Nigeria’s Trade Balance Improves as Imports Fall

By Dipo Olowookere A 0.12 per cent appreciation was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, reversing the previous day’s losses triggered by profit-taking in the banking sector. Business Post reports that it was the same banking space that influenced the growth posted yesterday, rising by 1.60 per cent, supported by the consumer goods indices, which appreciated by 0.15 per cent. However, there were pockets of profit-taking during the last trading session of the week, with the insurance sector shedding 0.78 per cent, the industrial goods sector losing 0.65 per cent, and the energy counter declining by 0.57

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Friday after data from the world’s largest oil producer, the United States, supported expectations of demand growth. Brent crude futures settled at $75.84 a barrel after chalking up $1.79 or 2.4 per cent, as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $71.23 after gaining $1.89 or 2.7 per cent. Despite the gain at the final session of the week, both benchmarks fell for a seventh straight week, their longest streak of weekly declines in half a decade, on lingering oversupply concerns. For the week,

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a further rise of 0.55 per cent, extending its stay in the green territory to a fourth straight session on Thursday, November 7. This increased the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 4.81 points to wrap the session at 872.54 points compared with 867.73 points in the previous session, as the market capitalisation of the OTC exchange jumped by N6.52 billion to settle at N1.182 trillion, in contrast to the preceding trading day’s N1.176 trillion. The unlisted securities market ended the trading session with two price gainers, 11 Plc and

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 Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has extended the 14-day ultimatum earlier given to the federal government by one week. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the union’s General Secretary, Mr Afolabi Olawale, in Lagos. He said that in spite of the various interventions and engagements with government agencies and institutions, issues concerning the welfare of members and unfair labour practices by some oil majors had yet to be fully resolved. Business Post had reported that NUPENG issued the 14-day ultimatum on November 15, threatening to embark on a nationwide strike

By Dipo Olowookere The QS World University Rankings 2018 has been released and interestingly, out of the 959 universities across the world ranked, no Nigerian institution made the list. In the latest ranking, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States claimed the number one spot for the sixth time in a row. The second spot was claimed by Stanford University, while Harvard University came third, having been second two years ago. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was put in the fourth position, while the University of Cambridge was ranked fifth in the world. University of Oxford remained at

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Yesterday, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, explained that the monthly meeting of the Federation Account and Allocation Committee (FAAC) ended in deadlock on Wednesday as a result of inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to properly reconcile its accounts. Addressing newsmen shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday in Abuja, the Minister said this was what led to the walkout staged by Commissioners for Finance of the 36 states of the federation. “Based on oil price and oil quantity, you can calculate what you are expecting to see in the

By Quentyn Taylor How will GDPR regulations present new challenges for cyber security teams?   GDPR legislation for both the UK and Europe has revolutionised the way businesses communicate, secure and store data, as well as holding businesses financially and personally accountable for when they fail to handle data correctly. In fact, GDPR fines hit a total of 97.29 million Euros in the first half of 2022, an increase of 92% over H1 2021. This year, there has been an increasing number of fines centred around Article 32 of GDPR, which states that penalties can be enforced if companies have

By Adedapo Adesanya The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has vowed to tackle corruption – estimated billings, illegal sales of meters among others – in the power sector. This was disclosed by the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), during a consultation meeting of business membership organisations and electricity regulatory bodies. He noted at the event organised by the Association of Public Policy Analysis (APPA-Nigeria) in Abuja that the incessant complaints about high electricity billings by distribution companies have become rife. Mr Owasanoye, who was represented by Mr Hassan Salihu, an Assistant Commissioner

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira strengthened against the US Dollar, the Pound Sterling, and the Euro at the parallel market segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday, May 7. At the window, which caters for demands not met by government-regulated channels, the local currency gained N2 on the US currency as it sold for N483/$1 in contrast to N485/$1 it quoted at the previous session.   Following the same pattern, the Nigerian currency gained N4 against the Pound Sterling to finish the final trading session of the week at N672/£1 compared to N676/£1 it traded a day earlier. On the Euro,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The yields on the 12-month treasury bills depreciated yesterday as the secondary market closed slightly bullish. Business Post reports that yields moderated across the short and mid tenors with the exception of the one-month paper, which appreciated by 0.03 percent to settle 14.94 percent. Yields on the 3-month note declined by 1.41 percent to close at 12.62 percent, the 6-month went down by 0.11 percent to end at 13.52 percent, the 9-month fell by 0.04 percent to finish at 16.54 percent and the 12-month dropped 0.06 percent to settle at 17.29 percent. At the market on Wednesday,

By Dipo Olowookere The one-year treasury bills were sold to investors at the primary market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday at 7.30 per cent, Business Post reports. At the preceding exercise, the stop rate of the tenor of the investment tool was given to market participants at 7.20 per cent, indicating that the apex bank raised the rate yesterday by 0.30 per cent to still make it attractive after it observed a slight decline in appetite. Details of the PMA showed that N106.4 billion worth of the 364-day bill was taken to the market for auction