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Instablog9ja
Fuel Price Increase: Skit Maker Shank Comics Expresses Outrage After Spending N75,000 To Fill His Tank
~0.2 mins read

Skit Maker Shank Comics has expresses outrage after spending N75,000 to fill his tank.

He said what a f¥ck as used N75,0000 to fill his tank and he was like f¥ck the government too.

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Investopedia
5 Things To Know Before The Stock Market Opens
~2.5 mins read

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) mulls breaking up Google; Florida braces as Hurricane Milton is expected to cause tens of billions of dollars in damages; Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares are rising further in premarket trading on optimism about its opportunities during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom; Pfizer (PFE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Bourla reportedly is to meet with executives of Starboard Value after the activist investor took a stake in the pharmaceutical firm; and Rio Tinto is acquiring Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) for $6.7 billion. Here's what investors need to know today.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted a filing giving a federal court a framework for restructuring Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google, including breaking up the tech giant for an illegal monopoly over search. The filing comes after a U.S. judge in August ruled in favor of the DOJ's antitrust suit, which was first filed in 2020. A Google executive said the proposal could have "significant unintended consequences." Shares of Alphabet are down about 1% in premarket trading.

Florida is bracing for Hurricane Milton as the Category 5 storm continues its path toward the state's west coast, with mass evacuations preceding the expected landfall near Sarasota this evening. The storm could have a big impact on the state, with analysts at Jefferies projecting it could result in tens of billions of dollars in damages. One company that is expected to be affected is The Walt Disney Co. (DIS), which will be closing Disney World in early afternoon today and could take a hit to its earnings of between $150 million to $200 million due to disruption of its theme parks, according to Goldman Sachs.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares are continuing to rise after asset management firm Ark Invest highlighted the company as one that could benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) trends. The technology-focused asset manager's European managing director Rahul Bhushan told that data analytics software names such as Palantir sit well positioned to capture AI market share from tech giants as demand grows for customized data and AI services that tailor to clients' specific needs. After surging more than 6% Tuesday, shares of Palantir are up another 0.6% in premarket trading.

Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla will meet with executives of activist investor Starboard Value next week as the hedge fund has reportedly taken a $1 billion stake in the pharmaceutical giant, according to the . Bourla and Pfizer independent director Shantanu Narayen, the CEO of Adobe (ADBE), will meet with Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith and Patrick Sullivan, who runs the fund's healthcare investments, the report said. Shares of Pfizer are up less than 1% in premarket trading.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto announced that it would acquire Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) in an all-cash transaction for $5.85 per share, or $6.7 billion. Shares of Arcadium Lithium surged more than 30% in premarket trading to $5.55. The deal would allow Rio Tinto to become one of the top miners of lithium, a metal needed to produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries. "Acquiring Arcadium Lithium is a significant step forward in Rio Tinto's long-term strategy, creating a world-class lithium business alongside our leading aluminium and copper operations to supply materials needed for the energy transition," Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said.

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Investopedia
Watch These Palantir Price Levels As Stock Surges More Than 6% To Record High
~2.6 mins read

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares are likely to remain in the spotlight after jumping to a record high Tuesday following bullish commentary from Ark Invest, which said that the analytics software provider could have further potential upside from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The technology-focused asset manager’s European managing director Rahul Bhushan told in an interview that data analytics software names such as Palantir sit well positioned to capture AI market share from tech giants as demand grows for customized data and AI services that tailor to clients’ specific needs.

Palantir shares rose 6.6% to $41.45 on Tuesday. The stock has gained 141% since the start of the year as of Tuesday’s close, jumping nearly 37% in the past month alone as it got a boost from its recent inclusion in the S&P 500 index.

Below, we take a closer look at the technicals on Palantir’s chart and point out important price levels that investors may be watching.

Since breaking out above an ascending triangle in early July, Palantir shares have continued to trend higher apart from a brief early August correction, with gains accelerating last month after the software vendor’s entrance into the S&P 500.

Importantly, above-average trading volumes have accompanied the stock’s rally, indicating active buying from market-tracking funds.

However, the shares may see short-term profit-taking, given the relative strength index (RSI) flashes overbought conditions and has formed a bearish divergence with the price.

Let’s take a look at three important support levels on Palantir’s chart and use technical analysis to forecast a potential bullish price target.

During an initial pullback, investors should eye the $32.70 level, a location on the chart just below the rising 50-day moving average where the shares may attract support near the August swing high and the Sept. 9 breakaway gap’s opening price.

Selling below this level may see the shares fall to $29, where the price could encounter buying interest near a trendline joining the July peak and September trough.

A deeper retracement could lead to a retest of the $25.50 region, an area where investors may look for entry points around the ascending triangle’s top trendline, which appears to have flipped from resistance into support.

To forecast a potential bullish price target in the stock, we can use a bars pattern, a subjective chart technique that uses prior price action to predict future moves. 

In this case, we’ll extract Palantir’s trend higher from May to August last year and position that move from the early August selloff low, which forecasts a price target of around $55.

We selected this prior move as it started from the lower trendline of an earlier ascending triangle on the chart, similar to how the stock’s current uptrend began.

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Instablog9ja
Activist And Lawyer, Deji Adeyanju Raises Concern About Nigerians’ Attitude Following The Recent Fuel Price Increase
~0.2 mins read

Activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju has raised concern about Nigerians’ attitude following the recent fuel price increase.

He said fuel is now N1,030 but nobody wanted to chase clout by protesting. Everybody is waiting for everyone to start protest.

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Investopedia
Homebuyers Are Getting Smaller Houses–And Paying More For Them
~1.6 mins read

As homebuyers begin to reenter the housing market, they're encountering higher prices and smaller homes.

According to data from Realtor.com, the price per square foot of the median home for sale in September was $227. In September 2019, the median home listed was going for $150 per square foot. That's more than a 50% increase in the price per square foot since the pandemic.

In short, homebuyers are paying far more for each square foot than they were before the pandemic.

The increase in price per square foot could be linked to a mismatch between supply and demand.

According to the latest estimates from Zillow, the U.S. housing market is short 4.5 million homes. Homebuilders have struggled to fill the gap. High interest rates have resulted in fewer buyers and higher borrowing costs, while inflation has raised construction costs.

The disparity between supply and demand has raised home prices over the last four years. Economists, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, have said the severe housing shortage increases housing costs.

The median price per listing was $425,000 in September, compared to $312,477 during the same month in 2019.

But it's not just the price of homes rising. Economists say homebuyers are also purchasing smaller homes on average to try to save some money. Not only do smaller homes come with smaller price tags, but less of a footprint generates fewer maintenance costs, Realtor.com found in a separate study from July.

The trend also extended into newly built homes, Realtors said.

“Since the trend is now heading toward smaller and more affordable housing, it makes sense that builders would follow suit,” said Jason Gelios, a real estate agent with Community Choice Realty in Southeast Michigan, in a Realtor.com blog post.

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Healthwatch
Why Follow A Vaccine Schedule For Children?
~3.4 mins read

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By the first week in September this year, US health officials had already tallied 247 cases of measles, a highly contagious illness. For perspective, in 2023, 59 measles cases were reported during the full year.

This isn't surprising, as vaccination rates for preventable childhood illnesses have decreased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between the 2019–2020 school year and the 2022–2023 school year, the percentage of fully immunized kindergarteners dropped from 95% to 93%.

Even a small decline like this affects herd immunity that helps protect our communities. (Herd immunity occurs when there are enough immunized people to make spread of an illness among unimmunized people less likely.) For measles, we need 95% of people — children and adults — to be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

How do vaccines help children?

The vaccines given before kindergarten protect children against serious illnesses and possible hospitalizations or even deaths:

  • diphtheria, a serious respiratory illness
  • hepatitis B and hepatitis A, both infections of the liver. Hepatitis B infections can be chronic and lead to liver damage.
  • pneumococcus and Haemophilus Influenzae, bacteria that can cause serious infections
  • measles, which can cause pneumonia and neurological problems
  • mumps, which causes swollen glands in the neck and can sometimes lead to complications
  • pertussis (whooping cough), which can be fatal in infants
  • polio, which can cause a paralysis that can be fatal
  • rotavirus, a diarrhea that can lead to serious dehydration in young infants
  • rubella, or German measles. If women catch it during pregnancy, it can lead to miscarriage or birth defects.
  • varicella (chickenpox). While most infections are mild, the rash caused by chickenpox can get infected, and the virus itself can affect the lungs or brain.
  • What to know about vaccine exemptions and schedule changes

    The most concerning part of the CDC report is that it's not just that families got behind in their doctor visits, it's that more are choosing not to vaccinate. Vaccine exemptions rose from 0.4% to 3% in the 2022–2023 school year. That 3% is an average; 10 states have exemption rates over 5% (Idaho's exemption rate was 12.1%).

    Some parents have children vaccinated, but alter the schedule. In a 2020 study, researchers found that only 63% of families followed the recommended vaccination schedule for their children. Among those who didn't, the majority followed an alternate schedule, spacing vaccines out, skipping some, or doing a combination of both.

    But vaccines are given on a schedule for a reason: to protect children from vaccine-preventable disease. Experts designed the schedule so that children get protection when they need it — and the doses are timed so the vaccine itself can have the best effect. When parents don't follow the schedule, their children may not be protected.

    Worried about getting several vaccines at once?

    Parents sometimes worry about giving several vaccines at once, something that the schedule calls for, especially at the 2-, 4-, and 6-month visits. Not only is it safe, but when parents spread out the schedule it takes longer before the child is protected, leaving babies vulnerable to these diseases. It also means more visits to the doctor: the study found that babies whose parents used an alternate schedule had three more vaccination visits than babies whose parents followed the recommended schedule.

    Worried about side effects?

    Parents also worry about side effects of vaccines and other risks, often fueled by information they get on social media. Not every person who gets these infections has a serious case or complications. But the risk of a complication of the disease is always higher than the risk of the vaccine, an important fact that sometimes gets lost in the vaccine discussion.

    When children get behind on vaccines, they are more likely to catch vaccine-preventable illnesses — which is not only dangerous for them, but also for those around them who aren't vaccinated, as we have seen in measles outbreaks. It is not just children whose parents choose not to vaccinate them that are at risk, but also children who can't be vaccinated, such as newborns or those who are taking medications that suppress the immune system. Adults with suppressed immune systems can be at risk too. Parents often forget that the decisions they make about immunization affect more people than just their child.

    How can you learn more about vaccines?

    It's normal for parents to have questions and worry about medical treatments given to their children. After all, it's a parent's job to worry. But as parents question and worry, it's really important that they get reliable medical information from expert sources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Immunize.org and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have lots of accurate and useful information, and parents should always talk to their child's doctor if they have concerns.

    The bottom line for parents

    Think long and hard, and get information from reliable sources, before you change your child's vaccine schedule. The schedule is there to protect your child — and everyone around your child.

    Source: Harvard Health Publishing

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