European Stocks Turn in Lacklustre Performance

By Dipo Olowookere The bears tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, chopping off 0.34 per cent from the local bourse despite assurances from Mr Yemi Cardoso he would endeavour to ensure the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restores its independence. Mr Cardoso was confirmed as the new CBN Governor by the Senate yesterday and he promised to formulate evidence-based monetary policies, a departure from his predecessor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was accused of romancing the President and coming up with trial-and-error policies. Business Post reports that investors were more interested in trimming their exposure to

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The value of unsold finished products in the inventory of Nigerian manufacturers in the first half of 2023 increased by 44/9 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N272 billion from N187 billion in the same period of 2022. This information was contained in the report released by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday. According to Punch, the document also revealed that in the period under review, the manufacturing sector laid off 3,567 workers due to the harsh business environment triggered by high inflation, the foreign exchange (FX) crisis, and fuel subsidy removal. “This increase

By Adedapo Adesanya  The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is planning to use oil traders to fund a $3 billion loan to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which is aimed at stabilising the weakening Naira. According to a Reuters report, the Cairo-based bank has made contact with traders to gauge their interest in lending their support to the oil-backed loan to Nigeria’s national oil company. The sources who spoke to the publication also disclosed that Afreximbank has made an attempt to come up with the terms that they will present to trading houses. “There is a lot of interest,

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Mr Ian Greenstreet has retired from the board of Diamond Bank Plc, the financial institution has disclosed. Mr Greenstreet retired from the firm with effect from August 1, 2017, a statement signed by the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Uzoma Uja, revealed. During his time at the bank, Mr Greenstreet was an Independent non-Executive Director of Diamond Bank. “We write to notify the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that Mr Ian Greenstreet has retired as an Independent non-Executive Director of Diamond Bank with effect from August 1, 2017. “The retirement was accepted by the board of directors of the lender.

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices shed one percent on Tuesday, cutting recent gains as tensions of a possible retaliation eased in the Middle East after the United States assassinated one of Iran’s military commander, Qassem Soleimani, last Friday. As a result of this, the market recorded the first loss after four sessions of gains as investors considered that the market was returning as talks of retaliation calmed. As at the time of this report on Tuesday night, Brent crude was trading down at 56 cents or 0.81 percent to trade at $68.35 per barrel while the West Texas Intermediate crude

By Dipo Olowookere Regulatory agencies in the different West African nations have agreed to work together to allow cross border listing. The agencies, under the aegis of West African Securities Regulatory Authorities (WASRA), stated that they were rounding up work on guidelines on cross border trading and settlement of securities. Chairman of WASRA and Executive Secretary of Le Conseil Regional de l’Epargne Publique et des Marches Financiers (CREPMF), Abidjan, Mr Mory Soumahoro, disclosed further that there was a plan in place to establish a regional bond issuing framework for infrastructure financing, When this is done, foreign companies would have the

By Dipo Olowookere Despite acquiring a 100 percent stake in Telluria Limited in mid-2019, Ellah Lakes Plc was unable to generate any revenue in the first nine months of its present financial year. Ellah Lakes, a company established in 1980 and has its headquarters in Edo State, specialises in fish farming. On Tuesday, the financial statements of the firm for the third quarter of the year ended April 30, 2020, were released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and a brief analysis of the books by Business Post showed that no revenue was generated during the period. However, the coy

By Dipo Olowookere Some hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers attacked the home of Nigerian midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi, who plies his trade in Turkey. It was reported that the robbers, four in numbers, raided the home of the Super Eagles star on Monday afternoon in Jos, Plateau State. According to spokesman of the Super Eagles, Mr Toyin Ibitoye, the robbers took away with them valuable items including a white Toyota Highlander and an undisclosed amount of cash. They also assaulted the father of Onazi, tying him up before beating him. It was further said that the robbers left a message

By Dipo Olowookere The Naira garnered N3 against the Euro at the parallel market on Tuesday though it remained unchanged against both the Dollar and the Pound Sterling at the same market segment. Business Post reports that the local currency was exchanged at N440 to the Euro yesterday in contrast to N443 it was traded on Monday. Yesterday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supported the interbank foreign exchange market with another $210 million. The amount was to help authorised forex dealers meet the demands of their customers, who need the hard currencies to complete their transactions abroad. At the

By FBNQuest On June 21, 2022, the United Kingdom confirmed that Ukraine had destroyed a Russian vessel in the Black Sea. The strike was considered a game-changer for Ukraine, now viewed as a talented underdog in the Russia-Ukraine war. This also sparked a conversation about how the military recruits and retains top performers. In a Marine Corps’ talent management report (released November 2021), the Corps Commandant, David H. Berger, explained that the Force “must bring into the service the right people with the right skill sets, measure their talents, and then match their skills to the duties they desire and

By Dipo Olowookere Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were bullish on Thursday following the encouraging half-year earnings of the big banks at the market. The trailblazing was started by Stanbic IBTC Holdings and was followed by UBA, GTBank and Zenith Bank and their positive results pushed investors to buy more stocks, helping the market to rise by 0.20 per cent at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 51.02 points to 25,511.02 points from 25,460.00 points, while the market capitalisation grew by N27 billion to N13.309 trillion from N13.282 trillion. Business