Ethiopia's spring festival in capital after 150 years

The last few years of Irreecha celebrations, held outside Addis Ababa, have been marred by protests following a stampede at the festival in 2016 where the government says 50 people were killed.

Ethiopia’s Oromo community is celebrating its annual spring season festival of Irreecha.

But for the first time in 150 years, the celebration is being held in the capital, a city many Oromo leaders argue is part of their territory.

The move has raised concerns of reigniting ethnic tensions.

Al Jazeera’s Robyn Kriel reports from Addis Ababa.

Ventas Inc. Q3 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Ventas Inc. (VTR) reported a profit for third quarter that declined from the same period last year.

The company’s bottom line came in at $85.26 million, or $0.23 per share. This compares with $101.97 million, or $0.28 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Excluding items, Ventas Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $360.60 million or $0.96 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.32 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 5.0% to $983.16 million from $936.54 million last year.

Ventas Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q3): $360.60 Mln. vs. $354.83 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q3): $0.96 vs. $0.99 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.32
-Revenue (Q3): $983.16 Mln vs. $936.54 Mln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $3.81 – $3.85

Brazil bank credit rises 1.0% in Sept, lending spreads narrow – central bank

BRASILIA, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The amount of outstanding loans in Brazil rose 1.0% in September from the previous month to 3.36 trillion reais ($835 billion), the central bank said on Friday.

Loan defaults in Brazil held steady at 3.9% while lending spreads narrowed to 30.8 percentage points from 31.6, the lowest since January, the central bank said. ($1 = 4.0250 reais)

Südzucker AG Increases Full Year Operating Result Outlook – Quick Facts

Südzucker Group (SUEZF.PK) said, for financial year 2019/20, it now expects group operating result to reach 50 million euros to 130 million euros (previous forecast: 0 to 100 million euros) and EBITDA of 410 million euros to 490 million euros (previous forecast: 360 million euros to 460 million euros). The Group still expects revenues of 6.7 billion euros to 7.0 billion euros.

Südzucker AG increased the group full year outlook due to a further very positive ethanol market environment.

For current third quarter, Südzucker now expects a slightly positive group operating result (previous forecast: significant reduction in operating loss).

Useful Idiots: Abby Martin on New Doc ‘Gaza Fights for Freedom’

In the latest episode of our Useful Idiots podcasts, Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper chat with guest Abby Martin on her experiences as an independent journalist in a culture that silences dissenting voices.

Martin’s debut film, Gaza Fights for Freedom, was filmed during the Great March of Return protests and the ensuing humanitarian crisis, both of which have been largely ignored by mainstream media. In the wake of the film’s release, Martin has been called both an Iranian agent and a propagandist by her critics. You can watch the documentary here. 

Martin also weighs in on the role of third-party candidates and discusses the fallacy behind blaming them for poor voter turnout for the frontrunners.

You can find the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

ECB will use new country quotas for bond purchases

FRANKFURT, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will use its new “capital key”, which was updated in January and gives a bigger weight to Germany than before, to guide purchases of government bonds, according to a decision published on Friday.

“The allocation across eligible jurisdictions of purchases under the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) will continue to be guided, on a stock basis, by the respective national central banks’ subscription to the ECB’s capital key, as amended over time,” the ECB said. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by David Clarke)

Tiny beetle named after climate activist Greta Thunberg

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has a tiny new namesake.

London’s Natural History Museum said Friday that a minute species of beetle is being named “Nelloptodes gretae” in honor of the 16-year-old Swede.

Michael Darby, a scientific associate at the museum who found the insect in its collection of millions of animal specimens, chose the name to acknowledge her “outstanding contribution” to raising awareness of environmental issues.

The beetle is less than 1 millimeter long and has no eyes or wings. It belongs to a 1960s collection from samples of soil and leaf litter in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, which was donated to the Natural History Museum in 1978.

It is part of the Ptiliidae family of beetles, which includes some of the world’s smallest insects.

NY Fed accepts $77.343 bln in overnight repo bids

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The New York Federal Reserve on Friday accepted $77.343 billion in bids from primary dealers at a repurchase agreement (repo) operation, a move intended to help maintain the federal funds rate within the target range.

Friday’s amount was lower than the $89.154 repos awarded on Thursday.

The U.S. overnight repo rate was up slightly at 1.9% after the NY Fed operation, from 1.85% on Thursday. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; editing by David Clarke)