Stock Markets
Mitzi Gaynor, star of Hollywood musicals, dies at 93
By Bill Trott
(Reuters) – Mitzi Gaynor, whose singing and dancing brightened Hollywood musicals throughout the 1950s, including trying unsuccessfully to “wash that man right outa my hair” as nurse Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific,” has died at the age of 93.
Gaynor died peacefully of natural causes, her management team said on Thursday.
“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage… Off stage she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being,” they wrote on X.
Gaynor had prominent roles in “There’s No Business Like Show Business” in 1954 with Ethel Merman and Marilyn Monroe and in the 1957 films “Les Girls” with Gene Kelly and the “The Joker Is Wild” with Frank Sinatra. The previous year she starred with Bing Crosby and Donald O’Connor in “Anything Goes,” singing Cole Porter’s title song.
Gaynor’s movie career lasted a little more than a decade but she went on to success as a nightclub performer and put on a series of annual television variety specials in the 1960s and 1970s. She was still performing an autobiographical stage show – a mix of singing, dancing and remembrances titled “Razzle Dazzle! My Life Behind the Sequins” – in her 80s.
Gaynor was born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago. Her mother was a dancer and her father a violinist and musical director. After a move to California she became part of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera (NASDAQ:), adding three years to her age to make the company believe she was 16. Executives from 20th Century Fox spotted her and offered her a contract.
Actor George Jessel told her that her last name brought to mind a delicatessen or the Gerber baby food company and she followed his suggestion to change it to Gaynor.
NO LACK OF ENERGY
Her first film was the Betty Grable-Dan Dailey musical “My Blue Heaven” in 1950 and she would go on to make nearly 20 movies that called for a singer or dancer with lots of energy.
Gaynor, discussing her enthusiasm for performing, once said, “If there were four people waiting for the streetcar, I’d put on an entire act.”
Pianist Oscar Levant, watching Gaynor dance on the set of “The I Don’t Care Girl,” said of her: “There’s nothing wrong with being an exhibitionist – if you’ve got something to exhibit.”
As her career was building, Gaynor dated industrialist-studio chief Howard Hughes (NYSE:).
“He was dashing, handsome, rich, mysterious,” she said. “I fell madly in love with him. There were airplanes, a whirlwind courtship and, after five months, he proposed.”
She broke it off and instead married Jack Bean, who would become her manager and only husband.
Gaynor’s Hollywood highlight was the film version of Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1949 stage musical “South Pacific,” which had won 10 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The 1958 movie had been long awaited and Gaynor was cast in the prized role that Mary Martin had played on Broadway.
She played Nellie Forbush, a naive young nurse from Arkansas stationed in the Pacific during World War Two who falls in love with Emile De Becque, a French expatriate planter played by Rossano Brazzi. Nellie turns down De Becque’s marriage proposal because he has two mixed-race children but when he goes missing during a Navy-backed mission against the Japanese, Nellie realizes her racial prejudice is misguided and grows to love the children.
The film was not a critical success but still was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Gaynor’s performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
The movie soundtrack was brimming with songs that became popular standards, such as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha’i,” “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy” and “Younger Than Springtime.” Gaynor singing the bouncy “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” on the beach was one of the film’s standout scenes as her character tried to get over De Becque.
With the era of Hollywood musicals fading, Gaynor’s last screen role was “For Love or Money,” which paired her with Kirk Douglas, in 1963.
She then concentrated on live stage shows and became a regular performer in the big Las Vegas resorts. She also staged frequent television variety specials, starting in 1967, with titles such as “Mitzi … A Tribute to the American Housewife,” “Mitzi … And a Hundred Guys” and “Mitzi … What’s Hot, What’s Not.”
She also appeared as a performer at the Academy Awards several times, notably singing the theme song from “Georgy Girl” at the 1967 ceremony when it won an Oscar for best original song.
It was during her Las Vegas run that Gaynor teamed up with a young Bob Mackie and helped him start his career as a costumer with a flair for rhinestones, sequins, beads, feathers and tassels. Mackie also created the gowns she wore on her television specials.
Gaynor and Bean, who were married for 52 years until his 2006 death, had no children.
Stock Markets
Treasury yields rise, stock falls pressured by stronger-than-expected US. jobs data
By Chibuike Oguh and Amanda Cooper
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stocks were lower while U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates elevated for longer than traders were betting on.
Wall Street’s main indexes were trading lower, with technology, financials, real estate and consumer discretionary stocks driving losses. Energy stocks were trading higher.
The Labor Department data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy created 256,000 jobs in December, beating analyst expectations of 160,000, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
“This one of those classic good-news-is-bad-news types of data point,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management in Santa Monica, California. “When I think about the economic data that’s good for growth, but it certainly weighs on the yield picture and kind of puts a bit of a bind when it comes to lowering rates. And I think the market is trying to sort that out.”
Markets are now pricing in a single Fed rate cut no sooner than June. Prior to the jobs report, traders were expecting the Fed to cut rates as early as May with a 50% probability of another rate cut before year end, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 6.6 basis points to 4.747%. It had reached as high as 4.79%, its highest level since November 2023.
The fell 1.69% to 41,916.63, the fell 1.79% to 5,812.30 and the fell 2.13% to 19,064.05.
Shares in small cap companies, which can be more vulnerable to fluctuations in interest rates, came under the most intense pressure, leaving the down 2.5% on the session.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 1.59% to 832.14. The pan-European finished down 0.84%, dragged down by utilities, consumer non-cyclical, and real estate stocks.
“Bond yields are climbing today because the ability to cut further is going to be diminished after today’s report even though I always advise to look at January numbers with a grain of salt given seasonality issues that work itself out in the next couple of months,” St. Aubin added.
Government bond yields have jumped higher this week amid a broad market selloff that pushed long-dated borrowing costs to multi-year highs.
The turmoil in the fixed income market has hit UK government bonds particularly hard, pushing 30-year gilt yields to their highest since 1998, as investors grow increasingly worried about Britain’s finances.
The , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,rose 0.45% to 109.69. It reached as high as 109.97, its highest level since November 2022.
The euro was down 0.59% at $1.0237, dropping to its lowest level since November 2022 on the session. The pound fell for a fourth day, dropping by as much as 0.91% to $1.2189, its lowest since November 2023. It last traded down 0.76% at $1.221.
Oil prices rallied nearly 3% to their highest in three months, as traders braced for supply disruptions from the broad U.S. sanctions package targeting Russian oil and gas revenue.[O/R]
futures were up 3.4% to $79.55 a barrel, after its highest since October. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 3.29% to $76.35, also a three-month high.
Gold prices rose and were on track for the fourth straight day of gains. rose 0.98% to $2,696.33 an ounce. U.S. rose 0.98% to $2,710.00 an ounce.
Stock Markets
RBG Holdings enters exclusive sale talks with founder
LONDON – RBG Holdings plc (AIM: RBGP), a prominent legal services group, has entered into an exclusive negotiation period with its founder, Mr. Ian Rosenblatt, and associated parties for the potential sale of its ‘Rosenblatt’ branded business and certain assets. The talks, initiated on Tuesday, are set to advance a sale to Rosenblatt Law Limited (formerly AWH Acquisition Corp Corporate Limited).
The exclusive period, effective from today until January 24, 2025, aims to facilitate a swift and cooperative discussion regarding the disposal of the business. During this time, both parties have agreed to operate in good faith, abstain from legal actions against one another, and withdraw any ongoing or pending disputes. This includes a winding-up petition issued by Mr. Rosenblatt on January 7 and a general meeting requisition notice dated December 23, 2024.
Mr. Rosenblatt, a significant shareholder in RBG Holdings, has provided evidence of his ownership of Rosenblatt Law Limited since December 19, 2024. Any terms of the potential disposal will be subject to the AIM Rule 13, which pertains to transactions with related parties.
RBG Holdings plans to provide further updates after the discussions have progressed. The company, which includes subsidiaries RBG Legal Services Limited and RBL Law Limited, has been a fixture in the legal services market, with Rosenblatt established in 1989 and Memery Crystal in 1979.
The information about this exclusive negotiation period is based on a press release statement from RBG Holdings plc.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Stock Markets
Radcom stock soars to 52-week high, hits $12.94
Radcom Ltd . (NASDAQ:) shares have surged to a 52-week high, reaching a price level of $12.94, as investors rally behind the company’s strong performance. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains an impressive “GREAT” financial health score of 3.38, with a robust current ratio of 4.18 indicating strong liquidity. This peak represents a significant milestone for the network software provider, reflecting a robust year-over-year growth of 17.8% in revenue. Over the past year, Radcom’s stock has witnessed an impressive 65.37% increase, underscoring the company’s expanding market presence and investor confidence in its strategic direction. The 52-week high serves as a testament to Radcom’s potential in the competitive tech landscape, as the company continues to innovate and capture market share. InvestingPro subscribers have access to 12 additional key insights about RDCM, including detailed valuation metrics and growth forecasts, essential for making informed investment decisions.
In other recent news, RADCOM Ltd. reported a record revenue of $15.8 million in its third quarter of 2024, a notable 20% increase from the same period last year. The company also announced the appointment of Benny Eppstein as the new CEO, effective December 1st. This growth in revenue is attributed to the strong demand for RADCOM’s cloud-based assurance solutions, particularly in North America and Europe. The company has also raised its full-year 2024 revenue guidance to between $59 million and $62 million, along with a significant increase in profitability, reporting a non-GAAP net income of $3.7 million.
In addition to these financial highlights, RADCOM secured a multi-year contract with a North American operator and anticipates growth in Voice over New Radio (VoNR) technologies by 2025. The company is optimistic about maintaining growth and profitability, with a significant portion of revenue coming from multi-year contracts. RADCOM’s strategy for growth includes investments in AI and analytics to strengthen its market position in cloud assurance. The company is also expecting to capitalize on 5G advancements and VoNR deployments anticipated in 2025.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
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