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Late Nigerian singer Oladimeji Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad’s widow, Wunmi, has caused a stir on social media following the disclosure of his autopsy result.

Recall that during a coroner inquest which took place on May 16, 2024, a pathologist gave an update on the late singer’s autopsy and revealed that the cause of his death could not be determined.

Shortly after that, Wunmi took to her Instagram stories to share a photo of her late husband with a simple caption

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The spot price of gold was up 1.3% to $2,387.97 per ounce as of 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, after a report showed consumer inflation slowed in April, lifting hopes the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates, which would be bullish for gold.

The Labor Department reported April's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.3% from the month before, down from the 0.4% gains in both February and March. The year-over-year increase of 3.4% eased from 3.5% in March.

The core rate of inflation, which leaves out volatile food and energy prices, came in at an annual rise of 3.6%, the lowest since April 2021.

A report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed retail sales were virtually unchanged in April from the month before, suggesting consumers may be pulling back. Economists had been anticipating a gain of 0.4% after a 0.6% jump in March. Excluding autos and gas, sales declined 0.1% versus the predicted 0.1% advance.

Sales at non-store retailers, which include online purchases, posted the biggest drop of any category at 1.2% versus March.

The economic news led to a shift in expectations of the probability of policymakers reducing interest rates in September, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool based on fed funds futures pricing data. Markets are now pricing in a 75% chance of a rate cut in September, an increase of 10 percentage points from Tuesday.

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A Nigerian lady who loves to read has shared the heartwarming story of how her man proposed to her with a 42-page book. In a post shared on X, the Nigerian lady @totosofcanada mentioned that her man took her to a book-themed restaurant where he proposed. In the book, her fiance wrote about why he loves her and can’t wait to marry her.

At the last page of the book, the man had the ring imputed.

Her post has warmed the hearts of some Nigerians who celebrated her man for being intentional about the way he proposes to his woman.

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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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