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Billionaire Seth Klarman's Baupost Group hedge fund entered a position in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice and speech recognition company SoundHound AI (SOUN) in the first quarter while sharply trimming its stake in Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to its recent 13-F filing.

It is important to note that 13F filings report on investments as of the end of the reporting quarter, and provide no information about what price at which shares were purchased or any profit or loss from any share-ownership exits.

Klarman's fund ended the first quarter with 1.1 million shares of SoundHound, which provides AI voice solutions and recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results amid rising demand for its products. SoundHound came into the spotlight after Nvidia (NVDA) unveiled a position in the company at the end of last year.

Baupost took on several other new positions in the first three months of this year as well, most notably a 2.6 million-share stake in Chinese data center company GDS Holdings (GDS).

Klarman also entered stakes in construction materials firm Eagle Materials (EXP), contract research organization Fortrea Holdings (FTRE), and electrical distribution and services parent company Wesco International (WCC).

Baupost added to its existing stake in data analytics firm Clarivate (CLVT), ending the quarter with 30.6 million shares, about 5 million more than it had at the end of 2023.

Klarman's fund dramatically reduced its position in media giant Warner Bros Discovery across the first three months of 2024. The firm ended the quarter with 3.7 million shares, down from 25.2 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.

Baupost made smaller cuts to its prior stakes in building materials company CRH (CRH), Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), and Theravance Biopharma (TBPH), among others.

The most recent 13-F also revealed several companies that Baupost eliminated from its portfolio entirely in the first quarter. These include Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor (TSEM), engineering outfit Garrett Motion (GTX), and broadcasting firm Gray Television (GTN).

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A Twitter (now X) user has allegedly been threatened with jail following his cryptic comments about a police officer, who is celebrating his retirement from service.

The netizen, whose username is @W_M_T_V_ on the microblogging platform, had sparked interesting reactions after his remarks got many Nigerians talking.

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U.S. retail sales slowed more than expected in April, leading some economists to ask whether consumers are wearing out after their spending supported surprising economic growth over the past several months.

The Census Bureau reported Wednesday that April retail sales were $705.2 billion, virtually unchanged from the month prior and well below the 0.4% increase economists expected.

“Consumer spending is slowing as elevated interest rates weigh on rate-sensitive spending and as the labor market cools,” said Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.

Despite interest rates being at their highest levels in decades, consumer spending was strong in the first quarter, with shoppers being one reason the long-forecast recession never arrived. But April's shift in retail sales has some economists asking if consumers are getting tired.

“The fact that retail sales stalled in April is not necessarily a sign the consumer is spent; but for once at least it does not show continued evidence of an unstoppable consumer,” wrote Wells Fargo economists Tim Quinlan and Shannon Seery Grein.

The retail sales report was driven by a slowdown for online retailers that economists said could be partly attributed to an Amazon (AMZN) sales event in March. The earlier timing of Easter this year could also affect year-over-year comparisons.

However, several economists also said the data pointed to consumers who are running out of steam.

“Depleted excess savings, record household debt and a significant slowdown in job growth caused consumers to throttle back their spending last month,” said BMO Senior Economist Jay Hawkins. 

The gains in sales over the past year may be more due to inflation than increasing sales, said Morning Consult Retail & E-Commerce Analyst Claire Tassin. The retail sales report is not adjusted for inflation and Tassin noted the 2.7% increase in sales from last April was below the 3.4% consumer price inflation rate over the same period. 

“That indicates that the sales gains from a year ago are entirely attributable to inflation, not increased consumer demand,” Tassin said. 

While slowing retail sales may seem like a negative for the broader economy, it could also portend a reduction in inflationary pressure, which would be welcome news for consumers and could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider cutting its benchmark interest rate.

Fed officials have increased their influential fed funds rate to a 23-year high in order to restrict inflation. High interest rates are designed to slow consumer spending by making it more expensive to borrow money.

Inflation tumbled in 2023 but progress has stalled so far this year, as prices have continued to increase. Officials have said they need to see more data showing interest rates having the desired impact before moving to cut their interest rates.

“Fed officials will likely see this morning’s data as a partial offset to the persistently elevated inflation environment,” wrote Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin.

A separate release Wednesday showed that inflation rose at a slower rate in April than the month before. The consumer price index for April rose at an annual rate of 3.4%, down from 3.5% in March but still well above the Fed's long-term annual target of 2%.

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The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese and Founder of the Kukah Centre, Right Reverend Matthew Kukah, has told President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians are experiencing pain and hardship due to certain government policies.

He said while one year may not be enough to make a judgment about the administration of Tinubu, he noted that it is evident that Nigerians are facing a difficult situation.

Bishop Kukah stated this in an interview with State House Correspondents on Wednesday, May 15, shortly after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

According to him, “I’m sure that many people will tell you that one year is not enough to make a judgement. However, from where we all stand, we know that we are all in a very difficult situation.

Nigerians are in various levels of pain and they are pains that are unintended. But, they are as a result of certain policy decisions that hopefully, with time, can be amended in order to serve the welfare of ordinary people.

I believe that the essence of government is to guarantee the welfare and security of ordinary citizens. I believe that the times that we are in are very very difficult times, and nobody should be under any illusion.

But, there are also times for renewal. We just need to commit ourselves to the fact that building a good society takes a lot of time. It’s not something that is done in one lifetime. And for me, the most important thing is for us to continue on the building blocks of the things that we think are being done well.

My argument has always been that the government needs to very quickly improve the quality of communication so that Nigerians can at least get a sense of how long is it going to be before food is ready.”

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Nigerian author and founder of Genevieve Magazine, Betty Irabor, has courageously shared her personal struggle with depression and a near-suicide attempt in a recent tweet.

She revealed that years ago, she tried to end her life due to the overwhelming pain of depression, but deep down, she was still hoping someone would intervene and save her.

Fortunately, with the help of nine psychiatrists, supportive family and friends, and her own determination to live, she was able to overcome her struggles and regain her will to live.

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Police operatives in Kano State have arrested one Shafi’u Abubakar, 38, who allegedly set a mosque abl@ze and tr@pped worshipers inside the building at Laraba Abasawa in Gezawa LGA of the state.

It was gathered that about 40 worshippers were praying when Shafi’u used petrol to ignite the fire, tr@pping them inside the mosque by locking the door of the building to prevent them from escaping the inferno.

The att@ck which occurred on Wednesday morning, May 15, left 24 persons with different degrees of b¥rns.

The rescued victims were later rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano, where they were receiving treatment.

The State’s Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Haruna Kiyawa, in a statement on Wednesday, said Shafi’u willingly submitted himself to the Police after committing the act.

According to the statement, “The principal suspect has been identified and arrested, he is Shafi’u Abubakar aged 38 years who said his action was purely in hostility following prolonged family disagreement over sharing of inheritance of which those that he alleged to have ch£ated on him were in the mosque at that moment and he did that for his voice to be heard.”

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