Naira Records Stalemate Against Dollar Across FX Market Segments

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira put up a weak performance against the United States Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. November 30, 2023, the last trading session of the month. In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is the official market, the Nigerian currency lost 0.1 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback during the session to settle at N832.32/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N831.47/$1. A slight strain in the supply of forex into the spot market was partly responsible for the weakening of the local

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 chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Adedapo Adesanya AIICO Insurance Plc said it reported a 129 percent growth in Profit after Tax (PAT) for the first three months of the year. In a statement issued by the firm’s Head, Strategic Marketing & Communications Department, Mr Segun Olalandu, the insurer said its net profit stood at N1.9 billion compared with N820 million attained in Q1 2019. This happened as the underwriter’s Gross Written Premium (GWP) during the period hit N17.6 billion, 23 percent higher than N14.3 billion achieved the same period in 2019. Mr Olalandu explained that the growth was driven by sustained positive performance across

By Adedapo Adesanya The local currency weakened against the United States Dollar by N1 at the parallel market on Friday, selling at N506/$1 in contrast to N505/$1 it closed at the preceding trading session. The usual weekend rush for Dollar at the unregulated segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market may have contributed to the poor performance of the domestic currency at the market yesterday. However, the Naira traded flat against the Pound Sterling at N708/£1 and also remained unchanged against the Euro at the same black market during the final session for the week at N596/€1. But at the

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Dipo Olowookere Candidates of the two major political parties in the November 2016 presidential election in the United States will go head-to-head in a TV debate on Monday night. This would be the first time both are going face-to-face on the same stage. Outcome of the debate may likely have a huge impact on gaining votes from the electorates. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will be at the Hofstra University in New York for the all-important battle. It is estimated that they would be watched by 100 million viewers. Observers believe it is still a tight race

    The deposit base of Fidelity Bank Plc has recorded a growth compared to what it obtained in 2015. In the half year report released by the bank, its deposit base was put at N829.9 billion compared to last year’s N769.6 billion. However, Fidelity Bank, in a statement, posted a decline of 2.6 per cent and 35.0 per cent in its gross earnings and profit before tax (PBT) respectively. It said its net loans rose by 23 per cent to N711 billion against N578.2 billion in the comparative period, explaining that the net loans growth demonstrated its commitment towards

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari has booted two Ministers from his cabinet – the Minister of Power – Mr Saleh Mamman and Mr Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. A spokesman of Mr Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina, announced the termination of their appointments on Wednesday in a statement issued in Abuja. It was disclosed that the affected Ministers were asked to leave after “subjecting our projects and programs implementation to independent and critical self-review” through sector reporting during cabinet meetings and at retreats. President Buhari said “these significant review steps have helped to identify and strengthen

By Dipo Olowookere Access Bank Plc released its 2017 financial statements to the investing public yesterday and the results were not too impressive. Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe, attributed this to the slow economic expansion during the year. In the financial results, the lender recorded a drop in its profit before tax by 11.36 percent, posting N80 billion in 2017 against N90.3 billion it achieved in 2016. Also, its profit after tax went down by 13.23 percent from N71.4 billion two years ago to N62 billion last year. However, the gross earnings appreciated during the period

By Dipo Olowookere Last week, trading in Zenith Bank, Sterling Bank and Fidelity Bank accounted for 261.3 million shares worth N2.7 billion traded in 2,862 deals, contributing 24.70 per cent and 21.13 per cent to the total weekly equity turnover volume and value respectively. These equities were among the 714.7 million units of financial stocks worth N6.0 billion traded in the week in 9,718 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, which led the activity chart by contributing 67.53 per cent and 46.38 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Consumer goods shares