Nigeria dollar reserves at 2-1/2 year high of $31.6 bln -cenbank

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at a two and a half-year high of $31.59 billion as of Aug. 18, central bank data showed on Thursday.Nigeria’s dollar reserves have climbed back to a level they last reached in January 2015, the data showed, shortly before general elections in Africa’s biggest economy.The bank did not provide a reason for the increase in reserves.Nigerian assets, largely shunned by foreign investors over the past three years,...

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Allianz buys Nigerian insurer for $35 mln

Germany's Allianz plans to pay $35 million for 98 percent stake in Nigerian insurer Ensure Insurance in a push for growth in Africa, where many people are uninsured.Foreign insurers are banking on growing premiums as the continent develops its infrastructure and a consumer class demands protection from risk.Allianz said that it would acquire the stake from UK-based holding company Greenoaks Global Holdings. Ensure Insurance offers life and non-life...

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Trump attacking freedom of the press - UN rights boss

U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of journalists amounts to an attack on the freedom of the press and could provoke violence against reporters, the United Nations' human rights chief said on Wednesday.Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Trump had also made worrying remarks about women, Mexicans and Muslims and went on to question the president's approach to immigration and decision to pardon former Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio.There was no immediate response...

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South African watchdog ends talks with banks over forex probe

South Africa will no longer do deals with banks offering to cooperate in a case into alleged rigging of the rand, the head of the Competition Commission said on Wednesday, a blow to some banks that had discreetly approached the watchdog for a settlement.The Commission concluded an investigation in February into whether banks colluded to coordinate their trading actives when giving quotes to customers who were buying or selling currencies.It recommended...

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Ivory Coast sold forward 1.32 mln T of cocoa by Aug. 25

Ivory Coast sold forward 1.32 million tonnes of its 2017/18 cocoa crop by Aug. 25, already hitting its upper limit on advance sales because of an expected drop in output, two sources from the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) said on Wednesday. The world's top grower is on course for a record harvest this season, with traders and exporters predicting production of 2 million tonnes or more. But most observers expect a dip in output in the upcoming...

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Nigerian president chairs first cabinet meeting since return from medical leave

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday chaired his first cabinet meeting since returning from sick leave in Britain this month.Buhari returned to Nigeria on Aug. 19 after more than three months in London for treatment for an undisclosed ailment.He has kept a low profile and last week canceled a cabinet meeting, raising concerns that the president, criticised for inertia by his opponents, was returning to his former ways when he worked...

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Germany's Allianz buys into Nigeria's Ensure Insurance Plc in African push

Germany's Allianz said on Wednesday it is buying control of Nigerian insurer Ensure Insurance Plc in a push for growth in Africa, where many people are uninsured. Foreign insurers are banking on growing premiums as the continent develops its infrastructure and a consumer class demands protection from risk. Allianz said in a statement that it would acquire a 98 percent stake in Ensure Insurance from UK-based holding company Greenoaks Global Holdings....

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Why I am ending my marriage to Ooni of Ife - Olori Wuraola

Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi has announced that her marriage to Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, is over.The queen who has reverted to her maiden name Zaynab-Otiti Obanor says she was never unfaithful to the monarch despite reports suggesting so.In a statement posted on Instagram on Wednesday, she wrote: “We have got to stop this culture of shaming and vilifying women with false stories of infidelity & nefarious behavior. The spreading of false...

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London cocoa slips from early peak, raw sugar weakens

London cocoa futures rose to the highest level in almost three weeks on Tuesday before gains were eroded as a short-covering rally ran out of steam.Prices had risen early to reflect gains in New York cocoa on Monday, when London-based contracts had been shut for a British public holiday.COCOA* December London cocoa was up 12 pounds, or 0.8 percent, at 1,540 pounds a tonne by 1320 GMT after peaking at 1,574 pounds in early trade, the highest for the...

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How a kidnap suspect used victim's organs to make pepper soup

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested a member of a notorious gang, one Roland Peter, who allegedly kidnapped one Pastor Samuel Okpara, killed and beheaded him, before using his liver, intestine and other internal organs for pepper soup and plantain porridge.The suspect was arrested while preparing the meal in his house at Abarikpo in Ahoada East Local Council of the state. The victim, who hailed from Edoha in Ahoada East Local...

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Looking back at the earnings season - United Capital

As we close the books for the first half of 2017, we are pleased to note that most Nigerian companies posted strong earnings growth for the period.Companies in the consumer goods sector have been the standout. Albeit from a low base, the sector showed some strength in the second quarter of the year, supported by improved foreign exchange liquidity and upward price adjustments. Industrials showed some strength too amid growth in global cement consumption,...

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Nigerian annual inflation slows in July to 16.05 pct, food inflation soars

Annual inflation in Nigeria slowed for a sixth month in July, easing to 16.05 percent, but the rise in food inflation was the biggest in eight years, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.  The rate of annual inflation was 0.05 percent lower than in June. A separate food price index showed inflation rose to 20.28 percent in July, up from 19.91 percent in June, the biggest year-on-year increase since 2009, the statistics office...

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Nigeria overnight lending rate drops on liquidity injection

Nigeria's overnight lending rate dropped to 12 percent on Friday after spiking to almost 100 percent on Wednesday due to a liquidity squeeze as lenders paid for hard currency and treasury bills purchased from the central bank, traders said.Money market rates moderated on Thursday after the state disbursed 224.54 billion naira ($715.10 mln) in budget allocations to its three tiers of government, boosting liquidity.The bank also repaid around 95.7...

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Ghana reconstitutes board of its Re-Insurance firm

 'The Growth and innovation of the insurance industry will serve as an avenue to develop the domestic capital market.' The minister of finance, Atiwa East, made these remarks at the inauguration of the Board of Ghana Re-insurance (Ghana Re) in Accra and challenged them to work assiduously to support the mobilization of national savings towards a cohesive drive to narrowing the investment gap in the economy. She noted that the insurance industry...

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Nigeria's Emir Sanusi moves to eradicate child marriage

His daughters tease that he is a mild reformer, but the chief of Nigeria's Kano emirate hopes to end child marriage in the country's deeply conservative northLamido Sanusi II, Nigeria's second highest Islamic authority, is on a mission to end child marriage.As the emir of Kano in northern Nigeria, one of 13 states where there is no minimum age for marriage, he is well placed to understand the issue. Yet Sanusi, a hugely symbolic religious figure,...

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South Africa's cabinet to make final decision on Airways recapitalisation next month

South Africa's cabinet will make a final decision on how to recapitalise state airline South African Airways (SAA) by end September, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday. The airline runs one of Africa's biggest fleets but is loss-making. It received state funds in July to help to repay debts and also depends on government debt guarantees of about 20 billion rand ($1.5 billion). "Before the end of September, we should have gone to cabinet,...

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No longer on the side-line, Q2-2017 capital inflow jumps 44 pct y/y - United Capital

The National Bureau of Statistic published its capital importation report for Q2-17 during the week indicating a 95.0 percent q/q or 43.6 percent y/y expansion in foreign capital into the country.  In contrast to Q1-17, Foreign Portfolio (FPI) and Direct (FDI) investment rose 145.7 percent and 29.8 percent q/q respectively, reaffirming the impact of the investors' & exporters' (I&E) window introduced in April-2017.  FPIs into the...

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Nigeria to offer liquidity support to boost Islamic banking

Nigeria's central bank said on Thursday it is setting up two financial instruments to provide liquidity support to its non-interest paying lenders.It is a push by Nigeria, home to the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa, to establish itself as the African hub for Islamic finance, which follows religious principles such as bans on interest and gambling.The central bank has been working to set regulatory ground rules for such things as...

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Nigeria's GT Bank trades off-market deals worth $9.2 mln

Nigeria's GT Bank traded the largest volume on the Lagos bourse on Thursday in deals worth 2.89 billion naira ($9.2 million) as foreign funds exchanged shares in off-market deals following strong half-year results, traders said.Guaranty Trust Bank traded 71 million units in mostly cross-deals at an average price of 40.80 naira between some offshore funds and local investors, traders said.A broker said foreign funds viewed the bank favourably as one...

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The benefits of walking...simply putting one foot in front of the other is all it takes to improve mood

The mere act of putting one foot in front of the other for a few minutes can significantly boost our mood, a study has discovered.And it doesn't matter where we do it, why we do it, who we do it with, or what effect we expect the walk to have. Psychologists say the happiness-causing effects arise from the actual physical movement which is connected to how we evolved to move to find food and other rewards. The researchers say their study is the...

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Nigeria's oil output in July slightly below 1.8 mln bpd -minister

Nigeria's oil production, excluding condensates, was slightly below 1.8 million barrels per day in July, the country's oil minister said on Thursday. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, speaking on the sidelines of an event in the capital, Abuja, said there had been issues with aging pipelines. "We continue to have challenges, some of our pipelines are old, so these are basically technical. They are not militancy-induced stoppages, but they are basically...

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Nigeria launches $200 mln fund to help local oil and gas firms

Nigeria launched a fund on Thursday with an initial value of $200 million to support local oil and gas firms, the oil minister said, part of a government drive to improve access to low-cost credit across the economy.   The Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) would be financed through allocating the fund one percent of the value of all contracts awarded in the state-run upstream oil and gas industry, Petroleum Ministry said.Oil sales make...

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Nigeria bond auction raises 56 bln naira, less than half of amount on offer-traders

Nigeria raised 56.05 billion naira ($179 million) in a bond auction on Wednesday, less than half the amount on offer as domestic pension funds and insurance firms cut orders due to low yields, traders said on Thursday.The Debt Management Office (DMO) offered 135 billion naira worth of bonds maturing in 2021, 2027 and 2037, but investors shunned the auction to take positions in the relative liquid secondary market.The DMO paid 16.80 percent for the...

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Nigeria naira eases on black market as dollar demand resurfaces

Nigerian naira fell on the black market on Wednesday, pressured by demand for dollars from Muslim pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for the haj and individuals paying for school fees abroad.The naira was quoted at 370 to the dollar on the black market on Wednesday as against 368 naira its previous session, traders said.The currency has traded within a range of 359 to 366 naira to the dollar for investors and on the parallel market over the past...

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Nipco Plc raises stake in Nigerian fuel retailer

Nigerian fuel distributor Nipco Plc has bought another 3.23 percent stake in 11 Plc, the fuel retailer formerly known as Mobil Oil Nigeria, for 4.84 billion naira ($16 million) to increase its holding to 70 percent. Nipco's investment subsidiary in October bought 60 percent of Mobil Oil Nigeria from Exxon Mobil Corp. when the U.S. giant pulled out of downstream fuel distribution in Nigeria.Having amassed a stake of almost 67 percent, it wanted...

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Ghana producer price inflation falls to 2.0 pct in July

Ghana's producer price inflation fell to 2.0 percent year-on-year in July from a revised 3.2 percent the month before, driven by lower gold prices, the statistics office said on Wednesday.Ghana is seeking to cut spending and restructure debt and is on target to slow inflation to 8 percent, plus or minus two percentage points, by the end of 2017 as part of a three-year aid deal with the International Monetary Fund.Inflation in mining and quarrying...

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Nigeria cancels first cabinet meeting after Buhari's return

The first meeting of Nigeria's cabinet since the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from three months of medical leave in Britain has been canceled, his spokesman said on Wednesday without explaining why.Buhari returned to Nigeria on Saturday after traveling to Britain on May 7 for an unspecified illness and had written lawmakers on Monday to confirm he had returned and was resuming his duties. "The meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)...

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The future of foreign portfolio investment and FX in Nigeria -United Capital

Foreigners were the net sellers of Nigerian stocks for most of 2014, 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Nevertheless, the pace of outflows started to reverse in June 2016, following the official devaluation of the naira.  Foreigners are now plying back into the market at record levels, with the most recent buying wave spurred by the introduction of the market friendly investors and Exporters FX window (I & E window). So what's our take on future...

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In economic crisis, Angola votes for first new leader in 38 years

Angolans headed to the polls on Wednesday in a parliamentary election expected to usher in the ruling party's defence minister as the first new leader of Africa's second-biggest oil producer for 38 years. Joao Lourenco, who has pledged to boost growth and fight corruption, would inherit an economy mired in recession as gaping inequality, soaring inflation, and high unemployment squeeze poor Angolans who have benefited little from a decades-long oil...

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