Latest news with #Alter
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Buy Disney as cruise and streaming businesses pick up steam, Jefferies says
Jefferies sees a rosy outlook ahead for Walt Disney . The bank upgraded shares of the entertainment giant to buy from hold. Analyst Ed Alter also lifted his price target to $144 per share from $100, implying nearly 18% upside from Friday's close. Alter pointed to the launch of two new cruise ships in the first quarter of next year as a catalyst. Together, these ships could drive incremental revenue up between $1 billion to $1.5 billion. The analyst also applauded Disney's direct-to-consumer business, especially the content and sports slate offered on its streaming platform, Disney+. Names such as "Moana 2" and "Lilo and Stitch" have been recent bright spots, while audiences can look forward to the upcoming releases of Avatar 3 and Zootopia 2 , alongside the launch of ESPN's new streaming service. DIS YTD mountain DIS YTD chart "DIS is leaning more and more into its key differentiations of bundling, studio releases, and sports, where our data suggests this strategy is working, with DIS+ web visits growing 40%+ y/y in each of last 3 months," he wrote. "Stronger user growth and content coupled with advertising (new AMZN partnership) should drive enhanced scale and margins." While a tough macroeconomic backdrop and competition from the opening of Universal's Epic Universe had previously been cause for concern, Alter said data on Disney's trends show that traffic remains strong. In fact, Orlando traffic may actually pick up from the launch of Epic Universe alongside Disney's two new cruise ships. "This creates a fundamentally stronger set-up for Exp; we est ~10% Op. Inc growth in FY26 and +8% in FY27 (vs. +3.6% in FY24)," he added. Shares rose more than 1% following the Jefferies upgrade. Year to date, the stock is up nearly 10%. Disney shares are well liked by analysts in general. LSEG data shows that 27 of 34 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or strong buy.
Time Out
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
This Miami restaurant just ranked among the best pizza in the world
Miami's pizza scene has officially hit the world stage. La Natural, the beloved Little River pizzeria known for its funky vibes and sourdough pies, just landed at No. 35 on The Best Pizza Awards 2025 —the only Florida spot to crack the global top 50. The honor caps a remarkable journey for Venezuelan-born Javier Ramirez, a former corporate-finance exec who traded spreadsheets for sourdough. After launching Miami favorites like Alter and Palmar, Ramirez returned to a more personal passion: backyard pizza nights with his wife and creative partner, Andreina Matos. 'I started in my backyard. Every week I'd try a different flour ratio, a different method, until I came up with what we have today,' he told Resy earlier this year. That process evolved into La Natural, where each pie begins with a 48-hour naturally fermented dough that strikes the perfect balance between chew and char. Toppings skew both classic and playful—think basil-tomato, wild mushroom with parsley or burrata with chili oil—and pair perfectly with Matos's curated lineup of natural wines. '[Sourdough is] equal parts art, science and animal husbandry,' Ramirez said. 'You gotta pet it, feed it at the right time… it's like a science fair project.' But La Natural is more than just dough. Designed by Matos to evoke a breezy Mediterranean home, the space features a roll-up façade, ceiling fans and vinyl spinning Afrobeat and reggae. It's casual, convivial and always packed. Add in seasonal small plates from chef Diego Moya (of New York's Racines and Margot) and it's no wonder the restaurant also earned a spot in the Michelin Guide. This year's Best Pizza Awards ceremony—held in Milan, Italy on Wednesday, June 25—honored pizzaiolos from more than 30 countries. While Italian greats like Francesco Martucci and Franco Pepe topped the list, La Natural's inclusion underscores something bigger: World-class pizza doesn't have to come from Naples. Sometimes, it starts in a backyard in Miami.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Apex Legends June update brings no new content but improves characters; here are all the details
Respawn Entertainment has released a new update for Apex Legends that implements significant balance changes to the battle royale game. This update, launched as June begins, primarily focuses on adjusting several popular Legends. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The update does not introduce new content to the game but aims to rebalance the power of certain characters that players have found particularly effective in battle. Season 25 of Apex Legends, which started on May 6, introduced Sparrow, a new Legend. Sparrow is part of the Recon Class and possesses abilities including Double Jump, Tracker Dart, and Stinger Bolt. The Apex Legends roster now includes 27 playable characters. According to Apex Legends Status, Sparrow is currently among the more popular picks this season, with a 10.7% pick rate. Apex Legends June update released: Here's what's new As part of the latest update, Apex Legends developer Respawn has made notable balance changes to three Legends — Alter, Ballistic, and Conduit. Alter's Ultimate ability received a nerf: the delay when following enemies through a Nexus portal was reduced from eight to six seconds, allowing opponents to capitalise on downed players more easily. Additionally, the Nexus reactivation delay doubled from 30 to 60 seconds. Ballistic also received nerfs, with his overheat damage reduced from 30 to 15, and his Ultimate no longer extending after securing a knock. Conduit, on the other hand, has been buffed. Her Tactical cooldown has been reduced from 31 to 21 seconds, improving her ability to maintain team shields. Combined with a recent April buff that increased her health regen per tick, her overall utility in matches may improve, possibly influencing her pick rate in Season 25. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Despite these adjustments, Ash has remained untouched, surprising many players as she still holds the highest pick rate in the game. Her mobility and Assault Class perks continue to frustrate opponents. In addition to ability tweaks, the patch has also addressed various crash issues and fixed Ranked Ladder bugs. With Season 25 nearing its midpoint, players can expect more significant updates in the weeks ahead.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Austin City Council votes to fund columns for 3 park decks, 2 ped bridges over I-35
Following weeks of rare infighting fueled by a major budget crunch, the Austin City Council on Thursday approved $104 million to pay for columns to support three large decks and two pedestrian bridges over parts of Interstate 35 near downtown. While the 8-2 decision, with one abstention, was limited to funding for the support structures, it also served as a de-facto vote on the scope of the city's long-planned effort to physically reunite historically segregated East Austin with the heart of the city by covering a soon-to-be lowered I-35 with parks, walkways and other amenities. That's because the Texas Department of Transportation needs to know by months' end how many decks and bridges to account for as it prepares to lower and expand I-35 through Central Austin. As previously envisioned, the project included six park decks and two pedestrian bridges. The plan approved Thursday accounts for three caps, from Cesar Chavez to Fourth streets; Fourth to Seventh streets; and 11th to 12th streets, as well as two 300-foot pedestrian bridges, or "stitches," near 41st Street along the Red Line train path. The downsizing was the result of a major compromise. Ahead of the vote, the 11-member council was nearly evenly split on how many caps and stitches it should build. One camp had pushed for funding only two decks, citing the city's worsening financial outlook, while another camp had pushed for at least four. Council Member Ryan Alter was in the latter group but voted in favor of the slightly downsized plan. "What we ultimately approved is a significant investment and opportunity in not only bridging east and west, but creating meaningful spaces for people to come and enjoy," Alter said in an interview after the vote. Council Member Paige Ellis voted in favor, too, but only after her motion to pay for support structures for two caps and two stitches failed 5-6. 'This may feel like an episode of Family Feud, but we're all really fighting for the same green future,' she said. The two 'no' votes came from Council Members Marc Duchen and Krista Laine. Council Member Mike Siegel abstained. All cited concerns with the cost of the project. "The city of Austin is holding all of the financial risk of cost overruns when we all know they are coming," Laine said. "It's wild." The city is facing a $33 million budget deficit and also expecting to lose a $105 million federal grant that would have paid for one of the caps. The total project cost, accounting for the reduced number of caps, was not immediately available Thursday. With all six caps and both stitches, the estimated price tag had been $1.4 billion. The sentiments expressed during the public comment period mirrored the split on council. Many residents and groups said they wanted columns for some or all of the caps funded, saying it was an investment for future generations of Austinites. "This is one of those 'yes and' moments," said Jim Walker of the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association. "You're going to have to address the urgent needs and meet these big, multigenerational moments when they arise. They don't come very often." But others weren't so sure. Several local advocacy groups and residents opposed the plan, saying that money was needed for other more immediate needs like affordable housing, similar to the concerns of the dissenting council members. "This is not the time to put a down payment on a project that the people of Austin cannot afford," Barbara McArthur, a district 7 resident, said during public comment at Thursday's meeting. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin council votes to fund columns for 3 decks, 2 bridges over I-35
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Parks over I-35: In final push, some Austin city council members pitch new $143M plan
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The day before Austin City Council is set to vote on how much money it will commit to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the roadway elements of future covers over TxDOT's I-35 expansion project, some council members are putting forward a new plan. As of Wednesday, there are two sub quorums of five city council members — each with different ideas on how to proceed. The council is made up of 10 members, meaning the vote is split right down the middle. That leaves the tiebreaker to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. One group — Council Members Ryan Alter, Chito Vela, Jose Velasquez, Zo Qadri and Natasha Harper-Madison — want the city to invest in roadway elements for as many highway covers, known as caps and stitches, as possible. The other group — Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, Council Members Krista Laine, Marc Duchen, Mike Siegel and Paige Ellis — are willing to go only as far as city staff's latest proposal, a paired down plan that commits funding to the early construction elements of two downtown caps. The mayor announced Tuesday he will vote with this group. Parks over I-35: Mayor to vote for more conservative plan amid council split That latter sub quorum posted on the message board earlier this week and said in-part: 'We understand that the staff recommendation for Thursday's decision will require a $49M commitment. Given our overall debt capacity of $750M, Council can commit this sum towards building the support structures for two important caps and still have $701M remaining for the 2026 Comprehensive Bond package to address our community's wide range of needs – from parks to housing to mobility to libraries to climate resilience – or caps. This is a balance we can support.' You can read more about each stance in my coverage from Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon, that first group put forward a new proposal they hope will sway council members from that second more conservative group. 'And that compromise is to do the roadway elements for the downtown caps — that's Cesar Chavez to 4th, 4th-7th and 11th-12th as well as one northern cap,' Alter said. The divide between these sub quorums isn't necessarily the desire to have caps — but concern about the city being on the hook for paying for them and what spending money on this venture might take away from other city services. 'Yes, and approach': Council members combing through alternate funding options for I-35 covers 'My sub quorum said let's be realistic about our limited dollars and create a plan that we know we can fund that when we promise to build something we can deliver it,' Austin City Council Member Paige Ellis said Tuesday (before the new proposal came out). The new proposal includes new funding methods that don't take away from the city's borrowing capacity, Alter said. The funding proposal boils down to this: Pay for the roadway elements for the Cesar Chavez to 4th Street cap ($40M) by asking Austin voters to approve a car rental tax for this purpose Fund the roadway elements for the 4th-7th Street cap ($29M) and the 11th-12th Street cap ($9M) using a state loan the city has already been awarded for this project And finally, the sub quorum proposed the city pays for a northern cap ($65M) using right-of-way fees and through a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Altogether, that proposal shakes out to $143 million. The new proposal also 'directs staff to generate a funding plan for the roadway elements and future caps that can incorporate the sources we have offered here or come up with additional ideas, but which does not rely on any additional debt that limits the City's ability to issue GO debt, beyond the $49 million amount we all seem to agree on,' the sub quorum wrote. 'I would just highlight that what we're trying to do here is preserve future options and do it with the least amount of debt possible,' Alter said. KXAN has reached out to the members of the other sub quorum as they look through those new details. We will update this story when they issue a response. A spokesperson for the city of Austin said staff couldn't immediately comment but would be at the city council meeting Thursday to answer council questions on any of the proposals put forward. You can read the latest full proposal here. Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and Representatives John Bucy, Sheryl Cole, Lulu Flores, Vikki Goodwin, Gina Hinojosa, Donna Howard and James Talarico sent a letter to Austin leaders making this decision Thursday. Austin staff recommend reduced number of 'caps' over I-35 expansion project 'We urge you to prioritize this project and to secure the necessary funding and support from local, state, and federal stakeholders. By pushing for State financial support and exploring additional funding streams in place of the General Fund, we can ensure adequate financial backing without a significant impact to Austin's other priorities. As a result of this investment, the I-35 Cap and Stitch will create lasting positive change for generations to come. We are eager to see it move forward and assist in whatever ways we can,' the letter said in-part. 'We all care about these values. What the city is working through right now is how much money we can spend on a State project and what we should use on city projects. I appreciate any assistance from our local delegation to help secure funding to mitigate adverse impacts for I-35 when we have little control over the schematics. I know they are working hard for our constituents right now at the Capitol,' Ellis responded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
