Economy
Disappointing Caterpillar Earnings Weigh on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a notably lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to come under pressure after ending last week?s trading roughly flat.
A negative reaction to earnings news from Caterpillar (CAT) is likely to weigh on the markets, with the heavy equipment maker slumping by 5.8 percent in pre-market trading.
The drop by Caterpillar comes after the company reported weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecast full-year 2019 earnings below analyst estimates.
Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said the outlook ?assumes a modest sales increase based on the fundamentals of our diverse end markets as well as the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.?
Early trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to key events later this week, including the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The Federal Reserve?s monetary policy decision on Wednesday is also likely to attract attention, although the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after last month?s rate hike.
Traders are also likely to watch closely for any news regarding a new round of trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Washington this week.
Following the volatility seen over the two previous sessions, stocks moved significantly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages all climbed firmly into positive territory after ending Thursday’s trading mixed.
While the major averages pulled back off their highs of the session, the Dow and the Nasdaq still ended the day at their best closing levels in well over a month.
The Dow climbed 183.96 points or 0.8 percent to 24,737.20, the Nasdaq jumped 91.40 points or 1.3 percent to 7,164.86 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.43 points or 0.9 percent to 2,664.76.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow and the Nasdaq both inched up by 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 edged down by 0.2 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making “a lot of progress” in trade talks.
A report from Reuters said Mnuchin is looking forward to a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He next week, which will also include discussions on currency issues.
The comments from Mnuchin conflict with remarks by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. is “miles and miles” from a trade deal with China.
“Frankly, that shouldn’t be too surprising,” Ross said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” noting the U.S. and China have “lots and lots of issues.”
Stocks remained firmly positive as President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the record-setting government shutdown.
Trump revealed in a speech from the White House rose garden that lawmakers will vote later today on legislation to fund the shuttered parts of the government until February 15th.
The bill will not include money for Trump’s controversial border wall, which was the issue that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Trump indicated that the three weeks of funding provided by the legislation would give lawmakers time to negotiate on the contentious issue of border security.
“Many disagree, but I really feel that, working with Democrats and Republicans, we can make a truly great and secure deal happen for everyone,” Trump said.
With the announcement, Trump seemed to give in to Democratic demands to re-open the government before negotiating on border security.
However, if an agreement on border security is not reached by February 15th, Trump suggested the government could shut down again or he could declare the situation on the border a national emergency.
Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.8 percent. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.
Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Hard drive maker Western Digital (WDC) posted a standout gain after reporting fiscal second quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but forecasting stronger second half sales.
Oil service stocks also moved notably higher amid an increase by the price of crude oil, resulting in a 3.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Semiconductor, steel, and chemical stocks also saw significant strength on the day, while utilities stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
