Select a category

One measure of stock market volatility surged to its highest level since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic on Monday morning as stocks across the globe continued to suffer big losses.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) jumped above 60 on Monday, the highest the "fear index" has been since March 2020. It is the index's highest reading outside of two distinct market meltdowns: the onset of Covid-19 and the fallout from the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

Stocks abroad sold off on Monday, with British and German indexes each down about 3% and the Japanese Nikkei 225 tumbling more than 12%. U.S. stock futures pointed to steep losses on Wall Street as well, with the Dow on track to shed 3% at the open and the Nasdaq 100 barreling toward a 5% decline.

Volatility has picked up in recent weeks amid a reset of stock market leadership and growing anxiety about a slowing U.S. economy. Mega-cap tech stocks have sold off several times since a soft inflation report in mid-July sparked a rotation into the small-cap stocks poised to benefit most from interest rate cuts.

And fear was ratcheted up last week when several reports pointed to a softening labor market, prompting some to wonder whether the Federal Reserve has waited too long to start cutting rates.

Read more on Investopedia

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Mustapha on Monday, August 5, said those flying Russian flag in Nigeria have committed a treasonable offence, adding that the law would catch up with them.

Speaking after an emergency security session with President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock, the General said: “All of us have seen it where foreign flags have been flown within the sovereignty of Nigeria, and that is totally unacceptable. We are warning in clear terms and the President has also said we should convey this, that we will not accept anybody, any individual flying any foreign flag in Nigeria.

That is a treasonable offence, and it will be viewed and treated as such. So nobody shall allow himself to be used by any individual.

Also the issue of coups, Nigeria is a sovereign nation, Nigeria is a democratic nation all security agencies are here to defend democracy and ensure that democracy continues to strive.

We will not accept anyone pushing or taking any action, seemingly or for whatever reason, to want to push for any change of government. Democracy is what we stand for, democracy is what will continue to defend.

The President is clear on his instructions for us not to accept anyone that wants to disrupt the peace and tranquility of Nigeria. And we are all standing here together to show Nigerians that we’re working closely, we are working together with synergy to ensure that there’s still peace and tranquility in Nigeria that we have assured Mr. President.

We’ve said that clearly that the military is going to step in when it is out of hand and you can see that for people supervising elements to push individuals to carry Russian flags in Nigeria, Nigeria sovereignty, that is crossing the red line and we will not accept that. And those ones who have done that will go in for the books and they want to be prosecuted.”

Continue reading on Instablog

Kellanova (K) shares are jumping 19% in premarket trading Monday on a report that candy giant Mars is in advanced talks to buy the maker of Pop-Tarts and Pringles.

According to , a deal could be imminent and would value Kellanova at around $30 billion in one of this year’s biggest M&A transactions.

was the first to report on the potential deal.

Kellanova was spun out of Kellogg last year and is focused on snacks and other foods, while WK Kellogg (KLG) houses the traditional Kellogg cereal brands, such as Corn Flakes and Fruit Loops.

At the market close Friday, Kellanova’s market value was around $22 billion.

If the deal is struck, it would mark one of the largest M&A deals of the year and biggest in the packaged foods sector ever. Last September, J.M. Smucker (SJM) agreed to buy Hostess Brands (TWNK), the maker of Twinkies, for $5.6 billion, including $900 million in debt.

Last week, Kellanova reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its guidance, boosted by North and Latin American demand.

Kellanova shares were up 19% to $75.00 about 30 minutes before the opening bell and have surged about 29% since Wednesday's close.

Read more on Investopedia

Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ1!) were more than 4% lower on Monday morning amid a global equities selloff after weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data on Friday renewed fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.

Japan’s Nikkei Index also weighed on investor sentiment early Monday after it plummeted more than 12% to record its largest single day percentage decline since 1987’s Black Monday stock market crash.

Nasdaq 100 futures have slumped around 15% from their record close last month, officially entering correction territory, as investors continue to offload shares in large-cap tech stocks amid macroeconomic uncertainty and recent downbeat guidance from sector giants Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC).

Below, we take a closer look at the Nasdaq 100 futures chart and use technical analysis to point out important price levels to watch out for amid the sell-off.

Since a bearish engulfing pattern marked their record high on July 11, Nasdaq 100 futures have staged a sharp reversal, with the price currently trading around the closely watched 200-day moving average.

Amid the index's correction, investors should monitor three key price levels where bargain hunters may seek out buying opportunities.

The first sits around 17,150, an area on the chart that will likely encounter support from a horizontal line linking the December 2023 swing high and April swing low, two prominent price points that formed as part of the broader uptrend between January last year and last month’s record high. It’s also worth pointing out that the relative strength index (RSI) has moved into oversold territory below the 30 threshold, increasing the chances of a bounce at this level.

The next lower area to watch lies at 16,100, where the futures could attract buying interest near the July and November 2023 peaks, a location that may flip from providing prior resistance to future support.

Finally, a more significant downturn could see the futures revisit 15,400, where they would likely find support from a trendline connecting multiple peaks and troughs during a rangebound period from June to October last year. Such a move represents a decline of around 13% from current prices.

.

Read more on Investopedia

The Indigenous People of Biafra has lambasted those behind the recent #IgboMustGo campaign in Southwest Nigeria, especially Lagos.

The organisation, in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful on Monday, August 5, said Igbo people are ready to leave Yoruba land and indeed Nigeria via a referendum.

According to the statement, “Following the provocative and genocidal “IgboMustGo” proposed protest slated to commence from August 20-30th 2024, by some faceless Yoruba groups and persons, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) wish to remind the Yoruba anti-Igbo groups that Ndigbo are ready to exit Yoruba land and Nigeria via a referendum. Ndigbo will not succumb to any thr£@t from any group or persons to leave any state or region in Nigeria.

It is laughable that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu was reported to have hypocritically cond£mned the proponents of the “Igbo Must Go” protest.

The Governor will not hoodwink Ndigbo with his hypocritical cond£mnation of those calling for Igbos’ expulsion from the South West Region of Nigeria. The governor was the first to ethnically profile Ndigbo with his biased demolition of Ndigbo’s businesses, properties, and investments in Lagos State…(swipe left to continue reading)

Continue reading on Instablog

One-in-four Americans ranked risks of rising costs, loss of insurance, or damages due to extreme weather as one of the top three risks to their retirement income, but relatively few have a plan in place to face that challenge, a new study shows.

A survey from Allianz Life, an insurance and annuities provider, found that 56% of people said they had anxiety about rising costs, financial losses, or health effects from extreme weather events or natural disasters. However, only 10% of those respondents said they had discussed the concerns with a financial professional.

"Extreme weather has the potential to erode wealth just like other risks to a retirement strategy like inflation and increasing medical costs,” said Lorinda Niemeyer, head of sustainability, Allianz Life.

Climate change as a risk to retirement savings is right up there next to concerns over taxes, debt, or caregiving responsibilities, according to the survey.

However, even among people who have had their finances affected by extreme weather events, only slightly more than a third (36%) have factored in the impact of extreme weather or natural disasters into their retirement planning, the study showed.

Peter Krull, a partner and director at Earth Equity Advisor, said people typically resist any action till climate change affects them, "but we're starting to see that it's impacting more and more people."

Experts recommend keeping extra cash in their emergency fund when preparing for natural disasters and extreme weather events.

Justin Haywood, a CFP and president of Haywood Wealth Management, notes that residents of the Gulf Coast who are affected by tropical storms and hurricanes may need to keep extra cash to prepare for unexpected expenses they may incur if they need to evacuate in an emergency. 

“If you need to spend a few thousand dollars on a hotel room because you evacuated, you want to have cash on hand and not have to raid your retirement fund,” says Haywood.

Extreme weather has pushed up one cost significantly for homeowners—their home insurance bill.

According to Freddie Mac data, the average homeowner paid $1,522 for home insurance in 2023 , up roughly 11% from the prior year but 40.8% higher than the premiums in 2018. States prone to natural disasters and weather events saw homeowners shelling out more to protect their homes.

That's because when insurance companies faces higher-than-expected claims, they suffer underwriting losses, a cost that they then pass on to policyholders via higher premiums.

Krull notes that homeowners in California, Florida, and the Gulf Coast may see their premiums rise or could even lose their insurance as insurers reevaluate climate risks. In California, some major insurance providers no longer provide homeowners insurance to residents because of the risk of wildfires.

In Houston, TX, Haywood, said some of his clients have noticed their home insurance costs rising, and advises them to consider planning for a higher inflation rate on their insurance rates.

Read more on Investopedia