President-elect Donald Trump's team is discussing pursuing direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hoping a fresh diplomatic push can lower the risks of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter. Several in Trump's team now see a direct approach from Trump, to build on a relationship that already exists, as most likely to break the ice with Kim, years after the two traded insults and what Trump called "beautiful" letters in an unprecedented diplomatic effort during his first term in office, the people said. The policy discussions are fluid and no final decisions have been made by the president-elect, the sources said. Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment. What reciprocation Kim will offer Trump is unclear. The North Koreans ignored four years of outreach by U.S. President Joe Biden to start talks with no pre-conditions, and Kim is emboldened by an expanded missile arsenal and a much closer relationship with Russia. "We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States," Kim said last week in a speech at a Pyongyang military exhibition, according to state media. During his 2017-2021 presidency, Trump held three meetings with Kim, in Singapore, Hanoi, and at the Korean border, the first time a sitting U.S. president had set foot in the country. Their diplomacy yielded no concrete results, even as Trump described their talks as falling "in love." The U.S. called for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, while Kim demanded full sanctions relief, then issued new threats. It was not clear what result a new diplomatic effort would yield. An initial Trump goal would be to reestablish basic engagement but further policy aims or a precise timetable have not been set, the people said. And the issue may take a backseat to more pressing foreign policy concerns in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to one person briefed on the transition's thinking. North Korean state media have not yet publicly mentioned the re-election of Trump, and Kim said this month that the United States was ramping up tension and provocations, raising the risks of nuclear war. Trump and some of his allies left office with the impression that the direct approach was Washington's best shot at influencing behavior north of the demilitarized zone, which has divided the Korean Peninsula for seven decades. The countries' war was never technically ended even as the guns fell silent. On Friday, Trump named one of the people who implemented that initial North Korea strategy, former State Department official Alex Wong, as his deputy national security adviser. "As Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, he helped negotiate my Summit with North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un," Trump said in a statement. Tensions Rise Trump inherits an increasingly tense situation with Kim when he returns to the White House in January, as he did in 2017, an atmosphere allies expect the incoming president to confront head-on. "My experience with President Trump is he's much more likely to be open to direct engagement," said U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally, in an interview with Reuters earlier this year. "I'm optimistic that we can see an improvement in the relationship and perhaps a different posture adopted by Kim Jong Un if that dialogue were reopened again." Washington has a dossier of concerns over the country's expanding nuclear weapons and missile program, its increasingly hostile rhetoric to South Korea and its close collaboration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. These topics are expected to feature in Biden administration transition briefings for Trump aides, according to a U.S. official. The Trump team has yet to sign transition agreements, which could limit the scope of some of these briefings. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Particularly concerning to Washington are the prospects of increased sharing of nuclear or missile technology between Russia and North Korea and the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia to help in the war with Ukraine. Reuters reported on Monday that North Korea is expanding a key weapons manufacturing complex that assembles a type of short-range missile used by Russia in Ukraine, citing researchers at a U.S.-based think tank who examined satellite images. U.S. officials said those factors raise the risk of a conflict between multiple nuclear armed nations in Europe or Asia, including the United States and its allies, which include South Korea and Japan. American troops are deployed throughout the region to deter North Korea, and Trump has insisted that U.S. allies share more of the cost for those deployments. In his final meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month in Peru, Biden asked for Beijing to use its leverage to reel in North Korea. Opportunity for China and the U.S. to work together may be limited as Trump vows vast tariffs on Chinese goods and stacks his inner circle with China hardliners, such as Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser. Trump said last month the two countries would have had "a nuclear war with millions of people killed," but that he had stopped it, thanks to his ties with the North's leader. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world42 vipph 。

Databricks closes in on $55 billion valuation after latest fundraise, source says

WOBURN, Mass., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLIN ), a global leader in AI-powered marketing technology, today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2024. "HawkSearch is the leader in AI-powered product discovery. This year we nearly doubled our sales contracts, launched a new HawkSearch site every week, had better than 103% net revenue retention for HawkSearch, and released 5 AI products under the HawkSearch brand,” said Ari Kahn, Bridgeline's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We begin 2025 with the largest sales pipeline in the company's history, an AI product suite that both existing customer and new customers need, and an outstanding industry reputation from customers and analysts.” Financial Highlights - Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 Bridgeline Digital, Inc. will hold a conference call today, December 23, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. The Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Ari Kahn, and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Windhausen, will host the call, followed by a question-and-answer period. The details of the conference call and replay are as follows: Bridgeline Digital Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Call Monday, December 23, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. ET Once registered, participants will receive dial-in numbers and unique PIN number. Non-GAAP Financial Measures This press release contains the following Non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss), and Non-GAAP adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, non-cash warrant related income/expense, changes in fair value of contingent consideration, restructuring and acquisition-related costs, amortization of debt discounts, preferred stock dividends and any related tax effects. Bridgeline uses Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss) as supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss) and Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share are calculated as net income (loss) or net income (loss) per share on a diluted basis, excluding, where applicable, amortization of intangible assets, change in fair value of warrants, stock-based compensation, restructuring and acquisition-related costs, goodwill impairment charges, preferred stock dividends and any related tax effects. Bridgeline's management does not consider these Non-GAAP measures in isolation or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principal limitation of these Non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the Company's financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments by management about which expenses and income are excluded or included in determining these Non-GAAP financial measures. To compensate for these limitations, Bridgeline management presents Non-GAAP financial measures in connection with GAAP results. Bridgeline urges investors to review the reconciliation of its Non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which is included in this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate Bridgeline's financial performance. Our definitions of Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) may differ from and therefore may not be comparable with similarly titled measures used by other companies, thereby limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. As a result of the limitations that Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss) have as an analytical tool, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under GAAP. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 All statements included in this press release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These statements appear in a number of places and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Bridgeline Digital, Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, business operations and the business of our customers, suppliers and partners; our ability to retain and upgrade current customers, increasing our recurring revenue, our ability to attract new customers, our revenue growth rate; our history of net loss and our ability to achieve or maintain profitability, instability in the financial markets, including the banking sector; our liability for any unauthorized access to our data or our users' content, including through privacy and data security breaches; any decline in demand for our platform or products; changes in the interoperability of our platform across devices, operating systems, and third party applications that we do not control; competition in our markets; our ability to respond to rapid technological changes, extend our platform, develop new features or products, or gain market acceptance for such new features or products, particularly in light of potential disruptions to the productivity of our employees resulting from remote work; our ability to manage our growth or plan for future growth, and our acquisition of other businesses and the potential of such acquisitions to require significant management attention, disrupt our business, or dilute stockholder value; the volatility of the market price of our common stock, the ability to maintain our listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market; or our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls as well as other risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any of such risks could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law. About Bridgeline Digital Bridgeline is a marketing technology company that offers a suite of products that help companies grow online revenue by driving more traffic to their websites, converting more visitors to purchasers, and increasing average order value. To learn more, please visit www.bridgeline.com or call (800) 603-9936. Contact: Bridgeline Digital, Inc. Thomas R. Windhausen Chief Financial Officer [email protected]

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