NSE Kicks Off Direct Flow of Information to Stock Market

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices fell by 1 per cent on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. Brent futures fell 81 cents or 0.9 per cent to settle at $93.53 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell by 92 cents or 1.0 per cent to trade at $90.28 per barrel. Wednesday’s decision means the benchmark short-term interest rate will remain at 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent, a 22-year high. This is only the second time since March 2022 that the US central bank meetings have concluded without

By Adedapo Adesanya All is not well with the Naira in the parallel market and the peer-to-peer (P2P) segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market in Nigeria, with its exchange rate against the Dollar nearing N1000. At the black market on Thursday, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the US Dollar by N25 to sell at N995/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N970/$1. It was a similar story with the local currency in the P2P wing of the forex market as it lost N22 against the greenback yesterday to quote at N992/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s exchange rate of

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange suspended trading in the shares of VFD Group Plc months after the proprietary investment company revealed its intention to list its stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to allow it gain access to public equity markets, increase its visibility, and strengthen its financial position. The group joined the NASD trading platform in 2020. In a notice, the NASD OTC Exchange said investors would not be able to trade securities of VFD Group Plc with effect from Friday, September 22, 2023 (today). This is per the company’s request to delist from

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices settled lower on Thursday even after Russia announced a ban on fuel exports, with Brent crude down by 23 cents to $93.30 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 3 cents to sell at $89.63 per barrel. Russia temporarily banned gasoline and diesel exports to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday. It said the ban did not apply to fuel supplied under inter-governmental agreements to Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union members, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The Federal Government of Nigeria has drawn attention to the vast provision of job opportunities in the green economy of the country. It considered the sector’s provision of creating environmentally-friendly jobs in areas such as construction, renewable energy, afforestation, and waste management, which includes e-waste. The Minister for Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige, who mentioned this at the opening of the 6th Meeting of the National Employment Council, noted that the opportunities presented, especially to youths, in this sector have not been explored enough. Speaking on the theme Creating Environmental Friendly (Green) Jobs, the Minister, represented

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka A deal to facilitate financing for smartphones for customers of leading digital services provider in Bangladesh, Robi, has been entered into with YABX, a fintech company incubated by Comviva. Within one year of launching 4.5G service, Robi has created the largest 4.5G network in Bangladesh and YABX, on the other hand, provides the technology to underwrite smartphone financing for customers in the emerging markets. In doing so, the company builds customer profiles from tens of thousands of data points, using data from the mobile network. This, in turn, enables the customers to purchase their first smartphone. Therefore,

Similar to how consumers can earn incentives with their credit cards such as cashback when they shop or a sign-up bonus when opening a new account, cryptocurrency platforms such as Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Mushe World offer investors perks for referrals, completing transactions, or taking quizzes on their platform. These incentives are a great way for crypto enthusiasts to increase their crypto holdings at no extra cost. Receiving free cryptocurrency through reward programs Coinbase allows its users to earn crypto by learning how cryptocurrency works. They offer educational tutorials on their platform to teach their users about the different digital currencies

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An initiative to encourage Nigerians to register to vote in the 2023 general elections has been reintroduced by a leading e-hailing platform, Bolt. The scheme, called MyPVCJourney (My Permanent Voter Registration Journey), will allow customers to enjoy a 50 per cent discount to select offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos and Abuja. The idea, which began in 2021, was designed as part of the company’s community engagement efforts and commitment to promoting active citizenship. As electoral dates draw nearer, Bolt identified mobility challenges Nigerians face which have encouraged voter apathy, and has set

By Dipo Olowookere Shares of Oando Plc depreciated at the stock exchange on Friday, a day after a tank farm operated by one of its subsidiaries in Lagos was razed by fire. Business Post had reported on Thursday that the tank farm located in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos State and operated by OVH Energy, an arm of Oando, was gutted by fire. When the unfortunate incident happened, officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the Federal Fire Service, the Lagos State Fire Service, the Nigerian Navy Fire, Nigerian Police and Forte Oil Fire Service rushed to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Former Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Martin Elechi, has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Elechi was the immediate past Governor of Ebonyi State and a strong member of the PDP, presently the opposition party battling with leadership tussle. At a thanksgiving service at a church on Sunday in Abakaliki to mark the recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari from his ill-health during his vacation to London, Mr Elechi told party supporters and leaders that he was joining them majorly because of his affection for Mr Buhari. He said further that

By Akin Adewakun The term, innovate or die, is no longer new in marketing parlance. Interestingly, the nation’s economic weather,  which manufacturers and consumers are increasingly finding very unbearable, has made this term very apt in today’s survival battles among brands. Presently, no market segment is this suitably demonstrated than the nation’s dairy market. For instance, since milk intake is fast becoming a luxury among Nigerians, despite its very significant benefits to the individual’s health, brands playing in this market are being left with no other option than to either innovate and come up with new ideas of bonding their