Author: Pritam Barman

Nigeria school abductions have once again pushed the country’s security crisis into full view, as families wait in fear and classrooms sit empty after a sweeping shutdown of schools. More than 300 students are now confirmed missing following an attack on a Catholic school in northern Nigeria on Friday, in what ranks among the country’s worst mass kidnappings. The assault has triggered nationwide alarm, renewed anger over government security failures and fresh scrutiny from political leaders abroad. Authorities moved quickly to close dozens of schools across the country, sending thousands of students home. But for the families of those who…

Goldman Chicago bond sale plans ran into choppy demand this week, leaving Goldman Sachs Group Inc. stuck with a sizeable piece of the city’s latest sales‑tax bond deal even after the bank sweetened yields. The shortfall underscores how Chicago’s budget tensions and softer municipal market conditions are weighing on an otherwise highly rated credit structure. The $454 million offering, sold through the city’s Sales Tax Securitization Corporation (STSC), was meant to lower borrowing costs by refunding existing debt. While officials say that the objective was met, the price of getting the deal done was higher spreads, and about $75 million…

South Africa eurobond sale plans are moving into focus as the government signals it is ready to tap global markets on the back of an improved economic outlook and stronger investor confidence. The National Treasury is weighing a fresh issue of up to $2.7 billion to help meet its foreign‑currency funding needs for the fiscal year and believes demand will be robust if it proceeds. National Treasury Director‑General Duncan Pieterse said the country is already seeing solid appetite for its local‑currency debt and expects that enthusiasm to extend to external borrowing. The prospective South Africa eurobond sale would come at…

Canada retail sales slowed to their weakest pace in more than a year in the third quarter, as a grinding trade dispute with the US and cooling population growth made consumers more cautious. New data from Statistics Canada show overall spending barely grew between July and September, even after the Bank of Canada cut interest rates to support the economy. Retail sales rose just 0.2% in the quarter, down from 0.3% in the prior three months. September alone saw a 0.7% drop, matching economists’ forecasts, while an early estimate points to flat sales in October. In volume terms — which…

Fed rate cut bets jumped on Friday as comments from a top Federal Reserve official helped steady US markets after a bruising global selloff. US stock futures and Treasuries advanced, even as Bitcoin retreated from recent highs and investors continued to weigh fragile risk sentiment. Contracts linked to the S&P 500 rose about 0.4% after swinging throughout the session. The move came after New York Fed President John Williams said the central bank has room to lower interest rates soon as the labor market cools, prompting traders to ramp up bets on a Fed rate cut for December to more…

Stephen Curry Under Armour breakup headlines are rippling across the sports and business worlds after the NBA superstar quietly became one of the biggest sneaker free agents in history. Just a day after the split was made public, Curry stepped onto the court for warmups in a pair of Nike shoes — a visual signal that a decade-long partnership had reached its end and a new battle for his signature was beginning. For more than 10 years, Curry and Under Armour were deeply linked, with the four-time NBA champion helping turn the Baltimore-based company into a serious basketball player. Now,…

Bill Pulte FHFA leadership has shifted from low-profile appointment to high-stakes political test as housing costs climb and Donald Trump prepares a possible stock sale of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Once viewed inside the transition team as a backwater job, the director’s post at the Federal Housing Finance Agency now sits at the center of voter anger over affordability. Some of Trump’s top aides and housing‑industry leaders worry that Pulte’s unconventional style — and the controversies around him — could complicate the administration’s housing agenda just as mortgage rates and home prices remain elevated. Trump, however, is…

Fed private credit risks are moving to the forefront of the central bank’s agenda as Governor Lisa Cook laid out a pointed warning about how losses in the fast‑growing market could reverberate through the broader US financial system. Speaking Thursday at Georgetown University’s Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy, Cook said the Federal Reserve must keep a close watch on private credit, where rising complexity and deep links with leveraged firms may mask vulnerabilities until stress surfaces. Her remarks underscored that, while the Fed still judges the financial system to be resilient, officials see new fault lines emerging in…

US existing home sales climbed to their highest pace in eight months in October, offering a rare dose of momentum for a housing market that has spent most of the year stuck near historic lows. Buyers who had high borrowing costs had stepped back in as mortgage rates eased, and in several parts of the country, they gained more leverage to negotiate with sellers. The latest data hint at a market slowly thawing rather than fully rebounding, but they also show how sensitive US existing home sales remain to even modest changes in financing costs. October Data Show US Existing…

AI-related stocks jumped across global markets after Nvidia Corp. delivered an upbeat earnings report and outlook that reassured investors about the ongoing demand for artificial intelligence technology. The move brought a wave of relief to a sector that has been under pressure from valuation worries and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s next steps. Nvidia’s latest numbers and strong revenue forecast quickly calmed talk that the AI boom is already fading. The company’s leadership argued that conditions are far from an industry bubble, giving traders fresh confidence to hold AI-related stocks even as questions about the durability of the rebound remain.…