Asian Equities Plunge on Renewed US-China Trade Tensions

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of oil benchmarks jumped by 2 per cent on Tuesday on the fresh possibility that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will extend or deepen supply cuts. Data showed that Brent crude futures gained $1.70 or 2.1 per cent to close at $81.68 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $1.55 or 2.1 per cent to $76.41 per barrel after a drop in Kazakh oil output and a weaker US Dollar. OPEC+ is due to hold an online ministerial meeting on Thursday to discuss 2024

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A fast-rising actress in Nigeria, Ms Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, otherwise known as Simi Gold, has been quizzed by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos for allegedly spraying the new Naira notes. A statement issued on Friday by the anti-money laundering organisation disclosed that the movie practitioner also stepped on the country’s legal tender, which the EFCC said was against Section 21 (5) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007. It was stated that the suspect was arrested by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Fraud Related Offences Commission (ICPC)

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has revealed that the nation’s bourse recorded N935.3 billion in total transactions in the first half of the year 2017. In the report analysed by Business Post, the stock market regulator noted that this feat is in contrast to N624.41 billion recorded in 2016, showing that transactions increased by 49.78 percent in the period under review. It further noted that total transactions, also at the local bourse, increased by 7.13 percent from N205.61billion recorded in May 2017 to N220.27billion (about $0.72 billion) in June 2017. In the report, the

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered one of its heaviest losses in recent times on Friday as it depreciated by 1.21 per cent as banking equities struggled to get patronage. Yesterday, holders of stocks in the banking sector, especially those desperate to liquidate their holdings, lowered their prices to attract buyers but this strategy did not work as investors remain cautious of the macroeconomic environment and are limiting their exposure to the equity market. The absence of a positive trigger weakened the All Share Index (ASI) by 633.01 points during the session to 51,778.08 points to 52,411.09

By Adedapo Adesanya Not less than N554.6 billion has been disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to a total of 2,849,490 farmers across the country under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) since its inception in 2015. The scheme, initiated by the central bank, was precisely launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, and it was part of efforts to ensure food security in Nigeria. In a communique issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that out of the total amount disbursed so far to the farmers, the sum of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Michel Puchercos, has assured that the cement company will do everything necessary to improve its earnings and growth in the fourth quarter of this year. Mr Puchercos gave this assurance while reacting to the third quarter financial statements of the firm, which were recently released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). In the results, the company posted a 7.25 percent decline in the net sales from its major market, Nigeria, while the total net sales went down by 25.14 percent. However, the company had a strong EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16)

By Timi Olubiyi, PhD Sachets dominate the retail industry, particularly the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), in many parts of Africa but more significantly in Nigeria, where the population is high and there is a huge demand for consumer goods. Therefore, sachet products or single-serve packs, as they are normally called in the FMCG industry, are dominating the retail landscape and they are products that can be consumed at once or ready for single usage. In colloquial terms, the model is referred to “sachetisation” which is known to have kicked off in Nigeria in the ’90s with the making of smaller

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigeria Police Force has waded into what now seems more like a kidnapping case of the two children of Mr Mohammed Babangida in the aftermath of his crashed marriage to Rahama Idimi, daughter of Maiduguri-based billionaire, Mr Mohammed Idimi. Sources revealed that the mother of the missing children, Mrs Rahama is in Saudi Arabia and allegedly left the two children in the custody of the sister, Ms Zahra Idimi. The police, we gathered, waded into the matter based on a customary court order obtained by the father, Mr Mohammed. The interim order urged both parties to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s local currency, the Naira, traded at the parallel segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, December 9, 2016, at N485 to a Dollar. This was the same amount it went for the previous day at the same market. Also, the British Pound Sterling was exchanged at the parallel market for N602, while the Euro was sold for N515. It was learnt that at the official interbank market, the Nigerian currency was exchanged at N305.50 per Dollar, same price it was exchanged the previous day. In addition, at the Bureau De Change (BDC), the Naira