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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that Nigeria is positioning itself to become a major exporter of fish as part of its strategic blue economy push.

Speaking at the 39th Annual National Conference and General Meeting of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria, the president said Nigeria is moving towards becoming a major exporter of fish products while also working to achieve self-sufficiency.

Tinubu, who was represented at the event by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said: “The establishment of this ministry marks the beginning of a new era for the fisheries and aquaculture sub-sector.

In line with Mr President’s vision, the ministry is committed to achieving self-sufficiency in fish production and positioning Nigeria as a leading exporter of fish and fisheries products.

Fisheries and aquaculture are central to the broader vision for Nigeria’s Blue Economy sector. The Ministry’s strategic focus is to upscale fish production sustainably, tapping into the full spectrum of our marine resources.

This sub-sector has the potential to unlock long-term resources, increase food production, provide job opportunities, and drive sustainable development across our coastal and inland waters. This, in turn, offers long-term prosperity and security for future generations.”

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Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in Wednesday's earnings call that more spending on artificial intelligence (AI) products and infrastructure "is maybe not what investors want to hear in the near term," but that he feels it's necessary for the tech giant to seize opportunities in the industry.

The earnings call followed an estimate-topping third quarter from Meta, with net income coming in more than $2 billion higher than expected. Advertising revenue, the bulk of Meta's revenue, beat projections as the company has said its AI efforts have had a positive impact on the effectiveness of its ads.

Meta also lifted the lower range of its projected capital expenditures to $38 billion to $40 billion, from $37 billion to $40 billion previously, as the tech giant and many of its peers ramp up investments in the development of AI products.

While Zuckerberg and CFO Susan Li didn't offer numeric projections for Meta's expenditures in 2025, Li said they expect spending will grow next year, including a "significant acceleration in infrastructure expense growth" to support Meta's AI products.

Zuckerberg said Meta is "making a lot of progress" with the products it has released so far, like the Meta AI chatbot and AI features for its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Zuckerberg also said he expects there will be further opportunities to use advances in the technology to "accelerate our core business" and provide a "strong" return on investment (ROI) in the coming years.

Zuckerberg said Meta AI is still on track to be the most-used AI assistant on the market by the end of the year, noting it crossed the 500 million monthly active user (MAU) threshold in the quarter.

Zuckerberg also said Llama 4, the newest generation of Meta's large language model (LLM), is "well into its development," with the smaller models of Llama 4 set for launch "sometime early next year." The upgraded model will have better reasoning ability, faster response times, and other new capabilities, the Meta CEO said.

Meta shares slipped 3.3% in extended trading following the earnings call. They were up 67% for the year through Wednesday's close.

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Meta Platforms (META) reported third-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates with a boost from artificial intelligence (AI) demand, and lifted its estimates for how much money it plans to spend this year as it invests in the emerging tech.

The Facebook and Instagram parent reported $40.59 billion in revenue, up from $34.15 billion the same time last year and above the $40.27 billion analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Meta posted $15.69 billion in net income, up from $11.58 billion and better than the $13.58 billion analysts had projected.

Advertising revenue, the bulk of Meta's revenue, climbed 18.6% to $39.89 billion, just above estimates of $39.56 billion, benefitting from the tech giant's advances with AI.

"We had a good quarter driven by AI progress across our apps and business," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a release, adding the company has also seen "strong momentum with Meta AI, Llama adoption, and AI-powered glasses."

The results come as several big tech companies, including Meta, face intense pressure to show the billions of dollars they are spending on AI will boost results. The company raised the bottom range of its outlook for full-year capital expenditures to $38 billion to $40 billion, from $37 billion to $40 billion previously as Meta invests in AI.

Meta said it expects revenue in the fourth quarter of between $45 billion and $48 billion, with analysts expecting about $46.34 billion.

Shares of Meta edged 0.8% lower in extended trading following the release. They were up 67% for 2024 through Wednesday's close.

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Starbucks (SBUX) reported declining sales in its most recent quarter, ending its fiscal year on a down note.

The coffee chain's net revenue fell 3% to $9.1 billion, while comparable store sales dropped 7% in the final quarter of the year, Starbucks said. Earnings per share came in at 80 cents. Wall Street expected diluted earnings of 92 cents per share on $9.2 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, along with a 5% drop in same-store sales.

CEO Brian Niccol, who joined from Chipotle (CMG) last month, said Starbucks was working on bringing back consumers.

“My experience tells me that when we get back to our core identity and consistently deliver a great experience, our customers will come back," Niccol said. "We have a clear plan and are moving quickly to return Starbucks to growth."

Shares fell about 1% in late trading. Prices dove down to roughly $72 in May when Starbucks downgraded its expectations for 2024, but have recovered since, closing Wednesday at above $97.

Wednesday’s earnings extend a period of sluggish sales. Comparable store sales fell 3% in the third quarter, and dropped 4% the quarter before that.

The coffee giant announced last week that it wouldn't release projections for 2025 as a way to give Niccol time to acclimate to his new job. Analysts expect Starbucks to generate $38.4 billion in revenue and $4.1 billion in profit through September 2025, when its fiscal year ends, according to Visible Alpha. Wall Street foresees same-store sales increasing 1.8% during that period.

Niccol took the helm of Starbucks in September as activist investors circled. Starbucks has since said it would enforce office attendance rules and make its cafes more inviting gathering places.

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Two influencers have di3d after refusing to wear lifejackets on a speedboat that sank off the Brazilian coast.

Though the tragic incident occurred on September 29, police reported this week that the deceased had refused life jackets, not wanting the safety gear to ruin their tan in photos.

Five out of the seven people on board the vessel were rescued. While the deceased have been identified as Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim, 37, and Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria, 27.

In an interview with G1 Globo’s TV Tribuna, the city’s chief police officer Marcos Alexandre Alfino cited a testimony by the boat’s captain and said that the two women declined to wear life jackets “because they were taking selfies.”

“They said that life jackets would get in the way of their tanning,” Alfino added of the women, who were attending a party held on the ill-fated boat.

According to information obtained by G1 Globo, Amorim — who reportedly has a 17-year-old son — shared photos of herself on social media while out at sea. The outlet added that her brother claimed she didn’t know how to swim.

The Brazilian news source says the two women who passed away did not know each other prior to the party.

Reports also detailed that the accident happened in the region known as Garganta do Diabo, which translates to Devil’s Throat.

The partygoers were being transported back to land on a different vessel when that smaller boat was hit by a wave, knocking all seven people into the water.

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Smurfit WestRock (SW) shares popped on Wednesday, marking one of the S&P 500's top performances, after the packaging manufacturer released the first quarterly result to reflect the July merger of Ireland's Smurfit Kappa and U.S.-based WestRock.

Given the timing of the transaction, the second-quarter 2024 report covered only the performance of Smurfit Kappa.

The stock, recently up nearly 13%, is now back in positive territory for the year.

The cardboard box maker reported a third-quarter 2024 net loss of $150 million on net sales of approximately $7.7 billion. Both figures fell short of analysts' consensus estimates.

Despite the lower-than-expected headline numbers, the top-line result more than doubled from net sales of roughly $2.9 billion posted in the year-ago period, boosted by contributions from the WestRock acquisition and strong volumes in corrugated packaging. The company attributed around $500 million of the quarterly loss to expenses and accounting adjustments related to the merger.

Smurfit WestRock reports results in three geographical segments. Although sales remained essentially flat year-over-year for the segment comprising Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, the WestRock add-on contributed to a surge in sales for the North America segment. The Latin America segment posted sales growth of 48% from a year ago.

CEO Tony Smurfit stressed the impact of the merger on the company's performance, asserting that "these results are a strong foundation to build upon."

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