Economy

Traders Remain Focused on Lingering Trade Concerns

Published

8 years ago

02/07/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside after closing higher over the two previous sessions.

Lingering trade concerns are likely to weigh on the markets as tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports to the U.S. and a matching $34 billion worth of U.S. exports to China are due to take effect on July 6th.

Potentially adding to the concerns, news website Axios obtained a leaked draft of bill ordered by President Donald Trump that would declare America?s abandonment of fundamental World Trade Organization rules.

The bill, known as the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act, essentially provides Trump a license to raise U.S. tariffs at will, without congressional consent, Axios said.

?It would be the equivalent of walking away from the WTO and our commitments there without us actually notifying our withdrawal,? a source familiar with the bill told Axios.

However, the source noted Congress would never give the president the authority, and a White House spokeswoman told Axios the administration does not have actual legislation it is preparing to rollout.

A previous report from Axios said Trump has repeatedly told top White House officials he wants to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization.

Overall trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued, however, with the upcoming July 4th holiday likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.

Later this week, trading may be impacted by reaction to the Labor Department?s monthly jobs report and the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

After trading notably higher throughout much of the session, stocks pulled back sharply going into the close of trading on Friday. The major averages showed a notable decline but managed to end the day in positive territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq briefly dipped into negative territory but inched up 6.62 points or 0.1 percent to 7,510.30. The Dow edged up 55.36 points or 0.2 percent to 24,271.41, and the S&P 500 crept up 2.06 points or 0.1 percent to 2,718.37.

Despite moving higher over the past two days, the major averages all moved notably lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 2.4 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both slumped by 1.3 percent.

The late-day pullback on Wall Street may have reflected lingering concerns about the global economic impact of recent trade disputes between the U.S. and other major economies.

Strength in the financial sector helped to drive the markets higher early in the day after most of the nation’s largest banks passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test.

Financial giants such as Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) have subsequently announced billions of dollars in stock buybacks and raised their quarterly dividends.

Strength in the overseas markets also generated early buying interest on Wall Street despite the lingering trade concerns.

Asian stocks reversed early losses to end mostly higher after China eased restrictions on foreign investment in sectors including banking, automotive, heavy industry and agriculture amid scrutiny from its top trading partners.

The U.S. and the European Union have been complaining that Beijing limits foreign firms’ ability to enter the world’s second-largest economy.

News EU leaders have reached an agreement on migration, averting a political crisis in Germany, also contributed to strength in the European markets.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed personal income increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May, although the report also showed weaker than expected growth in personal spending.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in May after edging up by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in April.

Economists had expected income to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending rose by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in April.

Personal spending had been expected to increase by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.6 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment improved by much less than initially estimated in the month of June.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for June was downwardly revised to 98.2 from the preliminary reading of 99.3.

The index for June is still slightly above the final May reading of 98.0, although economists had expected a much more modest downward revision to 99.2.

Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said the downward revision was largely due to concerns about the potential impact of tariffs on the domestic economy.

Despite the late-day pull back by the broader markets, gold stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent. The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.

Considerable strength also remained visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index continued to recover after hitting its lowest intraday level in well over a month on Thursday.

Housing and oil stocks also ended the session notably higher, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves on the day.

Economy

TotalEnergies Sells 10% Stake in Renaissance JV to Vaaris

Published

11 hours ago

14/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.

The Renaissance JV, formerly known as the SPDC JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30 per cent, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5 per cent), which holds 18 licences in the Niger Delta.

In a statement by TotalEnergies on Wednesday, it was stated that under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil.

Production from these licences, it was said, represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in company’s share in 2025.

The agreement also stated that TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the three other licences of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas, namely OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licences, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply.

Business Post reports that the conclusion of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.

“Under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licences represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in the company’s share in 2025.

“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the 3 other licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement reads in part.

The development is part of TotalEnergies’ strategies to dump more assets to lighten its books and debt.

Economy

NGX RegCo Revokes Trading Licence of Monument Securities

Published

21 hours ago

14/01/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The trading licence of Monument Securities and Finance Limited has been revoked by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.

Known as NGX Regulations Limited (NGX Regco), the regulator said it took back the operating licence of the organisation after it shut down its operations.

The revocation of the licence was approved by Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC) at its meeting held on September 24, 2025, a notice from the signed by the Head of Market Regulations at the agency, Chinedu Akamaka, said.

“This is to formally notify all trading license holders that the board of NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has approved the decision of the Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC)” in respect of Monument Securities and Finance Limited, a part of the disclosure stated.

Monument Securities and Finance Limited was earlier licensed to assist clients with the trading of stocks in the Nigerian capital market.

However, with the latest development, the firm is no longer authorised to perform this function.

Economy

NEITI Advocates Fiscal Discipline, Transparency as FG, States, LGs Get N6trn in Three Months

Published

21 hours ago

14/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for fiscal discipline and transparency as data showed that federal government, states, and local governments shared a whopping N6 trillion Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements in the third quarter of last year.

In its analysis of the FAAC Q3 2025 allocation, the body revealed that the federal government received N2.19 trillion, states received N1.97 trillion, and local governments received N1.45 trillion.

According to a statement by the Director of Communication and Stakeholders Management at NEITI, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, the allocation indicated a historic rise in federation account receipts and distributions, explaining that year-on-year quarterly FAAC allocations in 2025 grew by 55.6 per cent compared with Q3 of 2024 while it more than doubling allocations over two years.

The report contained in the agency’s Quarterly Review noted that the N6 trillion included 13 per cent payments to derivative states. It also showed that statutory revenues accounted for 62 per cent of shared receipts, while Value Added Tax (VAT) was 34 per cent, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and augmentation from non-oil excess revenue each accounted for 2 per cent, respectively.

The distribution to the 36 states comprised revenues from statutory sources, VAT, EMTL, and ecological funds. States also received additional N100 billion as augmentation from the non-oil excess revenue account.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Sarkin Adar, called on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) FAAC, the National Economic Council (NEC), the National Assembly, and state governments to act on the recommendations to strengthen transparency, accountability, and long-term fiscal sustainability.

“Though the Quarter 3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, NEITI reiterates that the data presents an opportunity to the government to institutionalise prudent fiscal practices that will protect the gains that have been recorded so far in growing revenue and reduce vulnerability to commodity shocks.

“The Q3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, but windfalls must be managed with discipline. Greater transparency, realistic budgeting, and stronger stabilisation mechanisms will ensure these resources deliver durable benefits for all Nigerians,” Mr Adar said.

NEITI urged the government at all levels to ensure the growth of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth and stabilisation capacity, by committing to regular transfers to the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund and other related stabilisation mechanisms in line with the fiscal responsibility frameworks.

It further advised governments at all levels to adopt realistic budget benchmarks by setting more conservative and achievable crude oil production and price assumptions in the budget to reduce implementation gaps, deficit, and debt metrics.

This, it said, is in addition to accelerating revenue diversification by prioritising reforms that would attract investments into the mining sector, expedite legislation to modernise the Mineral and Mining Act, support reforms in the downstream petroleum sector, as well as the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to expand domestic refining and value addition.