Transcorp Grows H1 2018 Profit by 161% to N10.9b

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium and indicated that the Israel-Hamas tensions may not have much effect on the oil market. Brent crude futures depreciated by 84 cents or 1 per cent at $80.58 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.56 or 2 per cent to close at $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the US Thanksgiving holiday. Prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week’s meeting of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has admitted that the country recorded a revenue drop of $1.4 billion between 2015 and 2019 after imposing foreign exchange (FX) restrictions for import of 43 items over eight years. The apex bank governor made this known on Friday while delivering his keynote address at the 58th Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. The apex bank head, during the preparation of his monetary policy thrust, cited available data saying, “Studies have shown that during the period when the

By Dipo Olowookere The positive momentum witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Monday with a 0.17 per cent leap at the close of business. Buying pressure, particularly in a few blue-chip equities, kept the bulls at Customs Street during the trading session, though the consumer goods space succumbed to profit-taking by 0.99 per cent. But hope was kept alive by the gains reported by the other key sectors of the market, with the banking counter growing by 1.71 per cent, and the industrial goods index appreciating by 0.01 per cent, while the insurance and energy sectors remained

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again denied rumours making the rounds that it plans to convert foreign exchange (FX) in domiciliary accounts of customers to Naira. A statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, described the social media rumours as false and aimed at “impugning the integrity of the CBN” and possibly cause a “panic in the foreign exchange market.” According to the apex bank, it “has not contemplated, and will never contemplate, any such line of action,” urging members of the public to disregard the news “and go

By Adedapo Adesanya Infection with the Omicron coronavirus variant can also strengthen immunity against the earlier Delta strain, reducing the risk of severe disease, according to a new paper released by South African scientists. The study, produced by Alex Sigal and Khadija Khan of the Durban-based Africa Health Research Institute, subjects infected with the Omicron variant not only saw immunity to subsequent Omiron infections rise 14-fold but also saw has been shown to be highly transmissible and can evade some antibodies, after two weeks of getting symptoms immunity to subsequent infections from the strain rose 14-fold, but also a 4-fold

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude soared by $3.56 or 2.4 per cent to $114.20 per barrel on Monday on optimism that China’s lockdowns are coming to an end and demand concerns will ease. The piece of information also caused the price of the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures to rise by $4.32 or 3.4 per cent to $113.70 per barrel. It was reported that Shanghai is witnessing a strong recovery from COVID cases, with plans in place to ease lockdown restrictions beginning this week outweighing the bearish factors for oil. For nearly six weeks, the government shut

By Dipo Olowookere There is every possibility that the financial health (solvency) of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the flagship subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, could be at risk, Moody’s Investors Service has feared. The rating agency in a report on Wednesday also said the management team of the bank could find it difficult to focus on implementing the company’s strategic plan. First Bank has been in the news recently following the botched boardroom coup that initially ousted its Managing Director, Mr Adesola Adeduntan. The Veterinary Doctor turned banker was removed from office by the board of the organisation formerly

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Nigerian government has asked its German counterpart to return the 1,130 looted artefacts from the country many years ago without any condition attached to it. The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, said during a meeting with representatives of the German government on Wednesday that the items do not belong to them but to Nigeria and must be returned. In a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Segun Adeyemi, on Thursday, the Minister stressed that Nigeria will not accept the substantial return of the artefacts but the full return. According to him, the

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks poised to extend the upward move seen in the previous session. Upbeat economic data and easing concerns about the situation with North Korea may generate continued buying interest. After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks remained firmly positive throughout the trading session on Monday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbing further off the one-month lows set last Thursday The Dow climbed 135.39 points or 0.6 percent to 21,993.71,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has disclosed that the construction of the Lekki Deep Sea Port would begin next month. Mr Ambode gave this assurance at the weekend when he paid a visit to the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ). The Governor said work would commence on the Lekki Deep Sea Port in April 2017, saying that it was also a critical infrastructure that would attract more investors into the Zone and ensure return on investment. “With the ongoing construction of the Seaport, Airport and others, it is obvious that a single road isn’t sufficient for

By Adedapo Adesanya The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs Toyin Olajide, has refuted the claims by the former Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, that the company stopped its flights to Dubai over its lack of capacity. The airline operator also punctured the claims by Mr Sirika that Air Peace incurred of loss of about $19 million for keeping two Boeing 777 aircraft idle for several months. On Sunday, during an interview with Arise Television, the ex-minister, while praising Ethiopian Airlines, stated that Air Peace leased ‘two’ Boeing 777 aircraft on a monthly lease fee of $250,000, parked