Category: News
Muchos demócratas tienen pobre imagen de su propio partido, dice encuesta
Por LINLEY SANDERS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Los demócratas han acumulado una serie de victorias en elecciones especiales recientes, pero una nueva encuesta de AP-NORC concluye que la imagen del partido entre sus propios militantes no se ha recuperado desde la victoria del presidente Donald Trump en 2024.
Solo alrededor de 7 de cada 10 demócratas tienen una opinión positiva de su partido, según el nuevo sondeo del Centro de Investigación de Asuntos Públicos de The Associated Press-NORC. Aunque la abrumadora mayoría de los demócratas todavía se siente bien con respecto a su partido, su valoración es mucho menos positiva de lo que ha sido en el pasado.
Aún faltan muchos meses para las elecciones de mitad de mandato y una favorabilidad tibia no necesariamente presagia un fracaso electoral. Otros factores podrían beneficiar a los demócratas este año, incluidas las opiniones ampliamente negativas sobre Trump y otros republicanos. Además, sondeos recientes han encontrado que los independientes tienden a identificarse más con el partido que está fuera del poder, lo que también podría impulsar a los demócratas este año. Históricamente, el partido que no está en la Casa Blanca ha ganado escaños en el Congreso en las elecciones de mitad de mandato.
Pero la falta de entusiasmo podría ser un problema de más largo plazo para el partido. La favorabilidad de los demócratas hacia su partido se desplomó después de las elecciones de 2024, de 85% en septiembre de 2024 a 67% en octubre de 2025. Y pese a victorias abrumadoras en elecciones recientes, esas opiniones no se han recuperado. Otros sondeos indican que los demócratas están profundamente frustrados con su partido.
Al mismo tiempo, la nueva encuesta trae algunas posibles buenas noticias para los demócratas. Aunque los republicanos están ligeramente más entusiasmados con su propio partido, los estadounidenses en general no tienen una alta opinión de ninguno de los dos. La atención médica está en la mente de muchos ciudadanos este año, y es un tema en el que los demócratas tienen una gran ventaja, según la encuesta. Mientras tanto, los republicanos han perdido algo de terreno en dos de los temas emblemáticos de Trump, la economía y la inmigración, aunque como resultado los estadounidenses no necesariamente confían más en los demócratas en esos asuntos.
Muchos demócratas están frustrados
Otros sondeos sugieren que el bajón de los demócratas tras 2024 es inusualmente grande.
En la medición de favorabilidad de Gallup, las opiniones positivas de los demócratas sobre su propio partido cayeron alrededor de 12 puntos porcentuales en el último año. Eso marcó el nivel más bajo en la historia de esa pregunta, que se remonta a 2001. Cabe destacar que los demócratas no registraron una caída similar después de su primera derrota ante Trump en 2016.
Esa visión disminuida es consistente sin importar la edad, raza, ideología o nivel educativo lo que sugiere que apelar a uno o dos grupos específicos no resolverá el problema.
Una encuesta aparte del Pew Research Center el otoño pasado encontró que aproximadamente dos tercios de los demócratas en septiembre dijeron que su propio partido les generaba “frustración”, en comparación con solo 4 de cada 10 republicanos.
Entre esos demócratas frustrados, alrededor de 4 de cada 10 sentían que su partido no estaba luchando con suficiente fuerza contra Trump, mientras que cerca de 1 de cada 10 señaló que había falta de buen liderazgo o de una agenda cohesionada.
Muchos estadounidenses tienen una visión negativa de ambos partidos
No son solo los demócratas: los estadounidenses no están entusiasmados con ninguno de los dos partidos en este momento.
Aproximadamente una cuarta parte de los estadounidenses tiene una opinión negativa tanto del Partido Demócrata como del Partido Republicano, según los datos de AP-NORC. Esa doble negatividad es especialmente marcada entre los independientes y los estadounidenses menores de 45 años.
Alrededor de la mitad de los adultos solo ve de manera positiva a un partido, y solo cerca de 1 de cada 10 se siente bien con respecto a ambos partidos.
Pero la pérdida de buena voluntad hacia los demócratas es más reciente. Los sondeos de Gallup de los últimos 25 años muestran que los estadounidenses solían sentirse mucho más positivamente hacia los demócratas, pero alrededor de 2010, el sentimiento público se volvió en contra. Desde entonces, al menos la mitad de los estadounidenses ha tenido opiniones desfavorables del partido, según Gallup.
Las opiniones negativas sobre los demócratas ahora rivalizan con los momentos más negativos para los republicanos.
Los demócratas tienen la atención médica como fortaleza
Con la atención médica en la cima de las listas de prioridades de los estadounidenses a medida que aumentan los costos y las primas, los demócratas tienen una posible ventaja de cara al año de elecciones de mitad de mandato.
El 35% de los adultos confía en que los demócratas harían un mejor trabajo al manejar la atención médica, en comparación con 23% para los republicanos. Eso está, en términos generales, en línea con la última vez que se hizo la pregunta, en octubre de 2025.
Al mismo tiempo, los republicanos han perdido algo de terreno en los temas que fueron clave para la reelección de Trump: la economía y la inmigración. Pero los demócratas no han logrado capitalizarlo. Solo un 31% dicen que los republicanos son el partido en el que confían para manejar la economía, una ligera baja frente a 36% el año pasado. Pero los demócratas no han obtenido ganancias en este tema; más bien, ahora más gente dice que no confía en “ninguno” de los dos partidos para manejar la economía.
Ninguno de los dos partidos tiene ventaja en quién está mejor preparado para gestionar el costo de vida, una pregunta que se formuló por primera vez en la encuesta más reciente.
Los republicanos también bajan ligeramente en el manejo de la inmigración. Solo alrededor de un tercio de los adultos en Estados Unidos confía en que ellos la gestionarían mejor, una aparente disminución desde 39% en octubre. Los demócratas tampoco parecieron beneficiarse de ese cambio.
___________________________________
La encuesta AP-NORC abarcó 1.156 adultos y se realizó entre el 5 y 8 de febrero usando una muestra AmeriSpeak, diseñada para ser representativa de toda la población estadounidense. Tiene un margen de error para los adultos en general es de +/- 3,9 puntos porcentuales. El margen de error para los demócratas es de +/- 6,0 puntos porcentuales.
___________________________________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
New Mexico Launches Probe Into What Happened At Epstein’s ‘Zorro Ranch’
New Mexico Launches Probe Into What Happened At Epstein’s ‘Zorro Ranch’
Until now, the public’s visualizations of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal have largely centered on his Caribbean Island and his seven-story New York townhouse, but a new setting is poised to take greater prominence, as the New Mexico legislature just launched a wide-ranging investigation into what took place at Epstein’s “Zorro Ranch” about 30 miles south of Santa Fe. One line of inquiry focuses on a redacted email in the DOJ files alleging that two “foreign girls” were buried on the property.
“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat who co-sponsored the probe, told NBC News. She said there’s no indication that the FBI ever searched the property.
With a $2.5 million budget approved by unanimous vote of the legislature, a “truth commission” of Democrats and Republicans will head up the probe into potential criminal activity on the 7,600-acre property that features both a 26,700-square-foot mansion and guest houses. Legislators are urging victims to come forward, but multiple accusations of sexual misconduct at the ranch have already been made. For example:
Annie Farmer, who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, said Maxwell gave her a nude massage there when Farmer was 16 years old — and that, the next morning, Epstein entered her bed and “pressed his body” into hers.
A victim identifed as “Jane” testified that she was taken to the ranch and abused when she was only 14 years old. “I just remember someone, at one point, just came into [my] room and said: ‘Jeffrey wants to see you,’ and then escorted me to see him.”
The late Virginia Giuffre claimed to have been abused at the ranch, and that Epstein partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell instructed her to “massage” former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson there — with “massage” mutually understood to mean sexual intimacy.
A Santa Fe massage therapist accused Epstein of sexually abusing her at the ranch.
The most disturbing but least-substantiated claim was made anonymously — an email in the possession of the DOJ said two females were buried in the hills near the ranch. Last week, the New Mexico Chief of Criminal Affairs asked the DOJ to give his department “immediate access to a complete, unredacted version of file EFTA01250229” along with forensic information associated with the email and any DOJ documents associated with it.
Are two sex-strangulation victims buried in these hills?
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the email was sent to a local radio host in 2019, written by someone claiming to be a former worker at the ranch. The author claimed that Epstein and Maxwell ordered the bodies of two foreign girls to buried in the hills. The girls were said to have been killed “by strangulation during rough fetish sex.”
The probe is expected to look beyond the wrongdoing of Epstein and Maxwell, with the potential to identify other participants in devious activities — and those who looked the other way. “Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico,” said Sigrid McCawley, an attorney whose firm has represented hundreds of Epstein accusers.
Annie Farmer testified that she was abused at Zorro Ranch at the age of 16 (Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images and NBC News)
Epstein bought the property in 1993 and owned it until he died in a New York prison cell. In 2023, Epstein’s estate sold the ranch to the family of Don Huffines, a former Texas state senator and current Republican candidate for state comptroller. The property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch, and the Huffines family says it plans to transform the ranch into a Christian retreat.
They may want to start with an exorcism.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/18/2026 – 08:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-mexico-launches-probe-what-happened-epsteins-zorro-ranch
“Pressure Is Enormous”: Nestle CEO Faces Mounting Scrutiny Amid Infant Formula Crisis
“Pressure Is Enormous”: Nestle CEO Faces Mounting Scrutiny Amid Infant Formula Crisis
Nestlé SA CEO Philipp Navratil is feeling the heat after the world’s largest food company recently carried out the biggest recall in its history, pulling infant formula off supermarket shelves after a contaminated ingredient was discovered early last month. Shares have taken a beating, and scrutiny of the recall is intensifying, with prosecutors in Europe opening an investigation.
Navratil and his management team are expected to present a turnaround plan for the Swiss foodmaker on Thursday, following the early January recall of its infant formulas. Multiple production sites were found to have cereulide, a toxin that can cause nausea and vomiting.
French authorities have received complaints from eight consumers who say their children vomited after consuming Nestlé baby formula, prompting Paris prosecutors to open investigations. In the UK, there have also been 36 reports of suspected food poisoning linked to baby formula consumption.
BBC News provided more color to those investigations:
Prosecutors in Paris will seek to establish whether the baby formula producers are liable for distributing a tainted product. It will be co-ordinated with local probes into whether there was a causal link between the contaminated formula and the deaths of three babies in France. Nestlé and France’s health ministry have stressed there was as-yet no evidence to indicate such a link.
In Switzerland, the food giant’s shares are little changed year to date, with uncertainty surrounding the baby formula debacle still hanging over sentiment. Zooming out, the stock has retraced to 2018-19 levels.
Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy told clients, “The pressure is enormous … and full-year results have become almost anecdotal, as investors are now squarely focused on the robustness of quality controls in the infant nutrition case and on the strategic update pledged by the new management team.”
Investors’ attention now shifts to Thursday, when the Swiss giant reports full-year results and is expected to unveil its turnaround plan.
Bloomberg noted, “Thursday’s strategy update may include a reorganization to streamline businesses. Navratil has signaled that he wants to focus on four core divisions — pet care, coffee, nutrition and health, and food and snacking — while centralizing functions such as marketing, an area the company did not invest enough in during years of short-term margin expansion.”
Vontobel’s Bertschy said, “It will be crucial that we receive an update on some of the under-performing units, how they want to reduce the net debt level and how they plan to accelerate the free cash flow. The market will look for a precise roadmap rather than another broad reassurance – a plan that is clearly underpinned by concrete actions, milestones and measurable commitments.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/18/2026 – 08:05
Political disagreements? Prof invents game to help see others’ points of view
On a frigid night recently, about a dozen people arrived at the Evanston Public Library to try playing a new game created by Steven Franconeri, a Northwestern University psychology professor.
There were no dice or buzzers. People didn’t scream out answers. Instead, they quietly debated some of the country’s most hot-button issues on which there was strenuous disagreement.
There were no winners or losers, at least in the typical uses of the terms, and at the end of the night, people continued with friendly conversation, well after the game had ended.
And that’s just the result Franconeri expected.
Franconeri’s game is called Point Taken, and it’s designed to help people come up with a better way to find common ground on issues that typically lead to raised tempers, name-calling and zero recognition of another person’s point of view.
He devised the game to help deal with his own exasperation over the state of public debate on important issues in the country.
Steven Franconeri, a Northwestern University psychology professor, has invented Point Taken, a game that requires people who disagree on a topic to find areas of agreement. He hopes it will help people see past political labels and social media rage to be able to discuss issues more rationally. (Jeff Banowetz/for Pioneer Press)
“You see so much angry political disagreement,” he says. “And you know, there are solutions out there to communicate better with each other. If you go out and get training to become a therapist or mediator, you know how to help people have better conversations about tough topics. But it isn’t easy.”
Franconeri introduced the game at the Evanston Public Library by airing a few YouTube clips of how people more typically debate today. Each participant has an agenda to overwhelm their “opponent” with information supporting their cause. To concede any point at odds with your initial position means that you “lose,” so both people end up talking past each other.
In Point Taken, Franconeri flips the script, starting with the idea of someone “winning” the debate. Instead, the idea is to reach a consensus on points of agreement between two people, even when they are far apart on the overall question.
“The game is designed to create a framework that allows people to be more logical in their thinking,” Franconeri says. “You can learn the game in 10 minutes and play it in half an hour. It allows you to be able to sit down with your uncle at the kitchen table and be able to have a calm and clear discussion.
“They don’t have to agree at the end — they probably won’t agree at the end — but we want to bring that connection back.”
Franconeri used his own research, as well as that of colleagues at Northwestern’s Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement, to create the game’s structure, which is easy to understand from the start and designed to encourage people to take the time to understand their opponents’ best points.
People came to the Evanston Public Library in January 2026 to play Point Taken, a game invented by Steven Franconeri, a Northwestern University psychology professor, that requires people who disagree on an issue to find some common ground. He hopes it will help people navigate the roiling issues of our times more calmly and rationally. (Jeff Banowetz/for Pioneer Press)
“There’s nothing wrong with disagreement,” Franconeri said. “But social media amplifies outrage and extreme views, and those people with different beliefs are considered evil or incompetent.”
Playing the Game
Point Taken is a writing-based game played between two people. All you need is a pen and some scraps of paper. (You can play online at pointtaken.social, where you can also download templates, but it isn’t necessary.) You write down a question that’s the point of contention. If you want to practice on some less contentious issues to get started, Franconeri has a list of samples on the website — like, “Is a hot dog a sandwich?”
The goal of the game isn’t to persuade the other person, but to better understand their position. There’s a short set of rules involving civility, mutual respect, and not questioning a person’s character or motivations, but they all boil down to a basic premise: Be nice.
Once the question to be debated is agreed upon, each person writes two reasons supporting their position on separate pieces of paper. Once that’s done, you then respond to those reasons, in writing, with another scrap of paper. (When done right, this is a quiet game.) If you agree with the point made, congratulations, you’ve reached a point of agreement. If not, respond in writing why you disagree with the point on another scrap of paper. These points go back and forth from the center like an octopus’s tentacles.
Most people will find, even on divisive issues, that it isn’t that hard to come up with some areas of agreement. You may also find that a deeply held position isn’t on as rock-solid ground as you thought at the beginning.
Franconeri sketched out the idea of the game in about three months and has spent the last year or so developing it.
“I say this gathering is like the 200th test, or so,” he said. “Which means there’ve been something like 2,000 games played. I think the core elements we were lucky to capture early — focusing on that collaborative spirit. It seems to work.”
The idea of writing down your arguments came from a technique used by debaters.
“We just simplified it and made it so that you can lay them down on the table and work back and forth,” he said. “Another thing we captured early is that it’s critical to listen to the other person. You need to force people to listen to each other. And when it’s in writing, they have to do that.”
At the game night in Evanston, teams of two debated topics such as self-driving cars, cryptocurrency, student-debt relief and religion in public schools. Some tables filled up with the back-and-forth of paper comments, but even the most divisive teams ended up finding some common ground.
“This is definitely something I can see myself using in the future, when you run into a disagreement,” said TC Ngandu, one of the players at the library, who lives in Wilmette. “It’s a way to get to know someone else better, rather than just yelling at these preconceived notions.”
“I got rid of my cell phone seven months ago because I was getting into so many battles with texts and social media,” said Colleen Shalom, from Chicago.
“I was a bully, I screamed at people on the phone, and I needed to step back. I love this because when you slow down and really pause and reflect, it forces you to think before you speak…you respond to the argument they’re making, not the person.”
That sentiment brings a smile to Franconeri’s face. The game is free to download, and his goal is simply to get more people to try it.
“I really worry about the division in the US, and the inability for good people to have a good conversation,” he said. “It’s literally kept me up at night. I thought, I’m a psychologist. It’s my moral duty to do something and not be a bystander. So we wanted to take up those known rules for calm, civil conversations and bake them into something that we could scale up to anybody in the country.”
At least for one night in Evanson, the project worked.
Daywatch: What to expect from Pritzker’s State of the State and budget address
Good morning, Chicago.
Gov. JB Pritzker is scheduled deliver a speech today that could highlight the nation’s political climate as much as the fiscal math affecting Illinois’ future. It will likely present a more optimistic picture of Illinois’ finances than last fall’s estimate that the state would face a $2.2 billion budget gap, and could also feature the governor going after Trump, who has emerged as Pritzker’s political archenemy.
Illinois’ four top legislative leaders briefed on the plan yesterday agreed it will have to hew to the line in a tight fiscal year, with one Democratic leader saying he doesn’t expect the governor to embrace calls by some progressive lawmakers to more aggressively tax Illinois’ highest earners.
Read more on the “maintenance” Illinois budget proposal from the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner, Olivia Olander and Jack O’Connor. Here’s how to tune in to Pritzker’s annual State of the State and budget address.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including more than $1.1 billion in medical debt erased in Illinois, Chicago Bears are raising season ticket prices and restaurant specials for Lent.
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Watch live: Gov. JB Pritzker to deliver 2026 State of the State
Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver his annual State of the State and budget address on Wednesday.
The speech is expected to present a more optimistic look at Illinois’ finances and heavily mention President Donald Trump.
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The 2026 State of the State and budget address is scheduled to be held at 12 p.m. on Wednesday in the Illinois House chamber. Watch the livestream here.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/2026-illinois-state-of-the-state/
Count on Naperville North’s Katie Walker to ‘leave it all on the floor’ in playoff debut. Like any other game.
Naperville North sophomore forward Katie Walker plays the role of the super sub as if she was born to do it.
But that’s not exactly the case. It took the varsity rookie a little while to get acclimated to coming off the bench.
“In the beginning, I would get scared and was not comfortable,” Walker said, “and now I’m comfortable with the team, and it’s easier to come off the bench because they comfort me.”
The 5-foot-9 Walker has provided the Huskies with some comfort with her recent play. She might be the most efficient player on the team.
“Katie is just all around a great player,” Naperville North junior guard Ava Podkasik said. “She brings a lot of intensity and physicality to our team, which is obviously a great thing.
“When we need a rebounder, she’s our go-to person. She’s always there boxing out when she needs to be, fighting for loose balls on the ground and just being as physical as she can be. There’s nothing more we can ask from her. It’s great.”
Naperville North’s Katie Walker (5) reaches for a loose ball during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal game against Plainfield South on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
Podkasik and Walker were great during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal game on Tuesday. Podkasik led all players with 22 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and four assists, while Walker finished with five points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block as the sixth-seeded Huskies beat 12th-seeded Plainfield South 56-39.
This was the first playoff game for Walker, who was ready for the big moment. She made her only shot and was 2 for 2 from the line for Naperville North (20-10), which advances to play third-seeded Naperville Central (25-6), the DuPage Valley Conference champion, in the regional final at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“It was really exciting because if we lose, it’s over,” Walker said. “So it’s leave it all on the floor and hustle for every play.”
Walker did exactly that. She entered the game with the Huskies leading 6-5 and immediately blocked a shot. Two minutes later, Walker fired a pass from the top of the key to Podkasik for a layup.
Naperville North’s Katie Walker (5) passes the ball over Plainfield South’s Asia Sudberry (1) during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
The Cougars (13-17) pulled within 11-9 with nine seconds left in the first quarter, but the Huskies quickly sprinted up the court. Senior point guard Sam Kelly faked a drive and passed to her right to Walker, who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
It was the first time Walker had made a buzzer-beater. What was she thinking when she got the ball?
“Just shoot the ball because we were running out of time,” she said. “That was exciting.”
It was also the start of something big for the Huskies.
“She hit that buzzer-beater three at the end of the first quarter, which really gave us momentum going into the second,” Podkasik said. “It was a big plus for our team. I feel like she just comes in with a mentality that she can do whatever she wants to do.”
Naperville North’s Katie Walker, right, leaps to deflect a pass intended for Plainfield South’s Zahira Edwards. left, during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
The Huskies outscored Plainfield South 19-2 in the second quarter to take a 33-11 halftime lead. Along the way, they built a 15-2 rebounding advantage on the offensive end. Walker and junior guard Zoey Bishop each finished with five offensive rebounds.
“My role is doing whatever the team needs, like going in and giving my all and whatever we need right then, especially rebounding and hustling,” Walker said.
Walker is especially good at that.
“She just does kind of the nitty-gritty stuff for us,” Naperville North coach Aly Miller said. “She’s always on the floor. She’s always getting deflections. She’s always flying around. She’s great on the box-outs. She’s always crashing the offensive glass.
“She just does a lot of little things for us that save possessions and keep our energy alive.”
Naperville North’s Katie Walker, center, passes the ball during a Class 4A Naperville North Regional semifinal game against Plainfield South on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
Walker’s contributions proved decisive when sophomore guard Sydney Smith picked up two early fouls in the first quarter and a third one in the second quarter. Walker replaced Smith in the post and ably picked up the slack.
“She’s kind of wherever we need her,” Miller said. “It kind of depends on the lineup that’s out there. She plays the 5, but she also brings a ton of athleticism. She brings some speed out there, and she’s come around in her role, and she’s just very coachable.
“She’s very willing to do whatever we need her to do.”
Walker even started several games in January.
“As the season has gone on, her minutes have increased, and when we had a couple injuries, she did end up on the starting lineup a little bit, and it didn’t faze her,” Miller said. “She did the same things that she did before.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
Editorial: Miranda Hernández for Cook County Board 16th District Democratic primary
Incumbent Frank Aguilar pledges to improve access to emergency medicines for opioid overdoses and shore up infrastructure to prevent flooding in underserved communities — both worthy goals. But we haven’t forgotten that he obtained his post through a backroom deal after predecessor Jeffrey Tobolski stepped down during the county’s red-light camera scandal and died after being convicted of bribery and extortion. Miranda Hernández, an aide to Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, is a strong challenger. She’s a lawyer and single mother who is a good fit for this mainly near-west suburban district. The presence on the ballot of another youthful mom, registered nurse Leticia “Letty” García, may serve to divide voters willing to support a challenger. Let’s hope not. We agree with the Chicago Federation of Labor that Hernández is an up-and-comer.
Hernández has our endorsement.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois primary election here.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Package-Food Stocks Sink After “Most Downbeat” Consumer Conference, General Mills Guidance Woes
Package-Food Stocks Sink After “Most Downbeat” Consumer Conference, General Mills Guidance Woes
A fresh reminder that the K-shaped economy remains a very big problem emerged Tuesday at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, where top U.S. packaged food executives struck a sour tone about persistent consumer softening and unease over elevated food prices.
General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening told the audience at CAGNY that cereal, snacks, and pet food are among the categories taking the biggest hit as consumers struggle with affordability woes. He said the pressure is being fueled by inflation, reductions in government food benefits, geopolitical uncertainty, and a fragile consumer environment.
Those factors “have led to significant consumer stress, especially for the middle- and lower-income groups,” Harmening said.
Also on Tuesday, General Mills plunged 7% (its biggest drop since May 2022) after cutting its full-year sales outlook. It now expects organic net sales to decline 1.5% to 2%, compared with its prior forecast of down 1% to up 1%.
BNP Paribas analyst Max Gumport told clients CAGNY was “one of the most downbeat in recent memory for the packaged food group.” He noted the group is still facing several headwinds that have contributed to a “more elongated than anticipated recovery in volume.”
Beyond a cash-strapped consumer, Gumport also cited the surging use of GLP-1 drugs, intensifying competition from “disruptor” brands, and ongoing financial stress as some of the top pressures across the packaged food industry.
Also at the conference, Dana McNabb, group president of North America retail at General Mills, said the company has implemented a new lower-pricing strategy that has lifted volumes by eight percentage points.
McNabb said General Mills is targeting the price points that deter purchases and keeping prices below those thresholds. She added that the company is taking about 20% of its “least productive” products off the market.
Mondelēz International CEO Dirk Van de Put told CAGNY that consumers have dialed back on snack buying “because of high prices and flat spendable income.”
UBS analyst Torsten Sippel commented on the market reaction on Wednesday, saying: “Staples are finally pulling back after several weeks of outperformance, following disappointing guidance from General Mills. Packaged Food {UBXXFOOD Index} is down 4%.”
The S&P 500 Packaged Foods Sub-Industry Index closed down nearly 4%, not far from its Covid lows.
Our view is that consumers are addicted to junk food and are likely only temporarily dialing back spending in this segment as they look for new ways to fund their habits.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/18/2026 – 07:20
Rusia recibe al canciller de Cuba e insta a Estados Unidos a no bloquear la isla
Associated Press
MOSCÚ (AP) — El ministro de Exteriores de Cuba visitó Moscú el miércoles, mientras la isla enfrenta apagones y una grave escasez de combustible debido al embargo petrolero de Estados Unidos.
Bruno Rodríguez mantuvo conversaciones con su homólogo ruso, Sergey Lavrov, y tenía previsto reunirse más tarde en el día con el presidente del país, Vladímir Putin.
Lavrov instó a Washington a abstenerse de bloquear Cuba, que ha tenido dificultades para importar petróleo para sus centrales eléctricas y refinerías después de que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, amenazó con aranceles a cualquier nación que vendiera petróleo a La Habana.
“Junto con la mayoría de los miembros de la comunidad internacional, pedimos a Estados Unidos que muestre sentido común, adoptar un enfoque responsable y se abstenga de llevar a cabo sus planes de bloqueo marítimo”, Lavrov dijo durante las conversaciones con Rodríguez.
Además, prometió que Moscú “seguirá apoyando a Cuba y a su pueblo en la protección de la soberanía y la seguridad del país”.
Por su parte, el vocero del Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, señaló que “Rusia, como muchos otros países, se ha pronunciado sistemáticamente en contra el bloqueo a la isla”.
“Tenemos nuestras relaciones con Cuba y valoramos mucho estas relaciones”, dijo Peskov a reporteros. “Y tenemos la intención de seguir desarrollándolas, por supuesto, en tiempos difíciles, brindando la asistencia adecuada a nuestros amigos”.
Preguntado por si el envío de combustible a Cuba podría entorpecer el reciente acercamiento entre Moscú y Washington, Peskov respondió que “no creemos que estos asuntos estén relacionados”.
Putin ha elogiado los esfuerzos de Trump para mediar para el final de la guerra en Ucrania, y el Kremlin y la Casa Blanca han discutido formas de reactivar sus lazos económicos.
Venezuela, uno de los principales proveedores de petróleo de Cuba, dejó de vender crudo a la isla en enero, después de que Estados Unidos capturó al entonces presidente, Nicolás Maduro, en una redada nocturna en Caracas y lo trasladó en avión a Nueva York para enfrentar acusaciones de narcotráfico.
México también suspendió los envíos en enero, después de que Trump lanzó su amenaza arancelaria.
El medio ruso Izvestia reportó la semana pasada, citando a la embajada del país en La Habana, que Moscú se estaba preparando para enviar un cargamento humanitario de combustible a la capital cubana en un futuro cercano. El embajador ruso en Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, indicó el lunes que el Kremlin estaba revisando los detalles para organizar la asistencia a Cuba, pero no ofreció más detalles.
Las escasez de combustible en Cuba ya ha obligado a las agencias turísticas rusas a dejar de vender paquetes de viajes a la isla, después de que el gobierno cubano dijo que no proporcionará combustible a los aviones que aterricen allí.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
