By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices made marginal gains on Thursday as buyers sought to assure supply over the long ​Independence Day weekend in the world’s largest oil producer, the United States.

Brent futures settled at $71.80 a barrel, up 23 cents or 0.32 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $68.69 a barrel, up 11 cents or 0.16 per cent.

Also, Qatar, which is mediating talks between the US and Iran, said progress has been made ​toward a permanent peace agreement ending the four-month war that shut the key oil shipping through the Strait ⁠of Hormuz.

The talks made “positive progress” on matters related to the memorandum that halted the war in June, a Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson said ​in a post on X. There was no sign yet that the sides made headway towards a lasting peace.

The next meeting between Iran and US negotiators will take ​place after the July 9 funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s joint military command warned on Thursday that all oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz must follow routes approved by Iran or face an immediate and forceful response. The warning, carried by Iranian state television, also cautioned that any US interference in the waterway would prompt a rapid and decisive reaction.

Tanker traffic has recovered from the near standstill seen during the height of the conflict. However, it is well below pre-war levels. According to AP, 258 vessels transited the strait last week, up from 138 the previous week, while traffic this week has settled into roughly 30 to 60 crossings per day—still nowhere near the roughly 130 daily transits seen before the war.

Despite this, Saudi oil giant Aramco, the world’s single largest crude oil exporter, has already managed to ship at least five supertankers from Ras Tanura through the strait.

UBS cut its Brent forecasts, citing the increase in oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil is carried by tanker ships. The bank lowered ​its Brent crude price forecasts. It cut its third-quarter estimate by $25 per barrel to $80 and reduced its fourth-quarter forecast by $10 per barrel to $80. It trimmed its ​2027 outlook by $10 ⁠per barrel to $75.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc have been assured of lasting value for their investment and trust in the cement producing firm.

This assurance was given by the chief executive of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak, at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), where shareholders approved the payment of N753.8 billion as dividend for the 2025 financial year.

The cement brewer paid a cash reward of N45 per share for the year, a 50 per cent increase in dividend payout from the N30 per share a year earlier, reaffirming the company’s position as one of the most rewarding investments on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

The increase follows the company’s outstanding 2025 financial performance and underscores its unwavering commitment to shareholder value creation.

It was the highest dividend payout in the history of Dangote Cement and reflects the strength of its earnings capacity, robust cash generation ability, and disciplined execution of its growth strategy

Dangote Cement delivered a landmark financial performance in 2025. Earnings per share rose significantly to N59.86, demonstrating the company’s resilience and operational excellence despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges.

Mr Pathak said the dividend increase is backed by the organisation’s strong financial performance and healthy balance sheet.

“The decision to increase our dividend by 50 per cent to N45 per share demonstrates the strength of Dangote Cement’s earnings capacity and cash generation capability.

“As we continue to execute our pan-African growth strategy, we remain committed to creating lasting value for our shareholders, investing in the future of the business, and supporting Africa’s industrial development. Our shareholders have stood by us throughout our journey, and we are delighted to reward that trust with another significant increase in returns,” he stated.

The chief executive noted that the firm continues to strengthen its footprint across Africa through strategic investments and capacity expansion projects.

In 2025, Dangote Cement commissioned a 3-million-tonne-per-annum grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire, reinforcing its presence in West Africa and increasing total installed capacity to 55 million tonnes per annum (Mta) across eleven African countries.

He added that the Company remains focused on its long-term objective of expanding installed capacity to 80Mta by 2030, while driving operational efficiency, increasing exports, enhancing sustainability initiatives, and improving shareholder returns.

On his part, the chairman of Dangote Cement, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, said the increase in dividend payout reflects the company’s determination to reward shareholders for their continued confidence and support.

“Our commitment remains to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. This significant increase in dividend demonstrates the strength of our business model, our disciplined approach to capital allocation, and our confidence in the future. We are grateful for the trust our shareholders have placed in us over the years and remain committed to delivering superior returns while maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and operational excellence,” he stated.

The organisation’s dividend history has continued to set benchmarks in the Nigerian capital market. Over the past 15 years, Dangote Cement has distributed more than N3.3 trillion in dividends to shareholders, reinforcing its reputation as a dependable creator of long-term wealth.

The latest dividend increase follows a previous 50 per cent rise from N20 per share to N30 per share, underscoring a consistent record of rewarding shareholders.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Stock trading on the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and digital asset infrastructure provider, Binance, has hit a significant milestone, surpassing $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) in 30 days since launch.

This milestone follows the recent achievement by bStocks, Binance’s tokenised 1:1 US securities, which hit $100 million in AUM within two weeks of launch.

Since the platform began stock trading on June 1, 2026, it has recorded more than $3 billion in total trading volume.

Stock trading on Binance gives users access to over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs, settled in stablecoins, directly within the app alongside their existing crypto holdings.

Analysis showed that the average daily inflows stood at $42 million, while approximately 73 per cent of users come from emerging markets, with one in 7 visitors to Binance’s stock trading page registering an account; of those new sign-ups, nearly 90 per cent went on to place a trade.

In addition, fractional orders averaged 35 per cent of equity trading volume, with users able to participate from as little as $5, while almost 71 per cent of equity holdings are allocated to the Technology sector, with almost half (48 per cent) of that directed toward Semiconductors.

Nearly 740 of the 7,000 available stocks and ETFs have already been traded, with the Technology sector generating approximately 23 times the trading volume of other sectors, underscoring the conviction that Binance users have behind these positions.

The allocation patterns are consistent with a financially literate user base actively managing sector exposure rather than trading indiscriminately.

Binance Research projects that by 2031, crypto exchanges as a category could channel $2 trillion in incremental capital into global equity markets and bring 300 million new investors into the asset class.

“A billion dollars in 30 days is a sign of the demand that has been waiting decades for a door to walk through. The walls that kept most of the world out of US stocks were never as solid as they looked. We built this for the hundreds of millions of people who never had a way in,” the Head of Exchange and Trading at Binance,” Shunyet Jan, stated.