Richard Branson caught an employee sleeping at the Virgin Australia office and snapped a hilarious photo

If you've ever freaked out because the boss walked by just as you were updating your OKCupid profile, consider yourself lucky.

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group, recently visited the Virgin Australia offices and found one employee napping on the couch. See below:

Boredpanda originally spotted the photo, and Branson tells the storyon his blog over at Virgin.com:

The rise of the middle-aged intern

Erin Gibson Allen (left) got work experience with Judge Lisa Lenihan

When Erin Gibson Allen decided to return to the legal profession after a 10-year absence to raise her children, she knew she would have to get creative.

She took unpaid work experience in the chambers of a federal judge in the US city of Pittsburgh.

"Part of me thought 'what have I done?'," says Ms Allen, 46, who worked for the judge for nine months.

"But the other part of me believed very strongly in experience and networking."

Nigeria dollar squeeze hits global airlines

Foreign airlines are halting flights to Nigeria, where a foreign exchange crisis has led the government to limit access to dollars.

US carrier United Airlines has said it will end daily flights between Houston, Texas and Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, on 30 June.

It follows Spanish airline Iberia's decision to pull out in May.

South African mobile-phone giant MTN has agreed to pay $1.7bn (£1.1bn) to Nigerian Government

MTN Group has agreed to pay a reduced fine of 330 billion naira ($1.67 billion) in a settlement with the Nigerian government, it said on Friday, sending shares in the South African telecoms provider soaring.

How to start a business with little or no funding

So you tried everything and asked everyone, but nobody offered you a loan? Well, do not despair; others have started businesses in similar circumstances. Starting a business without outside funding is known as bootstrapping. In bootstrapping, the entrepreneur uses his or her personal savings, overdraft, or bond on their home.

7 Ways to Re-Motivate Yourself at Work

When you work for yourself, it can be difficult to remain motivated every hour of every working day. Especially when you don’t have someone hovering over you. After all, you are the boss.

Get Your Free Training On Starting and Growing Your Business at ICE 2016

Realm of Glory Int'l Church presents Ideas, Connect & Empower (ICE 2016): Start and Grow Your Business.

Date: Monday 30th May, 2016 (Public Holiday)
Time: 10am prompt (No African Time)
Admission is FREE. Limited seats available, register via http://www.realmofglory.org/ice to reserve a seat.

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United Cancels Nigeria Route, Ending Its Only Flight to Africa

According to bloomberg.com, United Airlines will stop flying to Nigeria next month, ending the carrier’s only route to Africa because of weakness in the energy sector and difficulties in collecting money from tickets sold in that country.

10 Lucrative Small Business Ideas That Will Make You The Next Millionaire

carrindian.com

Starting a small business is generally a tedious task for many new and existing entrepreneurs. With several business challenges to surmount like ensuring your target market will buy your proposed products or services, preparing a business plan for your small business idea, registering your small business, and trying to sell your products or services at the lowest cost possible, many entrepreneurs get frustrated and eventually shut down their businesses within the first three (3) years.

While many reasons can lead to the closure of a small business, the most common trend is the lack of real market demand for the products or services been offered. Selling something nobody wants would definitely put you out of business. The size of the startup capital you’ve invested doesn’t matter. If no one wants what you’re selling, your doors would get shut for good.


What small business ideas then generate high profits if handled right? What small business ideas did many of the world’s millionaires venture into? And how can one successfully start a small business that creates millionaires?


Here Are 10 Lucrative Small Business Ideas That Can Make You The Next Millionaire:

We can’t fund every project in 2016 budget – Adeosun

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, says that the Federal government will not be able to fund all projects in the 2016 budget due to the dwindling economy. According to Adeosun, projects will be done according to importance. Adeosun stated this while appearing before members of the House of Representatives yesterday May 26th.

18 things successful people do in their 20s

Your 20s are a time of major transitions.

The choices you make in this critical decade lay the foundation for your career, relationships, health, and well-being.


While nothing can replace learning through firsthand experience, you can save some stress by listening to those who have already been through it.


We've looked through our archives to collect some of the best advice we've found from our favorite writers and entrepreneurs and found recurring themes.


Here are 18 things that successful people do in their 20s:

Google wins court battle with Oracle

Google just won a major court battle with software giant Oracle over Google’s use of elements of Oracle’s Java programming language. If Google had lost, it could have held major ramifications for the ways in which almost all software is developed. Oh, and Google would have had to cough up $9 billion in damages.

For now, the fundamental principles of how coders create software will stay the same. That is, of course, unless Oracle wins an appeal. Let’s take a look at how we got here, and what exactly was at stake.

LAGOS STATE CANCELS THIS MONTH’S ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION – BABATUNDE ADEJARE

The government of Lagos state through the state commissioner for environment, Dr, Babatunde Adejare, has cancelled the monthly sanitation exercise for the month of May.

The reason for the cancellation is to facilitate ease of movement due to the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) Examination which is being held Nationwide.

3 Of The Best Entrepreneur Books You Should Read

Top author on personal and business success in the world today, Brian Tracy, shares with us his thoughts on the three best entrepreneur books which should be read for successful self/business development.

According to Brian Tracy in his words "One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned throughout my career is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel…".

11 profound thoughts from successful people that will inspire your accomplishments

These profound thoughts from successful people will help you learn how to become even more successful in your life. “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” – Zig Ziglar

Lagos State Government signs Memorandum of Understanding on 4th Mainland Bridge.

The Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 4th Mainland Bridge. The 38km bridge and expressway will become the longest bridge and expressway anywhere when completed. 

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The family of a baseball legend is suing 'Big Tobacco’ over his death from cancer. C'mon!!!

The news we hear everyday. Hmmm...

According to businessinsider.com, the family of Baseball Hall of Fame member Tony Gwynn filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against one of the world's largest tobacco corporations on Monday.

Gwynn died in 2014 at the age of 54 from salivary gland cancer, a disease he attributed to his 31-year habit of chewing smokeless tobacco. 

Seven Steps for Living a Better and Healthy Life as an Entrepreneur

People are dying daily from preventable causes. Please let's take our health issues seriously even as we pursue money in the hustle and bustle of every day living. Its the person in great health that can enjoy their wealth.

Take note of these points to help you live a better life, health wise;

1. Watch what enters your mouth. 

Eat right especially as you age, cut down on sugar, and processed food. Eat in moderation. Eat more of fresh food and fruits. Cut down on salt and never use uncooked salt on already prepared meals. 

Google's New Science Journal App Turns Your Android Phone Into a Lab Full of Sensors

If you’re working on a rocket destined for Mars, Google’s new Science Journal app might be a bit limited. But if you’re an aspiring scientist, the free app will turn an Android smartphone or tablet into laboratory full of experiments by grabbing data from the device’s various sound, light, and motion sensors.

Did Sterling Bank just throw shade at Diamond Bank?

Yesterday, Diamond bank tweeted on their Diamond eSUSU platform and used the letter U instead of You, and Sterling bank threw shade at this. Let the war of the bank begin....

CNN features dapper car windscreen washer, Abdullahi Olatoyan

CNN has featured Nigeria's Abdullahi Olatoyan, the young man who was spotted washing car windscreens dressed in a suit and bow tie. Read what they wrote about him after the cut...

From CNN

Nigeria's economic crisis is getting worse.

On Friday, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the economy shrank by 0.4% in the first quarter year-over-year — which was way worse than expected.

Economists were expecting the country to grow by 1.8% year-over-year, according to the Bloomberg consensus.

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Buhari cancels his visit to Lagos Over “Ear Infection”

President Buhari has called off his two-day state visit to Lagos.


According to Sahara Reporters, his trip to Lagos state billed to start on Monday was cancelled over what some of his aides' claimed was a disturbing "ear infection".

The President will be represented by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to represent the President at various official events scheduled for the two-day visit.

It was learnt that the cancellation has a political connotation as President Buhari was reportedly unhappy with a meeting the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Bola Tinubu had with organized labor last week without clearance from the President’s office.

How a Nigerian mother packaged gala for her child abroad...lol

“Good design is all about making other designers feel like idiots because that idea wasn’t theirs.” – Frank Chimero

How a person packed her ever loving Gala in a study bible cover for her child. Some people do not joke with their gala o.

Saraki meets with NLC leaders over strike action

Yesterday, Senate President Bukola Saraki met with the Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the Nigeria Labor Congress NLC at the National Assembly. The meeting was centered on ways of ending the faceoff between Labor and the presidency over the recent increase in pump price of petrol. 

More image after the cut.

5 questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves

While some people may still consider being an entrepreneur as an exotic thing, the road to becoming one will have some bumps and obstacles along the way. So instead of steering your company clear in order to avoid them, eliminate them altogether before actually getting started.

Since you want to have your own business and want to be your own boss, by now, you probably have an amazing business idea that you want to put into practice. However, as in the case of any job job, risks come with the territory; and starting a business is no exception. Before you go ahead and quit your job you should probably analyze the circumstances to see if entrepreneurship is the right thing for you.

Here are some guidelines from the world renown founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson 

Chinonso Ogbogu: Letter to the Young Entrepreneur

Dear Young Entrepreneur,

How are you and your business today?

Having stepped out to start your own business, let me first say a big congratulations to you!

Your life is about to change (that’s it, if it has not started changing already). I am writing this letter to let you know why I think so.

I know you’re very busy (and if you’re not, you’ll soon be), so let me cut to the chase. Now an entrepreneur, time means a whole lot to you. As a matter of fact, it’s your most vital currency; unfortunately though, you don’t and will never have so much of it.

SSANU joins NLC strike

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU has joined in the nation-wide strike organized by the Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. According to the Union, they are an affiliate of the NLC and have to abide by the directives of the union. ‎Their sister union, ASUU, has also joined in the strike action.

Workers boycott NLC strike; compliance in only few states

premiumtimesng.com

Normal activities continued in Abuja, Bauchi, Yobe, Kano, Adamawa, Jigawa and Bayelsa States Wednesday as residents ignored the call by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to embark on strike over the increase in pump price of fuel.

But the strike largely successded in Gombe and Plateau States where schools, banks and government offices were closed.

In Abuja, all government offices, banks, schools and markets remained open with workers at their duty posts.

Amid tight security, labour leaders, who marched from the federal secretariat, did not force people to comply with the strike order.

In neighbouring Kaduna, schools, banks, offices and business were opened for business.

The NLC restricted the strike to the state secretariat along Independence Way in Kaduna.

Adamu Ango, chairman of the Kaduna NLC, told PREMIUM TIMES that because of the peculiar problems of security, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi and Kaduna chairmen met earlier and resolved not to hold any street procession.

“That is why we restricted our members to carry out the strike within NLC premises. Those who want to remain at home can remain at home, those who choose to go to work have gone to work,” he said. Read more...

Microsoft selling feature phone business to FIH Mobile Ltd. and HMD Global, Oy

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced it reached an agreement to sell the company’s entry-level feature phone assets to FIH Mobile Ltd., a subsidiary of Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group, and HMD Global, Oy for $350 million. As part of the deal, FIH Mobile Ltd. will also acquire Microsoft Mobile Vietnam — the company’s Hanoi, Vietnam, manufacturing facility. Upon close of this deal, approximately 4,500 employees will transfer to, or have the opportunity to join, FIH Mobile Ltd. or HMD Global, Oy, subject to compliance with local law.

Google faces record three billion euro EU antitrust fine: Telegraph

According to reuters.com, google faces a record antitrust fine of around 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) from the European Commission in the coming weeks, British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph said.

The European Union has accused Google of promoting its shopping service in Internet searches at the expense of rival services in a case that has dragged on since late 2010.

Developer to use rice straw for housing development

A property development company, Bohemian Estate Limited, has revealed plans to deploy a technology that uses rice straw for housing development in Nigeria, with a $250 million subvention from Czech Export Bank. The company is to embark on the project in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the construction and delivery of the first phase of 10,000 housing units in Gwagwalada using Assembly Building Block (ABS) technology.

Stock market investors lose N1.2trn in 4 months

The lackluster performance that pervaded the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, in the last two years has continued in 2016 as investors in the market have lost as much as N1.2 trillion in the first four months of the year (January – April). This automatically leaves the NSE as the worst performing stock exchange among its peers in other African countries. 

Available data showed that the NSE has returned negative 12.5 per cent within this period, thereby consolidating the negative performance sustained in the last two years.

Opening the year at N9.50 trillion, the market capitalisation of all listed equities slumped by N1.2 trillion, representing -12.5 per cent decline compared to N8.62 trillion posted at the end of April, 2016. Also the All Shares Index, ASI, which opened the year at 28,642.25 points, fell by 3,579.84 basis points to close at 25,062.41 points, again, representing -12.5 per cent year-to-date return. The NSE had in 2015 retreated by17.4 per cent compared to a decline of 16.14 per cent in 2014. Read more...

Adiba.com Opens Lagos Store to Serve Offline Consumers

To attend to the need of about 91 percent of Nigeria consumers, who buy prefer offline shopping, adiba.com, has inaugurated a store with the promise that more will follow this year. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Chris Udeji, despite the growing population of online shoppers across the country, only 9per cent of the shopping class in Nigeria order for goods online.

Zenith Bank signs agreement that could ease Nigeria’s electricity challenges

On Saturday, May 14, 2016, Zenith Bank Plc signed a very significant power sector credit facility agreement with the French Development Agency (AgenceFrancaise de Development (AFD) that could have very positive implications for Nigeria’s electricity challenges.

Uche Nnaji offers a job to the dapper windscreen cleaner spotted in Abeokuta

Fashion Entrepreneur, Uche Nnaji has offered a Job at his fashion label to the dapper windscreen cleaner spotted in Abeokuta by Photographer, Daniel Sync.

'Nigeria's headline inflation rose to 13.7% in April 2016' - Statistician General of the Federation says

The Statistician General of the Federation, Yemi Kale, this morning, tweeted the new inflation rates in Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria's Headline Inflation year on year stands at 13.72% in April 2016 from 12.77% in March 2016. See more of his tweets after the cut...

How Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reinvented the Washington Post, the 140-year old newspaper he bought for $250 million

Jeff Bezos - Amazon CEO

A lot of people were surprised when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013.

At the time, the Post was a legacy media facing years of decline, while Bezos had no prior experience in the newspaper business.

But in less than three years, Bezos has completely changed the outlook of the 140-year old newspaper. Its readership has exploded and its content has become more suitable for the digital world.

Here's a look back at how Bezos revitalized the Washington Post since taking over less than three years ago: Read More

Nigeria Faces Likely Oil Output Drop As Exxon Suspends Exports

U.S. oil major, Exxon Mobil Corp, says it has suspended exports from Nigeria’s top crude stream.


The suspension has added to economic strains from renewed activities of militants in the Niger Delta region that have cut production to its lowest in decades.

Reuters quoted Exxon Mobil as saying on Friday that it had declared a force majeure – a suspension of deliveries because of events beyond its control – on Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil grade BFO-QUA, and that a portion of production had been curtailed after a drilling rig damaged a pipeline.

New fuel price: Our inflation fears — MAN

The increase in pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, by the Federal Government from N86:50 to N145 per litre is unsettling for many Nigerians, especially local manufacturers who buy petrol daily to power their generating sets for production. When Sunday Vanguard visited the office of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, to get reactions from members, some manufacturers said that the new petrol price will have negative effect on the industrial sector of the economy, especially at the time when the nation’s economy is on the verge of recession.

In a chat, the Chairman, Toiletries & Cosmetics group of MAN, Mr. Ikpong Umoh, said, “When it comes to the issue of petrol, we must be sincere because fuel scarcity disconnects manufacturing activities, adds to the cost of production much more than availability of the product. Government must openly tell us whether we are still operating a subsidy regime or not. A hike in fuel price from N86.50 to N145 is a huge increase of about almost 80 percent. Government and oil marketers would have added only a marginal increase and not a huge increase that will worsen inflation rate that is already 13.2 percent (double digit). This is because petrol affects the cost of transportation, food items, pharmaceutical products and all sectors of the entire economy. This huge increase in fuel price will have adverse effect on local industries that are already closing shop due to harsh operating environment.” Read More

Warren Buffett's bet on Yahoo could be the best thing to happen to the company

finance.yahoo.com

Warren Buffett struck media gold with a 2012 investment in debt-laden Media General Inc. Now the famed investor may try to reprise that success by supporting a bid for Yahoo Inc's Internet assets.

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman is backing a consortium that includes Quicken Loans Inc founder Dan Gilbert, that is seeking to buy Yahoo's online portfolio, Reuters reported on Friday.

The consortium is in the second round of bidding in the auction for Yahoo's assets, people familiar with the matter said. Buffett is helping to finance the offer, one of the people added.

If they succeed, the investment would be a relatively rare foray into digital media for Buffett, whose portfolio is heavily weighted toward U.S. insurers, industrial companies and major consumer brands.

Yahoo, once the world's largest consumer email service, has struggled in recent years to compete with Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc ... Read More...