NNPC Warns Against Panic Buying, Assures of Sufficient Supply

By Dipo Olowookere The domestic currency had a breather in the peer-to-peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, with its value strengthening against the Dollar at the two windows. This was supported by the ease in the forex demand pressure during the trading session, which had the official market, the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the market, non-operational yesterday due to the public holiday observed in the country for Eid el Maulud. Many customers who may have needed FX for their transactions stayed back to enjoy the work-free day, easing off

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Capital Hotels Plc has announced the creation of an escrow account for the payment of about N1.6 billion to minority shareholders of the company. The hospitality firm is leaving the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after years on the nation’s main stock exchange. In a notice signed by Alex Ugwuanyi, the organisation said the account was created with CardinalStone Registrars Limited and has been sufficiently funded for payment “to shareholders” who “have accepted to exit” the firm by selling their holdings. Recall that in March 2023, shareholders of Capital Hotels approved the request of the

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 Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices continued to get the stick circumstances surrounding the US-China trade deal which has affected global oil demand over the past 16 months. As a result of this, major futures depreciated from gains gathered during last week sessions into the second day of the week. By implication, Brent crude, the international benchmark which traded above $63 last week continued its fall further on Tuesday as it shed 2.34 percent or $1.46 to trade at $60. 98 per barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.7 percent or 2.98 percent to settle at $55.44 per barrel.

By Dipo Olowookere Next Tuesday, the investing community in Nigeria will have the opportunity to discuss what should be expected in the stock market in the country this year. Last year was bullish against expectations because of the initial fears created by the COVID-19 global pandemic. When the virus was spreading in China at the beginning of the year, many analysts thought the Nigerian stock market would crash as it did over a decade ago. This made some foreign portfolio investors exit the market early, but local investors took charge of the space and turned things around. Despite the shutting

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a joint partnership action plan that is aimed at boosting both public and private sector investment in Africa. The joint action plan enables both institutions to grow a shared pipeline of bankable projects around key complementary themes to which each institution would bring their comparative advantage. The themes include climate action and environmental sustainability; transformative large-scale quality infrastructure investment; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and services; financial inclusion with a gender lens aimed at the empowerment of girls and women; education and training;

By Dipo Olowookere It was not a good day for equities on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday as profit-taking activities further deepened during the trading session, leading to a 1.16 per cent loss. The bearish performance was triggered by the losses recorded by some bellwether stocks like Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, Fidson, and six other mid and low-cap shares. The trading session saw investors rebalancing their portfolios, and at the close of business, Chams topped the losers’ chart after it dropped 8.00 per cent to sell at 23 Kobo. UAC Nigeria lost 5.76 per cent to finish at

By Ahmed Rahma After waiting for months, the 774,000 artisans from the 774 local government areas of the federation will resume work on Wednesday, December 6, 2021. The young Nigerians were employed by the federal government under the Special Public Works (SPW) job programme to assist them to cushion the effect of the lockdown caused by COVID-19 last year. The initiative has generated controversies and has pitched the parliament against the executive. It has also caused the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Nasiru Argungu, to lose his job. Recently, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr

By Investors Hub Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a slightly higher opening on Monday, with stocks poised to extend the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. With the upward move on the day, the major averages once again reached new record closing highs. The major averages finished the session firmly in positive territory. The Dow advanced 165.59 points or 0.7 percent to 23,328.63, the Nasdaq rose 23.99 points or 0.4 percent to 6,629.04 and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s House of Representatives has expressed its willingness to investigation allegation of financial misconduct against the Director-General of the Security and Exchange (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo. Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market, Mr Tajudeen Yusuf, told reporters at the weekend that the green chamber of the National Assembly will act fast on the matter. It was reported last week that Mr Gwarzo allegedly influenced the payment of N104.85 million to himself as severance package for serving as an executive commissioner in SEC for 30 months. He was also accused of awarding contracts to

By Dipo Olowookere The appetite for Dangote Cement shares and others pushed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited higher by 2.48 per cent on Monday, propelling the All-Share Index (ASI) above 64,000 points at the close of trades. According to data from the bourse yesterday, the index grew by 1,562.82 to 64,603.69 points from 63,040.87 points, as the market capitalisation increased by N851 billion to N35.177 trillion from N34.326 trillion. The industrial goods sector gained 5.13 per cent during the trading day, the insurance industry rose by 4.18 per cent, the energy counter improved by 2.61 per cent, and the banking