Category: 3. Business

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said a NorthWestern Energy subsidiary’s application to sell power from its soon-to-be-acquired Puget Sound Energy shares is “deficient” and called for more details about the deal.

The deal is controversial and contested.

However, a spokesperson for NorthWestern Energy said Wednesday the utility anticipates a green light from FERC.

“We are working with FERC to provide additional information and are confident our application will be approved,” said NorthWestern spokesperson Jo Dee Black in an email.

NorthWestern Energy announced in August 2024 it would acquire the Puget shares at the coal-fired electricity plant at Colstrip at no cost. Puget is based in Washington, where state law ends coal-fired electricity for state customers by the end of 2025.

NorthWestern said the new shares would provide a benefit to existing customers on Jan. 1, 2026, when the utility acquired them.

However, NorthWestern since created a subsidiary it said would receive all the Puget shares, and it told the Public Service Commission the shell company was outside the authority of regulators.

The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities in Montana.

This fall, the NorthWestern subsidiary filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to sell power from the Puget shares on the wholesale market.

In a move it later reversed, the Public Service Commission demanded the feds investigate the monopoly utility for attempting to evade the law in shifting the shares to the new subsidiary; the PSC said it would proceed with its own inquiry instead.

An energy watchdog, the Montana Environmental Information Center, has protested NorthWestern’s federal application and filed to intervene in the case.

The energy nonprofit argues in part that the NorthWestern subsidiary should have secured federal authorization for the planned transfer — and its failure to do so is “fatal” to any approval request for a wholesale deal.

The MEIC also said NorthWestern has not shown that existing customers won’t be subsidizing the costs for the wholesale market deals.

In its own filing, the NorthWestern subsidiary argues the feds should reject the argument that the transfer of the Puget shares needs federal approval in part because the utility says the value of the shares doesn’t hit a financial threshold for approval — $10 million.

The MEIC disagrees; the nonprofit said just because the cost of the shares was $0 doesn’t mean the value of the asset is $0.

It said NorthWestern itself has estimated annual revenues of nearly $30 million from the asset and said it would cost $700 million to build an equivalent plant.

Wednesday, NorthWestern did not have an estimate of the value of the shares immediately available, but in a filing, it argues the nonprofit isn’t using an appropriate measure to value them.

The value is one request from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

In the letter calling for additional information, FERC said the NorthWestern subsidiary must provide the original cost of the shares being transferred, undepreciated, in its filing.

The feds also called for details about the transfer within NorthWestern, including ownership arrangements, timing of arrangements, and rights or veto powers to any parties that are “disproportionate” to the deal.

“For example, do any of the owners hold special share classes with different rights that do not match their economic interest?” the letter said.

The letter called for specific information about the timing and structure of the transfer of shares from Puget to NorthWestern, and the timing of the transfer of the ownership interest between NorthWestern and the subsidiary, NorthWestern Colstrip 370Pu LLC.

The letter gives the NorthWestern subsidiary 30 days to provide the additional information.

In the meantime, NorthWestern spokesperson Black said the acquisition from Puget will be complete on Jan. 1, 2026. NorthWestern did not address what its plans are for the shares while the case is pending.

The NorthWestern subsidiary entered into a 21-month contract with Mercuria Energy America LLC and filed for FERC approval of the contract.

That request is also pending with FERC.

Note: This article was written by University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics M.S. student Yu-Chi Wang and edited by Joe Janzen. It is one of several excellent articles written by graduate students in Prof. Janzen’s ACE 527 class in advanced agricultural price analysis this fall.

Soybean oil and palm oil are the two most widely available vegetable oils in the world and are substitutes in many products, including as feedstocks in the production of biofuels. For many years, soybean oil and palm oil prices moved together, but since 2020, the close co-movement between soybean oil and palm oil prices has weakened. Prices now diverge more often and for longer periods. This change suggests that the types of supply and demand shocks hitting these markets has shifted. We suggest these shocks are becoming less global and more regional or national; aggregate vegetable oil supply and demand still matter, but these now interact with region-specific disruptions, particularly those related to biofuels policy, that affect one oil more than the other.

The goal of this article is to document how the price relationship between soybean oil and palm oil has changed and what this change means for future price dynamics. We first describe the global roles of soybean and palm oils and the different production systems behind them. We use monthly and daily prices to show how their historical co-movement has broken down since 2020. We then draw on several recent market episodes to explain soybean-palm price divergences and end with implications for U.S. soybean oil and future biofuel policy.

Overview of Global Vegetable Oil Production

Soybean oil and palm oil are the two leading vegetable oils in the world, a position they have held since the 1980s when palm oil surpassed production of canola and sunflower oils. Figure 1 plots changes in the production of leading vegetable oils over time. Soybean oil was long the world’s largest vegetable oil, but global production of palm oil began to exceed soybean oil beginning in the 2004/2005 marketing year. Together, they account for more than 60s% of global edible oil supply. Other vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, and others play an important but mainly supporting role in meeting global demand.

The location of soybean and palm production and the process for extracting oil are important differences between the two commodities. Palm oil production is heavily concentrated in Indonesia and Malaysia, where output expanded rapidly in the 2000s. Palm oil refining, logistics, and trade are strongly geographically clustered. Soybean oil production is less concentrated than palm oil but focused in large agricultural exporting countries such as the United States, Brazil, and Argentina and major soybean importers, principally China. Major exporting nations typically have varying forms of biofuels mandates that incentivize domestic demand for soybean or palm oil as a feedstock and these mandates typically target domestically produced feedstock. Structural differences in location and policy may help explain why the two oil markets may not always respond in the same way to changes in demand.

Historical Price Relationships

To the extent that vegetable oils are substitutable and trade costs like transportation, tariffs, and others are low, soybean and palm prices should move closely together. To document this connection over a long time period, we analyze monthly benchmark prices tracked by the World Bank’s so-called ‘Pink Sheets’. These prices represent vegetable oils delivered to ports in Northwest Europe so they account for location differences. Figure 2 shows historic prices for both soybean and palm oil since 2000. While soybean oil has typically been valued at a slight premium to palm oil, prices have typically moved closely together over this period. Increases in prices correspond to increases in the other. Episodes like the 2008 price spike that affected many agricultural and energy prices are common to both series and the gap between prices has remained fairly stable over time. Despite substantial changes in price levels, the difference or ratio between soybean and palm oil prices was generally stable, at least until about the year 2020.

After 2020, soybean and palm oil prices begin to diverge more often and for longer periods. Before and after the 2022 price spike that coincides with another broad increase in agricultural and energy prices, prices for soybean oil surged well above palm oil prices. In other cases, soybean and palm oil prices appear to move in opposite directions. In late 2024, palm oil futures prices actually exceeded soybean prices for the first time since the 1990s. While some common dynamics remain part of price behavior after 2020, Figure 2 suggests more volatility in the underlying economic forces driving vegetable oil supply and demand. These patterns indicate that the close and predictable price relationship seen before 2020 has fundamentally changed.

To assess soybean and palm oil price dynamics since 2020 in greater detail, we look at daily futures price data. Daily data provide a more granular look at the timing of particular price movements. To make prices comparable across markets, soybean oil and palm oil prices must be adjusted, as they trade on different exchanges and are quoted in different units and currencies. Soybean oil prices are taken from Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) front-month futures and are quoted in U.S. cents per pound. Crude palm oil prices are taken from Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) front-month futures and are quoted in Malaysian ringgit per metric ton. To place both series on a common basis, soybean oil prices are expressed per ton, while palm oil prices are converted from Malaysian ringgit to U.S. dollars using the daily MYR–USD exchange rate from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Figure 3 shows daily nearby soybean oil and palm oil futures prices from January 2020 to November 2025, both in levels and in terms of the price ratio of soybean to palm oil. Prices diverge beginning in early 2021. The price ratio returns to near parity during the early 2022 commodity price spike, but there is a second sharp divergence as prices for both commodities fell off of early 2022 highs. In mid 2023, prices diverge again with soybean oil prices jumping sharply. The price ratio reaches parity in mid-2024, after which palm oil prices exceed soybean oil prices for a time. Soybean oil prices have been slightly above palm oil prices for much of the past year. Overall, this period features more volatility in the price ratio and longer and sharper divergences in price than seen in past periods.

Why did the Soybean Oil-Palm Oil Price Relationship Break Down?

To understand price divergences shown in Figure 3, we consider narrative explanations coincidental to observed price movement. We highlight three episodes where soybean prices diverged from palm oil prices.

The first occurs over calendar year 2021. Both soybean oil and palm oil prices rise sharply during this period, reflecting tight global vegetable oil supplies. However, soybean oil prices increase more than palm oil prices; at the peak of this divergence indicated in Figure 3, the soybean oil price was 68% higher than the palm oil price. This coincides with a surge in US renewable diesel capacity and production (USDA-FAS, 2024), leading to a stronger increase in demand for soybean oil as a feedstock. Although programs such as the Renewable Fuel Standard and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard had been in place for years, renewable diesel production rapidly increased during this period which may have helped push soybean oil prices higher.

By late 2021, this divergence begins to narrow. Palm oil prices move higher as Malaysia experiences La Niña-related adverse weather and a shortage of migrant harvest workers following COVID-19 border restrictions (McKeany-Flavell, 2022). Malaysian palm oil production, exports, and year-end stocks fall to multi-year lows, which coincides with palm oil prices reaching record or near-record levels. As palm oil prices rise more quickly, the soybean-oil premium narrows, and by late 2021 the two prices move back together, ending the first divergence episode.

The second divergence begins after both prices reach record highs in early 2022. These peaks in Figure 3 occur during a period of very tight global supplies associated with the Russia-Ukraine war and Indonesia’s temporary ban on palm oil exports. Indonesia lifted the export ban in late May 2022 and exports resumed, leading palm oil prices to fall sharply. Soybean oil, as a close substitute, also moves lower but declines more gradually. As palm oil falls more quickly, the soy-to-palm price ratio increases, peaking with soybean oil prices 113% percent (i.e. more than double) palm oil in September 2022.

Toward the end of 2022, this divergence starts to narrow. In December 2022, EPA releases proposed biofuel mandates for 2023 to 2025 that are lower than the market had anticipated. This announcement may have reduced projected renewable diesel demand for soybean oil and is followed by a sharp decline in soybean oil prices (Sterk, 2022). As soybean oil prices fall more quickly and begin to move back toward palm oil’s earlier decline, the two price series return to a more stable relationship. This marks the end of the second divergence.

The third divergence begins in mid-2023, when markets appear to become more concerned about U.S. weather and the possibility of drought reducing soybean yields. As of mid-June 2023, about half of the U.S. soybean crop is classified in drought categories and crop condition ratings are declining across much of the Corn Belt (Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, 2023). At the same time, short-term weather forecasts point to a continuation of dry conditions, and soybean futures move sharply higher in a way that is consistent with this combination of poor current conditions and ongoing drought risk.

Beginning around September 2023, soybean oil prices in Figure 3 start to fall sharply and continue to decline into early 2024. Clean Fuels Alliance America (2024) reports that generation of biomass-based diesel Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) in 2023 substantially exceeded the biomass-based diesel mandate and that RIN values declined sharply as this oversupply became apparent. RINs are tradable compliance credits that fuel suppliers use to show they have met U.S. renewable fuel blending requirements. Because soybean oil is an important feedstock for biomass-based diesel, this combination of abundant credits and lower RIN values is consistent with a reduced willingness to pay high prices for soybean oil in fuel uses and may have contributed to the downward pressure on soybean oil prices during this period. As soybean oil prices fall more than palm oil prices and the relative price in Figure 3 moves back to a more normal range in mid-2024 marking the end of the third divergence.

Discussion

We show the long-standing tight connection between soybean oil and palm oil prices has changed in recent years. Since 2020, leading vegetable oil price benchmarks have diverged more often and for longer periods. Co-movement has weakened and the two markets now follow separate paths more frequently than in the past. Evidence from recent market episodes suggests that this shift reflects a new mix of shocks. Broad global demand and cost shocks still move both markets, but they now interact with more frequent policy shocks and region-specific disruptions. In this environment, even close substitutes like soybean oil and palm oil can depart from their historical pattern of co-movement.

Our analysis suggests the US soybean industry may be more insulated from global vegetable oil shocks:  palm oil may not play the same role it once did in shaping soybean oil prices. Palm oil production growth has slowed as Southeast Asia’s plantations hit land limits and a larger share of trees move into older age. Expansion has largely given way to replanting, so future output gains are likely to be small even if prices stay high (Bloomberg Intelligence, 2024). A larger share of palm oil production now stays in Southeast Asia to meet domestic biodiesel and food demand. This means palm oil has less effect on global vegetable oil prices than in the past, although major changes in palm oil supply and demand may still be transmitted to global vegetable oil markets. At the same time, the US soybean industry is now more exposed to domestic biofuels policy shocks. The rising importance of soybean oil as a biofuels feedstock in US has increased the importance of domestic policy decisions, such as blending incentives and volume obligations, in driving U.S. soybean oil use and price.

Our central conclusion is that there is no longer a single global vegetable oil market signal. To an increasing degree, farmers, crushers, renewable fuels producers, and policymakers need to watch both broad global shocks and more local, product-specific shocks. That means tracking not only world demand and overall stocks, but also U.S. biofuel policy decisions, biodiesel and export rules in Indonesia and Malaysia, and weather and crop developments in South America and Southeast Asia. Managing soybean oil price risk in this new environment requires paying attention to all these moving parts, not just a single commodity price.

NEW YORK — When Cami Teacoach’s son turned three she set out to find volunteer opportunities they could do together. He made Valentine cards for senior citizens. They hiked and picked up trash. He helped harvest produce at community gardens and made seed balls out of mud, throwing them into the forest to promote wildflower growth.

Teacoach had reached out to many organizations looking for volunteer projects that she could do with her young child, but most places said no, so she came up with her own.

“Everyone was like, ‘A 3-year-old can’t do that,’” Teacoach said. “And I was like, ‘No, I swear, he really can if you would just give him a chance.’”

Volunteering with children can instill confidence in youngsters, teach social and problem-solving skills and provide unique ways for families to bond. During the holiday season, many people seek such opportunities, looking for ways to give back.

But often nonprofit organizations seek helpers who are at least 18 years old. Finding volunteer work to do as a family with young children can be challenging, but there are opportunities, if you persist.

“There’s a million different ways to help people and volunteer. So many families want to do this and literally just don’t know where to start,” said Polly Lagana, executive director of Volunteer New York!, which connects people with service opportunities. “In a turbulent time in our world, families — and parents in particular — are very interested in showing their kids how they can help out and how they can give back.”

Children excel at activities such as sorting coats, packing groceries and following through on tasks, said Sapreet Saluja, executive director of New York Cares, which works with organizations to develop volunteer programs in New York City.

“I’ve been very impressed with the detail-orientation and the precision and the following of directions and the care that some kids I’ve seen, as young as six, take to the tasks that they’re doing,” Saluja said. “It’s been explained to them that this is to benefit someone, and it’s important, and they’re following the directions and they want to get it just right. And in many cases, they’re more detail-oriented than the adults, which I think is very inspiring.”

To get started, look for organizations in your community that match volunteers with family-friendly projects and reach out to ask if there’s a minimum age requirement.

Here are some other ways to involve little ones in projects that help the community.

Children prefer to have agency and information to make a decision, so include them when you’re choosing an activity, Lagana said.

“Let them know what problem you’re trying to fix in your community, and maybe one or two options of how that problem can be fixed,” Lagana said. For example, you can explain there are people who don’t have enough food, and children in the hospital who might not have blankets, and then ask, ‘Which one do you think you want to help out with?’ she suggested.

Consider volunteering for a mission that you can explain to your child, such as cleaning up litter at a park.

“Kids are unbelievably curious. They ask questions about what they’re doing, what they’re seeing, what they’re feeling, what they’re hearing, and it opens up a dialogue,” Saluja said. “It helps you see even at a young age some of the challenges that society is facing and it gives you agency to know that you can be a part of the solution.”

Children understand hunger, and they can help alleviate the problem. They can sort grocery boxes at a food pantry or help deliver sustenance to home-bound individuals.

Aviva Davis was about eight years old when she and her brother Brendan began helping her parents deliver Meals on Wheels to senior citizens and medically frail individuals in Denver. Initially, they rode in the car with their parents and helped bring food to the door. When they were older, they took turns driving.

“It definitely opened my eyes to what the world is like outside of our bubble. We saw all sorts of different things and I saw not everyone lives the same way,” said Davis, now 17. “But even at such a young age I could realize it’s amazing what we’re doing that we could help people that aren’t as lucky as we were.”

Davis became a resource at school for fellow students looking to volunteer. She still does monthly meal deliveries with her parents.

“It’s a great chance for us to catch up as a family,” said her father, Seth Davis. “When we’re not all on our phones, you get some pretty cool quality time.”

Her brother is now in college, but when he’s home, they do deliveries altogether.

“The older they get, the harder it is to get that time together,” said their mother, Bonnie Davis, who found the Meals on Wheels opportunity after extensive research.

When Teacoach couldn’t find organizations willing to accept her toddler, she started a group in Pittsburgh called VolunTOTs, which creates service opportunities for children as young as 3. The children and their parents pack 500 boxes of groceries to distribute to families in need, play bingo with seniors in nursing homes and make dog treats for an animal rescue center, among other projects.

Parents have told Teacoach their children’s conduct improves after volunteering. “They feel so good about themselves, they were a helper, and that translates into better behavior,” she said.

Stephanie Bernaba’s family started “Tough Cookies,” a project where they bake and deliver cookies to veterans, when her son Matthew was in eighth grade and had to complete a service project for school.

“Going up to the houses, it was very nice, because they’re mostly living alone. A lot of their family or friends died,” said Michael Bernaba, 14, now a freshman at The Prout School in Wakefield, Rhode Island. “It’s just nice to be there and bring it to them … They were very happy, especially for someone to bring them treats like that.”

The project also helped the teens learn social skills and meet people in various stages of life and health conditions, Stephanie Bernaba said.

“We went to the first couple of places and I was really scared, because I’m more of a shy person,” Matthew Bernaba, now 15, said. “For the first couple of deliveries I was more to myself, and as we kept going, we talked more with the veterans and got to hear great stories from them.”

Children can be more willing to try new activities with a buddy, so consider signing up with people you know.

You can also connect with a nonprofit in need of a service and invite other families over to do a project together, as Lagana’s friends have done, organizing clothing donations or assembling snack packs in living rooms.

Bonnie Davis organized a drive for menstrual supplies, and families gathered in her backyard to assemble the baskets. She also turned half of her son’s graduation party into a volunteer project assembling kits of bean soup.

“It’s a win for everybody. You get quality time, you’re raising your children with what feels like good values, and people benefit,” she said.

___

Send your wellness questions and story ideas to cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well.

The people anxiously sipping hot chocolate in the Canadian Embassy in Washington on a cold night in January almost a year ago couldn’t have predicted the roller-coaster of trade provocations and bilateral blow-ups the next 12 months would bring.

In hindsight, that unusually chilly Washington evening foreshadowed how the Canada-United States relationship would soon freeze over.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and his talk of annexing Canada had already rattled Canadian politics over the preceding weeks. A rushed trip to Mar-a-Lago in early November 2024 failed to mend former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s already rocky relationship with the incoming U.S. president.

On Jan. 20, the day of his second inauguration, Trump returned to the Oval Office to announce his “America First” trade policy. Just weeks later, he announced sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports.

By early February, it was obvious to everyone the relationship Canadians thought they had with their closest neighbour was over.

Former foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly called on “every single political leader across the board, across the country, to stand united because, now more than ever, we need to make sure that we put country first.”

It was all happening amid a swift domestic political upheaval that saw Trudeau, weakened by poor polling and internal Liberal party dissent, announce on Jan. 6 he would resign as prime minister as soon as a new Liberal leader was chosen.

Mark Carney became party leader in March, and almost immediately launched an election, forming a minority government following a campaign that centred on Trump.

Trump’s tariffs — which don’t apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA — hit Canada in March.

They were boosted to 35 per cent in August as Trump complained about Canada’s retaliatory tariffs and supply management in the dairy sector, and claimed Ottawa hadn’t done enough to stop the very modest cross-border flow of fentanyl.

The president’s separate Section 232 tariffs on specific industries, such as steel, aluminum, automobiles, copper and lumber, have also hit Canada hard.

Trump took his trade war global in April with his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly every nation. World leaders raced to respond. Some signed frameworks of trade agreements that promised massive investments in the United States in exchange for slightly lower tariff rates.

The speed and scale of Trump’s trade war with the world caught everyone off guard, said Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa and co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations.

While the president toned down his annexation talk after Carney’s election, every deadline for a trade deal since then has come and gone, with no clear progress.

Talks remain stalled.

“That’s … I would hasten to add, no fault of (Carney’s),” Hampson said.

Carney suspended Canada’s digital sales tax, tightened border security, dropped most retaliatory tariffs and boosted defence spending in an unsuccessful effort to get Trump to drop his tariffs.

Until recently, however, a swift breakthrough on tariffs seemed possible.

Carney and Trump complemented each other and bantered for the news crews during two cordial meetings at the White House. Media reports suggested in mid-October some sort of framework for a deal easing tariffs was in the works.

It all went sideways in October when Trump, offended by an Ontario-sponsored TV ad quoting former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, shut down trade talks.

Canada and the United States have had disagreements throughout their shared history, Hampson said, but in the decades after the introduction of the North American Free Trade Agreement, most observers expected the continent to grow more integrated.

“That’s no longer true,” he said. “We increasingly look like three countries going our own separate ways.”

For many Canadians, the past year has felt like an existential crisis — an extended, numbing assault on this country’s sovereignty and stability. In the United States, the shattered relationship with Canada has had less of an impact.

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Americans who support the Trump administration see it doing what they voted for — even if it means Canada getting caught up as collateral damage. For Trump’s opponents, the president’s actions have driven a wave of alarming change they struggle to keep up with — and Canadian concerns aren’t necessarily their priority.

Matthew Lebo, a political-science professor at Western University in London, Ont., said the Trump administration has crossed any number of red lines.

“Democratic decline in many, many directions, the ignoring of constitutional limits on presidential power, the ignoring of Congress’ role in setting policy, especially about tariffs,” he said.

Trump’s administration launched a massive deportation campaign that is filling Americans’ newsfeeds with images of masked and armed ICE officers descending on peaceful neighbourhoods. It has deployed National Guard troops to Washington and other Democratic strongholds despite the objections of governors.

Trump has targeted law firms and universities to bring them in line with his agenda. His administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and is working to do the same to the Department of Education. Thousands of U.S. government employees have been laid off.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pursued a radical policy on vaccines that has alarmed doctors and researchers.

U.S. foreign policy — on everything from Russia’s war in Ukraine to missile strikes targeting alleged drug boats near Venezuela — seems to change on almost a weekly basis.

The year also saw the longest government shutdown in the United States’ history.

Alasdair Roberts, a professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, described the past year as a “partial revolution.”

“It’s an attempt to change the regime, but it’s limited by the fact that the courts may still check what (Trump’s) doing,” Roberts said. “And he hasn’t got the legislative changes necessary … to kind of entrench the new way of working.”

Despite the rapid collapse of norms in Washington, Roberts said he does not believe American democracy is in crisis. There is dysfunction in the nation’s capital, he said, but that does not mean the entire system is malfunctioning.

Roberts pointed to the November elections, when millions of Americans voted without controversy — and delivered an electoral rebuke to many Republican candidates.

Roberts also pointed out the state of U.S. federal politics has forced Canada to accept an uncomfortable truth: the way the United States perceives its neighbour to the north has shifted fundamentally.

“This is the moment that Canada realized that the game has changed,” he said.

“The game has been changing for a few years, but this is the year that the shoe dropped.”

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US retail chain Target is facing pressure from an activist investor after a sales slump that has wiped out nearly a third of its share value this year, according to people familiar with the details.

Toms Capital Investment Management, a US hedge fund that built a stake in Tylenol maker Kenvue before its $48.7bn sale to Kimberly-Clark last month, has made a significant investment in Target, the people said. The exact size of TCIM’s stake is unknown.

The pressure comes after Target in November reported its 12th consecutive quarter of negative or negligible sales growth.

Target’s share price has fallen more than 60 per cent from its all-time high during the Covid-19 pandemic, when customers flocked to it as a one-stop shop for necessities, clothes and home goods. It has underperformed the wider retail sector.

TCIM declined to comment. Founded by alumni of London-based hedge fund GLG Partners in 2017, it has recently built stakes and pushed for strategic changes at Pringles maker Kellanova, US Steel and Kenvue.

Shares in Target rose as much as 3.7 per cent on Friday after the Financial Times report on TCIM’s stake, giving the company a market value of $44.3bn.

Target said in a statement that it maintained a “regular dialogue” with all of its shareholders.

“Target’s top priority is getting back to growth, and our strategy to do so is rooted in three strategic priorities: leading with merchandising authority, providing a consistently elevated shopping experience and leveraging technology,” the company said. “We are confident the execution of this plan will drive the business forward and deliver sustained, long-term value for shareholders.”

Target’s longtime chief executive Brian Cornell plans to step down in February after more than a decade in the top job. He is being replaced by chief operating officer Michael Fiddelke, who after 23 years at the retailer has been tasked with orchestrating a major overhaul.

Fiddelke told investors last month that Target would spend $5bn in 2026, roughly $1bn more than this year, on improvements such as store renovations, product refreshes and a better digital experience. “We are not satisfied with our current results and are relentless in our pursuit of returning to growth,” he said on November’s investor call.

Analysts have highlighted Target’s advantages: 75 per cent of the US population live within 10 miles of its nearly 2,000 stores, second only to Walmart, and it owns 78 per cent of its stores. A recent UBS analyst report noted how Target could monetise its real estate in a similar way to US farm supply retailer Tractor Supply.

Yet consumers have become more cautious about spending, and Target, which relies more on discretionary goods such as decor, has been hit harder than rivals. Walmart’s share price is close to a record high, giving it a market capitalisation of almost $900bn, while the share price of warehouse club store Costco has more than doubled over the past five years.

In October, Target cut 1,000 roles and a further 800 open positions at its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The job losses accounted for about 8 per cent of its 22,000 corporate employees.

With about half of its merchandise sourced from outside the US — China is its main source of imported products — it has been hit by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

While the tariffs have increased the cost of merchandise, Target lowered prices for 3,000 household essentials during the holiday shopping season.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – During this season of giving, Entergy Arkansas is doing more than powering communities across its 63-county service area, the company is empowering its employees to make a direct difference in those communities throughout Arkansas for neighbors facing hardship. In the past month alone, Entergy Arkansas has directed $30,000 to hunger-relief efforts statewide at the request of employees who saw needs in their communities.

Drew County effort delivers support through February
In Drew County, a local food program that serves 156 senior citizens and disabled residents was temporarily paused due to relocation of a distribution site during the recent federal government shutdown. When Customer Service Manager Amanda Killingsworth, a lifelong Drew County resident, learned of the issue, she quickly mobilized support. She reached out to co-workers and more than 2,600 people on Facebook to sponsor a month of food for $60 per recipient.

Two weeks later, she and colleagues were shopping in bulk, assembling meals with volunteers and delivering boxes by Entergy truck and trailer.

“Entergy truly loves the communities it serves,” Killingsworth said. “When your company president, vice president, managers and co-workers ask, ‘What can we do?’ you realize you’re surrounded by people who believe in service just as much as you do.”

With Entergy Arkansas’s support and donations Killingsworth helped raise, every program participant — and several additional residents in need — received food boxes with enough supplies to last through February.

Hunger Relief Alliance strengthens statewide food access
Statewide, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance has also been working to keep shelves stocked at its six regional food banks and more than 500 community partners during the months when many Arkansans were not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Entergy Arkansas provided a $20,000 grant to support that effort.

Entergy Arkansas Director of Public Affairs John Bethel, who serves as president of the Alliance board, said the grant filled a critical gap.

“This support helped the Alliance provide food to food banks and pantries across the state, helping fight food insecurity and meet the critical needs of our neighbors,” Bethel said.

Alliance CEO Sylvia Blain said Entergy’s partnership strengthens hunger-relief work across Arkansas.

“Entergy’s investment strengthens our statewide network and ensures rural communities, seniors, and families have access to healthy food and emergency support,” Blain said. “We are grateful for Entergy’s continued leadership through John Bethel. His advocacy and service have strengthened hunger-relief efforts statewide and helped connect Entergy employees to the needs of local food pantries.”

Entergy Arkansas employees connect nonprofits to resources

In Malvern, Ashley Selph, network administrative assistant, knew Revive Community Outreach’s pantry was serving more families than ever. She contacted Revive Director Courtney McKinney and encouraged her to apply for an Entergy Arkansas grant. For McKinney — who grew up with Selph — the outreach itself was just as meaningful as the financial support.

“Having community members who work for Entergy advocate for our nonprofit means everything to us,” McKinney said. “It shows how deeply our neighbors care and how willing they are to use their resources to uplift local families.”

Grant helps Sulphur Rock students through holiday breaks
Across the state in Independence County, Vegetation Operations Coordinator Chris Millay was visiting his children at Sulphur Rock Elementary when Principal Tina Baker mentioned an urgent need. The school, which provides weekly food boxes to 52 students, lacked funds to purchase food for the upcoming holiday breaks. Millay immediately relayed the request, and by the next morning Entergy Arkansas confirmed a grant to cover the need.

“Sulphur Rock Elementary is grateful for Entergy employees who go beyond their workplace to advocate for our students,” Baker said. “Grants like these directly support our efforts to ensure every child has what they need to learn, grow and thrive.”

Nearly $1M, 30K volunteer hours invested in communities in 2025
In 2025, Entergy Arkansas awarded nearly $1 million in grants, including more than $125,000 for hunger-relief programs. Employees are also on track to complete over 30,000 volunteer hours with nonprofits and schools across the state.

“We invest in solutions and partner with organizations that share our commitment to improving quality of life in Arkansas,” said Brandi Hinkle, senior representative for Entergy Corporate Social Responsibility. “Our employees do the same — giving their time and resources to help those who are disadvantaged.”

Volunteers continue giving spirit through December
Throughout December, Entergy Arkansas employees will continue serving communities by collecting toys for Arkansas Children’s Hospital families, ringing bells for the Salvation Army, distributing coats to elementary students and assembling pantry boxes for those facing food insecurity.

To learn more about the Entergy Charitable Foundation and Entergy Arkansas Corporate Social Responsibility, visit entergy.com/csr/giving.

 

About Entergy Arkansas
Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 735,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR). Entergy produces, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing for growth and improved reliability and resilience of our energy system while working to keep energy rates affordable for our customers. We’re also investing in cleaner energy generation like modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. A nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, we deliver more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at EntergyArkansas.com and connect with @EntergyARK on social media.

 

Media inquiries:
Lamor Williams
[email protected]
501-377-3525

The day after Christmas is often a holiday for many people, prompting questions about whether retailers and services such as banks and the stock market are open on Dec. 26.

The issue is complicated by President Trump’s declaration earlier this month granting federal workers two additional holidays, on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26. 

The day after Christmas in the U.S. is a traditional day for making gift returns — the first opportunity after the holiday to exchange presents that didn’t quite make the grade. That means most U.S. retailers are open on Dec. 26, although it’s always a good idea to check your local store’s hours before heading out the door.

Is the stock market open the day after Christmas?

Yes, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are open for their normal trading hours on Dec. 26, after closing on Christmas Day and ending trading early, at 1 p.m. EST, on Christmas Eve. 

On Friday, regular trading begins at 9:30 a.m. EST and ends at 4 p.m.

Are banks open the day after Christmas? 

Banks are also open on Dec. 26, as the day isn’t observed as a holiday by the Federal Reserve system. 

Is the U.S. Postal Service open on Dec. 26?

According to the U.S. Postal Service, Dec. 26 is a regular delivery day for the agency, after the postal agency was closed in observance of Christmas. 

Edited by

Lucia I Suarez Sang