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.

Global Markets Rally as Pause in Bond Selloff Restores Risk Appetite Global equities markets rallied as a pause in the global bond sell-off restored risk appetite, easing valuation pressures on technology shares and supporting credit-sensitive sectors. Wall Street reached fresh record highs as chipmakers rallied, with the S&P 500 closing 0.58% higher, the NASDAQ gaining 0.45% and the Dow Jones adding 0.49%, First National Bank (FNB) said in a brief on Wednesday. Investors now await Federal Reserve minutes for further guidance on monetary policy. Lower sovereign yields also lifted European banks, consumer discretionary stocks, and carmakers, helping the Euro Stoxx…

Read More

Rand Drops Against Crosses on Global Risk Sentiment Shifts The South African Rand (ZAR) continues to decline versus crosses including the US dollar (USD), Euro (EUR) and British pound (GBP) on Tuesday as sustained elevated U.S. Treasury yields and global oil prices weigh on sentiment. The rand faces persistent downward pressure from a broader global risk-off environment, stockbroking and portfolio subsidiary First National Bank (FNB) said in a brief, characterised by rising US Treasury yields and a strengthening dollar that continues to drain capital from emerging-market assets. Traders said locally, sentiment remains weighed down by an impending domestic fuel price…

Read More