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A Nigeria man of foreign descent has shared a receipt of his friend’s electricity bill for the month of April that accrued to over N47 million.

Recall that few months ago, he came online to lament about the new hike in electricity tariffs, as he revealed that his friend was paying over 14 million monthly before the tariff was increased.

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Americans feel the outlook for household finances in the year ahead is getting gloomier. 

Consumers expected steeper price increases and lower income growth over the coming year in April than they did in March, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Monday. One-year inflation expectations rose to 3.3% from 3%, reaching the highest since November, while earnings growth expectations fell to 2.7% from 2.8%. 

A separate survey released last week by the University of Michigan also showed inflation expectations increasing. 

Short-term inflation expectations have soured at the same time that actual inflation numbers have proven worse than expected.

Economists and officials closely watch consumer expectations about inflation because they’re thought to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy—if people believe inflation is getting worse, they might behave in ways that worsen inflation. For example, they could make big purchases sooner than they otherwise would, to avoid future price increases, which would push up demand for products and businesses would then respond by raising prices. 

Monday’s survey came ahead of an official inflation report Wednesday, which financial markets and officials at the Federal Reserve are watching closely for signs about how well the Fed’s battle against inflation is going.

Forecasters expect that report to show the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index rose stubbornly fast in April, reinforcing the idea that the Fed will have to keep interest rates higher for longer than previously believed in order to bring it down to a 2% annual rate. 

Within the New York Fed survey, consumers predicted higher price increases for houses, medical care, education, food, gas, and rent than they did in March.

Home price growth expectations rose to 3.3% from 3%, reaching the highest since July 2022. Home prices have risen to record highs in recent months as high mortgage rates have prevented many homeowners from selling, keeping inventories low and competition high.At the same time, the labor market has cooled off, with employers pulling back on job openings and wage increases, official data shows.While short-term expectations rose, the outlook for the medium term was more subdued, with expectations for the inflation rate three years from now falling to 2.8% from 2.9%, according to the New York Fed survey.

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Police operatives in Adamawa State have arrested a 33-year-old man, identified as Aliyu Musa aka Imam Mahdi, over alleged use of ab¥sive language against public office holders in the state.

The command’s spokesperson, Suleiman Nguroje, in a statement on Monday, May 13, said that it came across “a very dist¥rbing video” of the suspect, a resident of Kwacham Ward, Mubi South LGA, with a Tiktok handle @faty5076 circulating on social media.

According to the statement, “The content portrays the young man’s assertions of claiming some Adamawa stakeholders are unjust thereby ab¥sing them in an immoral manner which he doesn’t have any evidence to substantiate his assertions and that may not only tarnish their image but will also lead to breakdown of law and order, due to their sensitive responsibilities as public office holders in Adamawa in particular and Nigeria in General.

The Command unequivocally condemns such acts in the strongest terms and vowed to deal with anyone who is bent in violeting the laws of the land.

Preliminary investigations so far reveal that the ab¥sive language was done with the intention to d£mean the reputation of the prominent personalities and leaders in the state. This cr¥el and viol£nt manner will lead to breakdown of law and order.

It is imperative to employ proactive measures to guide and counsel social media handlers to be wary of their posts to avoid violating the laws that define and regulate social media uses.”

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A young man who was arrested for posting obscene pictures of his 4 year old daughter in Edo State has revealed that he did the act because he wanted to make her a celebrity model.

The man who has since been arrested by the police confessed to his crimes in a video while being interrogated by members of the police force.

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U.S. equities were mixed and little changed at midday as a report from the New York Federal Reserve showed consumers lifted their estimates for short-term and long-term inflation. More key inflation data is set to be released this week. The Dow and S&P 500 were flat, while the Nasdaq edged higher.

GameStop (GME) shares skyrocketed after Keith Gill, a key driver of the meme stock craze known by his online persona of “Roaring Kitty,” posted again for the first time in almost three years. That has raised speculation retail investors could again run up shares of GameStop and other meme stocks. Shares of another meme favorite, AMC Entertainment (AMC), also soared.

Shares of Intel (INTC) gained following a report it is in advanced talks with Apollo Global Management to have the private equity firm offer more than $11 billion in backing for the chipmaker’s plan to build a factory in Ireland.

Squarespace (SQSP) shares skyrocketed as another private equity company, Permira, said it was purchasing the provider of software for website building and hosting for $6.9 billion, and taking it private.

Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) shares dropped as a trial began in Massachusetts over charges the rideshare giants misrepresented their drivers as contract workers, not employees.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) lost ground and Apple (AAPL) shares rose with the iPhone maker reportedly close to an agreement with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to put its ChatGPT chatbot features on iPhones. That followed earlier reports that Apple was in talks with Google to use its AI features in iPhones. OpenAI could also reportedly announce an AI-powered search engine rivaling Google's offerings.

Oil futures advanced and gold prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down. The U.S. dollar gained on the yen, but lost ground to the euro and pound. Most major cryptocurrencies traded in the green.

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Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) are among a slew of companies investing billions in France as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s push to draw international investors.

Microsoft said Monday that it is investing 4 billion euros ($4.32 billion) to build an AI data center and cloud infrastructure in France.

"We are building state-of-the-art Cloud and AI infrastructure, training people with AI skills, and supporting French startups," Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said.

The investment into France's AI sectors was announced during the annual "Choose France" summit that began Monday. Microsoft has been on a global spending spree to build AI infrastructure, and last week announced a $3.3 billion investment into building an AI data center in Wisconsin.

Amazon said separately it would invest more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) into its French operations to boost its AI presence and support the expansion of its logistics network to speed up deliveries.

Amazon's investment will increase Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure in the Paris area and logistics infrastructure in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, it said. Amazon added the plan will create 3,000 permanent new jobs in France, where it recently announced 2,000 additional permanent positions.

Microsoft and Amazon shares were both down less than 1% an hour after the opening bell Monday.

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