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The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a young man, identified as Ahmed Tailor, for allegedly sponsoring and distributing Russian flags to protesters in Kano State.

According to Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Tailor was apprehended with seven Russian flags in his possession.

Adejobi stated that Tailor is a key suspect in the promotion of treasonous activities, including the display of Russian flags and calls for anarchy in Kano and across Nigeria.

“Ahmed Tailor arrested in Kano today with seven more flags. He is one of the sponsors of treasonable felony, flying Russian flags and calling for anarchy in Kano, Nigeria at large,” Adejobi said.

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The Federal Government has postponed this week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting earlier scheduled for Monday afternoon, August 5.

It was gathered that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will instead meet with service chiefs.

The meeting is expected to have in attendance the vice president, the national security adviser, all service chiefs, the inspector general of police, the comptroller generals of customs, and immigration, and the chief of staff to the president.

Sources close to the matter told Channels Television on condition of anonymity, that the urgent meeting with security chiefs may not be unconnected to the ongoing nationwide hunger and hardship protests.

This is coming after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave a nationwide broadcast on Sunday morning, asking protesters to suspend their action and come forward for dialogue.

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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) updated investors on its second-quarter financial results Saturday, revealing its cash pile rose to a record high as it made more cuts to its stake in Apple (AAPL), while its operating profit surged as its insurance underwriting business made gains, and more.

Berkshire's cash and U.S. Treasury holdings rose to another record high in the second quarter at $276.9 billion, with $234.6 billion of that in Treasury bills. In the first quarter, the company’s cash pile totaled $189 billion. 

Buffett has been a longtime fan of Treasurys, calling them “the safest investment there is” at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May, though the massive size of Berkshire’s growing reserve has raised speculation about how the company might eventually deploy it—or keep adding to it, with Treasury bill yields over 5%. 

While the firm could move to expand its portfolio, Buffett suggested earlier this year that few candidates in the U.S. satisfy Berkshire’s criteria, with "essentially no candidates” elsewhere, saying “things aren’t attractive.”

The rise in Berkshire's cash pile came as it said it sold $75.5 billion worth of stock in the quarter. The company used $345 million to buy back Berkshire stock. 

After trimming its stake in Apple by about 13% in the first quarter, Berkshire cut its stake further, reporting that its Apple holdings were valued at $84.2 billion at the end of the second quarter, suggesting it sold about 390 million shares or nearly half its stake. 

Berkshire also lowered its stake in Bank of America (BAC). While not reflected in Saturday's report, Berkshire continued trimming its stake in Bank of America in July, recent filings showed. 

Berkshire retains significant stakes in Apple and Bank of America despite the cuts, with the two stocks still representing its top holdings, though Berkshire’s selling spree over the last few quarters has raised speculation Buffett may be concerned about the market becoming overheated or raising cash for successors. 

Back in May, Buffett had suggested earlier sales of Apple stock came as Berkshire was building its cash position, and said it’s "extremely likely" Apple would still be Berkshire's largest holding at the end of 2024. 

Berkshire’s operating income, which Buffett has said provides a better picture of the health of the company's businesses than net income, came in at $11.6 billion, up from $11.2 billion in the first quarter, and $10 billion a year earlier. 

Nearly half of the gains in Berkshire’s operating income came from underwriting and investments in Berkshire's insurance businesses as claims costs and catastrophe claims eased. Berkshire’s BNSF Railway and Berkshire Hathaway Energy utility businesses weighed on results. 

Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares have outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year, up about 20% since the start of the year, at $428.36 as of Friday's close.

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The U.S, stock market has been on a volatile ride in recent weeks amid a selloff in big-name technology stocks and rising concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. Major indexes finished sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting a loss for the third consecutive week, its longest losing streak since April. 

While a look at the headlines in financial news or a peek at your brokerage account could inspire panic, here's what experts recommend you do instead to make the most of this downtrend.

Chris Mankoff, a CFP and Partner at JTL Wealth Partners, has had clients calling and asking him about what they should do about the recent drawdown. He strongly discourages retirees or pre-retirees from panic-selling in this environment, as doing so might mean missing out on returns down the line. 

“Be prepared to have these pullbacks and corrections. They're normal,” said Mankoff. “Let's use this as a buying opportunity. If it’s one of those deals where we keep dropping, [then] we'll keep dollar-cost averaging into it.”

With dollar-cost averaging, when you buy small amounts of a stock as the price is falling, over time your investment cost per share reduces, improving chances of a bigger profit when the stock rebounds.

Sticking to your long-term investment plan doesn't mean doing nothing during big market swings. Carolyn McClanahan, a CFP and founder of Life Planning Partners, suggests using this as an opportunity to rebalance portfolios.

"For example, their investment policy may state they will be in a portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds. If the market drops a lot, they should rebalance the portfolio to get them back in line with their invested policy," said McClanahan.

With the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in September, Greg Corneille, CFP and Principal at Choice Wealth Management, recommends investing in Treasurys or Treasury ETFs. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of bond yields. The Fed's anti-inflation rate hikes over the past two years pushed bond yields higher, bringing down bond prices and returns for bond funds.

Another asset class that tends to benefit from rate cuts is small-cap companies, which offer a big upside but can also prove to be extremely volatile.

"Going into an interest rate environment where the Fed can start cutting rates, that tends to bode well for small-cap companies," said Mankoff. "The ones that we look at are ones that are profitable, have positive cash flow and aren't leveraged out their eyeballs."

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Disney (DIS) is set to report third-quarter earnings before the opening bell Wednesday, with investors likely to be watching for strength in its experiences segment and updates on its streaming business.

The company's revenue is expected to grow to $23.02 billion, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Net income is projected to come in at $1.83 billion or $1 per share, after the company reported a loss of $460 million or 25 cents per share a year ago.

In the second quarter, Disney said revenue from its experiences segment surged, driven by growth from its parks and cruises.

Disney CEO Bog Iger said the company sees "lots of opportunities to continue to grow attendance, both domestically and internationally," especially in its cruise business. Disney recently announced it is launching a Tokyo-based cruise ship.

Analysts expect experiences revenue to come in at $8.59 billion, per consensus estimates, which would represent nearly 5% growth from the year-ago period.

Disney has invested heavily in its streaming segment, with the company reporting a surprise profit in the second quarter in its direct-to-consumer entertainment segment, which consists of Disney+ and Hulu.

The company, alongside its streaming competitors, has bet on sports through its ESPN partnership. ESPN recently secured NBA rights which could help Disney support its streaming business.

Recent movie releases, like "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine," could also prop up its streaming segment as the titles make their way to Disney+.

Disney shares have lost close to 1% so far this year, at $89.57 as of Friday's close.

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Shares of DraftKings (DKNG) tumbled Friday after the online sports gambling platform cut its profit forecast and announced it would put a surcharge on winnings for bettors in high-tax states as a way to boost earnings.

In a letter to shareholders, the company said that several states, notably Illinois, have put a high tax rate on gambling winnings. To address that, DraftKings said it plans to implement “a gaming tax surcharge on a customer’s Net Winnings in any state with a tax rate above 20% that has multiple sports betting operators.”

The company said that the surcharge “would be fairly minimal" to the customers, and that “additional upside potential exists for DraftKings' adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2025 and beyond" from the new fee.

The news came as the company reported strong second-quarter results and a new $1 billion stock buyback plan. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.22, and revenue jumped 36.2% to $1.10 billion. Both exceeded forecasts. 

DraftKings said the gains came primarily from several sources, including the addition of new customers and jurisdictions, and the impact of the acquisition of the Jackpocket lottery app.

DraftKings raised its full-year revenue outlook to $5.05 billion to $5.25 billion from the earlier estimate of $4.80 billion to $5.00 billion. However, it reduced its adjusted EBITDA guidance from $460 million to $540 million to $340 million to $420 million.

DraftKing shares fell nearly 10% on Friday, pushing the stock into negative territory for the year.

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