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President Bola Tinubu has approved a new national policy in curbing health workforce migration.

In a statement on Monday, Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the policy is a comprehensive strategy to manage, harness, and reverse health workers’ migration.The minister added that the policy will also encourage the return of professionals to Nigeria through attractive incentives and reintegrate them into the nation’s health system.

“This approach leverages the expertise of our diaspora to bridge gaps within the health sector. Also, the policy champions reciprocal agreements with other nations to ensure that the exchange of health workers benefits Nigeria. These bilateral and multilateral agreements are designed to protect national interests while respecting the rights and aspirations of our healthcare professionals.

We call on recipient countries to implement a 1:1 match — training one worker to replace every publicly trained Nigerian worker they receive,” the statement read.

The minister said the policy recognises the importance of work-life balance and has included provisions for routine health checks, mental well-being support, and reasonable working hours, especially for younger doctors. “These measures aim to create a supportive work environment, reducing burnout and enhancing job satisfaction,” Pate said. “The governance of this policy will be overseen by the National Human Resources for Health Program (#NHRHP) within @Fmohnigeria, in collaboration with state governments. This ensures responsible implementation and alignment with broader sector-wide (#SWAp) health objectives.”

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Nigerians have shared their observations about the current season of Big Brother Naija show.

They said it is the worst edition of the Big Brother seasons because there was no aura in it, no interesting personalities, no controversial personalities, no intriguing social media talking point and that probably Nigerians have outgrown the show.

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Semiconductor stocks could be set for a rebound in the fourth quarter as seasonal headwinds ease, according to Bank of America Securities analysts. 

Chipmakers have had a tough start to the third quarter amid heightened volatility, with recent jobs data raising concerns about the U.S. economy and shifting expectations for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. 

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has lost nearly 14% in the calendar third quarter so far, while the S&P 500 is down about 2%. However, even with recent losses, the exchange-traded fund focused on chip stocks is up more than 11% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has climbed a little over 12% in the same period. 

The SOX semiconductor index gained about 0.7% on Monday but has lost 13% since the start of the third quarter.

“If history is any guide, SOX could recover starting in October,” the analysts said, with the calendar fourth and first quarters bringing average returns between 7% and 10.5% since 2010, about 400 basis points above the S&P 500. 

Semiconductor stocks may not be alone in being poised to emerge from a seasonally difficult period, with August and September historically among the weakest months for the S&P 500 more broadly, while November and December are some of the strongest. 

Bank of America warned that elections in the U.S. and geopolitical tensions could raise uncertainty later in the year, though historical data also suggests markets have tended to rise in presidential election years.

The analysts said that larger chipmakers with greater exposure to the data-center market, such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO), would be in a stronger position, in their base case, with cloud computing giants including Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) set to raise spending on infrastructure. 

Nvidia, Broadcom, and KLA (KLAC) were Bank of America’s top semiconductor stock picks overall, citing “consistent execution in their respective sub-sectors.”

Nvidia partners Arm Holdings (ARM), Micron Technology (MU), and Onsemi (ON) could also be particularly well-positioned to benefit from a stronger-than-expected resurgence, based on their potential ability to scale sales quickly if demand rises faster than anticipated, the analysts said. 

However, if demand ends up proving weaker than expected, analysts highlighted Broadcom, Synopsys (SNPS), and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), among other chip stocks, based on historical performance. 

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Gospel singer Ajayi Aduke Morounkola popularly known as Aduke Gold is d3ad.

Confirming the incident, Tuesday morning, another popular colleague, Esther Igbekele, wrote on Facebook, “A GENERAL HAS FALLEN. ADUKE GOLD #rip”

The cause of her d3ath remains unclear as at time of filing this report.

The Ilesha-born singer was initially known as Aduke Penkele. She grew up in Ogba and Badagry areas of Lagos and was from a polygamous home. She was the 11th child of her late parents.

Aduke Gold came to stardom with her live performance at the first remembrance of the late gospel artiste, Baba Ara. Professionally, she started music in 2004.

One of her famous track “Nitori Ogo” which she released in 2021 also brought her into limelight. Apart from music, she was a child educator with a passion for teaching young children.

Aduke was a graduate of history and international relations from Lagos State University. She also had her second degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Lagos.

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A man has shared an important lesson he has learnt from employment.

He said being likable is more important than being good at your job.

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U.S. markets were relatively calm Monday as Wall Street entered the home stretch of second-quarter earnings season after a volatile week of trading fueled by recession fears.

Trading activity often picks up during the month or so every quarter in which America's largest companies report results. But this past month, especially the last two weeks, has been characterized by abnormal swings in the stock market.

Volatility spiked last week to its highest since the onset of Covid-19 after a soft jobs report and a rate hike from the Bank of Japan sparked a multi-day sell-off.

Those intervening factors, as well as political uncertainty, have clouded the outlook for U.S. equities coming out of what has for the most part been a solid earnings season.

Below, we look at some of the major themes that have characterized this past quarter's earnings reports.

The S&P 500 as a whole was on track to report earnings growth of 10.8% as of Monday, according to data from FactSet. If that ends up being the actual growth rate once all 500 companies have reported, it will be the index’s highest since the fourth quarter of 2021 (31.4%). 

And companies have so far beat earnings estimates at a rate (78%) slightly above both the 5-year (77%) and 10-year (74%) averages. 

However, the magnitude of those beats (3.5% on average) has lagged the norm (8.6% over the last 5 years), suggesting some weakness lingers below the surface.

Despite resilient earnings, revenue growth has lagged profit as consumers and businesses alike have reined in spending. 

The S&P 500 is on track to report revenue growth of 5.2% for the quarter, below the 5-year average of 6.7%. And the percentage of companies reporting better-than-expected revenue is also below the 5-year average. 

Top lines have been squeezed in recent quarters by inflation-pinched and cost-conscious consumers. But not every company has felt the pain equally. Burger chain Shake Shack (SHAK) reported its second consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth, while competitor McDonald’s (MCD) saw same-store sales decline in the second quarter. 

Analysts have attributed the disparity to the widespread perception that the price gap between fast-food chains and “fast-casual” restaurants like Shake Shack, Chipotle (CMG), and Sweetgreen (SG), has narrowed in recent years.

Executives have also noted the pressure that inflation, a slowing economy, and the evaporation of pandemic savings have put on lower-income Americans.

Big Tech companies are spending big on artificial intelligence, and they don’t plan to stop anytime soon. 

Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) increased their capital expenditures (CapEx) by 91% and 55%, respectively, in the quarter, with much of that increase going toward semiconductors and other hardware for AI-powering data centers. Both companies said they expect to spend even more in the next year. 

The cost of Big Tech’s AI arms race scared Wall Street last month. The Magnificent Seven stocks notched a few of their worst days on record during the two weeks when most of the group reported earnings. 

The stocks will be tested again when chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) reports earnings on August 28. That cloud providers have spent so profusely on AI hardware bodes well for Nvidia’s sales, but expectations are high after four consecutive quarters of triple-digit revenue growth. Even with its recent pullback, the stock could be hit by signs of weakening demand or evidence substantiating reports its next-generation Blackwell chips will be delayed by a design flaw.

The financial sector has reported the third-largest increase in earnings of any sector this quarter. Profit grew by 17.6% from the same quarter last year, and all five sub-industries—Insurance, Capital Markets, Consumer Finance, Financial Services, and Banks—have reported earnings growth. 

Elevated interest rates were once a boon to big banks, some of the sector’s largest players, as the interest they collected on loans grew. But their deposit costs have since caught up, eating into net interest income, a key financial metric for the industry. 

Now, with the Federal Reserve appearing poised to cut interest rates from their highest levels in decades, the sector approaches an inflection point. Lower interest rates could again pad banks’ interest margins as their deposit costs decline at a faster clip than their income from fixed-rate loans. 

The sector could also benefit from a pick-up in loan demand and a dash of relief for cash-strapped consumers, among whom credit card delinquency rates recently climbed to a 12-year high.

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