Author: Julius Alagbe
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.
Banks Placements with CBN Spike as Liquidity Surplus Hits N7trn Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) fund placements at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) standing deposit facility, which has surged further given a huge surplus liquidity level in the financial system. Standing in excess of N7 trillion, the money market has been flooded with free flows of funds in the absence of significant liquidity mop-up action from the monetary authority side. Details released by AIICO Capital Limited late on Thursday revealed that the amount in the financial system reached N7.11 trillion as the CBN failed to float an OMO auction again.…
Naira Appreciates Against Dollar to N1455, FX Reserves Rise The Nigerian naira appreciated to N1455 at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, reflecting strong FX liquidity position in the currency market. The local currency is gaining strength amidst persistent FX intervention, growing foreign reserves and expanding inflows from exporters as reforms turn Nigeria into a net exporting economy. FX spot rate settled at N1455.2373 per dollar, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicates in its daily FX update. This showed the exchange rate appreciated by 1.35% on the day from N1,475.3473 the previous day. There was sufficient US dollar…
Elon Musk Becomes First to Hit $500bn Net Worth as Tesla Soars Elon Musk on Thursday became the first person estimated to reach a net worth of 500 billion dollars. This is according to U.S. magazine Forbes, largely held in shares of electric carmaker Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX. Forbes calculated Musk’s wealth at roughly 150 billion dollars more than Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The magazine later revised the estimate slightly down to 499.1 billion dollars. Musk’s wealth is harder to estimate than that of other billionaires because many of his companies are not publicly traded. Musk surpassed the 400…
Liberia Unlocks Access to $26.5 Million IMF Loan Liberia has unlocked access to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) post Article IV consultation and second review loan under its extended credit facility, according to an official statement. The Fund completed the Article IV Consultation and the second review of the 40-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for Liberia. The Board’s decision allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 19.3 million or about US$ 26.5 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 57.9 million, equivalent to about US$ 79.4 million. Liberia’s ECF arrangement—SDR 155 million, an equivalent of 60 percent…
Lafarge Africa Delivers 80% Return on Investment in 9-Month Due to record price appreciation, a N100 million investment in Lafarge Africa has grown to N180 billion based on the cement company’s share price performance – and this is the best investors get versus its rivals. Lafarge Africa Plc has delivered approximately 80% year-to-date return on investment on the bet on the cement company stock in 2025. Investors with interest in cement stocks are generally sensitive to Nigeria’s capital expenditure plan – which has been well executed. Reflecting stockholders’ sentiment on Lafarge African earnings outlook, the cement company experienced significant price…
Nigeria Beats N20trn Non-Oil Revenue Target in August – Tinubu Reflecting a sharp improvement in fiscal performance, the Federal Government of Nigeria has achieved N20 trillion in non-oil revenue target as if August 2025, details from President Bola Tinubu Independence Day speech highlighted. President Tinubu reiterated the need for Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria products to grow industries and boost economic performance. He stated that Nigeria is now a net exporters, selling more to the outside world than the country’s aggregate imports – helping the naira to stabilise. According to him, Nigeria should be a nation of producers, not…
Global Economy Loses $4.7trn Annually To Fraud, Says SON The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says the global economy loses over 4.7 trillion dollars through fraud every year, amounting to nearly seven per cent of annual revenues of organisations worldwide. Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, Chairman of SON’s National Technical Committee on Governance of Organisations, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the official launch of ISO 37003:2025. The ISO 37003:2025 is the world’s first international fraud control management system standard. Osunbor said that in spite of existing internal mechanisms and statutory regulations, fraud remained pervasive, aided by technology and artificial intelligence.…
Lagos Reiterates Readiness to Host Maiden Sub-National SEMA Summit The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its commitment and readiness to host the maiden National States Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Summit, scheduled to hold from Oct. 2 to Oct. 4. The Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Gbenga Oyerinde, made the announcement during a roadshow within the Alausa Secretariat. The commissioner said that the roadshow aimed at creating awareness about the landmark summit. Speaking on the importance of the SEMA summit, Oyerinde said: “This administration has invested heavily in emergency and disaster management to ensure the protection of lives…
Nigeria, EU Hold Inaugural Trade, Investment Dialogue Nigerian Senior Government officials and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday held a meeting to assess existing vibrant economic partnership, to chart a way forward. The EU bloc made this known in a statement by Mr Modestus Chukwulaka, the Press and Information Officer of the EU Embassy in Abuja. According to Chukwulaka, the inaugural Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Trade and investment Dialogue (TID) was anchored by Amb. Nura Rimi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. He said that Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, and Mr Gautier…
FG Verifies 110 Constituency Projects Across 6 Geo-Political Zones No fewer than 110 constituency and zonal intervention projects have been verified and certified by the Federal Government across the country’s six geopolitical zones. Mr Zaphaniah Jisalo, Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, disclosed this at the third quarter Stakeholders’ and Citizens’ Engagement Forum organised by the ministry on Tuesday in Abuja. The forum had as theme “Deepening Inclusive Governance through Regional Collaboration and Grassroots Participation”. Jisalo, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Onwusoro Maduka, said that the projects include school renovations, borehole installations, and agricultural empowerment…