Asian Stocks Close Mixed amid Renewed Trade Fears

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 Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices fell on Thursday members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to voluntary output cuts for the first quarter of next year, falling short of market expectations. As a result, Brent crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.3 per cent to close at $82.83 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went down by $1.90 or 2.4 per cent to $75.96 a barrel. On a monthly basis, Brent fell by 5.2 per cent while WTI was down by 6.2 per cent. Saudi Arabia, Russia

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

by Investors Hub Job growth in the US saw a significant acceleration in the month of February, according to a report released by the Labor Department, although the report also showed a slowdown in the pace of wage growth. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 313,000 jobs in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 239,000 jobs in January. Economists had expected employment to climb by 200,000 jobs, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month. Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent in February. The unemployment rate

International and African experts have said small-scale fisheries on the continent play a critical role in global food security and must be supported with greater research and investment. Industry, NGO, government and academic representatives attended Murdoch University’s second Blue Economy Symposium in Tunis some days ago as part of the Africa Blue Economy Forum (ABEF) 2019 and Murdoch University’s Third Commission, a research investigation focusing on issues of public concern to Africa. Fish accounts for more than one-fifth of the protein intake of African south of the Sahara and provides a livelihood to millions of people. Murdoch University Adjunct Professor,

by investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the upside after showing a lack of direction over the two previous sessions. Stocks are likely to resume their recent advance after a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the U.S. and China have agreed to lift existing tariffs in phases. ?The trade war started with tariffs and should end with the cancellation of tariffs,? said ministry spokesman Gao Feng, who noted phase one of a trade deal must include both countries simultaneously canceling tariffs on each

By Dipo Olowookere A subsidiary of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, UBN Property Company Plc, has joined the trading platform of NASD OTC Market. With this development, shares of UBN Property Company Plc have now been approved to trade on the OTC Market. The security, which has a trading value of N2 per share, was introduced by Equity Capital Solutions Limited by way of Security Admission. UBN Property Company Plc was incorporated on March 24, 2003 and it is involved in the development, sale and management of residential and office accommodation for corporate bodies and individuals. With a diverse real

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 12,385 kilograms of an Indian hemp variant known as Loud smuggled into Lagos from a neighbouring country through the waterways. The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi in a statement described the drug as a strong variant of Indian hemp, explaining that the 12,385 pellets of the drug were brought in through the Atlantic Ocean and ferried in boats to the Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island. The Indian hemp would have been distributed from the beach to drugs hotspots such as Lagos Island, Peti

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s problems continue to compound as the largest oil exporter in Africa is reportedly struggling to get buyers for crude oil for October exports. This has sent a signal that the recovery in global oil demand still has some way to go, with volumes for next month’s loading struggling to find a home, even among its main customers. According to a report from Bloomberg, as much as two-thirds of Nigeria’s crude for October export is yet to be booked by customers. The report noted that according to traders specializing in the West African market, this is equal

By Modupe Gbedeyanka Leading provider of solid state LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions, Quanergy Systems, today announced the acquisition of OTUS People Tracker software from Raytheon BBN Technologies. The software complements Quanergy’s existing software portfolio and, when used with Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors, creates an integrated hardware and software solution for advanced people detection and tracking applications within the security and autonomous driving markets. OTUS uses sophisticated human perception algorithms to identify and track people for safety and security in crowded environments at ranges exceeding 100 meters when used with Quanergy LiDAR sensors. The system features segmentation techniques identifying humans,

By Adedapo Adesanya The exchange rate of the Naira to the United States Dollar closed mixed on Friday at the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market in Nigeria. At the official market, which is the Importers and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market, the Naira appreciated against the American Dollar yesterday by 45 Kobo or 0.1 per cent to sell at N441.38/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N441.83/$1. Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions slightly went up by 6.8 per cent or $4.38 million to $69.18 million from the $64.80