Author: chicagoinquirer

By Chris Taylor NEW YORK – It may not quite be the famous question of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but it is something very much on the minds of U.S. homeowners these days: To refi or not to refi? Judging from the latest numbers, there is a lot of pent-up demand for Americans looking to refinance their home mortgages. In fact, refi applications recently jumped 20% in a week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and accounted for 56% of all mortgage applications. Average rates on 30-year mortgages approached 8% last November. They stood at 6.4% on Tuesday, according to Bankrate. Federal…

by Chris Taylor NEW YORK – If you followed the financial markets at all in the last 15 years, you likely know “Downtown” Josh Brown. The author of The Reformed Broker, one of the most-read financial blogs in the world, gained millions of followers for his bracing style that pulled the curtains back on Wall Street. Now his new book, “You Weren’t Supposed To See That: Secrets Every Investor Should Know,” rounds up insights from those years and provides fresh commentary through a 2024 lens. “What I wanted to do was to put a capper on the whole ‘Reformed Broker’…

By Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will next week highlight her economic policies that benefit Black men, hoping to energize a voting bloc that some advisers fear has embraced Republican rival Donald Trump in large numbers, three sources familiar with the plans said. The policy focus will coincide with an event in Detroit on Tuesday where Harris will be interviewed by popular Black radio personality Charlamagne tha God, who has been critical of the Biden administration, the sources said. Harris will discuss access to capital for Black entrepreneurs, ways to grow small businesses and…

By Jeff Mason PITTSBURGH -Former President Barack Obama made a passionate case against Donald Trump on Thursday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in which he appealed directly to men to reject Trump’s bravado and back Vice President Kamala Harris. Obama has been a vocal supporter of Harris since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden stepped aside in July following a poor debate performance against Trump, the Republican former president. Obama, whose White House term ended in 2017, is still popular with his party’s base. The rally he headlined at the University of…

by Jasper Ward WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday it sued the state of Virginia for violating the federal prohibition on systematic efforts to remove voters within 90 days of an election. On Aug. 7, the state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, signed an executive order requiring the commissioner of Department of Elections to certify that the department was conducting “daily updates to the voter list” to remove, among other groups, people who are unable to verify that they are citizens to the Department of Motor Vehicles. U.S. citizens who were identified and notified, and did not affirm their…

ABUJA – Nigerian police said on Friday they had rescued a media crew that was kidnapped in the southeast while travelling to cover an Africa Cup of Nations match between Nigeria and Libya in Akwa Ibom state. Nigeria’s southeast is embroiled in violence, which the government blames on a separatist group which campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Tochukwu Ikenga, police spokesperson for Anambra state said that the crew, which works for South African broadcaster Supersport, was abducted by armed men on Wednesday when they were travelling…

by Camillus Eboh ABUJA – Binance’s head of financial compliance was denied bail for a second time on Friday as his trial on money laundering charges started in Nigeria, with a judge ruling that the prison in which he is being held is capable of meeting his medical needs. Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen, has been in detention in Nigeria since the end of February. He and Binance deny the charges against him. He had asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to free him on medical grounds, arguing that he needed to undergo surgery outside prison and that his…

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong YAOUNDE – Cameroon has outlawed any discussion about the health of 91-year-old President Paul Biya, a letter shared by the interior ministry said, after Biya’s prolonged absence fuelled widespread speculation he was unwell. Earlier this week, the authorities put out statements saying the president was on a private visit to Geneva and in good health, dismissing reports he had fallen ill as “pure fantasy”. In the letter to regional governors dated Oct. 9, Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji said discussing the president’s health was a matter of national security. From now on, “any debate in the…

By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN – Ivory Coast could sell a further stake in its Transcao cocoa processor to Malaysian cocoa group Guan Chong Berhad, the industry’s regulator told Reuters, as it pushes for more expertise and investment to grow the sector. On Wednesday, Guan Chong Berhad (GCB) said its Singaporean subsidiary had agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Transcao from Ivory Coast’s Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC). The head of the West African nation’s cocoa regulator told Reuters it wants to boost its interests in the growing Asian market and was open to the GCB subsidiary further increasing its…

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA – Nigeria took a major step in its quest to earn revenue from its vast gas reserves, signing a deal with joint venture partners to supply gas to a proposed $3.5 billion Brass fertilizer and petrochemical plant, an official said on Friday. Under the agreement, joint venture partners including Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni will deliver an estimated 270 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the plant in Brass, in Nigeria’s coastal Bayelsa state. Petroleum Ministry Permanent Secretary Nicholas Agbo Ella said the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement is a part of the Brass…