IF you think you’re an expert puzzle solver then try and spot the baby chick hidden somewhere among the friendly sheep.

This fascinating optical illusion is one of the most challenging yet as only those with a high IQ and 20/20 vision even stand a chance of spotting the little chick within seven seconds.

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The picture shows a busy field full of cheeky sheep all gleefully playing around.

Some are sat on fences as others can be seen leaping around and picking up flowers.

Butterfly’s are also fluttering around in the image but there is one animal almost impossible to spot – the lonely chick.

The illusion is made especially difficult as everything is in black and white meaning the chick is very well camouflaged into the image.

The lack of colours and the small stature of the hidden bird also make it particularly challenging to spot in the busy photo.

At first, there is no chance there is a chick in the picture but the harder you look the faster you see it.

Spotting hidden animals such as a dog or a cat can be one of the toughest tasks in optical illusions as they’re never quite where you expect.

But luckily these puzzles are super fun to try out with friends and can be a great conversation starter.

In this particular piece, people with a high visual IQ should be able to spot the chick within seconds and leave themselves enough time to enjoy the rest of the sheep.

If you still can’t quite spot the bird then here’s a huge clue.

The chick is smartly using the sheep’s wool to hide.

This clever illusion was shared online by optical illusion legends Jagran Josh.

As you scroll, why not try other optical illusions?

Have a go at these brainteasers to test your ability to spot things at speed.

Try figuring out what’s wrong with this image of smiling women as you count their legs in 11 seconds.

Or you might want to prove you have a 20/20 vision as you search for a strawberry in this carnival scene.

Lastly, puzzle fanatics have been left scratching their heads trying to find the lost feather in just 12 seconds.

Keep your brain engaged and have a go at our three other illusions below.

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Argentina’s airports have been repeatedly plunged into chaos as a clash escalates between libertarian President Javier Milei and workers at the country’s flag carrier, Aerolíneas Argentinas.

In the first major confrontation between Milei’s free market reform drive and Argentina’s powerful unions, strikes are threatening travel around the 1mn-square-mile country, as the start of the nation’s peak holiday season looms in December.

Labour unions representing employees at state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas, which controls two-thirds of the domestic market, are demanding wage increases to compensate for the country’s triple-digit inflation. In recent months they have staged a series of strikes; they say the government has refused dialogue.

“We have two extreme, completely ideologically opposed sides fighting, and trapped in between we have a company and thousands of passengers,” said one Argentine airline executive. “Anything could happen.”

Stranded luggage and queues of frustrated passengers filled Buenos Aires’ city airport during the largest strike in mid-September, which cancelled all Aerolíneas flights for 24 hours. It affected 37,000 passengers and cost $2.5mn, according to the company.

“It’s ridiculous . . . I’ve been waiting a year to see [Patagonian glacier] Perito Moreno and now I don’t think I’ll be able to,” a Spanish tourist complained to broadcaster TN. “I’m left with a bad image of how the country handles these things.”

Milei, a fierce opponent of the labour unions, has hit back with a hardline response. His administration has fired several pilots who took part in strikes and has tried to declare air travel an essential service as a means of banning strikes altogether, though the courts prevented this from taking effect. The government has also begun talks with private companies about ceding some Aerolíneas routes.

Milei on Tuesday issued a decree declaring the company “subject to privatisation” in order to speed up an effort to sell the group, which will require congressional approval.

“This company has cost the state billions of dollars, [which] have come out of the pockets of all Argentines, including many who have never stepped foot on a plane,” transport secretary Franco Mogetta told the Financial Times. “We insist it must be privatised.”

The clash is the most disruptive labour conflict so far for Milei, who won last year’s election on a pledge to cut public spending, deregulate the economy and sell public companies.

Union bosses in other transport sectors are considering a general strike next month, which could cause much of the country to grind to a halt. Further air travel disruption is coming, said Juan Pablo Mazzieri, spokesperson for the association of airline pilots, which represents all of Aerolíneas’ more than 1,000 pilots. 

“We heard unanimous support for deepening the conflict at an assembly of 420 pilots [in late September],” he said. “Deepening the conflict means more strike days, more strike hours and other forms of direct action that we will announce soon.”

Aerolíneas Argentinas is an ideological flashpoint for Peronism, Argentina’s powerful left-leaning opposition movement, whose founder, former president Juan Domingo Perón, started the company in 1950.

It was sold off in 1989 amid a wave of privatisations under rightwing president Carlos Saúl Menem, but renationalised under leftwing Peronist president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2008 when it was it was in severe financial difficulty.

Today it is the largest state-run airline in Latin America. Only Bolivia and Venezuela have similar companies, analysts said.

To shrink the airline’s footprint, Milei is deregulating the air travel sector to attract more private companies. Chile’s LatAm, then the second-largest operator, announced its departure from Argentina in 2020, citing the difficulty of operating with Argentina’s depreciating peso, high taxes and unusually strong labour union presence, and competing with the subsidised flag carrier.

Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni last week said Aerolíneas has cost taxpayers $8bn since 2008 thanks to a bloated payroll, which he said includes almost 15 pilots for each of its 81 planes, who receive benefits such as heavily discounted plane tickets for their families.

Continuing to subsidise the company would undermine efforts to eliminate Argentina’s chronic fiscal deficit, the backbone of Milei’s plan to bring down inflation, Adorni added.

Ricardo Delpiano, editor of Chile-based air industry analysis website elaereo.com, said Aerolíneas had “sharply reduced its deficit” in recent years to $246mn in 2022 through efficiency improvements and upgrades to its service.

In 2023, the company received no money from the Treasury. But people familiar with its finances said that was largely because of its ability to charge for tickets abroad at the peso’s artificially inflated official exchange rate, while converting revenue at the lower parallel rate. The company also issued $100mn in debt last year via a trust.

Critics of the privatisation proposal argue Aerolíneas should be seen as a public service, rather than a company, because it is the only airline serving about 20 small cities that are unprofitable for private groups, improving connectivity across the vast country.

“That connectivity stimulates [billions of dollars] of tourism, trade, development,” said Diego Giuliano, a lower-house Peronist lawmaker for Santa Fe province. “The people who think this is a good idea suffer from a Buenos Aires-centric view of Argentina.”

Delpiano said it would be “difficult” to find a buyer for Aerolíneas “given the company’s many unprofitable routes, and its high degree of labour conflict”.

But Milei’s allies in Congress argued that the unions’ disruptive strikes had strengthened the case for privatisation.

It is not clear whether the government has enough support to pass a privatisation bill, two of which have been presented to Congress. Its negotiators removed an article designating Aerolíneas Argentinas as “subject to privatisation” from a wider economic reform bill earlier this year because of pushback from legislators.

A May survey by pollster Trespuntozero found 49.2 per cent of Argentines supported privatisation of the airline, while 46.9 per cent opposed it. Pro-privatisation sentiment has dipped a few percentage points from 2023, but remains much higher than in 2015, when 24.4 per cent of respondents wanted the carrier taken out of state hands.

Union leaders accused the government of deliberately stimulating the protests in order to damage the workers’ reputation and garner political support for privatisation.

Rodrigo Borrás, spokesperson for ground workers’ union APA, said the government had refused to “seriously negotiate”, and that wages had not been increased since before Milei took office in December, despite accumulated inflation of 95 per cent this year.

“The offers they’ve made have been almost provocative — a 1 per cent increase,” Borrás said. “This is the perfect way for them to trigger a conflict.”

The transport secretary denied that offers had been so low, claiming they were in line with pay rises offered to other public employees who have accepted pay deals.

“The problem is these unions are accustomed to decades of excessive privileges that all Argentines have been paying for,” he said. “Those privileges ended the day 56 per cent of Argentines elected Javier Milei as president.” 

In a landmark case which established the modern law of negligence and the principle of duty of care (Donoghue v Stevenson, 1932), Donoghue sued a ginger beer manufacturer after becoming seriously ill and finding a decomposed snail in her bottle.

The court ruled in her favour, concluding manufacturers owe a duty of care to consumers even in the absence of a contractual relationship.

The application of a common-sense approach to customers’ rights is the same judgement the Financial Conduct Authority intends for firms when applying Consumer Duty.

Proportionality is a watch word for skilled persons as well as regulators – and it should be for firms

Both the FCA and the new government have recently signaled a desire to encourage growth in UK financial services and to promote competition. In part, this can be achieved through more principles-based regulation such as Consumer Duty.

This summer, the FCA announced it would seek to “reduce burdens on firms and support growth” using the opportunity of the Duty and the move to an outcomes-based approach to streamline its rulebook.

A willingness to streamline detailed rules is likely to be welcomed by firms – but it is not without risks when it comes to interpretation and application.

The tension between securing consumer protection and promoting a healthy market is a balancing act which has always existed for the regulator.

The new focus on growth and principles-based regulation could lead to greater uncertainty around interpretation of the rules

On a micro level, we have seen it play out in the skilled person reviews. There’s always a consideration as to how far an intervention should go when balancing the risk of harm to consumers versus unnecessarily damaging a viable firm if the rules are interpreted too stringently.

Proportionality is a watch word for skilled persons as well as regulators – and it should be for firms.

Implications of new ‘growth’ agenda

The regulator has been fairly stringent in its demands over the last five years at firm supervision level around controls and the timeline for embedding these into practice.

Emphasising growth and competition, even as secondary objectives, may result in a reduction in the time required by the regulators for newly enhanced controls to be embedded – for example, three to six months, rather than six to 12 months.

In addition, the principles-based approach of Consumer Duty might point the way in other areas traditionally heavy on prescriptive application, such as Client Assets (CASS) Rules.

We’ve seen high staff turnover at firms and the FCA, which risks inexperience and inconsistency making these calls

In applying CASS, we have seen very specific rules – such as the need to delete square brackets that denote where text is to be added to a template document – resulting in the regulator instructing firms to reissue and re-execute the documents, at significant cost and effort.

So, the new focus on growth and principles-based regulation could lead to a reduction in cost for firms and, in extreme cases, avoid insolvencies. It will, however, also lead to greater uncertainty around interpretation of the rules.

Interpretation will require a higher level of skill and experience from both firms and the regulator to form judgement calls around principles-based regulation.

We’ve seen high staff turnover at both firms and the FCA over the past few years, which risks inexperience and inconsistency when it comes to making these calls. As the new direction becomes embedded, it will be important for the regulator and regulated firms to have experienced personnel in key roles.

What should firms do?

Firms should train and upskill both staff and board members to be able to apply more principles-based regulation.

Staff should be made aware they are doing more than simply following a set of rules, but rather thinking through the intention behind the regulation.

The new direction from the regulator should create opportunity for financial services firms

There will also be a greater requirement from non-executive directors (NEDs) to raise challenging questions at board meetings around achieving regulatory purpose, rather than simply tracking key performance indications or key risk indicators.

The board should also be able to challenge management information they receive along these lines.

In addition, NEDs can bring invaluable experience of how other firms are interpreting principles. While a “me too” approach is not helpful, an understanding of the range of peer interpretations is valuable input.

We see a lot of small firms without independent NEDs (iNEDs) on the board. While costs can be an issue (sometimes more perception than market tested reality), an iNED can help avoid regulatory missteps.

Ultimately, the new direction from the regulator, enabled by the government’s pro-growth and competitiveness agenda, should create opportunity for financial services firms. But it will also require a more nuanced and enquiring mindset around the application and intention of regulatory requirements.

John Higgins is chief executive of Pathlight Associates

We’re about a week away from the 2025 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement. All beneficiaries will soon be able to estimate how much their checks will increase next year, with the new benefit amounts kicking in during January.

Naturally, much of the focus is on how much more retired workers will get next year, but those claiming spousal benefits also have larger checks on the way. However, the latest projections suggest broader budget changes might be in order for 2025.

The 2025 COLA will probably be around 2.5%

The latest estimates from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) put the 2025 Social Security COLA at around 2.5%. That’s 0.7% less than the 2024 COLA. This is due to cooling inflation. There’s a small chance the COLA could be higher depending on where September inflation data comes in, but this is unlikely.

A 2.5% COLA would boost the average retired worker’s benefit from $1,920 per month in August 2024 to $1,968 per month — a $48 increase. If your current benefit is larger than this, you’ll probably see your checks increase even further. On the other hand, if you have a smaller benefit, you’ll get less.

Spousal Social Security benefits are typically less than retired workers’ benefits simply because of the formula used to calculate them. At most, they’re worth one-half of the workers’ benefit at their full retirement age (FRA). The average spousal benefit, as of August 2024, is $910 per month. A 2.5% COLA would add about $23 per month, bringing the new average to somewhere around $933 per month in 2025.

Together, a couple receiving the average retired worker benefit and the average spousal benefit would get an extra $71 per month with a 2.5% COLA. That’s another $852 annually.

Looking ahead to 2025

We won’t know the real 2025 COLA until Oct. 10. The Social Security Administration will share the news on its website. Once you know what it is, you can estimate your 2025 checks by adding the COLA percentage to your existing checks. This might be off by a dollar or two, but it should be pretty close.

If you’re still not sure how much you’ll get, keep an eye out for a personalized COLA notice coming your way in December. Those with my Social Security accounts should be able to access the notice early in the month. You’ll also get a notice in the mail.

Compare your new monthly Social Security income with your average monthly expenses. Your checks may not go as far as you expected. Many feel the COLAs don’t actually help benefits keep up with inflation like they’re supposed to.

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To combat this, you may have to rely upon other retirement income sources, like:

• Personal savings: Personal savings are the ideal Social Security supplement if you’ve got them. You may need to increase your retirement account withdrawals in 2025 to cover what Social Security doesn’t.

• A job: A job gives you another source of consistent monthly income alongside your Social Security checks. This could also reduce how quickly you spend your personal savings.

• Other government benefits: If you’re unable to work and lack adequate savings, you may be eligible for other government benefits to help with things like food, housing, utilities, and healthcare. These programs generally have income requirements, and application processes can take time, so it’s best to look into these as soon as possible if you plan to use them in 2025.

Sketch out a plan for how you’ll cover your expenses before your new checks arrive. Then, after a month or two with your new benefit, review how you’re doing and make adjustments as needed to carry yourself through the rest of the year.

The $22,924 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

View the “Social Security secrets” »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here’s How Much the Estimated 2025 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Could Boost the Average Spousal Benefit was originally published by The Motley Fool

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Surely to goodness you know how this works by now:

Tell us by email what you think those three charts represent, being sure to put QUIZ in the subject line. We’ll draw one correct entry at random and send that person a quiz-exclusive T-shirt.

FTAV reserves the right to name correspondents so if you shun the limelight or are in witness protection or whatever, be sure to tell us. The entry deadline is Monday sunrise or thereabouts, London time, and the judge’s decision is final.

A STUNNING 3-bedroom coastal home in Devon worth over £2 million could be yours in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.

One lucky winner will get the keys to this beautiful contemporary home – you can purchase entries from as little as £10.

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Devon Omaze Million Pound House Draw

This two-tiered West Country residence comes complete with countryside views, a guest annexe and a heated pool.

In addition to the property itself, the Omaze winner will receive £250,000 in cash to help them settle in.

Along with the prize comes huge financial flexibility: the winner has the option to move straight into this gorgeous Devon retreat, rent it out, or even put it back on to the market.

An estimated monthly rental income of £4,000 means that this home could also serve as a seriously lucrative investment.

One of the most attractive aspects of the Million Pound House Draw is that there are no hidden costs.

Not only will you not have to worry about paying stamp duty, but mortgage fees and conveyancing costs are also covered.

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The house also comes with all the furnishing included, so you’re completely free to move in without digging into that quarter-million cash prize.

This luxe three-bed and two-bath home is situated in the scenic town of Exmouth, which is 12 miles from Exeter, Devon’s second-largest town.

It strikes the perfect balance between coastal living and quick city access.

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Devon Omaze Million Pound House Draw

You’ll get amazing countryside views thanks to the floor-to-ceiling glass that’s in every room, which fills each space with natural light.

The property is also close to Orcombe Point, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its dramatic landscape.

Then there’s the annexe, which contains its own kitchen area and boasts stunning views: the perfect place for guests to stay.

Anyone who works from home will also be happy to find a dedicated study space, with Scandinavian-inspired decor and space-saving ladder shelving.

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Devon Omaze Million Pound House Draw

What’s more, by entering early, you’ll give yourself a chance to win not one but two luxury cars.

Alongside the dream Devon home and the £250,000 cash prize, early entrants are also in the running to win BOTH a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid and a Porsche Boxster S. 

The Cayenne is a perfect family four-by-four, while the Boxster is a sleek sports car. The total cost for both cars totals over £170,000.

The Omaze Draw isn’t just about changing one lucky winner’s life, however, it also makes a significant impact on society.

A minimum donation of £1m from the Devon House Draw will be given to Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). 

CALM’s mission is to help people struggling with life find hope and a reason to stay. 

This substantial contribution will help fund CALM’s suicide prevention helpline for six months, allowing the organisation’s staff to answer over 80,000 calls and provide crucial support to those in their time of need. 

Terms and conditions: Over 18s and UK residents only. No purchase is necessary. Visit omaze.co.uk for full terms and to enter. House closes 27/10/2024.