Oil Tumbles as US Hikes Interest Rate

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Dipo Olowookere As part of its expansion plans, Ellah Lakes Plc is looking to acquire the entire assets and liabilities of an oil palm processing company in Delta State. The management of Ellah Lakes disclosed this information to the investing public on Thursday via the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), where the company trades its stocks. Business Post reports that Ellah Lakes, which primarily deals in the fishing business, has not been having it good lately. In the third quarter of its present financial year ended April 30, 2020, the company generated zero revenue. This was despite acquiring 100 per

By Adedapo Adesanya The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has faulted the plans to fix freight rate for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), saying it could hinder full deregulation of the downstream sector. This was made known by the Chairman of the association, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, on Tuesday in Lagos, adding that the move could also affect competitiveness among players in the value-chain of the industry. Mr Oyebanji was reacting to the plan by the federal government to increase the freight rate of PMS, also known as petrol, by 21.3 per cent from N7.51 per litre to N9.11 per

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The two foreign loan requests of President Muhammadu Buhari have been approved by the Senate. Mr Buhari had in September 2021 asked the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly to allow him to borrow $16.2 billion and €1.0 billion from international sources, including the World Bank. He had said the loans would be used by the federal government to stimulate the economy and create jobs for Nigerians. At the plenary on Wednesday, the red arm of the parliament said the President can go ahead with his plans to borrow the $16,230,077,718 and €1,020,000,000. Addressing his colleagues

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, has called on mothers, women groups and high-powered government organizations, to step up advocacy towards total eradication of female genital mutilation. Mrs Ambode made this call in Alausa, Ikeja, while interacting with journalists on the occasion of the 2017 International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The First Lady noted that FGM constituted an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls, violating their rights to health, security and physical integrity and wondered why women should continue to suffer such level of dehumanization just

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The popular play coming this June titled Isale Eko has received the backing of Wema Bank Plc, the innovative bank that pioneered Africa’s first fully digital bank called ALAT. Isale Eko is one of the notable plays in Nigeria, bringing back the theatre culture dating back as far as 1945 when Nigerian playwright, late Hubert Ogunde, established a professional touring company. It was in this same year that Mr Ogunde’s troupe started exciting Nigerians across theatres nationwide that Wema Bank was established. However, the bank’s support for the arts is beyond the history shared with theatre, but

By Adedapo Adesanya The unlisted securities market in Nigeria depreciated by 0.98 per cent on Wednesday following the decline in the prices of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc. At the close of business, the market capitalisation of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went down by N6.1 billion to N609.81 billion from N615.86 billion, while the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 7.33 points to wrap the session at 738.11 points compared with 745.44 points recorded at the previous session. During the trading day, NDEP depreciated by N2.50 or 1.0 per

By Adedapo Adesanya Zimbabwe’s inflation rose to 785.55 percent year-on-year in May from 765.57 percent in the previous month of April, the Zimbabwean National Statistics Agency said on Tuesday, June 16. The report released this morning said this happened as citizens grappled with rising prices of basic goods and a weakening currency in the face of the current global pandemic. On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 15.13 percent from 17.64 percent during the same period, said Zimstat. The country’s central bank, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, forecasts the annual inflation rate to fall to 50 percent by the end of

By Adedapo Adesanya For the second trading day, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded growth, this time, it was spurred by an appreciation in the equities of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. The performance of the milk maker contributed to the 1.3 per cent gained by the unlisted securities market at the close of business on Thursday, January 7. Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 9.62 points when activities were wrapped up at the session, ending at 752.34 points as against the 742.72 points it finished a day earlier. In the same vein, the milk-producing company energised