Author: Julius Alagbe

Nigerian Naira Firms Up Against USD, EUR, GBP – NFEM FX Turnover Dips The Nigerian naira is trading strongly on Thursday, with the FX rate opening the day at N1,369.6346 per US dollar, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The local unit strengthened on improved macroeconomic indicators and robust economic projections as the market continues to adjust to key reforms implemented channels towards stability. Daily FX data from the CBN showed that the naira is quoted against the Euro (EUR) at N1562.4564 during the opening trading session, while the CBN spot rate for the British pound…

Software Stocks Drag Wall Street, FTSE 100, Euro Stoxx 50 Rally US equities fell into negative territory on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both down 0.14% and 0.57%, respectively, as software companies came under pressure before Alphabet’s (-1.5%) results, with Microsoft down 1.9% and Meta retreating 2.6%. In its market brief, First National Bank (FNB) told investors that pressure came from rising oil prices, which ultimately fuelled inflation concerns. Across the pond in the Eurozone, the FTSE 100 surged 1.24% as investors assessed the softer-than-expected inflation print in the United Kingdom. The Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.50% as…

Casino companies have cracked the code on making money from boredom Behind all those flashing slot reels and blackjack tables, there’s a business model that’d make any subscription-software founder green with envy. Every industry has that one product nobody can quite figure out, how does it actually make money? When you peel back the curtain on online casinos, the picture looks a lot more like the kind of spreadsheet any growth-stage tech founder could spot a mile away. We’re talking recurring revenue, next-to-nothing marginal costs and ruthless focus on acquiring customers. That’s the engine. Globally, the online gambling market was…

XRP Investors Positive on ETF Momentum, Ripple Deals Ripple (XRP) is back in the spotlight as investors weigh growing institutional interest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) against Ripple’s expanding role in cross-border payments, developments that analysts say could shape the cryptocurrency’s next major price move. XRP is hovering around $1.15 with about $1 billion in transaction value amidst tight price movement in the global cryptocurrency market. Although Bitcoin and Ethereum have dominated headlines in recent weeks, XRP continues to attract attention from both retail and institutional investors who believe regulatory clarity and broader adoption of Ripple’s payment infrastructure could strengthen the…

TotalEnergies Boosts Interim Dividends to €0.90, Extends Share Buyback TotalEnergies said it is prioritising deleveraging, with a gearing ratio down to 13%, and increasing the dividend, with a second-quarter dividend of €0.90/share, up 5.9%. The company said this following its earnings release, delivering $5.4 billion in net income in the second quarter of 2026, 6% lower than the Q1 record. The Board of Directors meeting on July 22, 2026, under the chairmanship of Mr Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, decided the distribution of a second interim dividend of €0.90/share for fiscal year 2026. The amount represents an increase…

Interbank funding rates diverge amid surplus liquidity in the financial system, reflecting the absence of significant pressure in the money market.

OpenAI says an autonomous agent powered by its advanced artificial intelligence models went rogue during a security test and triggered a hack that compromised the infrastructure of AI startup Hugging Face last week.

The naira rose against the US dollar at the official window as interbank FX activities increased sharply, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Equities investors trading highs and lows in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) lost about N801 billion as buying momentum eased on Wednesday.

Anthropic will support the second group of firms in the UK Financial Conduct Authority