NSE Index Rises 2.40% as Market Capitalisation Reaches N20.281trn

By Dipo Olowookere The leadership uncertainty in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which some observers have said led to the indefinite postponement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, further put investors off at the local equity market on Friday. Yesterday, the central bank said the person chosen by President Bola Tinubu to head the organisation, Mr Yemi Cardoso, has resumed in an acting capacity replacing the former acting CBN chief, Mr Folashodun Shonubi. Mr Shonubi was appointed by Mr Tinubu to take over from Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was suspended from office and was said to have resigned

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange improved by 0.12 per cent on Wednesday, September 20, with the unlisted securities index expanding by 1.00 points to end the day at 806.29 points as against the 805.29 points it recorded at the previous session. During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange increased by N1.42 billion to close at N1.139 trillion compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N1.138 trillion. It was observed that the bulls overcame the bears on Wednesday, with the bourse closing with three price gainers and two price losers. Aradel Holdings Plc

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira closed mixed at the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, depreciating against the US Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) segments and appreciating in the parallel market amid a new leadership at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). On Friday, the CBN announced the resumption of Mr Olayemi Cardoso as the next head of the apex bank, in an acting capacity pending his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. He is taking over the role amid a worrying FX market, high inflation, and increased call to halt interest rate hikes which currently

By Adedapo Adesanya The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, surged by 230.8 per cent on a year-to-year basis to N626.70 per litre in August 2023 versus N189.46 per litre in the same period of 2022. This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (August 2023), which showed that the average retail price increased on a month-on-month basis by 4.39 per cent from N600.3 per litre in July. The skyrocketing cost of petrol came as President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration speech on May 29,

**Assures Deployment of Robust Digital Platforms for Better Customer Experience By Modupe Gbadeyanka Asian Banker, at its Middle East and Africa Regional 2020 Awards last Thursday, announced Ecobank Nigeria as the Best Retail Bank in Nigeria. The organisers of the virtual event explained that Ecobank was selected for the honour because of its deployment of digital solutions to meet the needs of its customers even during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, adding that the bank also enhanced its customer experience through culture transformation across the various touchpoints. “Ecobank encouraged its customers to avoid non-essential contact in achieving their banking needs by

The Nigerian private sector registered a slight loss of growth momentum in January, with output and new business rising further markedly, though at softer rates than at the end of 2022. On a more positive note, firms raised employment at the fastest pace since June 2018 as part of efforts to complete work on time. On the price front, rates of inflation of input costs and output prices softened in January but remained elevated. Analysis by Stanbic IBTC Bank showed that the headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI®). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement

By Dipo Olowookere Global rating company, Fitch, has disclosed that top economies in the sub-Saharan region, which include Nigeria, face significant constraints due to poor economic environments and political obstacles. In its African Monitor report obtained by Business Post, the rating agency said “reform momentum has stalled in Nigeria, largely owing to political constraints which we expect to remain elevated leading up to and after the February 2019 presidential race.” Commenting on the nation’s economy, Fitch said, “Although growth increased in Q318 compared with the previous quarter, Nigeria’s economic recovery remains tepid and will continue to face downside risks over

By Investors Hub European stocks have rebounded on Thursday as a semblance of stability returned to the markets after a global rout. The French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent, although the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent. The European Central Bank signaled determination in winding up its massive asset purchase program, which was implemented in 2015 to support the economy, at the end of this year. As announced in June, the ECB halved its monthly bond purchases to 15

By Dipo Olowookere As part of efforts to boost foreign exchange (FX) inflows through diaspora remittances, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is offering an extra N5 for every Dollar sent to recipients in the country. The apex bank, in a circular issued on Saturday and signed by A.S Jibrin for the Director of Trade and Exchange Department, disclosed that this reward system will last for two months. The notice said this initiative is under the CBN Naira 4 Dollar Scheme and was designed to sustain the encouraging increase in inflows of diaspora remittances into the country. It further said

By Adedapo Adesanya Data from Kaspersky showed that 7 per cent of Nigerian computer users fell for phishing attacks in 2022, as the company’s anti-phishing system prevented more than 500 million attempts at accessing fraudulent websites globally in 2022. This is twice more compared to 2021 figures. In Africa, 8.7 per cent of individuals and corporate users were affected by phishing attacks on their devices, with South African users affected the most by phishing. For the country, attacks stood at 9.7 per cent, followed by Kenya at 8.4 per cent, followed by Nigeria’s 7 per cent. In Kaspersky’s Spam and

By Dipo Olowookere A meeting of the board of directors of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has been scheduled for Thursday, February 1, 2018. The meeting, which kicks off by 10am on the said day, is slated to take place in Lagos. A statement issued by the firm on Thursday disclosed that during the meeting, members of the board will consider firm’s consolidated and separate audited financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2017 as well as a dividend proposal. “In accordance with the provisions of Section 1.2 of the Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) relating to board

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s postal service, NIPOST, has announced adopting the innovative global addressing system called what3words. Nigeria is the seventh country to adopt what3words, and the third in Africa. The system is already being used for mail deliveries in Mongolia, Sint Maarten, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Tonga and Solomon Islands. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and its most populous country with approximately 184 million inhabitants. It has the seventh largest population in the world. Nigeria’s poor addressing system means that only 20 percent of its inhabitants receive mail at home. Seventy-nine percent of homes and businesses cannot receive deliveries to