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Among the NDA constituents in the state, the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) have members in the assembly. Rabha Hasong Joutha Sangram Samiti (RHJSS) and Janashakti Party (JP) are also part of the NDA, but they do not have any MLAs.
“Our NDA alliance is complete. We know who will contest where; it is a done deal. There is no issue in stitching the alliance,” Sarma told reporters at the state BJP headquarters.
“After every process is complete, the state leadership will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the list of probable candidates,” he added.
On January 7, Sarma had said the BJP was likely to formalise its seat-sharing agreement with its allies by February 15.
On December 5 last year, he had said the finalisation was expected to be over by January 15.
The elections for the 126-member assembly are expected to take place in March-April. This will be the first election after the delimitation exercise, done in 2023.Post delimitation, many seats and their geographical boundaries have been changed, while some non-reserved seats were reserved and vice versa. This has led to complications within the ruling and opposition coalitions.
At present, the BJP has 64 members in the assembly, while AGP has nine, UPPL has seven, and the BPF has three.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15, and CPI(M) has one. There is one Independent legislator as well.
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Thousands of flights have been canceled in the U.S. as communities in the Northeast rush to prepare for an intense blizzard that forecasters say will arrive on Sunday.
The total number of disrupted flights reached more than 7,000 as of 6 a.m., with 6,456 U.S. flights canceled and an additional 547 U.S. flights delayed so far through Tuesday.
Jetblue, American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and United have announced they will waive change and cancellation fees ahead of the looming storm over the expected impact on travel at many of the Northeast’s major flight hubs.
The nor’easter is forecast to bring snow totals of over a foot to parts of the Northeast beginning Sunday, according to FOX Weather.
SHOVELING SNOW COULD POSE DANGEROUS HEALTH RISK FOR ONE GROUP, EXPERTS WARN
Maintenance crews clear snow from the taxiway at LaGuardia Airport as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in New York City, Jan. 26, 2026. (Reuters/David ‘Dee’ Delgado / Reuters Photos)
Blizzard warnings are in place for New York City and the New Jersey coastline, while winter storm watches and warnings are in effect for Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
The heaviest snow will begin to fall Sunday night, with potential snow totals Sunday night into Monday topping 18–24 inches in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston, FOX Weather reports.
Travelers wait for a flight at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York City, Nov. 18, 2025. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon / Reuters Photos)
TENNESSEE MAN DIES AFTER SUFFERING HEART ATTACK WHILE SHOVELING SNOW, ADDING TO STORM TOLL
The National Weather Service warned that the storm could bring wind gusts up to 55 mph, creating whiteout conditions that “will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening.”
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Forecasters added that the “strong winds, combined with the weight of heavy, wet snow, will likely result in scattered to numerous power outages.”
The original six American Girl historical characters — Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, Molly McIntire, Felicity Merriman, Addy Walker and Josefina Montoya — are displayed at the brand’s flagship store,
Luke Fountain
The flagship American Girl Place at Rockefeller Center in New York City feels frozen in time.
The air smells faintly of vanilla. Young girls dart between doll displays clutching miniature shirts and sequined shoes. Beneath glittering chandeliers, the brand’s iconic red boxes line shelves with museum-like precision. Blow dryers hum in the Doll Salon, and downstairs, pink-frosted cupcakes land on cafe tables before dolls sitting upright in their miniature highchairs.
“It feels timeless,” said Jamie Cygielman, global head of dolls for Mattel, the brand’s parent company.
And yet, behind the scenes, the business of American Girl dolls is not what it once was.
As American Girl turns 40, the brand is navigating more modern challenges: digital competition, shifting play patterns and an aging, more cost-conscious customer base.
“The anniversary is at precarious moment for American Girl and the whole doll industry,” said Jaime Katz, an analyst who covers Mattel for Morningstar. “Kids are more digital in play, and the [American Girl] brand has struggled.”
Around a decade ago, at its peak, American Girl was recording more than $600 million in annual sales. By 2023, annual sales had fallen to roughly $200 million — just a third of prior levels.
While American Girl has shrunk back considerably from the mid-2010s, the brand has more recently posted five consecutive quarters of sales growth — one of the few steady performers inside Mattel’s portfolio.
“Growing off a base that’s down more than 60% doesn’t mean the brand is back. It means it’s stabilizing,” Katz told CNBC.
Earlier this month, Mattel reported fourth-quarter sales of $1.77 billion, falling short of Wall Street expectations after holiday demand came in lighter than projected and heavier discounting weighed on margins. Earnings per share likewise fell short, and Mattel issued a lower-than-expect profit forecast for 2026.
Mattel shares have fallen roughly 19% since the Feb. 10 report and are down about 20% over the past year. Citi and JPMorgan downgraded the stock after the results, too.
“People are watching Mattel this year … waiting with baited breath, because they are spending a ton and it seems unlikely they will be bringing in big profits,” Katz said.
A doll gets her hair washed, brushed and curled at the American Girl Salon at the brand’s flagship store in Rockefeller Center.
Luke Fountain
Longstanding issues
Even before the Covid pandemic forced American Girl to reduce its retail footprint from about 15 stores in 2019 to seven U.S. locations today, the brand faced mounting competition from lower-priced alternatives at big-box retailers like Target’s “Our Generation” line.
A traditional, 18-inch American Girl typically starts at $135, excluding accessories, which can cost as much as $250 for a bunk bed or $275 for a beach cruiser.
The premium price once signaled to many parents a mark of quality and prestige, said Laura Tretter, co-host of the American Girl Women podcast. But in an inflation-conscious environment, it’s narrowed the customer base, Katz said.
“Parents are more selective about discretionary spending right now,” Katz said. “That price point [for an American Girl doll] looks steep to many households.”
Across the toy industry, companies, including competitors like Hasbro, are grappling with how to get kids interested in their products, particularly amid uneven consumer spending and, recently, trade uncertainty.
“There are so many more things today that a kid might be enticed by to play with,” Cygielman told CNBC. “There’s also more competition today, and we saw in the past that tariffs can make an impact on the toy market, but we adapt.”
For many kids, play has migrated toward tablets, gaming subscriptions and short-form video.
“The definition of ‘toy’ has changed,” Katz said. “A iPad or Nintendo Switch competes directly with a doll. There are simply more claims on the same discretionary dollar.”
Overall, Mattel’s doll and preschool categories have faced steady declines for the last three quarters, even after the halo effect of 2023’s “Barbie” movie. Global dolls sales fell 7% in the latest quarter, while the infant, toddler and preschool segment declined 17%.
Struggling sales for American Girl and Mattel’s Fisher Price brand motivated activist investor Barington Capital in 2024 to push the company to streamline its portfolio and improve returns, floating the possibility of selling off the brands.
“American Girl is not a huge part of Mattel’s overall financial profile,” Katz said. “Still though, for investors, the question isn’t whether the brand is beloved. It’s whether it’s strategically essential. It was a drag on profits.”
A girl waits with her new Truely Me doll at the American Girl flagship store in Rockefeller Center.
Luke Fountain
Capitalizing on loyalty
Inside the Rockefeller Center store, those industry headwinds feel distant.
On a recent visit, Lisa Kandoski stood gazing at Molly McIntire — the World War II-era heroine adorned with round wire-rimmed glasses, a navy argyle sweater and braids tied in red ribbons — just like the doll Kandoski said her grandmother put under the Christmas tree in 1990.
“It’s not just a doll,” Kandoski, now 40, told CNBC, her eyes misty. “I sort of realized the impact Molly had on me as a kid. She taught me that you could be brave even when the world was scary, that you could ‘do your part’ even when you were small. She shaped who I am.”
That emotional alchemy has defined American Girl since it disrupted the doll industry in 1986. At the time, the market was dominated by either fashion dolls mirroring adulthood or baby dolls to rehearse motherhood.
The original six American Girl characters — Samantha, Kirsten, Molly, Felicity, Addy and Josefina — came with books tackling subjects rarely taught to young kids like child labor or racism, and all dolls treated girlhood itself as a formative stage.
“American Girl remains a moral compass for many of us,” said Tretter of the American Girl Women podcast. “I love that girls today are still getting positive messages about inclusivity, friendship and going through difficult changes.”
Over time, American Girl expanded into publishing, film and destination retail while diversifying its characters, like with the 2026 “Girl of the Year,” Raquel Reyes, a biracial DJ and animal rescuer who helps run her family’s Kansas City paleta shop.
The brand’s whimsical seriousness became a differentiator and fostered generational loyalty, said Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler, a folklorist and author of “An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe.”
Look no further than the Doll Hospital where white-coated “doctors” triage patients, fit wheelchairs, perform eye exams, and apply miniature casts for doll owners of all ages.
“That’s why people return,” Orlovsky-Schnitzler said. “You’re not just buying plastic and fabric. You’re revisiting a version of yourself.”
And even though the dolls remain preserved in childhood innocence, their original owners, now grown up, keep returning to American Girl through podcasts, memes, cosplay and fan fiction.
Some pass their dolls down to their children. Others buy new ones for themselves.
“There’s something powerful about handing your daughter the doll you once slept beside,” Orlovsky-Schnitzler said. “It’s also just as comforting to go back to the days of your youth with your own doll.”
American Girl is releasing modernized version of its original six characters for the brand’s 40th anniversary.
Mattel
A growing base
Mattel is battling to convert that nostalgia into broader sales growth.
So‑called “kidult” consumers — adults who buy toys for themselves — have become a coveted demographic. By late 2024, spending on toys for adults 18 and older had surpassed that for children ages 3 to 5, according to market research firm Circana. That cohort continued to drive industry growth in 2025.
Mattel has increasingly sought to monetize its intellectual property through publishing, collectibles, entertainment and digital platforms. In interviews and on calls with investors, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has said that mobile games and interactive platforms are particularly promising areas.
However, “nostalgia must translate into durable revenue and sales growth,” Katz said. Lean too heavily into adult collectors, and a brand risks “aging alongside its original audience.” Pivot too aggressively toward digital trends, and it “risks diluting what made it distinctive.”
Competitors have been doing the same. For instance, Lego continues to release more brick building sets aimed at adults like flowers, art and collectables based on millennial pop culture favorites such as the 1990s TV hit “Friends.”
For American Girl, its 40th anniversary offers a natural inflection point to strike a balance between kid and adult fans, Cygielman said.
American Girl is releasing modernized versions of its original six characters and publishing its first book for adults, centered on Samantha Parkington and set during her adulthood in the 1920s.
At the same time, the brand is working to keep the next generation engaged through contemporary “Girl of the Year” storylines and investments in digital platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and “American Girl World” on Roblox.
“Nostalgia is an entry point, not the endgame,” Cygielman said. “The question is how we extend that emotional equity into new platforms and new audiences.”
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Gone are the days of open trade in commodities. Trade barriers and hoarding—by governments, traders and even investors—are the features of today’s markets. That is fragmenting commerce and fueling price volatility.
Take copper. After President Trump announced last year that he would impose tariffs on the red metal, traders stockpiled it in the U.S., sending the U.S. price surging much higher than the price in London. At one point last summer, copper futures on the U.S. Comex were 30% pricier than cash copper prices on the London Metal Exchange.
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In this chat, she shares her outlook for FY27 in terms of earnings growth, smallcaps, and sectoral opportunities.
With life insurers inherently operating on long-term liabilities, how are you positioning the fixed income book amid uncertainty around the rate cycle and yield curve movements?
Given the long-duration nature of our liabilities, our fixed income positioning is anchored in asset-liability matching rather than tactical rate calls. While the global rate cycle appears closer to stabilization, domestic liquidity, fiscal supply dynamics, and inflation trajectory continue to influence yield curve movements.
We are therefore maintaining duration aligned with liabilities while selectively adding spread assets at attractive yields. We continue to scout for acceptable credit that meets all our risk criteria, along with proportionate credit and tenor spread. In a range-bound rate environment, carry and disciplined deployment tend to reward more than duration strategies.
How are you evaluating allocations to emerging avenues such as REITs, InvITs, and other alternative assets within the broader asset-liability management framework?
REITs and InvITs are evaluated as strategic portfolio assets rather than tactical yield enhancers. For long-duration investors like us, these instruments offer stable cash flows, superior risk-adjusted returns, and diversification away from traditional fixed income. However, overall allocation to these assets remains calibrated. We focus on marquee sponsors, high-quality assets, manageable leverage, and stable distributions. Over time, as the ecosystem matures and secondary market depth improves, these assets can play an even larger role in enhancing portfolio returns.
How do you assess the current market construct in terms of valuation comfort versus earnings visibility?
The market today reflects selective comfort rather than broad-based valuation ease. Large caps offer relatively better alignment between earnings, visibility, and multiples, supported by strong balance sheets and cash flow resilience. In contrast, certain segments of mid and small caps are pricing in optimistic multiyear growth assumptions.
India’s structural growth story remains intact, but liquidity-driven re-rating has largely played out so far. The next leg of returns should be earnings-led. We therefore remain constructive yet selective, favoring companies with pricing power, capital efficiency, and earnings durability over thematic or narrative-driven plays.
Corporate earnings growth has shown signs of improvement. Do you think full earnings recovery will occur from FY27 onwards?
We are seeing early signs of normalization after a period of margin compression and uneven demand recovery. That said, a full-fledged earnings recovery from FY27 onwards will depend on sustained private capex, continued financial sector strength, and external demand stability. Our base case is for a progressive and broadening recovery rather than a sharp surge. Companies that invested through the slowdown and maintained balance sheet discipline are best positioned to lead in this phase.
Do you anticipate earnings growth broadening across sectors, or remaining concentrated in select themes such as financials, manufacturing, or consumption?
Financials remain structurally well-placed given credit penetration, asset quality normalization, and strong capitalization. Manufacturing and industrials continue to benefit from supply chain diversification and government capex momentum. However, for markets to deliver sustained returns, earnings must broaden beyond these pillars. Consumption recovery, especially in rural and mass segments, will be important for true breadth. The next phase is likely to reward dispersion and bottom-up selection. Our positioning reflects that balance.
Small- and mid-cap stocks have seen significant participation from retail investors over the past few years. How are you evaluating risk-reward in this segment, especially from the lens of capital preservation for policyholders? Do you think small caps will bounce back in FY27?
From the policyholder perspective, capital preservation and risk-adjusted return remain paramount. While small and mid-caps have delivered strong returns, dispersion within the segment is extremely high. Balance sheet quality, governance standards, and earnings sustainability vary widely. We therefore remain highly selective. A broad-based bounce in FY27 would require sustained earnings delivery and supportive liquidity conditions. The next phase is likely to reward quality and cash flow visibility rather than momentum-driven participation.
Which market segments are you bullish on based on both earnings growth and valuation comfort?
Large-cap financials continue to offer a compelling blend of earnings visibility and reasonable valuations. Select industrial and manufacturing companies with strong order books and operating leverage also stand out.
Within consumption, opportunities are emerging where rural recovery and premiumization intersect, though we remain valuation-conscious. Overall, our approach remains consistent: constructive on India’s medium-term growth trajectory, but disciplined on valuation and quality. The coming phase is likely to be earnings-driven and selective rather than broad-based and liquidity-led.
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