European Shares See Modest Strength as Euro Weakens

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking persisted at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, with Customs Street going down by 0.31 per cent on its return from a midweek break. The market closed its doors to traders on Wednesday due to the public holiday declared by the federal government to mark Eid-el Maulud, the birthday of Prophet Mohammed. Business Post reports that market participants did not take their minds off the pressing issues affecting the Nigerian economy, especially rising inflation, energy costs and the foreign exchange (FX) crisis. As a result, they liquidated their shares, leading to a negative market breadth

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.38 per cent on Friday, September 30, with N4.16 billion added to the value of the bourse, closing at N1.105 trillion compared with Thursday’s value of N1.101 trillion. The market witnessed the improvement a day after the shares of VFD Group were yanked off the trading platform, with the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) closing higher by 3.06 points to settle at 815.65 basis points versus the previous day’s 812.59 basis points. There were three gainers led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which improved by N1.31 to close at

By Adedapo Adesanya Federal government has been advised to consider the adoption of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) instead of the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Mr Biodun Ogunyemi, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja. The federal government and the university body have been in tussle after President Muhammadu Buhari directed that university lecturers must enrol on IPPIS to centralised payroll system for members of staff of the academics. However, ASUU rejected IPPIS on the grounds that

By Adedapo Adesanya There is huge pressure on Nigeria to announce the restrictions of flights from the United Kingdom over fears of the spread of a new strain of COVID-19 in the country. Already, several European countries have banned flights from the UK, including the Netherlands, which was the first country to take this action. But Nigeria seems to be biding her time despite some citizens of Nigeria, the most populous in Africa, asking the government to quickly protect them by imposing a travel ban from the UK before things get out of control. Apart from the Netherlands, other nations

By Investors Hub Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors digested a mixed U.S. jobs report and kept an eye on intensifying trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Chinese shares fell after Beijing’s latest tariff threats escalated the tit-for-tat U.S.-China trade war. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gave up early gains to close 2,705.16 points or 1.3 percent lower at 2,705.16. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 243.24 points or 0.5 percent to 27,819.56. The overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper said U.S. President Donald Trump was “starring in his own carefully orchestrated

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the leading financial powerhouses in Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, has announced changes to its board of directors. The company, in a statement on Monday, explained that the move was part of its effort to consolidate on its impressive financial performances and market leadership across the financial services spectrum. The firm stressed that the appointments are expected to bring fresh thinking and ideas as well as energy into the group’s operations, stating that those chosen cut across the Stanbic IBTC Group, including Stanbic IBTC Bank, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira had a breather on Monday, July 25 as it appreciated against the United States Dollar at the opening session of the week at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market. Despite biting forex crunch, the local currency gained N2.83 or 0.66 per cent against the US Dollar to close at N427.17/$1 compared with the N430.00/$1 it was traded at the spot market last Friday. Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange revealed that the value of trades at the official market was $89.79 million yesterday, 55.4 per cent or $32 million

By Nathan Ekpo The 2018 edition of Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics TV Quiz Show has taken a new dimension with new improvements added to the contest, leaving participating students to work harder to claim the prize. Sponsors of the programme, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, has announced raising the cash prize across the stages of competition for both students and teachers. In this year’s edition, the winner will no longer go home with N1 million, but N2 million with an all-expense paid educational excursion outside the country for the winners in both the senior and junior categories. For the first and second

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has finally appended his signature to the Lagos State Properties Protection bill passed recently by the Lagos State House of Assembly prohibiting land grabbing in the state. Signing the bill into law on Monday, the Governor said he will continue to pay more attention to the problems facing the state with the view to solving them. The Governor also signed the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law, which is aimed at boosting security of lives and property in all the Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas of the State. Speaking at the signing ceremony attended

By Dipo Olowookere Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, has appointed chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, Ms Bola Adesola, as vice chairman of the United Nations Global Compact board. Also appointed into the same position by the United Nations scribe was Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, Mr Paul Polman, a Dutch national. A statement issued from the office of the spokesperson for the Secretary-General disclosed that Mr Guterres, as Chairman of the board, “looks forward to working closely with Ms Adesola and Mr Polman, along with United Nations Global Compact Executive Director, Lise Kingo, as