Futures Pointing to Roughly Flat Open on Wall Street

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Ahmed Rahma Two employees of Fina Trust Microfinance Bank are in trouble for allegedly stealing funds belonging to customers of the financial institution. On Wednesday, the police arraigned the suspects identified as Mr Sodeeq Adeleye and Mr Idowu Popoola before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court. They were brought before the court on a two-count charge bordering on stealing and conspiracy. They were accused of stealing N720,508. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the prosecutors informed the court that the 34-year-old Mr Adeleye and 38-year-old Mr Popoola committed the said offences last year. The prosecutor, Sgt. Kenrich Nomayo, specifically

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigerian lender, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, has thrown its weight behind a comedy series by popular comedian and filmmaker, Basketmouth, called Papa Benji. Papa Banji is a free-to-watch comedy web series showing on YouTube. Last Wednesday, season 3 premiered and has been receiving positive reviews. The make-belief tells the story of a man, his family, customers, everyone and everything surrounding them and how it impacts society. Its depiction of the life of an everyday Nigerian relies on the use of comedy to take one off the heat of daily hassles. For Ecobank, this drama is an avenue it

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday as easing political tensions in Hong Kong and Britain helped improve investors’ appetite for risk. Investors also cheered news that the U.S. and China have agreed to hold ministerial-level trade talks in Washington in early October. Chinese stocks closed higher on hopes that Beijing will cut lenders’ reserve requirements again to shore up the economy. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 28.45 points, or 1 percent, to 2,985.86, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged slightly lower after yesterday?s rally. Japanese shares hit a one-month high as the U.S. and China

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, has attributed the exit of foreign investors to the low performance of the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) market in the country. Speaking on Wednesday at a webinar organised by the bourse, he, however, noted that efforts are being made to revive the space to make it attractive to domestic investors. At the ETFs conference themed ETFs in the Nigerian Capital Market: Opportunities and Challenges, Mr Popoola described the West African ETFs market as very shallow because it is worth about N8.87 billion ($19.25m) unlike the

By Investors Hub Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday despite a lack of fresh catalysts as investors looked ahead to more earnings news from the U.S. China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 27.00 points or 0.8 percent to 3,437.49 ahead of fourth-quarter GDP, December industrial production and retail sales figures due Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up 565.88 points or 1.8 percent to 31,904.75 Japanese stocks rallied, with a weaker yen and hopes for robust corporate earnings results helping underpin investor sentiment. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 236.93 points or 1 percent to 23,951.81, its highest closing level

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Total transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in February 2017 depreciated by 22.25 percent from N95.32 billion recorded in January 2017 to N74.11 billion, latest data released by the local bourse revealed. In the Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for February 2017, it was disclosed that domestic investors outperformed foreign investors by 6.78 percent. The domestic transactions decreased by 22.88 percent from N51.31 billion recorded in January 2017 to N39.57 billion in February 2017, while foreign transactions also decreased by 21.52 percent from N44.01 billion to N34.54 billion within the same period. Similarly, the

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude jumped by 40 cents or 0.5 per cent to $76.65 per barrel on Wednesday, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $2 or 2.9 per cent to sell at $71.79 per barrel after the market resumed from the Independence Day holiday. There was no WTI settlement on Tuesday because of the US holiday, so trade yesterday had a catching up with Brent’s gains the previous day. According to Reuters, both benchmarks hit their highest level in nearly two weeks during Wednesday’s session. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, on Monday, said it

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Thursday as vaccine rollouts bolstered the global economic outlook, which was supported by a decline of the US Dollar. This pushed the value of the Brent crude higher by 2.78 per cent or $1.89 to $69.79 per barrel and lifted the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by 2.65 per cent or $1.71 to $65.15 per barrel. The global economic outlook has brightened as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts speed up in some countries, pushing improved expectation for the global gross domestic product predicted to return to pre-pandemic levels by the