CBN rate cut to 27% will squeeze banks’ profits – Moody –

Global ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has warned that Nigeria’s banking sector faces fresh profitability risks after the Central Bank of Nigeria cut its benchmark Monetary Policy Rate to 27% from 27.5%. The CBN said the 50-basis-point cut was driven by sustained disinflation, projections of further inflation decline, and the need to stimulate economic recovery. However, Moody’s cautioned that the move could erode banks’ net interest margins unless higher loan volumes offset lower yields…………(Read More)

Investors gain N171bn as bullish sentiment persists –

The equities market on Thursday sustained its positive trend, with investors gaining N171 billion. Gains in PZ Cussons Nigeria, Eterna, Champion Breweries, Tantalizer, AIICO Insurance and 29 other stocks pulled the market performance up. Specifically, the market capitalisation, which opened at N90.580 trillion, gained N171 billion or 0.19 per cent to settle at N90.751 trillion. In the same vein, All-Share Index also rose by 0.19 per cent or 268.98 points, to close at 142,979.46, against 142,710.48 posted on Tuesday. Also, the market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers and 26 losers on the floor of the Exchange………..(Read More)

Naira rallies to N1,455/$; reserves hit $43bn –

The positive rally of the local currency against the dollar continued yesterday with the naira exchanging at N1,455 to one dollar even as forex speculation declined, at an all-time low as the gap between the official and parallel market rates has significantly dropped. The naira, which has sustained rally across markets in recent months, trading at N1,455/$ as of yesterday according to the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and N1,460 to N1,470,$ at the unofficial black market……….(Read More)

Tinubu to inaugurate $400m Rivers crude export terminal –

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to inaugurate the $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State on October 8, the first new crude export facility to be built in Nigeria in over 50 years. The facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited, operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, is the first wholly indigenous onshore terminal built in Nigeria. The last such facility, the Forcados Terminal, was commissioned in 1971. The inauguration is expected to attract top government officials..…..(Read More)

IATA reports domestic airlines boost GDP by $449.7m yearly –

Domestic airlines are contributing significantly to the nation’s economy, with a direct impact of $449.7m annually and the creation of 29,900 jobs, according to the International Air Transport Association. The data, contained in IATA’s recent report on The Value of Air Transport to Nigeria’s Economy, highlights the vital role of domestic air travel within the broader aviation sector, which contributes a total of $2.5bn yearly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, representing 0.7 per cent of the national output. According to the report, the aviation sector in Nigeria directly provides employment for 39,500 people……..(Read More)

With the US government dark, alternate sources show a sluggish September for jobs –

Alternate data from public and private sources showed the U.S. job market likely remained stalled in September, with sluggish hiring but no change in an unemployment rate economists see as heavily influenced by a decline in the number of foreign-born workers. With the release of numerous official economic indicators delayed by a government shutdown, alternative data, such as a new “real-time” estimate of the unemployment rate issued on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is likely to attract more than the usual scrutiny……..(Read More)