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Instablog9ja
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A man has made a ‘receipts list’ of everyone who congratulated him on his birthday.
The man has drawn out a list to include Names, Time and the Message length as he marks his birthday.
Investopedia
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Netflix (NFLX) shares surged to a record high Friday, a day after the streaming giant’s third-quarter earnings beat expectations, with several analysts raising their price targets for the stock.
Bank of America boosted its price target to $800 from $740, calling Netflix “one of the best positioned companies within media,” with multiple growth drivers including its “burgeoning ad business.” Netflix’s ad-supported membership grew 35% quarter-over-quarter, and the company said it expects to launch an ad tech platform in 2025.
Analysts at JPMorgan lifted their price target even higher, to $850 from $750, and called Netflix a "top pick," citing its "strong leadership position" with a “virtuous circle of strong subscriber growth, more revenue, and growing profit.”
Including Bank of America, about three-quarters of the 20 analysts covering Netflix tracked by Visible Alpha held a "buy" or equivalent rating for the stock as of Friday, though their average price target at $777.21 was not far off from Friday's closing price.
Shares of Netflix jumped over 11% to close at $763.89 Friday and have gained nearly 57% since the start of the year.
Netflix's gains came despite some programming challenges, calling it “patchier than normal,” due to the lingering impacts of actors and writers strikes in 2023, and said “volume has picked up again.”
Netflix said it delivered several hits in the quarter, with “The Perfect Couple” starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber drawing 65.2 million views, while romantic comedy “Nobody Wants This" with Kristen Bell and Adam Brody drew 37 million.
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Instablog9ja
2 hrs
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Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has mourned the passing of his aide, who tragically slumped and di£d in an Abuja hotel after spending time with an individual.
He said, it is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my devoted Special Assistant, Mr. Ndifreke Saviour Mark, who was with me for no less than 34 years.
He left home at 5.40am on the morning of Sunday 13th October for morning Mass as he was a devoted Catholic and member of the Catholic Church of Assumption, Asokoro after which he went to a hotel by the name of Mildy Lodge and Apartments in Garki, Abuja.
According to the police he took a room at the hotel and spent some time there with an individual after which he apparently slumped and did in that individual’s presence. He was taken to Asokoro District Hospital, was pronounced dead upon arrival and has since been put in the hospital morgue.
The individual he was with at the time of his de ith in the hotel is now in police custody and I have insisted on a full criminal investigation of the matter and an autopsy. The hotel receptionist has also been detained by the police whilst both the manager and the owner of the hotel were invited for questioning earlier this week.
The entire hotel was also sealed up by the police for two days and the room in which he lodged remains sealed till today.
I have broken the sad news to his family, I have met with his wife Barrister Patience Ndifreke-Mark and his Uncle, Mr. Clement Mathias, (who represented his family) and I have also told them of my intention to ensure that, if indeed there is any foul play, justice is done and those behind it are brought to book.
Mark was like a son to me and his passing is a huge blow to me and my entire family. We shared many dreams and aspirations and fought many battles together shoulder to shoulder. Now he has gone it has left much pain but I give thanks to God for his life and for the 52 years that he spent on earth.
I have assured his wife and family of my intention to stand by them at this difficult time and to ensure that they do not lack or want for anything. I have absolute confidence in the FCT Police Command to get to the bottom of this matter after which we can proceed to bury a man that was my most loyal staff and most trusted aide.
Most important of all is the fact that he was a kind, reliable and compassionate soul who brought joy to many and who was incapable of hurting a fly. I will never forget him and though he has passed he lives on in our hearts. I thank all those that have found the time to come and mourn with us at this difficult time. May Ndifreke’s precious soul rest in peace and may the Lord comfort his wife and two beautiful young children.
Investopedia
6 hrs
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Major U.S. equities indexes moved higher on the final day of a trading week that included a series of earnings reports from key companies.
After major financial firms disclosed mostly upbeat results earlier in the week, Netflix (NFLX) took the spotlight with a strong report that could be a positive signal for the tech and communications giants set to report in the coming weeks.
On Friday, the S&P 500 added 0.4% to notch an all-time closing high. The Dow reversed morning losses to end the session nearly 0.1% higher, extending its streak of record closes to three. The Nasdaq was up 0.6%.
Netflix shares scored the S&P 500's top daily performance, soaring 11.1% to an all-time high following the video-streaming giant's better-than-expected third-quarter financial results. Although the pace of subscriber additions slowed from the preceding quarters, 14% growth in total active subscribers was enough to edge out estimates. Analysts have indicated that the company's crackdown on password-sharing has helped boost subscriber numbers, but Netflix plans to discontinue the public release of subscriber data starting in 2025.
Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) surged 10.2% after a securities filing confirmed reports that activist investor Jana Partners has acquired a stake of around 5% in the food processing company. Jana reportedly intends to encourage the maker of frozen french fries to consider the possibility of a sale as well as push for changes to its operations and capital allocation strategy.
An upbeat earnings report also helped lift shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), which jumped 10% after the provider of robotic-assisted systems for minimally invasive medical procedures topped quarterly sales and profit estimates. The company disclosed an 18% uptick in the number of procedures performed using its da Vinci surgical system. In the wake of the strong results, analysts at Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Intuitive Surgical stock to $538 from $495.
Agricultural stocks moved lower after Raymond James downgraded Canada-based grain processor Ag Growth International (AGGZF) to "market perform." Analysts said soft crop prices and weak sentiment among farmers amounted to significant headwinds for the global agricultural industry. Shares of fellow grain handler Bunge Global (BG) dropped 6.3%, the steepest decline in the S&P 500 Friday, while peer Archer-Daniels-Midland's (ADM) shares slide 3.8%. Ag Growth International's American depositary receipts (ADRs) were down 10.7%.
CVS Health (CVS) shares tumbled 5.2% following the announcement that the pharmacy giant is replacing its chief executive officer (CEO). Company veteran David Joyner, most recently in charge of the firm's pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Caremark, is stepping into the top role, effective immediately. CVS also issued a lower-than-expected outlook for its third-quarter profit. The company is set to release its next quarterly results before the opening bell on Nov. 6.
SLB (SLB), the world's largest oilfield services company, reported mixed third-quarter results, topping profit expectations but falling short of revenue forecasts. The company, formerly known as Schlumberger, cautioned that depressed spending by oil producers in the context of a weak oil price environment could restrain its fourth-quarter revenue growth. SLB shares lost 4.7% on Friday.
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Movie franchises are a cultural touchstone and a lucrative financial opportunity. Film franchises regularly drive billions of dollars of box office revenue and billions more in merchandise sales. If a franchise can reach the pinnacle of financial success, it can benefit its owner for decades. These five franchises, listed by total worldwide gross, have earned a whopping combined $67.52 billion.
Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, is unquestionably the king of lucrative movie franchises. Based on Marvel comic books and superheroes, the MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise in history—the 45 MCU movies have earned over $30.8 billion worldwide—and the franchise has grossed over $20 billion more than the next highest-grossing franchise. Much of this dominance is a result of the extremely popular Avengers movies, which have earned $7.7 billion over four films. An Avengers movie, , also holds the record for second-highest-grossing film of all time at $2.79 billion.
However, MCU’s financial success was not an obvious outcome when Disney first acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009. At the time, the movie rights to many of Marvel’s most popular characters had already been sold and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was not the mainstream brand it is today. Luckily for Disney, the deal has paid off in mammoth box office and merchandising opportunities as Marvel reacquired many of the characters it had previously sold.
Another Disney property, Star Wars, is the second most valuable movie franchise in the world by box office revenue. After 15 movies, the franchise has grossed a total of $10.32 billion. The highest grossing Star Wars film by nominal revenue, 2015’s , grossed slightly more than $2 billion worldwide and is the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time. However, despite placing fifth in worldwide gross behind Titanic.
In 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm, which owned the rights to the Star Wars franchise, for $4 billion. When merchandise and licensing sales are included with box office earnings, it is clear the investment has paid off handsomely.
Third on the list of highest-grossing movie franchises, the Harry Potter movie franchise includes both the original eight Harry Potter movies as well as a spin-off series, Fantastic Beasts. The two series make up a movie franchise and shared universe known as the Wizarding World. Based on the popular books by J.K. Rowling, the franchise steadily gained steam over the 2000s; for example, the final Harry Potter movie, , grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide after its release in 2011. With both series combined, the franchise has made a total worldwide gross of $9.6 billion.
Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars franchise, the Harry Potter franchise has spawned a myriad of related business opportunities. Along with a Broadway play, , the franchise is involved in theme parks at Universal Orlando Resort and video games through Electronic Arts.
The fourth-highest-grossing movie franchise of all time is Spider-Man. While the most recent two live-action Spider-Man movies are included in the total gross of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Spider-Man movie franchise includes two earlier series of films and an animated film as well. In total, the Spider-Man movie franchise has grossed $8.9 billion worldwide. The second most recent film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, is the highest-grossing—the film earned almost $2 billion at the worldwide box office.
The Spider-Man film franchise is unique in that, unlike other Marvel properties, the films are not produced by Disney. Instead, Spider-Man films are produced by Sony Pictures. The two companies have managed to come to an agreement over the hero’s inclusion in the MCU, but there are still unanswered questions over the future of live-action Spider-Man movies.
Based on the novels by Ian Fleming, the James Bond movie franchise is the fifth-highest-grossing of all time. While the first film in the series, , only grossed $59.57 million in 1962, the most recent Bond movie, , grossed more than 12 times as much. All in all, the franchise has made $7.9 billion in total gross over 27 movies. The most successful movie of the franchise was 2012’s , which made $1.1 billion worldwide.
The Bond movies are one of the longest-running and most successful film franchises of all time. Over 60 years, eight actors have played the famous spy. While the latest Bond film starring Daniel Craig, , was scheduled for release in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced Universal Pictures to delay its release until 2021.
When you combine the worldwide total gross of the MCU, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Spider-Man, and James Bond you get a jaw-dropping total of $67.52 billion.
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SLB (SLB) shares slumped Friday as a lower trend in oil and gas prices hurt quarterly results for the big oilfield services provider.
SLB reported third-quarter revenue rose 10% year-over-year to $9.16 billion, about $100 million short of consensus estimates by analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Earnings per share (EPS) of 83 cents came in 4 cents below forecasts.
North American revenue rose 3% to $1.69 billion, held back by "lower drilling activity in U.S. land as the market remained constrained by gas prices and ongoing capital discipline by operators," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Olivier Le Peuch said in remarks after the earnings were posted.
International revenue soared 12% to $7.43 billion, boosted by slightly higher Middle East & Asia demand, but Latin American revenue declined by 3%.
Le Peuch said that "commodity prices have been under pressure" over the past few months. He blamed that on "uncertainty around OPEC+ supply releases, weaker demand from China, and softer economic growth rates in the U.S. and Europe." Le Peuch said those factors "resulted in a cautionary approach to activity and discretionary spend by many customers" that were borne out in the earnings report.
Shares of SLB skidded about 4% to $42.25 Friday afternoon. They are down 19% year-to-date.
SLB wasn't alone in feeling the effects of falling commodity prices Friday. The S&P Energy Sector Index fell as crude and natural gas futures pulled back slightly.
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