Five things to know to start your Wednesday

NiMet predicts 3-day sunshine, thunderstorms from Wednesday

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunshine and thunderstorms from Wednesday to Friday across the country.

NiMet`s weather outlook released on Tuesday in Abuja predicted sunny skies on Wednesday with patches of clouds over the Northern region.

It further predicted prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Southern Taraba and Southern Adamawa.

“There are prospects of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Zamfara, Southern Sokoto, Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Southern Borno, Southern Kano, Southern Kastina and Gombe state in the afternoon and evening hours.

“ The North-central region should be mostly cloudy in the morning hours with chances of isolated thunderstorm over parts of Benue, the Federal Capital Territory and Kogi.

“ Isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Plateau, the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Benue, Niger and Nasarawa state during the afternoon and evening hours, “ it said.

According to it, cloudy atmosphere is expected over the inland cities and the coastal cities of the South with prospects of early morning thunderstorms over parts of Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River and Akwa Ibom state in the morning hours.

The agency anticipated isolated thunderstorms over parts of Enugu, Abia, Edo, Ebonyi, Ogun, Ondo, Imo, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states later in the day.

NiMet forecast sunny skies on Thursday with patches of clouds over the northern region in the morning hours.

According to it, there are prospects of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Jigawa state in the afternoon and evening hours.

“The North central region should be predominately cloudy in the morning hours. Isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Niger, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory during the afternoon and evening hours.

“Cloudy atmosphere is anticipated over the Inland cities and the Coastal cities of the South in the morning hours.

“Later in the day, there are prospects of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Ogun, Edo, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers during the afternoon and evening hours,“ it said.

According to NiMet, sunny skies with patches of clouds are expected over the Northern region on Friday with prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Taraba and Adamawa.

It envisaged isolated thunderstorms over parts of Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Kebbi, Kano and Gombe state in the afternoon and evening hours.

The agency predicted North central region to be mostly cloudy in the morning hours with chances of isolated thunderstorm over parts of Federal Capital Territory and Niger state.

It forecast isolated thunderstorms over parts of Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa and Niger state during the afternoon and evening hours. It anticipated Cloudy atmosphere over the Inland cities and the Coastal cities of the South in the morning hours.

Later in the day, there are prospects of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Enugu, Abia, Edo, Ebonyi, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Imo, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom state during the afternoon and evening hours.

“ Potential impact: For areas where thunderstorms are expected, strong and squally winds are likely. To reduce incidences of erosion, gutters and water ways should be cleared of debris and obstacles to ensure free flow of water.

“ Airline operators are advised to get updated weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations, “ it said.

Read also: No alternative to restructuring, private sector operators insist

South Africa pension fund companies to invest $1.6 billion in private firms

The information available to Bloomberg revealed that the South Africa government employees’ pension fund intends to invest about 25 billion rand, which is approximately $1.6 billion, in unlisted companies across the African continent.

The Public Investment Corp (PIC) and GEPF are the two companies that will handle the task of investing these funds. While PIC will decide on a suitable investment for the funds, GEPF will set aside more money to invest in unlisted securities.

However, funds needed for investment dropped to less than 70 billion rand following a judicial investigation into PIC for concentrating much of its funds on investing in the Isibaya Fund, a fund that invests in unlisted assets and black economic empowerment programmes.

Information reveals that the “Isibaya fund” is key to the strategy of both the GEPF and PIC in terms of tackling South Africa’s social inequality and environmental challenges. The unit “provides financing for projects that generate financial returns, while also supporting positive, long-term economic, social, and environmental outcomes,” according to the PIC’s website, Bloomberg reported.

Social life set to resume in Hong Kong as govt ease COVID-19 restrictions

The Chinese authorities have implemented a series of new policies to ease the COVID-19 restrictions placed on Hong Kong. Some of the new measures include allowing bars to open until 2 a.m. and allowing as many as eight people to be seated at a table for outdoor dining.

Reuters, who reported the news, said that from Thursday this week, swimming pools and beaches would be reopened to public use, while restaurants could cater to four more people at each table.

However, the reopening of karaoke rooms, which is a past-time for most Hong Kong residents, and extended hours for bars, would take effect from May 19.

The health ministry in Hong Kong revealed that the infection rate dropped for the first time in three months to 283 cases of COVID-19. The city has recorded more than 1.2 million infections and 9,300 deaths since the start of the pandemic, the ministry stated.

“The COVID number dropped to three digits in mid-April and didn’t rebound, despite foot traffic increasing during two holidays,” Lam said, adding that it was not right to prevent people from swimming when the weather was so good.

She said she hoped people could enjoy Mother’s Day on Sunday as more family members could dine together.

Some people see the easing as a relief, however late it is coming. They believe that firms in the food and beverage industry, which have had to painfully lay off staff due to cash inflow challenges, will hopefully be able to kick start their recovery.

Commercial, govt users to pay more, in Musk era of Twitter ownership

As part of his series of reforms, Elon Musk said on Tuesday that Twitter will charge a small fee for commercial and government users, while regular, retail users will still remain free.

The objective of this move, according to Musk, is to “boost the social media platform’s reach from ‘niche’ to most Americans.”

In a recent tweet, Musk said, “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,”

One of the most talked about reforms by Musk that inspired his takeover was his decision to make the Twitter algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans.

According to Reuters, before the Tesla boss takeover, a few changes to Twitter Blue’s premium subscription service, including slashing its price, was suggested.

Meanwhile, Musk, at the recent annual Met Gala in New York held on Monday, promised to make Twitter more transparent about how “tweets are promoted or demoted” and wanted its software to be publicly available for critique.

US stocks jittery ahead of key Fed decision

US stock futures were jittery as they changed a little following investors’ reaction to an expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Tradingeconomics reported that the “futures contracts tied to the three major indexes drifted flat to slightly positive.”

The market was responding and would respond even more to the Fed’s rate hike by 50 basis points and the reduction of its $9 trillion balance sheet when it concludes its two-day meeting, it was reported.

The market will also be on the lookout for indications from the Fed if the rate hike will be aimed at fighting inflation, which is at its 40-year high even as the economy weakens.

Meanwhile, tradingeconomics reported that Lyft lost 26% of its share value after the ridesharing company provided weak guidance for the current quarter, while Airbnb rose 5.5% as it anticipates continued travel recovery.

Finally, at the close of trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, on Tuesday, a tech-led selloff in the previous month caused the Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite to gain 0.2 percent, 0.48 percent and 0.22 percent, respectively.