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Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran hard; Khamenei says damage should not be exaggerated
By Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Makary
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel’s airstrikes “hit hard” Iran’s defences and missile production, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country was considering its response.
With warfare raging in Gaza and Lebanon, direct confrontation between Israel and Iran risks spiralling into a regional conflagration. But a day after the airstrikes, there was no sign they would spark another round of escalation.
However, heavy fighting in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which sharply intensified over recent weeks, continued on Sunday with an Israeli airstrike killing eight people in a residential block in Sidon, medics said.
“The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran’s defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us,” Netanyahu said in a speech, calling the attack “precise and powerful” and saying it met all its objectives.
The Islamic Republic has not signalled how it will respond to Saturday’s long-anticipated strikes, which involved scores of fighter jets bombing targets near the capital Tehran and in the western provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan.
The U.N. Security Council will likely meet to discuss the attack on Monday, diplomats said.
The heavily armed arch-enemies have engaged in a cycle of retaliatory moves against each other for months, with Saturday’s strike coming after an Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1, much of which Israel said was downed by its air defences.
Khamenei said Israel’s calculations “should be disrupted”. The attack on Iran, which killed four soldiers and caused some damage, “should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated”, he said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was not looking for war but would give an “appropriate response”.
U.S. President Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of a wider Middle East war arising from the year-old Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Israel’s thrust into south Lebanon to stop Hezbollah rocketing northern Israel.
Separately, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Iran was no longer able to use its allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel. The two groups “are no longer an effective tool” of Tehran, he said in a speech.
Gallant added that Hamas was no longer functioning as a military network in Gaza and that Hezbollah’s senior command and most of its missile capabilities had been eliminated.
Hamas has repeatedly said it is still able to function militarily, and Israel has recently conducted major new operations in devastated north Gaza against what it calls regrouping Hamas militants.
Hezbollah has said its command structure remains intact and that it retains significant missile capabilities.
LEBANON FIGHTING
On Sunday, the Israeli military urged residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately and move north of the Awali river.
An Israeli strike on Sidon, a city in coastal south Lebanon, killed at least eight people and wounded 25 on Sunday, the country’s health ministry said.
Elsewhere in the south, a strike on Zawtar al-Sharkiya killed three people and a Saturday bombing of Marjayoun killed five, it said.
Israel said four of its soldiers were killed in south Lebanon fighting.
Hezbollah also said it had fired a large missile salvo at the Zevulon military industries facility north of Haifa in northern Israel. Hezbollah rockets hit a house and cars and rescue crews responded to put out the fire.
One woman was seriously injured, according to Israel’s ambulance service.
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.
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.
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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