European Stocks Fall as Global Growth Worries Linger

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Naira opened the week stronger on the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, December 4 as pressure eased amid continued foreign exchange (FX) liquidity squeeze in the market. In the official market, the Naira appreciated against the greenback by 9.6 per cent or N89.42 to settle at N837.77/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing price of N927.19/$1. Also, the Naira gained N172.53 against the Pound Sterling in the NAFEM segment of the market during the session to close at N1,031.57/£1 versus last Friday’s rate of N1,204.10/£1 and against the Euro,

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.41 per cent in Week 48, with the market capitalisation gaining N4.77 billion to settle at N1.166 trillion from the N1.162 trillion it ended in Week 47, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rising by 3.52 points to 860.81 points from 857.29 points in the previous week. In the five-day trading week, the total volume of stocks traded slumped by 69.1 per cent to 4.22 million units from 13.6 million in the preceding week and equally, the value of shares dropped by 69.6 per cent to N41.4 million

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Strong inflationary pressures in November further negatively impacted companies in Nigeria, with new orders and output both falling as customers were either reluctant or unable to pay higher charges. Purchase prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years amid exchange rate weakness and higher costs for fuel and materials. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC, business conditions remained under pressure, scoring 48.0 points last month compared with the 49.1 points it garnered in October 2023. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

By Dipo Olowookere The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the Kenyan government for making efforts to bring stability to the country’s political scene. The global lender, in a press statement issued at the end of its staff visit to Kenya, said this has pushed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to record an accelerated growth of 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018, from 4.9 percent in 2017. The team of IMF led by Mr Benedict Clements visited Kenya from July 23 to August 2, 2018 to hold discussions on the second review under a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber) has announced its plans to host the fifth edition of the Global Business Forum (GBF) on Africa on November 18-19, 2019 in Dubai under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Organised under the theme “Scale Up Africa”, GBF Africa 2019 will bring together African and UAE government and business leaders to explore avenues of economic cooperation and facilitate bilateral trade and investment flows. The high-level forum will place a key focus on forging the connections

By Adedapo Adesanya Popular chat app, WhatsApp, has released the “Always” mute feature for users. The feature is available for Android and iOS users and will allow users to mute the notifications of a WhatsApp chat or a group forever. Earlier, the messaging platform used to provide three mute options – 8 Hours, 1 Week and 1 Year, but now, instead of a year, one can mute a chat permanently. It noted that this new feature is available for everyone on both Android and iOS devices as well as the web version. WhatsApp has been testing the Always mute option

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Authorities in Kenya have been accused of putting freedom of expression in the country under threat as the August 8, 2017 elections draw closer. Journalists and bloggers reporting on sensitive issues have been allegedly harassed by the East African nation’s leaders. According to a report by the Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa, journalists and bloggers reporting on corruption, disputed land acquisition, counterterrorism operations, and the 2007-2008 post-electoral violence, among other sensitive issues, have faced intimidation, beatings, and job loss. The 53-page report, “‘Not Worth The Risk’: Threats To Free Expression Ahead of Kenya’s 2017

By Adedapo Adesanya Traders of unlisted stocks in Nigeria gained N50 million from the comfort of their homes on Tuesday as they continue to abide by the lockdown declared by the federal government in Lagos State. Last week, investors at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange started to trade remotely due to government’s directive on restriction of movements in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja. The stay-at-home order was to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. At the market on Tuesday, the Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, for the second straight day, closed as the only price gainer, helping

By Timi Olubiyi, Ph.D The business environment is currently going through radical changes globally due to the damaging effect of the novel coronavirus (COVID19). Therefore, to cope with this situation, businesses need to adjust and develop strategies to rise to the occasion. A typical decision businesses’ particularly Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can make at the moment to achieve sustainability, and valuable competitiveness is by considering new market entry strategies. Many firms expand their business geographic scope from domestic to nationwide or even foreign markets through this means. With the harsh impact of COVID19 and the limitations in financial and human

By Adedapo Adesanya  After reopening in March following a three-year stop to operations, Nigeria’s biggest tomato plant owned by billionaire, Mr Aliko Dangote, has shut down again. According to the Managing Director of Dangote Farms, Mr Abdulkareem Kaita, the company had been losing at least N30 million every month with employees not contributing to production. It was gathered that even farmers had switched to other crops at the beginning of the rainy season in May. The tomato plant, located in Kano, was closed for more than two years until March this year over a supply disruption partly caused by a