Select a category

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says Nigerians should place their love for the country above financial gain.

Akpabio spoke on the floor of the senate on Tuesday. The senate president said the country would be better if citizens who are skilled in various fields stayed back. “The country is losing its expertise. If they acquired those expertise and returned to Nigeria, it would have been better,” he said while commenting on a motion seeking to address mass immigration of Nigerians.

“I also think the conditions of service are quite responsible. I believe people should place love for their country above financial gains. That is why many of us choose to remain here.” Akpabio said the massive migration of Nigerians has adversely impacted the country’s health sector.

“The brain drain is a big problem, not just in the educational sector, particularly in the health sector – it is affecting us a lot. The greatest professionals in medicine in the USA, from what I read, some people say we have almost 22,000 health workers in there (US) who are Nigerians and they are doing extremely well. I have seen that from different reports.In the educational sector, the disadvantages are too numerous because some of the departments do not have even up to 50 per cent staff strength.So what then are you teaching our children? It’s like a computer, garbage in and garbage out.”

The senate president said the national assembly would continue to do its best to better the lives of teachers so that they could stay back and impact future generations.

Continue reading on Instablog

Investors shifted their retirement portfolios out of stocks and into bonds in September, opting for more conservative investments over riskier ones.

Bond funds, money market funds and stable value funds saw combined inflows of $341 million, with bond funds getting the largest share at roughly 45%, an analysis of trading in 401 (k) accounts by Alight, a retirement record keeper, found. In contrast, large U.S. equity funds, company stocks and target date funds, saw about $281 million flow out.

As 401 (k) investors sought safer investments, the average asset allocation in equities decreased from 72.9% in August to 72.2% in September.

In terms of overall trading volume, September, was a light trading month, but on 18 out of the 20 of trading days, investors put money into fixed-income funds.

"The light 401 (k) trading activity in September suggests that investors were taking a cautious approach to their retirement investments," said Rob Austin, Head of Thought Leadership at Alight, adding that, "the low trading volume that significantly favored fixed income funds indicates that traders were focused on rebalancing their portfolios."

With the Federal Reserve broadly expected to cut rates in September, many investors began rethinking their portfolios to accommodate lower yields on everything from short-term Treasurys and money market funds to high-yield savings accounts, and any stock market volatility that could follow.

Stocks had their worst start to September in 70 years after some disappointing earnings from large tech companies in July and concerns about a recession. That was enough to make many investors, especially millennials, more risk-averse.

As you get closer to retiring, it may feel safer skewing your portfolio towards fixed-income securities and away from stocks. However, the combination of factors mentioned above makes planning for retirement challenging in the current environment.

If you're a few years away from retirement, equities may not be a bad place to be, according to some experts, but you can also lean on some longer maturity bonds that are typically less sensitive to the rate cuts and still face less risk. They also suggest limiting the amount of cash and cash equivalents, like money market funds, investors have on hand to less than 12 month's worth of expenses.

Read more on Investopedia

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com on Tuesday sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over concern that the SEC's actions overstep legal boundaries and undermine the future of the crypto industry in the U.S.

According to Crypto.com, the lawsuit follows a Wells Notice issued in August by the SEC to the company, which is a letter that indicates the SEC's intention to bring an enforcement case against the crypto startup.

The crux of Crypto.com's lawsuit contends that the SEC has unilaterally expanded its jurisdiction beyond the limits established by law, particularly by classifying most crypto transactions as securities dealings.

The company contends that this regulatory position is applied inconsistently, exempting bitcoin (BTCUSD) and ether (ETHUSD) despite their perceived similarity to other crypto assets. Crypto.com also emphasized in the suit that the SEC bypassed key procedural steps, including the notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act.

By filing this suit, Crypto.com said it aims to halt what it views as the SEC’s "unlawful" campaign against the crypto industry. 

Additionally, Crypto.com has filed a petition with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the SEC to establish a clearer regulatory framework for cryptocurrency derivatives in the U.S.

Blockchain technology firm Consensys also filed a preemptive lawsuit against the SEC earlier this year after receiving a Wells Notice.

Read more on Investopedia

Roblox (RBLX) shares slumped Tuesday after short seller Hindenburg Research accused the online gaming platform of overstating its user numbers.

Hindenburg in report said that Roblox "is lying to investors, regulators, and advertisers about the number of 'people' on its platform, inflating the key metric by 25-42%+. We also show how engagement hours, another key metric, is inflated by an estimated 100%+."

Hindenburg's report said that while the Roblox reports the number of people using the site, its measure counts daily active users, which Hindenburg said is not a measure of unique individuals. It added that a check of Roblox's engagement data indicated that it was also overstated. Hindenburg, which in recent months has targeted companies including Super Micro and Equinix, also claimed Roblox exposes children to dangerous material.

"We totally reject the claims made in the report," Roblox said in a statement provided to . "The financial claims made by Hindenburg Research are simply misleading. The authors are, admittedly, short sellers and have an agenda irrespective of the substance of Roblox' business model and results."

Shares of Roblox were recently down about 3%, leaving them off roughly 12% this year.

—This story has been updated with a Roblox comment.

Read more on Investopedia

A record number of small business owners felt uncertain about the future in September, as doubts about the economy took a toll.

A National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) index of small business owner sentiment found uncertainty jumped 11 points to 103 in September. That's the highest ever recorded since the organization began the survey in 1973.

The lowest number of owners since June 2020 reported increasing their businesses' inventory. About half (51%) of owners reported making capital expenditures in the past six months, a five-point decrease from August.

“Uncertainty makes owners hesitant to invest in capital spending and inventory, especially as inflation and financing costs continue to put pressure on their bottom lines,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.  “Although some hope lies ahead in the holiday sales season, many Main Street owners are left questioning whether future business conditions will improve.”

Inflation remained the top issue for business operators. The survey also showed 59% of businesses were hiring. However, a majority of hiring owners reported being unable to find qualified candidates, despite a September jobs report showing a surprising staffing increase.

“Job growth has been very weak on Main Street,” the report said. “Job openings have been historically high, but most firms trying to hire report few or no qualified applicants for their open positions.”

Read more on Investopedia

Shares of WW International (WW), better known as WeightWatchers, jumped nearly 25% Tuesday when the dieting services company announced it is offering a copycat version of blockbuster weight-loss drugs.

WW said eligible members could now get compounded semaglutide, giving them "access to clinical weight management interventions that are underpinned by the comprehensive, science-backed, behavioral and lifestyle support that has helped millions of people reach and sustain their weight goals."

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's (NVO) obesity treatment Wegovy, as well as its diabetes medicines Ozempic and Rybelsus, which have also been shown to help with weight loss.  

WW noted that drugs to reduce weight have been in short supply, and interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tara Comonte explained that the company is "expanding our offering to include a clinical weight management solution that is both accessible and affordable."

Compounding is a method by which another drug is added to the original patented one. WW noted that it has selected a compounding company that adheres to the same manufacturing standards enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for production of FDA-approved drugs.  

WW International shares have been sinking, plunging to an all-time low in September, as the success of Wegovy and others cut into demand for the company's services. Even with today's gains, the shares are down nearly 90% in 2024.

Read more on Investopedia