You hear people say that they like watching hockey for the fights, and if that’s you, maybe consider checking out some Brazilian U20 soccer. It had a record-breaking donnybrook that produced more red cards than a deck of cards with only hearts and diamonds.Well, almost. It was one shy of that, actually.Mamore and Uberlandia were facing off in a state-level under-20 soccer match when an all-out brawl erupted that would’ve made the Broad Street Bullies and Big Bad Bruins of the 1970s shed a tear with pride, according to the Associated Press.WORLD CUP BRAWL SEES ARGENTINA PLAYER PUTTING HAND ON THROAT OF SPAIN OPPONENT AFTER MATCHIt’s a nice change of pace to see soccer hooliganism make its way onto the pitch, isn’t it?”During the celebration of his team’s third goal, a player made provocative gestures to the bench of the hosts and uttered the following words…” referee Fernando Patrick Modesto’s match report said, before writing out the expletives in question.That last part might make this a must-read match report.Understandably, the officials — who had their hands full — didn’t stand for it and began dishing out red cards like they were one of Oprah’s favorite things.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEIn the end, 43 players and 8 staffers were sent off for early showers, which is more players than I realized even dress for a soccer game.Of those 51, 48 stemmed from the brawl, while one player was sent off beforehand due to a second yellow card. Two more were dealt red cards after, with one player threatening to hit an official and another going all the way and clocking an opponent.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!Yes; somehow the match continued after the brawl.That is a Guinness World Record, obliterating the previous mark of 36 set during a 2011 match in Argentina’s fifth division.There’s no doubt that this is a black eye for the beautiful game… but it might be the only thing that ever gets anyone talking about a random U20 game in Brazil outside of the players’ friends and family.And there’s no such thing as bad press, right?
MICHAEL RUIZ: ‘Today’ segment may explain key Apple Watch detail in Nancy Guthrie ransom note, expert says
A year after “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie highlighted her hometown roots and introduced viewers to her mother and favorite haunts, the broadcast is drawing new scrutiny over whether it could have helped make Nancy Guthrie a target in her still-unsolved kidnapping.According to several experts who have been following the case, the same segment could have provided information that influenced the kidnapping — or allowed someone to fake inside knowledge afterward.”There’s nothing about the house, but you could easily infer that she would still be wearing that watch two months later,” said Morgan Wright, the CEO and founder of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases and an expert on digital forensics. “And again, it’s not an unreasonable assumption to think that elderly people would take their watch off at night.”As Fox News Digital has reported previously, investigators were divided over whether the two early ransom notes were authentic and have not publicly identified their sender.NANCY GUTHRIE RANSOM DEMANDS RELEASED BY PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT IN BID TO IDENTIFY SENDERBut Savannah Guthrie’s prominence, combined with the personal details included in the segment, could also have caught the attention of someone with malicious intent, according to experts.”I think the segment is worth considering as a very possible spark for someone’s interest in Nancy,” said Lisa Miller, a retired detective and law enforcement executive at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office who has been following the case. “Whether this involved a kidnapping for ransom, someone fixated on Savannah, or another motive, that broadcast could have introduced a potential offender to Nancy and planted the seed of an opportunity.”She called the segment’s influence on her abductor or abductors “a strong possibility to investigate” while noting the motive remains unclear.”I want to be very clear — none of that places responsibility on Savannah,” Miller said. “She shared her love and pride in a strong woman who raised a family, spent part of those years parenting alone and built a successful career.”NBC BEEFS UP SECURITY AT ‘TODAY’ STUDIO AFTER NANCY GUTHRIE KIDNAPPING, INTRUDER INCIDENTJim Clemente, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and profiler, separately told the “Crime & Justice with Donna Rotunno” podcast that Savannah Guthrie’s fame may have caught the perpetrator’s attention.”Whether it actually caused I can’t say that, but certainly Savannah’s popularity and the fact that Nancy was on her shows and and the relationship between them could have caused some sort of, some type of jealousy or some type of feeling that they belonged to this person, and they wanted to get back at her for not feeling the same way,” he said. “It’s not logical. It’s not something you can anticipate. But it could be possible.””Until that story, I didn’t even know she was from Tucson,” said Bob Krygier, a retired SWAT commander with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is headquartered in the city. “I’ve always had a bit of a feeling that there was some connection.”It also shows Nancy Guthrie wearing a white Apple WatchNANCY GUTHRIE RANSOM NOTES MAY BE FAKE AS RENOWNED PROFILER SAYS CASE LOOKS MORE LIKE BURGLARY GONE WRONGThe watch detail could have been used by whoever wrote the notes, said Wright, the expert on digital forensics — even if they had no connection to the abduction.One of the notes included references to the crime scene that may not have been public at the time they were sent — including details about the location of Guthrie’s Apple Watch and the smashed floodlight in her backyard. Fox News Digital first learned about the watch on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 3. According to authorities, the note had been sent the day before, on Monday, Feb. 2, indicating the sender knew about it before the information began to seep out into the public sphere.But it could also have been a lucky guess, Wright said.”So I believe none of the ransom notes are credible, and that, that information could have been easily obtained from just watching a video,” he said.Krygier said public figures should be cautious about what they share online in today’s environment.”You need to be careful, but I also don’t think they need to go into a complete shell,” he said. “It’s a balance, but being careful is incredibly important.”Visit Tucson, a local nonprofit created to attract tourists and business to the city, sponsored the segment, which remains visible on YouTube. It featured some of Savannah Guthrie’s favorite locations in her hometown — and the Sonoran Desert’s iconic saguaro cactuses.”People ask me, ‘Where are you from?’ I’m always proud when I say, ‘Tucson, Arizona,'” Savannah Guthrie said in a segment that aired on Nov. 5, 2025. “I grew up there, went to college there, my mom still lives there and honestly a part of me has really never left.”Guthrie was taken from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood in the early hours of Feb. 1. After she missed a gathering with friends for church, her family discovered she was missing and called police.The FBI and Google teamed up to recover home security video from her missing Nest doorbell camera, which showed a masked intruder wearing gloves and carrying what appears to be a gun on her front porch. But nine months later, his identity remains unknown — as do her whereabouts.WATCH: Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may know family, ex-FBI profiler says”From what we know publicly, I see little that would explain Nancy becoming a target apart from her connection to Savannah,” Miller told Fox News Digital. “I also have difficulty reconciling her removal from the home with a straightforward burglary gone wrong.”Her abduction required planning and a “consequential decision,” Miller told Fox News Digital.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X”That does not establish the motive, but it is a central reason I believe Nancy herself was the target, a pressure point to reach Savannah,” she said.In a prior interview with Fox News Digital, Miller floated the idea that the abduction may have been an “evolved wrench attack” — an effort to extort money out of the wealthy and famous Savannah Guthrie by threatening her mother.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS”The question is whether someone recognized that targeting a vulnerable family member could create leverage over Savannah,” Miller said Wednesday. “But the segment’s potential significance isn’t limited to that theory. Someone with a fixation on Savannah could also have redirected that attention toward her mother.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB”Behind every theory is a woman who deserves to be brought home and a family living with an anguish most of us cannot comprehend,” Miller said. “I have grave concerns about Nancy’s fate, but the evidence must answer that question. My sincere hope is that evidence and tips lead investigators to those responsible, bring Nancy home and give her family answers. Every family deserves no less than that.”GOT A TIP?No arrests have been made. No suspects have been publicly identified.LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCASTSavannah Guthrie renewed her public plea for help on Nov. 1, nine months after her mother’s abduction.”I think it’s important for Savannah and her siblings to really look at every communication that they’ve had from whatever source, whether it’s social media, email, telephone, in-person contacts, because somewhere in that mix, this person has likely interacted with one or more of them, including Nancy,” Clemente said.GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAILAnyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI or 520-88-CRIME.Rewards totaling more than $1 million remain unclaimed.
Pramila Jayapal, Poised to Chair Immigration Subcommittee, Declares ‘ICE’s Cruelty Lost’ and Vows to Haul Agents Before Congress for ‘Kidnapping, Detaining, Deporting, and Killing’
Rep. Pramila Jayapal posted on election night that “ICE’s cruelty lost” and that “it’s time to hold them accountable,” as Democrats seized control of the House and set the stage for her to become chair of the Immigration Subcommittee.
The Washington Democrat, currently the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, has spent months describing how she intends to use power if Democrats took control in the midterms.
ICE’s cruelty lost.
It’s time to hold them accountable.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 4, 2026
In a July interview, Jayapal said that when she becomes chair, she plans to “haul all of these people before my committee with subpoenas, demand accountability, and start to actually use every lever in the toolbox to get them out and to demand accountability.”
Jayapal has called ICE a “rogue militia” that “should not exist the way it exists” and has said the agency needs to be “completely disbanded.”
In remarks to Washington state Democrats, she has discussed bringing forward agents she labeled “corrupt” who had “kidnapped, detained, deported, and killed.”
Jayapal has already held a series of shadow hearings titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared,” examining detention conditions, third-country removals, and enforcement operations.
During a March shadow hearing focused on children, Jayapal said families “traumatized” by enforcement would require “some form of reparation” and that those who “inflicted this harm need to be prosecuted” and “brought before us.”
The congresswoman has also demanded personnel and disciplinary records of federal officers involved in shootings during immigration operations, citing figures of at least 25 people shot and six killed since the start of the administration.
On November 3, the day before the election, she posted that she had been notified of the 62nd death in ICE custody under the current administration and that voters had the power “to stop this cruelty and hold ICE accountable.”
I’ve been notified of another death in ICE custody — the 62nd under this administration.
Today, WE have the power to stop this cruelty and hold ICE accountable.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 3, 2026
The figures include people who have died from illness, suicide, and other causes.
Jayapal has previously co-sponsored legislation such as the “Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act” aimed at ending private detention and improving comfort while illegal aliens are being detained.
The post Pramila Jayapal, Poised to Chair Immigration Subcommittee, Declares ‘ICE’s Cruelty Lost’ and Vows to Haul Agents Before Congress for ‘Kidnapping, Detaining, Deporting, and Killing’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Just Perks, No Spending: Redditors Keep These 10 Credit Cards Open Solely for the Rewards
Your go-to credit card is the one you use for groceries, gas and everyday purchases. But the most valuable credit card in your wallet? That isn’t necessarily the one you use the most.
Some cardholders keep certain credit cards almost exclusively for the perks, including free hotel stays, airport lounge access, waived checked-bag fees or credits that help offset the annual fee.
In a recent discussion on Reddit’s r/CreditCards forum, users shared which cards they leave active for the perks, despite rarely reaching for them at checkout. Here are the benefits people say make some cards worth holding onto — and the catches to consider before paying an annual fee.
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A free hotel night each year
A free hotel night every year can be one of the easier credit card perks to put a dollar value on. If you regularly stay at a particular hotel chain, a single anniversary night could be enough to recoup the cost of the annual fee — without requiring much spending on the card throughout the year.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card, for example, charges a $95 annual fee and gives cardholders a free night certificate every year after their account anniversary. The certificate is good for one night at a participating Category 1- 4 Hyatt property. Cardholders can also earn a second free night by spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Other hotel chains offer similar benefits. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card has a $95 annual fee and comes with a free night certificate worth up to 35,000 points each year. The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which charges a $150 annual fee, offers an annual free night certificate worth up to 50,000 points. Both programs also let cardholders add points to their certificates to book a more expensive property.
These perks can make a card worthwhile if you can redeem the certificate for a stay that costs more than the annual fee. But keep in mind that each has its own rules about which properties qualify, how many points the certificate covers and when it expires.
Availability can also be limited: Marriott hotels, for instance, may restrict the number of standard rooms available for certificate bookings on certain dates. And at some properties, you may still owe resort fees.
Airport lounge access
For frequent travelers, airport lounge access is another perk that might be worth paying for. Instead of buying food and drinks at the airport or waiting at a crowded gate, cardholders can use participating lounges for a quieter place to sit, grab a bite or get some work done.
The catch is that lounge access varies quite a bit depending on the credit card. Some offer unlimited visits, while others cap how often you can get in.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has a $395 annual fee and gives primary cardholders access to Capital One lounges and landings (restaurants), plus more than 1,300 participating Priority Pass lounges worldwide. Priority Pass is a membership program that connects travelers with airport lounges around the globe and cardholders must enroll to use the network.
The Venture X also comes with a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles each year on the account anniversary, which can also help make up for the annual fee.
The value of lounge access depends heavily on where and how often you travel. A card may advertise access to hundreds of lounges, but that doesn’t help if the airports you frequent or at least plan to visit in the near term don’t have participating locations with your card.
You’ll also want to check the guest policy before assuming your family or travel partner can come in for free. Venture X, for example, now charges $35 per guest for Priority Pass lounge access. At Capital One lounges, guest passes cost $45 per adult and $25 for children under 18 (those under two are free), unless the cardholder has spent at least $75,000 on the card in the calendar year to qualify for complimentary guest access.
Free checked bags
Lounge access isn’t the only valuable airline-specific perk. Some credit cards waive checked-bag fees, and even a few round-trip flights could make the annual fee worthwhile — especially if you travel with family members who can also use the benefit.
The United Explorer Card has a $150 annual fee (waived the first year for eligible new cardholders) and gives the primary cardholder and one companion on the same reservation a free checked bag on United-operated flights. United says the benefit can save up to $200 per round-trip flight for two people, assuming each would otherwise pay $50 each way for a checked bag.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 each year after. It offers a free checked bag on Delta flights for the cardholder and up to eight companions on the same reservation. As of this past June, eligible Gold cardholders also get a second checked bag free on domestic Delta-operated flights. Delta says the bag benefit can save up to $90 per person round trip.
Baggage perks are most valuable if you regularly check bags and tend to fly with the airline that issues the card. And like most perks, there are certain conditions to keep in mind.
Fee waivers don’t cover oversized or overweight bags and they may not apply to so-called codeshare flights — those marketed by one airline but operated by a partner. The benefit also may not apply if you already qualify for free checked bags through your status with the airline.
A companion ticket
If you often travel with someone else, an airline credit card’s companion certificate can be one of its most valuable perks. Instead of paying full price for two tickets, you can use the certificate to book a qualifying ticket for your companion and pay only the required taxes and fees.
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card both offer an annual companion certificate after you renew your account.
The Platinum card, which has a $350 annual fee, lets cardholders bring a companion on a qualifying round-trip Delta Main flight within the U.S., Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. The Reserve card has a $650 annual fee and offers a similar benefit, but its certificate can also be used for qualifying Delta Comfort and First Class tickets.
Keep in mind you’ll still pay taxes and fees, which range from $22 to $250 for eligible round-trip itineraries with up to one connection each way. You’ll also need to purchase a qualifying ticket for yourself on the same flight and reservation.
Lastly, certificates can’t be used for Basic Economy fares, and because they’re limited to certain fare classes, not every flight will have eligible seats available.
Credits for purchases you already make
Some credit cards offer rewards for everything from dining and rideshares to streaming subscriptions and travel benefits like TSA PreCheck and Clear. If those categories are already part of your budget, you can get extra value from the right card without changing your spending habits.
The American Express Platinum Card has an $895 annual fee, but it comes with a long list of statement credits that can help offset the cost. These include up to $200 in annual Uber Cash, $400 in Resy credits (up to $100 per quarter at eligible restaurants), $300 in digital entertainment credits (up to $25 per month) and up to $155 toward a Walmart+ membership. You also get credits and points for eligible lululemon purchases, flights and hotel bookings made through American Express Travel.
Of course, these categories are only valuable if you actually use them. Many of the credits are divided into monthly or quarterly allowances, so you can’t necessarily save them up for a larger purchase. Some require enrollment or are limited to specific merchants and types of purchases.
But you don’t need a premium card with a hefty annual fee to get a taste of these kinds of perks. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which has a $95 annual fee, offers a $10 monthly DoorDash credit for eligible grocery, retail and other non-restaurant orders, plus a $100 annual hotel credit for bookings through Chase Travel. Cardholders can also get a complimentary DashPass membership, which provides $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible orders.
The bottom line is that a credit of any amount won’t mean much if it pushes you to spend money you wouldn’t have spent otherwise. Focus on the benefits that fit your current spending habits and remember unused credits typically don’t roll over.
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The Meaning of the 2026 Election
The next two years are not about passing legislation. They are for highlighting the costs and damage of Democrat proposals and focusing voters on the agenda available only if the GOP wins the House and Senate in 2028.
On Tuesday, the Republican Party lost its majorities in the House and Senate, four Governorships, a dozen state legislative chambers including both houses in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania Senate, and the House in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Alaska, and even Texas. This hands Democrats control of a majority of the nation’s legislative chambers and new trifectas in at least five states. Democrats now hold 51 chambers, up from 29 when Trump won in 2016.
President Trump’s approval rating was 39 percent.
If the Democrats elect a president in 2028, they can end the filibuster with a simple majority in the Senate and then proceed to add an unlimited number of states to the 50 we have now, add as many Supreme Court members as they wish, and organize immigration and naturalization laws to add as many voters as they wish from whatever nations they wish. (RELATED: Here Come the Court-Packing Democrats)
Democrats can and will nationalize health care, ban independent contractors (as California has done), repeal Right to Work for all Americans, and impose the PRO Act that will force more workers to pay dues to unions that can then be recycled to the Democrat Party and its candidates.
And Democrats will certainly impose a national property (“wealth”) tax on your home, your life savings, farms, and small businesses. They tried this in California this past week. They lost. But they want your money. They will be back.
Tort laws will be “liberalized” to create more billionaire trial lawyers (read Democrat donors). And welfare will be targeted to Democrat voting blocs to free up their time to work for the “common good” — i.e., the various factions of the Takings Coalition that is the modern Democrat Party.
America would become a one-party state for all intents and purposes.
This future is not inevitable.
We have been here before. Several times.
The Republican Party’s epitaph was forcefully written by the establishment press in 1964 after the Goldwater defeat. And in 1974, following Watergate. And in 1976, when Carter won, ending the short-lived Republican Southern strategy “lock” on the presidency. And in 1986, with the Democrat sweep of the House and Senate. And in 1992, when the Clintons marched into Washington, and again in 2008, with the Obama win bringing 60 votes in the Senate to pass Obamacare — designed to be the follow-on to the New Deal and Great Society expansions of federal power.
And yet, Nixon was elected four years after Goldwater lost. Reagan won the presidency and the Senate after four years of Carter. Bush won in 1988, promising to give Reagan a third term. After only two years of Clinton and a Democrat congress Republicans swept the House and Senate in the Gingrich Revolution. And again, two years into the Obama era, Republicans won the House and Senate majority.
[G]rown-ups need to get active in the Republican party from the precinct to county and state level.
The GOP can come back, again. So what is to be done? (RELATED: What Now, America?)
First off, conservatives need to figure out why the shellacking. The number one issue cited by voters was “affordability.” Trump chose to open his second term with a barrage of tariffs (aka taxes on imports paid by American consumers). The purpose of a tariff is to raise the price of imported goods. Domestic producers are able and encouraged to raise their prices to grab the monopoly rents created by the tariffs. (RELATED: A Modest Proposal Explaining the Midterm Rout)
This increases costs for all Americans and raises prices for inputs for manufacturing such as steel and aluminum. This is the opposite of affordability.
And in a trade war, the other team gets an at-bat. China boycotted our farm products. Canada threw tariffs up against our products. The use of tariffs as a negotiating cudgel created great uncertainty as tariffs bounced up and down from day to day. Uncertainty slows hiring and investment.
The impact of tariffs directly undercut the Trump Tax Cuts. Tariffs increased the marginal effective tax rate on new investment enough to offset the aggregate tax reduction provided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to an analysis from the American Enterprise Institute.
The war with Iran raised the prices of gasoline and diesel to the highest national average ever recorded on an election day, noticed by farmers and truckers and everyone who drives a car.
Housing costs became a national concern.
What can Trump do now to address the “affordability” and housing issues?
First, the tariffs did or didn’t win the concessions Trump wanted from other nations. Now it is time to end the pain they inflict on Americans. They were put in place by executive order, not Congress. They can be abolished just as easily.
And Trump also has the power to index the taxation of capital gains for inflation. The Treasury Department can use its rulemaking power to assert that, for tax purposes, the “cost” of a house, business, or retirement savings is not “historic cost” — what you paid for it, but “real cost” — what you paid for it plus all the inflation since you bought your home, farm, business, stocks.
This would free up homes for Americans by dramatically reducing the effective capital gains rate.
Older Americans would sell homes they no longer needed without the crushing tax burden created by paying taxes on the inflation created by the government in the first place. Investors would reallocate all their investments. The increase in productivity by moving trillions to higher and better use would drive growth. The realtors and home builders have told the Republican congressional leadership that nothing would do more for home building and freeing up homes for younger families than ending the taxation of inflation in capital gains. Inflation is created by Washington and then taxed by Washington. It is time to end the inflation tax.
The upcoming Democrat Congress means that many good ideas long awaiting a vote on the floor of the House and Senate will be delayed. Republicans in the House, Senate, and White House can and should highlight legislation they would enact if given the majority. This was the genius of Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America: a commitment by all House Republicans that they would hold a vote on 10 pieces of legislation the Democrats refused to bring up for a vote. Every Republican could run on an agenda that has been poll-tested and scrubbed for possible weaknesses.
At the state level, those states with a Republican legislature and governor can continue to reduce taxes and reform government to attract talent, investment (and electoral votes) from blue states to red states.
And grown-ups need to get active in the Republican party from the precinct to county and state level. Half of the failure of Republican Senate candidates flowed from lousy candidates. The president and vice president put the finger on the scale for candidates unable to win: Texas’s Paxton with too many mistresses and corruption “problems,” the sister of Lindsey Graham, the Ohio smashup that cost us both the governorship and Senate seat, and North Carolina was stuck with a party chairman whose skill set was “friend of the White House” but not “able to win Senate seat or raise money.”
Senate and House leaders and state party leaders need to insist that there be no more handpicking candidates with obvious fatal flaws.
The Republican Party has come back from the dead several times in recent memory.
There is no time and no need to ask for permission.
And Mr. Paxton owes the Republican Party $330 million. We want it back.
Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform.
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Paraguay’s President Resigns Amid Ueno Bank Crisis, Millions Of Depositors In The Streets
Paraguay’s President Resigns Amid Ueno Bank Crisis, Millions Of Depositors In The Streets
Update (1100ET): Under massive pressure from millions in the streets, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña has signed his resignation letter amid Ueno Bank crisis, local news outlet ABC reported without clarifying how it obtained the information.The turmoil marks a tectonic shift within the Colorado Party, which propelled Peña to power in 2023. Divided into rival factions, the party has dominated Paraguayan politics for most of the past seven decades.Congress kicked off discussions to impeach the president Thursday morning, when Horacio Cartes, the powerful former president and leader of the ruling Colorado Party, which holds a majority in congress, publicly backed his ouster.~~~~Paraguay’s central bank seized Ueno Bank on Tuesday, locking an estimated 3 million customers out of their money and setting off street protests and an impeachment bid against President Santiago Peña. The central bank’s board voted unanimously late Monday to put the digital lender into “resolution,” the regulator announced, after Ueno’s solvency ratio fell below half the legal minimum. Customers could not withdraw or transfer a guaraní.🇵🇾 Crisis del Banco Ueno en Paraguay deja a millones de clientes sin acceso a sus cuentas📣 Un grupo de manifestantes se movilizó en Asunción (oeste) para rechazar la intervención de la institución bancaria, así como para exigir que se restablezca el acceso de los clientes a… pic.twitter.com/ybfa5xOJ5R— Sputnik Mundo (@SputnikMundo) November 5, 2026
Ueno says its customers number about 3 million, roughly 60% of Paraguay’s adult population, though Paraguayan press counts put the number of account holders nearer 1.7 million. It was also holding between $800 million and $850 million in public money, including about $380 million from the state pension and health fund, known as IPS. The central bank’s own criminal complaint alleges that Ueno made large unsecured loans to companies inside its own corporate group and used new borrowing to cover repeated overdrafts, and describes an allegedly simulated $74.4 million sale of loans meant to hide that exposure, according to Diario HOY.#BREAKING Paraguay’s largest digital bank Ueno COLLAPSESCentral Bank seizes it after solvency ratio crashes and around 3 million customers are LOCKED OUT of app, cards & transfers.Central Bank President Carlos Carvallo resigned right after pulling the plug. He previously ran… pic.twitter.com/A1LZsS1pLz— Global OSINT (@GlobalOSINTHQ) November 5, 2026The political problem is that Peña was a business partner of Ueno’s owners until March 2025. The bank belongs to Grupo Vázquez, and Peña held shares in its holding company until an extraordinary shareholders’ assembly cancelled his stake that month. He said in April 2025 that he was never a shareholder or investor in the bank itself, and Ueno says the same. He also appointed Carlos Carvallo to run the central bank in 2023, after Carvallo had chaired Ueno’s predecessor, Financiera Ueno, until mid-2023. The central bank says Carvallo recused himself from every Ueno decision.The warnings were not hidden. In June the central bank told Ueno it was lending too much to companies tied to its owners. In September the regulator opened an administrative investigation, and senators from Peña’s own Colorado Party and the opposition began demanding that he replace the bank’s leadership. On Oct. 29, the same day a central bank board member, economist Carmen Marín, resigned, Ueno announced a $100 million capital plan. Fitch had already moved its outlook on the bank to negative. Peña, for his part, repeatedly dismissed concerns about Ueno’s finances and accused the media of fearmongering.Once the bank went under, the central bank’s own president became the first casualty. Peña said he asked Carvallo to resign. Carvallo said he had signed his resignation but would stay to oversee the takeover, because “the central bank needs calm to do its job.” Peña has nominated Raúl Vera Bogado to replace him, subject to congressional approval.Prosecutors ordered the arrest of eight people, including Ueno President Juan Manuel Gustale and chief executive Federico Miguel Vázquez Villasanti, and by Tuesday afternoon two more directors were in custody. By Wednesday evening a judge had accepted charges against 27 people, and prosecutors asked for pretrial detention for principal shareholder Miguel Vázquez and house arrest for seven other detained executives. Hearings for the eight were set for Thursday. Adjustments to Ueno’s accounts exposed a shortfall of more than 1.6 trillion guaraníes (about $260 million) in funds set aside for losses, and the bank admitted it could not replenish $70 million in required reserves, per ABC Color.Depositors took to the streets within hours. On Wednesday, a second day of protests, hundreds of savers, retirees, students and workers filled central Asunción near the Panteón de los Héroes, ABC Color reported. They demanded the immediate removal of Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana. “We demand the immediate removal of the President and the Vice President,” one protester said [translated], adding that “this is not going to end today.” Another told the paper: “They hit the people’s pocket and we cannot allow that.”Police used a water cannon and tear gas near Congress after what they said was an attempt to breach a security barrier, according to Última Hora. Some protesters said they would spend the night in the plaza next to the legislature.Opposition lawmakers filed an impeachment request against Peña backed by 35 signatures, accusing him of conflicts of interest and failures of oversight and citing both his stake in Ueno’s holding company and the Carvallo appointment. The Chamber of Deputies scheduled an extraordinary session for Thursday at 10 a.m. to take it up, with a separate request against Alliana to follow. That is a long shot, since Peña’s Colorado Party controls both chambers, but dissident Colorado legislators are among those who presented it, and one of the party’s vice presidents has called for Peña’s expulsion. The presidency denied rumors Wednesday night that he was resigning.Peña canceled a trip to an international summit in Spain, promised that “those responsible will have to answer to the courts, without exceptions or privileges,” and agreed with congressional leaders to fast-track a law to speed payouts. A central bank guarantee fund covers up to about $38,000 per person, which preliminary estimates say fully protects roughly 97% of Ueno’s depositors. Above that, the regulator has promised only “the greatest possible protection.” Senate President Basilio Núñez, who has defended Peña and blamed the central bank, acknowledged that the Senate’s first version of the law included a provision that cannot work while Ueno is in resolution, and the text is being amended.The state pension fund says pensions will be paid as usual. IPS is moving about 32,000 retirees who collect through Ueno to another bank and plans legal action to recover its money. BNO’s local sources put its exposure at about $355 million, 9% of its investment portfolio, a figure that differs from the roughly $380 million other reports give.The collapse also impacts the narrative that Paraguay has been peddling to investors. The landlocked country won its first investment-grade ratings only recently on low taxes, light regulation and stability. It also ranked 150th of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 corruption index, tied with Bangladesh and the Central African Republic. Peña cannot seek reelection in 2028, and the crisis has already deepened a succession fight inside his party: Alliana had conditioned his own candidacy on the central bank clearing up doubts about the financial system.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/05/2026 – 11:10
Nintendo Switch 2 Sales Plunge Amid Memory Crisis; Bernstein Calls It “Not A Good Result”
Nintendo Switch 2 Sales Plunge Amid Memory Crisis; Bernstein Calls It “Not A Good Result”
Nintendo Switch 2 sales came in materially below Wall Street expectations. Second quarter earnings showed a 41% decline in sales as price increases, shortages, and the memory crisis weighed on demandThe Kyoto-based gaming company sold 2.67 million consoles in the three months ended Sept. 30, down from 3.82 million in the previous quarter. Nintendo hiked prices in the US, Canada, and Japan as a global memory chip shortage drove up component costs. Revenue for the quarter totaled $2.8 billion, below the $3.04 billion average analyst estimate compiled by LSEG. Net income of $464.4 million missed expectations of $519.2 millionMorningstar equity director Kazunori Ito wrote earlier, “The slowdown has arrived earlier than anticipated,” adding, “It’s clear that investors have cooled on the Switch 2 platform.”Nintendo maintained its forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles for the fiscal year ending March 2027. Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto told CNBC that Nintendo needs more blockbuster games to sustain momentum and win over consumers. This comes as Grand Theft Auto VI is set to debut in the coming weeks.Bernstein gaming analyst Robin Zhu offered his first take on the earnings:Nintendo Q2: The memory hit landsA whiff mostly on hardware margins. Nintendo’s Q2 results came in materially below street expectations. Revenue (JPY448bn) fell 15.0% year on year against comps from immediately after the Switch 2 launch, but was in-line with our estimate and consensus. JPY73.9bn of operating profit meanwhile was lower than both our modeling (JPY92.4bn) and street consensus (JPY88.1bn). 2.68mn of Switch 2 hardware units sold in Q2 compared with us and the street on c. 3mn units. 47.0mn software units meanwhile was close to our modelling on c. 47.3mn units, with mix tilted slightly more in favour of Switch 27% hardware gross margins? In a way, we’d argue that a miss driven by memory cost headwinds is somehow… less bad than (as some Nintendo bears had argued for) if software units or revenues had disappointed. Hardware ARPU as reported came to JPY68.1k/$430 in Q2, compared with the JPY65.5k/$415 we’d modelled. JPY195bn of software revenue was slightly short versus our JPY200bn estimate, though blended billings per unit (grossing third-party games up to a 100% basis) of JPY6,300/$40 was actually a little higher than the JPY5,500/$35 we’d modelled. Sales of first-party titles like Rhythm Heaven Groove and Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave fell slightly short versus our prior estimates, but third party was able to offsetNot a good result, but… Nintendo’s shares fell c. 7% after hours, which feels… reasonable. Qualitative expectations into the quarter were muted for the most part, and our sense is most investors have turned their attention to how many million units Ocarina of Time Remake sells in the coming weeks, and whether Mario joins the line-up this time next year. Both the 1998 Ocarina of Time and 2011 3DS remake saw c. 20% attach rates at launch, but we’d argue the real significance of the 2026 Remake is that it gives the Switch 2 a first (or second, if one includes Mario Kart World, bundled at launch) must-play game which should sell millions beyond the first year. The latter remains a waiting game, though Nintendo has sounded more constructive on tent-pole releases of lateNintendo shares in Tokyo have been halved since late 2025 as rising chip costs have pressured hardware margins and forced Switch 2 price increases. The following sales slowdown suggests that some consumers may be at the upper limits of what they’re willing to pay not just for the handheld console but games too. An overlay of “memory shortage” headlines tracked through Bloomberg’s NT function and Nintendo’s share price shows the stock’s bear market coinciding with increased coverage of the shortage. Unless Democrats pop the AI bubble with nationwide moratoriums, the memory shortage will linger well into next year.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/05/2026 – 11:05