Connect with us
  • tg

Stock Markets

Hamas official says it has received new proposal for three-stage truce

letizo News

Published

on

Hamas official says it has received new proposal for three-stage truce
© Reuters. Satellite view of the U.S. military outpost known as Tower 22, in Rukban, Rwaished District, Jordan October 12, 2023 in this handout image. Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS

By Raneen Sawafta, Fadi Shana and Nidal al-Mughrabi

WEST BANK/GAZA/DOHA (Reuters) -Hamas said on Tuesday it had received and was studying a new proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, presented by mediators after talks with Israel, in what appeared to be the most serious peace initiative for months.

A senior Hamas official said the proposal involved a three-stage truce, during which the group would first release remaining civilians among hostages it captured on Oct. 7, then soldiers, and finally the bodies of hostages that were killed.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not indicate how long the three stages would last or what was envisioned to follow the final stage.

But it was the first time since the collapse of the only brief truce of the war so far, in late November, that details were released of a new proposal being considered by both sides.

The ceasefire proposal followed talks in Paris involving CIA Director William Burns, Qatar’s prime minister, the chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and the head of Egyptian intelligence.

In a mark of the seriousness of the negotiations, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said he was going to Cairo to discuss it, his first public trip there for more than a month.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his vow not to pull troops out of Gaza until “total victory”, a reminder of the huge gap in the public stances of the warring sides about what it would take to halt combat even temporarily.

Hamas, whose fighters precipitated the war by storming into Israeli towns on Oct. 7 killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, says it will release its remaining captives only as part of a wider deal to end the war permanently.

Israel, which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians so far in a war that has devastated the enclave, says it will not stop fighting until the militant group which has ruled Gaza since 2007 is entirely eradicated.

Netanyahu is under pressure from Israel’s closest ally the United States to chart a clear path towards ending the war, and domestically from relatives of hostages who worry that negotiations are the only way to bring them home. But far-right parties in his ruling coalition say they will quit rather than endorse a deal to free hostages that left Hamas intact.

HOSPITAL RAID

The diplomatic advances were announced hours after Israeli commandos, disguised as medical workers and Muslim women, stormed into a hospital in the West Bank in an undercover raid. They killed three Palestinian militants, including a paralysed fighter shot dead on the bed where he was being treated.

In Gaza itself, there was intense fighting in both the northern and southern halves of the enclave, with battle resuming in the north even as Israeli forces are trying to storm the main southern city Khan Younis.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli troops advancing in Khan Younis stormed the hospital where the rescue service has its headquarters, and ordered staff and displaced civilians out at gunpoint. Israel denied this.

Reuters could not independently verify either account.

Fighting intensified around Gaza’s largest hospital still in service, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which is surrounded by Israeli troops, the World Health Organization said.

Hamas leader Haniyeh said he was studying the ceasefire proposal. The priority for Hamas was to end the Israeli offensive – now in its fourth month – and secure a full pull-out of Israeli forces from Gaza, Haniyeh said.

Netanyahu, speaking during a visit to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, said: “We will not compromise on anything less than total victory.”

“That means eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

Until then no Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails, Netanyahu said.

Sami Abu Zuhri, another senior Hamas official, said Netanyahu’s comments “prove he isn’t interested in the success of the Paris meeting and doesn’t care about (Israeli) prisoners’ lives”.

DRESSED AS MEDICS

In the raid at the Ibn Sina (BitStamp:) hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, about a dozen troops, including three in women’s garb and two dressed as Palestinian medical staff, paced through a corridor with rifles, CCTV footage showed.

Hamas said one of the men killed was a Hamas member. Islamic Jihad said the other two killed were brothers who belonged to it. Ibn Sina said one of the brothers had been receiving treatment for an injury that paralysed his legs.

The Israeli military said one of the men was armed, and one was planning an attack on Israel similar to Oct. 7 from inside the hospital. It said the incident showed militants were using civilian areas and hospitals as shelters and “human shields”.

But Palestinian officials said the three were not engaged in fighting, and called the raid a violation of humanitarian law which protects hospitals treating wounded combatants.

The Israeli undercover squad broke into the hospital, headed to the third floor and killed them using silenced pistols, hospital sources said.

“They executed the three men as they slept in the room… in cold blood, by firing bullets directly into their heads inside the room, where they were being treated,” hospital director Najy Nazzal said.

In Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials held a mass burial on Tuesday for around 100 unidentified bodies handed over by Israel, including some believed to have been dug up from cemeteries by advancing Israel troops.

Issa Abu Sarhan had come to look for his son among the corpses.

“I had buried my son in Al-Nimsawi cemetery in Khan Younis, and I heard that the Jews took the bodies from the cemetery, so I came here when I heard that bodies had been received to search for my son,” he said.

Stock Markets

Sound Financial Bancorp director sells shares worth over $22,000

letizo News

Published

on

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) reported a notable transaction involving one of its directors, David S. Haddad Jr., who sold shares in the company. The sale totaled over $22,000, with shares priced at $39.3 each.

On May 14, 2024, Haddad engaged in a transaction that resulted in the sale of 564 shares of common stock of Sound Financial Bancorp. The shares were sold at a price of $39.3, amounting to a total value of $22,165. Following this transaction, the director’s ownership in the company was adjusted to 3,928 shares of common stock.

The filing, which was made public on May 15, reveals the details of the sale and provides insight into the director’s remaining stake in the company. It’s worth noting that the transactions occurred within the guidelines and reporting requirements set by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investors and market watchers often scrutinize such filings for indications of an insider’s belief in the company’s future performance. Transactions like these are standard and are required to be reported to the SEC to maintain transparency in the financial markets.

Sound Financial Bancorp, based in Seattle, Washington, operates as a federally chartered savings institution. The company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol SFBC.

InvestingPro Insights

Amid the recent transaction by Director David S. Haddad Jr., Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) presents a mixed financial outlook. According to real-time data from InvestingPro, the company has a market capitalization of approximately $99.92 million, with a Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio standing at 16.72, reflecting market sentiment towards its earnings capacity. The P/E ratio has remained quite stable, with the last twelve months as of Q1 2024 showing a minor adjustment to 16.67.

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.

One of the key InvestingPro Tips highlights that Sound Financial Bancorp has maintained dividend payments for 12 consecutive years, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders. This is further evidenced by a dividend yield of 1.93% as of the latest data. Additionally, the company’s gross profit for the last twelve months as of Q1 2024 was reported at $37.39 million, despite a noted weakness in gross profit margins as per another InvestingPro Tip. This could be a point of consideration for investors assessing the company’s profitability against its revenue growth, which has seen a decline of 6.49% over the same period.

Investors interested in a deeper dive into Sound Financial Bancorp’s financial health can explore more InvestingPro Tips for the company at https://www.investing.com/pro/SFBC. Currently, there are additional tips available, providing a comprehensive analysis of the company’s performance and potential investment risks or opportunities. For those considering an InvestingPro subscription, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to receive an additional 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription, offering valuable insights to inform your investment decisions.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Continue Reading

Stock Markets

monday.com shares target raised by Canaccord Genuity

letizo News

Published

on

On Wednesday, Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY (NASDAQ:)) and increased its stock price target to $250 from the previous $220. This adjustment follows a notable rise in the company’s shares, which have rebounded sharply, almost erasing their recent decline.

The firm’s shares are currently trading at approximately 8.5 times enterprise value to revenue (EV/R) and less than 40 times enterprise value to free cash flow (EV/FCF) based on 2025 estimates.

monday.com, known for its high gross margins nearing 90%, operates with a business model that allows for significant control over its profitability. The company’s go-to-market (GTM) spending is primarily driven by performance-based marketing, which can be adjusted according to market signals. This flexibility provides the firm with the ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions.

The analyst highlighted monday.com’s potential for growth in the multi-product adoption space. With the opportunity for new product introductions in the coming years, the company is expected to see continued positive developments. Moreover, the analyst anticipates that pricing will positively impact the company’s financial metrics over the next few quarters.

Canaccord Genuity’s stance is that the intermediate-term news flow for monday.com is likely to remain favorable. The firm’s position suggests that monday.com is a stock that software growth investors should retain in their portfolios. The analyst’s outlook is based on the company’s solid fundamentals and potential for future product expansion.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.
Continue Reading

Stock Markets

Air Products’ Eric Guter, Global Vice President, Hydrogen, to Provide Keynote Address at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Las Vegas on May 20

letizo News

Published

on

Air Products (NYSE:) will Showcase its Hydrogen Solutions for the Heavy-Duty Trucking Industry at the Expo

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products’ (NYSE:APD) Eric Guter, Global Vice President, Hydrogen, will provide a keynote address, titled “Preparing for a Zero-Emission Trucking Future,” at 12:30 p.m. PT on Monday, May 20 at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“Clean hydrogen is the solution to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy-duty transportation,” said Guter. “As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products has made a commitment to invest $15 billion in clean energy projects around the globe to accelerate the energy transition and build the robust ecosystem needed to meet our collective climate change goals and generate a cleaner future for everyone.”

Expo attendees are invited to stop by Air Products’ booth #2030 on the exhibit floor to learn more about Air Products’ hydrogen solutions for the heavy-duty trucking and transportation sectors and meet our team of energy innovators.

For more than a decade, ACT Expo has united the transportation sector in its effort to reduce emissions from the movement of goods, the service industry and passenger transportation, while also driving economic sustainability. This year’s Expo will be held from May 20 to May 23.

As the world’s largest hydrogen producer, Air Products has experience across the full value chain for hydrogen and is driving sustainable growth by building, owning and operating the world’s largest production, carbon capture, transportation and fueling projects related to hydrogen. The company’s technologies are used in over 1.5 million refuelings annually across 20 countries. With over 65 years of global hydrogen experience operating in over 50 countries, Air Products has the proven capability and know-how to make hydrogen through all available production methods and to distribute this increasingly important emission-free fuel safely, reliably, and economically.

For more detailed information visit Air Products’ hydrogen fueling for trucks webpage.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 80 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets. The Company has two growth pillars driven by sustainability. Air Products’ base business provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food. The Company also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors. Additionally, Air Products is the world leader in the supply of liquefied process technology and equipment, and provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

The Company had fiscal 2023 sales of $12.6 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of over $50 billion. Approximately 23,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products’ higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and reimagine what’s possible to address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook (NASDAQ:) or Instagram.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.
Continue Reading

Trending

©2021-2024 Letizo All Rights Reserved