Day: October 4, 2024

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, as new data eased concerns about a weakening jobs market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 341.16 points, or 0.81 percent, to 42,352.75. The S and P 500 added 51.13 points, or 0.90 percent, to 5,751.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 219.37 points, or 1.22 percent, to 18,137.85.

Nine of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in green, with financials and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by adding 1.64 percent and 1.62 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, real estate and utilities led the laggards by losing 0.65 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively.

According to the U.S. Labor Department, job growth accelerated in September, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 254,000 — the highest since March — and unemployment dropping to 4.1 percent.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that the report doesn’t change the outlook that rates could be reduced significantly over the next 18 months.

However, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers took a
more cautious stance, stating that the Fed’s surprise half-point rate cut last month was a mistake in hindsight. He emphasized that while interest rates are not yet constraining growth, future cuts should be made carefully.

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, doesn’t agree. He said that “this solid report increases the odds that the economy will continue to grow above trend in the next quarter. Our base case is that the Fed will cut by a quarter point at the next few meetings.”

Friday’s market rebound helped offset recent losses, with Tesla, Amazon and Netflix leading gains among megacap tech stocks, contributing to the Nasdaq’s outperformance. Financials also shined as the top-performing sector in the S and P 500, while major banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo surged over 3 percent, driving the sector’s strong performance

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Platinum has become the most traded product through the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV), accounting for 21.5 percent of trading volume in Q3, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday.

Soybean products ranked the second with 12.7 percent.

Micro copper, wheat and Robusta coffee were also in the top five most-traded products in Q3, making up 8 percent, 5.6 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, MXV deputy general director, said metal products were increasingly favored by investors. Four metal products have been listed in top 10 most traded.

The fourth quarter is expected to see the price of precious metals continue their upward trend as macro pressures progressively lessen and the new cycle of interest rate cuts has a certain impact on the world’s financial and commodity markets, he said.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has recognized Uganda for the major positive strides they have made in Football development.

Infantino sent his message displayed during the 100th FUFA Ordinary General Assembly that marked celebrations to commemorate 100 years of the existence of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) held at the Maya Nature Resort in Wakiso District, central Uganda.

“In Uganda, the future of Football is bright because of the hard work, forward-thinking and determination of the leadership of the Football Federation led by Moses Magogo. Congratulations on the 100 years of existence and I wish you all the best celebrations as you reflect on all the important milestones,” added Infantino.

The FIFA president also thanked the Uganda football body for working well with FIFA. “Education is important for any nation including Uganda to continue developing, and FIFA through Football for Schools will continue to help teach important values to children through this project,” he further
explained.

John Auka Gecheo, the Executive Director of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), also praised the Uganda Football Federation for the good work they have done over the year. “Uganda continues to be the best Football nation in the CECAFA Zone because of the good work they are doing. We congratulate Uganda on the 100 years of FUFA existing,” he added.

Moses Hassim Magogo, the FUFA President, thanked all the delegates, stakeholders and guests for coming to celebrate the 100 years with FUFA. “We don’t take your presence for granted and we assure you that we shall continue to plan and work hard to make sure Football in Uganda keeps improving to higher levels,” added Magogo.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

A senior Iranian military commander on Friday warned that Iran would strike all of Israel’s refineries and gas fields should it “make any mistake,” the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

“If the occupiers make any mistake, we will target all their energy resources, stations, refineries, and gas fields,” Mehr quoted Deputy Commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ali Fadavi as saying. (Iran-Israel-Attacks)

SANAA — The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday its forces conducted airstrikes on 15 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

In a post on the social media platform X, CENTCOM stated that “these targets included Houthi offensive military capabilities.” (Yemen-U.S. Airstrikes-Houthi Targets)

GAZA — Hamas on Friday night confirmed the death of commander Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, head of the Hamas network in Tulkarm in the West Bank.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said “its upcoming series of responses will be in actions before words,” and t
hat it will make Israel “pay the price for its criminal decisions,” according to the statement released by Hamas. (West Bank-Hamas Commander-Killing)

JERUSALEM — Israel estimates that Hashem Safieddine, a Lebanese Shia cleric widely regarded as the heir to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in airstrikes in Beirut, Israel’s state-owned media reported on Friday.

Citing senior Israeli government officials, public broadcaster Kan TV reported that Safieddine was in an underground compound bombed by Israel on Thursday with bunker-buster bombs that targeted him specifically. (Israel-Hezbollah Leader Heir-Killing)

Source: The Namibia News Agency

A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the UN Security Council to keep its attention on the investigation of the Nord Stream pipelines explosions, refrain from allowing it to fade away, and put an end to double standards.

Two years ago, the Nord Stream pipelines exploded in the Baltic Sea, which “has serious negative impact on global energy supplies, marine ecosystems, and the safety of maritime shipping,” said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council briefing on Nord Stream.

Over the past two years, the international community has been following with great interests the progress of the investigation into the incident, he said, adding that the council has conducted numerous deliberations with many council members repeatedly calling for “objective, impartial, and professional investigations to establish facts as soon as possible” and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Regrettably, we have not yet reached a definitive conclusion,” he said.

“Two years
later, the result is that Sweden and Denmark have announced the termination of their investigations one after another, yet the information they released is scant and lacking details,” said the ambassador, adding that the national investigation of Germany has so far produced no clear conclusion.

He said the public can only obtain information and speculate based on media reports. “Was there a hidden agenda to the initial opposition to an international investigation? Has evidence been covered up and destroyed over the past two years or so? When will the trust and time we have given be rewarded with the truth about what happened?” Geng asked.

The ambassador said China supports the draft presidential statement circulated by Russia on the Nord Stream pipeline explosions and welcomes the changes and adjustments Russia made to the draft in light of the comments of council members.

Terming the draft as presenting facts objectively, reflecting the concerns of all parties, and “generally balanced in its content,” he
expressed the hope that all parties will intensify consultations and reach agreement on the draft as soon as possible, so as to send a clear signal to the outside world.

Geng also expressed the hope that Germany will announce the progress and results of the investigation through official channels as soon as possible, and the countries concerned will actively communicate and cooperate with Russia, the main party to the Nord Stream incident, and avoid politicizing the investigations.

“We hope that the council will keep its attention on this matter, refrain from allowing it to fade away, and put an end to double standards,” he concluded.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Smiles and cheers seem to come as often as his goals as Omar Marmoush is riding a wave out of euphoria and confidence.

Ahead of the German first flight weekend top game, with the second Eintracht Frankfurt hosting table leaders of Bayern Munich, further excitement seems guaranteed.

Six goals in five league encounters aside from three assists seem to tell the story of the Egyptian striker.

The Cairo-born forward claims to currently enjoy “the best shape of his career” having gained the top spot in the Bundesliga’s scorer list ahead of Bayern’s Harry Kane.

Like before for Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic, Sebastien Haller, Andre Silva and Randal Kolo, Frankfurt is proving to be a place for spearheads to develop and take the next step toward an international career.

The 31-time capped attacker’s market value has risen from a reported 30 million in the recent season to up to 50 in the summer of 2024.

While leading European clubs are said to queue up, the 2022 UEFA Euro League winner announced its decision not to all
ow a departure before next summer.

After Nottingham failed to push through a deal last summer, the 25-year-old is said to be eying Premier League sides such as Arsenal or Liverpool.

“At present, I don’t think about things like that. For now, it’s Frankfurt and that is feeling perfect,” the striker said after the club’s 3-1 victory in the Euro League against Besiktas.

With French forward Hugo Ekitike at his side the Egyptian is blooming and heading for new borders.

Eintracht coach Dino Toppmoller called him a perfect footballer “as he is fast in one-to-one duels, gaining depth coming along with speed.”

Following his first season in the Eintracht shirt in 2023/24 (twelve goals in 29 games) Marmoush developed into the club’s crowdpleaser.

The shirts with his name and number became bestsellers in the outfit’s fan shops.

“It’s much more than only the goals. We enjoy the feeling of team spirit and a well-oiled group,” the attacker said.

Four victories made Frankfurt heading for the top with Marmoush having
scored more than half of his outfit’s eleven league goals.

“I feel in the best shape, and we are preparing for the top game this Sunday with the entire squad’s power,” the Egyptian international said.

It’s more than a bold guess that Egyptian fans are opening their hearts to the country’s rising star after Liverpool’s Mo Salah for years had been the most admired star performing in one of the leading European leagues.

As for Frankfurt, the courted striker helped to achieve the best season start in twelve years for the club. As it seems there is more to come. Bayern from his perspective might be a “strong side” but “we feel in a flow turning us into a strong side as well.”

Source: The Namibia News Agency