NSE Assures Investors Necessary Tools to Meet Investment Goals

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil fell on Monday as traders approached the market with caution over plans by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut production in the first quarter of 2024. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents or 1.08 per cent to finish at $78.03 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.03 or 1.39 per cent to sell at $73.04 per barrel. OPEC+ announced voluntary production cuts at its meeting last week and this has raised doubts about whether or not producers would fully implement them. Investors

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An application and proprietary solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, known as Aleph Express, has been launched by Aleph Group. A statement from the firm explained that Aleph Express provides a platform for MSMEs to create and maintain a free e-commerce website, create a product catalogue, set local delivery options, manage, record and process orders while gaining meaningful insights to drive growth. The platform also provides one unified inbox that integrates WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, to enable businesses to efficiently engage and sell – all in one place. In addition, Aleph Express provides

By Adedapo Adesanya  The prices of the crude oil benchmarks, Brent and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell to a near five-month low on Tuesday on a stronger US Dollar and demand concerns. According to data obtained by Business Post, Brent futures went down by 83 cents or 1.1 per cent to $77.20 a barrel and WTI weakened by 72 cents or 1.0 per cent to $72.32 per barrel. The prices were the lowest for both crude benchmarks since July 6. This put the market down for a fourth day in a row on doubts over voluntary supply cuts announced by

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it would ensure that the next national minimum wage to be negotiated in 2024 reflects the prevailing cost of living. The union also lamented that following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, life has become extremely unbearable for workers. Addressing participants at the opening of the 19th edition of the NLC’s Harmattan School in Abuja, President of the NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, said it had become necessary for governments at all levels to recognise that life and living conditions were exceedingly difficult, especially for working people in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Fitch Ratings has affirmed Access Bank Plc’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’. The Outlook is Stable and at the same time upgraded the lender’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘A+(nga)’ from ‘A(nga)’. All other ratings have been affirmed. The upgrade of Access’ National Long-Term Rating reflects Fitch’s view of an improvement in its creditworthiness relative to other rated Nigerian institutions. This considers continued expansion of the bank’s franchise and stable asset quality. Access Bank’s IDRs are driven by the bank’s intrinsic creditworthiness as defined by its Viability Rating (VR). Access’ VR reflects solid financial metrics, which

By Investors Hub European stocks have fallen for a third consecutive session, as depressed oil prices have added to investor worries about inflation and the outlook for global growth at a time when the US Federal Reserve continues to tighten monetary policy. While the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.4 percent. Banks have continued to move lower after the US Treasury yield curve flattened to almost 10-year lows on Wednesday. Energy stocks have also move to the downside as oil held

By Adedapo Adesanya  Wednesday’s transactions closed at the foreign exchange market with the Naira depreciating against the US Dollar by the largest margin in months at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market. According to data gathered from FMDQ, the local currency lost 53 Kobo or 0.15 percent to record N362.58/$1 against the American Dollar in contrast to N362.05 per Dollar recorded on Tuesday. This was despite the daily market turnover at the segment going down by 9.3 percent or $23.42 million during the session. Business Post reports that investors exchanged a total of $227.94 million compared with

By Adedapo Adesanya  The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is establishing a $1 billion African Film Fund in 2024 to support the continent’s movie industry. This information was disclosed by the Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade Bank at Afreximbank, Mrs Kanayo Awani, in Cairo, Egypt, during her address at the opening of the 2023 Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Summit held as part of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023). IATF2023 is Africa’s largest trade and investment fair opened yesterday and will run till November 15, 2023. Mrs Awani said that the fund would oversee film financing, co-finance with large studios,

By Adedapo Adesanya Panic continues to grip the global oil market as price of the international benchmark futures, Brent crude, dropped below $57 per barrel on Friday afternoon, spurred by the spread of the coronavirus in some countries. Coming home, this is a big worry for the Nigerian government, which pegged the average price of crude oil this year to $57 per barrel in the 2020 budget signed into law last month by President Muhammadu Buhari. As at the time of this report, the Brent crude was trading down by 60 cents or 1.05 percent at $56.73 per barrel, while

By Adedapo Adesanya The unlisted securities market in Nigeria depreciated marginally by 0.02 per cent on Tuesday, with NASD Plc contributing to the loss. The company’s stock went down by N1.33 or 11.0 per cent yesterday to trade at N12.09 per unit compared with the previous day’s N13.42 per unit. This loss overshadowed the 0.4 per cent or 50 kobo growth posted by FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, which settled at N118.50 per unit versus N118.00 per unit of the preceding session. At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by N100 million

By Ebitonye Akpodigha Discussions have commenced between the Federal Government and the organized labour unions (ASBIFFE & NUBUIFE) in the financial sector in Nigeria with a view to solving the lingering retrenchment and other major labour issues in the industry. The two major unions at the meeting were the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFE) and the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE). It would be recalled that few months ago, the FG directed banks in the country not to sack any of its employees, but this was not adhered to.

The sum of $9.7 million has been donated by the Japanese Government, through its agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency, to boost electricity in Nigeria. The donation was disclosed on Tuesday by the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Sadanobu Kusaoke, in Abuja. The Japanese Government said it was making the gesture because it considers the power sector as one of the most important areas to enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development. Stable power supply is crucial to support industry and to improve economy and the lives of people, the Japan said. Mr Kusaoke said, “Since from 1970s, Japan has helped to finance