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Skitmaker NastyBlaq has tearfully announced the passing of his beloved mother.
These past few days have been filled with nothing but sadness in my heart concerning the passing of my beloved mother 8. I pray God gives me the strength to heal.
This is a great loss in my family and as much as this saddens our hearts we know she’s gone to a better place.
Rest in peace my first love, the only reason for my motivation, you will surely be missed less
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Crude oil futures slipped roughly 4% in trading Tuesday after OPEC—a dominant coalition of oil-producing nations—cut back on its demand outlook and growth projections for this year and the next.
November contracts for Brent crude futures slipped to $68.68, a level not seen since May 2023, while October contracts for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate Texas (WTI) dropped to $65.27, witnessed last in March 2023.
Oil prices have faltered in recent weeks because of geopolitical tensions and potential weather-related production changes. That prompted OPEC+, which comprises OPEC countries and others, including Russia, to delay its plan to boost oil production after a meeting last week.
World oil demand is expected to grow by 2 million barrels per day (B/D) to about 104.2 million B/D in 2024, slightly lower than OPEC's previous projection and the second downward revision to the number. The oil producers expect the demand to moderate further next year, growing at 1.7 million B/D.
And while oil demand seems to be slowing, OPEC said these levels were still far greater than the pre-pandemic historical average of 1.4 million B/D.
However, there are some concerns about the sustainability of demand from China, given the economic challenges the world's second-largest consumer of oil is currently facing.
"Headwinds in the real estate sector and the increasing penetration of LNG trucks and electric vehicles are likely to weigh on diesel and gasoline demand going forward," OPEC said about oil demand from China in its monthly report released Tuesday.
The resilience of U.S. consumers is helping oil as well. Despite some weakness in manufacturing demand, OPEC expects U.S. oil demand to grow in 2024, with upside potential coming from "ongoing support from steady private household consumption throughout 2H24."
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An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced Marco Ramirez, an American businessman, to 74 years in prison for fraud. Ramirez was convicted on Tuesday on charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Originally arraigned on a 12-count charge, Ramirez was re-arraigned on June 24, 2022, on a 16-count charge before presiding judge Mojisola Dada. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ramirez, along with his companies—USA NOW LLC, Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP, and USA Now Energy Capital Group LP—was prosecuted for a $1,235,000 EB-5 visa scam. He was accused of obtaining money from his victims as processing fees for investments in his company, which he claimed would make them eligible for a U.S. green card. However, he allegedly failed to fulfill his promises.
Additionally, Ramirez faced a separate nine-count charge related to a $368,698.24 fraud.
In her judgment, the judge ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, sentencing Ramirez to various terms of imprisonment on the different counts of the charges.
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Ally Financial (ALLY) stock sank sharply after the bank's chief financial officer said at an investor conference that consumers are struggling with inflation and that Ally Bank's credit challenges have "intensified" during the current quarter.
Ally CFO Russ Hutchinson said Tuesday that Ally's typical borrower is "struggling with a high inflation and cost of living, and now, more recently, a weakening employment picture," according to a transcript of Tuesday's Barclays event provided by AlphaSense.
Ally shares were down about 18% in late Tuesday trading, touching their lowest levels since January.
A particularly difficult area of Ally's loan base is in the auto market. Hutchinson said Ally experienced a rise in delinquencies of about 20 basis points above what Ally expected for the last two months Net charge-offs — the debts a financial institution writes off on the assumption they will never be repaid — were about 10 basis points higher than Ally expected across July and August.
Hutchinson said Ally is expecting its rate of net charge-offs to rise in the coming months because of the size of the pool of borrowers Ally believes is struggling, especially those with loans over two months past due.
Ally reduced its exposure to the loan world with the sale of its Ally Lending arm earlier this year to Synchrony Financial (SYF).
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The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on Tuesday, lamented that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is becoming indifferent, insensitive and unresponsive to the plights of Nigerians.
Adams in an open letter titled ‘President Bola Tinubu, time is going’, also said the present administration has disappointed Nigerians adding that the citizens can no longer bear the economic hardship.
He said: “We have no regret that we were created to inhabit this geographical space in the West African axis of the African continent. We are happy to be here because I don’t know any country in the world that God has blessed, in terms of natural and human resources, like Nigeria.
Obviously, past leaders, since 1960, disappointed Nigerians with the way ‘Nigeria and Nigerians were badly led and resources selfishly managed’. When you came with the ‘Emilokan’ coinage in the build-up to the 2023 elections, many Nigerians were persuaded that as a democrat exposed to the modern way of governance, you will perform better than Muhammadu Buhari, a soldier who deepened the poverty levels of Nigerians and increased insecurity from 2015 to 2023. Today, events have proved that they were wrong. Mr President, to say the truth without minding whose ox is gored, you have disappointed many Nigerians who thought you were the messiah they were waiting for.
The facts are there to speak for themselves. On May 29, 2023, when you became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigerians, the price of a litre of fuel was less than N200. Today, it is more than N1000. As the Minister of Petroleum, I ask you, what type of reform is this? In May 2023, the Naira to a Dollar was less than N740. Today, it is more than N1,600.
Now, your two right-hand men when you were Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Wale Edun (Finance Minister) and Yemi Cardoso (CBN Governor) are in charge of the economy. What exactly are the fiscal, economic and financial briefings they give you daily to convince you that they know what they are doing in those two offices? When Buhari left on May 29, 2023, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that insecurity would soon become history. Pitiably today, from the North to the South, East to the West, the rate at which Nigerians are being abducted and some kills, even after ransom was paid, it was as if these bi33d-thirsty m3niacs have just been unleashed on Nigerians from the hottest part of hell.
As the Commander-in-Chief, the rising spate of insecurity across the country has put to question the kind of briefings you get daily, especially, from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, the Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja, and other Security Chiefs on their modus operandi to send these kill3rs to where they belong? In August, many Nigerians came out to express their frustration on the way you are governing them. Today, some of those arrested have been charged with treason. In the comity of nations, who does that? Is that the way governments are overthrown, with placards? Human rights activists are being haragged by security agents daily and Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have become soft targets of sycophants who speak sweet words to your ears for selfish reasons. Many Nigerians know the ‘radical’ role you played when you were Governor, and even after 2007 when you galvanised and mobilised them to challenge the status quo at the national level.
Now that you are in government, protest has suddenly become a criminal offence. God is indeed great. The plain truth is that the recent fuel price increase by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, an agency which is under your office as the Petroleum Minister, is an atta3k on Nigerians. Obviously, your administration is becoming indifferent, insensitive and unresponsive to the plights of millions of Nigerians who can no longer meet their daily needs.
This is a brutal affault on the sensibility of Nigerians. I think you and your party should be sensitive to the plights of Nigerians. Mr President, don’t you think the wicke and draconian increase in fuel price, especially, at this time that Nigerians have been pushed to the wall, is a huge recipe for crisis? Nigerians can no longer bear this economic hardship any longer.”
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Bank of America (BAC) has raised its minimum wage to $24 an hour in the U.S., they announced Tuesday.
The increase also applies to salaried positions, bringing the minimum annualized salary for the bank’s full-time U.S. employees to nearly $50,000.
"Providing a competitive minimum wage is core to being a great place to work," said Sheri Bronstein, Bank of America's chief human resources officer.
This is the latest incremental increase in the company’s plan to reach a minimum wage of $25 an hour by 2025. Bank of America has gradually raised its minimum wage from $15 in 2017.
The pay raise may help the bank retain tellers, although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the employment of tellers will decline by 15% from 2023 to 2033.
Shares of Bank of America were off 0.3% Tuesday afternoon, but they're about 16% higher for the year so far.
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