Economy
Traders Look Ahead to Powell’s Second Day on Capitol Hill
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are once again pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving higher over the course of the previous session.
Traders may stick to the sidelines ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell?s second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, with the central bank chief appearing before the House Financial Services Committee.
A positive reaction to Powell?s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday contributed to strength on Wall Street, as he offered an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.
Nonetheless, some negative sentiment may be generated in reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of June.
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after recovering from an initial move to the upside. With the gains on the day, the Nasdaq set a new record closing high and the S&P 500 reached its best closing level in well over five months.
The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow rose 55.53 points or 0.2 percent to 25,119.89, the Nasdaq advanced 49.40 points or 0.6 percent to 7,855.12 and the S&P 500 climbed 11.12 points or 0.4 percent to 2,809.55.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell offered few surprises in his semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
In his prepared remarks, Powell said the U.S. economy has grown at a solid pace so far this year and noted the latest data suggests economic growth in the second quarter was “considerably stronger” than in the first quarter.
The Fed chief also described recent inflation data as “encouraging,” with consumer price inflation a little above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
“Looking ahead, my colleagues on the FOMC and I expect that, with appropriate monetary policy, the job market will remain strong and inflation will stay near 2 percent over the next several years,” Powell said.
With the strong job market, inflation close to the objective, and the risks to the outlook roughly balanced, Powell reiterated that the Fed believes gradually raising interest rates is “the best way forward.”
“We are aware that, on the one hand, raising interest rates too slowly may lead to high inflation or financial market excesses,” Powell said. “On the other hand, if we raise rates too rapidly, the economy could weaken and inflation could run persistently below our objective.”
Powell said the Fed will continue to weigh a wide range of relevant information and stressed that the central bank’s policy decisions will depend on the economic outlook.
The Fed has raised rates twice this year to the current range of 1.75 to 2 percent and has signaled two more rate hikes before the end of the year.
On the U.S. economic front, the Fed released a report before the start of trading showing industrial production increased in line with economist estimates in June amid a rebound in auto production.
The report said industrial production climbed by 0.6 percent in June after falling by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in May.
A separate report from the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence has held steady in the month of July.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index remained unchanged in July after dipping to 68 in June. The unchanged reading matched economist estimates.
Chemical stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading session, driving the S&P Chemical Sector Index up by 1.5 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Housing stocks also turned in a strong performance following the NAHB report, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index climbing by 1.4 percent.
Semiconductor, brokerage, and biotechnology stocks also moved notably higher on the day, while oil service and real estate stocks moved to the downside.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of HBM Nigeria Plc (formerly Lafarge Africa), Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said the cement producer is expected to add 4.5 million tonnes to its production capacity by January 2027.
HBM Nigeria Plc is positioning itself for stronger long-term competitiveness, market leadership and job creation as it accelerates expansion projects.
The transition to HBM Nigeria marks a new phase of growth, driven by operational excellence, sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure development, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to Nigeria’s construction sector.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi, speaking recently in Lagos, said the ongoing expansion of the company’s Ashaka and Sagamu plants would significantly boost local production, create employment opportunities, and support businesses across its value chain.
“We recently announced the expansion of the Sagamu plant in Ogun State and the Ashaka plant in Gombe State. Hopefully, in January 2027, we will commission both plants, adding 4.5 million tonnes to our capacity. Traditionally, building a new plant takes about three years, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to the Huaxin Group,” he said.
According to him, the projects will generate employment, create opportunities for young people and women, strengthen local suppliers and contractors, and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“There are many vacancies we are trying to fill in Sagamu and Ashaka. Beyond direct employment, we are creating opportunities for small businesses, developing suppliers and supporting local contractors. This is an exciting period because it will deliver significant benefits to Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi noted that while the company’s corporate identity had changed following its acquisition by Huaxin Building Materials Group, its core values and commitment to customers, host communities, employees and shareholders remain unchanged.
He said HBM Nigeria traces its roots to 1959 as West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO), with its first cement plant commencing operations in Ewekoro, Ogun State, in 1961.
Since then, he said, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading building solutions providers with integrated plants in Ewekoro, Sagamu, Ashaka and Mfamosing.
He added that the company, which became publicly listed in 1979, has continued to expand through acquisitions and transformation while maintaining high product quality, innovation and responsible operations.
Highlighting the strengths of its parent company, Alade-Akinyemi described Huaxin Building Materials as a globally recognised building materials manufacturer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, with operations across 16 regions in China and 14 countries worldwide.
He said Huaxin’s engineering expertise and focus on research and development would strengthen HBM Nigeria’s operations and help close engineering skills gaps in the country.
“As HBM Nigeria, we are strategically positioned for long-term competitiveness and stronger market leadership while reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic progress after more than six decades of industry leadership,” he said.
He also said sustainability would remain central to the company’s operations, noting that it had introduced lower-carbon products and continued to invest in environmentally friendly production processes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed about N2.550 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in June 2026 to the three tiers of government after its July meeting in Abuja.
A statement signed by the Director of Press in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, “The N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue comprised N1.809 trillion in distributable statutory revenue and N740.724 billion in distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.”
It was gathered that a total gross revenue of N4.500 trillion was available in June 2026, with deductions for the cost of collection amounting to N160.744 billion, and transfers and refunds at N1.789 trillion.
According to a communiqué after the gathering, gross statutory revenue of N3.700 trillion was received in June 2026, N1.049 trillion higher than the N2.651 trillion received in the preceding month, while gross revenue of N799.746 billion was generated from VAT, N56.058 billion higher than the N743.688 billion recorded in May 2026.
It was stated that from the N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N923.438 billion, the state governments got N838.208 billion, while the local government councils were given N591.390 billion, with N197.610 billion allocated to the benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation revenue.
From the N1.809 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government went away with N849.366 billion, states shared N430.810 billion, local councils took N332.136 billion, while the benefiting states got N197.610 billion as derivation revenue.
From the N740.724 billion distributable VAT earnings, the central government got N74.072 billion, the states received N407.398 billion, and the local government councils were allocated N259.253 billion.
The communiqué further stated that in June 2026, collections from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT), Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flare Penalties, Rent, Mineral Oil Royalties (MOR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies increased significantly, while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Mineral Royalties, and Fees declined considerably. Excise Duty recorded only a marginal increase.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
