Latest US-China Trade Development Spurs Gains in Oil

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The online stock trading platform of one of the leading brokerage firms in Nigeria, Morgan Capital Securities Limited, i-Trade, has experienced a technical glitch. This technical issue has made it difficult for its clients to carry out transactions on the popular platform. Morgan Capital’s i-Trade platform is popular among retail investors in the Nigerian capital market, especially those trading equities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, because of its lower fees. The company has already assured its customers that it was working to restore services, providing an alternative to them. “This is to inform

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira started the first trading session in the last month of 2023 on a negative note after it depreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), which is the official FX window, by 11.4 per cent or N94.87 on Friday, December 1, closing at N927.19/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N832.32/$1. The December rush for forex contributed to the weakening of the domestic currency in the spot market yesterday, as the supply of foreign currency could not meet what customers needed. Data showed that the value of FX transactions recorded

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria will accept and work with a production quota of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024 as the country aims to grow on the back of its oil resources, following a revision done by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+. According to a statement issued by the Press and Public Relations unit of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Thursday’s meeting of the 23-man group addressed crucial aspects, including the completion of assessments by independent sources (IHS, Wood Mackenzie, and Rystad Energy) on the projected production levels for Angola,

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 bears have continued to keep Nigerian stocks in captivity. On Wednesday, it was the fifth consecutive day the local bourse has been under their tight control. Business Post observed that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was initially looking to get its free from the grip, but the roars of the bears forced the market back by 0.09 percent, reducing the year-to-date gain to 2.54 percent. This was majorly due to the losses printed by four of the five key sectors of the market as only the industrial goods counter closed in green by 0.46 percent. The

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday following the volatility seen over the two previous sessions. The upward momentum on Wall Street comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making ?a lot of progress? in trade talks. A report from Reuters said Mnuchin is looking forward to a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He next week, which will also include discussions on currency issues. Traders also seem to be expressing optimism about negotiations to end the government shutdown even though two separate proposals to

By Dipo Olowookere Chairman of Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr Segun Adebanji, has disclosed that the company will soon issue additional 900 million ordinary shares to shareholders, thereby increasing the total issued shares to 2.4 billion units. Mr Adebanji made this disclosure at 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Fidson Healthcare held on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, in Lagos. This followed the approval of shareholders at the previous AGM for the company to raise an additional capital of N4.5 billion by way of a rights issue of three new shares for every five previously held. The chairman said proceeds of the

By Dipo Olowookere Trading activities remained in the bearish region on Wednesday on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited despite the upbeat about the listing of Geregu Power Plc on the exchange. The local equity market depreciated by 0.09 per cent yesterday as a result of the persistent profit-taking triggered by inflationary pressures as investors leave the market for other assets that can give them returns closer to the 20.52 per cent inflation rate. When the market closed for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 43.04 points to 48,836.70 points from 48,879.74 points as the market

By Dipo Olowookere Operations of Etisalat Nigeria have been taken by a consortium of banks led by Access Bank Plc over $1.72 billion loan (about N541 billion) the telecom company collected for expansion few years ago. In recent times, the fourth largest GSM service provider in Nigeria had been in discussions with the lenders on how to renegotiate a repayment of the loans it collected from the banks. It was gathered that talks by Chairman of the firm, Mr Hakeem Bello-Osagie, to reach agreement with the banks on the debt restructuring plan failed. Mr Bello-Osagie is the promoter of Emerging

By Adedapo Adesanya The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said it will comply with directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the rates to sell forex (foreign exchange) to their customers. Nigeria is preparing to resume international flight operations from Saturday, September 5, 2020, and this has necessitated the need for the CBN to resume the sale of forex to BDC operators in the country. Last Thursday, the apex bank said in a circular titled Resumption of sales to Bureau De Change operators and signed by the CBN Director, Trade and Exchange Department

By Dipo Olowookere Plans by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) to move its operational base from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Lagos have been kicked against by workers of the oil firm. The aggrieved employees of the company described this move as ill-advised and against the interest of the Niger Delta region. In a statement signed by Mr Edward Otaru on behalf of the affected SNEPCo workers, they urged government and Nigerians to prevail of the management to abort the relocation in the interest of jobs and development of the Niger Delta region. “We, the affected operations staff

By Investors Hub European stocks are turning in a mixed performance amid uncertainty about the outlook for U.S. tax reform plan and as traders assess messages from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank meetings. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent. In corporate news, Hennes & Mauritz AB or H&M have fallen sharply after the Swedish retailer reported weak sales in its fourth quarter. The second largest fashion retailer’s results were hurt by fewer shoppers