Copy of Nigeria's GDP Growth Hits 4.43% As Govt Targets A $1 Trillion Economy; Apple's New CEO John Ternus Takes Over; Anthropic Unveils Fable 5.1; & GoPro Pivots To AI
- Dipo Owolabi
- 21 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Nigeria’s economy is picking up pace, Apple is entering a new era, and AI is reshaping the fortunes of established companies. Nigeria’s GDP growth accelerated to 4.43% in Q2 as the Federal Government renews its push for a $1 trillion economy by 2030, while John Ternus takes over as Apple CEO after Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure. Meanwhile, Anthropic has released new AI models designed to be cheaper and less restrictive, as GoPro moves toward an AI-focused future in a reported $285 million deal. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat! |
Markets as of 1st of September 2026.. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.
MAJOR HEADLINES
Nigeria's GDP Grows 4.4% As Govt Eyes Trillion Dollar Economy
The Federal Government has said Nigeria’s economy is gaining momentum towards achieving a $1tn Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, following the 4.43% growth recorded in the second quarter of 2026.
The Federal Ministry of Finance stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday, following the release of the latest Gross Domestic Product report by the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed that real GDP grew by 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, compared with 4.23% in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 3.89% in the first quarter of 2026.
The ministry said the performance had also lifted the country’s real GDP growth for the first half of 2026 above the level recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
It stated, “Nigeria’s economy continues to demonstrate resilience and accelerating growth with the second quarter of 2026 real GDP expanding by 4.43% year-on-year, up from 4.23% in Q2 2025 and 3.89 per cent in Q1 2026. Punch
John Ternus Begins Reign As CEO Of Apple
Apple's new CEO John Ternus takes the helm of the iconic tech giant on Tuesday, ending Tim Cook's 15-year tenure during which the company's value skyrocket to $4.6 trillion thanks to the iPhone's enormous popularity.
The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the greatest upheaval within the industry since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.
Ternus faces challenges that will force him to step outside his comfort zone in hardware engineering. Beyond finding ways to keep Apple competitive in the artificial intelligence race, he will need to navigate supply chain questions and relationships with figures such as President Donald Trump, who offered public praise for his predecessor on Tuesday. Yahoo Finance
Anthropic Releases Fable 5.1; Cheaper And Less Restrictive
On Tuesday, Anthropic released Fable and Mythos 5.1, twinned versions of the company’s most advanced AI model. In addition to performance upgrades, the new Fable release includes changes meant to reduce token cost and false-positive restrictions from the model’s safeguards.
As with the previous Mythos model, Mythos 5.1 will only be available to registered Anthropic partners engaged in either cybersecurity or life sciences research. Fable 5.1, the unrestricted version, is available starting today on cloud platforms or through the Anthropic API.
One of the most significant changes is Anthropic’s previously reported embrace of zero data retention, allowing clients to run Anthropic models on their own infrastructure without data outflows. Previously unavailable for Fable due to security concerns, a high-privacy service (called Enterprise Frontier Safeguards) will now roll out to users in June. Notably, the system will still monitor for misuse by agents or human users, but clients will control how the monitoring takes place. Tech Crunch
GoPro Gets Investment From YouTube Star Markiplier; Pivots To AI
GoPro’s stock surged after it emerged that Mark Fischbach, the YouTube creator and filmmaker better known as Markiplier, had acquired an 8.5% stake in the company, making him its largest single shareholder. Markiplier, who has nearly 39 million YouTube followers, described GoPro’s stock as “undervalued” and said he wanted to see the company succeed. Following the disclosure, GoPro’s shares jumped 46% on Monday before pulling back. The news also comes after Markiplier’s debut feature film, Iron Lung, became a surprise box-office success, grossing more than $50 million globally on a reported $3 million budget.
The development comes as several companies pivot toward AI infrastructure in a bid to tap into growing investor interest in the sector. CoreWeave, which was originally founded as a cryptocurrency mining company in 2017, successfully transitioned into cloud computing and AI infrastructure and went public in 2025. However, not all such pivots have delivered lasting gains. Sneaker company Allbirds also shifted its focus to AI infrastructure and later rebranded as Smartbird, triggering major stock-price rallies, although the gains proved short-lived and its shares remain down about 42% year-to-date.
Founded as a wearable-camera company, GoPro went public in 2014 at $24 per share but has seen its stock decline sharply in recent years. Before this week’s rally, its shares had fallen more than 55% year-to-date and closed at just $0.60 on Friday before news of Markiplier’s investment became public. The sharp rise in its share price following the announcement highlights renewed investor interest in the company as it seeks to reposition itself, including through a move toward providing technology for the growing AI infrastructure buildout. Forbes
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