Crude Oil Sheds 8% to 5-Month Low on Renewed Demand Concerns

By Adedapo Adesanya The cryptocurrency market witnessed an uptick on Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) managing to stay above the $26,000 level even as the US Dollar index rose to a new year-to-date high. Data obtained by Business Post showed that the most valued crypto, BTC, posted a 0.7 per cent appreciation during the midweek session to trade at $26,408.37 in the last 24 hours. On the part of the second-most valued digital coin, Ethereum (ETH), it remained in the $1,600 mark and it improved its value yesterday by 1.6 per cent to sell at $1,610.94. At the trading session, the US

By Dipo Olowookere No fewer than 15 Nigerian Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) will share the N75 million set aside by a tech giant, Google, in the 2023 edition of Hustle Academy Fund. The initiative was introduced in 2022 to provide equity-free funds to small business owners to scale up their operations and support entrepreneurial growth in Nigeria. Entries for the exercise opened on Thursday, September 28 and will close on Thursday, October 12, 2023, and to be eligible, businesses must be Nigerian-founded, operating within Nigeria for 1-5 years, and have a clear and scalable business plan. They should have

By Adedapo Adesanya The oil market retreated on Thursday, as traders took profits after prices soared recently while the space worried that high interest rates may weigh on demand. During the trading session, Brent futures fell by $1.17 or 1.2 per cent to settle at $95.38 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) declined by $1.97 or 2.1 per cent to close at $91.71 per barrel. The market had reached a 10-month high as some traders worried high oil prices would stoke inflation, encouraging the US Federal Reserve and other central banks to persist with rate hikes.

By Bliss Okperan A lady who reviewed a product of Erisco Foods Limited, Nagiko Tomato Mix, Mrs Chioma Egodi, has threatened to demand the sum of N500 million from the chief executive of the company, Mr Eric Umeofia, for violating her fundamental human rights. Mrs Egodi said she purchased the product at the market with the intention of using it to cook stew for her family. However, when she tasted it, according to her, it tasted too much sugar, prompting her to post about it on Facebook. It was reported that Erisco was not happy with the negative review. She

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central African Republic (CAR) has adopted Bitcoin as legal currency in the country, making it the first African nation to do so. President Faustin Archange Touadera signed the measure into law on Wednesday, making it the second country in the world to do so behind El Salvador. Lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies, the president’s chief of staff Mr Obed Namsio said in a statement today. The CAR “is the first country in Africa to adopt bitcoin as legal tender,” Mr Namsio

The Lagos State Government has expressed its determination to continue to solidify its partnership with media organizations for the progress and development of the state. The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde made the declaration while on courtesy visit to some media houses in the state to express the appreciation of the State Government to the organisations for their support and cooperation over the last one year of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration. He explained that the tour of media houses was meant to acknowledge the enormous support they have given to the administration in regards to propagating

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh By geographical definition, Ethiopia is located in East Africa. It is landlocked in the Horn of Africa and shares borders with Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. With its long chequered history, Ethiopia is discussed from different and divergent perspectives, including its geography, politics, economy and culture. Many politicians, academic experts and researchers also look at Ethiopia’s role within the region and its external relations on the global stage. Ethiopia has been, these several years, in the news media. In May 1998, a border dispute with Eritrea led to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, which lasted until June 2000 and

By Nneka Okumazie If an individual hawks stuff around, who is responsible for that situation, and whose responsibility is it to lift that individual out of poverty? Factors responsible for poverty may include income, purchasing power, conditions of living, trade and monetary policies. There are some who are impoverished but aren’t hawking. What drives people to hawk and how much has Africa done to find solutions to hawking? Poverty in Africa is super complicated. The whole thing may be onerous to extricate, but fragments of it could find solutions if massive studies and efforts are thrown at it. There are

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the approval of the Senate to take an $800 million loan from the World Bank to disburse to vulnerable Nigerians. The credit facility is expected to be paid into the bank accounts of some poor Nigerians identified by the government under its social investment programme aimed to assist citizens who are unable to get good jobs to fend for themselves. Recall that recently, it was reported that the World Bank was willing to give the federal government $800 million as a palliative for the removal of the petrol subsidy. In a letter

By Dipo Olowookere An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that Mr Eyitayo Jegede be recognised as the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Saturday, November 26, 2016 governorship election in Ondo State. With the ruling, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim has been disqualified from contesting in the poll this weekend. In an unanimous judgment on Wednesday, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa upturned the June 29 judgement of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Mr Ibrahim as PDP candidate for the exercise. In his ruling,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Experts and stakeholders in the financial services sector have urgently called on the federal government to put a strong national cybersecurity infrastructure in place. They submitted that an effective cybersecurity strategy would address the ever-evolving cyber threats and critical infrastructure protection challenges plaguing the national economy. The stakeholders spoke in support of this development at the launching of the Cybersecurity Consulting Operations Nigerian Cybersecurity by the Cyberechnologies Next Generation (CybertechNX). The Managing Director of CybertechNX, Mr Austine Ohwobete, stated, “cybercriminals are on their digital revolution journey. “Trends like work-from-home, Internet of Things (IoT), bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and cloud

Key to enabling African economies to make the most of their opportunities is developing infrastructure in the region. Across the continent, new laws are being implemented and alternative sources of infrastructure funding are being sought in order to kick-start direly needed infrastructure projects. At the centre of it all is China, which is providing alternative sources financing to countries in Africa that have not been able to access funding in more traditional ways. The benefits are numerous, but African countries are also concerned about their growing dependence on China. Research released in 2018 from Baker McKenzie and IJGlobal (research) with