Soccer-Neymar hits back at Nike over sexual-assault probe

In a story first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Nike – which had the player on a long-term contract – said it terminated the deal last year after an employee came forward with what it said were “credible” allegations against the player.

Neymar, who plays for Paris St Germain, denies the allegations.

The incident allegedly took place in 2016 but the employee initially requested to keep the matter confidential and Nike only opened its investigation in 2019 after the woman expressed an interest in legally pursuing the matter, according to a statement from the firm.

Nike said it had ended its relationship with Neymar in 2020 because “the athlete refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee”.

However, Neymar denied the allegations and said he did not know the employee in question.

“I was not given the opportunity to defend myself,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ve never had any kind of relationship or approach from this person. I didn’t even have a chance to talk to her, to know the real reasons for her pain. That person, an employee, was not protected. I, a sponsored athlete, was not protected.”

(Reporting by Andrew DownieEditing by Daniel Flynn and Grant McCool)

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s major averages rose on Friday as investors shrugged off data showing a jump in inflation, although recent worries about a spike in prices kept the S&P 500 on course for its smallest monthly gain since February.

Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, rose 0.7% in April after a 0.4% increase in March. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.6% gain.

In the 12 months through April, the so-called core PCE price index vaulted 3.1%, blowing past the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and reflecting pent-up demand as the economy reopens.

“The market is less concerned about the inflation numbers and more interested in the fact that the reopening of the economy would lead to better corporate performance,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.

“Recent commentary from the Fed has helped calm inflationary fears.”

Technology stocks provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500, with Salesforce.com Inc adding 6% after raising its full-year forecast for revenue and profit, helped by increased demand for its cloud-based software during the pandemic.

With the S&P 500 now hovering less than 1% below its record high hit earlier this month, many big banks have warned of a pause in a year-long Wall Street rally that has been led mainly by heavyweight technology stocks including Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

Investors are also hedging against market volatility as summer approaches. Strategists expect the S&P 500 to end the year at 4,300 points, according to a Reuters poll, about 100 points above its closing price on Thursday.

The U.S. stock market will remain shut on Monday for Memorial Day holiday.

At 12:08 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 125.69 points, or 0.36%, to 34,590.33, the S&P 500 gained 16.56 points, or 0.39%, to 4,217.44 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 78.95 points, or 0.57%, to 13,815.23.

The White House on Friday will present President Joe Biden’s budget for trillions of dollars in spending on infrastructure, education and other initiatives, but the plan is unlikely to sway Republicans who want to tamp down U.S. government spending.

Dell Technologies Inc and HP Inc reported quarterly revenue that beat Wall Street estimates but their shares fell 1.7% and 8%, respectively after they warned that the ongoing computer chip shortage could impact its ability to meet demand for laptops this year.

Boeing Co fell 1.8% after reports said it halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners, adding fresh delays for customers following a recent five-month delivery suspension due to production problems.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.4-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 134 new highs and 26 new lows.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Maju Samuel)

Bretto Jackson hated many things about federal prison, but not everything. It gave him access to people he never would have encountered otherwise.

"The thing about prison is, you're all wearing the same thing," he says. "Everyone has the same $40 New Balances on." Even, for example, the Wall Street criminals at Rikers Island. "These dudes were just sitting across from me, drinking their coffee, reading their Wall Street Journals."

Jackson's fellow inmates opened his eyes to the concepts of investing and the tools of finance, a universe away from the robbery related charge that landed him in prison for 61 months. He became a Wall Street Journal reader too.

After leaving prison, Jackson wanted to use his new financial acumen to empower others like himself to find legal paths to making money.