Asian Stock Markets Rise as China Cuts Interest Rate

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Dipo Olowookere The nation’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has kicked against the recent hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol. It was reported on Friday that Nigerians will now begin to pay N170 per litre for petrol following the increase in the depot price of the product to N155.17 per litre from the initial N147.67 per litre. Reacting to the increment, the PDP, which ruled the country for 16 years from 1999 to 2015, described the action as wicked, unbearable and unacceptable, emphasising that there was no justification to

By Dipo Olowookere Book libraries are a big deal and a growing opportunity for independent authors around the world. This is the reason why Publiseer has decided to focus more on library distribution for its independent authors. Before now, Publiseer already distributes to over 40,000 book libraries worldwide through its addition of OverDrive and Bibliotheca. However, the ebook and audiobook aggregator will be taking its library distribution even deeper with its addition of Baker & Taylor as part of its library distribution service. Baker & Taylor is the largest distributor of both digital and print books worldwide. Baker & Taylor

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria is determined to pursue German investments in targeted sectors of the Nigerian economy, President Bola Tinubu told German Federal Chancellor, Mr Olaf Scholz, on the sidelines of the G20 Compact with Africa Economic Conference on Monday. President Tinubu drew the attention of the German leader to the need for his business community to focus their attention on value-additive processing in Nigerian solid minerals, agricultural goods, automobile production, and other job-creating sub-sectors of the economy. He recognized the success of Siemens AG in positively transforming the quantity and quality of electric power supply. The President noted that

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nestle has teamed up with Ghana Bamboo Bikes, a social enterprise in Bekwai in the Ashanti region of the country, to prevent and eliminate child labour from its supply chain. This it is doing by providing locally made bamboo bikes to help child labour officers in Ghana monitor their work on the fields. Ghana Bamboo Bikes aims to create employment opportunities and training for skilled and unskilled young people, especially women. As part of its commitment to this cause, Nestle is providing 30 bamboo bikes to be given to 30 new community liaison officers with an additional

By Investors Hub European stocks are turning in a lackluster performance on Tuesday, as earnings proved to be a mixed bag and the British parliament rejected a plan by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to organize a snap election, adding an additional layer of uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook. While the French CAC 40 Index has inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent. The British pound has edged lower against the dollar as Johnson makes another attempt today to get lawmakers to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The biggest food and drink fiesta in Africa, the Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc Food and Drink Festival is returning this year after being shelved in the past due to COVID-19 restrictions. A statement from the organisers disclosed that the showpiece event, in its 5th edition, will take place at the GTCentre on Plot 1, Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Lagos, from Sunday, May 01 to Tuesday, May 03, 2022. The Group CEO of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, while commenting on the event, explained that, “The primary objective of the GTCO Food and Drink Festival is to

By Dipo Olowookere The chief executive of Creative Financial Group (CFG) Advisory, Mr Tilewa Adebajo, has described the current debt level of Nigeria as “unsustainable,” tasking the President-elect, Mr Bola Tinubu, to make efforts to increase the country’s revenue when he takes over next month because his biggest challenge would be the nation’s “debt profile.” Mr Tinubu was announced as the winner of the presidential election conducted on Saturday, February 25, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He defeated Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). The

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On February 3, 2017, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) conducted a special operation on a building allegedly belonging to a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Andrew Yakubu, in Kaduna. The operation yielded the recovery of a staggering sum of $9.8 million and another sum of £74,000 cash. The huge cash was hidden in a fire proof safe. The surprise raid of the facility was sequel to an intelligence which the commission received about suspected proceeds of crime believed to be hidden in the slums of Sabon