Naira Depreciates at I&E as Cryptos Bleed

By Adedapo Adesanya The cryptocurrency market witnessed an uptick on Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) managing to stay above the $26,000 level even as the US Dollar index rose to a new year-to-date high. Data obtained by Business Post showed that the most valued crypto, BTC, posted a 0.7 per cent appreciation during the midweek session to trade at $26,408.37 in the last 24 hours. On the part of the second-most valued digital coin, Ethereum (ETH), it remained in the $1,600 mark and it improved its value yesterday by 1.6 per cent to sell at $1,610.94. At the trading session, the US

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 oil market retreated on Thursday, as traders took profits after prices soared recently while the space worried that high interest rates may weigh on demand. During the trading session, Brent futures fell by $1.17 or 1.2 per cent to settle at $95.38 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) declined by $1.97 or 2.1 per cent to close at $91.71 per barrel. The market had reached a 10-month high as some traders worried high oil prices would stoke inflation, encouraging the US Federal Reserve and other central banks to persist with rate hikes.

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further closed bearish on Wednesday by closing 0.34 per cent lower on the back of sustained selling pressure. Business Post reports that shares in the banking, energy and industrial goods sectors were the major cause of the decline suffered by the local bourse at the midweek session. When the market closed for the day yesterday, only the consumer goods and the insurance counters ended in the green territory, rising by 0.58 per cent and 0.55 per cent respectively. The banking, energy and industrial goods sectors depreciated at the close of transactions by

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices slipped on Tuesday following a surprise inventory build in the United States after last week’s winter storm affected production. Brent Crude saw its value chip off 17 cents or 0.26 per cent to trade at $65.07 per barrel, while the United States’ benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, dropped 3 cents or 0.05 per cent to sell at $61.67 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a build in crude oil inventories of 1.026 million barrels for the week ending February 19 after analysts had predicted an inventory draw of 5.190

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to continue to experience choppy trading. Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they weigh better than expected U.S. economic data against disappointing news out of the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The futures recovered from earlier weakness following the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic growth slowed by less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2018. Meanwhile, traders are also digesting news that

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 secured the conviction and sentencing of Prof. Benjamin Adefemi Ogunbodede, a former Director-General, Institute of Agriculture Research and Training, IART, Ibadan, Oyo State before Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State. Prof Ogunbodede had been prosecuted alongside the trio of Zacheaus Tejumola, Adenose Clement and Jalekun Omotowoju on a 17-count charge bordering on conspiracy, misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N177 million. Trouble started for the convicts following receipt of a petition dated December 17, 2012

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The payment service bank of Airtel Africa Plc, Smartcash, has commenced operations in Nigeria with the launch of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary at an event held in Lagos on Thursday. The leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, which trades its shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, launched the PSB arm at the Eko Hotels and Suites with several personalities in attendance. Some of the bigwigs at the event were the Group CEO of Airtel Africa, Mr Segun Ogunsanya; the Chairman of Smartcash PSB Ltd, Mr Kingsley Umadia; the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya As oil prices continue to hit record lows, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has advised producers of the commodity to further reduce output. Less than two weeks ago, some oil producers led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut production 9.7 million barrels per day, representing 10 percent of global supply. But the Executive Director of the IEA, Mr Fatih Birol, noted that, “We continue to see extraordinary turmoil in oil markets in this “Black April” for the industry. The OPEC+ supply cut is a solid start but insufficient to rebalance the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A proposal to prevent directors of banks operating in Nigeria to have access to loans from lenders they are directly linked with has been forwarded to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Business Day reports that this recommendation has been largely welcomed by stakeholders in the financial sector in the country. According to the NDIC, such directors should not sit on the boards of any financial institution if their loans become classified as non-performing. An Associate Professor and Head of Banking and Finance department at the Nasarawa State University, told

By Dipo Olowookere Investors bought and sold 1.101 billion Nigerian stocks valued at N11.714 billion in 15,697 deals last week compared with the 1.410 billion worth N15.510 billion traded in 19,025 deals a week earlier. It was observed that equities in the financial services sector were the most attractive, recording the sale of 859.019 million units worth N6.691 billion in 8,157 deals, accounting for 78 per cent and 57.12 per cent of the total trading volume and value, respectively. Shares in the conglomerates industry also caught the attention of investors in the week, trading 96.989 million units valued at N109.622