Author: Julius Alagbe

Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Naira Rises Against US Dollar as Interbank FX Trades Ease

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Naira Rises Against US Dollar as Interbank FX Trades Ease The naira appreciated against the US dollar in the currency market on Wednesday, amid a lack of significant FX pressure from corporate demand. The local unit saw a moderate gain against crosses as FX activity eased, with an improved US dollar volume on the supply side. The official data indicated that the spot FX rate settled at N1,382.1841 per US dollar, down from N1,383.0755 the previous day. Transactions at the Nigerian foreign exchange market were consummated between N1379.5000 and N1384.5000, the rates which signal an improvement in FX liquidity from…

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First Holdco Fires Up, Market Value Tops N3.6 Trillion  

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First Holdco Fires Up, Market Value Tops N3.6 Trillion First Holdco Plc is seeing a significant price surge as investors anticipate strong earnings performance for the first half of the financial year 2026. The banking group’s share price increased by about 10% to N79.35 on Wednesday as improved sentiment continues to fuel its re-rating. Trading at less than 3% below its 52-week high, the financial services company’s price push was driven by strong transaction value led by buy-side investors in the Nigerian bourse. Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed that First Holdco gained 9.98% on a trading volume of…

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Zcash Gains 13% Ahead of Upcoming Ironwood Upgrade

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Zcash Gains 13% Ahead of Upcoming Ironwood Upgrade Zcash gained 13.37% in 24 hours to $571.88, significantly outperforming the broader market rally, driven primarily by anticipation of the Ironwood network upgrade, which addresses a critical security vulnerability. The rally is anchored to the scheduled mainnet activation of the Ironwood upgrade around July 28. This update eliminates a counterfeiting vulnerability disclosed in June within the Orchard shielded pool, which is central to Zcash’s privacy. The upgrade directly addresses a major security concern that had undermined investor trust, providing a fundamental reason for renewed buying. Futures open interest for ZEC briefly exceeded…

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Trump Threatens Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants Next Week Without a Deal

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Trump Threatens Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants Next Week Without a Deal U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States would expand its strikes on Iran to target power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran agrees to negotiate. “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” Trump said. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.” The U.S. president said that Iran’s military has been “degraded to a very…

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