Naira Appreciates to N385.94/$ at I&E

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 Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Adedapo Adesanya  Angola, one of Africa’s top crude oil producers and a key member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has officially rejected the proposed production quota for the year 2024 and may even exit the group. This was signalled by Mr Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, confirming the nation’s decision and indicating a divergence from OPEC’s suggested allocations for both member and non-member countries. The announcement was made during the 26th OPEC+ Meeting on Thursday, where the organisation proposed 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota for

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka The Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Benue State, has been sealed off by the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS). The higher institution of learning was shut by the Benue State tax office over non-remittance of Personal Income Tax running into N2.3 billion. The action, we gathered, followed reported failure of the school to respond to several letters written to it by the tax office to pay up the outstanding Personal Income Tax from 2007 to 2011. Chairman of BIRS, Mrs Mimi Adzape-Orubibi, who led the enforcement team to seal off the university, noted that her

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, has assured Nigerians that doing business with India is the best thing to do because it would lead to prosperity. She said this at the G 20 Summit concluding today, Sunday, September 10, 2023, in New Delhi, the Indian capital. The Minister travelled to the South Asian nation alongside President Bola Tinubu and others to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the country. In a statement issued at the weekend by her media aide, Mr Oladapo Sofowora, the Minister described India as Nigeria’s old friend, noting

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos State government has said that it was in the process of acquiring at least 32,000 hectares of farmland for the cultivation of rice in six states of the federation. This disclosure was made by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday at the 2019 grand finale commemoration of the World Food Day celebrated to end world hunger in Lagos which was themed Our Actions Our Future: Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World. The Governor noted that Lagos and other states such as Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Kebbi would partner together to

By Adedapo Adesanya Aradel Holdings Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc depressed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.81 per cent on Wednesday, September 6. At the midweek session, Aradel depreciated by N6.52 to sell at N490.56 per unit compared with the previous day’s N497.08 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc shed N1.71 to close the day at N73.29 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N75.00 per share, and CSCS Plc lost 90 Kobo to finish at N17.10 per share versus the preceding session’s N18.00 per share. As a result of the

By Quantitative Financial Analytics NIFEX Spot The FMDQ NIFEX Spot decreased by N2.50 or 0.78% ending the day at a rate of N317.5 against the previous day’s rate of N320 as Naira strengthens against the dollar.   Source: Quantitative Financial Analytics Open Interest and Volume Analysis Open interest in currency futures decreased by 7.3%, (270.3) from 3,697.58 to 3,426.95 due to the maturity of the NGUS OCT 26 2016. There were no purchases of any futures contracts on October 26th but as anticipated, the CBN reset the prices of existing futures mostly upwards. Mark to Market Analysis and Attribution The estimated

By Adedapo Adesanya To commemorate World Standards Day 2020, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has called on Nigerians to uphold standards in their undertakings to ensure responsible use of limited resources to help sustain a healthy environment. This call was made by the Director-General of SON, Mr Farouk Salim, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday while commemorating the 2020 World Standards Day, which is celebrated globally on October 14 to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers to the importance of standardisation to the global economy. The theme for the 2020 World Standards Day titled Protecting the planet

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru, has said about $51 billion investment opportunities exist today in the midstream and downstream gas sector to achieve the growth phase in the Industry in Nigeria. Mr Baru disclosed this while delivering a key note address at the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) 10th International Conference and Exhibition in Abuja. He said about $35.4 billion investment will be required in the gas exploration and production activities, power plants projects, fertilizer plants, virtual pipelines and flare gas commercialization initiatives. The GMD added that $16 billion investment

By Dipo Olowookere The local bourse opened on a positive note on Monday after the public holiday declared last Friday to mark Eid-el Maloud in celebration of the birthday of Prophet Mohammed. At the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, equities recorded a marginal growth of 0.08 percent to leave the year-to-date return at 41.30 percent. However, the market breadth ended negative on Monday as there were 25 declining stocks as against 20 price gainers. Also, the volume and value of shares transacted by investors reduced as a total of 500.2 million equities exchanged hands on Monday in 4,966 deals worth