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California’s salmon fishermen are making their living from whale watchers and sea burials because the fishery is closed for a 2nd year

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William Smith has long fished the California coast for salmon, taking avid anglers out on his boat in hopes they’ll get to wrestle with and reel in the prized catch.

But not anymore.

Smith, known as “Capt. Smitty,” now spends time on the seas with aspiring whale watchers, or scattering the ashes of the deceased — whatever it takes to stay afloat since salmon fishing was barred in California two years ago due to dwindling stocks. Smith said a rise in the Bay Area’s Hindu and Buddhist communities has made sea burials more popular, and he now does more than 200 a year — and that’s helping him pay off his $250,000 boat engine.

“The bills keep going, whether I’ve got a fishery or not,” said Smith, who runs Riptide Sportfishing in Half Moon Bay, California. “There’s no season on when people die.”

California’s sport and commercial fishermen have been walloped by two years of salmon closures and are bracing for a potential third, which they blame on a years-earlier drought and state and federal water management policies they say have made it tough for the species to thrive. The closures have taken a toll on people’s livelihoods in coastal communities where salmon, fishermen say, is a special fish.

Salmon must swim upstream to lay their eggs, and young fish make their way out to the ocean through California’s waterways — something done more easily when cool water flows are abundant. The fishery has long been strained and the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages West Coast fisheries, said there will be very limited salmon fishing this year in California, if at all. A decision is due in April.

The dim outlook comes as President Donald Trump has ordered officials to find ways to put “people over fish” and route more water to farmers in California’s crop-rich Central Valley and residents of its densely-populated cities. Trump has professed his love for farmers and contends too much heed is paid to the tiny delta smelt, a federally-threatened species seen as an indicator of the health of California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

But salmon depend on this same water system for their survival. And some in the fishing community are wondering if fishermen aren’t people, too.

“We are people that are hardworking and it’s our jobs on the line,” said Sarah Bates, a commercial fishing captain in San Francisco. She said local markets have been devastated by the salmon closures and Bay Area restaurants aren’t snapping up halibut or other catch as they did salmon.

The history of commercial salmon fishing in California dates back more than a century, and in the 1970s and 1980s the fishery thrived off the state’s coast. Over time, salmon fishing has declined with swings in stocks amid volatile weather patterns in a drought-prone state and water management decisions about when surface water, and how much of it, should flow to farms, burgeoning cities and the ecologically-sensitive bay delta.

California’s salmon fishing industry includes commercial fleets and charters that take anglers out for recreation.

Jamie O’Neill, owner of Seattle-based Dock Street Brokers, said many of California’s commercial salmon fishermen are getting out of the business, selling their permits or simply letting them expire. Permits now sell for a fraction of what they used to, and there are fewer than 900 permits compared to 1,200 in 2010, he said.

Charter operators, meanwhile, have branched out to host boat tours and party cruises, especially since short trips require little fuel and can help offset the cost of boat maintenance.

While fishermen can still catch halibut, cod and striped bass along the extensive Pacific coastline, they say without the all-popular King Salmon, anglers just aren’t coming like before. Each fish requires a different bait and technique, and a fast-swimming salmon is a fighter that anglers aspire to catch.

“One is hamburger, and one is filet mignon,” said Andy Guiliano, whose sportfishing boat the Pacific Pearl in Emeryville has expanded its historic tour offerings since the closure. “It makes the cash register ring.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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Cathie Wood says most memecoins will end up ‘worthless’

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Most of the so-called memecoins that are flooding the $2.6 trillion cryptocurrency space will probably end up “worthless,” according to Cathie Wood. 

The combination of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence is creating “millions” of meme cryptocurrencies that “are not going to be worth very much,” the ARK Investment Managment LLC founder and CEO told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, adding that her private funds are not putting money into these coins. 

Memecoins are a type of digital asset often inspired by jokes, current events or trends in popular culture. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said memecoins are not considered securities so they will remain unregulated.

“If I have one message for those listening who are buying memecoins: buyer beware,” said Wood. “There’s nothing like losing money for people to learn, and they’ll learn that the SEC and regulators are not taking responsibility for these memecoins.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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JPMorgan stock traders score windfall as Trump jolts market

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A chaotic run in stock markets is unleashing a windfall for banks’ equities traders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is on track to boost revenue from equities trading by more than 30% this quarter from a year earlier, according to people with knowledge of the matter. If the trajectory holds, the firm would surpass its $3.3 billion record set four years ago.

Such a trend could spell even bigger bounties at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, which typically vie for the industry’s stock-trading crown. While JPMorgan’s increase is particularly steep, Goldman’s equities unit is also running ahead of its pace last year, when it reaped $3.3 billion in the first three months, the people said, asking not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Market swoons set off by President Donald Trump’s abrupt policy announcements are — for banks, at least — creating a rare bright spot amid signs of economic trouble. But the gyrations have tripped up hedge funds, stalled dealmakers’ talks on prospective mergers and shaken consumer confidence.

The resilience of equities desks is a nod to their evolution since the 2008 financial crisis. Their earnings hinge less on taking risks with their balance sheets and more on facilitating surges in client trading in response to price swings. Individual stock moves have unleashed bursts of derivatives trading, driving up banks’ gains.

Representatives for JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

The boon for banks contrasts with the impact on multistrategy hedge funds — the big, all-weather investing platforms geared toward eking out gains irrespective of market conditions. The two largest, Ken Griffin’s Citadel and Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management, posted rare losses in February and slumped further in early March.

There’s pain in other corners of investment banks. Some dealmakers are ruing predictions that Trump’s return to the White House would unleash a wave of activity. Instead, they’re grousing about the uncertainty created by sudden tariff proclamations. The volume of new transactions announced globally this year is lower than at the start of 2024.  

Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz said as much on Tuesday. Merger and acquisition announcements and new equity issuance are “certainly on pause” as clients assess Trump’s policies, he said at a conference hosted by his bank.

Before 2008, big US banks made proprietary bets on stocks to reap billions of dollars a year, rather than confining themselves to just passively fielding client orders. But as new regulations reined in risk-taking, banks leaned on other aspects of their businesses, such as providing financing to clients interested in levering up bets to juice returns.

Three banks have dominated the stock-trading business over the past decade. Morgan Stanley held the top spot for seven years starting in 2014 before ceding it to Goldman. 

Along with JPMorgan, the trio raked in almost $36 billion from their equities businesses last year, pulling further ahead of competitors.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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How to watch the First Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament for free—and without cable

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  • The First Four games of the NCAA Tournament are being held Tuesday and Wednesday, March 18 and 19. They’re an appetizer, of sorts, for the first round of March Madness, one of the most anticipated basketball tournaments of the year.

Selection Sunday is behind us. Now it’s time for March Madness to get underway. (Sorry, HR directors!)

The NCAA Tournament is one of the highlights of spring and while the Round of 64 will get underway later this week, fans will get an appetizer starting tonight with the First Four games.

This matchup sees the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams face off in an attempt to make it to the official tournament. It’s where Cinderella stories are born and where longshot bets can pay off (though rarely do).

Here’s a look at who’s playing in the First Four—and some options to watch them.

What is the schedule for the NCAA Tournament’s First Four games?

Here’s who’s playing in the First Four.

Tuesday, March 19

St. Francis vs. Alabama State, 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

UNC vs. San Diego State, 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTV

Wednesday, March 20

Mt. St. Mary’s vs. American, 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

Xavier vs. Texas, 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTV

How can I watch the First Four games for free?

Ok, here’s the bad news. None of the First Four games will be broadcast over the air, meaning you’ll need either a cable subscription or a streaming service to watch. Many streaming services have done away with free trials, but a few remain. See below for details.

Can I watch the 2025 First Four games online?

Yep! Here are a few other options.

Max

The one-time HBO Max doesn’t have a free trial, unfortunately. Subscriptions start at $9.99 per month.

Disney+

Disney’s bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ no longer has a free trial, so you’ll have to pay $17 per month for all three combined (or $30 per month for no ads on Hulu).

Including Live TV in the bundle bumps the price to $77 per month ($90 with no ads).

Hulu with Live TV

The free trial on this service lasts three days. Afterward, it will cost you $77 per month.

YouTubeTV

After a free trial, you can expect monthly charges of $73.

Sling TV

Dish Network’s Sling lower-tiered “Orange” plan will run you $40 per month. Adding the more comprehensive “Blue” plan bumps the cost to $55 per month. The seven-day free trial has disappeared, unfortunately.

DirecTV Stream

Formerly known as DirecTV Now, AT&T TVNow and AT&T TV, this oft-renamed streaming service will run you $80 per month and up after the free trial option.

Fubo TV

This sports-focused cord-cutting service carries broadcast networks in most markets. There’s a seven-day free trial, followed by monthly charges of $80 and up, depending on the channels you choose.

Can I watch any March Madness games on Amazon Prime Video?

No. March Madness do not stream on Amazon, unless you purchase a subscription to a streaming service.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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