European Equities Appreciate Amidst Disappointing Earnings News

By Dipo Olowookere In one week, investors bought and sold 2.543 billion shares worth N38.644 billion in 36,138 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. In the preceding trading week, a total of 2.425 billion shares valued at N22.665 billion were transacted by investors in 33,230 deals. It was observed that financial stocks led the activity chart as usual with 1.721 billion units worth N18.281 billion in 17,151 deals, contributing 67.68 per cent and 47.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. Conglomerates equities trailed with 200.584 million units valued at N1.546 billion in

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil fell on Monday as traders approached the market with caution over plans by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut production in the first quarter of 2024. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents or 1.08 per cent to finish at $78.03 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.03 or 1.39 per cent to sell at $73.04 per barrel. OPEC+ announced voluntary production cuts at its meeting last week and this has raised doubts about whether or not producers would fully implement them. Investors

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

At the annual Google I/O developer conference, a wide array of cutting-edge technologies and updates were showcased, all aimed at enhancing user experiences across various platforms. Google emphasised its commitment to improving search experiences and ensuring user safety by introducing new generative AI capabilities for search and implementing advanced tools for online protection. Significant updates were also announced for Android, Pixel devices, and Google Photos. A standout moment of the conference was the unveiling of PaLM 2, Google’s latest generative language model. This breakthrough model surpasses previous language models in areas such as maths, coding, reasoning, multilingual translation, and natural

By Dipo Olowookere Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, has revealed that the average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.68 percent month-on-month to N2,072.24 in May 2018 from N2,058.19 in April 2018. The stats office, in the data obtained by Business Post, also disclosed that the price showed a decrease by 15.30 percent year-on-year, from N2,446.57 in May 2017 to N2,072.24 in May 2018. It was revealed that states with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied

By Adedapo Adesanya Amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment in Nigeria, the leading dried fruit snack brand, ReelFruit, has raised a Series A investment of $3 million to expand its production, increase its product offerings and double down on exports to the US and other international markets. This latest round was led by Alitheia IDF which invested 67 per cent or $2 million while other investors included Samata Capital and Flying Doctor Healthcare Investment Company. ReelFruit says with the capital, it will scale up its dried fruit production, develop new products, and increase exports by 10 x to 15 metric tons

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night in London played host to the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara. The duo led two other principal officers of the National Assembly to President Buhari, who is presently holidaying in London. President thanked the lawmakers for the visit as well as Nigerians for their continuous prayers. “I thank them for visiting. I’m also grateful to Nigerians, Christian and Muslims alike, for their prayers and kind wishes for my health,” the President wrote on his Twitter account. In the pictures via the

By Dipo Olowookere The mobile banking application of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FirstMobile, has been adjudged the 2020 Best Mobile Banking App. The lender’s mobile platform was bestowed with the honour at this year’s Global Finance Best Digital Bank Awards and it was largely attributable to the bank’s relative strength and success of its web products and services, notably FirstMobile. According to Global Finance, winning banks were selected based on various criteria, including the strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, breadth of product offerings,

By Precious Olisa Three Nigerian women entrepreneurs have been selected among 24 finalists for the 2023 African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) awards. The Nigerians are the CEO of Bridge Merchant Enterprise (Agri Entrepreneur Award), Ms Chinwendu Nweke; the CEO of Clean Technology Hub (Energy Entrepreneur Award), Ms Ifeoma Malo; and the co-founder/CEO of D-Olivette Global Enterprise, (Social Entrepreneur Award), Ms Damilola Aminat Adeyemi. Launched in 2017, the annual AWIEF Awards is an initiative to recognise, honour, and celebrate women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s inclusive

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria’s Chinedu Moghalu has been appointed the Senior Communications Specialist/Head, Communications & Advocacy for the Africa Risk Capacity/United Nations World Food Programme, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this position, Mr Moghalu will be leading efforts to ensure that the work of ARC in responding to the challenges of climate change and natural disaster risk management is strategically communicated to the Member States and the international community in a way that secures commitment and boosts resource mobilisation. Before now, the appointee, at various times, served as the Regional Head of Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) for the Southeast

By Dipo Olowookere The All-Share Index (NSE) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) went down by 695.92 points or 2.32 percent last week to finish at 29,270.95 points, data from the NSE revealed. Also, the market capitalisation depreciated by 2.30 percent in the week to settle at N12.902 trillion as investors continued with profit-taking. Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods, which appreciated by 3.28 percent. According to the data, a total of 21 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 36 in the previous week, while 44 equities depreciated in