Jerome Powell, US Federal Reserve Chairman. Image Credit: time.com June 16, 2023/US Federal Reserve Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a modest pace. Job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated. The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient. Tighter credit conditions for households and businesses are likely to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects remains uncertain. The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks. The Committee see ..read more

Nigerian Stock Exchange Trading Floor. Image Credit: NGX The domestic bourse edged higher this week as the reforms of the new administration continued to spur an unprecedented rally in the market. Precisely, the All-Share index rose by 5.5% to 59,000.96 points, supported by strong interest in MTNN (+9.6%) and AIRTELAFRI (+7.8%). June 16, 2023/Cordros Report Global Economy In what can be regarded as a “hawkish pause”, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), at its June policy meeting, voted to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.00% – 5.25%, stating that it allows the Co ..read more

June 16, 2023/NGX The Governor, Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have all renewed calls for more gender-focused initiatives that will create increased opportunities for women in leadership, employment, and entrepreneurship in the Nigerian private sector. They made these calls during the inaugural edition of the Gender Leader Awards (GLA) which was held in Lagos on Thursday. Being implemented under the Nigeria2Equal (N2E) program, the GLA is designed to recognize and ..read more

Image Credit: United Capital Research June 16, 2023/United Capital Anglophone West Africa Nigeria Revenue from VAT, CIT falls 18% to N1.18trn Revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax, CIT, fell quarter on quarter (QoQ) by 18.6   percent to N1.18 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1’23) from N1.45 trillion in Q4’22. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/06/revenue-from-vat-cit-falls-18-to-n1-18trn/  Phone and generator imports gulped $3.5bn in 2022. According to data from the International Trade Centre (ITC), Nigeria spent $3.47bn importing phones, generating ..read more

Image Credit: UBA Plc June 15, 2023/CardinalStone Event: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the abolition of segmentation in Nigeria’s FX market, with all segments effectively collapsed into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window with immediate effect. Operations in the window will be guided by the extant circular establishing the window, dated April 21, 2017, and referenced FMD/DIR/CIR/GEN/08/007. Some key highlights of what is, mostly, a return to the original template of the I&E window include:  Investors will engage in the market at rates buyers and sellers set&nbs ..read more

Image Credit: AetoswireCompany created over 1,600 new positions in 2022, helping employees realize a 2.2x lift in income on average June 16, 2023/Aetoswire Sama, the leader in providing data annotation solutions that powers the AI models of the future, today released its first annual Impact Report since converting to a privately-held company. By focusing on people, the planet and governance, Sama created 1,622 new entry-level jobs in 2022, a single-year record. Among these new hires, 35% were unemployed in the six months prior to joining Sama, and 56% were living below the international povert ..read more

Image Credit: FirstBank of Nigeria June 15, 2023/FirstBank of Nigeria   In December 2015, the share price of First Bank of Nigeria Limited was trading around N4.8 band. About seven years later, precisely last December, the value held tightly to N15, growing by over threefold amid general asset and economic doldrums. The steep rise in the valuation of the financial institution deviates remarkably from the average performance of FUGAZ, an acronym describing the top five Nigerian banks by market capitalisation. In the past seven years, the share prices of the leading banks appreciated by an ..read more

Abdulrasheed Bawa Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Image Credit: Sunday Adebayo June 14, 2023 RESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU SUSPENDS BAWA INDEFINITELY FROM OFFICE AS CHAIRMAN ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, has approved the indefinite suspension from office of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, as the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office. 2. This follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him. 3. Mr Bawa has been directe ..read more

Image Credit: CBN June 14, 2023/CBN The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wishes to inform all authorized dealers and the general public of the following immediate changes to operations in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Market: Abolishment of segmentation. All segments are now collapsed into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. Applications for medicals, school fees, BTA/PTA, and SMEs would continue to be processed through deposit money banks. Re-introduction of the “Willing Buyer, Willing Seller’ model at the I&E Window. Operations in this window shall be guided by t ..read more

Image Credit: ASEA ….this will boost increased participation in investments – SEC, NGX …local currency payment to reduce pressure on country’s reserves – PAPSS June 14, 2023/NGX The African Stock Exchange Association (ASEA) has revealed that having successfully launched phase one of the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), it is looking at rolling at the second phase of the project to ensure investors take advantage of the wide array of investment prospects across African capital markets. President, ASEA and Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Stock Exchange, Mr Thapelo Tsheole, disclosed ..read more