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Legendary mathematician and investor Jim Simons, also known as the "Quant King," died at the age of 86 on Friday, according to a statement from the Simons Foundation.

Simons taught mathematics at a number of prominent universities including MIT and Harvard University, and was a code-breaker during the Vietnam War before founding quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

Simons and his Renaissance colleagues became known for their closely-guarded quantitative analysis models. The firm was famous for its policies of hiring statisticians and mathematicians over Wall Street veterans, and its flagship Medallion Fund generated an average annual return of almost 40% after fees from 1988 through 2023.

Simons served as CEO of Renaissance from 1982 until 2010, eventually stepping away from the firm's board of directors in 2021. His abilities in the world of quantitative analysis earned him the nickname the "Quant King."

As of the firm's latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February, Renaissance's portfolio was worth about $64.61 billion. Simons was worth an estimated $31.8 billion, making him one of the 50 richest people in the world at the time of his passing, according to

The Simons Foundation, which announced his passing, was co-founded by Simons along with his wife Marilyn, donating billions of dollars over the course of his life to charities and projects related to research and education in the fields of math and science.

“Jim was an exceptional leader who did transformative work in mathematics and developed a world-leading investment company,” Simons Foundation president David Spergel said. “Together with Marilyn Simons, the current Simons Foundation board chair, Jim created an organization that has already had enormous impact in mathematics, basic science and our understanding of autism. The Simons Foundation, an in-perpetuity foundation, will carry their vision for philanthropy into the future.”

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Consumers are expected to spend $33.5 billion this Mother's Day, the second-highest figure since the National Retail Federation (NRF) has tracked spending data, despite persistent inflation and high interest rates.

This marks a dip compared with total spending of $35.7 billion at this time last year but could still provide a crucial boost to the economy at a time when consumer sentiment more broadly is at a multi-month low.

The average per-person spending this Mother's Day is expected to be $254.04 for those celebrating the holiday, down $20 from last year but up almost 30% compared with what it was five years ago. The NRF anticipates 84% of U.S. adults to celebrate Mother's Day.

As in prior years, spending is not evenly distributed across age groups; those between 35 and 44 years old are forecast to spend the most, with an average of $345.75 per celebrant expected.

The NRF anticipates that the most common purchases for Mother's Day will include flowers, greeting cards, and special outings like dinner or brunch.

A boost to retail sales for Mother's Day could continue the trend of strong retail performance in recent months. In March, for example, food and retail goods sales rose at about twice the rate analysts anticipated.

Strong sales trends fly in the face of headwinds including lingering high prices following a protracted period of inflation, and high borrowing costs that have strained budgets and have helped to buoy economic growth in recent months.

Still, the impacts of these headwinds can still be felt in consumer sentiment more broadly. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, updated on May 10, dropped to 67.4 for May after reaching 77.2 in April. Reasons for the dip in sentiment include lingering elevated prices, high interest rates, and employment concerns.

Consumer sentiment trends do not always match up with spending trends, as recent retail sales figures show. Nonetheless, retailers have begun to note a slow-down in spending in certain areas, particularly among lower-income customers, with big-name brands including Starbucks (SBUX) and McDonald's (MCD) lowering full-year sales forecasts and announcing an increase in deals, respectively.

Consumer sentiment has faltered since the early days of the pandemic and has remained low through inflation and periods of global unrest in recent years. However, May's consumer sentiment index reading is still roughly 14% higher than a year ago at this time.

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Tijjani Babangida, the former Super Eagles player, has lost Fadil, his one-year-old son, in a car cra§h involving his family along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, The Cable reports.

Last Thursday, Babangida was travelling with his family — Maryam, his wife, their son, and Ibrahim, his brother — and his maid when the car acc+dent occurred. Ibrahim was said to have di3d on the spot while the other occupants in the vehicle were rushed to the hospital.

But in a recent update, Harrison Jalla, chairman of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, disclosed that Babangida’s son also di3d due to inj¥ry sustained in the acc+dent. “Yes he eventually lost the son, a one-year-old boy,” Jalla told TheCable on Sunday evening.

Babangida’s wife is also said to have lost an eye due to the severe inj¥ry to her face. She is said to be receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. It is also reported that their maid suffered a fracture in her leg.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday paid a courtesy visit to Babangida at the hospital. The delegation consoled the former Eagles player over the d£aths of his brother and son. They also prayed for a quick recovery for Babangida and his wife, “who has undergone a successful facial surgery”.

Babangida is the president of PFAN and was a member of the Nigeria U-23 team that won the gold medal in football at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He had a decade with the Super Eagles, where he became famous for his speed down the wings. Babangida was also a member of the Eagles squad at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

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Source: Harvard Health Publishing

WhatsApp conversation between a lady and a male admirer she isn’t interested in has trended.

The lady seems not to be interested in the man as she was giving him salvage answers and she ended up blocking him.

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