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.
Ripple (XRP) is hovering around $1.42 over the last 24 hours across the cryptocurrency market after a failed attempt to break its resistance level.
Binance Coin (BNB) is down 1.04% to $631.21, underperforming a slightly positive broader market. This is primarily driven by capital rotating into Bitcoin amid weak demand for altcoins.
XRP price is down 1.35% to $1.43 over the past 24h, underperforming a slightly weaker broader market, primarily driven by bearish derivatives positioning amid a risk-off sentiment spillover from Bitcoin.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, ticker MSNXX, as part of its Institutional Liquidity Funds platform, structured as a government money market fund targeted at stablecoin issuers.
Kenya Airways, African Mega, Standard Group, Liberty Kenya, and HF Group boosted the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as the benchmark index rose on buying activity.
Nigerian Breweries Grows Profit by 25.6% in Q1 Nigerian Breweries Plc has recorded a 25.6 per cent increase in profit after tax to N55.95 billion for the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2026, according to its regulatory filing. This is compared with N44.55 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Nigerian Breweries disclosed this in its unaudited financial statement released through the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Friday. Profit before tax increased by 14.9 per cent to N80.41 billion from N69.99 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025. Income tax dropped by 3.8 per cent to N24.47 billion,…
Ecobank, DHL Equip Nigerian SMEs to Compete Beyond Local Markets Ecobank Nigeria, in partnership with DHL, has successfully concluded a three week intensive capacity building programme aimed at equipping Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the skills, tools, and insights required to scale beyond local markets and compete globally. The programme brought together entrepreneurs across diverse sectors and focused on critical growth enablers such as cross border trade, e commerce opportunities, logistics, customs procedures, and international shipping—key pillars for sustainable expansion in today’s increasingly connected global marketplace. Participants described the initiative as impactful, practical, and transformative. Founder of Lagos based…
Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has urged indigenous oil and gas companies to leverage the forthcoming 2026 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in the U.S. to deepen global engagement and attract investment.
NGX Tops N145trn as Industrial, Banking Stocks Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) topped N145 trillion on Friday, driven by cement, banking and oil stocks. The stock market closed the week on a positive note, with key market indicators rising 1.30%. The bullish performance reflected strong investor confidence, as they maintained positive trading momentum, shown by their buying across all major market sectors. Medium and large-cap stocks such as WAPCO, OANDO, BUACEMENT, DANGCEM, WEMABANK, among others, recorded significant price appreciation at the close of trading today. The NGX All-Share Index added 2,886.65 basis points in today’s trading session, reflecting a 1.30%…
XRP is up 1.05% to $1.45 on Friday, outperforming a flat market, primarily driven by a key institutional adoption catalyst. Coinbase’s upcoming institutional trading feature for XRP futures, announced to launch May 1, signals deeper liquidity and reduced execution risk for large investors.