Naira weakens to N950/dollar as forex scarcity worsens
The naira fell further to the dollar on Wednesday after closing at 950/$ at the parallel market. Bureau de Change operators who spoke to The PUNCH, said the naira which had earlier closed at 930/$ at the close of operations on Tuesday, was bought and sold at 935/$ and 950/$ on Wednesday. At the Investor […]
Investors lose N305bn as stock market sustains downward trend
The downward trend in the stock market continued for the sixth straight week following sell pressure in some blue chip companies with investors losing N305 billion. The market volatility had remained at the extreme majorly driven by mixed sentiments while investors continue to seek safer investment haven as hedge against inflation in the face of attractive […]
S.Africa to call it a wrap on current hikes with last 25 bps on March 30
South Africa’s Reserve Bank will raise interest rates for the last time in this cycle by 25 basis points on March 30, in anticipation of slower inflation and a weak economy due to power disruptions, a Reuters poll found on Monday. A firm majority of 18 out of 20 economists polled on South Africa’s repo […]
‘Recession is in the air’: German economy stagnates in 2nd quarter
Reuters The German economy stagnated in the second quarter, data showed on Friday, with the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and supply disruptions bringing Europe’s largest economy to the edge of a downturn. Gross domestic product was unchanged quarter on quarter in adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll of economists had […]
Israel signs historic trade deal with UAE, its biggest with any Arab country
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday penned a multi-billion dollar free trade agreement, the latest product of the two countries’ historic normalization deal in 2020 known as the Abraham Accords. With a stated target of increasing annual bilateral trade to more than $10 billion over the next five […]
UK inflation jumps to 40-year high of 9% as food and energy prices spiral
LONDON — U.K. inflation soared to a 40-year high of 9% in April as food and energy prices spiraled, official figures revealed Wednesday, escalating the country’s cost-of-living crisis. Consumer prices rose by 2.5% month-on-month, fractionally below expectations for a 2.6% climb in a Reuters poll of economists, which had also projected a 9.1% annual increase. […]
With floods and electricity shortages, South Africa’s economy is threatening to go into reverse
South Africa’s economy picked up momentum in the first quarter of the year, but historic flooding in a key province and the threat of unprecedented power cuts are putting the brakes on its recovery. The port city of Durban and the wider KwaZulu-Natal province in eastern South Africa were besieged by the country’s worst flash […]
Russia-Ukraine War Shows Africa Needs to Diversify Wheat Sources
The war between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted just how much of the world’s wheat supply relies on these two countries. a recently released UN report shows a sample of 25 African countries that rely on wheat imports from Russia or Ukraine. Of this group, 21countries import most of their wheat from Russia. Between 2018 […]
Russia Invasion: Ukraine has no intention to surrender — Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is fighting in the Donbas region and it has “no intention of surrendering”. In an interview broadcast on Sunday by CNN, Zelensky brushed aside the idea of letting Moscow take over the Donbas and part of eastern Ukraine to stop the conflict. He added: “Ukraine and its people are […]
Nigeria’s Africa trade balance down 33.8% in 3 years
By Yinka Kolawole Nigeria seems to be losing out in trade with other African countries as reflected in a 33.8 percent decline in trade balance with the continent to N1.86 trillion in 2021 from N2.81 trillion in 2019. This development, coming ahead of the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), also […]
Maryam: 
Iyanuoluwa Isinkaye: 