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Economy: Funke Opeke touts capacity, grit as Nigeria’s hidden solutionWall Street's holiday cheer ended abruptly on Friday, with all three main benchmarks closing lower in a broad-based sell-off affecting even tech and growth stocks that had driven markets higher through much of the shortened trading week. The decline ended the Dow Jones Industrial Average's five-session winning streak that had followed a 10-session decline, its worst losing stretch since 1974. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 65.34 points, or 1.08 per cent, to end at 5,972.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 294.69 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 19,725.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 321.73 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 42,992.58. "Today feels like there is quite a bit of profit-taking across the board," said Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede. "We are more than two years into a pretty strong bull market ... so it's really not surprising to see some people taking their profits and rebalancing their portfolios ahead of the new year." The sell-off thwarted the seasonal Santa Claus rally, in which stocks traditionally rise during the last five sessions of December and the first two of January. Since 1969, the S&P 500 has climbed 1.3 per cent on average, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Thursday's session hinted at momentum stalling, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting marginal losses to end multi-session winning runs. Rising US Treasury yields had been catching investors' attention, with the benchmark 10-year note hitting a more than seven-month high in the previous session. The yield hovered close to that mark on Friday, at 4.62 per cent. Higher yields are seen as hampering growth stocks, as they raise borrowing costs for business expansion. These stocks, especially the so-called Magnificent Seven technology megacaps which had been key drivers of the market's 2024 rally, were also caught up in Friday's sell-off. For the second successive day, Tesla led decliners among the group. "We have a higher cost of capital whenever rates go up like this, and they have gone up pretty significantly over the last month or so," said Glenmede's Reynolds. "Investors may just be reassessing the bets they are taking when the cost of capital is higher, perhaps looking at some of the valuations on the Mag 7 and wondering whether they can find better value elsewhere." Most of the 11 major S&P sectors fell. The worst performers on Friday were the three indexes which have been 2024's leading lights: consumer discretionary, information technology and communication services. Despite Friday's travails, all three indexes recorded weekly gains. News events helped some stocks to buck the market sell-off. Amedisys gained after the home health service provider and insurer UnitedHealth extended the deadline to close their $US3.3 billion ($A5.3 billion) merger. Lamb Weston climbed after a filing showed activist investor Jana Partners is working with a sixth executive to push for changes at the French fry maker, a move which could result in a majority of the company's board being replaced. Trading volumes in this holiday-shortened week have been below the average of the last six months and are likely to remain subdued until January 6. The next major focus for markets will be the December employment report due on January 10.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation that’s coming on Wednesday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high . They’re the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as momentum slows following a big rally that has it on track for one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Tech titan Oracle dragged on the market and sank 6.7% after reporting growth for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts’ expectations. It was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, even though CEO Safra Catz said the company saw record demand related to artificial-intelligence technology for its cloud infrastructure business, which trains generative AI models. AI has been a big source of growth that’s helped many companies’ stock prices skyrocket. Oracle’s stock had already leaped more than 80% for the year coming into Tuesday, which raised the bar of expectations for its profit report. In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of Wednesday’s report on the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show similar increases as the month before. Wednesday’s update and a report on Thursday about inflation at the wholesale level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week, where many investors expect the year’s third cut to interest rates . The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to take pressure off the slowing jobs market, after bringing inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts through next year have been a big reason the S&P 500 has set so many records this year. Trading in the options market suggests traders aren’t expecting a very big move for U.S. stocks following Wednesday’s report, according to strategists at Barclays. But a reading far off expectations in either direction could quickly change that. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday. Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates have been more stubborn to stay high and have been volatile since the autumn. That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers’ stock fell 6.9% even though it delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said the luxury builder has been seeing strong demand since the start of its fiscal year six weeks ago, an encouraging signal as it approaches the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Alaska Air Group soared 13.2% after raising its forecast for profit in the current quarter. The airline said demand for flying around the holidays has been stronger than expected. It also approved a plan to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock, along with new service from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul . Boeing climbed 4.5% after saying it’s resuming production of its bestselling plane , the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week strike that ended in early November. Vail Resorts rose 2.5% after the ski resort operator reported a smaller first-quarter loss than analysts expected in what is traditionally its worst quarter. All told, the S&P 500 fell 17.94 points to 6,034.91. The Dow dipped 154.10 to 44,247.83, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 49.45 to 19,687.24. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after the world’s second-largest economy said its exports rose by less than expected in November. Stocks rose 0.6% in Shanghai but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong. Indexes fell across much of Europe ahead of a meeting this week by the European Central Bank, where the widespread expectation is for another cut in interest rates. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.You were elected to the WA Parliament in 2013, as the 23rd Irish-born MP in WA. What’s something distinctly Irish that you might have brought to the Parliament? I’m the first Irish-born WA MP in about 50 years. I was an Irish dancer (in Ireland) and sang Irish songs. I brought renewed enthusiasm for Irish culture to the WA Parliament. For example, we have a St Patrick’s event at Parliament every year now. You’re an openly gay politician. Has that presented any challenges during your parliamentary career? No, it hasn’t. I’ve been lucky, I’ve never been bullied openly. But I know members of my community have been. You came out in your late teens. Was that tough, coming out to your Irish Catholic family? It was. It was a challenge in the early days. It surprised my parents. They felt saddened because they didn’t think I would get the same opportunities as the rest of my siblings, like having a family. They were worried I wouldn’t be treated the same in society. It was harder for my mum. She worried about my future. We are a very close-knit family. They are very supportive. You are married to Dennis, who was the campaign co-ordinator for the WA Voice Yes campaign in WA. Two words to describe your husband. My rock. In fact, you’ve married Dennis three times. I’m probably the only person who has married the same person three times. We did it once in Ireland in 2012, when Ireland allowed Irish people to have a civil union. Then we did it in 2013 in Canberra. It (marriage) stood for six days in Canberra (because of the High Court challenge). And so, we did it again when Australia eventually voted to allow marriage equality in 2018. Dennis and I joke that our marriage in Canberra was at least longer than one of Brittany Spears’ weddings. You and Dennis are parents to a little boy, Jasper, who is 10. Is being a dad what you thought it would be? It’s been amazing. He is a delightful child and a loving individual. Jasper changed our lives immeasurably. I love being a parent. We co-parent with his mother. We share the parenting. He has a big Rainbow family, lot of parents, lots of grandparents, and lots of love. You were born in Dublin and emigrated to Australia in 1989 aged 14 with your mother and father, Phyllis and Noel, and sisters Mairead and Brid and brother Cormac. What was your first impressions of your new Aussie mates? It was like moving to the set of Home and Away. In Ireland I went to a Christian Brothers school which was very strict. To then go to Hollywood Senior High School in Perth was like being in Home and Away. Surfboards. Blokes with long hair, skateboards. But everyone was welcoming. I’m told you initially wanted to be an actor after leaving school. I did. I did some television ads and was in a miniseries for Channel 7. I won’t mention which one in case people track it down. I haven’t given up (on being an actor yet). They are always looking for Irish actors in shows. I’m available! Favourite actor? I love Morgan Freeman. I didn’t mind Arnold Schwarzenegger as well. I loved the way he said ‘I’ll be back’. You joined a union at age 14 working at Hungry Jack’s. Perhaps you were always destined to be a Labor politician? Probably. Dad was a shop steward in Ireland. I’d always been conscious of what unions deliver for working families. I joined the Labor Party in 1995. I was a candidate in 2008 for the Upper House and then in 2013 (former Labor minister) Jon Ford — who I had previously worked for — stepped down and I replaced him. You were Aboriginal Affairs Minister for nine months in 2021. The rollout of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act in 2023 was a disaster. Why do you think that was the case? We got it wrong. The community wasn’t on side, and we made a decision to overturn it. Hindsight is a great thing. As the now Minister for Emergency Services, how worried are you about the upcoming bushfire season? This keeps me awake at night. Things sit in my conscience. I want to make sure our volunteers and our career fire fighters have the best equipment available. Equally, I want the community to do what they can do. We will have some significant fires this season, we will have some cyclones in the North West and floods. Joe Spagnolo When do the two extra Black Hawk helicopters and the Large aerial tanker arrive? Within next two weeks. You are a bit of a Mr Fix-It, you’ve been given a few portfolios. I’m hearing there may be a change in Health after the election? Interested? I serve at the pleasure of the Premier. I take whatever job I’m given. Amber’s done a great job in health. You are the member for Mining and Pastoral. What’s the biggest issue facing your electorate? Access to quality services. My electorate is far away from Perth, we don’t have the same access to doctors and medical specialists as you do in the city. So it’s really important we use things like technology to be able to link the citizens of my electorate with medical services. Two Indigenous boys have died while in prison under Labor’s watch. How do you react to that? Suicide is a tragedy. Some of these kids don’t have a chance from when they are born. So, it’s about trying to do all you can to put them on a right path and giving them the right support. Mental health treatment is really important. Number one issue this election? Ensuring that all West Australians are benefiting from our economy. Why do you think Labor will win a third term of government? I wouldn’t be so bold as to say Labor will win a third term, but we have been a very good team. We have delivered across the State in a range of areas. Do you want Anthony Albanese to go to the polls before or after the WA election in March? That’s a decision for the Prime Minister. We will run our own race in Western Australia. Describe Roger Cook. Team Player. Quality leader. Libby Mettam or Basil Zempilas — who would be the most formidable opponent? I think Libby is on borrowed time. I think that there will be a change (in leadership) before the election. We will compete against whoever is the leader. Will you be a career politician? I am here for a good time, not a long time. I am not here forever. I love it, but when I stop loving it, I expect I’ll make a decision.

The French Parliament on Dec 4 backed a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier, ousting him and his Cabinet. PARIS – As France prepared for deepening political turmoil after a parliamentary vote on Dec 4 that toppled the government, one thing was clear: The paralysis risked unleashing a fresh wave of distress across one of Europe’s biggest economies. Business leaders, who had been grappling with uncertainty for months, say they are bracing for a hit to growth. Unions warn of widening layoffs. Thousands of civil servants, including teachers, hospital staff, airport employees and workers in the gas and electricity sectors, are planning street protests across the country for Dec 5. France’s economy was already in a rough patch when a deeply divided Parliament backed a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier, ousting him and his Cabinet and leaving the country without a functioning government or a budget for 2025 to rein in France’s troubled finances. Mr Barnier is likely to remain as a caretaker until President Emmanuel Macron appoints a new prime minister, and France will use the 2024 budget until a new one can be assembled. In the meantime, the government’s collapse “will make everything more serious and more difficult” for France, Mr Barnier said in a speech to Parliament before the vote. “At a time when economic growth in France is slowing markedly, this is bad news,” said Ms Charlotte de Montpellier, chief economist for France at ING bank. High energy costs and interest rates, a downturn in domestic industry, falling consumer confidence and a slowdown in business investment have left growth largely flat in France for the past two years. Political instability since Macron dissolved parliament in the summer and held snap elections that led to a more deeply fractured legislature caused businesses to further pause investment and hiring. The schism on Dec 4 risks ushering in “a new period of instability”, said the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises, which represents the bulk of French businesses that make up the backbone of activity. “A France without a budget would open the door to a debt crisis, the consequences of which would hit economic players hard,” the group said. The turmoil heralds a sombre chapter for France, a cornerstone of Europe’s euro currency union. France has long been an engine of growth alongside Germany, but both countries have been steadily weakened since 2021 by Europe’s energy crisis and high interest rates, turning them from leaders of the bloc into laggards. But in recent months, fiscal troubles have piled on France’s problems. The country has been grappling with a ballooning debt and deficit, the result of unbridled government spending by Mr Macron since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. That has fuelled concerns about the country’s creditworthiness by investors who have pushed France’s borrowing costs above those of crisis-scarred Greece. The problems have started to nudge up unemployment, ending a brief but intense spree of job creation that was largely supported by public spending. The jobless rate, which fell to a 15-year low of 7.1 per cent in 2024, rose to 7.4 per cent in the autumn. France’s industry minister, Mr Marc Ferracci, said thousands of additional job cuts are likely in the coming months. The challenges have only grown as the state of France’s overstretched finances has become apparent. With a deficit that has jumped to 6.1 per cent of economic output, from 5.5 per cent in 2024, the country is now in worse fiscal straits than Greece, Spain and Italy. The country’s debt has exploded to more than €3.2 trillion (S$4.52 trillion), or more than 112 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. The deficit had already started to widen during Macron’s first presidential term, after the yellow vest popular uprising in 2018 over a proposed gasoline tax increase set off nationwide protests by people struggling to make ends meet. Macron unleashed billions in subsidies and stimulus to quell the social maelstrom. Two years later, Covid-19 hit. Mr Macron, vowing to do “whatever it takes” to support the French economy, deployed hundreds of billions in spending to help companies furlough workers at 80 per cent of their pay, effectively nationalising a portion of private payrolls to prevent mass unemployment. The government also provided billions in cheap state-backed loans for companies. Just as the economy appeared to be recovering, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sent energy prices soaring. Mr Macron authorised another round of major government spending to shield households and businesses. “Growth was financed through public spending,” Ms de Montpellier said. But the sustainability of the relief was not addressed, she added. “People knew that it was not going to last forever; now it’s actually the case.” NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves delayed their game against the San Antonio Spurs by one hour on Sunday night due to an issue with the court at Target Center. The Timberwolves announced the decision about three hours before the originally scheduled tipoff time. The Spurs discovered the problem during their morning shootaround, Timberwolves spokesman Patrick Rees said. The team decided to delay the game so arena staff had enough time to install the replacement court that had to be delivered from elsewhere. The Timberwolves have played at Target Center since 1990. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA The Associated PressManipur: Imphal West Sees Silent Sit-In Protest Condemning Brutal Killing Of Innocent Children & Woman From Jiribam