Businesses hurt as visa denials persist despite Ramaphosa’s visit

Expectations that the visit of Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s President, in December would boost trade and strengthen ties between Nigeria and South Africa appear to have been dashed as Nigerians still face visa denials and delays.

Wema Bank lost N119.1m from 1,195 fraud, forgery cases in 2021

In the financial year ended December 31, 2021, Wema Bank Plc recorded 1,195 cases of fraud and forgeries valued at N263.853million, according to the bank’s financial statement at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The bank said on page 56 of its annual report that 3percent of the fraud/forgeries perpetrators were internal while 97% were external.

Canada slams Putin’s daughters with sanctions

Canada announced on Tuesday that it would place sanctions on 14 associates of the Russian government, including President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters. Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that they would answer for their crimes. 

Eterna Plc Notifies of Proposed Mandatory Takeover of 1.3bn Ordinary Shares

We refer to Eterna Plc’s public statement dated 1st November 2021 in which the Company had notified the general public that Preline Limited has completed the acquisition of 794,969,774 (Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Four) ordinary shares of the Company representing 60.98% in the Company, making it the largest and majority shareholder in the Company, thus triggering the mandatory tender offer (MTO) provisions of the Investment and Securities Act and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulations.

We wish to announce to Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public; that following the granting of the “Authority to proceed” by SEC, Preline Limited has notified the Company of its intention to proceed with the Takeover bid to acquire 1,300,000 ordinary shares equivalent to 0.10% equity stake in Eterna Plc from other shareholders at a price of N13.50 per share.

 This notification is in fulfillment of our disclosure obligations in line with Regulatory guidelines and our corporate responsibility to our stakeholders.

 Investors Gain N319.61bn as NGXASI Inches up Further by 1.25% Amid Negative Market Turnover

Equities market closed on a positive note, as NGXASI appreciated by +1.25% to close at 47,545.86 basis points as against +0.07% appreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) return currently stands at +12.69%.

Market breadth closed Positive as ETERNA led 27 Gainers as against 19 Losers topped by UNIONDICON at the end of today’s session an improved performance when compared with previous outlook.

Market turnover closed negative as volume moved down by 4.35% as against 5.12% downtick recorded in the previous session. UNIVINSURE, ZENITHBANK, and FIDELITYBK were the most active to boost market turnover. MTNN and ZENITHBANK  topped market value list.

UNIVINSURE leads the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of today’s session.

April 2022 World Economic Outlook – War Sets Back Global Recovery

The war in Ukraine has triggered a costly humanitarian crisis that demands a peaceful resolution. Economic damage from the conflict will contribute to a significant slowdown in global growth in 2022. Source IMF Read More

Demand Destruction Fears Drag Oil and Gas Prices Lower – OIR 190422

 The IMF cutting the global economy’s 2022 outlook by 0.8% compared to its previous forecast is the main talking point in markets today – after seeing strong demand across all commodities in Q1, we are now facing the reality of protracted demand loss going forwards. Source Tom Kool of Oilprice.com Read More 

Power Generation Crashes by 903MW, National Grid Crisis Persists

The latest figures on Nigeria’s power grid performance released on Tuesday showed that the quantum of electricity generated on the grid had continued to fluctuate, as it fell by 903 megawatts on Monday, April 18, 2022. Source Punch Read More

IMF Upgrades Nigeria’s Economic Growth Forecast to 3.4%

The increase in global oil prices has caused the International Monetary Fund to review Nigeria’s economic growth potential to 3.4 per cent in 2022. Source Punch Read More

Central Bank Governor Becomes Next in Line to Lead Ivory Coast 

Ivory Coast’s president named the governor of a regional central bank as his deputy, making him the front-runner to become the next leader of the world’s biggest cocoa grower. Source Bloomberg Read More

WTO Tasks Governments, Development Agencies on Trade Facilitation To Check Inflation

 The World Trade Organisation has urged governments and multilateral organisations to work together to facilitate trade to address inflationary pressures heightened by supply chain challenges due to the war in Ukraine. Source Guardian Nigeria Read More

Mastercard to Link All Employee Bonuses to ESG Goals

 Payment processor Mastercard Inc (MA.N) will link all employee bonuses to environmental, social and corporate-governance (ESG)initiatives, expanding an earlier program which was limited to its senior executives, Chief Executive Michael Miebach said on Tuesday. Source Reuters Read More

China Unexpectedly Keeps Lending Benchmark Unchanged

China surprisingly kept its benchmark lending rates steady on Wednesday, with markets seeing the move as Beijing’s cautious approach to rolling out more easing measures as the economy slows due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Source Yahoo Read More

Despite CBN’s Clampdown, Nigerians Traded N316.9bn Bitcoin in 2021

Nigerians traded at least N316.9bn in bitcoin in 2021 despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions in the nation’s banking system. Source Punch Read More

Netflix Shares Plunge as Subscribers Drop

 Netflix shares lost a quarter of their value Tuesday after the company revealed its ranks of subscribers shrank in the first quarter of this year. Source Punch Read More

AfDB Approves 9.8m Euros to Support Venture Capital Investments In African Startups

 The board of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an equity investment of 9.8 million Euros to support venture capital investments in African startups, from seed to growth stages. Source TheCable Read More

IBM Targets 30 million Jobs by 2030

Tech giant, IBM, plans to provide skills to 30 million by 2030. To achieve this, IBM inked over 170 new academic and industry partnerships. It involved harnessing programmes and career building platforms to expand access to education and in-demand technical roles. Source The Nation Read More