Naira Overcomes FX Demand Pressure at I&E, Gains 0.02%

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices fell further on Thursday touching a six-month low, as investors worried about sluggish energy demand in the United States and China. Brent crude futures dropped 48 cents to $73.82 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 33 cents to $69.05 per barrel, with both benchmarks posting their lowest prices since late June. Analysts noted that the largest global importer of oil, China, is shuttering its interests in crude and this has created pressure on prices. Chinese customs data showed that crude oil imports in November fell 9 per cent

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.49 per cent on Thursday, driven by selling pressure on banking equities, especially those in the tier-1 category. The likes of GTCO, FBN Holdings, Access Holdings witnessed sell-offs during the trading session, contributing to the weak investor sentiment observed at the Nigerian stock market. According to data obtained by Business Post, the NGX ended with 29 price losers and 24 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index. FBN Holdings ended as the heaviest price decliner after it shed 9.86 per cent to settle at N26.50, Secure Electronic Technology fell

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Nigerian Naira weakened by 17.9 per cent or N144.49 against the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 6 as confidence waned in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ability to boost the market with enough foreign exchange (FX). Yesterday, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar closed at N951.22/$1 in the official market compared with the preceding session’s rate of N806.73/$1. This happened as the forex turnover slightly went down by 4.9 per cent or $7.05 million to $135.58 million from the $142.63 million reported in the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the players in the personal healthcare and consumer goods sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has published a list of its shareholders with unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividends are cash rewards given to investors, mainly from the profits from the company’s operations, but are yet to be collected by the beneficiaries. This has been a major source of sleepless nights for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is working to bring down the number of unclaimed dividends. It has been reported that the value of unclaimed dividends in the nation’s stock market is over N185 billion.

By Dipo Olowookere A five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Dattijo Muhammad has unanimously upheld an appeal filed by the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, over his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) bordering on alleged false declaration of his assets. At the ruling on Friday, the apex court dismissed the remnant three counts, declaring the evidence led by the prosecution as hearsay. In his lead judgment today, Justice Centus Nweze upheld Mr Saraki’s appeal and quashed the appeal filed by federal government. Justice Nweze agreed with the CCT that the evidence led by the

By Dipo Olowookere The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised an alarm over the “recent trends in capital market related fraud.” The anti-graft agency disclosed that until recently, capital market scams usually involved transfer of shares from one stock broking house to another one of the syndicate fraudster’s choice where the shares are fraudulently sold without the knowledge of the real owner. “It also involved stealing of share certificates, stealing of dividend warrants and clearing them through a fraudulent bank account opened in the name of the original owner. “The fraudsters usually target accounts which have been dormant

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh Russia has been accused of not doing enough for the growth of Africa, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was observed that Russia-African diplomacy had been marked by several bilateral agreements that are yet to be implemented. According to official documents, 92 agreements worth a total of $12.5 billion were signed during the symbolic African leaders’ gathering in late October 2019, and Russia has done little to implement them since then. The joint declaration is a comprehensive document that outlines the key objectives and tasks required to elevate the entire relationship to a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed dismay at campaigns allegedly being sponsored by those it called “self-centred individuals” aimed at discrediting its foreign exchange policies. The apex bank, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Mr Isaac Okorafor, on Friday, lamented that it has “observed with great concern the continued and unwarranted attack” on its policies by a group of Nigerians. According to the CBN, the real interests of these people “are anything near altruistic but rather self-serving and unpatriotic.” The statement noted that the bank finds it curious that certain interests have “remained persistent in

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian hitmaker, Adekunle Adekunle Gold Kosoko, has signed with a top recording label, Def Jam, in a deal that will see the company release his fifth studio album later this year. In a scoop with music publication, Billboard, Def Jam CEO/chairman, Mr Tunji Balogun, said that the label had been following the High crooner for the last six years when he was Olamide’s YBNL label and made Sade, a localised version of One Direction’s Story of My Life. He said, “Over the years, everything in AG’s world has elevated — his songwriting has refined, the scope of

By Adedapo Adesanya Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Diamond Bank, Mr Uzoma Dozie, has launched Sparkle, a Nigerian digital platform that will provide financial and business support to Nigerians in the country and around the world. The service was launched on Wednesday, June 3 after the startup was granted a banking license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Sparkle’s users will be provided with visibility over spending patterns, with a detailed breakdown of payments by category. Tools such as Sparkle Stash, a savings tool aimed towards specific saving goals are included. In addition, users will also have the

By Adedapo Adesanya The price of the average basket of 13 crude belonging to members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stood at $43.02 per barrel last Friday. Compared with the previous day’s $42.99, the basket prices rose 3 cents or 0.07 per cent according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia),

By Aduragbemi Omiyale All may not be well with First Bank Nigeria Limited, the flagship subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, a company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This is because moves have been taken to seize the lender’s assets over its decision to guarantee the damages awarded by a Rivers State High Court against an international oil firm, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, about 10 years ago. A community in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of the country, Ejama Ebubu, had secured a judgement against Shell over an oil spillage about 50 years ago. As at 2020, the damages