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Instablog9ja
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Graduates from Akwa Ibom State, who were kidn@pped last year in Zamfara while en route to their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) duty in Sokoto State, have recounted their ordeals in captivity.
The eight ex-corps members, abd¥cted on August 17, 2023, alongside their bus driver, were ambushed on the Zamfara highway.
Speaking in Uyo on Thursday, several of the survivors described ongoing health challenges and post-tr@umatic stress from their time in the kidnappers’ den.
Solomon Daniel, who was held the longest and released after over a year of captivity, described how he was transported by motorcycle from Zamfara to Kaduna through bush paths, constantly guarded by over 10 armed men until his eventual rescue by security operatives.
He explained that he was separated from his colleagues for refusing to pay a ransom, as his widowed mother could not afford the amount demanded by their captors.
“I went through h£ll. I survived by chewing leaves and drinking filthy water. I never knew if I would make it out alive.
I was tort+red daily from morning till evening. For three months, I couldn’t defecate or urinate. I thought d€ath was inevitable,” he recounted.
Another victim, Victoria Bassey, shared her harrowing experience: “I never imagined I would survive such horrendous conditions. Even during our menstrual periods, we couldn’t bathe. We were forced to drink flood water to stay alive.”
Etim Bassey explained how the kidnappers, disguised in military uniforms, set up a fake checkpoint in Zamfara, where their bus was intercepted.
“We thought it was a real checkpoint, as the area was blocked with logs and manned by armed men in military attire, who then forced us into the forest,” he said.
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Investopedia
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Shares of The Travelers Companies (TRV) jumped more than 7% to close at a record high $264.82 Thursday, marking one of the top daily performances in the S&P 500 after the insurer reported better-than-expected profits for the third quarter.
Although Travelers reported a year-over-year uptick in catastrophe losses, strong growth in premiums and investment income helped the insurer more than triple its net income year-over-year to $1.26 billion, blowing past analysts' estimates.
Travelers reported third-quarter catastrophe losses of $939 million, up from $850 million a year earlier. The steeper losses primarily reflected the impact of Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating damage across several southeastern states at the end of the quarter, as well as severe wind and hail storms in multiple areas.
Despite the adverse impact of these events, Travelers managed to achieve strong bottom-line growth, thanks in part to higher premiums. Net written premiums reached a record level of $11.3 billion, up 8% year-over-year (YOY), with growth in all three of Travelers' reporting segments: business insurance, bond and specialty insurance, and personal insurance.
An increase in investment income also helped Travelers weather the impact of Helene and other natural disasters. The insurer's net investment income jumped 18%.
Travelers' consolidated combined ratio, a measure of an insurer's profitability that is calculated by dividing the sum of losses and related expenses over earned premiums, came in at 93.2%, an improvement of 7.8 percentage points from a year ago. A combined ratio below 100% indicates that an insurance firm is generating an underwriting profit.
With Thursday's gains, Travelers shares have gained about 39% so far in 2024, well ahead of the S&P 500's nearly 23% year-to-date gain.
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Instablog9ja
1 h
11
The Kwara State Police Command has revealed that three dismissed officers involved in the misconduct leading to the tragic d£@th of a Kwara State Polytechnic student, Qoyum Abdulyekeen Ishola, have been charged to court.
The officers, Inspector Abiodun Kayode, Inspector James Samuel, and Sergeant Oni Philip, face charges of criminal conspiracy and culpable hom+cide. They have been remanded in custody as the legal process continues.
The charges were filed on October 16, 2024, following a directive from the Inspector General of Police.
Recall that the deceased, a 21-year-old National Diploma 2 student of Electrical/Electronics was allegedly k3lled by policemen during a fuel hike protest by students in Ilorin.
Following widespread outcry, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered a full investigation, which resulted in the officers being found guilty of leaving their assigned post, misconduct, and misuse of authority.
After a thorough investigation and disciplinary trial, the officers were dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force, effective October 4, 2024.
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Investopedia
1 h
9
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Netflix (NFLX) reported third-quarter results that topped analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines, sending shares higher after the bell Thursday.
The streaming giant posted third-quarter revenue of $9.83 billion, up 15% from a year ago and above the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Net income came in at $2.36 billion or $5.40 per share, compared to $1.68 billion or $3.73 per share a year earlier, also beating projections. Total active subscribers climbed 14% to 282.72 million, just above Street expectations though the pace of growth slowed from the prior two quarters.
The company said it expects full-year revenue to grow 15% year-over-year, at the higher end of its previously announced range.
Shares of Netflix, which were up over 41% for the year through Thursday's close, rose more than 4% in extended trading following the release.
Analysts have credited Netflix’s efforts to eliminate password sharing with improving its subscriber numbers, but the company has said it will stop reporting them in 2025, focusing instead on financial metrics.
That means the last subscriber update from Netflix will come a quarter from now, just after the streamer airs its first NFL games on Christmas Day. Analysts at KeyBanc said nearly a quarter of people surveyed who aren't already Netflix subscribers said the games would make them consider signing up.
Netflix is also set to become the official broadcaster of TKO Group's (TKO) WWE professional wrestling events starting next year, as the streamer expands its sports offerings.
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Investopedia
2 hrs
15
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It's hard to afford a house these days, but the nation's homebuilders are growing more hopeful that lower mortgage rates will drive down costs and bring priced-out buyers off the sidelines.An index measuring how homebuilders feel about the short-term prospects of the market rose to a four-month high in October, the National Association of Home Builders said Thursday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, based on surveys of builders, remained in pessimistic territory at 43, up from 41 in September but still below the level of 50 that would indicate optimism.
However, builders saw better prospects for sales of new single-family homes in the next six months, according to a subindex that rose to 57 from 53 in September, reaching the highest since April.Builders expect more buyers to enter the market in the coming months as the Federal Reserve lowers its benchmark interest rate, which could put downward pressure on mortgage rates. In September, the Fed began to roll back interest rates as consumer price increases have fallen back toward pre-pandemic rates.
“Despite the beginning of the Fed’s easing cycle, many prospective home buyers remain on the sideline waiting for lower interest rates,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a press release.
“We are forecasting uneven declines for mortgage interest rates in the coming quarters, which will improve housing demand but place stress on building lot supplies due to tight lending conditions for development and construction loans.”
The outlook for homebuilding could also be affected by the presidential election, with both candidates proposing policies that could shake up the housing market.
Kamala Harris has proposed using federal funds to encourage the construction of 3 million affordable homes and create a $25,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. Some economists have criticized the tax credit, predicting it would add fuel to already hot housing prices.
Trump has proposed deporting millions of illegal immigrants, which could reduce the demand for existing housing. However, homebuilders say this would decimate the homebuilding workforce and worsen the country’s longstanding housing shortage in the long run.
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Nvidia Stock Hits Another Record High As AI Chip Excitement Returns
Shares Of Nvidia (NVDA) Set...
Investopedia
3 hrs
10
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Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) set a fresh record intraday high Thursday as a blowout earnings report from supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) eased concerns that the semiconductor market was stalling.
TSMC posted a 54% year-over-year jump in profit and a 39% rise in revenue in the third quarter on artificial intelligence (AI) chip sales, and the company predicted demand would continue into the future.
That offset news earlier this week from Dutch semiconductor maker ASML Holding (ASML), which warned that the recovery in non-AI chips was taking longer than anticipated.
Adding to the positive feelings about Nvidia were comments from billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller about his sale of the company's shares. The Duquesne Family Office CEO said in an interview with that "it was a big mistake" to dump all his stake, adding, "I'm licking my wounds from a bad sale there."
Nvidia shares were recently up 2.7% to $139.39 after earlier Thursday touching a record $140.89. They have nearly tripled since the beginning of 2024.
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