Economy
Trump Turmoil Weighs on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
Ongoing political turmoil in Washington is gradually weighing on the markets amid waning optimism about President Donald Trump’s ability to implement tax reform and deregulation.
The major US index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Wednesday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
In the latest headache for the White House, reports claim Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to quash an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The latest developments come on the heels of the uproar over Trump’s firing of Comey as well as claims the president revealed highly classified information to Russian officials.
A lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines, although the Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on oil inventories is likely to attract attention.
Stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Tuesday, resuming the lackluster trend seen in recent sessions. Despite the choppy trading on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached another new record closing high.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Nasdaq climbed 20.20 points or 0.3 percent to 6,169.87, the Dow edged down 2.19 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 20,979.75 and the S&P 500 dipped 1.65 points or 0.1 percent to 2,400.67.
The lackluster performance on the day came following the release of a mixed batch of U.S. economic data along with continued turmoil in Washington.
The Commerce Department released a report this morning showing that housing starts unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of April.
The report said housing starts fell by 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.172 million in April after tumbling by 6.6 percent to a revised 1.203 million in March.
Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.260 million from the 1.215 million originally reported for the previous month.
Additionally, the Commerce Department said building permits slid by 2.5 percent to a rate of 1.229 million in April from 1.260 million in March.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to inch up to a rate of 1.270 million.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Federal Reserve showed a much bigger than expected increase in industrial production in April.
The Fed said industrial production jumped by 1.0 percent in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in March. Production rose for the third consecutive month and saw its largest monthly gain since February of 2014.
Economists had expected production to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington after a report from the Washington Post claimed President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian officials in a White House meeting last week.
Trump described the details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft, current and former U.S. officials told the Post.
Responding to the news in a post on Twitter, Trump said he has “the absolute right” to share details pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety with Russia.
The news creates another headache for the White House, potentially threatening Trump’s ability to make progress on issues such as tax reform and deregulation.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Semiconductor stocks showed a strong move to the upside, however, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing by 1.5 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over sixteen years.
Considerable strength also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index climbed further off the six-month closing low it set last Friday.
Software, biotechnology, and computer hardware stocks also saw some strength on the day, while weakness was visible among natural gas, utilities, and commercial real estate stocks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate in June 2026 moderated to 15.91 per cent from 15.93 per cent in May, as pressure from the Iran war mildly eased, though it largely remained in focus during the review month.
In the report on Wednesday, the statistical office showed that the headline inflation rate for June on a month-on-month basis was 1.66 per cent, 0.09 per cent lower than the 1.75 per cent recorded in May 2026.
On an annualised basis, the print was down from 25.29 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (June 2025). This was due to the rebasing of the calculation year from 2009 to 2024.
The rise in prices, which stemmed from the continued conflict in the Middle East, continued to stoke food prices and energy costs, which account for a huge chunk of average spending.
The food inflation rate in May 2026 on a month-on-month basis was 3.75 per cent, up by 0.77 percentage points from May 2026 (2.98 per cent), while on a year-on-year basis, it was 17.52 per cent and stood at 25.41 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (June 2025).
At 15.91 per cent print, the inflation marginally beat expectations by Meristem Research, predicted at 15.95 per cent.
There had been expectations that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran would help drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front. However, with conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
This will be a core factor that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be looking at when it meets for the next policy meeting. At its last meeting, the committee left benchmarked interest rates at 26.5 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
