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A UK-based Nigerian Businessman has created awareness about an alarming trend among immigrants.

The greatest sc@m going on immigration right now is “Dependant “Oh he can’t report because what will he say happened” In the past month, around 15 individuals on this X app have been frantically searching for ways to remain in the country because their dependents applied for a new visa without including them or notifying them.

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Investors continued to pour money into U.S. funds last month despite it being the market’s most volatile month in years. 

U.S. exchange-traded funds attracted $70 billion in August, according to Morningstar Direct data. August's haul represented a downshift from July when funds raked in $117 billion, the second-highest monthly total on record. Still, last month’s intake was about five times ETFs’ haul in August 2023, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Investors’ enthusiasm for ETFs has put this year on track for a year of record inflows.

Inflows held up despite an exceptionally volatile month on Wall Street. The S&P 500 tumbled 6% in the first three sessions of August as markets reacted to unsettling labor market data and a shift in the global interest rate outlook that sunk stocks around the world. Then, as economic fears subsided and Wall Street digested a slew of earnings reports, stocks rebounded to finish the month slightly higher. 

All the turbulence did little to temper investors’ appetite for blended products, which continued to attract the majority of inflows to equity ETFs. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and iShares Core S&P 500 fund (IVV), with their low fees and ample liquidity, raked in about $8 billion and $6 billion, respectively, last month.

Vanguard’s fund has now attracted more than $61 billion this year, giving it a substantial buffer to exceed the annual inflow record of $51 billion.

The market’s unease did change where investors funneled their money. Value-focused stock funds pulled in more money than growth funds for the first time all year.

Volatility also boosted a relatively obscure corner of the market: buffer ETFs, which use options to limit downside risk (and upside potential). Average weekly net inflows to this category have jumped to $283 million since the start of July from $160 million in the first half of the year. In the week that ended August 2—a week that included a Fed rate decision, a surprise rate hike by the Bank of Japan, and a U.S. jobs report—inflows totaled $360 million. 

With the U.S. presidential election and the Fed’s long-awaited interest rate cuts just around the corner, there’s likely to be more volatility in the coming months, which could drive more money into these cautious bets on equities. 

Fixed-income funds saw relatively larger inflows as investors prepared their portfolios for interest rate cuts. Bonds ETFs attracted $31 billion, about as much as flowed to equity ETFs, even as the size of the equity ETF universe is about three times that of bonds. Seven of the 10 ETFs with the largest monthly inflows were fixed-income funds.

Market participants became increasingly confident throughout August that the Federal Reserve would cut the federal funds rate in September, its first policy rate reduction in more than four years

Subsequently, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), a bet on long-term rates that slumped more than 30% in 2022, pulled in nearly $5 billion, twice that of the bond fund with the next-highest inflows.

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You're huffing and puffing and starting to sweat — and that's just from walking across the parking lot in blistering heat and humidity. This summer has left us all struggling to stay cool.

"The last 13 months have been the hottest on record. We're seeing increased levels of heat-related illness, and it started earlier in the season we're used to," says Dr. Tess Wiskel, a climate change and human health fellow at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, and an emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Don't wait until you're overheated to figure out how to cool down. Be wary of high temperature risks throughout your day and practice ways to avoid them. Here are 14 ideas to get you started.

Cover the basics

Pack and dress for heat

Try DIY cool downs

Know when to get help

If you're not cooling down after trying numerous methods, Dr. Wiskel advises that you seek care. Call your doctor's office or call 911 if you're exhibiting signs of heat exhaustion, such as

Pay extra attention to those symptoms, especially if you're vulnerable to heat and aren't able to regulate your temperature well.

"People at high risk include older adults, babies and children, those who are pregnant, people who take medications that make them less able to sweat, people who work outdoors, and people with certain health conditions, including cardiovascular disease," Dr. Wiskel says. "And if you're not high risk, check in on people who are."

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

An Islamic cleric identified as Alfa Giga, involved in a tragic incident that claimed the lives of his father and brother, has been apprehended.

Reports indicate that he was arrested on Sunday, September 8, 2024, in the Apete area of Ibadan, Oyo State, after being found with disturbing evidence. It is alleged that the suspect specializes in s+lling parts of his victims.

He was interrogated by eyewitnesses before being handed over to the police for further investigation.

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Vice President Kamala Harris provided additional insights into her tax plans on the campaign trail this week.

During a speech in New Hampshire, the Democratic presidential candidate laid out plans to give tax breaks to small businesses and clarified her position on long-term capital gains taxes. She also reiterated her support for a billionaire minimum tax.

Harris outlined a plan to allow new businesses to deduct up to $50,000 in start-up costs. Currently, Internal Revenue Service rules show start-ups can generally deduct far less—up to $5,000 in start-up costs and up to $5,000 in organizational costs.

Harris' proposal to support small businesses also included plans to help existing small businesses by providing more low- and no-interest loans to those wanting to expand. Her plan will also ease regulations and simplify taxes by creating a standard deduction similar to how individual taxes are typically filed.

Harris also said she supports increased tax rates for millionaires and billionaires, a topic her predecessor, President Joe Biden, also campaigned on.

Harris outlined a plan to increase the tax rate on long-term capital gains for those who make $1 million or more to 28%. Currently, the highest capital gains rate is 20% and applies to consumers who make around $500,000 a year.

This separates her campaign from Biden's—he proposed a tax rate of 39.6% for those who make $1 million or more.

Recently, Harris has been criticized for backing Biden's proposed "billionaire tax." This would apply a 25% minimum tax on the unrealized gains of people who own $100 million in assets or more. Critics, such as the Libertarian Cato Institute, say that the wealth tax would be "economically destructive."

While she didn't get into specific numbers, she did mention she would "support a billionaire minimum tax" to "ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share." She did, however, note that as president, she would push to "tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America’s innovators, founders, and small businesses."

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