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President Bola Tinubu on Friday, August 23, swore in Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as Chief Justice of the Federation to replace Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Council Chambers of the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Justice Kekere-Ekun succeeds Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who bowed out on Thursday after clocking the retirement age of 70 years.

Justice Kekere-Ekun is the second female CJN, the first being Aloma Mariam Mukhtar GCON, who served from July 2012 to November 2014.

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Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM), a household name in America for high-end kitchenware and modern furnishings, started out as a small hardware store in Sonoma, California.

Company founder Chuck Williams first moved to Sonoma in 1947, where he began working as a contractor and fell in with a group of friends who shared his love of cooking. A trip to Europe in 1953 was the catalyst that transformed his passion into a vocation. During his travels, Williams was introduced to classic French cooking equipment unlike anything he had seen back in America. One year later, he purchased a hardware store in downtown Sonoma, and soon after transformed it into a shop specializing in French cookware. Williams-Sonoma was born.

Not long after, the company began selling high-end items for homes of all kinds. Benefitting from the changes in dining and food culture during the '60s and '70s, Williams-Sonoma continued to expand in size. The company caught the eye of entrepreneur Howard Lester, who purchased the company with a friend in 1976 and assumed the role of chief executive officer (CEO). In 1982, Williams-Sonoma raised financing through an initial public offering (IPO) to accelerate its expansion.

Today, the company has more than 600 stores globally and a market capitalization of $18.5 billion. For its 2024 fiscal year (FY), Williams-Sonoma reported net earnings of $949.8 million on net revenue of $7.8 billion.

As of Jan. 28, 2024, Williams-Sonoma operated 518 stores and had 138 franchised locations.

Williams-Sonoma today sells furnishings and decorative accessories for every room in the home. It also has launched distinct brands including West Elm, which offers modern furnishings and décor, Mark and Graham, an online platform for personalized gift buying, and GreenRow, which specializes in the use of sustainable materials and manufacturing practices to create vintage-inspired heirloom products. 

Williams-Sonoma has used acquisitions to complement its internal growth, although not all of them have been successful. In 1982, for example, it ventured into retail gardening by purchasing Gardener's Eden, a catalog company that sells plants, tools, and accessories. Williams-Sonoma sold that business in 1999.

Other acquisitions have proved far more successful in expanding Williams-Sonoma's reach and sales. We take a look at three of these acquisitions in more detail below. The company provides sales breakdowns for some, but not all of these deals.

Pottery Barn was established in 1949 as a home furnishings retailer focused on offering products marked by exceptional comfort, quality, style, and value. Williams-Sonoma purchased the company from Gap Inc. (GPS) in 1986. At that time, Pottery Barn had about 21 stores located mainly in Manhattan, where they sold a limited range of products. Since then, Williams-Sonoma has transformed it into a premier home furnishings retailer selling items in stores and online. Pottery Barn's products include furniture, bedding, bathroom accessories, rugs, lighting, and curtains.

Williams-Sonoma built on the Pottery Barn brand, launching Pottery Barn Kids in 1999 and then Pottery Barn Teen in 2003. The former focuses on furnishings and décor for nurseries, bedrooms, and play spaces, while the latter offers furniture, bedding, lighting, and more for teenage bedrooms, college dorm rooms, study spaces, and lounges.

The Pottery Barn and parent Williams-Sonoma brands have been built on a reputation for selling high-quality products. However, there have been criticisms, and Williams-Sonoma's image was tarnished when it was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for false "Made in America" claims on certain products. This included Pottery Barn Teen and Pottery Barn Kids-branded upholstered furniture, and Goldtouch Bakeware and Rejuvenation-branded products.

Rejuvenation was founded in 1977 by two friends, Jim Kelly and Barbara Kerr, who borrowed $2,500 to open a hardware and house parts store. By 2004, the company was posting about $25 million in annual revenue, and seven years later, in 2011, it was acquired by Williams-Sonoma.

Rejuvenation, whose manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in Portland, Oregon, specializes in made-to-order lighting fixtures. The company also sells other hardware, furniture, and home décor. Rejuvenation's high-quality, specialized products complement Williams-Sonoma's brand and bolster its line of home furnishing products.

In its 10-K, Williams-Sonoma breaks down the revenues of West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Pottery Barn Kids and Teen. All other revenues, including those generated by Rejuvenation and Outward, are reported under "other."

Outward is an enterprise technology startup founded in 2012 in San Jose, California. The company offers 3-D imaging and augmented reality specifically geared toward digital applications for the home furnishings and decorative accessories industry. Applications using augmented reality add virtual images to the viewer's field of vision, as opposed to virtual reality, which completely immerses the viewer in a virtual world cut off from the real physical world.

Williams-Sonoma acquired Outward in 2017 in an all-cash purchase. Outward's technology gives Williams-Sonoma customers highly interactive shopping experiences, enabling them to see a 3D preview of what their home could look like with new furnishings.

Williams-Sonoma owns a variety of brands and companies. They include Pottery Barn, which includes Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Rejuvenation, Mark and Graham, GreenRow, and Outward. Some of these brands were acquired by Williams-Sonoma. Others were created in-house

Pottery Barn has grown to include specialty stores focusing on certain demographics. In 1999, the company introduced Pottery Barn Kids, which focuses on children's home furnishing and accessories. Then, in 2003, it launched a series of stores catering specifically to teenagers.

Yes, Markand Graham is part of Williams-Sonoma. The brand was launched in 2012 to add personalized gifts and accessories to Williams-Sonoma’s suite of products.

Williams-Sonoma, a household name in America for high-end kitchenware and modern furnishings, has broadened its product range and the services it can offer its customers throughout the years by introducing new brands and making a number of acquisitions. Pottery Barn is the most well-known of its acquisitions and is the main revenue generator for Williams-Sonoma. However, it isn’t the only company Williams-Sonoma owns.

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A Nigerian woman, identified as Faith Racheal, has been arrested by Indian authorities in Delhi for allegedly smuggling and supplying a substantial quantity of psychotropic substances.

The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, August 14, in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, TimesNow reports.

According to the police, Racheal was found in possession of 3.87 kilograms of mescaline, a powerful hallucinogenic dr¥g, with an estimated value of around Rs 15 crore in the international market.

Mescaline, a psychedelic substance with effects similar to LSD and Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), has been identified as a party drug, officials stated on Thursday, August 22, 2024. They revealed that the drug was smuggled inside packages of branded toffees and fish food.

Racheal had initially arrived in India in August 2022 on a medical visa but had overstayed her visa period.

During her extended stay, she allegedly became involved with a Nigerian national engaged in drug smuggling, ultimately joining a narcotics cartel.

The police revealed that Racheal played a key role in facilitating the delivery of narcotics between couriers, utilising her connections within the cartel.

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Mosquitoes are not just a buzzing summertime nuisance; they can carry serious diseases like West Nile virus, malaria, and Zika. In recent months, the US has seen an unusual spike in the mosquito-borne illness dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever.

What is dengue, and where is it occurring in the US? How does it spread? And what steps can you take to protect against this and other mosquito-borne illnesses?

What is dengue and what are its symptoms?

Dengue is a viral disease caused by any of four closely-related viruses: dengue virus 1, 2, 3, and 4. Not everyone infected with dengue will become sick: only about one in four will experience symptoms that range from minimal discomfort to serious problems. A blood test is used to confirm the diagnosis.

When symptoms do occur, they tend to feel like the flu. The onset of feeling unwell usually begins within two to three days of being bitten by an infected mosquito but can take up to six to nine days, says Dr. Edward Ryan, director of global infectious diseases at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Seek medical advice if you have recently traveled to an area with a risk of dengue and have a fever (101° F or higher) combined with any of these symptoms:

About one in 20 people who gets sick will develop severe dengue, which requires emergency care. Those at an increased risk for severe dengue include infants a year or younger, pregnant women, adults ages 65 years or older, and those with previous dengue infections.

Symptoms of severe dengue require immediate medical care. They include:

How is dengue treated?

Dengue is cause by a virus, and no specific medications are available to combat it. Milder dengue symptoms typically last two to seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The symptoms are managed supportively: plenty of fluids, over-the-counter pain medications, and rest.

Severe dengue usually requires treatment in a hospital with intravenous (IV) fluids. Patients are monitored until their fever breaks and symptoms begin to wane. This usually happens in about three to five days. Recovery at home can last many more days before a person's strength returns.

"While there are reports of people dying from severe dengue fever, deaths from dengue cases in the US are rare," says Dr. Ryan.

How does dengue spread?

The viruses that cause dengue do not directly spread from person to person. Aedes species mosquitoes can become infected with the dengue virus when they bite a person who has the virus. Infected mosquitoes then spread the virus to other people.

US visitors to high-risk countries may unknowingly bring the virus home with them, giving dengue infection a chance to spread further. For example, an infected person will have dengue virus circulating in their bloodstream for up to one week after being bitten. Let's say the person returns to the US sooner than seven days, where they get bitten by a mosquito. That mosquito in the US now carries the virus and could bite someone else, thereby spreading the infection.

Where is dengue occurring in the US?

Most dengue transmission in the United States happens in areas where this illness is already common, such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands.

At this writing, the CDC has reported nearly 3,000 dengue cases in the United States and US territories. States with the highest reported instances include Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and California. (Puerto Rico, which declared a public health emergency in March, had reported almost 1,500 cases by late June 2024.) While US cases are higher than in previous years, they are still low compared to the global incidence of dengue, which hit a record 9.7 million cases in North, Central, and South America during the first six months of 2024.

It's not clear what has caused the sudden rise in dengue cases. Dr. Ryan says it could be due to several factors, such as higher seasonal travel, more people living closer together in urban settings, and the fact that there are more mosquitoes are carrying dengue.

Is there a dengue vaccine?

Currently, there is no widely available dengue vaccine for US travelers. One FDA-approved vaccine, Dengvaxia, protects children ages 9 to 16 from all four types of dengue. It is used only for children who have had a previous infection and who live in areas where dengue is common. However, the vaccine will be discontinued in September 2025, with the final doses expiring in September 2026.

What steps can you take to prevent dengue?

The best way to prevent dengue when visiting high-risk areas and after returning home is to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Here are some tips from the CDC:

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

An Ikeja chief magistrate’s court on Thursday, August 22, discharged and acquitted six persons arrested during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.

The defendants are Daniel Joyinbo, 31, Adigun Sodiq, 28, Kehinde Shola, 32, Salaudeen Kamilu, 29, Sodiq Usseni, 33 and Azeez Isiaka, 34.

The defendants had in a plea bargain agreement, pleaded guilty to a count charge of breach of the public peace preferred against them by the Lagos State Government.

After listening to the plea bargain agreement, the magistrate, Bola Osunsanmi, found the defendants guilty and convicted them of the offence.

She, however, cautioned and freed them, adding that they had spent almost four years in custody.

📷: @thecableng

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Shares of Williams-Sonoma (WSM) tumbled in intraday trading Thursday as comparable sales fell more than expected across a number of the company's brands, leading the retailer to cut its full-year outlook.

The company behind retail brands including its namesake stores, Pottery Barn and West Elm, reported $225.7 million in net income for the second quarter, better than analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected. Total revenue of $1.79 billion fell 4% year-over-year and narrowly missed estimates.

Comparable sales fell more than analysts had expected, down 0.8% at its namesake brand, 7.1% at Pottery Barn, and 4.8% at West Elm.

The struggles of higher-end retailers like Williams-Sonoma has been well-documented as inflation has led many consumers to focus spending on essentials and delay home-improvement projects or other costly updates.

Target (TGT) executives said earlier this week that the retailer has become a destination for low-cost home updates, noting they saw growth in products like candles and throw pillows in the second quarter. TJX Companies (TJX), the parent of retailers including HomeGoods, also reported solid revenue growth this week as consumers hunt for value.

Williams-Sonoma updated its fiscal 2024 outlook Thursday, expecting full-year revenue to fall 4% to 1.5%, compared with previous projections of a 3% drop to a 3% increase. Comparable sales are expected to decline between 5.5% and 3%, compared with a prior range of a 4.5% decline to a 1.5% increase.

Williams-Sonoma shares fell 8.6% as of about 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday to $131.54. Still, they are up 30% year-to-date.

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