Analysts Forecast Fall in FGN Bond Yields This Week

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of NASD Plc and Aradel Holdings Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.04 per cent on Thursday, September 21. The two price losers overpowered the sole price gainer, Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, to drag down the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by 0.34 points to 805.95 points from the 806.29 points it ended in the previous day, while the total value of the unlisted stock market was relatively flat at N1.139 trillion. At the trading day, NASD Plc shed N1.15 to end the session at N11.50 per unit versus the

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices settled lower on Thursday even after Russia announced a ban on fuel exports, with Brent crude down by 23 cents to $93.30 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 3 cents to sell at $89.63 per barrel. Russia temporarily banned gasoline and diesel exports to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday. It said the ban did not apply to fuel supplied under inter-governmental agreements to Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union members, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia

By Dipo Olowookere The leadership uncertainty in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which some observers have said led to the indefinite postponement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, further put investors off at the local equity market on Friday. Yesterday, the central bank said the person chosen by President Bola Tinubu to head the organisation, Mr Yemi Cardoso, has resumed in an acting capacity replacing the former acting CBN chief, Mr Folashodun Shonubi. Mr Shonubi was appointed by Mr Tinubu to take over from Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was suspended from office and was said to have resigned

By Adedapo Adesanya The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, surged by 230.8 per cent on a year-to-year basis to N626.70 per litre in August 2023 versus N189.46 per litre in the same period of 2022. This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (August 2023), which showed that the average retail price increased on a month-on-month basis by 4.39 per cent from N600.3 per litre in July. The skyrocketing cost of petrol came as President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration speech on May 29,

By Dipo Olowookere Shareholders of 11 Plc (formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria) have expressed concerns over the company’s marginal drop in profit in the 2017 business year. The shareholders aired their views on this issue at the firm’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently in Lagos. In the financial year ended December 31, 2017, Mobil Oil Nigeria recorded a 1.4 percent decline in profit, closing at N15.3 billion against N15.5 billion in 2016. However, its financial sales revenue grew significantly by 33 percent to N125.26 billion in 2017 from N94.11 billion a year earlier. At the AGM, the shareholders charged

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his readiness to rededicate himself to the service of the nation after returning from a medical vacation in London on Friday. Addressing his countrymen on Friday from the State House, shortly after his return, President Buhari said he was fully committed to serving the nation and protecting the right of all Nigerians. He expressed gratitude to Nigerians for all the prayers and show of goodwill, saying, “I am deeply grateful to all Nigerians, Muslims and Christians alike who have prayed and have continued to pray for my good health. “This is a

By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi The global community on Wednesday, June 8 celebrated the annual ritual tagged World Oceans Day.  The celebration was first declared in 1992 following the United Nations, UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The purpose of the day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the oceans, develop a worldwide movement of people who want to look after oceans, and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans. World Oceans Day also seeks to promote knowledge about the world’s oceanic system

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian bus-hailing app, Plentywaka, has launched WakaCab, a new car-hailing service with fully-trained drivers in Asaba, the Delta State capital. Building on the success of Plentywaka’s bus-hailing service, WakaCab can be booked for personal and shared rides on the app. For commuters in Asaba, and soon in Warri, the launch of WakaCab eradicates the need to locate a taxi, making commuting much easier. The startup raised $300,000 in pre-seed expansion funding in August and has now started that process by moving to tackle Southern Nigeria’s limited transport links by breaking into the taxi-hailing space. Speaking on the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The presidency is yet to react to a report at the weekend that Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, forged the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate she is presently parading as authentic. On Saturday, Premium Times reported that the Minister allegedly forged her NYSC exemption certificate. The newspaper further alleged that the Senate, which screened Mrs Adeosun for the ministerial job in 2015, was aware of this, but decided to use it as tool to blackmail her into releasing money to the parliament. Since the report was published, Nigerians have been reacting to it, calling

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after trending higher in recent sessions. Concerns about the economic impact of a global trade war are likely to weigh on the markets after President Donald Trump?s administration proposed new tariffs on China. Trump has ordered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports. The move comes after the U.S. imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Nigerian Breweries Plc has said it may be impossible at the moment to specifically measure the financial impact of the COVID-19 on its business operations. This disclosure was made in reaction to the financial statements of the firm for the first three months of this year, which were released on Wednesday. However, the brewery giant said the management was paying special attention on strategies to minimise the impact on the company. “The COVID-19 crisis continues to impact all businesses, with the effect expected to be more pronounced in the future. “The priority for us

By Dipo Olowookere The nation’s main stock exchange closed 0.18 per cent higher on Friday amid sustained bargain hunting by investors, especially in the energy and financial sectors. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the oil/gas space grew by 2.10 per cent yesterday and was trailed by the insurance counter, which appreciated by 1.47 per cent. In addition, the banking sector improved by 1.23 per cent, the industrial goods index appreciated by 0.34 per cent, while the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.42 per cent. At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 77.46