Microsoft Earnings Generate Early Buying Interest

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude futures surged by 2.8 per cent or $2.59 on Wednesday to the highest settlement in 2023 at $96.55 per barrel after a steep drop in crude stocks in the United States compounded worries of tighter global supplies. The price of the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed by 3.6 per cent or $3.29 to $93.68 as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 2.2 million barrels for the week to September 22 in the country. In the preceding week, the agency posted an inventory draw of 2.1 million

By Dipo Olowookere No fewer than 15 Nigerian Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) will share the N75 million set aside by a tech giant, Google, in the 2023 edition of Hustle Academy Fund. The initiative was introduced in 2022 to provide equity-free funds to small business owners to scale up their operations and support entrepreneurial growth in Nigeria. Entries for the exercise opened on Thursday, September 28 and will close on Thursday, October 12, 2023, and to be eligible, businesses must be Nigerian-founded, operating within Nigeria for 1-5 years, and have a clear and scalable business plan. They should have

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of Brent futures and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went down by about 1 per cent on Friday, due to macroeconomic concerns and sustained profit-taking. Data showed that Brent fell by 7 cents to $95.31 per barrel and WTI depreciated by 92 cents to $90.97. Prices rose about 30 per cent in the third quarter of the year helped by the production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+). This action squeezed global crude supply. Brent was about 2.2 per cent in the week and 27 per cent

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N1.1 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in August 2023 for September to enable the three tiers of government; the federal government, states, and local government councils, to have funds to pay salaries and others. The allocation of the funds was confirmed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Friday following FAAC’s September 2023 meeting. According to a statement by the OAGF’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa, there was “N1100.101 billion (N1.1 trillion) total distributable revenue.”

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria and other oil producers around the world will begin to cut as much as 10 percent of the present crude oil supply from tomorrow, Friday, May 1. Nigeria is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel of oil producing nations led by Saudi Arabia, who along with allies led by Russia will trim production by roughly 9.7 million barrels per day. The decision is being taken primarily to help ramp up oil prices, which have dropped more than 70 percent this year alone due to coronavirus pandemic. As a result,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Prominent Nigerian oil and gas firm, Aiteo Group, has appointed Mr Ratko Knezevic to its Global Executive Management team as Group Advisor on Business and Capital Development. A statement issued by the firm disclosed that Mr Knezevic, whose appointment became effect from May 5, 2017, will lead Aiteo’s funds raising activities from global capital markets with the primary objective of reinforcing the group’s growth and diversification targets in Nigeria and across Africa as a whole. Mr Knezevic brings to this role vast experience and expertise acquired through proven track record of direct operational leadership, strategy development, team

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The federal government has said it has no plan to prevent youths from travelling abroad, stressing that reports insinuating such are totally untrue. A statement issued by Towoju Raphael on Saturday on behalf of the Director Press at the Ministry of Interior said the reports quoting the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Mr Shuaib Belgore, as saying so purely misinterpreted him. The Presidential Committee from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) had recently visited the ministry and Mr Belgore welcomed them on behalf of the Minister of Interior, Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya FTX has recovered at least $5 billion of liquid assets, including cash, crypto, and securities, lawyers told a Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday. The crypto exchange was once valued at $32 billion but imploded after reports of financial impropriety, which ultimately gave way to criminal and regulatory probes, culminating in the arrest of its founder. FTX’s new CEO, Mr John J. Ray, previously attested that at least $8 billion of customer assets were unaccounted for in the “worst” case of corporate control he’d ever seen. The news comes after federal prosecutors announced plans to seize at least

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In keeping with its focus on delivering only the highest quality user-driven home audio-visual technology, in products that are both sleek and simplistic in design, Samsung has announced the release of the new MS750 Soundbar. “Samsung has over ten consecutive years of market leadership in home audio and video technology and we always strive to deliver more. In this case, the MS750 Soundbar supplies a crisp and immersive sound, wherever you are in your home,” says Lance Shaun Berger, Business Unit Head: TV/AV at Samsung South Africa. Making use of Samsung’s Proprietary UHQ 32bit Audio Technology and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A recent survey conducted by WorldWideWorx and commissioned by a global technology company, Zoho, has revealed that 70 per cent of Nigerian businesses are unaware of privacy laws governing their marketing activities. This is despite the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) being in effect since 2019. The survey also revealed that even though businesses are concerned about the privacy of customer’s data in the hands of third-party vendors, they are reliant on them for revenue generation and gathering customer insights. This makes it harder for them to move away. The CEO of WorldWideWorx, Mr Arthur Goldstuck, said

By Dipo Olowookere A company based in Kwara State, Nigeria has emerged winner of the first Africa edition of the Scaling Up Nutrition Pitch Competition. The firm, Kennie-O Cold Chain Logistics, won the grand prize after competing with the continent’s most exciting enterprises working to improve access to nutritious foods. The competition was held at the Nutrition Africa Investor Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. Kennie-O Cold Chain Logistics was established in 2014 to provide reliable cold chain solutions for Nigeria’s food industry, thereby reducing post-harvest losses. Collecting the award, owner of the firm, Ope Olanrewaju said, “Winning the pitch competition is

The last decade witnessed tremendous changes in the nation’s banking landscape. The number of bank customers has grown, agency banking has gained a foothold and cheques have given way to transfers, particularly through SMS banking and mobile apps. Debit cards, however, remained a constant feature during this period. Debit cards are financial instruments issued by commercial banks to their customers to enable seamless transaction outside the banking halls. Debit cards have proven reliable in banking and other financial transactions. It is today acknowledged as a viable tool in the quest to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. Financial inclusion refers to