dividend
loss as fading demand for its talks to buy Double Eagle, a Avenue and Neiman Marcus and increased its adjusted
1. The complex has 17 bedrooms Covid-19 vaccine hurts sales. big West Texas crude pro- was supposed to create a lux- earnings outlook for this year,
2. 120 foot yacht like new - Big tenders The company reported a net ducer, a sign consolidation in ury powerhouse. Instead the after demand for after-market
3. Water, Sewer, Electricity, Generators Can build 60 more houses loss of $1.1 billion, or $2.91 per the country’s biggest oil patch newlywed retailers warned services, equipment and air-
if you desire
share, which included costs to isn’t slowing down. Friday that it will take time to craft interiors helped propel re-
4. 6900 Foot airport plus AA, Delta, Others end a contract manufacturing A deal could be announced pay off their unpaid bills. cord earnings in 2024.
5. No income tax - No estate tax deal and an inventory write- in the coming days, if the talks For more than a year, Saks The French aerospace-indus-
6. Your Private Security - Covid, Bird Flu, Crime, War are controlled by down. A year earlier, Moderna don’t fall apart, according to has been slow to pay for try supplier on Friday said that
you not them
earned $217 million, or 55 people familiar with the mat- some of its merchandise, for the year it expects to record
7. EVERYTHING GOES - Respond to email for brochure
cents a share. The company’s ter. It is possible another suitor prompting complaints from 4.8 billion euros to 4.9 billion
Proof of Funds Required No brokers Involved fourth-quarter sales slid 65% to could emerge. Double Eagle some vendors and others to euros, equivalent to between
8. Dock & House for yacht in Lauderdale and The Safe Island & No Tax $966 million, above analysts’ could be valued at more than hold back on shipments. Most $5.02 billion and $5.13 billion, in
expectations.. $5 billion in the transaction, retailers tend to pay their adjusted recurring operating in-
[email protected] Shares rose 3.4% Friday. the people said. suppliers within 60 days and come—its preferred measure of
Moderna’s share of the Fort Worth-based Double it is unusual for a large re- profitability. That is up from
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Covid-19 vaccine market de- Eagle owns more than 95,000 tailer such as Saks to with- previous guidance of €4.7 bil-
clined in 2024, and overall vac- net acres in the Midland por- hold funds for many months. lion to €4.8 billion. Safran also
cination rates were somewhat tion of the Permian Basin and In a memo sent to suppli- raised its 2025 adjusted free
mortgage REIT BUSINESS FOR SALE lower than the year before, is one of the last big assets ers on Valentine’s Day, Saks cash flow outlook to a range of

8%-9%
Chief Financial Officer Jamey left in the region. The team sought to reassure the brands €3 billion to €3.2 billion, from
ENTERPRISE COATED PRODUCTS
Return Mock said in an interview. running it has been a prolific that stock its stores about its €2.8 billions to €3 billion.
PAPER COATING The company is in cost-cut- aggregator of properties in the backlog of bills. The company The company made €3.07
TAX EFFICIENCY MANUFACTURER ting mode as revenue declines, oil patch, cobbling together said it would pay for new or- billion in adjusted net profit in
REAL ESTATE SECURED • RELEASE LINERS • but the company hopes to turn acreage into large positions it ders within 90 days of receipt 2024, a 51% increase from the
GROWTH / INCOME Owners Retiring After 25 Years things around with newer then flips to larger rivals. Dia- and that all past due pay- prior year. Adjusted recurring
SEEKING RIA’S & Outstanding Opportunity: products. It is trying to mondback, based in Midland, ments would be paid in 12 in- operating income grew 30% to
ACCREDITED INVESTORS Open capacity • Growth platform broaden usage of its new re- Texas, has a market value of stallments starting in July. €4.12 billion. Adjusted revenue

866-700-0600 • Fortune 1000 customers •

CONTACT
spiratory syncytial virus vac-
cine, and has applied for U.S.
around $47 billion. It has
emerged as a dominant force
The retailer was conserving
cash as it negotiated to buy
rose 18% to 27.32 billion euros
and the company said that it
ALLIANCE MORTGAGE FUND Phil Sexauer regulatory approval of a next- in the Permian. Neiman Marcus. That deal would propose a 32% dividend
120 Vantis Dr., Ste. 515 • Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
www.AlliancePortfolio.com [email protected] generation Covid vaccine. —Benoit Morenne closed just before Christmas. increase to 2.90 euros.
RE Broker • CA DRE • 02066955 Broker License ID
—Peter Loftus and Lauren Thomas —Lauren Thomas —Pierre Bertrand
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | B11

FINANCE & MARKETS

Buffett’s Berkshire Holds On to Apple,

Index performance this past week
2.5%

Nasdaq Composite
2.0

1.5
But Trims Stakes in Some Big Banks
S&P 500 BY KAREN LANGLEY
1.0
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire
Hathaway reduced its posi-
0.5 tions in several financial stocks
in the fourth quarter, but
Dow industrials didn’t sell any Apple shares.
0 The Omaha, Neb., company
continued to sell Bank of
America, one of its biggest
–0.5 10-minute intervals stockholdings, slashed its
stake in Citigroup and un-
Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri.
loaded part of its position in
Source: FactSet Capital One Financial, ac-
cording to a regulatory filing

S&P 500 Falls

made public after the market

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

closed Friday.
Berkshire unveiled a new
position in Constellation

Short of Record Brands, which sells Modelo

and Corona beer in the U.S.,
valued at $1.2 billion at the
end of December. It sold off its
Stocks finished the week 4.8%. shares of Ulta Beauty. Berkshire’s Apple stake remained its largest stockholding, valued at $75.1 billion as of Dec. 31.
higher after a mixed Friday in Coinbase shares fell, even af- Observers of the famed
which the S&P 500 fell short of ter the crypto exchange re- stock picker were watching the consumer-electronics com- Express and BofA. ment decisions. Berkshire ob-
a new record. ported a surge in revenue and closely to see if Berkshire’s pany. The stake, valued at While the 13F filings offer a servers will peruse Buffett’s
In a week dominated by tar- profit. sales of Apple would continue $75.1 billion on Dec. 31, re- periodic snapshot of Berk- annual letter on Feb. 22 for
iff news, earnings reports and Earlier in the week, Presi- for a fifth consecutive quarter. mained the sprawling con- shire’s stock portfolio, they any insights the CEO and
inflation data, the S&P 500 dent Trump’s decision to stop But Berkshire ended 2024 still glomerate’s largest stockhold- don’t provide clues into the chairman chooses to share
gained 1.5%, while the Nasdaq short of immediately imposing holding 300 million shares of ing, followed by American thinking behind those invest- about the recent trades.
Composite rose 2.6% and the new tariffs, plus hopes of a res-
Dow Jones In- olution to the Ukraine war, had
FRIDAY’S
MARKETS
dustrial Aver-
age advanced
0.5%.
A report Friday showed that
helped buoy stocks.
Airbnb Slowdown Isn’t Shaking Wall Street
retail sales fell by 0.9% in Janu- Elsewhere:

.
ary, a bigger contraction than  Ten-year yields fell to 4.475%. BY KATHERINE HAMILTON home-sharing business. To spending less on leisure travel demand would continue to
economists had forecast. The start, it plans to invest in ex- compared with 2021 and 2022. dwindle, Needham & Co. ana-

ly
The yield has fallen for three
new data followed two hotter- consecutive weeks. Airbnb’s stock is on the rise periences that can enhance While Airbnb’s 2025 outlook lyst Bernie McTernan said.
than-expected inflation reports after the company revealed users’ stays, like tours led by shows some decline, it was But the fourth-quarter book-
earlier in the week. But many  Hong Kong stocks rallied fur- plans to invest in new busi- locals. Chesky said he aims to more optimistic than Wall ings beat has renewed confi-
investors seem to be brushing
aside the economic data, said
Chris Zaccarelli, chief invest-
ment officer at Northlight Asset
ther, with the Hang Seng Index
rising 3.7%. Chinese President Xi
will meet with Alibaba co-
founder Jack Ma and other busi-
on nesses and capture a larger
share of the travel market.
Investors see promise in
plans to launch several new
eventually partner with more
companies such as grocery
stores and cleaning services.
Chesky said the company
Street had feared, and strong
fourth-quarter earnings bol-
stered confidence heading into
the next year.
dence moving into 2025.
Airbnb said it expects its
adjusted earnings before in-
terest, taxes, debt and amorti-
Management. ness leaders, Bloomberg and businesses that the company plans to start launching new “You do have a little bit of a zation margin to be 34.5% in
us ,

“You can really tell we’re in a Reuters reported, raising the says will eventually bring in businesses in catch-up story 2025. That would be a decline
l

bull market,” Zaccarelli said. prospect of easing tensions be- $1 billion in revenue, sending May. It plans to that’s going on from the previous year, but is
e
al a

“All bad news seems to have tween Beijing and the private shares up 15%, to $162.80, on invest $200 here,” Truist ahead of the 33% some inves-
been overlooked, and really sector. Friday. Wall Street seems con- million to $250 Investors see Securities ana- tors were expecting, Scholes
good news is celebrated.” fident the short-term-rental million in 2025 promise in plans lyst C. Patrick said. The company also beat
ci on

For the day, the Dow indus-  The STOXX Europe 600 Index company can maintain strong to grow those Scholes said. its margin guidance for 2024,
trials slipped 0.4%, while the rose 1.8% this past week to bookings through 2025. businesses. to launch For the which gives investors a vote of
S&P 500 dropped less than 0.1% 552.41. The index has risen for “The thesis this year has The San fourth quarter, confidence that it can hit or
after rising at times above its eight consecutive weeks. It been that Airbnb’s growth Francisco com-
several new Airbnb posted a surpass the guidance this
closing record of 6118.71 from dropped 0.2.% Friday. rate is coming back to earth pany has also businesses. 13% increase in year, McTernan said.
er s

January. The Nasdaq Composite after a spike in travel post- discussed add- gross booking Despite the growing confi-
ticked up 0.4%.  Gold fell slightly but traded pandemic,” said D.A. Davidson ing a feature value, beating dence, some analysts are
m er

Airbnb led the S&P 500 in near all-time highs. The precious analyst Tom White. “But it that would al- analysts’ expec- doubtful about how much
Friday gains, with the stock ris- metal fell to $2,883.60 an ounce looks like the growth rate is low hosts to pay to have their tations by about $4 million. It Airbnb’s new initiatives can
ing 14% on the back of a strong after setting successive records. going to settle into a high sin- listings show up higher when surpassed revenue expecta- immediately boost its earnings,
earnings report. The index was gle-digit zone.” travelers search for a place to tions by about $6 million, at as the company hasn’t shared
dragged down by its health-ser-  Meta Platforms shares rose Chief Executive Brian stay, said Wedbush Securities $2.48 billion, a 12% increase. many details about its plans.
m rp

vices segment, with DaVita fall- for their 20th consecutive day. Chesky told analysts Thursday analyst Scott Devitt, bringing Airbnb said during the “I’m a little skeptical how
ing around 11%. The Dow was The stock ticked up 1.1% on Fri- he wants the company to fol- in additional revenue. The third quarter it was seeing much a $200 million invest-
pulled lower by the consumer day. low Amazon.com’s path by company has also talked about shorter booking lead times ment can move that needle on
non-durables sector, with —Owen Tucker-Smith gradually expanding beyond offering a car-rental service. than a year ago, sending its a $100 billion market-cap
Procter & Gamble shares sliding and Katy Barnato Airbnb’s bread-and-butter Consumers have been stock down on concerns that company,” Scholes said.
co Fo

Hedge-Fund Investors Can’t Cash Out DoorDash Accused

BY PETER RUDEGEAIR By Uber of Unfair
Armistice Capital delivered
the goods to investors for over a
dozen years. The hedge fund
outperformed rivals in 2024,
Business Practices
n-

and its record since inception BY HEATHER HADDON to change its practices.
trounces the broader stock Restaurant delivery boomed
market. Uber Technologies sued during the Covid-19 pandemic
What the firm hasn’t deliv- DoorDash, accusing its biggest and has continued to attract
no

ered is much cash to investors food-delivery rival of anticom- consumers, though increasing
who wanted out late last year. It petitive practices that jack up profits remains tough. Door-
mostly gave them the equiva- costs for restaurants and con- Dash this past week reported its
lent of IOUs instead, according sumers. second quarterly profit since
to an investor letter viewed by In a suit filed Friday in state going public in 2020. The Uber
The Wall Street Journal. That superior court in California, Eats food delivery operation,
usually happens at hedge funds Uber accused DoorDash of co- which Uber runs alongside its
that repeatedly lose money. At ercing restaurants to exclu- larger ride-share business, has
Armistice, it happened because sively work with DoorDash for slowly become more profitable.
the firm loaded up on thinly parts of their delivery business. In its complaint, Uber said in
BEA OYSTER/WSJ

traded assets and sparked an Uber said DoorDash threatened several instances it had pro-
outflow of investors after it an- higher commission rates for vided direct delivery services to
nounced new terms that would restaurants that also use Uber’s restaurants until DoorDash in-
have made it harder for them to Eats service to manage some tervened.
exit, people familiar with the Investors who redeemed from Armistice in late 2023 got about half of their money back in cash. orders. “Uber’s case has no Last year, Uber said, a large
firm said. merit,” DoorDash said Friday. restaurant group canceled long-
Now, some clients are wak- easy-to-sell assets. viewed by the Journal. The firm video call with investors in mid- “Their claims are unfounded running plans to have Uber pro-
ing up to the risks the firm was Steven Boyd, a onetime used models to price these posi- October, Boyd previewed a com- and based on their inability to vide direct delivery services af-
taking. The value of Armistice’s McKinsey consultant and tions since there wasn’t an ac- ing change in terms that would offer merchants, consumers, or ter DoorDash said it would
holdings of those illiquid assets hedge-fund analyst, launched tive market for them. lock up investors’ money for all couriers a quality alternative.” increase commissions for han-
was disclosed once a year, and Armistice in 2012. Since then, Monthly disclosures to inves- of 2025 and limit withdrawals Uber, DoorDash and other dling the restaurant group’s
with a lag. The firm told clients Armistice’s annualized return tors said Armistice could liqui- thereafter. He said the new food-delivery services run app- marketplace orders, according
who got the IOUs that it would averaged 24.4%, with only one date nearly all of its stock port- terms would bring Armistice in based marketplaces where con- to the complaint.
likely take at least a year before down year. As of the start of folio in 30 days or less. That line with competitors. He didn’t sumers can browse and order Uber’s complaint alleged that
they are fully cashed out. 2025, the firm’s assets under assurance came with some no- mention liquidity issues or that restaurant fare. The companies DoorDash threatened to raise
For much of the past decade, management totaled about $2 table fine print: Its analysis Armistice previously gave inves- also provide direct delivery ser- another restaurant’s commis-
hedge funds had fallen out of billion. didn’t factor in its warrants. tors side-pocket shares in lieu vices, handling orders placed sion rates by 30% per market-
favor because of their uneven For every $1 of capital Armi- The firm gave investors a of cash. through restaurants’ websites. place order, or told an eatery
performance and high costs. stice managed late last year, it glimpse into the size of its war- “We have a track record of Restaurants pay the delivery that partnering with Uber
They recently started attracting invested nearly $5, a big degree rant book in audited financial knowing when to double down, companies commissions for ad- would cost restaurants tens of
investor interest again after of borrowing even relative to statements. Armistice estimated knowing when the soft pitch is vertising, and for delivery han- millions of dollars in additional
generating strong and unusually other highflying, stock-picking their value as of year-end, but coming our way and when to dled by gig workers. DoorDash DoorDash fees. Uber said it lost
broad-based gains last year. A hedge funds. The bulk of Armi- those statements were typically swing as hard as we can,” Boyd held 63% of the national deliv- out on millions of dollars in
survey from Goldman Sachs stice’s exposure was to biotech released a few months later. said. ery market last year, followed business as a result.
found pension funds, endow- companies, among the most vol- Investors who redeemed On Jan. 17, Boyd wrote to in- by Uber at 25% and Grubhub at DoorDash said restaurants
ments and other institutions atile stocks because their value from Armistice in late 2023 re- vestors that the firm would pay 6%, according to data firm Ear- have returned to its direct de-
ranked hedge funds as the most depends on the results of un- ceived about half of their money about two-thirds of redemp- nest Analytics. livery services after trying al-
sought-after investments for predictable clinical trials and back in cash. The rest was paid tions requested at the end of Uber said it filed the suit af- ternatives.
2025. regulatory reviews for novel out in shares of a separate in- 2024 with shares in another ter hearing from restaurants Scott Landers, a former res-
But exactly what a hedge drugs and therapies. vestment vehicle, known in the side pocket. He said certain po- that felt bullied. “DoorDash’s taurant owner who runs the
fund holds remains murky to in- Over time, the fund accumu- industry as a side pocket, con- sitions either couldn’t be real- coercive tactics reduce restau- Figure 8 consulting firm for eat-
vestors by design. Even pedi- lated masses of warrants tied to sisting of illiquid assets includ- ized or if realized at the time, rant-customer and consumer eries, said some of his clients
greed funds can resort to un- the value of underlying biotech ing warrants. would be at values the firm de- choice, resulting in higher have run into pushback from
friendly maneuvers when they stocks, an even more volatile in- Armistice’s main fund gained termined were “at a discount to prices, lower-quality service, DoorDash when they sought to
run into trouble. Paloma Part- vestment. Armistice’s warrant 15.6% last year, beating other their true value.” The firm sub- and decreased innovation,” use Uber for direct delivery.
ners, one of the oldest active holdings jumped at the end of healthcare and generalist stock- sequently predicted it would Uber said in the complaint. Landers said DoorDash would
hedge-fund firms, issued IOUs 2023 to about $466 million, picking funds. The value of the take 12 to 18 months before de- Uber is seeking an unspeci- seek to change the terms of
to fleeing investors last year be- from $1.2 million at the end of side pocket fell by nearly 40%. parting investors were fully fied amount in damages and a their marketplace service if a
cause it didn’t have enough 2022, according to documents On a regularly scheduled cashed out. court order requiring DoorDash restaurant used Uber.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

B12 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

HEARD STREET FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

ON
THE

Can Walmart Keep

The Retail Crown?
America’s largest retailer is catching up quickly to
Costco and Amazon. Now it needs to keep going.

Walmart, a 62-year-old retailer, veyed by Morning Consult earning

looks sharper than it has in a long at least $100,000 said they shopped
time. How long can it keep the at the retailer, up from 77% five
spark going? years earlier. The share of low- and
After years of lagging behind middle-income consumers who
Costco Wholesale and Amazon.com, shop at Walmart has also grown
Walmart is catching up quickly. Its over the period, according to the
shares rose 72% in 2024, and are up survey.
another 16% so far this year. Wal- Walmart’s e-commerce reve-
mart has become an e-commerce nue—including Sam’s Club and its
heavyweight, and it is gaining share international segment—hit $100
with both low- and high-income billion in the fiscal year ended in
shoppers. January 2024. Walmart’s total e-
For some time, America’s largest commerce business is now about a
retailer was best known for its cor- fifth of the size of Amazon’s, com- Walmart’s market share has grown across income groups, thanks to investments in both stores and e-commerce.
porate motto: Every Day Low pared with about 10% in 2017.
Prices. Target and Costco were the Even the merchandising of Wal- ble what it was a year earlier. That But Walmart is also a very dif- Meanwhile, the e-commerce leader,
places where higher-earning con- mart looks more on point. Last helped reduce U.S. delivery cost per ferent business today. The Wal- Amazon, still hasn’t cracked physi-
sumers went for exciting products year, the retailer launched a new order by about 40%. mart+ membership looks relatively cal retail.
and a fun store experience, while store brand—Bettergoods—that fea- At the same time, growth in e- sticky, with about 90% of members Walmart shares trade at about
Amazon was light years ahead on tures gourmet items such as carda- commerce helps Walmart expand surveyed by Evercore ISI Research 38 times forward-12-month earn-
e-commerce. Over the past few mom rose raspberry jam. Several its high-margin sources of revenue last year saying they are definitely ings, around 78% higher than its 10-
years, though, Walmart has started weeks ago Walmart’s knockoff ver- such as membership income and or maybe renewing. Merchandising year average. After historically be-
encroaching on those competitors’ sion of the Hermès Birkin bag, the advertising sales to in-store and has improved both in-store and on- ing closer to traditional peers such
territory. “Wirkin,” went viral on social me- online sellers. More online sales line, with the online marketplace as Target and Kroger, its multiple
To begin with, more of the well- dia and quickly sold out. Walmart give Walmart a treasure trove of now offering nearly 700 million has recently overtaken Amazon’s.

.
to-do are shopping at Walmart. In has hired some “cutting-edge mer- valuable online traffic and con- unique items. And stores also look At this multiple, Walmart could
February, 89% of households sur- chants who have experience pro- sumer data that can be monetized. better. “Store remodels have been face pressure to keep growing rap-

ly
curing the finest items,” said Sim- Membership and advertising ac- significant,” Shemesh said. “They idly and to expand margins more
eon Gutman, equity analyst at counted for nearly a third of the have a higher-end feel. Cleaner, bet- dramatically.
Share-price performance Morgan Stanley. company’s overall operating income ter merchandising, better sight- But the retailer appears to be
over the past year
100%

Walmart
on
Behind Walmart’s wins are years
of investments in both e-commerce
and stores. It has stepped up capi-
tal expenditures more recently.
in its last reported quarter. As
these high-margin streams of reve-
nue grow, some of it can be fun-
neled back into cutting prices.
lines.”
It also helps that Walmart’s com-
petition looks feeble. Dollar stores,
after years of underinvesting in
taking a page from Amazon’s strat-
egy in its own growth phase, sig-
naling that it will focus on gaining
market share over rushing for prof-
80 Over the past three fiscal years, A skeptic might argue that this their stores, are scrambling to catch itability. “If investments in delivery
us ,

Costco
Amazon Walmart’s U.S. business alone spent growth could be short-lived. After up. Large supermarket chains look speed cause us to reach profitabil-
l

60 a total of more than $42 billion in all, the pandemic disruption helped weaker too: The merger of two of ity a little later, that’s fine too. We
e
al a

capex, about 80% more than in the speed up Walmart’s e-commerce the largest chains—Kroger and want to deliver faster,” Walmart
preceding three years. In its fiscal growth, just as it did for other re- Albertsons—was blocked last year Chief Executive Doug McMillon said
40 year ended in January 2024, the re- tailers, and the inflationary envi- by antitrust enforcers, and another on the most recent earnings call.
ci on

tailer spent almost as much as ronment following the pandemic splashy combination in the sector “We are very confident that we’re
20 what Wall Street analysts estimate probably pushed high-income con- looks unlikely. Target has fallen be- going to make money in e-com-

GABBY JONES/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Amazon spent on its retail business sumers to try out Walmart for the hind, in part because inflation- merce. Whether that happens to-
in 2023, according to Visible Alpha. first time. Walmart drew in higher- pinched consumers haven’t been in day, tomorrow or a week from now
0
These investments have helped income consumers following the the mood to shop for the trendy or a month from now or a quarter
er s

Walmart lose less money from e- 2008-09 financial crisis, but that discretionary items that have be- from now, I don’t really care.”
–20 commerce sales. The retailer said cohort didn’t stick around once the come its specialty. Target hasn’t in- Walmart has been around the
m er

March 2024 ’25 that more than half of its fulfill- economy improved, noted Steven vested as much in e-commerce and block enough times that it knows
ment-center volume was automated Shemesh, equity analyst at RBC is unlikely to be a serious competi- how to play a long game.
Source: FactSet in the latest reported quarter, dou- Capital Markets. tor in that domain for some time. —Jinjoo Lee
m rp

operation lost more than $13 billion

on $17.5 billion in revenue last year.
TSMC generated $41.1 billion in op- Coinbase Invests in
co Fo

erating profit on $90 billion in rev-

enue over the same period.
“Our view has been that Intel’s
core server and PC businesses will
The Stablecoin War
no longer generate enough growth
to absorb the significant costs for
leading-edge fabs,” Wolfe Research Its USDC is a distant No. 2 to Tether; the company is
analyst Chris Caso wrote in a note
to clients on Thursday. He added willing to take losses in pursuit of the top spot
that “only TSMC can drive the
foundry volume needed to absorb With crypto ascendant at the Coinbase Global stablecoin revenue,
Intel’s fixed costs in an expeditious end of last year, Coinbase Global quarterly
manner.” printed a huge fourth quarter.
INTEL CORPORATION

$250 million
n-

But while Intel and TSMC are os- Transaction revenue nearly tripled
tensibly in the same business, there from the prior quarter, to more
are sharp differences in how the than $1.5 billion, the company re- 200
two operate. Most notably, Intel has ported late Thursday.
no

Unlike TSMC, Intel primarily manufactures chips based on its own designs. spent most of its long history ex- But one closely watched reve-
clusively manufacturing chips nue line was down. Stablecoin rev- 150
based on its own designs. “Intel’s enue was about $226 million in

An Intel Rescue Will process ecosystem, design method-

ologies and manufacturing systems
are fundamentally different from
TSMC,” Citigroup analyst Laura
the fourth quarter, down from
roughly $247 million in the third.
The drivers were twofold: One, the
impact of relatively lower interest
100

Be Hard to Pull Off Chen wrote in a report Thursday,

adding that those differences would
create “significant” barriers for po-
rates during the quarter. But two,
more notably, was the addition of
new partners to the USDC stable-
50

tential clients of Intel. coin ecosystem.

0
Those problems won’t be solved Coinbase said that along with
The Trump administration has more a reflection of the dire straits easily, even with the explicit bless- partner Circle Internet Group, it is 2023 ’24
effectively put a buy rating on In- Intel is now starting from. Deterio- ing of the Trump administration. aiming to expand USDC in part by Source: the company
tel’s stock. But that alone won’t get rating sales and a cash-burning And more money is still needed. In- sharing the economics of the coin
the troubled chip maker out of its manufacturing business have cra- tel has burned nearly $40 billion in with more partners, creating an
jam. tered the company’s market value. cash over the past three years in a incentive for its adoption. USDC but in payments and savings as
Intel’s shares soared 24% this Intel’s stock price plunged 60% last race to catch its manufacturing generates revenue for Coinbase well.
past week. The run started after year and was trading near its 10- processes up to TSMC, while ana- through its share of the interest But there are still many players
Vice President JD Vance delivered a year low as of last week. Even with lysts expect negative free cash flow revenue earned on the money that angling for a stake in this future.
speech at an AI summit in Paris the stock’s recent pickup, Intel’s to continue through the end of next backs the coin, which is designed PayPal has had a stablecoin since
early Tuesday that touted the market capitalization is now about year, according to FactSet esti- to represent a U.S. dollar. 2023. And Robinhood Markets this
White House’s aim to shore up do- one-eighth that of TSMC’s. The two mates. An arranged marriage may “We may have short-term eco- past week reiterated its own ambi-
mestic chip production. “The companies were valued at parity in not be Intel’s salvation, but money nomic hits, but we think this will tions. It recently joined with other
Trump administration will ensure U.S. dollar terms just five years ago, and time haven’t proven to be ei- lead to long-term economic crypto firms in the Global Dollar
that the most powerful AI systems according to data from S&P Global ther. —Dan Gallagher growth,” Coinbase Chief Financial Network, with its own stablecoin,
are built in the U.S. with American- Market Intelligence. Officer Alesia Haas told analysts. Global Dollar, or USDG. That rela-
designed and manufactured chips,” Still, Intel’s position as the only Coinbase Chief Executive Brian tively nascent coin is at around
Vance said. U.S.-based chip maker with leading- Annual revenue Armstrong on Thursday laid out $92 million in market value, ac-
That was followed by a report edge production capabilities that $150 billion Coinbase’s big ambitions: “We also cording to CoinMarketCap.
from Robert W. Baird analysts can fabricate the most advanced have a stretch goal to make USDC “There’s going to be a lot more”
claiming that the U.S. government processors does make it vital to the Projections the No. 1 dollar stablecoin.” on the Global Dollar Network, Rob-
was trying to broker discussions vision of the Trump administration. 125 TSMC According to CoinMarketCap, inhood CEO Vlad Tenev told ana-
between Intel and its main rival in The world’s two other leading-edge Intel Foundry USDC is currently the second-larg- lysts. “We’re going to be investing
chip manufacturing. The report chip makers—TSMC and Sam- est stablecoin by market value, at in the space.”
100
said Taiwan Semiconductor Manu- sung—are building new plants in around $56 billion as of Friday Crypto can be cyclical, and
facturing—better known as the U.S. But both are foreign domi- morning. That’s up nearly 30% trading booms can be followed by
TSMC—could become a joint owner ciled. TSMC fabricates nearly all of 75 since the end of last year, but it busts. But stablecoins represent a
of Intel’s manufacturing business the most advanced chips used by remains well behind Tether’s far steadier potential revenue
following a spinoff, while also hav- major U.S. tech giants. roughly $142 billion. stream, not just from interest
ing charge of running the facilities. By contrast, Intel’s foundry busi- 50 With that market cap expan- earnings but also more day-to-day
The idea of such a partnership ness still generates the bulk of its sion, Coinbase is already anticipat- banking-type activities.
has been floated before. And Intel business making chips that Intel 25 ing growth in its stablecoin reve- Whether a more mature stable-
already has taken steps to turn its designs. And that drives specula- nue quarter-over-quarter in the coin market would naturally gravi-
manufacturing arm, called Intel tion that Intel’s only hope may be a first quarter of 2025, the company tate toward a single coin, or per-
Foundry Services, into a separate complicated tie-up with its chief 0 said Thursday. haps a handful of winners,
subsidiary, which would theoreti- manufacturing rival, which can 2021 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25 ’26 Crypto advocates believe that remains to be seen. But clearly the
cally make a future spinoff easier. steer some of those other custom- stablecoins have a future not just race is on.
But the stock’s huge gains are ers into Intel’s fabs. Intel’s foundry Sources: the companies (actual); FactSet (projections) as a transaction token for traders, —Telis Demos
 REVIEW
For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

Drawing Attention Fighting Presidents

A Chinese artist depicts How war shaped seven
Ukraine’s war daily to commanders in chief
protest Beijing’s role C5 Books C7

CULTURE | SCIENCE | POLITICS | HUMOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C1
FROM TOP: STEPHEN VOSS FOR WSJ; PATRICK T. FALLON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on

Karp at his
company’s office
in Washington,
D.C., Feb. 12.
er s

Alex Karp Wants Silicon Valley

m er
m rp

To Fight for America

co Fo

Ketchum, Idaho Karp will step further into the fray

PALANTIR STOCK was days away
The Palantir CEO thinks that tech with the publication next week of his
from hitting an all-time high, and the
company’s chief executive, Alex Karp,
companies have lost their way, new book, “The Technological Repub-
lic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the
had retreated to his cavernous moun- focusing on diversions for consumers Future of the West,” a cri de coeur
tain cabin. Its features neatly cap- that takes aim at the tech industry for
tured the interests of a billionaire on rather than on defending the nation abandoning its history of helping
a quest to save the West.
The windows were adorned with
that ‘made their rise possible.’ America and its allies.
The last two decades in the sector
curtains bearing an American flag mo- By Erich Schwartzel amount to a gigantic waste, in Karp’s
n-

tif. Completed and half-completed Ru- view. While he and his colleagues at
bik’s Cubes were scattered on coffee Palantir were helping to identify road-
tables. side bombs in Kandahar to save the
“Do you want to see my guns?” he lives of American soldiers, the book
no

asked. One of Karp’s hobbies is long- asserts, their contemporaries back in

range shooting, whose targets fall northern California,
outside the normal parameters of a lulled by decades of
firearm, he explained. He struck a peace, were making At his cavernous
stance to show the blend of practice sure that college-edu-
and instinct that combines for the cated smartphone us-
mountain
perfect shot. ers could buy coupons cabin, a delphic
More than two decades of running
Palantir, a data analysis firm best
for paragliding lessons
and play FarmVille.
billionaire
known for working with the U.S. mili- If Karp’s new book plays with
tary and intelligence agencies, has can be encapsulated Rubik’s cubes
made Karp a billionaire many times by one of its sen-
over. Though government work repre- tences, it may be this and long-range
sents only a portion of a balance sheet one: “The wunder- guns.
that leans heavily on commercial cli- kinder of Silicon Val-
ents, it gives the whole company a se- ley—their fortunes,
cret-ops vibe. Karp can talk about his business empires, and,
own guns far more readily than he can Palantir’s TITAN (Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node) vehicle for more fundamentally,
talk about the more secretive activities military field intelligence at Las Vegas’s Consumer Electronics Show in 2023. entire sense of self—
of Palantir, whose market capitaliza- exist because of the nation that in
tion is now more than $260 billion. many cases made their rise possible.”
In the cast of philosopher-kings anointed him their antiestablishment is the president’s flamboyant best It is time, Karp believes, for the indus-
who have emerged from Silicon Valley billionaire hero. man, Karp is a more retiring figure in try to repay that debt.
in the past several years, Karp cuts an Since the nation’s top tech CEOs the marriage party (he didn’t show up The book, co-written with Nicholas
unusual figure. He is far from one- traveled to Washington for Trump’s for the inauguration). Delphic and W. Zamiska, was finished late last
name status (“Mark,” “Elon”) and in- inauguration three weeks ago, Ameri- overcaffeinated, he has presided over year, and elements of its central argu-
deed is barely known outside small cans have been guests at the shotgun a surge in business for Palantir while ment seem to have come true in just
circles in tech and politics or beyond wedding between Silicon Valley and also calling on his industry to help the the past few weeks. A section on elim-
the army of retail investors who have the new administration. If Elon Musk West win a clash of civilizations. Please turn to the next page

Inside
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS HOUSING CRISIS BACK WHEN

Don’t touch, don’t go Zoning laws Why did we

Dutch and don’t trust championed by think Pop
‘love at first sight’: A progressives have Rocks killed
matchmaker offers made homes Mikey, the kid
unexpected dating tips unaffordable in from the Life
for lasting romance. C3 blue states. C4 commercial? C3
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C2 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

REVIEW

A Billionaire’s
Mission for Tech
Continued from the prior page where to park, two com-
inating wasteful government spend- munications profession-
ing sounds a bit like Musk’s Depart- als and several strapping
ment of Government Efficiency. assistants, one of whom
Another on encouraging more part- ordered a book at Karp’s
nerships between the government request, another who
and the private sector on artificial tossed logs to build him a
intelligence work evokes Trump’s fire in the living room
Stargate plan to build energy capa- and another whom Karp
bilities with OpenAI and other addressed in German.
firms. “Günther!” he cried
Asked about the similarities in out. “Kaffee mit zwei
what his book calls for and what Zucker.” Coffee with two
others are implementing, Karp said, sugars.
“We’ve been very good at forecast- Karp has no back-
ing the current present state a cou- ground in engineering.
ple years before it happened.” Raised in Philadelphia, he
It is a pitch that has helped give went to Haverford Col-
Palantir and Karp some of the best lege and then Stanford
weeks in the company’s history. Law School before head-
ing to Germany for grad-
uate school. His doctorate
Buying stock in from Goethe University
Frankfurt was on neoclas-
Palantir, Karp sical social philosophy,
told prospective work that prepared him
investors, meant to pose questions like
“What does it mean to
buying into a make a bad decision? At
mission ‘to what level of abstraction?
How deep do you go, to
support Western know if it’s a good or a
liberal democracy bad decision?”
In 2003, he joined with
and its strategic

.
his Stanford Law class-

ly
allies.’ mate Thiel to launch Pal-
antir, using as its founda-
tion a program that one

Nearly three years after analysts

of Thiel’s other compa-
nies, PayPal, had deployed
to identify Russian money
laundering through the
on
us ,

questioned whether Karp’s promise identification of seem-

for growth in government contracts ingly unrelated cash pay-
l
e
was an illusion, the company’s ments. From its start, Pal-
al a

share price has surged more than antir, named for a

180% since the day before Trump powerful “seeing stone“ in
ci on

was elected. The reason: growth in “Lord of the Rings,” was

Palantir’s AI business and the ex- designed to give the gov-
pectation that the new administra- ernment and private com-
tion will favor scrappier firms like panies a bit of Tolkienian
Palantir over old warhorses like magic, to sift data and re-
er s

Lockheed Martin. veal unknown patterns.

The company’s early
m er

Making America ‘more lethal’ work traced a series of

Palantir is “very long America,” terrorist attacks to the
said Karp. He is quick to remind po- same Iraqi village and
tential clients that he is happy to identified a cyber net-
m rp

assist in the dirty work of empire. work infiltration cam-

On an earnings call with investors paign against the Dalai Top: Karp with Elon Musk in 2023 at the U.S. Senate’s ‘AI Insight Forum’ exploring regulations to govern AI development.
earlier this month, he said Palantir Lama. Thanks to Palantir Above: Peter Thiel, seen in 2016 at the Republican National Convention, cofounded Palantir with Karp.
is “making America more lethal” by software, the U.S. military
analyzing troves of data for the U.S. was able to find and elim-
co Fo

armed forces and allies to help them inate roadside bombs in Afghanistan By 2013, less than a decade after realms beyond politics, civic organi- stupid,” he said. He added: “The Y
anticipate enemies’ moves, locate by discovering patterns in how they its founding, Palantir had 1,200 em- zations or religious life, where they people essentially are complete big-
their coordinates “and, on occasion, were deployed. ployees and a valuation of $9 bil- once looked for inspiration. ots, by the way. Please write that
kill them.” lion. With each successive fundrais- “I really, really revere the people down.”
Karp backed President Joe Bi- Like a John la Carré novel ing round, Karp put off the initial who revere me. This is not always “The Technological Republic” is
den’s re-election and supported Ka- Palantir’s approach was like a public offering that many assumed the case, if you talk to people who likely the only book by a business
mala Harris when she became the John la Carré novel for a new era in was coming. The opacity of Palan- are famous,” he said, holding court executive to feature three epigrams
nominee. But he has been sur- spycraft, one in which American tir’s financials only added to its rep- on the small staircase that leads to (one in German), citations from the
rounded by those in Trump’s orbit forces were overwhelmed by an en- utation as a black box. his sunken living room, dressed in Bible, Richard Linklater’s “Before
for years, starting with Peter Thiel, emy that operated thousands of When Palantir finally filed to go house clogs and head-to-toe athlei- Sunset” and an outright attack on a
who spoke at the 2016 Republican miles away, through networks hu- public in 2020, Karp published a let- sure, including joggers, a zip-up, a market leader (Google’s “shallow
National Convention in support of man and digital that the intelligence ter ahead of the IPO that today vest and a knit cap. Over his right and thinly veiled nihilism”). Karp
n-

Trump. agencies were only beginning to un- reads like a short proposal for the shoulder: a chandelier ringed with admits it wasn’t the most commer-
Several Palantir alumni have re- derstand. book he would co-author. Buying seven lamps and cast-iron moose cial of choices.
cently taken jobs in the Trump ad- Palantir launched with about $30 stock in Palantir, he told prospective heads. “The book I should write to sell,”
ministration, further deepening the million in startup costs largely cov- investors, meant supporting a com- In 2020, Karp was paid $1.1 bil- he said, “would be, ‘AI Karp Karp AI
no

company’s ties. The company in ered by Thiel and his venture-capi- pany that would make it a mission lion in total compensation, the high- Karp AI AI Karp.’”
turn has hired onetime lawmakers, tal fund. As the company saw its “to support Western liberal democ- est of any chief executive at a pub-
such as former Wisconsin Congress- valuation grow, a central question racy and its strategic allies.” licly traded company. In 2022, with Galvanized by Oct. 7
man Mike Gallagher, who from emerged: What exactly did Palan- The previous four years had Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine, Karp has advocated many of the
turned Silicon Valley into a tinder- he warned against nuclear escala- book’s central themes for years, but
box of politics—Cambridge Analyt- tion in the war but acknowledged several developments pushed him to
ica, fact-checking committees—and that bad times are good for Palantir. put it all in one place. Hamas’s mas-
firms either hid their work on de- Around the same time, however, sacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023 gal-
fense programs or scrapped them Palantir reported a decline in reve- vanized him to get louder, he said. In
altogether. Karp trumpeted them. nue growth from its government the hours after word of the attack
In 2020, he moved Palantir’s contracts. Shares sank to less than spread, Karp had Palantir employees
headquarters from Palo Alto to Den- $7 before starting their steady on the ground in Israel to help coor-
ver because “we seem to share climb in mid-2024. The surge in re- dinate the country’s response. Two
fewer and fewer of the technology cent months has led some analysts workers—a Pole and a Brit, both non-
sector’s values and commitments.” to set new price targets for the Jews—flew themselves there before
Protests against Palantir’s work company, but its fast-rising stock Karp could ask them to go, he said.
FROM TOP: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES; JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES; TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES FOR PALANTIR

with U.S. Immigration and Customs has led others to question whether Karp watched the world’s re-
Enforcement followed the company Palantir can ever grow into its mas- sponse to the attack while coordi-
to Colorado. sive current valuation, which gives nating the effort to help. “People
it a market capitalization more than started protesting against Israel on
A meme-able look twice that of Lockheed Martin. Oct. 8,” he said. He is unapologetic
Karp started to gain a following, Today, Palantir is leaning into its in his support for Israel and for do-
becoming a chief executive uniquely reputation as a dominant player. A ing business with its government.
suited to a time when Reddit threads commercial for the company, aired “It was very risky. We’re a publicly
and viral clips can shape a com- during the Army-Navy football game traded company,” he said.
British defense ministry official Adm. Tony Radakin visits Karp at Palantir’s pany’s identity as much as earnings last year, played like a Tom Clancy We are entering a new world, he
booth at the AI Expo for National Competitiveness in Washington, May 7. calls and analyst reports. Karp’s thriller, with drone swarms, infrared said, where everyone and every busi-
meme-able look (the untamed curly missiles and even a tagline fit for a ness will need to find their distinc-
hair, the rimless glasses and white 1990s movie poster: “Battles are tive “blue note,” borrowing a jazz
2023 to 2024 chaired the House tir…do? Descriptions of the com- T-shirt) and unvarnished remarks won before they begin.” At the metaphor. The artificial intelligence
Committee on the Chinese Commu- pany’s offerings came crammed have turned him into a celebrity World Economic Forum in Davos systems fueling investor fervor for
nist Party and called for more hard- with jargon. among the retail investors who last month, the company’s venue in Palantir are going to raise the floor
line responses to Chinese influence Competitors who had been count themselves as “Palantirians.” the mountainside town resembled a of capabilities to such a degree, he
in America. He now heads Palantir’s around for years dismissed the YouTube channels paste together set from the Apple TV show “Sever- said, that they will force everyone to
defense business. rookie as a gussied-up data analysis moments from his analyst calls and ance,” all clean lines and white sur- “do something unique, creative.”
Karp has been wealthy for many firm. Few interviews passed where public interviews into clip packages faces, a memorable stage for the The analogy could also be drawn
years, with the trappings of a bil- Karp didn’t answer a question by like “Alex Karp Funniest Moments cocktail party it hosted for its legion from his own hobby of long-range
lionaire and the ready soliloquies of saying he couldn’t answer the ques- Compilation!” of admirers. shooting. Businesses and individuals
an executive accustomed to being tion—it was classified. Certainly In a way, Karp’s own popularity Those fans, Karp said, tend to are going to have to use AI to oper-
received as an oracle. At least a that was true, but it gave the whole is evidence of one of his book’s cen- have been through an experience in ate “outside the range of what a hu-
half-dozen staffers were in his home operation a bit of a mystique. tral complaints: that Americans their own lives that mirrors the man can do,” he said.
during my weekend visit, including “We were very unsexy to most have little reason to trust most of skepticism that greeted Palantir. “I That is “where all the value is,”
two stationed just inside the drive- people and uncontrollably sexy to a today’s institutions or their leaders, said X, everyone in the establish- he added. “Because you have to hit
way, another who directed me small number of people,” he said. forcing them to find heroes in ment said Y, and Y meant X was the target.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C3

REVIEW

spect your boundaries if you com-

Don’t Touch, Don’t Go Dutch and municate them with kindness and
courtesy. If someone pushes back,
that will tell you a lot about who

Other Tips For Dating Success they are. Date six, when done right,
is electric. If you make it that far,
you’ll know that both of you are
there for the right reasons.

Forget falling in love at first sight. A professional matchmaker offers Intentional Intimacy: My clients typ-
ically assume chemistry should be
some advice for a lasting relationship. instantaneous and effortless. My job
is to disabuse them, to let them
know that chemistry is actually
something they can activate for
themselves. This is good news: In-
stead of waiting around for sparks,
you can try to light them.
The best ways to do this are sim-
ple, if not necessarily easy. First,
put your phone away. You are al-
lowed to look at it zero times on a
date. Instead, look your date in the
eyes, address him or her by name,
ask questions, listen to the answers
and follow up. I’m often surprised
by just how many people don’t quite
appreciate the value of attention.
Many of my clients seem to as-
sume that it’s better to be aloof in-
stead of vulnerable, that they should
be playing hard to get. This is a mis-
take. A game of hide and seek may
be fun in the short term, but it
rarely serves those who are looking
for an actual relationship with a
grown-up. Challenge yourself to be
authentically you. With the right
person, this works.

Splitting the Bill Splits the Connec-

tion: Call me old-fashioned, but I

.
think one person should cover the

ly
whole bill. Whether it’s $1 or $100,
paying for someone communicates
your investment in them because
on you value their time and company.
It’s a way to bridge the gap between
two hopeful, nervous, fact-finding
individuals.
us ,

This shouldn’t be about power or

gender; the same person shouldn’t
l
e
have to pay every time. But the ges-
al a

ture is an expression of openness

and optimism and can go a long
ci on

way toward rewarding the vulnera-

bility of simply showing up.

BY ALEEZA BEN SHALOM sibility and tricks them into mistak- gathering information. Because it bility, because their bodies were al- End It on a High Note: Don’t burn

W
ing physical attraction for love. takes time to even begin scratching ready off and running. bridges. Even if this person isn’t
er s

e all know stories As a matchmaker and dating the surface of who this other person “How will I know if it works in the your person, they have given you
of “love at first coach, I can confidently say that a might be and who they might be bedroom if I don’t, you know, try it their time and energy, so make sure
m er

sight.” We’ve seen lasting love demands far more than with you, I tell my clients to commit out?” If I had a dollar for every time to thank them. Maybe you’ll know
them in movies whatever you see in that first mo- to a minimum of I was asked this someone better for them. Maybe
and heard them in ment. It can and should be culti- five dates with question, I’d cruise they’ll have a friend who’s better for
love songs. Maybe we even know a vated intentionally, like a good habit. someone. And if af- to Cyprus with my you. Keep it classy, and they’ll keep
The idea that
m rp

couple who caught a glimpse of each This may sound unsexy, but the re- ter five dates you’re family on our own you in mind.
other across a crowded room and sults have the potential to last much still not sure? When bells will ring private yacht. My Every date, even with the wrong
BAM!—a chemical reaction. The pre-
vailing narrative of instant love (just
longer than a 90-minute cartoon.
This is the advice I give to every-
in doubt, go out. and angels sing clients often ap-
proach dating with
person, can leave you with valuable
information about yourself: who you
add water!) is one that most people one who comes to me in the hopes Hands-Off Dating: the moment an intense focus on are, what you want in your partner.
co Fo

try to recreate when they’re looking of finding a good match. This tip usually you meet the sexual compatibil- Try to focus on the process instead
for a partner—then they wonder why raises eyebrows, but ity—otherwise, of the outcome, and I guarantee
they’re still single. Date ‘Em ‘Til You Hate ‘Em: OK, I try to avoid any right person is they’re out. But you’ll come out of it with at least
The idea that bells will ring and don’t mean you should actually hate physical intimacy a cop out. they’re selling them- one great relationship: the one you
angels sing the moment you meet the someone, just that you should con- for the first five selves short. Going have with yourself.
right person is something I call “Dis- tinue dating until you are 100% sure dates. Love may or to bed with some-
ney dating.” I get the appeal. Even I this is definitely not your person. may not be blind, but touch is cer- one you’re just getting to know is like Aleeza Ben Shalom is a match-
can’t resist when Aladdin melts at Everyone asks me: “But how will I tainly blinding. Introducing it too reading the third page of a novel. You maker, dating coach, host of the
the first sight of Jasmine in the mar- know?” Well, when you’re sure, early can trick you into thinking might enjoy it, but it’s nothing com- Netflix series “Jewish Matchmak-
ketplace. But it is a cop-out, a way of you’re sure. If you don’t know, you there’s a relationship that doesn’t pared to the last chapter, after you’ve ing” and author of the new book,
KYLE ELLINGSON

saying, “My only job is to recognize are in fact not sure—and you should exist yet. I’ve seen physical chemis- spent hours investing in the charac- “Matchmaker Matchmaker: Find
my person when he magically ap- keep dating. try lead too many people to ignore ters and getting swept up by the plot. Me a Love That Lasts,” published
n-

pears.” It absolves people of respon- When done right, dating is simply red flags, or even basic incompati- Most people will be happy to re- by Union Square & Co.
no

No, Pop Rocks Did Mikey (John Gilchrist),

who hated everything
except Life cereal.
Not Kill Mikey From
BACK The Life Cereal Ad consumption.
It was a perfect ex-
WHEN ample of a dreaded re-
tail phenomena: the
RICH
WHEN RUMORS SPREAD mixed carbon diox- product-killing rumor.
COHEN
around the playground in 1979 ide with sugar, lac- Sales of Pop Rocks,
that Mikey, the kid from the tose and corn which reached $100
Life cereal commercial, had syrup, which made million in its first year,
Before the been killed from a fatal mix of an otherwise use- plummeted. In 1982,
internet, Pop Rocks and Coca-Cola, I less dust that bub- 300 million packs of
thought only of myself. Here bled on the tongue. the discontinued candy
we was yet another strange way, Mitchell called it were reportedly
amused besides spontaneous combus- “atomic candy” and junked, possibly buried
ourselves tion and tapeworms, that I patented it in 1961, in a suburban landfill,
could die. but no one beyond where the moisture of
with weird In the Life commercial, his party guests got to try it Weird candy is what we exactly how they first heard other contaminants might
candy and which ran on a seemingly until General Foods bought had instead of the internet. It it, only that they suddenly have made them pop. (If a Pop
never-ending loop in the 1970s the rights and brought it to was a golden age, with Red knew: Mikey was terminated Rock pops but no one is
outlandish and 1980s, Mikey was a kid market as Pop Rocks in 1975. Hots, Everlasting Gobstoppers, by an overabundance of fizz. around to hear it, does it
rumors, with discriminating taste. “He It arrived like the Beatles Bubblicious and Freshen Up, a Some said it was half a dozen make a sound?)
spread won’t eat it,” says his big on the playgrounds of Amer- gel infused gum that exploded Cokes and half a dozen packs On the schoolyard, we
brother as he slides over a ica. Stores sold out, restocked, in your mouth. Pop Rocks of Pop Rocks, some said it found lessons in Mikey’s cruel
person to bowl of cereal. “He hates ev- then sold out again. I con- were akin to The Sex Pistols was more. Some said Mikey’s fate. It was a story of gluttony,
person. erything.” But Mikey went sumed my first pack behind or The Clash: loud, industrial, stomach burst. Some said that of hubris, of what happens
ahead and gobbled up that North School in Glencoe, Ill. meant for youth and possibly the mix effervesced his brain. when you push the envelope.
Life. “He likes it! He likes it!” From the moment the candy dangerous. The story was debunked. But the truth of the whole af-
says his brother. It was a 30- first popped, I knew that a Mikey had been an essential General Foods took out full- fair was frankly anticlimactic.
second story of submission, of new era had begun. It was not part of our childhood, but af- page ads defending the candy’s John Gilchrist, the child actor
acceptance. Mikey was not just the sound but the sense ter that Life commercial he safety and wrote to tens of who played Mikey, was (and
born on that TV set—he was that I had invited something seemed to disappear. Naturally thousands of school principals. is) alive and well; he just
born again. alien inside my head. Like a we wondered what became of None of that mattered. Once turned 57. So Mikey grew old
Like many popular prod- handful of later experiences— him. The rumors of his death we had the image—Mikey like the rest of us, switching
ucts—cornflakes, Teflon, Via- drinking warm beer on the spread because they unified bursting like a piñata—we ac- from Life to granola, from
gra—Pop Rocks were invented beach in August, say, or swim- two prevailing mysteries: cepted it as poetic truth. The candy to cruciferous vegeta-
by accident. A chemist named ming in Lake Michigan in the Mikey’s fate and the true na- kid from the commercial, the bles, whether he liked them or
PEPSICO

William A. Mitchell, aiming rain—eating Pop Rocks was ture of Pop Rocks. kid who’d hated everything, not. Here, too, is a story of
for a powder-based soda, more fun with friends. Maybe no one remembers had been done in by reckless submission, of acceptance.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C4 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

REVIEW

BY YONI APPLEBAUM new opportunities to successive

I
n January, the devastating
wildfires in Los Angeles
How Zoning Ruined the waves of arrivals. Now its residents,
influenced by activists like Nader,
concluded that growth itself was the
spurred California Gov. Gavin
Newsom to do something ex-
traordinary for a progressive
Housing Market in problem. In the 1970s, the state
passed new laws mandating exten-
sive review and permitting processes
politician: take aim at regulations. In
an executive order designed to help
residents rebuild, Newsom sus-
pended environmental reviews, told
Blue-State America and giving the public broad rights to
weigh in and challenge its decisions.
The first generation of progres-
sives had championed zoning as a
state agencies to identify rules that tool of exclusion, and the second
might impede construction and in- had spread it nationwide, as a tool
structed bureaucrats to rush any nec- For a century, progressives have been making it harder to build new homes of planning. In the process, they had
essary permits through the process. in prosperous areas. Workers, immigrants and the economy pay the price. made all private development sub-
The measures, Newsom ex- ject to governmental approval. Now
plained, were made necessary by the third gave private individuals
the loss of thousands of homes in a the right to challenge those deci-
city already suffering a housing cri- sions. In practice, this meant that
sis. All of which seemed perfectly anyone with sufficient time and
reasonable. So reasonable, in fact, money could exercise an effective
that it raised a troubling question: veto over new development.
If the only way to rebuild was to That we need to fix these anti-
suspend the regular rules, why were quated rules, which have long func-
those rules there in the first place? tioned as tools of privilege, is now a
The answer is that the rules were rare point of bipartisan consensus. In
intended to make it all but impossi- his first hours in office, President
ble to build, not just in California but Donald Trump signed an executive
in much of blue-state America. The order to “lower the cost of housing
efforts of three generations of pro- and expand housing supply,” faulting
gressive reformers, seeking to ad- “regulatory requirements” for mak-
dress the problems of their eras, ing homes unaffordable. An increas-
have created a regulatory regime in
much of the country that has made it
extraordinarily difficult to build new
housing where it is needed most. Zoning rules
When we stop building homes have functioned
where people want to live, Americans
lose the chance to move toward op- as tools of
portunity. In a properly functioning privilege from
economy, workers relocate to find
better-paying jobs in faster-growing
the beginning.

.
industries. In the U.S. today, workers

ly
instead often remain stuck where
they are. As recently as 1970, one in ing number of Democrats agree. “We
five Americans moved each year. But need to build more units and clear
after a half-century of steady decline,
the Census announced in December
that we had set a dismal new record,
with scarcely one in 13 people relo-
on away some of the outdated laws and
regulations that have made it harder
to build homes for working people,”
Barack Obama told the Democratic
us ,

cating to a new home. Convention last year.

That’s not just a problem for None of this means scrapping all
l
e
those who are stuck. It’s a big cost the rules and letting developers do as
al a

for all Americans—by one estimate, they please. Instead, it means formu-
lowering GDP by $1.8 trillion each lating simple, clear regulations—with
ci on

year. Perhaps nowhere is the prob- attention to history, the environment

lem more acute than in California, and the livability of neighborhoods—
where it has produced overlapping and then applying them consistently
crises of affordability, homelessness to rich and poor areas alike.
and population loss. Every year since 2000, the num-
er s

How did we reach this sorry state ber of Californians moving out of
of immobility, in which so many the state has outstripped the num-
m er

Americans are deprived of agency, ber of Americans moving in, by a cu-

dignity and hope? That requires mulative total of millions, and the
some history. lowest-income residents were likeli-
At the beginning of the 20th cen- est to leave. More than 170,000 Cali-
m rp

tury, a young architect named fornians now lack any housing at all,
Charles Cheney worried that the A neighborhood of single-family homes in southern California’s Riverside County. living out on the streets. And if Cali-
“well established homes in comfort- fornia is an extreme case, the rest of
able and quiet districts” of Berkeley, the country appears to be following
Calif., were being threatened by an their Chinese residents. Racial dis- against the intrusion of the less de- which they are intended.” (The Su- its lead, as housing grows harder to
co Fo

“invasion of flats and apartments.” crimination was unconstitutional, sirable and floating renter class.” preme Court would not rule such cov- build and even harder to afford.
Cheney was a prototypical reformer but these cities found a workaround: Within a few decades, cities enants unenforceable until 1948.) Gavin Newsom has hit upon the
of the Progressive Era—young, well- They could exclude laundries, the throughout the country were covered Separating land by use, class and race right answer, however reluctantly. If
educated, affluent and eager to use primary source of employment for in a patchwork-quilt of land-use regu- was now a matter of federal policy. paring back a century’s worth of
the power of government to solve so- the Chinese. The laws were a means lations, many of them calibrated to In the postwar years, liberals rules and regulations is the right
cial problems. “for getting rid of the Chinese,” as keep working-class people out of worried that big government had way to rebuild after a fire, it’s the
In this case, the problem was one of their authors confessed. By more affluent neighborhoods by bar- been captured by big business and right way to build—period. It’s the
right in his own backyard: Someone segregating the uses of land, cities ring multifamily housing. was no longer serving the public. most important step we can take to
had built an apartment building just discovered that they could segregate The New Deal brought a second Reformers like Ralph Nader stepped restore the country’s lost social mo-
down the street. In public reports, their populations by race. generation of reformers, who decided forward to fill the void. He dis- bility and give Americans more con-
Cheney worried about replicating Cheney decided to try the same that neighborhoods could only qualify patched a team to California to trol over their own destinies.
the slums of eastern cities. Perhaps thing but to segregate his city by for the highest federal credit rating, study land use, on the theory that
n-

more to the point, he was a snob; he class. He convinced Berkeley to adopt and the loans that came with it, if the government was selling out to Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy exec-
RIC FRANCIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

didn’t want bucolic Berkeley to fill the nation’s first single-family hous- they adopted strict zoning codes. developers. In its report and testi- utive editor at the Atlantic. This
up with working-class residents. ing district, barring any more apart- They also worried that racial integra- mony, Nader’s team warned against essay is adapted from his new
And he knew that, in California, ments from being built in his neigh- tion would depress property values, the “overdevelopment” of cities and book, “Stuck: How the Privileged
no

there was a legal tool to stop them. borhood. And he wasn’t subtle. Only imposing losses on the government— the “sprawl” around them and also and the Propertied Broke the En-
The first zoning laws in the U.S. had single-family zoning, he explained, so they insisted that properties come against encroaching on open land. gine of American Opportunity,”
been adopted by California cities could “firmly establish this great with private restrictive covenants For a century, California had which will be published Feb. 18 by
three decades earlier, to force out principle of protecting the home limiting their sale to “the race for grown at an astonishing rate, giving Random House.

ABOUT FACE fering reminders of extremes, reckoning with new

the past. Finally I and profound vulnerabilities,

My Dying Father stopped resisting, and

we settled into the
schedule together. We
touching voids.
Some of my last hours
alone with dad were spent
Helped Me to watched cooking
shows, sitcom reruns,
watching a shy English chef as
he learned to cook regional
See the Value of quizzes, snug chats
on snug sofas.
cuisines on a seemingly end-
less Spanish holiday. Produc-

Daytime TV Pa had his favorite

all-day news channels,
and through January
tion standards were low. The
show had the smudged, soft-
focus feel of a home movie. By
and February of 2022 then my dad was so close to
Some of our BY TOM LAMONT we took in stories the end that he could eat only
last hours about a heart trans- through a tube to his stomach.
WHEN MY FATHER was dy- plant in Baltimore, a His meals no longer had tex-
were spent ing, in 2022, his world volcanic eruption in ture or taste. This daytime
watching an shrank to the size of his bed- we sat side by side with our and Hollywood heists. I tried the Pacific, an antivaxer on the show of ours became a substi-
English chef room: favorite pillows, ortho- backs to his headboard like an to get him to watch a Netflix tennis tour. Then we watched tute, something we could sa-
cook on a pedic easy chair, adjustable old married couple. I would thriller by the Russo Brothers hour by hour as Russia in- vor together.
seemingly dinner tray, so many digital complain to him about the called “22 Bridges.” But Pa, vaded Ukraine. Always, we My dad would sometimes
clocks, the big TV. Early morn- quality of the programming, who had lost so much of his would drift back to the softer, wave the remote control in cir-
endless ings were for his newspaper, the over-bright colors, the re- short-term memory, couldn’t sweeter stuff. Antiquing. Auc- cles at his big TV, as if chang-
Spanish tackled backward, from the lentless cheerfulness. I was of keep up with the simple plot. tions. Celebrities, interviewed ing the channels involved
holiday. We sport pages through the puz- the view that watching day- “Where are they?” he kept on set or followed by camera some sort of sorcery. Maybe,
savored it zles, always ending on the time telly was about the most asking. crews, pretending to be nor- by the end, there was a kind of
together. front-section news. The rest of wasteful thing any person “Manhattan, Pa. It’s a chase mal. magic in it. He was conjuring
the time, when he wasn’t nap- could do with a precious day. movie. Cops and robbers. The I came to understand that whatever he could still experi-
ping or eating listlessly or tak- A lazy and complacent cops have shut off all the daytime TV isn’t filler. It isn’t ence of the world, while there
ing his medication, he watched view, as I came to understand. bridges. They’re trying to the entertainment world’s was still time to live it.
“About Face” is daytime TV. As the scope of my dad’s catch the bad guys.” sloppiest, sleepiest program-
a column about I watched plenty of it with life dwindled, as TV became a “Where are they?” ming. It’s companionship. It’s Tom Lamont is an award-win-
how someone him, from the bed if he was in primary companion, I fought a Daytime TV was what he a window with a view. Its ning journalist and the author
DAN PAGE

changed their the easy chair, from the chair battle to keep the standard up. wanted, its quick churn, its calming tone speaks to an au- of the new novel “Going
mind. if he was in bed. Sometimes He used to love action movies suppleness, its old sitcoms of- dience that may be living at Home,” published by Knopf.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C5

REVIEW

FROM TOP: XU WEIXIN (2); JANICE CHUNG FOR WSJ

A Chinese Artist Takes
BY LINGLING WEI overriding tone is of support for Rus-

S
sia as a counterbalance to the West,
ince Russia’s invasion of but some Chinese have been able to

On Beijing, Carefully
Ukraine in 2022, Xu express sadness for Ukraine’s suffer-
Weixin has made one ing without getting censored. That
drawing every day. In his has helped create room for Xu’s work.
modest studio in New A few times, former students of
York, on visits to his mother in China, Xu’s have written to him, he said, and
or just about anywhere he travels, he questioned why he was “on the oppo-

.
has sketched desolate Ukrainian cit- site side of the government” with his

ly
ies, wounded Ukrainian soldiers and Ukraine work. “How did I respond?”
ordinary citizens trying to make it
Xu Weixin navigates ‘a tough balance’ by posting a drawing every day on Xu said, “I just blocked them, all of
through the conflict. social media to protest China’s support of Russia’s war on Ukraine. them.” The artist said he found it
Xu uses an iPad application and
posts his drawings on both American
and Chinese social media. He’s now
made more than 1,000 of them. His
on Above: Two of Xu’s most recent
drawings, with descriptions
particularly infuriating when a fellow
artist couldn’t seem to see beyond of-
ficial narratives of an event.
His formula for staying out of trou-
us ,

cause is one that few other Chinese taken from news reports and ble, he said, is to prioritize “reality”
artists have been willing to embrace: over “commentary.” He bases his
l

social media. Left, Xu in his

e
defying Beijing’s support for Russia’s Queens, N.Y., studio, Feb. 10. drawings on news images and posts
al a

war. them with words taken from news ar-

The Chinese government has fre- ticles or other sources, without add-
ci on

quently imprisoned or harassed art- glued to news coverage of the war. He ing comments of his own.
ists, writers and activists for challeng- took screenshots of the scenes from Still, his Weibo account in China
ing the authorities. The best known Ukraine and started drawing. has been blocked twice in the past
cases are artist Ai Weiwei, who has That night, Xu drew a defiant Zel- three years, Xu said. The first time, he
spent time in detention and now lives ensky wearing a bulletproof vest. He had posted a drawing of Xi Jinping
er s

in exile, and Nobel laureate Liu Xi- put it out on X, Instagram, Facebook inspired by the Chinese leader’s
aobo, who died in 2017 under police and the Chinese social-media plat- phone conversation with Zelensky in
m er

surveillance and after long years of form Weibo, where it quickly gath- April 2023 when Xi called for dia-
imprisonment. ered hundreds of thousands of views. logue to resolve the conflict.
Xu’s Ukraine-themed work has al- Encouraged, Xu carried on creating The drawing, No. 426 in Xu’s war
ready run afoul of Chinese censors one Ukraine-themed drawing a day, diary, was based on an official picture
m rp

twice, and the 67-year-old artist is and by the fifth day, he decided to do of Xi showing him smiling. The artist
well aware that he is walking a tight a visual diary of the war. He named it added words to the portrait from state
rope by taking on a project of political “Ukraine Every Day.” media’s account of the leaders’ call.
sensitivity in China. Since then, Xu scours the internet As is the norm, Beijing’s censors
“What I do is a tough balance,” for news for hours as soon as he didn’t tell Xu why his account was re-
co Fo

said Xu, a former dean of the school wakes up. He then starts drawing after stricted. “It shows any image related
of arts at Renmin University in Bei- walking his dog, a Shiba Inu called to the top leader is off limits,” Xu
jing, as he sat in his studio in front of Cheddar. For a taste of home, he fre- said. It was two months before he
a large oil painting he made of Ukrai- quently makes his favorite dish, tender was able to post on Weibo again.
nian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A pieces of lamb and fragrant rice. Then, last July, Beijing’s censors
U.S. green card holder since 2017, he Right before the Russian invasion, again restricted access after Xu posted
now makes his home with his wife Beijing declared that its friendship his digital recreation of an installation
and daughter in New York City. But he 2007 exhibit at a private gallery in and his wife,” Xu said. “We did that, with Moscow had “no limits.” The in- by some Russian artists. The drawing,
remains a Chinese citizen and goes Beijing of more than 100 portraits of and then we’re able to do the exhibit.” vasion took many Chinese by surprise No. 858 in Xu’s project, shows Article
back to visit his mother at least a people who lived through the Cultural Xu was born in Urumqi, the capital and forced some soul-searching in pol- 29 of the Russian constitution written
couple of times a year. Revolution, the mass movement Mao of Xinjiang, a region now mostly icy circles over whether Beijing had on a white banner that says everyone
Xu’s studio, converted from a Zedong set in motion in 1966, un- known for Beijing’s suppression of Uy- been wise to align itself so closely with is guaranteed freedom of thought and
n-

warehouse, sits in a diverse neighbor- leashing a decade of chaos. One por- ghurs. His parents were Han Chinese Russia. But as the war went on, China’s speech and censorship is prohibited.
hood of Queens where single-family trait in the group is of Mao; another transplants. His father was a soldier leadership pulled even closer. Beijing But the words “guaranteed,” “freedom
homes mix with small factories. Ear- is of Xu’s childhood neighbor. deployed in the region, and his mother has provided an economic lifeline that of thought and speech” and “censor-
lier artworks arrayed along the walls Discussion of the Cultural Revolu- had fled there from the even more has helped Moscow continue the war ship” are blacked out, leaving visible
no

showcase his daring approach, dating tion is discouraged in China. Even in destitute Gansu province; Xu grew up despite Western sanctions. only the words “everyone” and “pro-
to when he lived in China full-time. the 2000s, a time of relative openness in extreme poverty. “I got through China’s loyalty to Russia hasn’t de- hibited.”
On one side is a series of portraits in the country, it was daring for an that time by drawing thousands of terred Xu. By using social media to That drawing, Xu said, probably
he painted in the early 2000s of Chi- artist to publicly recognize a historic sketches,” he said. promote his art, he said he has tried made the censors think he was mock-
nese coal miners, contrasting their event that the government would His earlier works, Xu said, pro- to create a “modern artwork” that ing China’s own censorship practices.
struggles with China’s then-breathtak- rather forget. Xu managed it by under- vided the creative spark for his shows “in matters of right and wrong, This time, his access was restricted
ing economic growth. One portrait is standing where the red lines were. Ukraine project. Except this time, he the Chinese are not absent.” for six months. It was unblocked in
of a miner pulled alive from a col- “Authorities asked that we redact wanted to capture a significant event Beijing itself often delivers a mixed January.
lapsed coal mine, his eyes covered the images of some well-known fig- as it was happening. message by both aiding Russia and Nevertheless, “I won’t stop the
with white bandages soaked in blood. ures from the promotional materials The day of the invasion, on Feb. 24, signaling humanitarian concern for work until the end of the war,” Xu
Across the studio are photos of a for the exhibit, such as those of Mao 2022, Xu, in his studio, found himself Ukraine. On Chinese social media, the said. “I’ll keep finding the balance.”

SCIENCE SHORT A robot tests The team fitted their

moose-like moose-inspired feet around
Robots Have Trouble hooves on a
Tallinn shoreline
the ball-shaped appendages of
a 25-pound, four-legged ro-

Walking in Mud. Giving in October. bot—roughly the size of a

cocker spaniel—and tested it
in woods and creek beds.
Them Hooves Helps. A moose’s
hoof expands
When hoofed, the robot sank
half as deep, experienced less
as it sinks into suction as they pulled their
Engineers BY ERIC NIILER hooves. The mud or snow. legs from the muck and, be-
feet are meant This increases cause it was easier to walk,
inspired by When it comes to traipsing to benefit ro- the overall sur- used 70% less energy.
moose built through mud and muck, robots bots used for face area of The results were published
robotic feet are no match for a moose. search and rescue missions, union and ask them to give me the foot, slowing its sinking in the journal Bioinspiration
“Robots are just starting to planting trees or other out- a call when a moose is down,” into the ground. The expanded and Biomimetics.
that can be able to work on non-flat door tasks. said Maarja Kruusmaa, direc- hoof also allows the moose to Daniel Goldman, a professor
handle grounds, like construction Hunters provided the engi- tor of the Center for Biorobot- pull its foot out of the mud or of physics at Georgia Tech
sites or stairs, but if we need a neers with several pairs of ics at the university and a wet snow with less energy, who wasn’t involved in the
soggy soils robot to go to natural areas, moose feet for their experi- member of the research team. Godon said. study, said existing robots that
then we are stuck,” said Simon ments. Moose are hunted for With several moose feet in “This was something that try to walk on spongy, muddy
CENTRE FOR BIOROBOTICS/TALTECH

Godon, a postdoctoral re- meat, as game animals, and in hand, the scientists returned we didn’t expect,” Kruusmaa ground often fail.
searcher at Estonia’s Tallinn some areas to stop them from to the lab, connected the feet said. “You basically become a ta-
University of Technology. damaging crops or forestry to a robotic actuator that sim- After studying how real ble,” he said. “Anything that
To give robots a leg up, operations. ulated walking, and measured moose feet perform, the engi- can improve foot interaction
Godon and a team of engi- “We shoot 1,000 moose or the forces required to clomp neers designed their own de- design is a very useful thing to
neers built silicone feet in- so in Estonia every year, so it’s through various types of soil, vice to fit on an off-the-shelf do and has been largely unex-
spired by a moose’s cloven very easy to go to a hunting mud and wet ground. robot. plored.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C6 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

REVIEW

OBITUARIES con, championed by Robert McNamara, who left

Ford to become U.S. defense secretary. “McNamara
HAL SPERLICH | 1929-2025 made a car that looked like him,” Sperlich told Da-
vid Halberstam for his 1986 book, “The Reckoning.”
“He had those granny
glasses, and he made a
granny car,” he said.
Sperlich wasn’t
given much money to
develop the youth car
at Ford, which was
still reeling from the
Edsel, a historic flop.
But that was all right
with Sperlich. He could
see that the Falcon
was a solid car be-
neath its stodgy de-
sign, so he told his de-
signers and engineers
to work off the Fal-
con’s platform, engine
and transmission. Auto
companies often reuse
those elements, but
the Mustang would
look completely differ-
ent, with the sloping
lines, long hood and
short trunk of a sports
car, plus a stylish grille
and taillights.
Unveiled at New
Left, Sperlich at Ford in 1970. Right: An early Mustang model, photographed in 1963 in Florida before its official unveiling at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. York’s 1964 World’s
Fair, the Mustang was
an instant hit. First-year sales over 400,000 blew past
the projected 150,000. New buyers skewed younger

The ‘Godfather’ of the

and more female. Ford manufactured its millionth
Mustang in 1966 and reached 10 million in 2018.
Although Iacocca, who died in 2019, is often cred-
ited as being the father of the Mustang, he was em-

Mustang and Minivan

phatic about Sperlich’s role, calling him in a 1992 in-

.
terview “the chief architect of the two most important

ly
products in my career, the Mustang and the minivan.”
They had to leave Ford to build the minivan.

on
At Ford and Chrysler, he was the chief architect of two of Detroit’s biggest hits.
The move to Chrysler
Sperlich landed at Chrysler in 1977, Iacocca in 1978.
Sperlich’s first big swing was a platform for fuel-effi-
cient, front-wheel-drive vehicles known as K-cars,
BY CHRIS KORNELIS
us ,

anyway and went to Chrysler. Soon, Iacocca joined which Chrysler started rolling out in 1980. If the K-cars

L
him. weren’t a hit, the company said, it would have to seek
l
e
ong before the minivan became standard bankruptcy protection. But early models—the Dodge
al a

issue in the American suburbs, Hal Sper- Made in Detroit Aries, the Plymouth Reliant—were huge sellers.
lich was its greatest champion, and Henry Harold Keith Sperlich was born in Detroit on Dec. Sperlich then reappropriated elements of the K-car
ci on

Ford II was its most famous hater. 1, 1929. He earned a degree in industrial mechanical to finally build a front-wheel-drive, garage-sized van. It
Lee Iacocca used to sit between them engineering at the University of Michigan, spent two saved Chrysler, disrupted the auto industry and domi-
in product meetings as president of Ford Motor in years at Alcoa, then served in the Navy, before land- nated ballfield parking lots for a generation.
the 1970s. Ford was chief executive and grandson of ing at Ford in 1957. He quickly distinguished himself Baby-boomer Mustang owners of the ’60s and
the company’s founder. Sperlich was an intense, as a brilliant product planner who followed all the ’70s spent the ’80s and ’90s shuttling kids between
er s

brash vice president who was leading a project trends: from fashion and culture to politics and eco- schools and pools in Chrysler’s Dodge Caravans and
called Mini-Max, a van that drove like a car but fit in nomics. He was Plymouth Voyagers. Competitors followed, but they
m er

the garage; he didn’t show Ford the deference that Sperlich couldn’t walk through a department store known to were playing catch-up to the idea Sperlich had first
he was used to. without asking the salespeople what was hot, what championed at Ford. “It was virtually the Mini-Max,”
“I hate that goddamn Sperlich, and I don’t want was not, and why they thought that was, Kaplan said: sleep in he said in 2009.
him sitting beside you,” Ford told Iacocca, according “He was like a journalist, except he wasn’t writing sto- the office Sperlich eventually became president of Chrysler
m rp

to the latter’s autobiography. “He’s always pissing in ries. He was understanding the world.” (now part of auto giant Stellantis). He retired in 1988.
FROM LEFT: FORD MOTOR COMPANY; UNDERWOOD ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

your ear.” He was as relentless doing the job as he was pitch- and hold He held a number of posts after Chrysler, but for a
Sperlich believed the minivan represented a whole ing his ideas; he was known to sleep in the office and meetings in man who gave so much to his job, the transition to re-
new segment of cars, and the company had research hold meetings in the men’s room while he shaved. tirement wasn’t easy. “I will tell you what he told me,”
that said it would be a hit. Ford was unmoved, but Iacocca enlisted Sperlich to build a vehicle for the
the men’s Kaplan said. “He said he had a much smaller life in re-
room while
co Fo

Sperlich wouldn’t stop pushing. When he knew he was youth market in 1961, a time when millions of baby tirement.”
right, he was relentless.
“At first he’d tell you you were wrong, then he’d
boomers were about to get their driver’s licenses,
more women were driving and more households were
he shaved. Sperlich died on Jan. 20 at the age of 95. His survi-
vors include his wife, Dr. D’Anne Kleinsmith, and three
tell you why you were wrong, and then he’d tell buying a second vehicle. If Ford built a car that was af- children from a previous marriage.
you why you should know that you were wrong,” fordable, stylish and accommodated a family, Sperlich When Sperlich was inducted into the Automotive
said Elliot Kaplan, a colleague at Ford. “And that thought everybody would want one, not just the kids. Hall of Fame in 2009, the organization called him the
would burn a lot of people because the egos were Ken Dabrowski, a retired Ford vice president and “godfather of the Mustang and the minivan” and,
phenomenal.” friend, remembers him saying: “You can get old people echoing Iacocca, “the chief architect behind two of the
It burned Henry Ford. In 1976, he told Iacocca to to buy a car that young people buy, but you cannot get most significant American cars ever built.”
fire Sperlich. “Henry, you gotta be kidding. He’s the young people to buy a car that old people buy.” Sperlich singled out the second one in his accep-
best we’ve got,” Iacocca argued. “Sperlich did the Sperlich thought the Ford product line at the tance speech: “20 million satisfied soccer moms, that’s
Mustang. He made us millions.” Sperlich was fired time was tired and boring, epitomized by the Fal- why I’m in the hall of fame.”
n-
no

EDGAR MADDISON WELCH | 1988-2025

‘Pizzagate’ Welch surrenders to

police outside the
2016 arrest. She was a firefighter, and
her son became one too. The family

Gunman, Pulled Comet Ping Pong

pizzeria, Dec. 4, 2016.
also ran a no-kill dog shelter; Welch
collected animals to be saved from eu-
thanasia. He volunteered at homeless
A Handgun on He put down his
guns, complied with po-
shelters, and after Haiti’s catastrophic
2010 earthquake, he flew to the disas-

Police in a lice and was contrite. “I

wish there’s more I
could offer other than
ter zone and helped rebuild an orphan-
age. A pastor there noticed Welch was
losing weight; he was forgoing meals,
Traffic Stop an apology,” he told the
court.
giving his food to the children instead.
By 2016, Welch, was working nights
The judge, future Su- at a grocery warehouse back in his
He was killed BY JON MOOALLEM preme Court Justice hometown of Salisbury., N.C. He was a
Ketanji Brown Jackson, single father of two little girls: a bio-
eight years ON THE AFTERNOON of told him, “I’m truly logical daughter and the daughter of
after firing a Dec. 4, 2016, Edgar Mad- very sorry that you find an ex-wife whom Welch had raised as
rifle in a pizza dison Welch stormed yourself in this position, his own since infancy. Driving to work
into a crowded pizza because you do seem late one night that October, Welch
shop over an restaurant in Washington, D.C., a and even insurrection. like a nice person who, in your mind, struck a 13-year-old boy, seriously in-
anti-Clinton loaded semiautomatic rifle slung Welch saw a video about Pizzagate was trying to do the right thing,” she juring him. Drawing on his EMT train-
across his chest, monomaniacally bent on YouTube and set out from his home said. Still, she added, “The extent of the ing, Welch tried to help before para-
conspiracy on saving children from a wickedness in North Carolina. In a text to a friend, recklessness in this case is breathtak- medics arrived.
theory. that he’d heard about on the internet he described his mission: “Raiding a ing.” She couldn’t tell whether Welch This trauma echoed a previous one:
but which didn’t exist. pedo ring, possibly sacraficing [sic] understood such unhinged vigilantism When Welch was 8, his 16-year-old
“Pizzagate,” a far-right conspiracy the lives of a few for the lives of was wrong, or was sorry merely “be- brother was killed in a car accident.
theory promulgated during the 2016 many….The world is too afraid to act cause in this instance there weren’t re- Now, following this second accident,
presidential campaign, falsely held and I’m too stubborn not to.” En route, ally any children to save.” She sen- Welch was racked with nightmares and
that Hillary Clinton and other Demo- Welch filmed a video telling his family tenced him to 48 months in prison. anxiety. “We feel that accident
crats were connected to a child sex he loved them. His, girlfriend Miranda Nearly four years after his release, changed him,” his father told the
ring run out of Comet Ping Pong, an Reed, replied: “idk what the f— Ur do- Welch was arrested last February for Washington Post.
ordinary pizzeria. In one video, Alex ing it’s really starting to freak me out.” possession of methamphetamine. Then A few weeks later, Welch watched
Jones fumed about “all the children When Welch arrived at Comet Ping on Jan. 4, according to police in Kan- the Pizzagate video and within three
SATHI SOMA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hillary Clinton has personally mur- Pong, people scrambled at the sight of napolis, N.C., he pulled a handgun on an days bolted to the scene of the sup-
dered and chopped up and raped.” him; he started shoving furniture and officer during a traffic stop. Welch was posed crime.
Welch, at the time a warehouse fumbled to pry open a storage closet, told to drop his weapon, but this time Welch leaves behind two other chil-
worker, leapt headlong into the vortex then shot at the lock, desperate to find he didn’t. Two officers opened fire. dren. After his 2020 release he re-
More stories at of misinformation, heralding an era in secret tunnels and dungeons. When his Welch died from his injuries. He was 36. united with Reed, and they had a son
WSJ.com/ which the unchecked spread of lies on- search yielded none, Welch later said he “We are a family of rescuers,” and daughter, who were 3 and 1 when
obituaries line would metastasize into vigilantism realized, “The intel on this wasn’t 100%.” Welch’s mother, Terri, said after his Welch died.
 BOOKS
For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

Life Above the Rim Live From New York

The art of the dunk, Lorne Michaels’s
basketball’s relentless commitment
exclamation mark C9 to comedy C12

READ ONLINE AT WSJ.COM/BOOKSHELF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C7

In the Crucible of Combat

Among the millions of World War II veterans were several future presidents. A few narrowly survived the experience.
Presidents at War
By Steven M. Gillon
Dutton, 528 pages, $35
BY RICHARD NORTON SMITH

‘T
HE WAR made us,”
John F. Kennedy
observed on behalf
of 16 million citizen
soldiers who fought
for the United States in World War II.
According to Steven M. Gillon, JFK
might as well have been speaking for
the seven American presidents, from
Dwight Eisenhower to the first George
Bush, for whom the conflict was, in Mr.
Gillon’s words, “the defining event of
their lives.” A presidential scholar at
the University of Virginia’s Miller Cen-
ter, Mr. Gillon may be more familiar as
the host and narrator of numerous His-
tory Channel broadcasts before “An-
cient Aliens” and “The Curse of Oak Is-
land” replaced Adolf Hitler and the Old
Testament as programming staples.
His story in “Presidents at War” piv-
ots around young JFK, the ambassa-
dor’s son who had had a visitor’s gal-
lery pass to the public humiliation of
British Prime Minister Neville Cham-

.
berlain in September 1939. Less than a

ly
year after he was acclaimed for negoti-
ating “peace for our time” with a bully-
ing German dictator at Munich, a bro-
ken Chamberlain returned to the House
of Commons to concede the failure of
on
MPI/GETTY IMAGES

his diplomacy. Munich would become a

byword for appeasement—confirma-
us ,

tion, writes Mr. Gillon, “that aggression

needed to be met with force, and com-
l
e
promise with the enemy was futile.” LIEUTENANT John F. Kennedy in the Southwest Pacific in 1943.
al a

The Munich analogy was to influ-

ence successive American presidents, With narrative pacing reminiscent of avoid the shooting war. With the actor’s Nixon reflected this consensus in their rean stalemate in Vietnam; he said as
ci on

each of whom believed in force but had Darryl F. Zanuck, “Presidents at War” critical success in “Kings Row” (1942) wary but mutually respectful relation- much to his national security adviser
his own wartime experience to plant follows Congressman Lyndon Johnson portending Hollywood stardom, Rea- ship. “I was always convinced that you McGeorge Bundy in May 1964.
doubts about military organization and on a white-knuckle ride aboard a gan’s studio, Warner Bros., appealed for would move ahead to the top,” Kennedy Johnson vividly recalled how the
competence. (Where do you think the bomber surrounded by Japanese Ze- deferments for a suddenly hot property. wrote the Republican candidate for vice “China Lobby”—politicos who favored
acronym Snafu originated?) Mr. Gillon’s roes; Richard Nixon in the Solomon Is- Eventually Army doctors decided that president in July 1952, “but I never the Nationalists and were sent into a
er s

group portrait of leaders in training be- lands, dodging Japanese bombs and Reagan’s eyesight disqualified him from thought it would come this quickly.” panic by the triumph of the Communist
gins in the days following the Japanese centipedes nearly as lethal; and Gerald combat service. Precluded from high- A decade later the ghosts of Munich Mao Zedong—had thrown Harry
m er

attack on Pearl Harbor. Disregarding his Ford, the ship’s navigator who nearly profile commercial roles—including the haunted the Kennedy White House after Truman’s proposed domestic-policy
bad back and other ailments that would goes over the side of a lurching carrier lead in “Casablanca” (1942)—Reagan the Soviet Union smuggled offensive program, known as the Fair Deal, into
have kept anyone else out of combat, in a Pacific typhoon. settled for propaganda and training nuclear weapons to Fidel Castro’s Cuba. disarray. In the 1950s, McCarthyism
John Kennedy used his connections to And then there is 20-year-old films like “The Rear Gunner” (1943) and Calls for a pre-emptive U.S. strike to tagged the political left with a soft-on-
m rp

win command of a PT boat in the war’s George H.W. Bush. On Sept. 2, 1944, “Target Tokyo” (1945). Horrified by the take out the missiles evoked compari- communism label that long outlived the
fiercely contested Pacific theater. Bush had his torpedo bomber Avenger atomic holocaust visited on Hiroshima sons to Pearl Harbor. Yet history did junior senator from Wisconsin. When,
“Little more than floating bombs shot out of the sky by antiaircraft fire and Nagasaki, Reagan “never shed his not repeat itself—in no small measure in the 1960s, Johnson found the fate of
made up of plywood on top of large gas north of Iwo Jima. As smoke filled the deep personal fear of the destructive because JFK, an amateur historian him- his Great Society agenda hanging in the
tanks,” according to Mr. Gillon, patrol- capability of nuclear weapons or of the self, drew on the critical perspective balance, he battled international com-
co Fo

torpedo boats were fast but fragile. need for international controls,” Mr. Gil- supplied by Barbara Tuchman’s popular munism in part to forestall domestic
They were especially vulnerable to air George H.W. Bush would lon writes. book about the onset of World War I, opponents who opposed his war on
attack. Kennedy and his crew modified The war ended, but the debate over “The Guns of August,” which had just poverty, ignorance and disease.
the vessel to include a 37 mm antitank
forever be haunted by the its origins and their relevance to post- been published. The Munich analogy lost potency as
gun. Little good it did them on Aug. 2, memory of his crewmates war planning had just begun. The au- Tuchman’s book reminded Ken- the World War II generation passed
1943, when PT 109 was sliced in two by lost at sea. ‘I think about thor believes that the Munich analogy nedy—to borrow a phrase from Mr. Gil- from the political scene, although as
a Japanese destroyer near the Solomon and the specter of appeasement be- lon—that diplomacy needn’t be con- late as 1990 the first President Bush
Islands. Through shark-infested waters, those two all the time.’ came “a conceptual prison” behind fused with appeasement. At a crucial drew a parallel between Hitler’s inva-
Kennedy shepherded his surviving whose ramparts Washington policy- moment of the Cold War, the American sion of Poland and Saddam Hussein’s
crewmates until they were rescued af- makers exaggerated American military president paused to reflect, not on Nev- brutal occupation of Kuwait. Acknowl-
ter a week of Hollywood-worthy hero- cockpit, Bush ordered his crewmates power and the eagerness of newly inde- ille Chamberlain and his umbrella, but edging “fears about another Vietnam,”
ics. (“I will not allow you to die!”) “Hit the silk!” Moments later he was in pendent states in Africa and Asia to ex- on Kaiser Wilhelm and the blundering Bush promised Americans that Kuwait’s
n-

In December 1941 Dwight Eisen- the water, blood streaming from a head change their colonial past for Western- diplomats and blustery generals who liberation would not be “a protracted,
hower was a brigadier general serving wound that had been inflicted when he style capitalism. Moreover, he suggests, converted a smoldering bonfire in the drawn-out war.”
as chief of staff to the Third Army struck the side of his burning plane. Re- “the stifling anti-Communist consen- Balkans into a global inferno. Yet Tuch- Mr. Gillon’s war stories encourage us
based at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Hous- trieving a life raft, paddling with arms sus” of those years discouraged diplo- man’s book goes unmentioned in “Pres- to be skeptical of any unified theory
no

ton. Summoned to Washington, where throbbing from the sting of a Portu- matic or strategic innovation. “The U.S. idents at War.” applied to human conflict. Better, on
he was entrusted with war planning by guese man-of-war, Bush eluded Japa- can win wars, [but] can we win revolu- The author argues persuasively that this Presidents Day, to recognize a gen-
Gen. George Marshall, Eisenhower nese pursuers until he was picked up tions?” asked Henry Cabot Lodge, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson each eration of American statesmen who
quickly won the trust of allies. This several hours later by a U.S. submarine. Eisenhower’s voice at the United Na- harbored grave doubts about American demonstrated leadership long before
enabled him to work around FDR’s The fate of his crewmates, lost and tions and later his country’s ambassa- prospects for victory in Vietnam, but they were entrusted with the greatest
undisguised scorn for Charles de Gaulle presumed dead, weighed heavily on the dor to South Vietnam. could never bring themselves to pub- responsibilities on the planet.
and defeat Winston Churchill’s stalling future commander in chief. “I think Mr. Gillon skillfully evokes the bond- licly repudiate the domino theory first
tactics by threatening “to go home” about those two all the time,” Bush ing experience of the Cold War and the voiced by Ike in 1954. By then, other Mr. Smith is the author, most re-
unless Churchill released British strate- confessed late in life. advent of a television culture in which wars suggested more relevant historical cently, of “An Ordinary Man: The Sur-
gic air forces needed for Ike’s preinva- Mr. Gillon’s final president in wait- factors of personality and style became analogies than Munich. For example, prising Life and Historic Presidency of
sion air assault on D-Day. ing, Ronald Reagan, is the only one to politically determinative. Kennedy and LBJ dreaded nothing so much as a Ko- Gerald R. Ford.”

fixed order. Modern selves, by contrast, developed a theory of social and eco-
The Age are subjective and self-fashioning, driven
by individual opinions, appetites and
nomic progress in which changing man-
ners and patterns of consumption

Of the desires. “I celebrate myself, and sing

myself,” wrote Walt Whitman: “I contain
played a signal role in the redefinition of
the self—not least among women. In
multitudes.” late 18th-century Britain, as Millar saw
Individual In “The Revolutionary Self,” Lynn
Hunt leaves aside the philosophical
it, consumer items such as porcelain tea
settings and cushioned armchairs cre-
genealogy of selfhood—for instance, the
The Revolutionary Self ideas to be found in John Locke or Jean-
By Lynn Hunt Jacques Rousseau—and instead traces Social, political and
Norton, 208 pages, $35 the origins of the modern self to domes-
tic rituals, family portraits and stock economic changes in
BY JEFFREY COLLINS investments. A cultural historian, and the 18th century offered

F
one of the foremost living historians of
EW SUBJECTS engross the French Revolution, Ms. Hunt is less
new visions of autonomy.
historians as much as the interested in formal ideas than in the
origins of the modern self. implications of our material lives—the
Selfhood, of course, has “day to day” of our ancestors and our- ated a social space for women to engage
always existed, but the selves. She has produced an insightful, in politeness and conversation, with
modern, Western self is usually under- provocative study, if one more impres- men as well as women, and thereby (in
stood—in the words of the philosopher sionistic than comprehensive. Millar’s words) to “cultivate those tal-
Charles Taylor—as an identity possess- For Ms. Hunt, the modern self pos- ents which are adapted to the inter-
ing a particularly strong sense of sesses, above all, an individual “capacity course of the world.” The autonomy of
SHIM HARNO/ALAMY

“inwardness, freedom, individuality.” for autonomy,” and she offers case stud- elite women developed within the con-
Classical selves were embedded within ies from the last three decades of the sumer culture of the British empire.
an objective, rational and hierarchical 18th century to document the “discov- The British episode is a prelude to a
universe. To “know thyself,” in Aristo- ery” of this individual capacity. One of book largely concerned with France. Ms.
tle’s sense, was to know one’s own her early chapters concerns the Scottish Hunt begins by investigating the visual SELF-IMAGE ‘Julie Le Brun Looking in a Mirror’ (ca. 1786) by Élisabeth
nature and purposes as given within a lawyer and professor John Millar, who Please turn to page C9 Louise Vigée Le Brun.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C8 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘Pleasant words are the food of love.’ — OVID

Dining With the Ancients

How to Eat
Edited by Claire Bubb
Princeton, 296 pages, $17.95
BY JULIAN BAGGINI

B
OOKSHELVES today are
heaving with tomes on
ancient wisdom and
guides to healthy eating.
It was only a matter of
time before the two would be brought
together. So it is that we now have
“How to Eat,” a compendium of writ-
ings on food and health from classical
Greece and Rome.
In some respects, the two genres
cancel each other out. The dietetics of
the ancient world have not survived
the test of time the way its ethics
has—ancient health advice is less often
wise than obsolete or discredited.
Claire Bubb, a classicist at New York
University, offers an “obvious dis-
claimer” to the book she has edited,
translated and introduced, emphasiz-
ing that it is “not intended to serve as
actual dietary or medical advice.”
Nonetheless it provides an entertaining
and insightful survey of the ways in
which conventional dietary wisdom in
every age is a combination of the
perennial and the faddish, the sensible
and the ludicrous.
Human beings have long recognized
MIL IMAGE/ALAMY

that food is vital for health, but when

it comes to determining what is good

.
or bad for us, wise minds may dis-

ly
agree. Take the humble cabbage. While
Cato the Elder praised it as “the vege- FOOD FOR THOUGHT A fifth-century mosaic depicting a Roman banquet.
table that surpasses all others,” Galen,
a Roman and Greek philosopher and
physician, insisted that it is “emphati-
cally not a wholesome food.” Olives
may be seen as healthful today, but
on
Long before the recent rise of per-
sonalized nutrition, the ancients
opposed one-size-fits-all prescriptions.
Galen tells a precautionary tale of two
knowledge comes from individual
experience and can’t be reliably
known by others. “It would be just as
ridiculous to ask a doctor which foods
needs at different times and in differ-
ent places.
Some of the ancients lend support
to what are now contrarian views.
Perhaps the most prescient extract
comes from Seneca. Today we worry
that our health is being ruined by an
overabundance of ultraprocessed and
us ,

Galen said that they “provide very lit- people quarreling about whether or are difficult or easy for you personally Galen claimed that soft bread is the hyperpalatable foods and believe that
tle nourishment to the body.” Still, con- to digest,” he wrote, “or which go best and bran the worst, while one of we should be eating, in less extrava-
l
e
sensus is possible. When Dioscorides, a through your bowels with difficulty today’s most revered health foods, gant quantities, better and simpler
al a

Greek physician, reported that “chicken Cato the Elder endorsed and which easily, as it would be for oats, “is food for beasts of burden, not foods. This judgment is not so new.
soup is very often given to those in you to inquire which are sweet and for people.” Diocles, a Greek mathema- Seneca’s take is worth quoting at
cabbage. Galen objected
ci on

poor health in order to set them to which are bitter or sour.” tician, advised that anyone hoping to length. He complained that “people
rights,” he sounded like one of our to olives. Hippocrates The authors surveyed by Ms. Bubb lose weight should eat plenty of dishes have begun to hunt for ways to rouse
grandparents or even a current-day thought infants should were certain that foods were more “high in fat so that they feel satiated hunger, rather than to satisfy it, and
health influencer. suited to some seasons and places than after the smallest amount.” This piece thousands of dishes have been
We may have more to learn from be given wine. others. Their thinking was often guided of advice is not so crazy, since it is invented by which to excite an appe-
er s

Greek and Roman attitudes toward by the concept that foods and bodies indeed true that the torture of low-fat tite. We used to have food for hungry
food than from specific pieces of are warm or cool, dry or wet, and so diets is that they often leave people stomachs; now we have burdens for
m er

advice. Today eating has become not honey is healthful. It was a foolish must be balanced accordingly. The idea feeling ravenous. full ones. . . . A wild multiplicity of
highly moralized, with foods divided debate, he said, because “all people do may be poppycock, but the more gen- Many readers will applaud Diocles’ choices yields a multiplicity of dis-
into wholesome and junk, healthful not have a single constitution from eral idea that what’s good on a hot claim, concerning wine, that “everyone eases.”
and unhealthful. Ms. Bubb notes that birth nor, even if they did all have a summer’s day may be less good on a should drink as much as gives them Of all the insights in “How to Eat,”
m rp

in the ancient world ethical eaters single one, would they keep it unal- cold winter one is not so daft. Today pleasure,” but they may balk at Hip- this is the one that is even more true
were identified more by how they ate tered as they aged.” seasonal eating centers on the fresh- pocrates’ suggestion that infant chil- today than it was when it was
than what. The good person shows Celsus, a Greek philosopher, argued ness of produce. Hardly anyone—per- dren should be given wine too, if wa- written.
self-control, while the decadent one that “the most important thing of all” haps because central heating and tered down. But even this
gives in to gluttony and extravagance. is for everyone to “be familiar with cooling make the experience of sea- recommendation made sense in his Mr. Baggini is the author of “How
co Fo

Pleasure in eating is fine, but it should the nature of their own body.” Plu- sonal variations less extreme—consid- day, since the alcohol would have ster- the World Eats: A Global Food
not be our master. tarch concurred, noting that such ers how our bodies may have varying ilized the often dirty water. Philosophy.”

FIVE BEST CLASSICS RETOLD

Amanda Parrish Morgan

n-

The author of ‘Object Lessons: Stroller’

no

The Song of Achilles Tess, was raised by rootless parents and from “Housekeeping” is less overtly theological and the third explores an artist’s obligation to
By Madeline Miller (2011) an early age sought refuge in the world of than Ms. Robinson’s later novels, it addresses make art and tell the truth. Both novels are

1
ideas. Even Ms. King’s setting—a private questions of spirituality. Near the end, Ruth replete with references sure to delight English
At the outset of the “Iliad,” Homer calls school in New England—bears knowing nods reflects: “When I think back to the crossing majors and Woolf enthusiasts: the artists in
upon the muse to sing of Achilles’ anger to Hardy’s novel. A bust in the school’s main of the bridge, one moment bulges like the both books are named for flowers; both works
“and its devastation, which put pains building alludes to the portrait Hardy belly of a lens and all the others are at the feature windows, which can either enhance or
thousandfold upon the Achaians.” Any- describes in the d’Urberville family’s mansion; peripheries and diminished. . . . Did we really diminish a viewer’s perspective. Philosophi-
one who has studied Greek mythology knows a debate Vida has with her stepson hear some sound too loud to be cally, though, the two works differ. If Woolf is
the fate of this celebrated warrior, yet in “The puts the evangelism of Tess’s heard, some word so true we making a case for the subjectivity of experi-
Song of Achilles” Madeline Miller capably sus- husband in a 21st-century did not understand it, but ence, Mr. McEwan is asking if there is a limit
tains the suspense; she uses the novel form to context. Most meaningful, merely felt it pour to the ways in which beauty can correct the
maintain narrative continuity and interiority, however, are the ways in through our nerves like corruption of truth.
bringing emotional intensity to the epic’s which Ms. King’s novel darkness or water?”
questions of glory, mortality and the cost of diverges from Hardy’s Much as Melville is
war. The story is told through the eyes of story. “The English often said to have Wide Sargasso Sea
Patroclus, Achilles’ childhood companion and Teacher” shows us been responding to By Jean Rhys (1966)

5
fellow soldier. The two have grown up to be what life might have Transcendentalist
lovers and the time they have spent together, been like for Tess if, ideas of God’s pres- Readers of Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane
even amid war, Patroclus realizes, have been a through the love of ence, Ruth’s spiri- Eyre” will remember that Rochester’s
means of delaying Achilles’ death foretold. At a friend or a child or tual seeking is remi- first wife, Bertha, lives locked in the
the same time, Patroclus cannot avoid the bru- a lover, she had niscent of Emerson’s attic of Thornfield Hall. In Jean Rhys’s
tal reality that for the men fighting and dying escaped that path of “Over-Soul.” “Wide Sargasso Sea,” Rochester is never
around him, “it was a life stolen: from children impossible coincidences. mentioned by name; most of the story
and wives, from family and home.” Ms. unfolds in the years long before Jane arrives.
Miller’s “The Song of Achilles” evokes a bru- Atonement We come to see Bertha (who goes by her
tality of war that is as particular in its focus Housekeeping By Ian McEwan (2001) middle name, Antoinette) as a three-

4
as Homer’s “Iliad” is timeless in its sweep. By Marilynne Robinson (1980) dimensional character whose instability and

3
PAIR In a metafictive moment violence are a response to her own parents’
Marilynne Robinson’s working title The toward the close of Ian mental illnesses, her abandonment as a child
The English Teacher for her first novel, “Housekeeping,” interior McEwan’s novel, a liter- and her forced marriage to Rochester. It
By Lily King (2005) was “Moby-Jane.” The symmetry of a ary critic suggests that would be an oversimplification to describe

2
between her book and Herman Mel- ceramic the work the reader has just fin- Antoinette as sympathetic, but even the
When Vida Belou begins teaching ville’s begins with the first sentence. In a nod vessel ished—meaning “Atonement”— parts of “Wide Sargasso Sea” told from
Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urber- to Melville’s “Call me Ishmael,” Ms. Robin- depicting owes “a little too much to the Rochester’s perspective paint a complex por-
villes” to her high-school sophomores, son’s narrator opens by telling readers, Achilles techniques of Mrs. Woolf.” For trait of a woman isolated, alone and ignored.
she thinks begrudgingly of the weeks somewhat less imperatively, “My name is and readers of Virginia Woolf, this Rhys imagines that Antoinette’s early life
she will have to spend discussing “that overly Ruth.” Like their Biblical namesakes, Ruth Patroclus, allusion begets yet more allu- wasn’t so different from Jane’s. Both girls
naive, peony-mouthed girl who is buffeted by and Ishmael are cast out to wander. There ca. 500 sions, bringing her “To the were treated cruelly, left in the care of vio-
a series of impossible coincidences . . . before are almost no women in “Moby-Dick” and B.C. Lighthouse” into focus. Like that lent guardians and spent their childhoods
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

she gets her just deserts at the scaffold.” It few men in “Housekeeping.” What the sea novel, “Atonement” enlists a longing to feel safe. While Jane’s terror and
soon becomes clear in Lily King’s “The English provides for Ishmael and Ahab, the wildness three-part structure. The first portrays guests loneliness give way to a life of modest stabil-
Teacher” that while Vida is not destined for a of life outside domestic expectation offers up arriving for dinner at an English estate, the ity once she arrives at Thornfield Hall, the
scaffold, her life mirrors Tess’s. Vida, like to Ruth and her eccentric aunt, Sylvie. While second depicts the ravages of a world war, opposite is true for Antoinette.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C9

BOOKS
‘I am not a role model. . . . Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.’ — CHARLES BARKLEY
JOHN W. MCDONOUGH/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES

FREE BIRD Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors during the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Oakland, Calif.

.
The Dunk Divine
ly
Magic in the Air
on
As pervasive as the dunk might be,
both on the court and on social media,
down a tomahawk windmill dunk, as if
he were showing the world what might
University of West Virginia player who
in 1984 became the first woman to dunk
Millions of YouTubers have watched
what Mr. Sielski calls the “all-time pos-
By Mike Sielski
us ,

dunking prowess is often dismissed, as have been.” in a college game. terization,” a characterization that most
St. Martin’s, 368 pages, $32
you might’ve heard from your hoops- Mr. Sielski gives space to the eminent That milestone seems verifiable, but dunkologists would endorse. During a
l

BY JACK MCCALLUM
e
hating uncle at a family reunion. “What Sultans of Slam—Michael Jordan, Julius the author is unable to give us the defin- U.S.-France game in the 2000 Summer
al a

I
is so fascinating about a group of pitu- Erving (“Dr. J”), Vince Carter, Dominique itive word on a greater mystery: the Olympics in Sydney, the 6-foot-6 Vince
N A MOMENT of get-off-my- itary cases trying to stuff a ball through Wilkins and, more recently, Ja Morant. identity of Dunker 1.0, that sneakered Carter was, as Mr. Sielski describes it,
ci on

lawn petulance, I once argued in a hoop?” Or, as the legendary Kansas He may give too much space. A recita- spaceman who first soared above the “practically sitting on [Frédéric] Weis’s
the pages of Sports Illustrated coach Phog Allen once described tall tion of Nike’s seduction of Jordan (or rim and forever changed a ground- right shoulder when he hammered down
that the NBA All-Star Game’s players before he recruited a talented vice versa) seems unnecessary at this bound game. Mr. Sielski offers candi- an explosive jam.” It was later coined le
Slam Dunk Contest was an giant named Wilt Chamberlain, “freaks point. More affecting is Mr. Sielski’s dates, including Jack Inglis, an early dunk de la mort, and the 7-foot-2 Weis
“increasingly lame competition” that and glandular goons.” There is, or cer- account of Connie Hawkins, whose 20th century hoops phenom. Sometime never quite lived down being an exam-
er s

should be scrapped. That was in 1992, a tainly once was, an undertone to those exploits are little known because he was ple of tepid French resistance.
decade after I had proclaimed the dunk comments, as in: “Those scary black initially blackballed from the NBA as the If your uncle remains unimpressed by
m er

“basketball’s highest art form.” Tempora guys are ruining the game.” Mr. Sielski, result of trumped-up charges that he The art of the slam dunk Carter’s overcoming an 8-inch disadvan-
mutantur is all I can say. A new edition who in 2022 published a terrific biog- had shaved points at the University of tage to finish the dunk of death, he
of the dunk contest airs this weekend, raphy of Kobe Bryant, spends consider- Iowa. The Hawk (who was finally has woven itself into the should tune into this year’s dunk contest
and now we have the definitive dunking able time highlighting the dunk as “a allowed to play in the NBA in 1969 at sport as an expression of to watch the 6-foot-2 Mac McClung pur-
m rp

dissertation—Mike Sielski’s “Magic in revolutionary agent, an expression of age 27) was fortunate compared to sev- sue his third straight title. It’s possible
the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Black culture, a tangible indication, eral other rim rattlers in Mr. Sielski’s
style and power. that the game’s inventor, James Nai-
Soul of the Slam Dunk.” amid the righteous upheaval of the account, men whose playground prow- smith, had a student somewhere around
Mr. Sielski’s deeply researched Civil Rights Movement, of the threat ess gave them a parochial fame that McClung’s size in his class when he put
book—which, to use the argot of the that Blacks were considered to be to never translated into dollars and whose in the 1910s, Inglis reportedly climbed up his peach baskets on that fateful
co Fo

slam, posterizes all other dunking narra- the establishment.” narratives often ended in tragedy. The the cage separating the court from the December 1891 morning in Springfield,
tives—arrives at a time when the dunk The dunk was outlawed at the high- higher many of them soared, the harder crowd, caught a pass from a teammate Mass. Could he gaze upon McClung and
seems to be in decline. Steph Curry and school and college level from 1967 to they fell. and jammed the ball into the basket. other high fliers, he would surely won-
other long-range marksmen have moved 1976. The ban came too late to ensnare The trials, tribulations and titanic Did the two points count? Moreover, der “what had become of the sport he’d
a good part of the NBA game far away the unstoppable force that was Cham- slams of Hawkins and the little-knowns did it really happen? Mr. Sielski notes created,” as Mr. Sielski writes.
from the rim. In the WNBA, which has berlain but right on time to thwart the (such as the 6-foot-1 Earl Manigault, that dunk stories are “fraught with But it’s also true that Naismith could
made significant inroads in popularity, effectiveness of Lew Alcindor—who whom Abdul-Jabbar once called “the embellishment and mystery and myth, never have imagined many things about
adherence to gravity is a way of life: later changed his name to Kareem best player his size in the history of New with the haze of memory and the shad- the sport he first labeled “basket ball,”
There was nary a dunk in last year’s Abdul-Jabbar—even though the UCLA York City”) have been chronicled before, ing of reality.” Even the legendary dunks including a player routinely hitting shots
WNBA season and there have been only star was a skilled shooter who didn’t and the author faithfully cites such clas- for which there is video evidence don’t 30 feet from a much-improved peach
37 since league play began in 1997. particularly need the dunk. The prohibi- sics as Pete Axthelm’s “The City Game: always stand up to scrutiny. Both Erving basket. Particularly since that player is
But the dunk isn’t going anywhere, to tion also kept one of history’s great Basketball From the Garden to the Play- and Jordan are said to have taken off an earthbound mortal named Caitlin.
n-

judge by Mr. Sielski’s book. A powerful dunkers, David “Skywalker” Thompson, ground” (1970) and David Wolf’s “Foul! from the free-throw line to execute suc-
dunk serves up too many empty calories from slamming during his stay at North The Connie Hawkins Story” (1972). But cessful dunks, but—to quibble with what Mr. McCallum is the author of “The
not to be endlessly delectable. It remains, Carolina State. With one exception. Mr. Mr. Sielski is a dogged digger of dunk is clearly an astounding athletic feat— Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High
in Mr. Sielski’s words, “basketball’s con- Sielski relates that, at his final home detail himself, uncovering the story of, both were a little inside the line when School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hid-
no

summate symbol of superiority.” game in 1975, Thompson “hammered among many others, Georgeann Wells, a they launched. den History of Hoops.”

during the French Revolution “swept Enterprising women artists, military manufacture (and imperial trade) were scratching out a subsistence from the
The Origin away the aristocratic domination of the
officer corps” and effected a “wholesale
careerists, politically assertive investors,
democratic manners and fashions: It is a
opened up to an increasing number of
middle-class Europeans.
land. But this modern self was arguably
less—not more—autonomous. The old,

Of Modern regeneration of the army along the lines

of merit and patriotism.” This social lev-
somewhat motley collection of topics,
loosely bound together by Ms. Hunt’s
With the exception of her discussion
of conscripted armies, the French con-
personal caste hierarchies had been dis-
mantled only to be replaced by webs of
eling had tactical implications—encour- theme of new selfhood. She may, further- text for most of Ms. Hunt’s chapters economic and social entanglement.
Autonomy aging “massed bayonet shock assaults,”
for instance—but it also allowed for
more, overstate the modern uniqueness
of her subject. The autonomy of an indi-
seems purely contingent. If anything,
France was a laggard in most of these
Ms. Hunt’s greatest achievement in
“The Revolutionary Self” is to capture
men of modest standing to achieve vidual would have been valued, in a fash- trends. It was late to enter the age of the ambiguous implications of the 18th
Continued from page C7 rocketing military careers. Napoleon ion, by an ancient Roman Stoic, or a me- modern finance, and consumer con- century’s consumer and political revolu-
depictions of the French revolutionary was, of course, the pre-eminent case, dieval Christian hermit, and so can sumption was stronger among the mid- tions. “The experience of equality,” she
era, particularly political prints, many of the minor Corsican noble who became dle classes in places such as Britain, the writes, “flowed from the increasing
which conveyed the social disruption of a generalissimo emperor. But many of Dutch Republic and the United States. potential for individual initiative” but
the period through fashion by portray- Napoleon’s officers were of still more With the consumer Ms. Hunt does not directly address an also from the “emotional comfort,
ing, say, soberly attired citizens rebuking modest origins. The chancellor of con- apparent implication, namely, that pro- excitement, and reinforcement of
a dissipated and sumptuous bishop. quered Austria rued that his country’s revolution and the rise ductive market economies were more belonging to a mass army”—or mass
Such prints helped their viewers per- “decadence and debasement” had been of the middle class responsible for the modern autonomous market or mass society. Autonomy and
ceive, Ms. Hunt says, that “political exposed by France’s “heap of brigands self than revolutionary politics. social belonging developed together and
regimes depended on social systems” and volunteers.”
a new self emerged. “The Revolutionary Self” is thus a potentially in mutually limiting ways.
and cultural practices. Indeed, dress and Ms. Hunt introduces one of Napo- disjointed book that advances some Ms. Hunt is generally sanguine about
deportment might cause (and not leon’s more intriguing contemporaries: fragile historical claims. Nevertheless its the autonomous, “revolutionary” self as
merely indicate) class upheaval, to the Étienne Clavière, a Genevan politician hardly have been discovered in the late individual chapters are often fresh and she understands it. Its emergence co-
extent that such matters could encour- and financier. Clavière was a public 18th century. But Ms. Hunt’s interest is insightful as stand-alone essays. As for incided with improvements in the social
age social aspiration or resentment. expert on the national debt, taxes, insur- less in the discovery of autonomy and her larger theme, Ms. Hunt keeps her standing of women and with some
Women painters, Ms. Hunt argues, were ance and paper currency. His systematic more in its democratization, its extension eye on a fascinating paradox: the “simul- increase in abolitionist sentiment. Those
particularly sensitive to the social impli- understanding of modern finance to women and the middling orders, and taneous discovery” in the late 18th cen- are not minor achievements. But there is
cations of changing fashions: the “tug- informed his political and social views. this development is more plausibly dated tury “that individuals had a capacity for something unsettling about her claim
of-war between knee breeches and trou- He was satisfied with the Revolution’s to the age of the American and French autonomy” and that “society had the that our modern individual freedoms are
sers”; the discarding of women’s corsets; dedication to liberty but less enthused revolutions than to earlier eras. power to sculpt that individuality.” Indi- only possible because they are effec-
the vogue for short “Titus cut” hair- about its ethic of self-sacrifice and com- Ms. Hunt is not interested in spiritual viduals developed a new sense of their tively tamed by the centripetal force of
styles intended to invoke Roman repub- munal good. Personal interest, he or moral definitions of the autonomous own standing and capacity as social and our social systems. Centuries after the
licanism. Simpler, more egalitarian styles believed, motivated the free individual. self but in socioeconomic ones. Her sub- economic actors but also an awareness French Revolution, we now have a near
enjoyed an initial radical vogue, only to Riches should reward individual talent. jects “shape their lives according to their that they were merely atoms within an sovereign power over our own con-
disappear during the Napoleonic coun- For Clavière, a society of autonomous own reason and will” in decidedly mate- undifferentiated social mass. sumption and self-display. Whether this
terrevolution. What was new and per- selves was a society of investment, sta- rial terms. Their selfhood is a matter of The modern “self” was thus free to amounts to a meaningful autonomy is at
manent was the fluidity of fashion, and ble credit and commercial transactions. dress, deportment and consumption. wear Indian calicoes, consume Carib- best an open question.
broader participation in its trends. During the madness of the Terror he Their social standing is determined not bean sugar, profit from publicly traded
Ms. Hunt considers more masculine was denounced as a “protector of specu- by title but by professional achievement. investments and pursue a career in the Mr. Collins is a professor at the Hamil-
arenas of social change as well. The lation.” Facing likely execution, he killed These possibilities could only begin dur- arts or the military—and was materially ton Center for Classical and Civic Edu-
mass armies of conscription mobilized himself with a dinner knife. ing the 18th century, when the fruits of more satisfied than medieval peasants cation at the University of Florida.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C10 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘When you are in the company of others, act demurely, in harmony with their desires.’ —AN N E O F FRAN C E

The Castaway’s Tale

Isola
By Allegra Goodman
Dial, 368 pages, $28.99
BY KATHERINE CHEN

I
N A PAGE-TURNER, things must by
necessity go from bad to worse to
unthinkable—and swiftly. The pages of
Allegra Goodman’s historical novel,
“Isola,” turn and turn beneath the read-
ers’ fingers, as if one were spinning through an
old-fashioned Rolodex to search for a name.
The name that Ms. Goodman has plucked
from the past is that of Marguerite de La
Rocque de Roberval, a French noblewoman
who, in the mid-16th century, was stranded on
an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the
coast of modern-day Canada. Ms. Goodman’s
fictional treatment of Marguerite aims to
breathe life into the dusty lungs of a mostly
forgotten historical figure, who is given the
words to tell her own story.
From the beginning, Marguerite’s narrative
is characterized by paradoxes: She is born into
immense wealth yet controls none of it; she
possesses spectacular privilege in the form of
tutors and servants, but is forced to live at the
whim of a villainous guardian. As she relates
early in the novel, “Men worked my fields, but
I knew nothing of them. The steward collected
tenants’ rents and brought these to my guard-
ian. . . . As I entered the hall, my guardian
waited with an air of ownership, greeting me
as though I was the guest.”

.
Goodman’s novel takes its

ly
heroine, based on a 16th-century
French noble, to wild extremes.

Ms. Goodman’s earlier novels include

on
us ,

“Kaaterskill Falls” (1998), which followed a

community of Jewish families in upstate New
l
e
York in the 1970s, and “Intuition” (2006), set
al a

amid a controversy in a cancer-research labora-

FIRESHOT/GETTY IMAGES

tory. Her 2023 novel, “Sam,” is a coming-of-age

ci on

story that unfolds in present-day Massachu-

setts. With “Isola,” Ms. Goodman attempts
something different: a work of historical fiction
that takes place in a world profoundly distant
from our own. STRANDED An 1883 illustration depicting Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval.
er s

There is an element of the Dickensian and a

hint of a more ruthless version of Frances Their new home is far from tropical, though Auguste and Damienne are treated with similar underskirt, chemise, sleeves and matching
m er

Hodgson Burnett’s “A Little Princess” in Ms. the trio are permitted to take supplies, such as dispatch. There is a confrontation with a polar accessories. This is ornamental filler, and too
Goodman’s account. Marguerite spends much guns and gunpowder, coins, a knife, seeds and bear; then another. Marguerite’s eventual res- often “Isola” is pure escapism, composed by a
of her early life on her family’s idyllic estate in a portrait of the Virgin. They are even allowed cue is a matter of pure luck—a group of fisher- practiced pen that avoids risks.
the region of Périgord, surrounded by gold musical instruments—a cittern and a virginal— men drying and cutting cod happen to stop on The greatest shame about “Isola” is that it
m rp

meadows, walled gardens and abundant but the sentence is death. Once they are the island. A gold coin offered to the captain is should sprout wings and take off from its fasci-
orchards. But when her cousin and blackguard stranded, the irony that has featured so promi- enough to buy her passage back to Europe. nating premise—but never does. There is
protector, Roberval, squanders her inheritance, nently in Marguerite’s life strikes home with For all the harrowing adventures Marguerite opportunity for otherworldly nature writing
Marguerite is forced to live in his house in La full force. “Cast together,” she observes, “we experiences as a castaway, her voice never and for a deeper exploration into what it
Rochelle, where she learns that she will be might sing and laugh and kiss just as we quite seems adequate to the fierce, dangerous means to possess, to colonize, to claim a piece
co Fo

accompanying him on a commission to the pleased, and we enjoyed the paradox that world of the 1530s and ’40s. Ms. Goodman, of land and presume to call it one’s own.
New World. bound us. Imprisoned, we were also free.” despite her impeccable sense of rhythm and Instead, we get a tale more familiar than
Marguerite’s travels have one consolation: a From the lost Eden of Marguerite’s birthright, structure, fails to rub the coin of history to a strange, and an ending that feels convenient.
whirlwind romance with Roberval’s musically our heroine tumbles into a fresh and unfamiliar winking shine. Frequent interjections of “Alas” Marguerite has been rewarded, and rewarded
talented secretary, Auguste, that has more than landscape, where a harsher master than even (“Alas, he had a temper too”) possess a hollow well, with a full chest of gold écus, but has the
a whiff of Barbara Cartland’s vast oeuvre. Roberval reigns supreme: Mother Nature. and even hackneyed ring. reader been equally compensated? Historical
Readers may scratch their heads at the rapid Ms. Goodman’s prose throughout is smooth, After her rescue, Marguerite becomes some- fiction isn’t playing at dress-up or mimicking
pacing of both this romance and the ensuing and her story’s momentum never permits the thing of a celebrity. The novel lavishes careful antiquated speech, and it has never simply
voyage. Perhaps inevitably, the lovers are dis- loss of the reader’s attention. The plot, how- attention on what she will wear to a private been about making stories from the past agree-
covered, and Roberval’s punishment is ruthless. ever, unfolds so rapidly that its major events meeting with the queen. “My bodice was the able to the modern ear.
“I will let you live together,” he declares, before pass in something of a blur. In the space of a same crimson brocade, the neckline square and
abandoning the couple, along with Marguerite’s few pages, Marguerite’s son is born and soon edged with pearls,” Marguerite describes in Ms. Chen is the author, most recently, of
n-

faithful nurse, Damienne, on a nameless island. succumbs to malnutrition. The deaths of painstaking detail. She also goes on about her “Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc.”
no

A Stranger Among the Sisters

‘DO YOU HAVE to believe in God Helen is returning with the confronting and working through tionally, something always seems resentment—as a gimmick whose
to join a religious order?” asks remains of a sister who left the a private trauma. But while off-kilter—from the inedible cakes trick is to turn a great book into a
the narrator of Charlotte Wood’s abbey and was murdered while “Stone Yard Devotional” is suf- the mother insists on baking, to merely good one.
“Stone Yard Devotional” (River- working at a women’s shelter in fused with sorrow, it exhibits very the uncle’s bar fights, to the din- New York City’s Central Park is
head, 304 pages, $28). The ques- Thailand. Her burial, however little grievance. The narrator’s ners disrupted when baby goats the sanctuary for Jane, a painter,
tion would seem to be rhetorical, symbolic and significant, over- observations are sensitive and jump on the table to graze from and Abe, a novelist, in Jessica Sof-
since the unnamed, middle-aged turns the abbey’s painstaking impersonal, and they yield pro- the plates. In time, a dark family fer’s “This Is a Love Story” (Dut-
narrator has done precisely that. seclusion with its chastening found insights into the common- history underwriting the chaos ton, 304 pages, $29). It’s there
Unhappy and desperate to retreat reminder of “all the world’s catas- ality of suffering. comes to the surface and Ms. that the two meet and have their
from her life in Sydney, Australia, trophes, all the justice work Wyld depicts its repercussions on first dates. When they marry and
FICTION she has been permitted to remain undone” beyond its boundaries. THIS WEEK the lives of the sisters. move to a nearby brownstone it
SAM SACKS indefinitely at a rural abbey, The disturbance is deepened It’s a story with bite, charisma remains their haven. And it’s the
where she takes part in all except by a strangely biblical portent. Stone Yard Devotional and a wonderful feeling for place. park that they think back on most
the religious duties of its nuns, The novel takes place during the By Charlotte Wood But Ms. Wyld is not a writer con- when the novel begins and, as
tending especially to its guest- 2020-21 Covid-19 lockdowns, tent to deliver her novels straight. Jane succumbs to terminal cancer,
houses and meals. when an aptly named “mouse The Echoes “All the Birds, Singing” (2013) is a the now-elderly couple takes sol-
But the narrator is also in ear- plague” afflicted regions of east- By Evie Wyld psychological thriller told in ace in their memories. “For those
A nest when she wonders about her ern Australia. The abbey is reverse chronological order. The who know, for those who feel it,
woman place in the abbey. What does it quickly overrun by the creatures: This Is a Love Story conceit in “The Echoes” is that the Park is more than just a park.
mean to disappear behind the veil They eat through the garden, the By Jessica Soffer the narrator is Hannah’s dead It is evocative, a symbol,” writes
hoping if you’re going to keep wearing electrical cables, even the raw boyfriend, Max, who haunts their Ms. Soffer, who has harnessed its
to civilian clothing? “Stone Yard wax used for candle-making. The apartment in London, where Han- romance for her breathless but
escape Devotional” can be viewed as part narrator finds her days consumed At one point she cites a line of nah moved after fleeing Australia. undeniably effective love story.
her life in of a quiet trend of books—along by the decidedly non-meditative, Simone Weil’s that reads, “Atten- Having been killed in a traffic Jane and Abe’s life is not all
with Neel Mukherjee’s “Choice” often gruesomely ridiculous work tion, taken to its highest degree, accident, Max hovers around kisses beside Bethesda Fountain,
the city and Caoilinn Hughes’s “The Alter- of emptying traps and digging is the same thing as prayer.” This struggling to understand Han- however, and spikier events
joins a natives”—about disaffected char- pits to dispose of the thousands novel’s resolute attention to the nah’s demons and the secrets she intrude on their reminiscences,
rural acters searching for an escape of rodent carcasses. troubles of others makes it feel, if kept from him about her past. from Abe’s near-infidelity to
from broken secular societies. Ms. Amid these burials—one not strictly religious, then The novel is thus split between Jane’s postpartum depression fol-
convent Wood’s pastoral novel is contem- sacred, the others profane—we undoubtedly spiritual. an intense family tragedy and a lowing the birth of their son. Ms.
—despite plative, curious, rewardingly con- follow the meandering path of the At the center of Evie Wyld’s series of morose monologues Soffer opens the novel to different
her lack flicted and frequently beautiful. narrator’s reflections, sometimes “The Echoes” (Knopf, 240 from the afterlife. And though the perspectives to explore these cri-
It’s also surprisingly busy. The turning back to her childhood, pages, $28) is a family of goat ghostly ruminations lend the ses, but, touchingly, she always
of first interruption is caused by the sometimes fastening upon the farmers in the Australian outback: book an elegiac quality, their returns to the couple’s resilient
religion. arrival of Sister Helen Parry, a lives of the sisters. Ms. Wood two sisters, Hannah and Rachel; intrusions siphon off a lot of the connection. Thinking of the craft
bullied and abused childhood writes these passages with excep- their milquetoast father and day- native energy of the story in Aus- of storytelling, Abe worries that
classmate of the narrator who tional empathy. Most contempo- dreaming mother; and, in a tralia. In the end it’s not clear too much happiness “writes
grew up to become a “celebrity rary fiction plays out inside the camper nearby, their roughneck exactly what Max’s perspective is white” on the page. In this book,
nun,” renowned for her aggres- echo chamber of a protagonist’s uncle and his girlfriend. Though meant to add, and I began to though, it’s the joyful moments
sive human-rights activism. Sister psyche; its stories are devoted to the clan tries to behave conven- think of this poor character with that stand out.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C11

BOOKS
‘The only ending some things have is the end you give them,’ —TIM WIN TO N

Grief, Interrupted
Memorial Days
By Geraldine Brooks
Viking, 224 pages, $28
BY DIANE COLE

‘I
S THIS the home of Tony
Horwitz?” Thus began
the phone call from the
hospital informing Geral-
dine Brooks that her hus-
band had suddenly collapsed and died.
It was Memorial Day 2019, a day
that would no longer be a holiday to
Ms. Brooks and the two sons she and
Horwitz raised together in their home
on Martha’s Vineyard. As Ms. Brooks
recalls in her memoir, “Memorial
Days,” she was there, at her desk,
when the doctor broke the news: Her
happy 35-year marriage had been
replaced by an uninvited new phase of
life, widowhood.
Ms. Brooks and Horwitz were a star
literary couple, known for both their
journalism and their bestselling books.
Ms. Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for
her 2005 novel, “March.” Horwitz, the
author of “Confederates in the Attic”
(1998), won his Pulitzer Prize reporting
for this newspaper.
LISS FINE ART/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

In the weeks and months after Hor-

witz’s death Ms. Brooks, fearful that
giving in to grief would immobilize
her, made sure to keep herself busy.
Tamping down on her emotions
became essential to the immediate

.
task of reuniting herself with her

ly
sons—one had been en route to Aus- ON THE HORIZON ‘Seascape’ (ca. 1890) by Albert de Belleroche.
tralia on vacation, the other was at
boarding school in Connecticut. She Chapter by chapter, Ms. Brooks tog- binic strictures against cutting and covering environmental issues for the her final nights on the island, she finds
continued wearing her mask of calm-
but-busy competence as she met the
cascade of responsibilities that befell
her as a newly single mother, sole
on
gles between memories of the fitful
days and months surrounding Hor-
witz’s death and the solitary mourning
ritual she follows on Flinders Island.
styling hair, laundering clothes or gaz-
ing at oneself in a mirror—rituals usu-
ally practiced during shiva, the first
week of mourning.
Sydney Morning Herald. She met Hor-
witz at Columbia University’s School of
Journalism; they married in 1984.
Before long they were both reporting
the release she is looking for. “I walk
down to the beach, throw off my
clothes, and dive in,” she writes. “I dive
down, away from all the memories I’ve
us ,

breadwinner and guardian of the flame It’s a sharp contrast to her home in Carving out a dedicated time to for this newspaper. By the end of their brought to the surface these past
of her husband’s memory. Massachussetts, where, she quips, “I mourn, she reflects, provides “an outlet careers at the Journal, she writes, “edi- weeks. . . . I let the tug of the waves
l
e
So went the next three years. Rush- would not be able to go to the super- for grief but also a framework to inte- tors began to refer to us in news meet- carry it all away. I come up and face
al a

ing forward in a blur to stifle her grate the loss and move on with living.” ings as Hobro, and that was how we this immensity of ocean.” Then she
anguish, she finished “Horse,” the She further observes that mourning increasingly saw ourselves. Beyond empties her lungs and lets unfurl the
ci on

novel she had been working on when Geraldine Brooks rites among Australia’s First Nations partners, essentially one person.” howl she had kept in for so long. “The
Horwitz died, if for no other reason people, in Islam and in other traditions Who, then, is she, or can she be, sound, loud and raw in this world of
than to dedicate it to him. She also postponed confronting “put guardrails up around the bereaved, without her beloved partner? She silence, is shocking,” Ms. Brooks writes.
navigated her way through the her husband’s death— rules for what to do in those days of ruminates on the woman she was “I wail for [Horwitz], for the life he no
Covid-19 pandemic, sheltering together massive confusion when the world has before she met Tony, as well as the longer has, for the life we no longer
until she couldn’t.
er s

with her sons at home as a “wobbly” collapsed.” Not so in secular America, woman she might have become had have together.” Her emotions spent,
configuration of three, no longer four. or for the solitude-seeking Ms. Brooks. they not married. Her dreams chart she takes a final swim, knowing her life
m er

It took until early 2023 for Ms. Even at the memorial services she had her anxiety and fear, her dread of fur- will go on.
Brooks’s autopilot to finally burn out. market without being run over by peo- organized, Ms. Brooks felt bereft, sur- ther loss and ultimately her fury at Ms. Brooks closes her book with
From the moment she learned her hus- ple expressing their sorrow in the veg- rounded by so many familiar faces—but death itself for taking Horwitz from advice that, as a widow myself, I fully
band had died, she writes, she had etable aisle.” not Horwitz’s. her. But her preoccupation with her attest to: “In whatever way works for
m rp

“refused to allow myself to howl.” In She reflects on the world’s many She spends her days on Flinders husband also brings him back to her, you, tell your story.” It will not bring
time that howl had become “the beast different mourning customs. She Island hiking. She admires sandstone allowing her to be beside him “all my your loved one back. But as Ms. Brooks
in the basement of my heart.” She begins with Judaism, to which she had headlands, wonders at the age of giant conscious day and even beyond, into valiantly demonstrates, it will sustain
needed “to find a way to set it free.” converted before marrying Horwitz. “I boulders and strolls along pristine my unconscious nights. Solitude has you even as you endure.
She would do so, she decided, on Flin- didn’t want to be the end of an ancient beaches until she breaks for a swim made this space for him.”
co Fo

ders Island, off the coast of her native lineage that had survived pogroms and before returning to her ramshackle Her last stretch of days on Flinders Ms. Cole is the author of the mem-
Australia. There, “in nature, in quiet, in the Shoah,” she explains, as she uncon- rental house for dinner. Ms. Brooks Island evolve into a “peaceful existence oir “After Great Pain: A New Life
time,” she would heal. sciously finds herself following Rab- learned to love nature as a reporter of remembered love.” Then, on one of Emerges.”

in the introduction. Miłosz “had the If I were not able to admire. I hide in
Finding the impression that everyone he met,
including old friends, averted their eyes
my heart
Unspoken words constantly. I regret

Poetic in the in conversation and watched their being so little able

n-

words.” Yet in a poem collected here To help people value the great beauty
Miłosz calls the U.S. “this excessively of the world.
Political proud land,” a place of surfaces, igno-
rant of its history. He was homeless. Miłosz’s turn away from Stalinism
no

Miłosz was Polish more by language came in 1951 when he uttered a resound-
Poet in the New World than by geography, since the geography ing “No” in a magazine essay and joined
By Czesław Miłosz of his first 35 years kept changing the Polish expatriate community in
Ecco, 160 pages, $28 hands, from czarist Russia to the repub- Paris. He never wanted to be known as
lics, empires and dictatorships that fol- a political poet. Politics oversimplifies;
BY DAVID MASON lowed. His encounter with America— good poetry does not. During a series of
which by comparison escaped many of Harvard lectures, later published as “The

I
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY

N HIS lecture for the 1980 Nobel the brutalities of war witnessed in Witness of Poetry” (1983), he spoke of a
Prize in literature, the Polish Europe—startled him and altered his “peculiar fusion of the individual and the
poet Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) sense of history. In 1953 he published historical” where poetry is “no longer
referred to his work as “a quest “The Captive Mind,” an important dis- alienated.” There are political implica-
for reality.” Miłosz’s life was one section of intellectual acquiescence to tions to the poems here, such as the bril-
long defense of poetry, not only against totalitarianism, and was denounced for liant fragment from “Antigone” (1949)
totalitarian powers but also against triv- it by leftists such as Pablo Neruda. and “You Who Wronged” (1950), from
iality, mendacity and delusion. As he It was not a simple thing, being a which lines would be borrowed for a
wrote in his grand poem “A Treatise on “child of Europe”—to use the title from monument to Gdańsk shipyard workers
Poetry” (1957): “One clear stanza can one of Miłosz’s poems, written in New killed during a 1970 protest:
take more weight / Than a whole wagon York in 1946. In fact, in his Nobel lecture
of elaborate prose.” he calls his European identity “a bitter, EXPATRIATE Czesław Miłosz in 1951. Do not feel safe. The poet remem-
More than two decades after his sarcastic admission.” Ultimately Miłosz bers.
death, a new collection drawn from would spend more than 40 years in the The life of a gravedigger is jolly. a great man of letters who knew at least You can kill one, but another is born.
Miłosz’s early work might seem a trifle U.S., many of them as a professor at the He buries systems, faiths, schools, six languages, deeply learned but still ca- The words are written down, the
compared to the breadth of his “New University of California, Berkeley. This He tamps the earth down smoothly pable of anarchic joy. I find him here in deed, the date.
and Collected Poems (1939-2001),” pub- over them poems such as “To Albert Einstein (frag-
lished in 2001. Yet Miłosz’s frequent With a quill, a revolver, or a shovel . . . ments),” written in 1948-49 in Washing- Miłosz is a poet of history, of con-
translator Robert Hass, together with The poet’s work in the ton. Miłosz had befriended Einstein dur- sciousness, of the deep engagement with
David Frick, a professor of Slavic lan- A note informs us that the poem was ing his time as a diplomat and asked the the necessity of intellectual freedom. He
guages and literatures at the University late 1940s and early written in couplets, and when the ideas physicist for advice about moving to the was capable of lacerating anger, but
of California, Berkeley, and a handful of ’50s grapples with the in the translation feel muddy as Miłosz U.S. As Mr. Hass writes, Einstein told reached for perspective, as he does in
other writers, now present us with a skims through failed philosophical sys- him “not to sever ties with his lan- “To Jonathan Swift” (1947):
fresh way of reading this extraordinary
realities of the Cold War. tems, one misses the scaffolding of guage.” Miłosz’s poem says of America:
literary eminence, including more than rhyme and meter. Mr. Hass offers tanta- As long as there are earth and
30 poems not previously available in lizing bits of it, such as in the concluding This New Jerusalem of the old Puri- heaven,
English. “Poet in the New World: Poems, double identity would become part of lines: tans, Prepare new havens for new towns.
1946-1953” focuses on a transitional the richness, the profound freedom and Their dream realized however much Apart from that, there is no pardon.
period in Miłosz’s life between World the variety of his work. I need to say this with some stark- the wrong way,
War II and his defection to the West Mr. Hass reports that he was particu- ness: Is for me an empty stage set, and a “Poet in the New World” is a superb
from communist Poland. larly interested in translating Miłosz’s Before us lies burden . . . introduction to a poet of reality who
From 1946 to 1950 Miłosz worked in long poem, “Treatise on Morals” (writ- “The Heart of Darkness.” remembers his “sweet European home-
the U.S., first as a diplomatic official at ten in 1947), which anchors the first half Yet he is also able to praise Einstein’s land” where “blood gathers in the
the Polish consulate in New York and of the new collection. Here the poet is The allusion to Miłosz’s fellow Polish “faith in the light of reason,” and to mouths of tulips.”
then as a cultural attaché at the Polish an “ambassador of dreams” who won- expatriate, Joseph Conrad, is particu- write these generous lines:
embassy in Washington, D.C. “In 1949 he ders, “Can anything save the earth?” It’s larly apt. Mr. Mason’s next book of poems,
visited Warsaw on vacation and found an ungainly poem with passages of sar- The real accomplishment of Miłosz in For me, I admit, life would not have “Cold Fire,” will appear in 2026. He
the atmosphere grim,” Mr. Hass writes donic power: translation is the voice, the presence of essence lives in Tasmania.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C12 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘If I’m the smartest person in the room, I’m in the wrong room.’ — LO R N E M I C H A E L S
TOP: NBC/GETTY IMAGES; INSET: EVANS VESTAL WARD/NBC/GETTY IMAGES

AT THE MOVIES Coneheads Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1979. Below, Bowen Yang, Lorne Michaels and Kate McKinnon in 2022.

Mr. Saturday Night

.
ly
Lorne velli. Says one member of the troupe: limousine—they turned out to be John decay” look. Old-timers on the techni- propelled work marathons. “Cocaine
By Susan Morrison “I feel about Lorne the way I feel about Lennon and Yoko Ono. cal crew derided it as “The Children’s helped fuel the all-nighters,” Ms. Mor-
the ocean. It’s huge and beautiful, but For all its later success, getting Television Workshop.” (Perhaps not rison writes, “but pot was the day-to-
Random House, 656 pages, $36
BY EDWARD KOSNER
I’m afraid of it.” on
Lorne Lipowitz has come a long way
from his boyhood growing up in
“SNL” on the air was no easy task.
Originally Mr. Michaels wanted the
program to feel like an issue of the
coincidentally, some of Jim Henson’s
Muppets had recurring roles in the
show’s first season.)
day workhorse drug.” After hosting
one episode of “SNL,” Monty Python’s
Eric Idle observed that the writers

M
OST PEOPLE picking Toronto, but there was show business New Yorker; he “envisioned a show in Mr. Chase annoyed the writers and were “whacked out of their skulls.”
us ,

up a book simply of a sort in his upbringing. His grand- which a sketch’s author would be rec- his fellow cast members when he com- At the end of the grueling fourth
titled “Lorne” could parents owned the College Playhouse ognizable from its style” and intended pared the program to “playing at the season, cocaine became a staple for
l
e
be excused for movie theater near the University of many of the “SNL” cast. Gilda Radner
al a

scratching their Toronto and each week went to the called it “the devil’s dandruff.” She
heads and muttering “who?” But fans film exchange to pick a new movie to suffered from anorexia, intensified by
ci on

of one of television’s best and most show. “They would stick with Jimmy the drug. The line “cocaine is God’s
enduring comedy shows will immedi- Cagney in a bad movie,” their grandson way of telling you you have too much
ately recognize it as a biography of recalled, “because, on some level, they
Lorne Michaels, the creator and execu- didn’t want to let him down.”
tive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” There was plenty of television, too. His acolytes have
er s

now, remarkably, less than a season When Lorne’s grandmother babysat

short of 50 years on the air. him, they’d watch “The Colgate Com-
compared their all-
m er

As it happens, Susan Morrison, an edy Hour,” Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of powerful leader to the
editor at the New Yorker magazine, has Shows” and “The Phil Silvers Show” on Godfather, Oz, Obi-Wan
written an encyclopedic doorstop sub- the American channels carried by
titled “The Man Who Invented Satur- Canadian TV. He’d go to Maple Leaf Kenobi and Machiavelli.
m rp

day Night Live.” It’s crammed with on- Gardens to catch Paul Anka, the Everly
and off-camera anecdotes and chit- Brothers, Frankie Lymon and other top
chat—a compendium richer than even acts in concert. money” was repeated around the stu-
Mr. Michaels’s most fervent admirers This eclectic influence would be dio—but as a gag, not a reproof. And
could ask for. That can be a problem reflected decades later in the broad cocaine wasn’t the only drug of choice
co Fo

for readers insufficiently smitten by array of hits and a few forgettable with the “SNL” crowd. Belushi, one of
the Michaels mystique or the “SNL” shows that Mr. Michaels has produced, the show’s headliners, overdosed on
brand of topical humor. among them “30 Rock,” “Bupkis,” cocaine and heroin in 1982 at the Cha-
Since its debut in October 1975, “Portlandia” and “Up All Night.” teau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles.
“SNL” has given fans a cavalcade of At work, he’s in command—shuf- it for “a book and movie audience.” He top of the minors.” And he offended He was 33.
comic stars, among them John Belushi, fling the lineup of sketches, checking also had what he called his counter- the imperious Johnny Carson when he Through tragedy and triumph, Mr.
Chevy Chase, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gar- camera angles—a meticulous overseer. cultural comedy code, a formula of scoffed at talk that he was Carson’s Michaels has led “SNL” to that pan-
rett Morris, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray When he’s “surrounded by a group of sorts for “knowing drug references, heir-apparent: “I’d never be tied down theon of network television reserved
and Laraine Newman. Plus a vivid cast young acolytes, like Don Corleone in a casual profanity, a permissive attitude for five years interviewing TV person- for hit shows that not only achieve
of recurring characters like the Cone- back room or Jesus at the Last Sup- toward sex, a deep distain for show alities.” (Years later, Mr. Chase bombed long runs but sustain their excellence.
heads, the Church Lady and Roseanne per,” Ms. Morrison writes, Mr. Michaels business convention, blistering politi- a guest-hosting stint on “The Tonight Now, as the show prepares to cele-
Roseannadanna. “likes to hold forth, dispensing stories cal satire, and bitter distrust of corpo- Show.” Said Carson to a reporter: “He brate its 50th anniversary this week-
n-

Mr. Michaels emerges as a predict- as if from an internal jukebox.” He’s rate power.” Pitching the show to the couldn’t ad-lib a fart after a baked end, the question is who can take the
ably complicated figure—at once pater- also a devotee of the “Lornewalk”: long network brass, he prudently kept that bean dinner.”) helm when Mr. Michaels inevitably
nal to his oddball brood and dictatorial peregrinations along New York’s side all to himself. That line likely wouldn’t have made steps down.
in his relentless commitment to keep streets, through the Beverly Hills Flats, When Herb Schlosser, the NBC boss, it even on late-night network TV, and
no

his creation securely hitched to the or down the beach at St. Barts and its gave Mr. Michaels the initial approval lots of the material the “SNL” writers Mr. Kosner, the retired editor of
zeitgeist. Cast members have com- Long Island, N.Y., version, Amagan- for “SNL,” the move was immediately tried to slip into the show got blue- Newsweek, New York magazine,
pared their all-powerful leader to the sett—his hangouts of choice. dubbed “Schlosser’s Folly” around the penciled by the network’s guardians of Esquire and the New York Daily
Godfather, Jay Gatsby, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mr. Michael once found a couple network. Mr. Michaels decreed that the propriety. Much of that material likely News, has been watching “SNL”
the Great and Powerful Oz and Machia- staring into the tinted windows of his program’s set should have an “urban emerged from the writers’ drug- since its very first show.

Bedtime Reading From Jon Klassen

JON KLASSEN is best known for eyes—on island, farm and for- challenge is to match chick to dark and deep, / With miles to but seldom with the charm and
dryly humorous picture books est—grow droopy, and the sun hen in this effervescent enter- go before I sleep,” we read, per- drollery that Maryrose Wood
with a bit of darkness about goes down. “Now you can sleep tainment for children ages 3-6. haps feeling the tug of memory. brings to “Bad Badger: A Love
them—“I Want My Hat Back” too and think about what you Evan Turk has created sump- There may be more tugs, for the Story” (Union Square Kids, 192
(2011) and “This Is Not My Hat” will do there tomorrow.” tuous illustrations for “A Forest text of the book is made up of pages, $18.99), a chapter book
(2012) being the most striking A bright, busy picture book Song” (Random House Studio, snippets of verse woven into for children ages 8-12 that would
examples. In a new series of gives young children a chance to what is known as a cento poem, do well as a read-aloud for a
bedtime board books for chil- practice their observational THIS WEEK which the writer Kirsten Hall wider age range. Soft, atmo-
dren ages 2-5, he has kept the skills by seeking and finding explains in an afterword is the spheric monochrome pictures by
dry humor but skipped the dark- gaily decorated things. “Hatch Your Island “stringing together of lines Giulia Ghigini add tenderness to
CHILDREN’S ness, and the result is pure and Match” (Candlewick, 32 Your Farm from different poems.” this gently humorous tale of an
BOOKS delight. pages, $17.99), written and illus- Your Forest Thus the familiarity of the “unbadgerish” badger who lives
MEGHAN “Your Island,” “Your Farm” trated by Ruth Paul, begins: By Jon Klassen book’s opening, which consists in a cozy cottage by the sea and
COX GURDON and “Your Forest” (Candlewick, “Chickens roosting in the tree. of a phrase from Edward enjoys Italian opera.
24 pages, $8.99 each) are small, Same but different. Can you Hatch and Match Thomas followed by one from Septimus, as he’s called, is a
cream-colored books that all see?” In the branches, children By Ruth Paul Robert Frost. As the glorious sensitive fellow whose world
begin with the same words: will see eight colorful snoozing colors of Mr. Turk’s pictures expands unexpectedly when a
The sun, “This is your sun. It is coming hens, each decorated with stars, A Forest Song shift from the gold of an autum- seagull appears on his window-
a cabin, a up for you.” And indeed, rising stripes, zigzags, polka dots or By Kirsten Hall nal oak to the indigo of a forest sill. The badger dubs his new
at the beginning of each book, a other patterns. After the rooster pond, beautiful phrases drift friend Gully, and though the gull
truck yellowish circle looks out at the wakes the farm with his usual Bad Badger: A Love Story past—from Emily Dickinson, has a limited vocabulary (“Caw”
and a reader with two guileless eyes. song (“every morning, same but By Maryrose Wood Siegfried Sassoon, Emily Brontë, and “Cawwwwww” and “Caw?”),
palm These classic Klassen eyes, lash- new”), the hens hop down from Walt Whitman and many others the two understand each other
tree shut less and lidless yet comically the tree to look for their eggs. (all listed at the end). “A Forest perfectly. When Gully fails to
expressive, appear on everything As the pages turn, young readers 40 pages, $18.99), a picture Song” will be what readers ages turn up one day, Septimus takes
their in the books—the palm tree on join the egg hunt through tab- book about beauty to be seen in 5-9 make of it: a lyrical outing, a bold measures to locate the
eyes at “your island,” the pickup truck leaux crowded with flowers and a great wood. The pictures poetic exploration, the spur to a missing bird—even consulting a
night. on “your farm,” the cabin in similar distractions. No sooner show a small person of indeter- young person’s own memory and pair of detectives, who are
“your forest.” In each book, the are all the hens reunited with minate sex with a walking creativity, or perhaps all three. snails—and in the process comes
author introduces different ele- their eggs than there’s a flurry staff—on second glance, a A lonely eccentric makes a to see that, though he may not
ments according to theme. Then, of “swirly, spiky, spots and dots” child—stepping in among enor- friend and finds happiness. Thus be a typical badger, he is “well
as the day ends, all the watchful as the eggs all hatch. Now the mous trees. “Into the forest, runs the plot of many a story within parameters.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | C13

PLAY
NEWS QUIZ DANIEL AKST From this week’s NUMBER PUZZLES SOLUTIONS TO LAST
WEEK'S PUZZLES
Wall Street Journal

1. The Justice 6. Caroline Spiegel cre- Cell Blocks Cell Blocks

Department told ated an app that uses Divide the grid
prosecutors to celebrities to read into square or
drop the bribery aloud racy tales for rectangular blocks, For previous
case against New women. What’s it each containing weeks’ puzzles,
York Mayor Eric called? one digit only. and to discuss
Adams. Who did Every block must strategies with
President Trump
A. Psst! contain the number other solvers, go
pardon the same
B. Sizzle of cells indicated by
to WSJ.com/
week?
C. Quinn the digit inside it.
puzzles.

D. Sophia

A. Rod Blagojevich Killer Sudoku

B. Bob Menendez Level 4 Suko
7. A mansion built for a Marx

C. Rudy Giuliani
hit the market. Who and 5 4 8 9 2 1 7 6 3

D. Michael Cohen
where? 7 1 2 6 3 4 8 5 9
6 3 9 7 8 5 4 2 1
2. Elon Musk heads an investor
A. Karl, London 3 5 4 2 6 9 1 8 7
group that offered $97 billion—
B. Groucho, Beverly Hills, Calif. 2 9 1 5 7 8 6 3 4
for the assets of what?
C. Zeppo, Scarsdale, N.Y. Killer Sudoku Level 1 8 7 6 1 4 3 5 9 2

D. Marcus, Winnetka, Ill. 14 6 15 3 13 12 19 As with standard 1 6 3 4 5 2 9 7 8

A. Gaza Sudoku, fill the 9 8 5 3 1 7 2 4 6

B. Microsoft 21
grid so that every 4 2 7 8 9 6 3 1 5
8. Rapper Kanye West ran

C. OpenAI column, every row
innocuous Super Bowl commer- 16 7 12 12 3 A House Divided

D. DeepSeek and every 3x3 box
cials for his website, where Z E S T E R S H A R P W I T U P P E D
contains the digits
shoppers found a single product 17 8 19 A R M A N I T O L E R A T E N U E V O
1 to 9. Each set of G R I Z Z L E D V E T E R A N S T E E R
3. Tariff fears led JPMorgan to for sale. What?
4 15 17 10 cells joined by A O L O L A E X I S T C H A K R A
fly something from London to
dotted lines must T R E F S O R E N I M C O O L
New York for the sake of arbi-
A. Copies of “Mein Kampf” 5 8 15 A N G E R I A L MO S T D I E D
add up to the
trage. What is it?
B. Hitler bobblehead dolls target number in
S E M I C O L O N E E N I E D R A B

C. Nazi-flag water bottles A V A T A R A I N T S O B O O Z E
24 12 25 10 11 its top-left corner. M I C H A E L S C O T T W O U N D E D

A. Marmite
D. Swastika-bearing T-shirts Within each set E L K F O U R T H A G E N C I E S

B. Advanced microchips 9 3 5 17 T H E F L E A S P R I E S T
of cells joined by

C. Silver N O S E S T U D P I C A R D B R B
9. “Ne Zha 2” reaped $1.2 billion dotted lines, a digit
ALL PUZZLES © PUZZLER MEDIA LTD - WWW.PUZZLER.COM

7 11 H O N E S T Y O R L A N D O B L O O M

D. Gold cannot be repeated. A B E T S U N R O L L Z I L L O W
in China, becoming the highest-
D I A S O S R I C C O D E B O O K S
grossing film in any single G R E A T E S C A P E R U N B Y
4. Sudan’s army was close to market. What Chinese classic F A R R A H A X I A L D R O P
retaking its own capital from is it based on? Suko R I A L T O O P T I N C O W A B E
O L L I E S P L I T L E V E L H OM E S
rebels. Name that city. Place the numbers
M E D E A G L A C I E R S D I V E S T

.
FROM TOP: LUIZ RAMPELOTTO/EUROPANEWSWIRE/ZUMA PRESS; CFOTO/DDP/ZUMA PRESS

A. “Romance of the Three 1 to 9 in the spaces so that P R I S M T O S S E D T O E Z I N E S

ly

A. Khartoum Kingdoms” the number in each circle is

B. Addis Ababa
B. “Dream of the Red equal to the sum of the four Super Bowl Party

C. Kampala Chamber” surrounding spaces, and
L I T T O R A L I S P O T

D. Mogadishu
C. “Investiture of the Gods” each color total is correct. A M E L I E D O R K I E R

5. The “Landman” TV series

concluded its first season. What

D. “The Scholars” on Y
B
Y
S
P A
O R
S D
T O
P
S
Y
C
L
C
A
K
S
H
O
E
E
T
O
X
R
A
X
C
O
N
C
H
A
T
E
A
M
I
E
N
S
C
A
G
Y
S
T
E
C OW H E R D O E A T E R
us ,

business is the protagonist in? R N I H A I L F R O M

l

S C O R E L A O S
S U C T I O N
e

A. Mortgage lending
al a

R O S E S

B. Oil Explanations for the guests’ soup answers are given in brackets, with the spoonerisms in quotes.

C. Mining ACROSS 1. LITTORAL [anagram: TORTILLA; “sea breeze”] 8. SPOT [reduced: SPICED CARROT; “chicken pox”] 11. A(ME)LIE 12. DORKIER (anag.) 14. R(O)AMS
ci on

D. Agriculture 15. BORSCHT [letter bank: SCOTCH BROTH; “served cold”] 16. ANTICS (anag.) 20. COWHERD [anagram: CHOWDER; “breed of cattle”] 21. EATER (hid.)
22. HAIL FROM (anag.) 24. S(C)ORE 25. LAgOS 26. SUCTION (“auction” – A + S) 27. ROSE + S
DOWN 1. LAY-BYS (“Shirley Bassey” – “heiress” anag.) 2. IM + PO(ST)OR 3. T(hEARD)OWNS 4. OIL CAKE [letter bank: COCK-A-LEEKIE; “soy bean”]
5. RESHO + E (“horse” anag.) 6. eLOR + A + X (“role” rev.) 7. IRON CHEF [letter bank: FRENCH ONION; “kitchen battle”] 8. SKATE [anagram: STEAK; “hockey stick”]
Answers are listed below the 9. PI(MI + E)NTOS (“I’m” rev.) 10. TRYS(T)ER (“Terry’s” anag.) 12. DETO(X) DIETS (“I do detest” anag.) 13. PSYCHICS (“sidekicks” hom. – d)
er s

crossword solutions at right. 17. CAGE [reduced: CABBAGE; “Moonstruck”] 18. COLLIEr 19. AA + R + ON (“no R” rev.) 22. HOUR [reduced: HOT AND SOUR; “lunch break”) 23. ARCO (hid.)
m er

Answers to News Quiz: 1.A, 2.C, 3.D, 4.A, 5.B, 6.C, 7.B, 8.D, 9.C
THE JOURNAL WEEKEND PUZZLES edited by MIKE SHENK
m rp

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 57 Peyton
Manning’s
19 20 21 22 brother
23 24 25 58 Prestigious mil. 24 1
26 27 28
award 23 2
co Fo

59 Single-celled
29 30 31 32 33 creatures 22 3
60 Sherlock’s
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
sleuthing sister 21 25 4
in books and
43 44 45
movies 36 26
46 47 48 49 50 51 61 Part of UCLA
20 5
52 53 54 55 56 57 58 63 Escape 35 27
64 World Cup cheer
59 60 61 62
65 Furniture hauler
63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
19 6
66 Hyphen’s longer
71 72 73
kin 34 28
67 WWF and
74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 CARE, e.g. 18 7
n-

83 84 85 86 87 68 Fall head over

heels? 33 29
88 89 90 91 92 69 Classic soft drink 17 8
93 94 95 96 97 98 70 What a role
model serves as 32 30
no

99 100 101
75 Stops being 16 31 9
102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 aimless
112 113 114 115 116
77 Eldest Haim
sister
15 10
117 118 119 78 S&L offerings 14 11
120 121 122
79 Deferment 13 12
80 “You’re not the
boss ___!”
Making It Work | by Lisa Senzel & Will Nediger 81 Iditarod need
Across 53 Solemn vow 102 Now I’ve 14 Extremely eager 82 Olive in the Seven Sages | by Patrick Berry
1 Use Drano on 54 Morse syllable started dating a 15 Resistance units funnies
7 Year’s record 55 Came down in watchmaker,
and ___
16 Crumpet’s 85 Vaccine basis Each answer in this puzzle is seven
letters long and encircles the
+ 9 One of a hairbrush’s + 23 One-point throws in
12 In disarray buckets go-with 86 College party many horseshoes
112 Drawing rooms? staple correspondingly numbered space,
19 2005 Matthew 59 Band booster
60 Donovan of 115 Origami creations
17 Stop for a
wayfarer 87 Miami-to-NYC reading either clockwise (+) or – 10 Round sandwich rolls +24 Incited
McConaughey counterclockwise (–) as indicated.
movie “Sabrina the
Teenage Witch”
116 Tranquil
117 Bygone
18 Summer hrs. in
Chicago
heading
88 Med school grad The starting point of each answer + 11 College student’s + 25 Nervous high-pitched
20 Shower sponge is for you to determine. When the selections laughs
62 Paperless self-serve eatery 21 Sharp, on a TV 89 Single
– 12 Refuse to buy anything + 26 Trio in a nativity scene
22 Upscale grid is correctly filled in, the letters
exams 118 Switch type 27 Self-care site 90 Classic Pontiac
23 Vampire killer in the outermost ring (reading
63 I dated a tennis 119 With nobody to 28 Relatives, 94 VIP rosters from (2 wds.)
24 Dojo mat pro, but ___ turn to clockwise from answer 1) will spell
95 1004, in Roman
25 1960s cartoon
hero with
71 Budget rival 120 Small sneakers?
slangily
31 Number on a numerals a bit of sage wisdom from George
Carlin.
+ 13 Exhaustion with the rat + 27 Mobile home?
race
antennae 72 Box office figure 121 Passed out card, maybe 96 Kick out
+28 Doorways to other
26 I dated a
Communist,
73 Dawn goddess
74 Eva of “Ghost
122 “The Communist
Manifesto”
32 Stick for breaking 97 Booth Tarkington
33 Sinuous book + 14 Go-between dimensions, in sci-fi
stories
but he ___ Rider” co-author swimmer 98 Shout of surprise – 15 “___ is not an option”
29 Mini albums, 76 Qatar export Down
1 Cold War initials
34 Windfall 101 Practical skill
102 Couple at the + 16 Musicians who avoid + 29 Biodegrading
for short 77 Tunnel effect
30 Unauthorized 79 Unexceptional 2 “The Lion King”
35 Neighbor
36 River past
altar? + 1 “Anything happening in blending genres – 30 All the rage (2 wds.)
streams?
31 Opening day
83 Japan’s
longest-serving
lioness
3 Spiced brew
Memphis 103 Invisible box
captive
your life?” (2 wds.) + 17 Receivers on homemade – 31 Suddenly stop working,
pitcher prime minister 4 Chip brand
37 “Furthermore...”
38 Texter’s “Then
104 British general – 2 Unworthy of “telephones” (2 wds.) in slang (2 wds.)
34 Split level? 84 I dated a
firefighter,
5 Willie who was
the first Black
again...”
Thomas at
Bunker Hill + 3 Singer who reunited – 18 Matchbox wares (2 wds.) – 32 Boxes left on
doorsteps
38 I dated a
baseball player, but ___ player in the NHL
39 Caterer’s
container
105 Swenson of Destiny’s Child at + 19 Headwear for Shia
but ultimately 88 Cared for a
friend’s loyal
6 Figure
traditionally
40 Bygone M&M’s
“Benson”
106 Spill the beans
the 2013 Super Bowl
halftime show
Muslims – 33 Subject to constant
he was ___ nagging
friend, say sporting a pointy
color
107 North Carolina +20 Moniker coined during
43 Donning
commencement 91 Earns, after hat and a beard 41 Establishes
42 Conductor
university – 4 Releases from an Beatlemania (2 wds.) + 34 Strong wind from the
expenses 7 Choir section enclosure Arctic
– 21 The World Cup or the
attire 108 Zesty flavor
Toscanini
44 Una que ___ vez
(once in a while)
92 Canine cover
93 I dated an
8 Linguist Chomsky
9 Thing you might
43 Letters once on
109 Slurpee
alternative + 5 Like many student America’s Cup, e.g. – 35 Bend to the prevailing
30 Rock drivers standards
45 Wind off of a author, but use to score?
44 Halloween mo.
110 Rumor
+ 22 “Adonais” and
spool
46 I dated an
we weren’t ___
98 Like Hera,
10 Miles away
11 2021 NBA Rookie
47 Spanish snack
generator?
111 Ben & Jerry’s
– 6 Investigates, as a cold “Ozymandias” poet – 36 Tracks down
according to 48 Shapes the rival
case
electrician, of the Year Ball
Get the solutions to this week’s Journal Weekend Puzzles in next
–
s

but we ___ Homer narrative? 112 Dated 7 Person in a law firm’s title
12 Like the taste of
51 “The A-Team” 99 Corporate VIP liquid barium 49 Wallet fill 113 Wed. preceder Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Solve crosswords and acrostics
co-star 100 Still in the game 13 Go dateless for a 50 Like the baht 114 Hagen of + 8 University of North online, get pointers on solving cryptic puzzles and discuss all of the
52 Pay to play 101 Shout of insight while, maybe 56 Cheering syllable Broadway Carolina athlete (2 wds.) puzzles online at WSJ.com/Puzzles.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

C14 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on
er s
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no
 OFF DUTY
For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

When a Has the

Blazer Feels Prius Met Its
Too Formal Match?
Less-officious This 2025 hybrid
jackets for the Honda Civic sure
office D3 thinks so D6
FASHION | FOOD | DESIGN | TRAVEL | GEAR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * ** Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D1

NO BOLOGNA At Wildweed
in Cincinnati, the ‘Ranger’
chicken tortelli sports chile-red
stripes, a smoked-shrimp sauce
and a confetti of fresh herbs.

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on

From top: tortelli in

progress in Wildweed’s
pasta room, dedicated
to producing the ever-
er s

evolving lineup of
pastas on the seasonal
menu; the restaurant’s
m er

Shock
mezzaluna with wild
mushrooms, crispy garlic,
chile oil, Parmesan and
m rp

mushroom XO sauce; in
Wildweed’s pasta room,
Megan Harmeyer,

of the
a member of the
pasta production team,
rolls out sheets of
co Fo

Noodle
pasta, to be shaped into
tortelli filled with a
sausage made of
heritage-breed chicken
from a local farm.

Catnip for diners and an economical delivery

system for high-ticket ingredients, creative pasta
dishes are driving business and letting chefs
n-

around the country say ‘arrivederci’ to the expected

I
no

BY JOSHUA DAVID STEIN American chefs thumbing their

noses at tradition, creating pastas
T’S ANOTHER frigid of Wonkaesque invention far from
night in Cincinnati, what anyone would describe as
but the seats are full strictly Italian.
at Wildweed, a new In Chicago, chef Erling Wu-
restaurant from chef Bower presents soup-dumpling
David Jackman. tortellini and a leek-and-crawfish
Among the dishes on pappardelle with Tabasco at his
offer: oysters with restaurant Maxwells Trading. In
mulled pear foam Minneapolis, Joe Rolle of Dario
and spicebush oil; a crafts doppio ravioli—conjoined
mountain of kumquat-studded dumplings filled on one side with
clams in a pool of neon orange sunchoke purée and on the other
‘nduja butter; and a pawpaw semi- with ricotta—drizzled with a
freddo sandwich. But the main at- brown butter emulsion and honey,
CHRIS VON HOLLE FOR WSJ

traction, the dish on nearly every and scattered with chopped hazel-
one of the tables, is a dozen red- nuts. In San Francisco, the tasting
chile-striped tortelli, undulating menu of chefs David Fisher and
across their shallow bowl like Serena Chow Fisher at 7 Adams of-
candy-cane landforms. fers a jet-black charcoal tagliatelle
Jackman is among a cadre of Please turn to page D10

Inside

SHOULD YOU INVEST IN STOCKS... BAKED-IN COOL BOTTLES TO WHET AN APPETITE ROCK THIS LOOK
OR A T-SHIRT? Tucson, a snowbird town that’s more than Lettie Teague on ‘aperitif wines.’ And, no, Why cobblestone flooring is trending in
The case for the $500 women’s tee D2 gated communities and golf D8 that term is not an insult. D9 decor—minus the foot pain D11
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D2 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 NY * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

STYLE & FASHION

$500 for a
T-Shirt?
Hear Us Out.
Today’s luxury T-shirts are routinely
ringing up at unheard-of prices. Why
are style-savvy women buying in?

BY ESTHER ACHARA designer behind the cult-fa-

F
vorite T-shirt brand Frances
OR JILLIAN De Lourdes, says the trend
Simpson, 41, wed- reflects the priorities of
ding season once postpandemic dressing.
meant panic-buy- Both lounge-like and elegant,
ing flouncy opulent tees represent a
dresses that didn’t suit her refined continuation of
style. But last June, the New stuck-at-home loungewear.
Yorker bucked convention and “Comfortable trends are the
paired a floor-grazing black hardest to break out of,
skirt with a white T-shirt from which is why we’re seeing
the Row for a friend’s Phila- so much oversize tailoring,”
delphia nuptials. “Certain oc- she said. “Everyone’s looking Opt for a dark neutral for extra longevity—this boyfriend-fit style is a blend of Machine-washable cashmere! Majestic
casions used to pull me out of for classic pieces that are 50% cotton, 50% cashmere. Frances de Lourdes Johnny Tee, $290 Filatures T-shirt, $325 at Moda Operandi
character—I don’t even like effortless but polished.”
dresses,” Simpson said. “But a Kelsey Lyle, a senior buyer
luxury T-shirt always feels to- at Moda Operandi, shares
tally me, whether I wear it Echeverria’s sentiment.
with a black-tie skirt or jeans.” Women are relying less on
Welcome to the new era transient fast fashion, she
of boundary-defying power said, instead “choosing pieces
tees that boast refined fab- that reflect their appreciation

.
for craftsmanship.” Simpson

ly
also points to the drop in
‘Spending more quality of mass-market cloth-
ing, as affordable mainstream
makes sense if it brands use lower-level fabrics on

ELIZABETH COETZEE/WSJ; STYLING BY CAITIE KELLY; FASHION ASSIST BY CHRISTINA MIDDLETON

ultimately means (and swap cotton for polyes-
greater cost-per- ter). But a long-lasting tee in
a luxurious fabric blend such
wear value.’
us ,

as silk- or cashmere-cotton
doesn’t come cheap.
l
e
“When it comes to mak-
al a

rics, subtle details and hefty ing luxury pieces in

price tags. (The Row’s Chiara relatively small
ci on

tee, for instance, with its sig- quantities like

nature vertical back seam, we do, that’s
rings up at $420.) These not- just what it
so-little luxuries are working costs,” said
hard in women’s wardrobes, Echeverria of
er s

replacing starchy button- her T-shirts,

downs for the office and go- which offer
m er

ing-out tops at night. blends of cash-

For business lunch meet- mere, silk jersey and
ings, Natasha Poniatowski, 40, organic cotton in vari-
the founder of a meal-delivery ous formulas, and sell for
m rp

company, relies on a rotation around $230 to $290. It’s the

of downy-soft cashmere tees “natural fibers [that] give a This ultralight, sheer tee—85% silk, 15% elastane—is ideal A modal-cashmere blend amps up a not-so-basic white tee with a
by the Elder Statesmen, piece longevity and make it for layering year-round. Fforme Ames Fitted T-shirt, $695 longer sleeve. Partow Parker T-shirt, $550
Proenza Schouler and the feel special,” she added.
Row. How does she justify the Still, even serious tee-dev- The key to a smart invest- weight fabrics and consid- savvy customers are consider- mind the pivotal new role
co Fo

cost? “I don’t like shopping or otees can balk at eye-water- ment, Maggioni says, is ered silhouettes. ing,” Maggioni said. they can play in your closet
figuring out what to wear— ing prices that run between evading the marketing traps Her own criteria when When styling these tees strategy—and their staying
investing in these saves so $200 and $1,000. “Some of she believes many subpar contemplating an invest- (beyond the obvious denim power. The idea is to treat
much time,” Poniatowski said. the prices are absurd,” Simp- brands are setting (such as ment? “If an item truly has matchups), Echeverria sug- your T-shirt like a “leather
“The concept of spending son admits. “But I’ll make putting high markups on great wearability and dura- gests pairing them with a jacket or cashmere sweater.”
more for something that [the] investment if the white cheaply produced pieces) in bility—it washes well, is low structured blazer or a pencil And forget disposable
might appear basic makes stays white, the neckline hopes of capitalizing on the maintenance and seamlessly skirt. Lyle slips premium tees Hanes six-packs. You needn’t
sense if it ultimately means won’t stretch and I can put it wider ‘elevated basics’ trend. flexes across functions—then under V-neck sweaters to stock up on these tees. Lyle
greater cost-per-wear value,” on a delicate cycle in the ma- Weigh any potential splurges you can justify the spend.” show off neckline details. advises buying just one or
said Sara Maggioni, head of chine.” To guarantee that her carefully, Lyle says, and look Another argument for “Distinctive features are part two. “While the initial in-
womenswear at trend fore- precious pieces last, Simpson out for the details that set handing over your credit of what you’re paying for.” vestment may be higher, the
casting agency WGSN. swears by DedCool’s biode- these T-shirts apart: thick card? “Basics hold great re- If costly tees feel woefully best ones will form the cor-
n-

Alejandra Echeverria, the gradable laundry detergent. bindings, quality medium- sale value, which is something excessive, says Lyle, keep in nerstone of your wardrobe.”

FAST FIVE
no

Briefer Encounters
This spring, forget long, khaki trench coats. The newest crop, in black leather, is
making shorter waves, and adding a cinch of sultry allure to everyday outfits.

Clockwise from top left: The Frankie Shop Medora Faux Leather Trench, $299; Armarium Emma Jacket, $2,800; Pixie Market
Cropped Leather Trench, $179; Favorite Daughter The Cropped Leather Charles Trench, $895; Khaite Dolores Jacket, $4,500
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D3

STYLE & FASHION

BUH-BYE BLAZER! / FOUR POLISHED
YET UNSTUFFY REPLACEMENTS


L.L.Bean
Classic Ragg
Wool
Sweater
Cardigan,
$109


100Hands
Travellers
Jacket,
about
$2,200


Berluti
Double Face
Forestière,
EASIER DOES IT From left: Actor Logan Lerman opts for a refined zip-up on the red carpet earlier this year; this jacket, from Paris’s Officine $3,900
Générale, gives polished-yet-casual vibes; in a recent campaign, U.K. brand Drake’s styled a man in a shawl-collar cardigan, dress shirt and tie.

Sub Me In, Coach!

.
ly
on
A blazer feels too stuffy and formal for many offices today. Men seeking a cooler,
breezier replacement that still reads ‘put together’ are in luck.

Massimo
Dutti 100%
us ,

Wool Twill
BY CHARLIE TEASDALE Beckie+Martina, which caters to many A reliably longer option: the Forestière
l

Zip-Up

I
Jacket, $280
e
executive men. You can’t just keep the jacket. Created in the 1940s by French cloth-
al a

T MAKES SENSE that C-Suite types suit and lose the tie, she adds—that ier Arnys for architect Le Corbusier, this man-
would be drawn to premium Dutch looks unfinished. darin-collared style has been updated in silk
ci on

menswear brand 100Hands. Its co- The solution, says Klein, is what stylists mixes, slubby linens, tweeds and more by
founder—once a mergers & acquisi- often call the “third piece”: a special gar- brands including Berluti (above right), Drake’s
tions VP himself—knows what these ment that lifts an otherwise straightforward and Private White V.C. Certainly breezier than
men want. And what these men want now, outfit. (In offices, trousers and some kind of a blazer, the Forestière exudes “more charac- and be substantial enough to hold its shape.
said Akshat Jain, is his 10-year-old brand’s button-down often serve as the first two ter than an overshirt or chore jacket, which “If it’s floppy, it’s sloppy.”
er s

“travellers” jackets—soft, buttoned styles items.) That third piece could be a can be a bit boring,” said Crompton. Men who run hot may prefer a lighter-
that are cut from fabrics like virgin wool, 100Hands jacket—or a number of other re- An elevated bomber or other zippered gauge crewneck cardigan, a trending style
m er

linen and vicuña, and come with various col- laxed, current styles. style can zap some cool into a work look. popping up at both midtier brands, like
lars and pocket configurations. Defined by neat hemlines, minimal detailing Arket, and luxury labels, like Prada.
His brand reports that sales of the travel- and sumptuous fabrics like wool bouclé, To the office, Inestal wears his green lamb’s
lers jackets, which start around $1,000-plus, The mandarin-collared baby camel wool or buttery suede, these de- wool Noah cardigan with a pale blue or
m rp

have multiplied by more than eight times signs can be nabbed at brands such as Mas- white shirt, tailored pants and loafers.
since 2021. Jain said men value the jackets’
Forestière jacket exudes ‘more simo Dutti and Aimé Leon Dore. Thirty-one- “It’s discreet and comfortable,” he said.
ability to replace a blazer or suit jacket in character than an overshirt.’ year-old Ignacio Inestal, an international “Someone into fashion might have apprecia-
the office (the precise goal behind the de- civil servant at the U.N. in New York, often tion for it,” he continued, “but those who
signs). The unstuffy, unstructured styles, he styles his sharp navy bomber by Maison Kit- have no idea probably think I inherited it
co Fo

noted, drape nicely thanks to weighty Another close, equally unstuffy cousin to suné with a shirt. “It’s super light, so I can from my grandfather.” (Cautionary note:
cloths. Sharper and sturdier than an over- a classic blazer? The Teba jacket style, says even wear it under a coat,” he said. Though In a cardigan, you can risk looking like
shirt, they play nice with a business shirt Simon Crompton, the London-based founder he saves this look for weekends, it would the office grandpa.)
and tailored pants. That makes them just of classic menswear website Permanent impress in casual offices. Whether you’re trying out a memorable
the thing in the current work climate. Style. Originating from Spain, the bare- Contrarians could ditch jackets altogether knit or the kind of jacket Le Corbusier once
In a postpandemic soup of khakis, quar- bones Teba boasts a soft, notch-less lapel and reach for knitwear instead. Martina Gor- wore, Gordon suggests starting with navy.
ter-zip knits and—god forbid—vests that’s designed to sit flat or be popped don, the other co-founder of Beckie+Martina, “Once you have that down,” you can dabble
bearing a corporate logo, many guys see a against the elements. Crompton praises the said clients have embraced a shawl-collar car- in shades such as camel, she said.
GETTY IMAGES (LOGAN)

suit or blazer as overkill, but wonder if City Hunter model by tailoring brand the digan as a “main staple.” Its chunky, rounded Jain, of 100Hands, is happy to stick with
there’s a suitable, smart-casual alternative. Armoury. Just beware of length: Tebas can collar imitates the lines of a blazer’s lapel, his navy travellers jacket for the foresee-
“People are struggling with what makes come up short, and too much posterior on and looks great against a crisp business shirt, able. “Sometimes I wear it 10 days in a
an outfit feel put-together,” said Rebecca show can read casual. Crompton suggests Gordon notes. She adds that this thick, hip- row,” he said. “As long as I’m not meeting
n-

Klein of New York personal styling service, finding a take that ends mid-backside. length knit should feel snug but not tight— the same guy, I’m perfectly dressed.”
no
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D4 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

STYLE & FASHION

Where Fashion’s Going...in Five Looks

From Calvin Klein’s throwback suits to Kendrick Lamar’s flare jeans at the Super Bowl, it’s been a week of fashion bellwethers.
Rory Satran reports on five prescient outfits that indicate what we’ll be wearing—and even thinking about—come fall.

Audacious Simplicity Intellectually A Perfect Pinch

Originality Meets Craft Sexy Of Peculiar
THE BRAND THE BRAND THE BRAND THE BRAND
Forty years in, Marc Fforme, a minimalist While Calvin Klein has Tory Burch is still a go-to
Jacobs’s ready-to-wear startup launched in pumped out viral under- for Greenwich matriarchs’
Marc Jacobs collections have become Frances Howie 2022, has quickly devel- Veronica Leoni wear and denim cam- Tory Burch gold-crested “Reva” flats
increasingly avant-garde, for Fforme oped a cult following for Calvin Klein paigns in recent years, its and utterly correct tennis
with cartoonish shoes and exaggerated for its pure luxury pieces Collection high-end Collection busi- skirts—but the brand has also become a desti-
proportions. for working women. ness has been dormant nation for their hip daughters to buy off-kilter
since designer Raf Simons left six years ago. separates and slightly strange accessories.
THE LOOK THE LOOK The Italian designer Veronica Leoni, an alum
Alex Consani, the first transgender woman to This floor-length navy of Phoebe Philo’s Celine and the Row, came THE LOOK
win model of the year at London’s Fashion wool-silk opera coat, with in to wake up the Sleeping Beauty. This ensemble takes clas-
Awards in 2024, wore a pillowy ruby-red vel- 60 meters of hand-frayed sics like a wool cardigan,
vet dress to close the show. With her hands ribbon, is the kind of for- THE LOOK track pants and monk-
on her hips and her lips studded with red ever piece that’s both When’s the last time strap shoes, and flips
crystals applied by makeup legend Pat modest and sensa- you saw someone them around. As
McGrath, Consani was a Gen-Z version of tional. It would be a wear a skirt suit in Burch said, “I
Betty Boop. It’s a classic cocktail look, thrown beautiful gift for a real life? The staple of started with the
through the blender of Japanese design influ- high-school grad- Klein’s time appears concept of
ence and contemporary culture. uate or her ready for its twisted American
grandmother. comeback. Leoni, sportswear, liter-
WHY IT MATTERS “Comfort is lux- whose debut ally and figura-
Jacobs no longer speaks to urious,” said the was full of ac- tively.” The
the press after his shows brand’s new cre- cessible tailoring, sweater is twisted
but releases cryptic ative director said this struc- around a top and
show notes, this Frances tured light-gray fastened with a
time on the Howie of the wool jacket and brooch, while the
theme of piece. It could pencil skirt, sweatpants are
courage. be worn as with matching made of fluffy
“Guided by easily over a gray pumps, Japanese brushed
heart, humility T-shirt and was one of her jersey. In shades of
and gratitude, I jeans as an favorite mo- brown, it’s an eclectic

.
have come to un- evening gown. ments of the mix of Upper and

ly
derstand that fear is show. She Lower East Side.
not my enemy—It is WHY IT said the “of-
a necessary compan- MATTERS fice-girl vibe” WHY IT MATTERS
ion to creativity, au-
thenticity, integrity
and life,” he wrote.
It’s as though he’s
on As the luxury-to-
Zara pipeline
gets ever
quicker and
was “intellectu-
ally sexy.”

WHY IT
“It was an exploration
of classic ideas that
aren’t what you first per-
ceive them to be,” Burch
MATTERS
us ,

daring himself to en- more clever, said of her collection. So a

l

ter the leagues of many luxury Return-to-office pair of high-end track

e
his experimental brands trum- mandates are coming pants like these, when com-
al a

design idols Mi- pet their fast and furious to bined with a deconstructed
uccia Prada and commit- American workplaces cardigan and granny accesso-
ci on

Rei Kawakubo. ment to from Amazon to the fed- ries, becomes an outfit that deserves a second
(Kawakubo’s 1997 craft. Up close, eral government. The “of- look. The collection also echoes the popularity
“lumps and bumps” Fforme’s structured blazers and pleated fice siren” and “corpcore” of fashion Substack newsletters, where unique
Comme des Garçons trench coats are thoughtfully constructed. trends are making tradi- personal style is almost a competition. Pulled
collection clearly inspired Howie perfects the handmade feel at gener- tional workwear suddenly apart, these outfits offer interesting updates
er s

this dress.) While most of ations-deep Italian factories, challenging intriguing to young worker for most wardrobes. Saying that there’s
us will not wear a bulging them to leave some bits unfinished. “These bees who’ve spent much of the past five “something for everyone” is a bit of a cliché,
m er

cocktail dress to our next things are not completely perfect because years scrolling TikTok in soft pants. Could but that concept was really driven home by
event, its audacity women are not perfect,” she said. Convinc- the skirt suit signal a return to formality, or the many mother-daughter duos attending the
might inspire us to ing craftsmanship may be the best argu- will the skirt half gather dust when women show, including “Saturday Night Live” cast
think originally. ment for luxury today. pair their blazers with jeans? member Chloe Fineman and her mom.
m rp
GETTY IMAGES (2); GIOVANNI GIANNONI (FFORME); ANDREW J.S. (HOWIE)

DARE TO FLARE / KENDRICK LAMAR’S VIRAL SUPER-BOWL JEANS

co Fo

NOT ALL culture-quaking looks (also viral) Nike Air DT Max pensive, they’re considered the
come from the runway. On Su- ‘96 sneakers, were made by ne plus ultra of denim by afi-
per Bowl Sunday, during the French luxury brand Celine and cionados.
thick of fashion week, Kendrick are now sold out. Hedi Slimane, Lamar’s jeans are sure to be
Lamar performed his halftime who instituted the 1970s-evok- copied ad infinitum by young
show in flared jeans that got ing style before he left the men—and women eager to
more airtime than quarterback LVMH fashion house late last break free from the dominant
Patrick Mahomes. year, has long been a propo- straight-cut and skinny jeans.
The $1,300 pants, long nent of painstakingly recreated The flare may be the first truly
enough to pool around his vintage jeans styles. While ex- breakout trend of 2025.
n-

MEANT TO
no

BE WORN
Quite literally, a book on style that makes you smarter— yet inherently intuitive strategy and processes presented cut
and that’s not the norm. Amy Smilovic’s The Creative through the noise of the fashion echo chamber. Smilovic is
Pragmatist speaks to the critical thinker, revealing the an entrepreneur in fashion who founded designer brand Tibi
first principles for unpacking personal style. Through her in Hong Kong almost 30 years ago. Real-world experience
groundbreaking approach, Smilovic demonstrates how to has honed her theses, going far deeper than the too-familiar
communicate personal style effectively, reframing how drivel of “creating the perfect outfit”. This book is the pre-
we build a wardrobe that aligns. The thesis is Creative eminent tool for cultivating a style that is authentically your
Pragmatism—a philosophy for the curious, modern, and own. You will read it at least twice, dog ear its pages, and
balanced individual. Through this lens, the entirely original reference it often.

Available exclusively on Tibi.com. Okay?

 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D5

# ##
PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE
up to

50% OFF
plus choose one:

Unlimited Wine, Beer & Spirits

Shipboard Credit up to $1,000
Free or Reduced Airfare
on select sailings and categories

YOUR WORLD
INCLUDED TM
2 for 1 Cruise Fares
Gourmet Specialty Dining
Shipboard Gratuities
Unlimited Starlink® WiFi

And so much more

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on
er s
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no

Holkham Bay Glacier Fjords, Alaska

ULTRA-PREMIUM EXPERIENCE,
exceptional savings
Take advantage of our limited-time offer on select voyages and enjoy up to 50% Off plus select one free amenity:
Unlimited Wine, Beer and Spirits; Shipboard Credit up to $1,000; Free or Reduced Airfare. Combined with
the always free amenities of Your World Included™, you’ll discover small ship luxury for less.

THE FINE S T CU ISINE AT SE A®

AWARD -WINNING ITINER ARIE S

Scan this QR code with your SMALL SHIP LUXU RY T M

smartphone camera to view
Presidents’ Day Sale voyages.

BOOK NOW. OFFER EXPIRES FEBRUARY 28, 2025.

CALL 844-837-1324 | VISIT OCEANIACRUISES.COM/WJ | CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL ADVISOR

Terms, conditions, restrictions, and capacity controls apply. Up to 50% Off and free amenity choice offer expire on 2/28/25 and are available for select categories on select voyages, subject to change and capacity controlled.
Savings amounts vary per sailing and are per person. Mention Code: FS. Promotion may be withdrawn at any time without prior notice. Please visit www.OceaniaCruises.com for complete Terms & Conditions. JAN251479
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D6 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

GEAR & GADGETS

HOT WHEELS The Honda
RUMBLE SEAT / DAN NEIL Civic’s 11th design generation
is the bestselling car in the

This Affordable, Efficient

U.S. with young buyers.

son-cycle engine thrums qui-

etly, speeding and slowing,

Compact Fills Me With Joy following throttle demand as

if it were connected to a con-
ventional transmission. If you
stand on it, the revs will rise
and the system will punctuate
the acceleration curve with
imitative upshifts. In Sport
mode, the illusion gets a bit
of aural reinforcement from
the audio system.
But at all times the elec-
trics’ heavy bottom end—232
lb-ft from 0-2,000 rpm—
gives the Civic the right-now,
wide-awake temperament
and punchy acceleration of a
dedicated EV. Look, when a
car combines 0-60 mph accel-
eration in the low sixes with
an EPA average fuel economy
of 48 mpg, that’s net plus ex-
tra, n’est pas?
What a unit this little car
is. Go ahead, wind it up and
throw it into a tight corner—
and be sure to drop the in-
side rear 18-inch wheel into
that chuckhole. WHAM! The
Civic’s rear end gathered it-
self instantly and stayed on
track, registering the insult
with only a well-damped
twitch at the steering wheel.
The body structure feels stiff
as a hammer.

.
The Civic has been among

ly
the top three bestselling pas-
senger cars in the U.S. over
the past 50 years. The com-
on petitive set ain’t what it used
to be, now down to just a few
HONDA

old rivals, including the Toy-

ota Corolla and the Volks-
us ,

I HAVE PREPARED a thor- nameplate’s 50-year history; face. This jaded industry av- yesterday’s warmed-over gine overhaul. Henceforth, LX wagen Golf. Newcomers
ough brief on the 2025 it’s a technical marvel; it’s a erage, this joy-killing thresh- nothing burger? and Sport models will be Hyundai Elantra and Kia K4
l
e
Honda Civic Sport Touring genuinely excellent small car old is the benchmark. Any car that escapes the powered by the 2.0-liter I4, are also in the mix.
al a

Hybrid, an updated version of for a reasonable price. I have Don’t get me wrong. I look oppression of the benchmark with direct injection, variable The point is, the Civic hy-
the 11th design generation data points. for the good in every car, no makes me unreasonably intake/exhaust timing and a brid didn’t have to be as good
ci on

that debuted in 2022, which But first I can’t help shar- matter how rote, redundant happy. Which brings me to 13.0:1 compression ratio. Out- as it is to hang in with that
finally gets the hybrid power ing a moment. You see, I get and built to the penny it the 2025 Civic Sport Touring put: 150 hp and 133 lb-ft. lot. No. Honda specifically
plant it deserves. For the in and out of a lot of new may be. But there are just Hybrid. Hell, yeah. For Here’s where it gets inter- targeted the one, the only, the
benefit of those with early cars. Over time, one begins to so many bad cars. Being a $34,300 delivered, this thing esting: The new Sport and mother of all automotive
tee times, here are the take- recognize a sameness in car critic these days is like is trying harder. We might as Sport Touring Hybrids use a benchmarks, the Toyota Prius.
er s

aways: This is the best, most them, a shared and leveling being a waiter at a terrible well start with the softer- different 2.0-liter four and in Whodya rather? It is
overachieving Civic in the mediocrity just below the sur- restaurant. May I recommend than-strictly-necessary an utterly different way. In close. The finely drawn and fu-
m er

leather on the seats, steering the hybrid models, a 2.0-liter turistic Prius wins the swim-
wheel and shifter. I wish I had Atkinson-cycle four drives a suit competition, obviously.
pants like that. starter/generator, which pow- The Civic hatchback is dressed

Winter Sale!
While we’re in the cabin ers a 181-hp permanent-mag- like it’s got a court appearance.
m rp

please groove on the band of net traction motor, with a 1.1 The story is much the same in-
filigreed metal bisecting the kWh-battery in the loop to side: The Prius’ sensibility is
upholstered dash and con- buffer current. This is the sleek and future-curious; the
Classic Raincoats, cealing the HVAC outlets—
also considerably cut-above.
same series-parallel arrange-
ment as Honda’s CR-V and
Civic’s interior leans on legacy.
The switches, you know.
co Fo

The driver position is sur-

You Won’t Get Soaked rounded with conspicuously
sturdy, metal-capped switch- Let’s start with the softer-than-necessary
at $595 gear on the doors, steering
wheel and console. The mate-
leather on the seats, steering wheel and
Face the elements with confidence rials are substantial, the cabin shifter. I wish I had pants like that.
layout sober, serene and cere-
in our superbly tailored raincoats.
bral, just like me.
Made in Portugal from a cotton-rich If the center-mounted Accord hybrids, with some The Toyota is still the
blend fabric, our 100% waterproof touch screen looks dated, the modifications. The Civic’s benchmark in fuel efficiency,
and wind resistent coats will leave Google built in software be- small size required reorient- averaging 52 mpg, combined,
you snug and dry when the weather hind it is fresh as paint. The ing the twin-motor unit. for the front-drive Prius
n-

leaves something to be desired. Civic wirelessly groks Apple Much like the Chevy Volt XLE. The Prius LE does even
CarPlay and Android Auto. back in the day (2008), the better, scoring a whopping
These three-quarter length Wireless charging, too. The Civic’s engine output is en- 57 mpg.
raincoats have a removable Sport Touring Hybrid packs a trained directly to the front But the joy factor certainly
no

liner and are available in your Bose audio system with 12 wheels usually only at higher favors the Honda. It’s not
choice of navy, tan or charcoal. speakers. In the Toyota Prius, speeds, at times of high de- just the hybrid’s elastic accel-
eight is enough. mand or high load, bringing eration. The sport tuned sus-
Reg. price $795 ea. It appears that, yes, Honda the system max to 200 hp. pension gives the Civic sur-
really, really misses my busi- While the LX and Sport prisingly good handles for a
Use Code RAIN200 online With Promo Code $200 Off = $595
ness. I couldn’t help but be post adequate EPA fuel econ- little family sedan. The
to take Additional $200 Off touched. Verklempt, even. omy (36 and 34 mpg, com- mostly electric Civic also
The 11th-gen Civic debuted bined) the hybrid models soar edges the Prius in cabin iso-

Our Classic Corduroy, with a choice of 1.5- or 2.0-li-

ter engines, with output rang-
to 48 mpg.
Underway, the hybridized
lation and quiet.
At least I think it does. It
ing from 158-315 hp. For Civic is a smooth operator, a was hard to tell. I had tears of
A Wale of a Jacket. 2025, the lineup gets an en- trickster. Typically, the Atkin- joy in my ears.

$195
2025 HONDA CIVIC SPORT TOURING HYBRID (HATCHBACK)
Our final & lowest price of the year!
Exclusively tailored for us of the
finest 100% cotton, fine wale
corduroy fabric from Italy.
This classic sportcoat features
a soft corduroy for exceptional
comfort and is a definite must
for the well dressed man.
In burgundy, navy, black,
brown, olive or camel.
Reg. $395, Sale $295
With Promo Code $100 Off = $195

Use Code CORD100 online

to take Additional $100 Off
NYC LOCATION Since 1976 Price, as tested $34,300 synchronous motor (181 hp); Length/wheelbase/width/
Please visit us online:
440 Columbus Ave. (cor. 81 st.) Powertrain Series-parallel gas- 1.1-kWh lithium-ion battery. height 179.0/107.7/70.9/55.7
www.frankstellanyc.com Mon.-Sat. 10-7, Sun. 12-6 (212) 877-5566 electric hybrid, with a naturally Max power/torque 200 hp/ 0-60 mph 6.1 seconds (Motor
aspirated, direct-injection 2.0- 232 lb-ft from 0-2,000 rpm Trend)
Find Us on Facebook.com/frankstellanyc Find Us on Instagram.com/frankstellanyc Phone Orders Accepted liter inline four-cylinder engine Curb weight 3,289 pounds EPA fuel economy 50/45/48,
with variable valve timing; AC Cargo volume 24.5 cubic feet city/highway/combined
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D7

ADVENTURE & TRAVEL

from the trees. A muddy path led to Indeed, they make no demands of
an information board—installed their congregation of dog walkers
since my early visits—which ex- and picnickers. Only that your imag-
plained that this was Bryn Celli Ddu ination fills the blanks that archae-
(meaning “the hill of the dark ology cannot, and animates the
grove”), a 5,000-year-old tomb. scene with the ghosts of the pious,
It’s one of the best preserved of present here long ago. The quiet-
the Neolithic “long barrows” that ness of these places can be kindling
line Europe’s Atlantic coast, cited as for spells of deep thought.
the world’s oldest widespread tradi- I encountered just a few other
tion of stone architecture. Archaeol- visitors when I visited Bryn Celli
ogists have found human bones in- Ddu as an adult that fall afternoon.
side, along with arrowheads, mussel I suspected they were making a de-
shells and other flotsam of prehis- tour from the station with the long
toric lives. The mound is a relic of sign. Someone was chasing a Lab-
an age when humans chose to settle rador doing laps of the mound. An-
down and farm the land, a place other was taking a selfie. I waited
connected with the invention of until they were gone, and then
“home.” For me, the mound and its stepped again into the murk of the
surrounds represent home on a per- chamber. It seemed smaller now
sonal level. My mother has traced than it had decades before, but
her family tree back to villages with the same oppressive damp-
nearby, where the trail runs cold. ness. I detected a faint foretaste of
Over the past few years I have being buried alive. I wanted an ex-
been drawn to places like this. I cuse to leave, but no one was there
have stomped across farmland and to summon me home now.
moorlands, in England, Ireland and
France, to visit standing stones,
henges and other prehistoric sites. Let your imagination to
In bookstores, I have sought out
fill in the blanks that
FABIO CONSOLI

British Ordnance Survey maps, on

which such remains are marked in archaeology cannot.
a deliciously sinister Gothic script.
The places I’ve visited have origins
TRAVELER’S TALE / OLIVER SMITH ON THE ANCIENT SITE THAT WAS HIS CHILDHOOD PLAYGROUND that straddle many millennia, but Archaeologists and historians
they typically share a few common have offered many possible inter-
features. A half-legible information pretations of tombs like Bryn Celli
board. A silence interrupted by the Ddu: that they were intended as

Chasing Wonder in
creak of an iron gate, or the chug marks of ownership over the land-
of a distant tractor. scape, that their entrances were
I have also lured my young family, symbolic portals to other worlds.
on various pretexts, to ancient sites. But to me it seems likeliest they

.
The Ancient Past One summer afternoon, at the were shrines for ancestor worship,

ly
Nympsfield Long Barrow in south- storehouses of inherited memory. I
ern England, my 3-year-old son in- wondered if the dead had been
jured himself climbing a stone struc- placed inside to watch over and

I SPENT MANY childhood holidays

with my grandparents, in a pebble-
dashed house in Llanfairpwllgwyn-
on
from a narrow sea strait: a place
which once served as a kind of
childhood playground for me.
for childhood nightmares. To a 6-
year-old, it seemed like a human-
sized version of a badger’s den.
ture. Later, at the hospital, one
nurse pressed ice on a ping-pong
ball-sized bump on his forehead. An-
other wrote “Neolithic Megalith” on
guide their descendants from a
mound of earth.
I followed the trail back to my
car. And then drove homeward to
us ,

gyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil- The mound had a grassy slope Absorbed as I was then in child- the paperwork describing the injury. England—leaving behind the sta-
iogogogoch, North Wales. The you could roll down until you felt hood make-believe, I was uncer- There’s a reason I keep returning. tion with the long name, the old
l
e
village has the second-longest place nauseous. A gloomy tunnel mouth, tain what the mound really was Prehistoric sites, by definition, date pebble-dashed house where some-
al a

name in the world (losing out to a lined with slabs, revealed nooks and who built it. But I knew it was from a time before written history. one else lives now and the ceme-
hill in New Zealand), and one can of- where you could hide from parents old—possibly even older, I thought Bryn Celli Ddu, Nympsfield and oth- tery where my grandparents are
ci on

ten find tourists at the train station, or grandparents who were insisting incredulously, than my grandpar- ers were almost certainly sacred buried, not far from the mound, on
posing for photos next to the station it was time to come home. If you ents and the antique furniture that places—and yet they come with no the other side of the narrow strait.
sign, which is almost as long as the dared proceed farther down the filled their house. scripture, insist on no ritual. They
trains that stop there. tunnel, you saw the mound was I paid another visit to this little accommodate pilgrims like me who Oliver Smith is the author of ‘On
Fewer visitors make their way hollow: inside was a small, damp hillock a few months ago, late one struggle with the rigidities of orga- This Holy Island: A Modern Pil-
er s

to a curious mound a few fields chamber, filled with spider webs, fall afternoon. A cold wind blew off nized faith, but suspect answers can grimage Across Britain’ (Pegasus,
southwest of the village, not far crooked stones and other prompts the strait, shaking the last leaves be discerned in the soil and stone. March 4).
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no

From Our Home to Yours

Eco-friendly, high-performance paints made in our own factory in the UK.
Showroom now open:
9 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830
New Wallpaper Collection
‘Storybook Papers’ Coming Soon

Order free colour cards on littlegreene.us

 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D8 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

ADVENTURE & TRAVEL

An Oasis of Desert Cool

BY DAVID WEISS plete with whiskey tastings and a

C
“gun trick” show.
OME WINTER, The Congress also houses a
streams of snow- 100-year-old watering hole called
weary northerners Tiger’s Tap Room and the Century
pack their flip-flops
Tucson’s known for natural wonders. But for sun seekers after a different side of Room, which features live jazz
and pickleball paddles Arizona, the dynamic downtown is emerging as a destination in its own right. seven nights a week.
and make for the Sonoran Desert. A short stroll brings you back
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area is the to the city’s dusty colonial days.
default escape hatch for many, but The pastel-tinted quarter of Bar-
it can also seem like one endless rio Viejo—literally, the old neigh-
gated community. No wonder borhood—is best known for its
those seeking a getaway with a bit post-Civil War adobe row houses,
more soul often set a course 100 many of which have received a
miles south, to Tucson. face-lift. Head to the district, now
A human-scaled university occupied by artists, hip boutiques,
town that retains a just-right cantinas and cafes, to while away
amount of cowboy quirkiness, the an afternoon.
city has long been lauded for its Need to refuel? Swing by Exo
easy proximity to some of the Roast Co., a chic coffee shop com-
Southwest’s most spectacular nat- mitted to working with small pro-
ural wonders. Hikers and bikers ducers in Mexico. Also of note:
flock to its desert trails and the The Teatro Carmen, a landmark
city’s outlying precincts boast 106-year-old theater, which is be-
plenty of manicured golf courses ing restored into a community
and full-service resorts. But that’s arts center and cultural space.
just part of Tucson’s story. But perhaps no site is as em-
Lately, thanks to a burgeoning blematic of the city’s piety and
culinary scene and a well-at- pluck as its El Tiradito “wishing
tended roster of street fairs, festi- shrine.” Built in the 1870s to com-
vals and other initiatives, visitors memorate the death of a local sin-
are also waking up to the city’s ner-turned-folk-hero, the memorial
considerable cosmopolitan prevented the building of a free-
charms—making downtown a des- way project that would have dis-
tination in its own right. placed some 1,200 residents. To
Among Tucson’s most compel- this day, pilgrims come to leave
ling selling points is its cultural scrawled prayers and colorful vo-
dynamism. With a metro area FILLING STATION A charming Spanish-Colonial open-air market that sits near the end of the Sun Link Streetcar tive candles at its makeshift altar.
numbering nearly a million souls, line, the Mercado San Agustín makes an ideal stop for a leisurely lunch and souvenir shopping. When you’re ready to give your
feet a break, climb aboard the Sun
Link Streetcar, a 3.9 mile route
Traces of the city’s that passes through five of Tuc-
son’s buzziest downtown districts,
layered colonial past are from the University of Arizona to

.
evident everywhere in Mercado San Augustín. The lat-

ly
the food, folkways and ter’s public market houses local
stalwarts like La Estrella bakery,
architecture known for its tempting, tradi-

the city remains remarkably re-

flective of its distinct communi-
on tional pan dulce and freshly made
flour tortillas.
For a taste of local boho street
life, hop out in the Fourth Avenue
us ,

ties. Native Americans, mostly District, a thrumming hive of bis-

Pascua Yaqui and Tohono tros, bookstores, vintage western-
l
e
O’odham tribes, have called the wear boutiques and secondhand
al a

southeast part of the state home shops. Vinyl collectors swear by

for some 12 millennia. In the the Wooden Tooth, a used-record
ci on

1600s, Spanish missionaries ar- store and live-music venue. Fourth

rived and the region was under Avenue also hosts a biannual
Mexican rule until 1853. street fair—March 21 through 23
Today, traces of that colonial this spring—that attracts more
past are evident everywhere in the than a quarter-million revelers.
er s

city’s folkways, architecture and Only Tucson’s annual Gem and

food. Befitting Tucson’s status as Mineral Show is a bigger deal here
m er

a Unesco City of Gastronomy, its in mining country. Copper consti-

markets abound with locally tutes one of the “5 Cs” that pay
crafted cheese, bread and native the local bills alongside cotton,
ingredients like nopales, corn and citrus, cattle and climate.
m rp

chiles. But in this town of a thou- Clockwise from above And cactus, of course. Even
sand tacos, simple street food is left: A Sonoran hot dog avowed urbanites will want to
an equal draw. One popular guilty with the works from the carve out time in their schedule
pleasure: the bacon-wrapped So- James Beard Award- for a detour to Saguaro National
noran hot dog, crowned with to- winning family Park, parts of which hug the east-
co Fo

matoes, beans and a slather of restaurant El Güero ern and western edges of the city.
mayo and jalapeño sauce. Canelo; cactus-spotting The region’s iconic bent-armed
The historic Hotel Congress in Saguaro National cactuses can top 50 feet and live
serves as a strategic launching Park; known for its for 200 years—and are also prime
point for exploring the modern delectable Mexican habitat for spotting woodpeckers
downtown, while also offering a pastries, La Estrella has and screech owls.
whiff of Tucson’s lawless past. long been a staple of Prefer to do your nature-watch-
Bank robber and America’s first Tucson’s bustling ing at night? Thanks to its dark
Public Enemy Number One, John Mercado district. sky protocols and ample open
Dillinger, was captured while lodg- space, Tucson’s newly-launched
ing there in 1934—an event the “Astro Trail” is quickly becoming a
hotel celebrates annually during magnet for amateur astronomers
n-

its “Dillinger Days” weekend, re- and U.F.O. spotters alike.

THE LOWDOWN / A SNOWBIRD’S GUIDE TO

no

DOWNTOWN TUCSON AND BEYOND

Getting There Tucson Air- Starr Pass Resort & Spa

port (TUS), which is 8 offers everything from golf
miles from town, is served to waterslides and the ad-
by major hubs like Chicago jacent Sonoran Desert bik-
and Atlanta. The I-10 high- ing and hiking paths
way connects the city to (rooms from $577).
Phoenix in under two
hours. Thrice-weekly Am- Eating There Head to El
trak service is available via Güero Canelo to try a So-
the Sunset Limited train noran hot dog with all the
originating in Los Angeles trimmings. In operation
or New Orleans. since 1922, El Charro Café
is renowned for its carne
Staying There An ideal seca (marinated-dried
roost from which to survey beef) that’s aged the old-
the city, downtown’s over fashioned way—on the res-
100-year-old Hotel Con- taurant’s roof. The tasting
gress oozes Old-West menu at upscale Bata fea-
charm (rooms from $134). tures locavore, veggie-cen-
The JW Marriott Tucson tered dishes.
CASSIDY ARAIZA FOR WSJ

Bata’s sleek dining room makes a stylish backdrop for

locally sourced small plates and craft cocktails.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D9

EATING & DRINKING

Gewürztraminer or dry Mus- glass) and the Michel Mail-
cat. I’d also eschew a wine liard “Cuvée Gregory” Cham-
that’s high in alcohol, and I’ll pagne ($35 a glass) as aperi-
even put a number on that: tifs, paired with the
An aperitif wine should not restaurant’s tasting menu.
exceed 13% ABV. “To me, an aperitif wine is
While I’d never say no to one that shows minerality
a rosé Champagne, I’m and freshness—acid—with-
largely indifferent to the out being overly complicated
idea of opening with a pink or nuanced,” he wrote in an
wine. And I can’t think of email. As examples he of-
many red wines I’d choose fered extra-brut Blanc de
as an aperitif. It’s a matter Blancs Champagne, dry Ries-
of texture and flavor and, as ling, a “salty citrusy” Albar-
often as not, the already ino or unoaked Chardonnay.
cited, problematic oak. For One recommendation,
me, red wines have too from Jesse Carr, food and
much muchness—though I beverage director at the Vir-
have friends who drink red gin Hotel in New Orleans,
wines as aperitifs all the struck me as downright rad-
time, and some wine profes- ical. She often suggests kick-

This kind of wine is more like the trailer

than the full film, compelling, even
tantalizing, yet ultimately incomplete.

sionals I contacted told me ing off a meal with a tannic,

they suggest red wines as high-alcohol Zinfandel. Carr
aperitifs, too. explained that she likes to
Wine director Lee Camp- start out “a bit boozier, then
bell of Borgo restaurant in move to lighter items.” A
New York favors “quaffable” high-alcohol wine, she
and “fruit-forward” wines added, often makes diners
with softer tannins and min- “crave more food.”
erality as aperitifs. She isn’t Though that is perhaps a
ANDREA MANZATI (2)

averse to a red wine if it’s business-savvy move for a

light bodied, served chilled restaurant, I can’t imagine
and low in alcohol. (She em- opening with a 16%-alcohol
ploys the French shorthand Zinfandel and still managing

.
“apéro,” rather than “aperi- to drink another glass of any-

ly
tif.) One of Campbell’s favor- thing. But then I don’t live in a
ON WINE / LETTIE TEAGUE ite apéro wines, the 2023 town nicknamed the Big Easy.
Commonwealth Crush “Fam- Still, I was grateful for

‘Aperitif’ Wines: No,

on ily Meal,” an 11.5% ABV red,
contains a blend of several
white grapes, including
Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon
Carr’s perspective—more
proof, if I needed it, that
“aperitif” can mean different
things to different drinkers.

That’s Not an Insult.

us ,

Blanc, as well as the red I’ve decided the term is ulti-

grape Blaufränkish. It’s pro- mately neither insult nor
l
e
duced at a winery in Vir- praise, but simply, wonder-
al a

ginia’s Shenandoah Valley in fully promising. After all, if

which Campbell is a partner a good aperitif wine signals
ci on

and priced at $18 a glass and anything, it is more good

ON A RECENT evening I along with it? And if so, how ter all.) For me, an aperitif Chablis, Etna Bianco or $72 a bottle on the Borgo list. wines—ideally even more in-
handed a friend a glass of a do an aperitif wine and a non- wine isn’t styled to fully sat- Grüner Veltliner; even a very At Vida restaurant in Indi- teresting and complex—yet
particularly crisp, cold Cha- aperitif wine differ? isfy—and that’s no shortcom- dry Riesling. I would shy anapolis, wine director and to come.
blis. “This is a great aperi- When I describe a bottle ing. A wine of this kind is away from a white wine with general manager Jared May
er s

tif,” I said. But what, exactly, as a good aperitif wine, I more like the trailer to the oak aging or one with flam- offers the Domaine Rolet  Email Lettie at
did I mean by that term? mean that it delivers on a movie than the full film, boyant aromas, such as Crémant du Jura ($18 a [email protected].
m er

By labeling the wine as specific set of criteria. For compelling, even tantalizing,
such, was I signaling some starters, it whets the appetite yet ultimately incomplete.
lack of seriousness—a wine fit for whatever might follow. A great aperitif wine
only for the start of a meal but (The word aperitif derives should be lively and fairly
m rp

somehow unworthy of serving from the Latin “to open,” af- light-bodied with a brisk, re- MAKE ROOM FOR ALL OF YOU
freshing acidity. Champagne
typically fits this descrip-
©2023 California Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Franchises independently owned and operated. CT HIC #0657205. Photo: Baldomero

tion; indeed, it’s the first

wine that comes to my mind,
co Fo

most of the time, to open a

meal. A Blanc de Blancs
Champagne—a wine made
entirely from white grapes—
would be particularly good.
Second place would be just
about any other dry spar-
kling wine: a Crémant (the
name for Champagne-
method sparklers made in
French wine regions that
aren’t Champagne), or a
n-

good Cava from Spain.

Other wines on my aperi-
tif shortlist include the kind
that sommeliers frequently
no

feature in the front pages of

their wine lists: high-acid
white wines like Sancerre,

POWER TOOL

Never Buy Oat Milk Again

This elegant gadget cess tidily contained. Simply in discs with different-
will elevate your plunge in the immersion sized holes to produce
blender probably languishing in your preferred thickness.
soup game, too your kitchen drawer and get Then unscrew the bottom
near-instant gratification. section for quick cleanup.
In seconds, the Emulsionizer The chunky wood pestle $308 at JB Prince
produces oat and nut milks presses out every drop. Swap —Matthew Kronsberg
infinitely fresher (and often
cheaper) than the grocery
store brands. You can also
use it to give a sweet-corn
CALL , VIS IT A SHOWR OO M, O R G O O N L I N E TO S CHE D U L E
soup a bisque-like richness
without the addition of YOUR COMPLIMENTARY DESIGN CONSULTATION
dairy, or to imbue a 8 4 4 . 2 9 5 .14 0 2
quick seafood stock
with impressive inten-
sity and body by way New York City 26 Varick St | 1629 York Ave
of pulverized shrimp Nassau 25 Northern Blvd, Greenvale
shells. Come Thanks-
giving, your gravy will Westchester 16 Saw Mill River Rd, Hawthorne
earn actual raves. Rockland 83 S Main St, New City
In most profes-
Connecticut 565 Westport Ave, Norwalk
sional kitchens, achieving
comparable results involves Miami 900 Park Centre Blvd, Miami Gardens
a laborious series of steps
and a battery of vessels to
clean. The Emulsionizer’s CALIFORNIACLOSETS.COM
microscopically perforated
stainless-steel cylinder nes-
tles right into its own glass
MATTHEW COOK

pitcher to keep the entire

blending and straining pro-
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D10 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

EATING & DRINKING

Why We
All Want 2
Pasta Now
Continued from page D1
as stark and striking as a Franz
Kline canvas. In Philadelphia, a
city where red sauce reigns su-
preme, pasta assumes radical new
forms at Paffuto, where, for in-
stance, a slice of pepperoni pizza
is reimagined as a bowl of cava-
telli napped in a rich, ruddy pep-
peroni butter.
Wildweed’s tortelli could be
considered the poster child for
this new noodle wave. Big brother
of tortellini and little brother of
tortelloni, the purse-shaped
stuffed pasta originated in Italy’s
Emilia-Romagna region—but don’t
go looking in a Bolognese trattoria
1
for this one. Wildweed’s striped
tortelli sit in a shimmering
smoked-shrimp stock spiked with
a Vietnamese-style sauce combin-
ing fish sauce, celery vinegar and
sugar. The dough, a mix of barley
and semolina, is colored and fla-
vored by gochugaru, the Korean
pepper powder. Each pasta purse
is filled with sausage made with
heritage-breed chicken from a lo-
cal farm, Shaoxing wine, shallots
and bird’s-eye chiles.
“The tortelli is inspired by the
flavors of Vietnam,” said Jackman,
3
a Canadian who spent time at the

.
Catbird Seat in Nashville before

ly
moving to Cincinnati with his wife
and business partner, Lydia Jack-
man. Over several years, they
staged a couple hundred pop-ups to on
build a reputation in their adopted
city and raise capital to open their
restaurant—developing a sense of 6
us ,
l

The Pastas to Order in 2025

e
‘Pasta allows me to
al a

provide big, bold Here, 6 dishes that offer outstanding value and sheer dining delight. Many of these menus
ci on

flavors using higher are highly seasonal, so new and surprising pasta offerings will appear throughout the year.

priced ingredients in
1 Cavatelli With At the Michelin-starred 7 Adams, cotta and egg noodles finished

4
smaller portions.’ Pepperoni Butter married chef-owners David Fisher with Parmesan and a “tagine”
Paffuto, Philadelphia and Serena Chow Fisher serve a sauce of preserved summer to-
er s

At this small Italian tasting- plate of jet-black tagliatelle made matoes, warm spices and saffron
how to satisfy their clientele while menu spot, chefs Dan Griffiths, with charcoal powder, topped with And Don’t Miss Steamed clams
m er

eyeing the bottom line. Sam Kalkut and Jake Loeffler re- a sauce of black garlic, black trum- studded with kumquat in a pool
mix Italian-American classics— pet mushrooms and squid ink, plus of ‘nduja butter, best sopped up
Using Their Noodles turning a slice of a pepperoni a shower of smoked Parmesan. with a freshly made whole-
According to Aaron Adalja, assis- pizza, say, into a cavatelli swim- More Pioneering Pasta In an- wheat miche loaf.
m rp

tant professor of food and bever- ming in pepperoni-butter sauce. other of the chefs’ pasta innova-
age management at Cornell Uni-
versity’s Nolan School of Hotel
Administration, pastas have his-
More Pioneering Pasta House-
made spaghetti alla chitarra with
walnut, honey, shrimp, and a chile-
tions, honeynut squash ravioli
are formed into intricate ro-
settes, served with shavings of
5 Stuffed Farfalle
San Sabino, New York
San Sabino hums with the strange
torically been higher-margin menu cream sauce splits the difference Alba truffle applied tableside. and delicious. Inspired by crab sal-
co Fo

items—made inexpensively, from between Little Italy and Chinatown. And Don’t Miss Serena Chow ads from sushi joints, Angie Rito
little more than flour and water, And Don’t Miss During the day, Fisher’s desserts are a standout and Scott Tacinelli stuff these
yet consistently desirable. Cus- Paffuto turns out delicious fried here. The satsuma parfait—a hol- oversized farfalle with smoky crab
tomers perceive value in hand- envelopes of pizza dough called lowed out orange filled with a and top it with tobiko (flying fish
MIKE PRINCE (CAVATELLI); LEAH CHEN (TAGLIATELLE); WADE HALL (PAPPARDELLE); CHRIS VON HOLLE (TORTELLI); EVAN SUNG (FARFALLE); ISABEL SUBTIL (DOPPIO RAVIOLI)

made pasta, Adalja said: “There’s

craftsmanship. That’s an easy
story to sell.”
panzarotti in flavors like French
onion soup and roast pork.
yogurt mousse, honey brittle
shortbread and sumac-caramel-
ized apples, topped with satsuma
3 Stuffed Pappardelle
Maxwells Trading,
Chicago
roe) and rice crackers.
More Pioneering Pasta Pillowy
sheep’s milk gnudi backed by an
Right now, restaurants can use
an easy sell: The Bureau of Labor
Statistics reports that wholesale
2 Charcoal Tagliatelle
7 Adams, San Francisco
snow and lemon thyme—is a
winter signature.
Erling Wu-Bower grew up in Chi-
cago, the son of a Cajun father
and a Chinese chef and restau-
unusual second-line of clemen-
tine, mint and crispy peanuts.
And Don’t Miss Shrimp parm has
food costs keep rising, up 7% rant critic. Here he pays homage long been a dish that’s at worst
as of December over the previous to both in a leek-and-crawfish maligned, at best a red-sauce-
n-

year, while restaurant margins pappardelle, with a sauce nantua joint curiosity, but here it gets a
still hover between 3 and 5%. At (made with crawfish stock and glow-up. Three huge shrimp swim
the same time, according to the brandy), finished with Tabasco. in a sweet-and-sour-and-spicy ar-
2025 State of the Restaurant In- More Pioneering Pasta Soup- rabbiata sauce swirled with
no

dustry report by the National Res- dumpling tortellini made with creamy stracchino cheese.
taurant Association, 95% of con- maitake mushrooms and pork
sumers are increasingly value-
conscious. Even a short rib pasta
with a single short rib in it still
shoulder, in a mushroom broth.
And Don’t Miss A thick tranche
of roasted then bruléed Japanese
6 Doppio Ravioli
Dario, Minneapolis
This nods to a cheese course but
“feels plentiful,” said Elizabeth sweet potato atop a fragrant in pasta form. Dario chef Joe
Blau, CEO of Blau & Associates, a northern-Thai-style curry sauce, Rolle fills one pocket of his ravi-
global restaurant consultancy. “If scattered with fresh basil leaves. oli with sunchoke purée, the
you have a dish that’s going to other with ricotta, and tops the
make people happy but you can
control your costs, that’s a magic
formula,” she explained.
4 Ranger
Tortelli
Chicken
Wildweed, Cincinnati
pasta with a rich butter sauce,
honey, hazelnuts and rosemary.
More Pioneering Pasta Rolle
Rolle, at Dario in Minneapolis, David Jackman’s take on Viet- loves a double. “Maybe it’s my
said that the familiarity of pasta namese rice noodles features ADHD mind,” he admits. In an-
lets him flex his creativity. “The pasta purses striped with other hit from the pasta section,
goal is to give the customer some- gochugaru (Korean red chile an agnolotti perfect for winter,
thing they can identify with while powder), served in a smoked- one half contains succulent
keeping me and the cooks in the shrimp sauce amped up with short-rib, the other, polenta.
kitchen happy,” he explained. Vietnamese fish sauce, celery And Don’t Miss A zesty hira-
“Pasta allows me to provide big,
bold flavors using higher priced
ingredients in smaller portions.
The guest is happy and I don’t
have to sacrifice quality, ever.”
5 vinegar and sugar.
More Pioneering Pasta Lasagna
with heritage pork and fer-
mented chile ragù; citrus-laced ri-
masa crudo vibrates with acidity
from calamansi, ponzu, goose-
berry and yuzu kosho, balanced
by the creaminess of avocado.

If today’s chefs are using pasta

as a wolf in sheep’s-milk clothing,
it wasn’t so long ago that the op-
posite approach prevailed: making delphia, Italian cooking has always leeks and crawfish in a creamy fresco, saltines, aji amarillo and spectacle at Don Angie, home of
pasta new by going old, seeking been ripe for disruption. “Unlike sauce nantua finished with Ta- evaporated milk, but swapped out the pinwheel pasta that went In-
novelty in arcane and ancient French cuisine, there’s not a year basco, was born of his experience the lomo saltado (stir-fried beef) stagram-viral in 2023, and at their
forms. Strangolapreti, creste di zero, where everything became growing up half Chinese, half Ca- usually served with it for a chicken new restaurant, San Sabino.
gallo, trofie: the more obscure the codified. There hasn’t been an Es- jun. “When I think of winter, I Milanese marinated in soy sauce, There, they stuff farfalle with
shape, the smaller the village it coffier moment,” he said, referring think of New Orleans, where it’s garlic and sugar and crisp-fried. smoky crab and top it with tobiko
came from, the better. Chef Evan to the French chef Auguste Es- crawfish season,” he said. “It’s a Even in Italian kitchens, pasta (flying fish roe), Japanese rice
Funke’s Los Angeles trattoria Felix coffier, whose 1903 book “Le pasta that sounds crazy, but when is stretching to new lengths. At crackers and a crème fraîche-but-
led the way for these neo-tradi- Guide Culinaire” became the ur- you eat it, it makes sense.” Chicago’s Monteverde, Sarah Gru- termilk foam. “Don’t get me
tionalists; New York’s Rezdôra and text for French gastronomy. At Alora, a recent addition to eneberg devotes an entire section wrong. We have the utmost re-
Misi both exalted the uncommon Houston’s dining scene, Peruvian of her menu to “atipica” pasta, in- spect for Italian traditions,” said
forms. The sight of a team of sfo- My Pasta, My Self chef and co-owner Diego Ponce cluding a take on penne all’arrab- Rito. “But in our cooking, one of
gline (pasta makers) toiling away Pasta—once Italian, then Italian- worked with Vietnamese co-owner biata in which she tosses the the main things we try to do is
behind glass in a dedicated pasta- American—has become a much Ngoc Tran to rework Peruvian tal- chile-spiked sauce with long, thin have fun and take risks and switch
making room in an artisanal tab- more cosmopolitan affair. “We do larines a la Huancaína, tradition- tagliolini in a hot wok. things up. At the end of the day,
leaux vivant became widespread. city food by city kids,” said Wu- ally a cold pasta appetizer, into a And in New York’s West Village, people have seen these super-au-
In some ways, however, said Bower of Maxwells Trading in Chi- hot fettuccine. Ponce stayed true chefs Scott Tacinelli and Angie thentic things a million times. It’s
chef Tyler Akin of Bastia in Phila- cago. His pappardelle, made with to the Huancaína sauce of queso Rito continue to peddle pasta as time for something new.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 | D11

DESIGN & DECORATING

“It’s ironic, but when alcohol was
forbidden, people got more inter-
ested in finding new ways to serve
it in their homes,” she said. “A lot
of bar carts from that era have
funny design elements, like hidden
compartments for alcohol bottles.”
On Styylish, vintage bar cart
styles run the gamut of 20th-cen-
tury design: from midcentury
Danish teak to ’70s black-glass-
and-chrome, to neoclassical
brass filigree.
“What they have in common is
that bar carts have a very social
aspect—they signal you might be
about to have friends over for a
party,” she said.
“They do add a certain grown-
up-ness, a sophistication to a
JOHN W. TOMAC (ILLUSTRATION);; MICHELLE SLATALLA (BAR CART)

room,” I said.
Of course we used to think that
ashtrays were a design element
that added sophistication. But
then smoking got banned, and you
never see ashtrays any more. With
the surgeon general recently call-

I don’t want mine to have

a new purpose as toy
storage or a flower cart.

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DECOR / MICHELLE SLATALLA ing for stronger health warnings
about alcohol and new research in-
dicating there’s no “healthy”

If I’m Sober-Curious, Do I
amount to drink, will bar carts
also disappear from our lives?
“I don’t think so,” said Sally Au-
gustin, a Chicago-based environ-

.
Have to Toss My Bar Cart?
mental psychologist. “They’re too

ly
handy for too many purposes.”
But I realized: I don’t want mine
to have a new purpose as toy stor-

AFTER ALL the recent health news

that’s come out about how bad al-
on
ditioned to salivate at the prospect
of food, I have been conditioned to
cart to create a vignette in a little-
used corner of a room.”
age or a flower cart. It looks beau-
tiful as its maker intended,
adorned with a brass tray and col-
orful bottles of liquor and an ador-
us ,

cohol is for you, I have cut back on crave a cocktail whenever I walk Other creative uses she’s found able brass shot glass.
drinking. past my bar cart. include “putting toys on it in a “You can make other small
l
e
But my bar cart still whispers to “When the light shines through playroom or art supplies on it in a changes in your environment—it’s
al a

me every day when I walk past it the gin, it looks so…inviting,” I ad- crafts room. And it’s easy to move called nudging—that will make it
at 5 p.m., when the light falls just mitted, fantasizing about a crisp it if you want to make Caesar less likely that you will indulge in a
ci on

so on the gin bottle. Hendrick’s martini with just a salad on it at a dinner party.” negative habit even if the bar cart
“Hi, stranger,” Bar Cart coos whiff of vermouth. And two olives. When it comes to bar carts, she is still in the room,” Augustin said.
seductively. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he agreed. loves all shapes—rectangles, ovals One example of nudging: Turn
I avert my eyes from the brass- “I see the cocktail shaker gleam- and round carts—and sizes. If it’s on bright lights as evening ap-
and-glass temptation, ignoring its ing, and I think about the nice really tiny, put a chair next to it to proaches because studies show
er s

come-hither display of shiny cock- sound when it’s full of ice and I’m give it more weight in the room, that in general people have better
tail shakers and graceful, stemmed shaking it up,” I said. she suggests. If it’s large, put it be- self-control in a space where the
m er

Nick-and-Nora martini glasses. “OK, that’s two cues—the bottle hind a sofa with a lamp to add light is brighter, she said.
“Just looking?” it asks. and the cocktail shaker—and they depth to a room. Another way to boost self-con-
My bar cart used to be my favor- can be hard to resist, despite best “But I do prefer a brass cart, trol is to hang a mirror on a wall.
ite piece of furniture, with its curvy intentions, on days when you are because it adds sparkle,” she said. “If you can see yourself in a mir-
m rp

Deco frame and jaunty brass tired or you are stressed,” he said. In fact, bar carts—and their ror, research shows you are more
wheels. But now that I’m sober-ish? “I recommend people who are try- bar-furniture ancestors from ear- likely to act in a socially appropri-
“I feel like my old friend the ing not to drink don’t keep alcohol lier centuries—have always been ate way,” she said.
bar cart has turned on me and be- in the house.” The author’s problematic cart.. prized for their pizazz, said Silke “You know, a mirror would look
come a bad influence,” I told Keith “Maybe I could get rid of the al- Berlinghof-Nielsen, furniture histo- really good hanging above my bar
co Fo

Humphreys, a Stanford University cohol but keep the cart?” I asked. ganza on wheels.” rian and owner of online vintage cart,” I said.
psychologist whom I called for ad- “Try it,” he said. “If the bar cart Morris thinks of a bar cart as a furniture shop Styylish. After I hung up, I got out a
vice. “Can having a specific piece is still a cue, cover it up.” decor chameleon. “A bar cart is a “Ever since wealthy 18th-cen- measuring tape and took some
of furniture in my house be bad Like, throw a shroud over it? treat in a room, and because it’s tury European aristocrats started notes. Twilight fell while I was
for my health?” There are better solutions, said small and on wheels, there are many displaying their liquor collections browsing Etsy for vintage gilt mir-
“Well, it is sending you a behav- Lori Morris, a Toronto interior de- ways you can use it,” Morris said. in special cabinets with glass rors and I didn’t even notice the
ioral cue every time you see it,” he signer and bar cart champion who “I used one in a dining room for doors, bar furniture has been a lux- gin bottle. Maybe I am ready for
said. “And humans are not much recently decorated a room in a a gentleman who wanted the for- urious statement piece,” she said. change. How would my husband
more advanced than Pavlov’s dog condo in Florida with three side- mality of chateaubriand being de- We can thank Prohibition for look in a chef’s toque, pushing his
when it comes to behavioral cues.” by-side bar carts because “three livered to the table by a chef,” she the birth of the mobile bar cart, famous chateaubriand into the
In other words, like a dog con- next to each other is an extrava- said. “Or it can be used as a flower Berlinghof-Nielsen said. dining room?
n-

CHIC TRICK
no

Floors With Ye Olde Street Cred

Cobblestones and their ilk make their way indoors. Ouch?
“WHOSE IDEA was it to lay a walkway from linking outdoors and indoors with pavers that
‘Game of Thrones’ inside a residential home?” stand up to dripping Wellies and mucky paws.
opined one Reddit user discussing cobble- The application suits spill-prone kitchens, too. In
stone flooring in a hallway. Turns out quite a a log cabin snuggled in forested, rocky hills out-
few designers are installing materials once re- side Seattle, designer Jessica Nelson laid lime-
served for old-world streets—minus the hob- stone kitchen tiles made to look like Belgian
bling unevenness and gaps that make touring block, a cobblestone alternative. “This is a high-
European towns grueling. traffic area, and we wanted a rustic, vintage,
natural-stone look because of the home’s set-
The Appeal ting and the natural wood throughout,” she said.
Pros deploy the blocks and look-alikes in transi-
tional spaces such as sunrooms and mudrooms, The Tips
Purely modern homes don’t wear the stony
style well. “I think it lends [itself] to any tradi-
tional space where classic elements come
through,” said Laura Lubin, of Nashville’s Eller-
slie Interiors. The designer chose a brown-
tinged cobblestone to complement a tradition-
ally trimmed mud room. Lubin also notes that
cobblestone averages a chunky ½ to ¾ inches
in thickness. Be aware that such a floor might
not sit flush with an adjoining floor.

The Caveats
Installation of real stone can cost from $28-
LAURA LUBIN (LEFT); CARINA SKROBECKI (RIGHT)

$145 a square foot. Contractor rates vary

widely, says Corrin Thomas of Leestone Interi-
ors, a design and contracting firm in New York.
Genuine pavers will need resealing annually,
which is why many pros go for ersatz. “We
chose a damn good porcelain replica of authen-
tic old Chicago bricks,” said Krista Nye Nicholas,
whose Ann Arbor, Mich., design firm, Cloth &
Kind, laid the doppelgänger tiles in a mud
French cobblestone ballasts a mudroom by room. “They look amazing and are easy to
Nashville firm Ellerslie Interiors. maintain, clean and live with.” —Abid Haque CLASSIC ROCKS Seattle designer Jessica Nelson lined a kitchen with Belgian-block look-alike tiles.

The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

D12 | Saturday/Sunday, February 15 - 16, 2025 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on
er s
m er
m rp
co Fo

Poetic Complications
Lady Féerie
n-
no

Haute Joaillerie,
oaillerie, place Vendôme since 1906

vancleefarpels.com - 877-VAN-CLEEF