Facebook shares tumble despite massive profits

Last Thursday, Facebook announced a massive increase in its profits, posting a 59% year-on-year rise in advertising revenue in this year’s 3^rd quarter. However, despite this news, Facebook’s shares fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading in New York. Though the losses were later reduced slightly, the shares still opened 5% lower the day after. The losses have been attributed to comments made by the Facebook CFO Dave Wehner, who had warned investors that increasing revenue is likely to slow down “meaningfully” over the next few months. But there was also other good news in the quarterly update, including a 16% increase in active monthly users to 1.8 billion, as well as operating margins of 45%,

The losses have been attributed to comments made by the Facebook CFO Dave Wehner, who had warned investors that increasing revenue is likely to slow down “meaningfully” over the next few months. But there was also other good news in the quarterly update, including a 16% increase in active monthly users to 1.8 billion, as well as operating margins of 45%, Fortune reports.

ISIS leader calls for fighters to fight till death

In what is believed to be his first public message in close to a year, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, has called on his fighters to defend Mosul against the offensive by Iraqi forces initiated earlier last week. In the audiotape released by ISIS media outlets, a voice purported to be al-Baghdadi’s can be heard to be instructing militants to fight to the death, as well as for ISIS sympathisers abroad to attack other countries: “turn the nights of the unbelievers into days, to wreak havoc in their land and make their blood flow as rivers”.

However, there is still considerable debate as to whether the newly released audiotape is indeed the voice of the ISIS leader, because there have been rumours spreading of his death, according to the BBC.

Worst trading week for oil in 11 months

Oil prices fell 15% last week, the worst five-day trading performance for the commodity since January. Brent crude (the global oil price benchmark) nosedived to its lowest price since early August, just above $45 a barrel at one point last Friday.

This steep fall in prices was partly instigated by an “ultra-bearish” report on US reserves published earlier last week, where the US energy regulator revealed a surge in stockpiles of raw crude oil, the biggest increase on record. The report fuelled fears about market oversupply, prompting an immediate fall in oil prices. “This is very, very, very bearish. Nothing else in the report matters,” James L Williams, an energy economist at WTRG Economics, told Reuters.

Surgery halted by fire caused by patient’s flatulence

Officials from the Tokyo Medical University Hospital has reported that a surgery had to be halted after the patient farted and started a fire. The woman suffered serious burns during a laser treatment on her cervix. The gas released was ignited by the laser carrying out the procedure, and the flames engulfed her through the surgical drape she was wearing.