People Can’t Help But Mock Ted Cruz’s Absurd Excuse For Cancun Trip

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is getting a lot of criticism (and some ridiculous defenses) over his choice to fly to Cancun as his constituents faced massive power cuts and water outages amid historically frigid temperatures sweeping the state.

After being caught on camera at the airport on Wednesday, Cruz issued a statement on Thursday that didn’t exactly improve things. The senator acknowledged the crises that Texans are up against, before explaining that he had to go to Cancun because his daughters wanted to. 

“With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends,” the statement read. “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas.”

Cruz was indeed seen Thursday flying back to Texas. However, NBC News reported that he was initially booked to return on Saturday, but changed his flight on Thursday morning.

Many people on Twitter did not exactly find the circumstances exonerating:

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U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Far Exceed Economist Estimates

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in well above economist estimates in the week ended February 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with claims rising from a significantly upwardly revised level.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 861,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 848,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 765,000 from the 793,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 833,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 836,750.

The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 64,000 to 4.494 million in the week ended February 6th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims slid to 4,632,000, a decrease of 120,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 4,752,250.

“The latest jobless claims data are consistent with the downbeat message from labor market indicators at the start of the year,” said Lydia Boussour, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, “While downside risks remain, broader vaccine distribution and increased fiscal support should lead to a marked improvement in labor market trends by the Spring and Summer.”

Alliant Energy Q4 Profit Down

Alliant Energy Corp. (LNT) reported that its fourth-quarter net income attributable to common shareowners dropped to $64 million or $0.26 per share from $111 million or $0.46 per share last year.

Non-GAAP net income was $0.24 compared to $0.44 in the prior year.

Revenues for the quarter declined to $817 million from $880 million last year.

The company still expects earnings per share to be in the range of $2.50 to $2.64 for 2021.

Goodman Group HY Profit Rises; Upgrades FY Operating Profit Outlook

Goodman Group (GMG.AX) reported that profit for the half year ended 31 December 2020 rose to A$1.04 billion from A$810.6 million in the previous year.

Operating profit was A$614.9 million, up 16% on the prior corresponding period. Operating earnings per share were 33.1 cents, up 15% on the same period last year.

The company has upgraded its fiscal year 2021 forecast operating profit to A$1.2 billion, representing earnings per share growth of 12% on fiscal year 2020. Forecast distribution for fiscal year 2021 will remain at 30.0 cents per security.

External Assets under management or AUM were up 6% to A$48.5 billion, with total AUM
up 5% on the first-half of fiscal year 2020 to A$51.8 billion.

Aaron’s Gourmet Recalls Smoked Fish Products

Aaron’s Gourmet Smoked Fish is recalling all smoked fish products citing the lack of licensure and regulatory oversight by the state agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The company recalled the products with the knowledge of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The affected products are packaged in both glass jars and vacuum-packed plastic bags, and were distributed to Growers Outlet and Berry Good PDX in Portland, Oregon.

The agency said it is not aware of any reported cases of illness related to these products.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged to throw away them or return to the place of purchase for a full refund

In recent recalls involving fish, Wadena, Minnesota-based Russ Davis Wholesale earlier this week called back certain Kowalski’s brand Buffalo Cauliflower Bites with Kowalski’s Steakhouse Blue Dressing 22 oz for undeclared fish (Anchovies), a known allergen.

Litehouse Inc. also recalled a limited quantity of its Brite Harbor Caesar Dressing & Dip 1.5 oz pillows for undeclared fish.

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. in late January recalled Dole Endless Summer Salad Kit for undeclared allergens- fish and egg.

Allianz Q4 Profit Down, Revenues Flat; Maintains Dividend; Expects To Deliver On FY21 Ambition

German insurance and asset management company Allianz SE (AZSEY.PK) reported Friday that its fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders declined 2.2 percent to 1.82 billion euros from last year’s 1.86 billion euros.

Earnings per share were 4.39 euros, down from 4.44 euros a year ago.

Operating profit, however, increased 8.2 percent to a 3.0 billion euros from prior year’s 2.8 billion euros, driven by all business segments.

In the fourth quarter, total revenues were 35.6 billion euros, nearly stable compared to the previous year’s 35.5 billion euros.

Property-Casualty business segment revenues decreased from last year, driven by Allianz Partners, Italy, and Euler Hermes.

Asset Management operating revenues grew 3.4 percent as a result of higher AuM-driven revenues.

In the year 2020, attributable net income was down 14.0 percent to 6.8 billion euros and total revenues decreased 1.3 percent to 140 billion euros.

Further, the Board of Management proposed a dividend of 9.60 euros per share for 2020, same as last year.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz, said, “Our resilient results prove that we continued to deliver value and security to our customers, thanks to our highly engaged workforce and state-of-the-art operations. We are hence in a good position to deliver on our 2021 ambition.”