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.

Oil Hits 2021 Low as China’s Imports Fall by 7%

Companies

Oil Hits 2021 Low as China’s Imports Fall by 7% Oil prices stayed below $70 per barrel in the global commodities market due to sustained demand pressure and geological tensions. Yesterday, oil prices weakened significantly as Brent fell by 3.69%, settling at just over $69. This is the first time Brent has closed below $70 since late 2021, ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a note. The crude oil market is entering oversold territory, according to technical signals cited by analyst. However, sentiment is clearly still bearish and Chinese trade data yesterday would have not helped,…

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60% of Top 30 Companies in Nigerian Market Rely on Foreign Currency

Companies

60% of Top 30 Companies in Nigerian Market Rely on Foreign Currency Economic dislocation has failed to heal in Nigeria as the foreign exchange (FX) crisis continues to threaten some companies ability to stand tall in the business environment. The market is faced with near corporate distress as major listed companies have negative shareholders. In an update, CSL Stockbrokers Limited said about 60% of the top 30 companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange have foreign exposures. The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics suggests that the manufacturing sector continues to grapple with economic challenges. In the Q2 2024…

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GlobalData Raises Global Economic Growth Projection for 2024

News

GlobalData Raises Global Economic Growth Projection for 2024 The global economy is navigating a complicated landscape characterized by ongoing geopolitical tensions and other related risks that have yet to subside. Nevertheless, easing inflationary pressure, central bank rate cuts (including by the ECB), and stronger consumer spending are mitigating these issues. Against this backdrop, GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, has revised the global economic growth forecast for 2024 to 2.52% in its Q3 2024 update, marking a slight increase of 0.05 percentage points (pp) from earlier projections in Q2 2024. In the “Global Macroeconomic Outlook – Q3 2024 Update,”…

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