Earnings, Fed in Focus as Wall Street Heads to Higher Open

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices settled lower on Thursday even after Russia announced a ban on fuel exports, with Brent crude down by 23 cents to $93.30 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 3 cents to sell at $89.63 per barrel. Russia temporarily banned gasoline and diesel exports to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday. It said the ban did not apply to fuel supplied under inter-governmental agreements to Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union members, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the green territory after it chalked up by 0.37 per cent on Friday, September 22, as three securities finished on the price gainers’ chart and one stock closed in the price losers’ table. This raised the market capitalisation of the OTC Exchange by N4.24 billion to N1.143 trillion from the previous day’s N1.139 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased during the session by 3.00 points to finish at 808.95 points compared with Thursday’s 805.95 points. At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 10.7

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed that Nigeria saw a 65.7 per cent or N76.77 billion increase in earnings from the solid minerals sector in 2021 to N193.59 billion from the N116.82 billion achieved in 2020. This upward trajectory has been on for the past five years, according to a report from the agency. The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, however, lamented that this is still abysmal considering the potential of the sector to the Nigerian economy. He said this while presenting the solid minerals sector report in Abuja, noting that

By Dipo Olowookere The regulator of the stock market in Nigeria, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited (RegCo), has announced its intention to change rules guiding free-float for companies listed on the NGX Limited. In a notice obtained by Business Post, the organisation further said it wants to amend the cross-border listing rules and develop guidelines for migrating listed securities from one board of the bourse to another. At the moment, the exchange does not have rules regulating the migration of listed securities from one board to another, prompting the regulator to “address this lacuna and to foster NGX’s commitment

By Dipo Olowookere Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has impressed shareholders and the investing community with its financial performance in the first nine months of 2021. The results of the company submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited a few days ago showed a triple-digit growth in the profit before tax as well as the post-tax profit. In the period under review, the pre-tax profit jumped to N143.7 billion from N34.5 billion, indicating an increase of 316 per cent, while the post-tax profit jumped 916 per cent to N104.5 billion from N10.3 billion. It was observed that the significant increase in

By Adedapo Adesanya Trading activities on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange were dull on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 as investors stayed back from the market for reasons best known to them. Business Post reports that the OTC market closed flat during the midweek session as the key barometers remained the same way they closed on Tuesday, with the market capitalisation at N501.49 billion and the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) at 698.04 points. However, the volume and value of shares transacted at the session declined, with investors trading 10,200 stocks yesterday compared with the 75,000 stocks

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has been slammed for the treated he meted out to the Managing Director of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Mrs Funke Osibodu, recently at the Government House. During a meeting with members of the National Assembly this week, the Governor ordered Mrs Osibodu and her colleagues out of his office, claiming her company has plunged the state into total darkness. Reacting to the matter, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) said in a statement that it was wrong for Mr Obaseki to pour his anger on the BEDC chief. The

By Adedapo Adesanya Coca-Cola has disclosed that volume of its soft drinks sold since April has fallen by 25 percent as a result of the biting effect of the coronavirus pandemic globally. The global beverage brand revealed in its earnings report, lamenting that the closure of movie theaters, restaurants and stadiums as result of the widespread contagion was hurting its business, with a significant impact expected on its second-quarter results. “The ultimate impact on the second quarter and full year 2020 is unknown at this time, as it will depend heavily on the duration of social distancing and shelter-in-place mandates,

By Dipo Olowookere The boards of the 19 agencies and parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Education have been reconstituted following the approval by President Muhammadu Buhari and the appointees will be in office for the next four years. Those appointed by the President include Prof. Ayo Banjo, National Universities Commission (NUC); Mr Emeka Nwajiuba, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund); Dr Ekaete Okon, National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA); Dr Mahmud Mohammed, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC); Prof. Zainab Alkali, National Library of Nigeria; Dr Abubakar Saddiq, National Examination Council (NECO) and Dr Gidado Akko, National Commission for

Owners of businesses in Africa, including Nigeria, have been advised to embrace cross-border e-commerce because it provides significant growth opportunities for retailers and manufacturers with an international online product offering. According to a 2017 DHL report, cross-border retail volumes are predicted to increase at an annual average rate of 25 percent between 2015 and 2020 (from $300 billion to $900 billion) – twice the pace of domestic e-commerce growth. Vice President of Sales for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Steve Burd, says that this highlights a boundless opportunity for African businesses looking to take a piece of the cross border

By Dipo Olowookere The money market rates depreciated marginally on Tuesday as there were no significant funding pressures in the system. Specifically, the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate went down to 19.33 percent from 30 percent in the previous session, while the Overnight (OVN) rate crashed to 20.08 percent from 32.50 percent on Monday. According to analysts at Zedcrest Research, system liquidity is estimated to have closed yesterday at about N80 billion positive following estimated deductions of about N70 billion for wholesale forex sales funded in the previous session. The rates are expected to maintain a slightly downward trend as

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of N10 million has been given to the family of the deceased Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officer, Mrs Remilekun Arogundade, who lost her life while on official duties on the May 26, 2019. The money was presented to the beneficiary by the Lagos State government. Speaking during the presentation of the cheque at the Conference Room, Ministry Of Transportation, Alausa, Ikeja, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka described the late officer as diligent, obedient and resourceful, reiterating that the money was not offered in place of the life