Business
Best Times and Viewing Tips for April 2 Full Moon
SYDNEY — Skies across Australia will glow under the luminous Pink Moon this week, with the April full moon reaching its peak on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at around 1:11 p.m. AEDT, offering skywatchers a spectacular celestial display as autumn settles in the southern hemisphere.
Although named the Pink Moon after the pink phlox wildflowers that bloom in North America during early spring, the moon itself will not appear pink. Instead, it will shine as a bright, silvery orb, potentially taking on a warm orange or golden hue near the horizon due to atmospheric effects. The name originates from traditional Native American and colonial almanacs marking seasonal changes rather than the moon’s actual color.
The Pink Moon marks the fourth of 13 full moons in 2026 and coincides with the arrival of autumn in Australia. It will officially become full at approximately 02:11 UTC on April 2 (which is 1:11 p.m. AEDT or 12:11 p.m. AEST in eastern Australia). For most observers Down Under, the moon will already be high in the daytime sky at its peak, making the best viewing opportunities after sunset on Thursday evening when it rises in the east.
Astronomers recommend heading outside from around 7:30 p.m. local time onward on April 2 for optimal views as the moon climbs higher and appears brightest against the darkening sky. In major cities, moonrise times vary slightly: Sydney around 6:15 p.m. AEDT, Melbourne about 6:30 p.m. AEST, Brisbane near 6:00 p.m. AEST, Perth around 6:45 p.m. AWST, and Adelaide roughly 6:20 p.m. ACST. Clear weather forecasts for much of the continent this week should favor good visibility in most regions.
No special equipment is needed to enjoy the Pink Moon. The naked eye will reveal its full, bright disk, while binoculars or a small telescope can bring out subtle surface features such as craters and maria. Photographers hoping to capture striking images should look for compositions with foreground elements like city skylines, trees or coastal horizons to add scale and drama. A tripod and long-exposure settings work well for sharper shots once the sky darkens.
The Pink Moon also carries cultural and seasonal significance. In the northern hemisphere it signals the bursting of spring flowers and the renewal of life after winter. For Australians, it arrives during the transition to cooler autumn weather, often called the “Egg Moon” or “Budding Moon” in various traditions. Some Indigenous Australian groups have their own seasonal interpretations tied to local flora, fauna and weather patterns.
This year’s April full moon is not classified as a supermoon, as the moon’s distance from Earth at perigee will be around 244,000 miles — not close enough to qualify for the “super” designation that makes the moon appear larger and brighter. Still, any full moon rising near the horizon can create an optical illusion known as the “moon illusion,” making it seem unusually large and impressive.
Weather conditions will play a key role in visibility. Meteorologists expect mostly clear skies across eastern states on Thursday evening, though patchy cloud could affect parts of western Australia or Tasmania. Light pollution in urban areas will dim the view somewhat, so heading to darker suburban parks, beaches or rural lookouts is advised for the best experience. Popular spots include Sydney’s North Head, Melbourne’s Yarra Bend Park, Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha, and Perth’s Kings Park.
Astronomy enthusiasts and social media users are already buzzing with anticipation. Hashtags such as #PinkMoon2026 and #AprilFullMoon have begun trending locally, with many sharing past full moon photos and planning viewing parties. Families and school groups often use such events as informal science lessons about lunar cycles, phases and the moon’s influence on tides.
The lunar cycle repeats roughly every 29.5 days, with each full moon earning traditional names tied to nature and culture. Following the Pink Moon, May’s full moon will be known as the Flower Moon, continuing the spring theme in the north while marking deepening autumn in Australia.
For those interested in lunar folklore, the Pink Moon has long been associated with renewal, growth and fresh beginnings. Some modern astrologers link it to themes of emotional release and setting intentions for the coming season, though scientific observers focus on the predictable mechanics of orbital alignment between the sun, Earth and moon.
Safety reminders accompany any evening skywatching activity. Drivers should remain alert for pedestrians gathered outdoors, and viewers in remote areas should carry torches, wear appropriate clothing for cooling evening temperatures, and check for any local fire restrictions or wildlife considerations.
The event provides a timely reminder of Australia’s clear southern skies, which offer excellent opportunities for stargazing year-round. Organizations such as Astronomy Australia and local astronomical societies often host public viewing nights during significant lunar events, providing telescopes and expert guidance.
While the Pink Moon dominates the night on April 2, keen observers may also spot bright planets such as Jupiter or Saturn low in the sky depending on the time and location. The moon’s brightness can wash out fainter stars, so the following nights as it wanes will offer better conditions for deeper sky viewing.
Climate and light pollution trends continue to challenge optimal viewing in growing cities, prompting calls for smarter urban lighting policies to preserve dark skies for both wildlife and human enjoyment. Initiatives to create urban dark-sky reserves have gained traction in several Australian states.
As April 1 headlines teased the upcoming display, Australians from all walks of life — from casual skywatchers to dedicated amateur astronomers — prepared to step outside and appreciate one of nature’s reliable spectacles. In an increasingly busy world, the predictable rhythm of the full moon offers a moment of shared wonder.
Whether viewed from a bustling city balcony or a remote outback vantage point, the Pink Moon promises to deliver a memorable sight. Its soft, steady glow will illuminate the landscape, reminding observers of humanity’s ancient connection to the heavens.
For the latest local moonrise times and weather updates, Australians can consult apps such as Time and Date, Stellarium or the Bureau of Meteorology. Community groups on social platforms are also sharing real-time tips and photos as the event unfolds.
As the Pink Moon rises over the Australian continent this week, it serves as a gentle seasonal marker — a bridge between the warmth of summer and the cooler days ahead, lighting up the night with quiet beauty that requires no ticket or reservation, just a clear view and a few minutes of attention.
Skywatchers are encouraged to share their images responsibly and to enjoy the moment safely. The Pink Moon of 2026 may not paint the sky pink, but it will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on those who take the time to look up.
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Hundreds of Chime users reported issues with the popular mobile banking app Wednesday morning, with complaints of login failures, frozen screens and inaccessible account balances disrupting daily transactions for the fintech giant’s millions of customers.
As of early Thursday, April 2, 2026, user reports on outage tracking sites like Downdetector showed elevated complaints focused primarily on the Chime app, with secondary issues involving funds transfers and mobile banking features. While Chime’s official status page listed all core services — including card purchases, phone support and account access — as operational, scattered user posts on social media and forums suggested intermittent problems affecting a subset of members.
Chime, a San Francisco-based challenger bank known for its fee-free checking and savings accounts, early direct deposit and SpotMe overdraft protection, has grown rapidly by targeting younger and underserved consumers. The company does not operate traditional branches and relies heavily on its mobile app and website for nearly all customer interactions.
“Many members are experiencing temporary difficulties accessing the app or completing certain transactions,” one user reported on social platforms early Thursday. Similar complaints described error messages, loading spinners that never resolved and an inability to view recent activity or make payments.
Downdetector data indicated that app-related issues accounted for the majority of recent reports, consistent with patterns seen in prior minor disruptions. Chime’s status page showed no active incidents as of late Wednesday, with the most recent resolved event dating back to late March when card controls were temporarily unavailable for some users.
What Users Are Reporting
Affected customers described a range of symptoms:
- Inability to log in or repeated authentication failures.
- App crashing or freezing on the splash screen.
- Balances and transaction history not loading.
- Failed attempts to send money via Pay Anyone or initiate transfers.
- Issues with mobile check deposit and card controls.
Some users noted that the web version of Chime at chime.com remained accessible in certain cases, offering a potential workaround. Others reported success after force-quitting the app, clearing cache, restarting their phones or toggling between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
“Chime app is down again — can’t even see my balance to pay rent,” one frustrated Bay Area user posted. Similar messages appeared across Reddit’s r/chimefinancial, Facebook groups and X, though the volume remained far below levels that would indicate a widespread, multi-hour outage.
Chime has not issued a public statement acknowledging a current incident. Its status page continued to display green across all monitored components, including card purchases, transfers and support channels.
Chime’s History With Service Disruptions
This is not the first time Chime users have faced access issues. The company has experienced several notable outages in recent years, often tied to third-party processors or cloud service providers. In October 2025, a widespread Amazon Web Services disruption affected Chime and other platforms, leading to delayed direct deposits and temporary unavailability of balances and transfers. Chime resolved that incident within hours and communicated updates via its status page and social channels.
A 2019 outage linked to a payment processor left millions unable to use debit cards or access cash for nearly two days, prompting a class-action settlement worth $1.5 million. Chime later improved its infrastructure and redundancy measures, but the reliance on digital-only delivery means even brief glitches can frustrate users who depend on the app for daily finances.
Unlike traditional banks, Chime partners with established banks such as The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank for FDIC-insured deposits. Customer funds remain safe and accessible once systems stabilize, the company has emphasized in past incidents. No reports indicated lost or compromised funds in the current situation.
Workarounds and Troubleshooting Tips
For users facing issues Thursday, Chime and community members suggest several steps:
- Force close and restart the app: Swipe away the app completely and relaunch it.
- Clear cache and data: On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Chime > Storage. iOS users can offload the app or reinstall.
- Update the app: Ensure you have the latest version from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Try the website: Log in at chime.com using a browser for basic account viewing and some transactions.
- Contact support: Use the in-app help if accessible or call 1-844-244-6363. Response times may be longer during elevated call volume.
- Check internet connection: Switch networks or use mobile data if on Wi-Fi.
Chime’s customer support remains operational according to its status page. Members with urgent needs, such as pending bills or direct deposits, are advised to monitor their accounts closely once access resumes.
Broader Implications for Fintech Reliability
Chime serves millions of Americans who value its no-fee structure and early paycheck access. The company has positioned itself as a modern alternative to big banks, but repeated service hiccups highlight the challenges of operating at scale in a fully digital environment.
Industry analysts note that fintech outages often spike during high-traffic periods — early mornings when users check balances before work, or around direct deposit days. With many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, even short disruptions can create real stress for rent, groceries or bill payments.
Chime has invested in infrastructure improvements, including better monitoring and redundancy. However, as a non-traditional bank without physical locations, it faces heightened expectations for 24/7 digital reliability.
Users affected by the latest reports expressed a mix of annoyance and resignation. “This happens too often with Chime,” one commenter wrote. Others defended the service, citing its overall convenience and lack of overdraft or monthly fees.
What to Expect Moving Forward
As of Thursday morning, there was no indication of a prolonged or major outage. Most monitoring sites showed normal or only slightly elevated report volumes compared to baseline. Chime typically resolves minor app glitches quickly, often within minutes to a couple of hours.
Customers should continue checking the official status page at status.chime.com for real-time updates. The company also posts notices on its @Chime social media accounts during significant events.
For those relying on Chime for time-sensitive transactions, alternatives include using linked debit cards at ATMs or merchants (if card controls function), initiating transfers via the website or contacting recipients to explain potential delays.
Chime has grown into one of the largest U.S. fintech players by focusing on simplicity and accessibility. While occasional technical hiccups are common in the sector, the company’s rapid response in past incidents has helped maintain customer loyalty for many.
Members experiencing ongoing problems are encouraged to document issues with screenshots and reach out to support. In rare cases of financial hardship directly caused by an outage, Chime has occasionally offered goodwill gestures, though no such program has been announced for the current situation.
As the morning progressed Thursday, reports appeared to taper off, suggesting any intermittent issues were resolving naturally or through user-side fixes. Chime users in the Bay Area and across the country can expect normal service to resume fully soon, but staying informed via official channels remains the best approach.
For the latest updates, visit status.chime.com or monitor Downdetector. Safe banking, and remember that all deposits at Chime are FDIC-insured through its partner banks up to applicable limits.
Nike Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
When Nike reported fiscal third quarter earnings on Tuesday night, investors were looking for evidence its recovery is on track.
Instead, all they learned is the retailer’s turnaround is far from over, sending shares tumbling more than 14% in mid-day trading Wednesday.
During a call with analysts, finance chief Matt Friend warned sales would slide by a low single digit percentage through the end of this calendar year, as a decline in China is expected to offset growing strength in North America.
The company anticipates sales will fall between 2% and 4% in the current quarter, worse than the 1.9% growth analysts had expected, while it expects China sales will plunge 20% – even with a two point benefit from foreign exchange rates. Efforts to clean up Nike’s assortment in China and drive full price sales are expected to continue – and remain a drag on revenue growth – through fiscal 2027, slated to end next spring.
It expects to begin lapping the period when it started to get hit by higher tariffs in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, slated for this summer, which could give it easier year-over-year profit comparisons. Executives expect gross margins could begin expanding by the end of the year during the retailer’s fiscal 2027 second quarter – if they do at all.
Nike’s gross margin has declined year over year for seven straight quarters, and it may be harder to boost the metric now because product input costs could rise due to the war in the Middle East.
“The environment around us has become increasingly dynamic, and we could experience unplanned volatility due to the disruption in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and other factors that could impact either input costs or consumer behavior,” said Friend. “We are focused on what we can control, and these assumptions reflect the macro environment as it stands today.”
The lagging turnaround, the persistent bad news and the number of business arms Nike needs to fix to stabilize the entire enterprise left investors soured. The few pockets of good news – better-than-expected sales in China, growing wholesale revenues, continued growth in North America – weren’t enough to boost the stock.
On Wednesday morning, three of Wall Street’s biggest banks, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Bank of America, all downgraded the stock, citing the dragging turnaround, growing headwinds and dwindling patience.
“We thought improved performance product innovation and lapping Win Now actions would result in a return to growth in 1Q27; instead, management has initiated guidance for sales to remain negative into 3Q27,” Bank of America analyst Lorraine Hutchinson said in a Wednesday note to clients. “Strong results in running and NA were the reasons for our patience but with the sales inflection now nine months away, we see little room for multiple expansion, leading to our downgrade.”
Throughout Nike’s call with analysts on Tuesday, Friend and CEO Elliott Hill kept predicting a return to sustained growth, but were once again vague about the timeline.
“We are increasingly confident we are on track to return to balanced growth in North America across both NIKE Direct and wholesale channels in the near term,” said Friend.
In his remarks, Hill said again that recovery is taking more time than he expected.
“This is complex work, and parts of it are taking longer than I’d like, but the direction is clear,” said Hill. “The urgency is real, and the foundation is getting stronger.”
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David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, speaks in the Oval Office during an event about weight-loss drugs at the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 6, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Eli Lilly opposes the White House’s push to codify “most favored nation” drug pricing into law, CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview with CNBC.
Lilly is one of more than a dozen drugmakers that signed deals with the Trump administration last year agreeing to charge similar prices for prescription drugs in the U.S. as other wealthy nations. President Donald Trump has long complained that Americans pay high prices to subsidize low prices for medicine in the rest of the world.
The pharmaceutical industry thought the agreements would pacify those concerns and thwart attempts to make “most favored nation” pricing law. But the White House in recent months has pushed Congress to codify elements of the deals. The draft text hasn’t been shared publicly, though the administration has said it’s trying to get pharmaceutical companies back the effort.
Lilly doesn’t support it, Ricks said.
“When you throw it into the congressional process, what goes in is not what’s going to come out,” Ricks said. “And I think we see a lot of people who would rather reduce prices today and not worry about whether we have any new medicines tomorrow, not worry about whether America will have a robust drug industry and we’ll be able to do research in this country. And I worry about those things, so I don’t think that’s a great idea, and we’ve been pretty clear with the administration and the congressional leaders about that.”
Ricks said he thinks the Trump administration and leadership on the Hill are listening to the company’s concerns, but he said Lilly will use “all the tools we have to combat bad policy, and we think it would be bad policy.”
This Centre will assist Japanese companies to handle a variety of state-level regulations, a lack of transparency in the application of the law, and a complex tax system in India, according to persons familiar with the developments.
The new centre in the Japanese Foreign Ministry will also assist cooperation in sectors of artificial intelligence, startups and critical minerals, ET has learnt.
At the last annual Summit held in August 2025, New Delhi and Tokyo had set a goal of achieving 10 trillion yen ($62.6 billion) in private-sector investment in India over the next decade.
Japanese companies have been relatively slow in expanding into India. There were 1,434 Japanese companies here in 2024, notwithstanding the depth of political ties. In comparison as many as 6,000 Japanese companies operate in Thailand, and nearly 4,500 in Singapore, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Japanese FDI in India has increased in recent years but it remains small compared to Japan’s overall total outward FDI. Japanese outward FDI to India in 2022-23 and 2023-24 stood at USD 1.79 billion and USD 3.1 billion respectively, with USD 1.36 billion in 2024-25 (Up to December 2024), according to a note by the Indian Embassy in Japan. Cumulatively, from 2000 until December 2024, the investments to India have been around US$ 43.2 billion ranking Japan fifth among source countries for FDI. Japanese FDI into India has mainly been in automobile, electrical equipment, telecommunications, chemical, financial (insurance) and pharmaceutical sectors, according to the Embassy.
In 2024, over 60% of Japanese companies in India reported an increase in market share for their main products and services, among the highest in Southwest AsiaSurveys by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation show that Japanese manufacturers have viewed India as the most promising overseas location for four straight years. But the number of companies actually operating there has not grown, with many pointing to a business environment filled with issues difficult for businesses to address on their own, according to a report in Nikkei Asia published on Tuesday.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry is prioritizing economic cooperation with India for two main reasons. “First, India has the world’s largest population and maintains a high economic growth rate, meaning that it has significant potential as a market. Some forecasts suggest that India’s nominal gross domestic product could surpass Japan’s as early as 2026, making India the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to the Nikkei Asia report.
India’s strategic importance is Japan’s second reason for prioritizing cooperation. The two countries share core values, such as democracy and the rule of law and are part of Quad, the Nikkei Asia report mentioned.
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