OPEC Daily Basket Oil Trades $36.75 Per Barrel

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira started the first trading session in the last month of 2023 on a negative note after it depreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), which is the official FX window, by 11.4 per cent or N94.87 on Friday, December 1, closing at N927.19/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N832.32/$1. The December rush for forex contributed to the weakening of the domestic currency in the spot market yesterday, as the supply of foreign currency could not meet what customers needed. Data showed that the value of FX transactions recorded

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.18 per cent gain to open the week in positive territory on Monday, December 4, with the unlisted security index rising by 1.59 points to end the day at 862.40 points compared with last Friday’s closing value of 860.81 points. The improvement recorded by the bourse yesterday raised the value of the unlisted stock exchange by N2.5 billion to close at N1.169 trillion, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.166 trillion. The gain posted by the bourse was driven by the N13.70 added to the share price of 11

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has revealed that a $1 billion facility would be used to provide insurance to more than 40 million farmers across the continent against severe impacts of climate change. Initially unveiled at the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi in September, the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation (ACRIFA) brings together governments, development agencies, the insurance sector and the private sector, said the president of the bank, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, while speaking during a side event at COP28 in Dubai. He said ACRIFA aims to mobilise $1 billion of concessionary financing,

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 Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after closing lower for two straight days. Early buying interest is likely to be generated in reaction to a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected job growth in the month of April. The stronger than expected job growth contributed to an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate, which fell to its lowest level in nearly fifty years. After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks moved mostly

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh More than a decade ago, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, held a review meeting with his Nigerian counterpart Minister, the late Mr Ojo Mbila Maduekwe, who paid a three-day working visit to Moscow. After the closed-door bilateral talks, both ministers held a brief media conference, and one of the significant questions raised there was Moscow was prepared to offer trade preferences to Nigeria. Extending trade preferences was interpreted as an integral part of strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two parties. During the Soviet days, Nigeria benefitted tremendously from Soviet assistance. And without

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A group known as the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) is already making moves to investigate the alleged N407.32 billion debt profile of Osun State. In a statement signed by the Executive Chairman of CHRSJ, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) would be approached to probe the matter. The group commended the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, for opening up the books of the state to know its true financial status. CHRSJ accused the administrations of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka According to the new edition of FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, global food supply conditions are robust, but access to food has been dramatically reduced in areas suffering civil conflicts, while drought conditions are worsening food security across swathes of East Africa. Some 37 countries require external assistance for food, 28 of them in Africa as a result of lingering effects of last year’s El Niño-triggered droughts on harvests in 2016. Yet, while agricultural production is expected to rebound in southern Africa, protracted fighting and unrest is increasing the ranks of the displaced and hungry

By Dipo Olowookere Contestants of the ongoing Nigerian Idol have been tasked to have the Rite energy and mindset as they perform to get the support of the viewers to clinch the coveted prize. This charge was given by Ms Boluwatife Adedugbe, the Brand Manager of Rite Foods Limited, makers of the popular Bigi Drinks, headline sponsor of the music talent hunt competition. She gave the advice when the company received some Nigerian Idol contestants on Friday, June 4, 2021, and she intimated the future music stars on the organisation’s corporate culture, taking them through the corporate journey and footprints

By Adedapo Adesanya  PAC Capital Limited has assured its clients of high-quality advisory and fund arrangement services that will enhance their growth and expansion prospects. The firm made this assurance after its role as the lead financial adviser and fund arranger to Access Holdings Plc’s $300 million investment finance facility for its lending subsidiary, Access Bank Plc. The Managing Director of PAC Capital, Mr Humphrey Oriakhi, stated that the organisation was committed to ensuring it continues to support growth and expansion for its clients. “We are delighted to bring this landmark deal to a close for our client. This is

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Support Rating Floors (SRF) of 10 Nigerian banks has been reviewed down by Fitch Ratings to ‘no floor’. Also, nine banks’ Support Ratings (SR) has been downgraded to ‘5’ following a reassessment of potential sovereign support for the banking sector. As a consequence, the long-term issuer default ratings of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBN Holdings Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc are downgraded to ‘B-‘ from ‘B’, in line with their stand-alone creditworthiness as defined by their viability ratings, Channels TV reports. Meanwhile,

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited located at Customs Street, Lagos closed bullish on Thursday by 0.07 per cent after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the economy recorded a 5.01 per cent growth in the second quarter of this year. This information gladdened investors, who used the opportunity to cherrypick stocks trading at relatively cheap prices in anticipation of a taking profit adventure in the nearest future. This pushed the All-Share Index (ASI) higher yesterday by 27.36 points to 39,477.18 points from 39,449.82 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N14 billion to N20.568 trillion