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.

Brent Climbs to $68 over Supply Concerns Ahead of OPEC+ In the global commodity market on Tuesday, prices of crude oil climbed over escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine renewed supply concerns and markets await signals from the upcoming OPEC+ meeting. Brent crude was trading at $68.35 per barrel, up 0.5% from the previous close of $68.04. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.5% to $64.73 from $64.41 in the prior session. Moscow and Kyiv have intensified aerial attacks in recent weeks, with strikes increasingly targeting energy and transport systems. Ukraine said early Sunday that an overnight Russian drone…

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Naira Debit Card FX Rate for Online Payments Improved Daily exchange rate for foreign payments conducted by banks customers improved to N1542 per dollar on Monday, from N1545 reported last week. According to GTBank, international payment on its naira debit card was consummated at N1542 for international payment settled via Naira Mastercard on Monday. The naira debit card quoted for FX payment suggested that exchange rate improved versus last week. In the parallel market, the local currency traded at N1540 per dollar, gained N5 from last week spot rate. At the official window on Monday, the naira was quoted at…

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Naira Touches N1,522 Briefly after CBN FX Interventions The naira gained more than N5 on US dollar at the Nigerian foreign exchange market after the Apex Bank boosted FX liquidity at the official window last week. FX update from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that local currency was quoted at N1526.0940 per dollar at the official window on Monday, from N1,531.5703 the previous day. FX traders reported that the spot rate touched an intraday high of N1531 on Monday in the absence of significant US dollar demand from corporate FX users. The supply side remained buoyant during the…

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CBN to Open Treasury Bills Worth N480bln for Subscription The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will open N480 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury bills for investors’ subscription at the primary market auction scheduled for Wednesday. The auction will be conducted by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the monetary authority, and analysts projected a strong subscription level. Details obtained revealed the CBN plan to raise N450 billion across standard tenors—91-day, 182-day, and 364-day treasury bill instruments—to replace the expired one. The market anticipates a total of N324.41 billion in Treasury bill maturities will boost liquidity level in the…

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How Not to Invest in Companies Stocks Wrongfully If you doubt it, don’t buy it, and before you buy any company’s shares, know those who are behind it. If you love them, you are probably making a good decision to cut from the pie; if you don’t become Usain Bolt – RUN! Many people are planning to get their share of wealth; some listed stocks in the Nigerian Exchange have delivered in 2025. Anyone that has not gained more than 36% in 2025 invested wrongly. Some companies have doubled down on NGX index performance. Still, you are just on time,…

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Naira Forward FX Rates Gain Across Contracts on Renew Confidence The naira appreciated across contracts in the forward FX market as sustained increase in external reserves gross balance boosted corporate FX users’ confidence. A growing number of FX users with foreign currencies liability that took an offsetting positions at forward market saw the naira appreciated across contract last week. The naira rates appreciated across the 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year contracts, according to Cordros Capital Limited. Forward FX contract for one month appreciated by 0.3% to N1,572.95 per dollar, analysts at Cordros Capital Limited said in a note. The investment…

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UPDATE: GTCO Boosts Banking Subsidiary Paid-Up Capital to N504bn Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has increased its investment in in its banking subsidary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited or. GTBank to N504 billion, according to an official disclosure released in the Nigerian Exchange. The increase followed its subscription to GTBank’s rights issue of 6,994,050,290 ordinary shares at 50 kobo each, valued at N365.85 billion. With this injection, GTBank’s paid-up share capital rose from N138.19 billion to N504.04 billion. The statement reads, “Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has announced that it has increased its investment in its wholly owned Banking subsidiary,…

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GCR Upgrades Axxela Ratings, Outlook Positive GCR Ratings (GCR) has upgraded Axxela Limited’s national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings to A(NG) and A1(NG), respectively, from A-(NG) and A2(NG) previously. The rating agency also upgraded the national scale long-term issue rating of Axxela Funding 1 Plc’s NGN16.4 billion series 1 senior unsecured bond to A(NG), from A-(NG) previously; and the NGN11.5Bn series 1 senior secured bond to A(NG)(EL), from A-(NG)(EL) previously. The outlook on the ratings remains positive, according to GCR, adding that the senior secured bonds rating is based on an estimate of the expected loss in the event…

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Naira Appreciates to N1,535 over Stronger U.S Dollar Supply The naira appreciated at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM) due to stronger dollar supply at the official window on Thursday. The local currency touched intraday high of N1538.54, according to update fx data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), worse than the previous day. However intraday FX rate closed stronger than previous day, suggesting demand tempered or supply increased. Across the Broadstreet, forex traders confirmed that the naira appreciated 0.10% to close at ₦1,535.47/$, supported by stronger dollar supply and lower FX demand. The local currency was noted to…

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T2 Partners Huawei to Drive Telecoms Market Re-Entry T2, the officially rebranded 9mobile has signed a multi-million dollar partnership with Huawei Technologies to modernise its core network infrastructure. Disclosing this in a statement on Thursday, T2 said the partnership was part of its strategy to re-enter Nigeria’s telecoms market. Mr Obafemi Banigbe, Chief Executive Officer of T2, said that the agreement marked a major step in T2’s plan to reclaim its position as a leading player in the industry. He said the partnership would draw on Huawei’s global expertise in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to upgrade T2’s core infrastructure.…

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