Dementia risk could one day be assessed during a trip to the dentist after scientists uncovered new evidence that mouth bacteria is linked to changes in brain function.
University of Exeter researchers found certain bacteria were linked to better memory and attention, while others appeared to increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers said harmful bacteria may impact brain health when they enter the bloodstream, or an imbalance of bacteria could reduce the conversion of nitrate to nitric oxide.
The chemical plays a crucial role in brain communication and memory formation.
Study leader Dr Joanna L’Heureux, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Our findings suggest that some bacteria might be detrimental to brain health as people age.
“It raises an interesting idea for performing routine tests as part of dental checkups to measure bacterial levels and detect very early signs of declining brain health.”
The study recruited 110 people aged 50 and over, who were split into two groups depending on whether they showed any signs of mild cognitive impairment, which is often a precursor to dementia.
People who had large numbers of the bacteria groups Neisseria and Haemophilus had better memory, attention and ability to do complex tasks, as well as higher levels of nitrite in their mouths.
On the other hand, greater levels of the bacteria, Porphyromonas, was more common in individuals with memory problems. And the bacterial group Prevotella was linked to low nitrite.
Study co-author Professor Anne Corbett said the findings, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, could also lead to new treatment avenues.
“The implication of our research is profound,” she said. “If certain bacteria support brain function while others contribute to decline, then treatments that alter the balance of bacteria in the mouth could be part of a solution to prevent dementia.
“This could be through dietary changes, probiotics, oral hygiene routines, or even targeted treatments.”
The study was supported by Wellcome and part funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Exeter Biomedical Research Centre.
Like many other airlines, Virgin Atlantic puts on frequent promotions for buying points through its buy, gift, or transfer Virgin Points feature.
As is always the case, speculatively buying points might not be the best idea; however, it can be a lucrative opportunity to take advantage of sweet spots in premium cabins, or to top up your account for an upcoming redemption.
With the latest promotion, Virgin Atlantic is selling Virgin Points with a 70% bonus throughMarch 7, 2025.
Buy Virgin Points with a 70% Bonus
Until Marh 7, 2025, Virgin Atlantic is offering up to a 70% bonus on purchased Virgin Points.
You’ll receive a greater bonus as you purchase more Virgin Points, which is structured as follows:
Buy 5,000–24,000 Virgin Points and get a 20% bonus
Buy 25,000–69,000 Virgin Points and get a 40% bonus
Buy 70,000–124,000 Virgin Points and get a 60% bonus
Buy 125,000–200,000 Virgin Points and get a 70% bonus
A 70% bonus on purchased Virgin Points is in line with the best-ever offers, so it’s definitely worth considering if you stand to benefit.
Normally, Virgin Atlantic sells points at a base price that varies depending on where you live.
If your account is registered in the UK, the standard rate is £15 (~$18 USD) per 1,000 Virgin Points, prior to taxes, fees, and any bonuses. This works out to a cost of 1.5 pence per point, which is equivalent to 1.8 cents per point (USD).
If your account is registered in the United States, the standard rate is $25 (USD) per 1,000 Virgin Points, prior to taxes, fees, and any bonuses. This works out to a cost of 2.5 cents per point (USD), not accounting for any taxes and fees.
No matter where your account is registered, there’s a transaction fee of £15 or $22 (USD), which is added to the total cost of your purchase, and increases the cost per point accordingly.
If you were to take advantage of the 70% bonus promotion, you’re reducing the acquisition cost down to 1.48 cents per point (USD) for transactions in US dollars, and down to 0.89 pence per point for transactions in British pounds.
0.89 pence is equivalent to around 1.08 cents (USD), which is clearly much lower than the acquisition cost for accounts subject to purchases in US dollars.
It’s worth noting that you need to have made at least one qualifying earning or spending transaction in your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to be eligible to purchase points. If you have a new account without any activity, you aren’t able to buy Virgin Points.
How many Virgin Points can you buy?
Typically, members are limited to purchasing a maximum of 100,000 Virgin Points each year. However, that number has been doubled for this promotion.
If you were to max out this promotion, you’d earn a total of 340,000 Virgin Points, at a cost of either $5,022 (USD) or £3,015 ($3,679 USD), depending on where your account is registered.
Which credit card should you use to buy Virgin Points?
As with many loyalty programs, Virgin Atlantic sells Virgin Points through Points.com. Therefore, you won’t be able to benefit from travel category bonuses on your credit card.
When buying or gifting Virgin Points, it’s recommended that you use a US-issued credit card for purchases in US dollars.
If you’ll be charged in British pounds, then it’s best to use a credit with no foreign transaction fees. This way, you’ll avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fee you’d otherwise be subject to.
You might want to use a credit card that has a high base earning rate, or one on which you’re working to meet the minimum spending requirement.
For example, buying points can be worthwhile if you’re short by a few Virgin Points for an upcoming booking, and you have no other way to top up your account. During a promotion such as this, the standard cost is lowered, and you wind up getting a better deal.
Furthermore, buying points during promotions can sometimes result in a significant discount on what travel in premium cabins would otherwise cost if you were to book a revenue fare.
Just remember that as long as you redeem your points for a flight with a value that’s higher than your acquisition cost, you’ll wind up in the black.
Redeem Virgin Points for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
For example, a one-way flight from Western North America to Japan in ANA First Class costs 72,500 Virgin Points, and a one-way flight from Eastern North America to Japan prices out at 85,000 Virgin Points.
Redeem Virgin Points for ANA First Class
With the current promotion, buying 72,500 Virgin Points would cost around $1,138 (USD), while buying 85,000 Virgin Points would cost around $1,335 (USD). In either case, that’s a massive discount to the cash fare for one of the best First Class products available, which can sell for upwards of $15,000 (USD).
ANA business class pricing is also excellent through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, at 52,500 Virgin Points from Western North America to Japan, or 60,000 Virgin Points from Eastern North America to Japan.
Redeem Virgin Points for ANA business class
It’s worth noting that award availability on ANA business class and First Class is quite difficult to come by these days, due to how popular the products are. Therefore, you’d want to make sure you’ve found award availability before you purchase Virgin Points, especially since there could be another devaluation at any time.
Naturally, you can also book Virgin Atlantic flights through Flying Club; however, you’ll be hit with upwards of $2,000 (USD) in taxes, fees, and surcharges in Upper Class, which erodes a lot of the value.
For example, the lowest cost of a round-trip flight in Upper Class from New York to London prices out at 95,000 Virgin Points, plus around $2,269 (USD) in taxes and fees.
If you were to buy 95,000 Virgin Points with a 60% bonus, you’d wind up paying around $1,491 (USD) for enough points for a round-trip flight in Upper Class. Then, you’d then have to pay $2,269 (USD) in taxes and fees, with a total out-of-pocket cost of around $3,760 (USD).
On the other hand, you could simply pay cash for those same flights, which in this case, price out at just over the same cost amount of taxes, fees, and surcharges on the award booking.
It goes to show that you should always check the cash price of flights before buying points, as it may wind up being cheaper in some circumstances.
Other Ways to Earn Virgin Points
As is always the case, it’s worth exploring other ways to come across Virgin Points aside from just outright buying them.
US Credit Cards
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner with many US credit card transferable points currencies. Therefore, you can earn points from your credit card through welcome bonus and daily spending, and then transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin Points.
The following programs have Virgin Atlantic Flying Club as a transfer partner:
Many of these programs also offer occasional transfer bonuses when transferring into Virgin Points, typically with a bonus of 30%.
If you’re able to hold out for one of these promotions, you’re effectively reducing the cost of a Flying Club redemption by 30%, which can be an outstanding deal.
Transfer from Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is also a transfer partner with Marriott Bonvoy.
Marriott Bonvoy points can be easily earned in Canada and the United States, either through credit card welcome bonuses and spending, or by converting transferable points into Marriott Bonvoy points.
You can transfer Bonvoy points into Virgin Points at a 3:1 ratio; however, your best bet is to convert them in chunks of 60,000 Bonvoy points, as you’ll get a bonus 5,000 Virgin Points.
For example, by converting 60,000 Bonvoy points, you’ll get 25,000 Virgin Points: 20,000 from the standard 3:1 ratio, and 5,000 as a bonus for transferring 60,000 points.
As you decide whether or not this promotion is a good opportunity, here’s a look back at Virgin Atlantic’s past bonuses for purchasing Virgin Points:
Conclusion
Virgin Atlantic is currently offering a bonus of up to 70% on purchased Virgin Points.
Buying Virgin Points can be a great deal in some situations, especially if you’re able to find award availability for ANA First Class or ANA business class.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the promotion, you’ll need to act quickly, because the 70% bonus is only live until March 7, 2025.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Discovering something new can be easily done, however, truly learning and applying it to real life is another challenge.
People look at me today as the founder and CEO of a $100 million business and think I’ve always had everything figured out.
The truth is, I was not the best student in my early years, traditionally speaking. My idea of learning didn’t line up with the state’s curriculum. I cut school so often that my parents finally agreed it wasn’t the right environment for me. So, at 16, I officially — and with my parents’ legal blessing — became a high school dropout.
Of course, a formal education is hardly the only way to learn. Life is the best teacher.
I didn’t learn business from books; I learned from experience.
But whenever I did run into something I couldn’t solve on my own, I would research the subject. I still have many books on management and business on the shelves in my office that are full of highlights, scribbles and marked pages for reference.
As it turns out, scientific studies prove that writing on paper and interacting with print materials helps us learn better. These days, I do listen to podcasts and books while I ride my bike, and watching YouTubers and reading blog posts is helpful. However, I still make it a point to incorporate notebooks and books in my business, both for my employees and clients.
Why? Because the power of print still stands strong today in a sea of digital noise. Here’s how to make the most of it:
1. Incorporate notebooks and other print materials into your business operations so both employees and customers can learn more
According to neuroscientists at the University of Tokyo, writing on physical paper can lead to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later. After a number of studies, researchers concluded that unique, complex, spatial and tactile information associated with writing by hand on physical paper is likely what leads to improved memory.
Contrary to the popular belief that digital tools increase efficiency, people who used paper completed the note-taking task about 25% faster than those who used digital tablets or smartphones.
The research concluded: “Our take-home message is to use paper notebooks for information we need to learn or memorize.”
Another perk of print: People are more likely to revisit printed copy as opposed to digital documents. Marketing research has shown that nearly a third of all direct mail remains in the home more than a month later, making this a valuable tool for your business.
I can confidently say I’ve experienced the power of print firsthand. I built my own business, PostcardMania, from nothing to over $100 million in annual revenue by spearheading our own marketing with direct mail. It’s always been the cornerstone of our promotion, and today we mail over 230,000 postcards every week to promote ourselves.
We’ve also helped 121,976 businesses nationwide with direct mail-led campaigns. Along the way, we’ve racked up over a thousand direct mail case studies across hundreds of industries — and those are just the campaigns I’ve gotten permission to share far and wide. Speaking of which…
2. Launch a direct mail marketing campaign to increase your new leads
Which advertisement does the average person respond to more? A digital ad on Facebook, Instagram, Google or a postcard? One study revealed that participants’ recall was 70% higher if they were exposed to a direct mail piece (75%), rather than a digital ad (44%).
This gives you a major advantage over competitors if you incorporate direct mail into your integrated marketing strategy. This doesn’t mean you ditch social media or digital ads altogether, but adding direct mail as a physical touchpoint bolsters your digital strategies. It all works together.
A new law is also going into effect this year that will limit lead-buying and lead-sharing. This means generating new, organic leads will be far more important. The industries of real estate, mortgage and insurance will be heavily impacted.
One of my clients, Klooster Family Dental, tripled their monthly customers — from 15 new patients a month to 56 — after mailing postcards consistently. By adding postcards to their marketing mix, they were also able to open another office location!
With more regular new business coming in, and the potential for repeat purchases, your revenue can skyrocket.
3. Implement direct mail automation into sales funnels to boost sales
Direct mail marketing will affect your new lead numbers, but it also has the potential to close more leads as well. By automating your mailers and placing them inside your sales funnel, you’ll be able to reliably close more leads.
About 85% of marketers agree direct mail delivers the best conversion rate of all channels they use, up from 74% in 2023.
The main reason for this is because of the tangible — and more memorable — impact of mail. And with today’s technology, automation helps take the work out of mailing postcards or letters every month, too, so you can save time as well.
I suggest you connect your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to a direct mail automation platform. That way, postcards can be triggered in your CRM. Someone becomes a new lead? They receive a postcard in the mail. Someone receives a new quote? They get a postcard as well. A lead goes cold? Postcard.
Automated direct mail is growing fast. This is the fastest-growing part of my business currently, and we expect to grow even faster in 2025.
If you still doubt the power of paper, I challenge you to at least try out one of these initiatives. You’ll likely be happily surprised by the outcome!
Amazon is set to release its long-awaited — and delayed — Alexa generative artificial intelligence voice service, said three people familiar with the matter, and has scheduled a press event for later this month to preview it.
Once released, it would mark the most significant upgrade to the product since its initial introduction accelerated a wave of digital assistants more than a decade ago.
Amazon on Wednesday sent press invites to an event to be held on Feb. 26 in New York featuring the head of its devices and services team, Panos Panay.
Once released, the revamped Alexa AI service would mark the most significant upgrade to the product since its initial introduction accelerated a wave of digital assistants more than a decade ago. AP
A spokesperson said the event is Alexa-focused, while declining to elaborate.
The new generative AI-powered Alexa represents at once a huge opportunity for Amazon, which counts more than half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in the market, and a tremendous risk.
Amazon is hoping the revamp, designed to be able to converse with users, can convert some of its hundreds of millions of users into paying customers in an effort to generate a return for the unprofitable business.
The AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an “agent” on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time.
Executives have scheduled a meeting, known as a “Go/No-go,” for Feb. 14.
There they will make a final decision on the “street readiness” of Alexa’s generative AI revamp, according to the people and an internal planning document seen by Reuters.
Alexa’s revamp carries with it all the challenges inherent in now-familiar generative AI chatbots from OpenAI, Alphabet and others including the possibility of fabricated answers, known as hallucinations.
The AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an “agent” on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. . AP
With access to Alexa available in cars, televisions, thermostats and mobile phones, it could become an essential daily tool for scheduling and even shopping.
Initially, Amazon plans to roll out the new Alexa service to a limited number of users and will not charge for it, the people said, though it has considered a $5 to $10 monthly fee.
The company will also continue to offer what it is calling “Classic Alexa,” the version broadly available today for free.
One of the people said Amazon has discontinued adding new offerings to Classic Alexa.
While Apple’s Siri voice assistant preceded Alexa’s 2014 release by three years, the Amazon service supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants.
While Apple’s Siri voice assistant preceded Alexa’s 2014 release by three years, the Amazon service supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants. AP
But for many people, Alexa is now used for little more than kitchen timers and weather updates due to its lack of significant overhauls in the last few years.
Alexa is the brainchild of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who envisioned a service that would resemble the voice-activated computers on TV’s “Star Trek.”
The hope was that once perfected, users would turn to the voice assistant for hundreds of everyday tasks like turning on lights, preheating the oven, accessing the internet, playing music, writing emails and summoning taxis.
“Someday in the future — that might be years or decades away — it could answer everything that you would ever ask it,” Amazon’s then chief of devices, Dave Limp, said nearly a decade ago.
With those weighty expectations, the move to upgrade Alexa has suffered delays over concerns around the quality and speed of its responses, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
Amazon dubbed the new service “Banyan” internally, as well as “Remarkable Alexa,” though it was not immediately clear if the Seattle company planned on using either as a new product name.
In a January Financial Times interview, Amazon executive Rohit Prasad acknowledged some of the obstacles in developing what is effectively an entirely new service, including the work to eliminate hallucinations.
Analysts at Bank of America estimate Amazon could generate $600 million annually if 10% of active users, which it estimates at around 100 million devices, pay $5 per month for the service.
For Wikipedia, “true” is now synonymous with “left wing,” as a bombshell new report from the Media Research Center reveals. Will Google and other search sites adjust for that bias?
The slant is unquestionable: Wikipedia maintains a blacklist compendium of sources that page writers and editors are allowed to cite — and guess which will get you in trouble?
Outfits like the Daily Caller, the Federalist, the Washington Free Beacon, Fox News and even The Post.
Wikipedia maintains a blacklist compendium of sources that page writers and editors are allowed to cite. monticellllo – stock.adobe.com
Notice a theme?
It’s certainly not the reason Wikipedia claims, i.e., that these sites are especially unreliable.
Quite the contrary.
The Post’s 100% correct Hunter Biden reporting was tagged as disinformation by Big Tech and its allies in an effort to help Joe Biden win the election.
The Free Beacon delivers scoop after scoop, all fully backed up by documents, on government malfeasance and lefty insanity.
No — it’s that its journalism cuts against preferred lefty narratives and embarrasses progressives in positions of corporate and governmental power.
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For proof, look at the sites that get the green light from Wikipedia.
The New York Times, a chief organ of actual disinformation on everything from Joe Biden’s glaring senility to COVID risks.
Vox, another lefty disinfo bomb(and font of general stupidity: Remember the infamous bridge its reporter Zack Beauchamp hallucinated between Gaza and the West Bank?).
Jacobin, for Pete’s sake — an outfit only slightly less extreme than al Qaeda’s in-house publication Inspire.
Indeed, Wikipedia refuses its stamp of approval to 100% of right-leaning media sources versus only 16% of left-leaning ones.
Recall too that ultra-left NPR CEO Katherine Maher served as the head of Wikipedia’s parent foundation from 2016 to 2021 — and that she has called the First Amendment her “number one challenge” to fighting “disinformation.”
The source blacklist has zero to do with accuracy and everything to do with shutting down any journalist who doesn’t bend the knee to the left.
And stifling any discourse not approved by progressive would-be overlords in biz and government and the NGO sector.
In other words, Wikipedia is engaged in an actual disinformation op.
Other information-space players have a duty to face this fact, or be complicit: Notably, Wikipedia is routinely a top result in Google information searches.
Whether they blacklist Wiki or simply flag its blatant bias, Big Tech firms need to prove their commitment to open discourse is more than just cosmetic.
We’d all like a nice second income to help keep us going as we get older, right? I believe the best chance I have is to invest in UK shares and hold them for the long term.
Protecting it inside an ISA adds a nice bonus in that all gains are tax free when we take money out. And the £20,000 annual limit is more than enough for me. But for investors in different situations, a mix of an ISA and SIPP might be beneficial.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Dividend shares
So, I’m using an ISA. Next, if I want to build up income, I should go for dividend shares, shouldn’t I? After all, my investment in City of London Investment Trust (LSE: CTY) looks set for a 4.9% dividend yield this year. And the annual payment has risen for 58 years in a row.
When I want to actually start taking my annual income, I expect I’ll have just about all my savings in income-based investment trusts like this. Until then, I’ll keep reinvesting my dividend cash in new shares each year. But that costs me money in broker charges and stamp duty every time. And trading costs can add up over the years of my long-term plan.
Growth shares
So what about buying growth stocks that don’t pay dividends instead?
Artifical intelligence (AI) chip maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is probably the one on most people’s lips at the moment. Shocks from Chinese AI competition and the threat of trade wars have knocked half a trillion dollars off its market capitalisation. But Nvidia is still up 1,875% in the past five years.
I tried including these two stocks on the same price chart above. But when I set it to show a percentage growth comparison, the spectacular Nvidia climb means we just see at a flat line for City of London.
Growth vs dividends
There’s another way to think about comparing these two. I’ve just done a quick calculation. And I work out that to equal the five-year growth of Nvidia from City of London dividends, it would take more than 60 years at 4.9% per year.
Putting £10,000, or half an ISA allowance, in City of London five years ago and reinvesting the dividends, would result in around £12,700 now. That, in turn, would result in income of about £620 per year.
The same money in Nvidia five years ago would have soared to £197,500 today. That money, transferred to City of London, could result in £9,600 in annual dividends. That’s how we could try to use a growth stock to build up to regular dividend income. But it clearly comes with a lot more risk.
Total return
As individual investors, we need to consider how many years we expect to be investing. How well do we understand different kinds of stocks? How comfortable are we with risk? There’s a host of personal factors. But ultimately, one thing determines the size of the pot we can build over a specific timescale. It’s our total return, however we get it.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) made his Super Bowl debut during an upset win over the St. Louis Rams in 2002.
(Doug Mills / Associated Press)
Feb. 3, 2002, Superdome: New England 20, St. Louis 17
45. The first Super Bowl after the 9/11 terrorist attacks forever changed the way the NFL staged the game. That included going from simple paper credentials for media and thousands of others working the game, to full background checks on everyone. That system was devised in two months, remarkable for a change of that magnitude.
46. One of the biggest fears by organizers was the possibility of an Anthrax attack. The stadium’s massive air-filtration system was overhauled, and extreme measures were taken to secure it.
47. Security surrounding the game was so tight that Sunday morning one of the pregame performers was kept outside the stadium until authorities got permission to let him in. That performer was the “little-known” Paul McCartney.
48. In addition to the security perimeter and personnel from all types of federal agencies, there were water trucks poised outside the Superdome. That was in case of an Anthrax attack, and if fans needed to be washed down in an emergency situation.
49. U2 was the halftime act, and while performing “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the band scrolled the names of all the 9/11 victims on a massive screen behind the stage.
50. As a result of the NFL postponing a week of games in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the Super Bowl was pushed back a week. That made rescheduling incredibly complex, as the league had to pay $8.5 million to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. to reschedule its New Orleans convention. There were other groups that had to reschedule as well in order for the NFL to hold the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
51. Had New Orleans fallen through as a Super Bowl site, the NFL had drawn up contingency plans to play the game either at the Rose Bowl or in Miami.
52. The game was a shocking upset, as most people thought it would be a coronation for the mighty St. Louis Rams. Instead, a young upstart quarterback named Tom Brady made his debut on the game’s biggest stage.
53. David Hill, the legendary producer who started Fox Sports, did not insert a commercial break during the pregame show. He said the importance of the moment called for an unbroken tribute to the country.
54. Hill wanted the building to go completely dark when U2 finished its stirring performance. That required an 11-minute delay to “restrike” the lights and bring them back up for the second half. The NFL allowed that, and during that time Fox aired a Terry Bradshaw interview of McCartney bracketed by commercial breaks.
As it was, the Lakers were reluctant to sacrifice their future for the sake of building the best possible team around a 40-year-old version of LeBron James.
Now, with the Lakers trading for the Next LeBron, was the Old LeBron concerned they could further prioritize the future over the present?
“What’s wrong with that?” James replied.
Before I could remind him of his public campaigns to directly or indirectly shame Lakers management into improving the roster in the weeks leading up to every recent trade deadline, he continued, “If I had concerns, I would’ve waived my no-trade clause and got up out of here.”
The declaration wasn’t entirely convincing, not because of what he said but because of how he said it.
His body language certainly didn’t project enthusiasm at the prospect of remaining with the Lakers for the remainder of his career, as his voice was monotone and his lips were pursed.
I asked James if he still envisioned retiring with the Lakers. Just five weeks ago, he said that was “the plan,” but he could become a free agent this summer by declining a player option for the 2025-26 season.
“I mean, listen, I’m here right now,” James said. “I’m here right now. I’m committed to the Lakers organization.”
More specifically, he said he was committed to helping integrate the team’s three newly-acquired players.
“As a leader of the team, as one of the captains of the team, it’s my job to make it as seamless as possible,” James said.
So he didn’t waive the no-trade provision in his contract — for now. He’s here — for now. He didn’t say he didn’t want to retire with the Lakers, but he didn’t say he wanted to either.
Maybe James didn’t want to look or sound overly delighted with his team’s overnight transformation out of respect to his handpicked sidekick and close friend Anthony Davis, who was unceremoniously traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Maybe James was concealing how upset he was.
Or, more likely, maybe James didn’t know what to think about how the Lakers suddenly went from being his team to Luka Doncic’s.
James is notoriously passive-aggressive. He often refrains from explicitly saying what he wants, but he usually finds a way to convey how he’s feeling.
When he declined to say at the end of last season whether he thought he might have played his last season for the Lakers, he was basically calling on them to surround him with better players and draft his son Bronny. When he said last month that the Lakers had to play “close-to-perfect basketball” to win, he was demanding they upgrade the team.
Probably because he was still trying to figure out how the trade for Doncic would affect him.
James has spent his entire 22-year career as the most important person on every team on which he’s played, and that counts the teams’ owners. He influenced the construction of rosters, which were designed to magnify his virtues, and rightly so. He’s one of the greatest players of all time.
Even in this final stage of his career, James has wielded significant power over the Lakers. He might have lost the ability to carry a team to a championship on his own, but his stardom offered an otherwise incompetent franchise something to sell. As long as the Lakers had James, they were relevant. So when James wanted them to draft his son, they did.
Doncic cost James his leverage. Before finalizing their trade for Doncic, the Lakers should have been frightened by the thought of James retiring, as it would have sent them into the kind of Dark Age they endured between Kobe Bryant’s retirement and James’ arrival. Doncic might not deliver the Lakers a championship, but he will provide them with an identity. In addition to being a generational scorer, the Slovenian also speaks Spanish, which could help him connect with his heavily-Latino city in ways James never could.
General manager Rob Pelinka said earlier in the day at Doncic’s introductory news conference, “Luka will be at the center of what we build long-term.” Pelinka never mentioned James.
James, who was unaware a trade was in the works until it was completed, said the magnitude of the deal shocked him.
“I ain’t never seen this one,” he said. “I have seen it all up until this one. I have never been part of one transaction like that. That was different.”
Since the death of owner Jerry Buss, the Lakers have been known to take the path of least resistance. In this case, that would be for James and Doncic to play well together, for the two players to lead the Lakers to a title, and for the ageless James to teach the soft-bodied Doncic how to take better care of himself.
Such a scenario would count as a win for everyone involved, and James has started the process of building a relationship with Doncic, sitting next to the sidelined newcomer on the bench during the Lakers’ win over the Clippers and sharing his admiration of him after.
“Luka’s been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now,” James said.
For his part, Doncic said he has long admired James from a distance and said playing alongside him would be “a dream come true.”
The partnership could very well be a failure, however. James and Doncic both like to have the ball in their hands, and at least one of them will have to figure out how to play off the ball. The team’s defense could also be problematic, especially if the Lakers don’t land a center before the trade deadline on Thursday. James was solid defensively against the Clippers, but how consistent can he be on that end of the floor at his age? Doncic and Austin Reaves can guard only the most limited offensive players.
“It’s kind of hard right now to digest what it’s going to look like on the floor,” James acknowledged.
That’s probably why James was unclear about his future.
By playing for the Lakers as long as he has, James has shown he values living in Los Angeles more than he does winning another championship. The smart money would be on him to finish his career with the Lakers.
But what if the Lakers don’t want to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent after next season? What if the team wavers in its commitment to develop his son?
The choice might not be his.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James isn’t in control.
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Don’t have a Valentine? No worries! Celebrate Galentine’s Day with your besties instead! This is the ultimate way to treat your besties to all their favorite snacks and just have a fun night out.
Treat Yourself!
Stress-Free Planning: Galentine’s Day is all about fun with your besties, so why stress over the menu? This plan takes the guesswork out of prep, so you can focus on celebrating and enjoying each other’s company.
Bestie-Approved Dishes: From sweet treats to savory bites, this menu is packed with all the goodies your gal pals will love!
Variety of Flavors: There’s something for everyone—Is it even Galentine’s
Sweet Finishes: No Galentine’s Day celebration is complete without dessert! The sweet treats on this menu will have everyone smiling and ending the day on a high note.
Galentine’s Day is actually my new favorite thing to celebrate in February! There is nothing better than a night in with your besties! It’s the perfect excuse to laugh until your cheeks hurt, eat way too many snacks, and toast to how amazing you all are! Here are some fun snacks to make while you get together!
How Many Does this Feed?
I have included 5 different desserts and snacks for your Galentine’s Party . If you make all of them, you should be about to feed at least 12 adults! Stick to the shopping list that I have provided and you don’t even need to figure anything out. It’s so easy!
Valentine’s Charcuterie Board
The holiday of love is just around the corner, and you need to try out this Valentine’s day charcuterie board! It’s packed with meat, cheeses and all sorts of festive red and pink fruits and candy to start the holiday off right.
Crunchy and sweet, cinnamon popcorn is like caramel corn with a hint of cinnamon! The butter and sugar mellow out the bold cinnamon flavor of red hots, resulting in a buttery, lightly spiced treat.
Cheesecake stuffed strawberries are the perfect party treat filled with a creamy and smooth cream cheese filling. Topped with a graham cracker crumb, they are juicy, tangy, and sweet all at the same time. This easy and quick dessert is unbelievably delicious and impossible to resist!
Easy no bake Oreo balls are decadent little truffles covered in a chocolate shell. Oreo crumbs and cream cheese create a sweet creamy texture on the inside. It only takes 3 simple ingredients to make this perfect party treat!
You might have extras from this Galentine’s menu plan cause it’s a lot of food! But leftovers are the best! If you do have leftovers, make sure to store them properly in an airtight container in your fridge.
While holders of some FTSE 100 stocks have enjoyed wonderful returns over the last five years, the same can’t be said for those invested in telecommunications giant Vodafone (LSE: VOD).
Even a one-time-owner like me is staggered to see how far it’s fallen.
Woeful performance
Let’s cut to the chase: a £10,000 stake made five years ago would now be down 57% in value. Put another way, it would be worth around £4,300. In sharp contrast, the index is up 15% as a whole.
Since loyal investors have received dividends over this period, this isn’t quite the end of the matter. In fact, the company’s dividend yield has long been far higher than the average across the FTSE 100. This means the return hasn’t been quite as bad as that headline percentage.
It’s still pretty awful, though. Moreover, the £17bn cap’s aforementioned yield is mostly the result of its share price continuing to fall rather than a sign of it being a passive income powerhouse. More on dividends in a bit.
Bargain stock?
Of course, this terrible run of form does lead to another question: when might Vodafone be considered a bargain for risk-tolerant Fools? Well, this is where things get interesting.
It’s clear that CEO Margherita Della Valle has made progress in her attempts to streamline the business. Operations in Spain and Italy have been sold. A merger with Three in the UK also received the green light from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in December 2024.
Yesterday’s (4 February) trading update was hardly a disaster either. Group total revenue rose 5% to €9.8bn. Organic service revenue also improved in every one of the company’s main markets with the exception of Germany (down 6.4%). Full-year guidance was maintained too.
Looking ahead, Vodafone’s growing presence in Africa could prove a boon to investors. Should this be the case, the current valuation of 10 times FY25 earnings might prove cheap in time.
But there are still reasons to be wary, at least in my view.
Heavy burden
Vodafone’s debt pile has long been one of the biggest thorns in its side. And while this burden has fallen in the post-pandemic years, it remains substantial. It’s hard to see a quick solution, especially given the high ongoing costs of keeping infrastructure maintained. And this is before we’ve even considered the impact of external economic headwinds. The FTSE 100 might be setting record highs but Vodafone stills looks very fragile.
The company’s higher-than-average dividends also needs to be put in context. Back in 2019, the total payout was 9.24 euro cents per share. The distribution for FY25 (ending 31 March) is estimated to be just 5.3 euro cents per share. So, not only have holders seen the value of their stakes fall by more than half, they’ve been receiving less income to boot.
Perhaps the forthcoming merger with Three UK will mark a line in the sand. Perhaps we may see an incredible recovery in the stock, not dissimilar to those of other top-tier winners like Rolls-Royce and British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines.
But a lot surely needs to go right before the market is willing to change its opinion on the company.
With this in mind, I think there are far better value stocks to consider than this one.
