Strong Dollar, Chinese Data Sink Oil Prices

By Adedapo Adesanya The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has cleared the air regarding recent reports on the transfer of funds to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the erstwhile chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, for the tax reform committee. In a statement on Friday, he revealed that N5 billion was paid to the board to fund activities of the team set up by President Bola Tinubu, noting that “The committee’s budget includes provisions for a national Data for Tax project which the JTB had been

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E), the Peer-to-Peer (P2P), and the black market arms of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, September 29, as a turbulent third quarter ended. In the official segment, the local currency improved its value against the greenback by 2.6 per cent or N20.04 to close at N755.27/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N775.31/$1 amid a drop in the supply of FX into the system by 11.6 per cent or $16.73 million to $127.82 million from the $144.55 million published on Thursday. In the

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of Brent futures and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went down by about 1 per cent on Friday, due to macroeconomic concerns and sustained profit-taking. Data showed that Brent fell by 7 cents to $95.31 per barrel and WTI depreciated by 92 cents to $90.97. Prices rose about 30 per cent in the third quarter of the year helped by the production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+). This action squeezed global crude supply. Brent was about 2.2 per cent in the week and 27 per cent

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking persisted on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, as investors refused to tone down their profit-taking activities. It was observed that the market is gradually entering panic mode due to macroeconomic instability in the country, especially with the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar going above N1,000 in the parallel market. A stockbroker with one of the leading brokerage firms in the country, who asked not to be named, said the local bourse was witnessing panic selling due to investors liquidating their shares for Dollars. “This trend will continue for a while

By Dipo Olowookere Worried by the spate of abuse and commercialisation of the Christian faith in the country, the government of South Africa is considering regulate activities of churches. Already, the Portfolio Committee on Women in the Presidency has suggested that legislation is needed to regulate those churches operating outside the law. The committee was briefed by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) on the commercialisation of religion and the abuse and exploitation of people’s belief systems. The committee said regulations and peer review mechanism as proposed

By Adedapo Adesanya The race for selecting the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has taken a new turn following the interest of Kenya in the position. The latest information is that the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture in Kenya, Mrs Amina Mohamed, has joined the list of those who want the juicy position, making her the sixth person to have shown interest. A WTO official confirmed the nomination of the former foreign affairs minister late on Tuesday as the nomination window closes today, kickstarting the race for who will replace the outgoing WTO director-general, Mr

By Mpaka Numbere Friday, September 6, 2017, will go down the history books as the people of Plateau State gave their total support to Governor Solomon Lalang in solidarity over the demise of his brother Dr Wummen Tsenba Bako. The atmosphere in Ajikamai, Shendam Local Government Area, was one that a passer-by may refer to a political rally or a crusade of sort, but only a struggle through the jam-packed venue would reveal the real essence of the assembly. The previous day had experienced the gathering of sympathizers who thronged the St. Monica Catholic Church in Rantya, Jos for the

By Nneka Okumazie Some business people love to say hope is not a strategy. There are others too who love to say “we can’t trade on hope”. Maybe this is accurate for their business or purpose, maybe not, who knows? But in life, hope is almost certainly next to the best strategy – if not the best, at times. The value of hope is far powerful than several factors – including happiness. Happiness, or say satisfaction can be temporal, it can depend on other factors, it can be taken away or expire, it can become unexciting, it can become costly,

By Dipo Olowookere Pioneer non-interest bank in Nigeria, Jaiz Bank Plc, is in search of N10 billion to expand the business operations in the country. According to a notice from the lender, this money is expected to be sourced from fresh investors through the sale of new shares of the organisation under a private placement. A private placement is the sale of stocks directly to a private investor and the price is normally higher than the market value. Later this month, the company will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to seek approval of shareholders for the transaction. The meeting

By Adedapo Adesanya The last trading session of the week on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) ended on a negative note on Friday with a 0.11 per cent depreciation triggered by NASD Plc. The total value of the unlisted securities market in Nigeria declined by N700 million yesterday to settle at N631.55 billion in contrast to N632.25 billion it closed in the preceding session. Following the same trend, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) slacked by 0.83 points to wrap the session at 745.82 points compared with 746.65 points recorded on Thursday. Business Post reports that NASD Plc

By Modupe Gbadeyanka No fewer than 40,000 youths are expected to benefit from a skill empowerment programme put in place by the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki. At the launch of the scheme on Sunday in Ilorin, Kwara State, Mr Saraki said he was moved to do this as his own way to helping the government tackle unemployment problem in the country. According to the Senate President, the initiative tagged ‘Skill Acquisition, Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP)’, will ensure 40,000 youths are trained in the next four years “with advanced skills that will focus on computer engineering, software development, animation,

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom has pledged to increase its trade foothold in West Africa by expanding its trade in Nigeria by about £2 billion. This is coming as data from the UK Export Finance showed that the country provided over £500 million worth of support for projects in West Africa throughout 2021, the most in over two decades. This will allow exporters to gain a foothold in the West African region, which accounts for over one-quarter of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product. As demand for UK products and services expands in West Africa, it will also be expanding its