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American billionaire businessman and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has said tax collection in Nigeria is ‘pretty low.’

The co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stated this at an event in Abuja, on Tuesday, September 3.

According to him, “Over time, there are plans for Nigeria to fund the government more than it does today. The actual tax collection in Nigeria is actually pretty low.

If citizens want the education and the health things, as they develop the confidence that these programmes can be very well run, and our foundation is involved with a lot of the exemplars that are showing the way in terms of making sure the money is spent really well, running a very efficient primary health care system where the employees are doing great work, the centres are where they should be, you don’t have underloaded centres or overloaded centres.

It’s exciting that we are driving the credibility of those health programmes and so that the citizens will feel like primary health care is amongst the priorities that should be very funded as you get some fiscal flexibility.”

Gates’ remarks comes hours after Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, said his committee is proposing a law to the National Assembly to increase value added tax from the current 7.5% to 10%. [Swipe]

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Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares tumbled in premarket trading Wednesday after the discount retailer reported another earnings miss and said it is facing "immense pressures from a challenging macro environment."

The retailer posted $132.4 million in net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, down from $200.4 million last year and well below analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue rose slightly to $7.38 billion but was still below expectations.

The retailer also lowered sales and profit projections for fiscal 2024, expecting revenue from $30.6 billion to $30.9 billion, down from $31.0 billion to $32.0 billion previously. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are now expected to be within a range of $5.20 to $5.60, compared with $6.50 to $7.00 previously.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rick Dreiling said the company is making progress despite "immense pressures from a challenging macro environment," while Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jeff Davis said earnings were negatively impacted by the "increasing effect of macro pressures on the purchasing behavior of Dollar Tree's middle- and higher-income customers."

Their comments echo those made last week by executives at rival Dollar General (DG), who said they see "financially constrained" consumers who are "less confident" in their financial position and spends less on discretionary products as a result.

Wednesday's results are another disappointment for Dollar Tree, which reported earnings below estimates in the two previous quarters. In its Q1 report, the company said it was exploring "strategic alternatives" including selling or spinning off the Family Dollar brand roughly a decade after acquiring it, while in the prior quarter Dollar Tree said it planned to close about 1,000 stores.

Dollar Tree shares sank almost 10% to $73.72 about 45 minutes before the opening bell Wednesday. They are down more than 40% year-to-date.

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The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) remains in the spotlight on Wednesday after tumbling more than 7% yesterday to register its largest daily percentage decline since March 2020 amid a broad-based selloff in chip stocks. The top-weighted stock in the fund, artificial intelligence (AI) darling Nvidia (NVDA), led the sell-off, slumping nearly 10%, while other leading chipmakers in the ETF’s portfolio, including Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Micron (MU), all dropped by around 8%.

The chips sector has seen significant gains over the past year, as AI’s widespread adoption bolsters demand. Volatility across the group has increased in recent trading sessions after Nvidia reported earnings that topped Wall Street estimates but showed that growth is slowing.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the ETF's chart and use technical analysis to identify important levels to watch out for amid increasing price fluctuations in chip stocks.

Since forming a double top in June and July, the fund’s price suffered a significant correction before staging a relief rally from the closely-watched 200-day moving average (MA).

However, more recently, investors resumed selling on a retracement to the 50-day MA, with Tuesday’s drop taking place on the highest daily trading volume since early August, pointing to conviction behind the move from larger market participants.

After falling 7.5% on Tuesday, SMH was down another 1.4% to $222.00 in premarket trading Wednesday at around 7:15 a.m. ET.

Looking ahead, investors should eye four key price levels on the ETF’s chart that could prove pivotal if weakness across the chip sector continues. 

The first sits around $217, a level on the chart where the fund could find initial support near the March pullback low, which also currently closely aligns with the rising 200-day MA and a range of trading activity positioned near last month’s low.

A breakdown below this level could see the ETF’s price decline to the $200 area, where it may encounter buying interest around the prominent April and August troughs. Last month’s low marks a technically important level, given the fund’s significant intraday reversal from this chart region.

The next lower price level to watch lies at $176, a location where the ETF could attract support from the December high that formed early in the stock’s up-trending move from October to March.

A more protracted correction may see the ETF revisit lower support around $161. This area could entice longer-term buy-and-hold investors seeking entry points near a range of comparable trading levels on the chart between July and December last year.

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‘A 17-year-old chef, identified as Philip Emmanuel, who was arrested in connection with the br¥tal m¥rder of his boss in Ondo State, has confessed to the crime.

The suspect, who was paraded at the Ondo Police headquarter, narrated how he conspired with his boss’ driver named Precious to commit the hideous crime.

The deceased, a popular caterer named Mrs. Adene Iyabode Deborah, was att@cked and k+lled inside her apartment by her staffs who st@bbed her multiple times.

According to the suspect: “I am here because I k+lled my madam. Last month, I have worked with her for five months. I was her cook. She just employed a driver who have only worked for two weeks.

One day the driver came to me and said N150,000 just entered madam account. He told me we should k+lled my madam and collect the money. I said I have not k+lled someone before.

On Saturday, madam said I should come and help her wash clothes that she was very tired. The driver came around and madam was surprised but the driver explained that he wanted to help her.

That day, the driver brought a drink and gave to me. I drank it. He brought out a c¥tlass and started thr£@tening me that he will also k+ll me.

We went into the house and he pushed me inside. I said i should use c+tlass to h+t the woman. I did it. But I started crying.

After we k+lled the woman, the driver went to check the account and found only N60,000. He gave me N30,000. I went to Idanre.

After four days, we heard the woman has di+d. Police called us to come and explain when last we saw the woman. I told them and they asked me to go home.

They called me again and told me I am in communication with the driver. I had to confess.”

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