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.
Ecobank Nigeria, a member of Africa’s leading pan-African banking group, has reaffirmed its commitment to providing customers with seamless and uninterrupted banking services throughout the Easter public holidays.
Ripple (XRP) price climbed slightly, trading at $1.32 during early morning on Saturday, as the crypto market remains tight. XRP has gained about 2%, though trading volume remained depressed 1% to $2 billion.
Cardano Gains on Mastercard Partnership, Google AI Quantum Ranking Cardano (ADA) price surged 3% to $0.2446 over the past 24h, outpacing a flat broader market, driven primarily by speculation about a potential Mastercard partnership. Investors moved to the buy side on optimism about Google’s Quantum security ranking, which places Cardano above Ethereum. This price move aligns with a modest uptick in the total crypto market cap but shows signs of independent, news-driven interest. Partnership speculation drove trading volume after EMURGO CEO teased Cardano’s entry into Mastercard’s qualification stage. The ADA price uptick was supported by a technical bounce from oversold…
The naira dipped against the US dollar at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM), with the official rate closing at N1,380, data published by the Central Bank revealed.
NG Treasury Bills Market Turns Green, Yield Dips Reflecting an improved investor sentiment, the Nigerian (NG) Treasury bills market turned green, with the average yield declining by 1 bp to 17.66%. The secondary market saw buying as investors continued to shift funds across the Nigerian financial market, seeking higher yields to optimise their portfolios. Investors’ interest in the naira curve remains strong as macroeconomic indicators signal a positive outlook for the Nigerian economy. Inflation is anticipated to decline further, with a mixed outlook for interest rates amid geopolitical instability that is expected to affect policy dynamics. Traders at Meristem Securities…
Ripple (XRP) crashed to its lowest level in weeks at $1.30, losing more than 3% over the last 24 hours amid bearish conditions in the global cryptocurrency market, closely tracking a broader market sell-off.
PZ Cussons Boosts Earnings, Profit Rises by 246.5% PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc has significantly improved its earnings in the first nine months of the financial year 2026, achieving a remarkable 246.5% year-on-year increase in profit. Its financials revealed that pretax profit rose to ₦68.2 billion in 9M 2026, up from ₦15.0 billion in 9M 2025, a 355.5% increase. This was supported by significant top-line growth. The company’s revenue expanded substantially in the period, up by 27.7% year on year to ₦197.2 billion, compared to ₦154.4 billion in 9M 2025. The cost of sales rose in tandem with revenue, increasing by…
Market value of FCMB Group Plc.’s 65.954 billion outstanding shares climbed by 2.54% to about N800 billion, an uptick driven by bargain hunting and additional listing.
GTCO Gains as 2025 Dividend, Payout Ratio Attract Investors GTCO Plc surged by more than 7% on Wednesday, barely 24 hours after the financial services company declared a surprise dividend for the financial year 2025. According to trading data from the Nigerian Exchange, GTCO’s share price rose by 7.37% to N120.95, as 73.660 million units of its outstanding shares, valued at N8.967 billion, were executed on Wednesday. Traders’ volume transaction actions surged multi-fold after the board of directors announced a proposal to pay shareholders N11.76 per share following the earnings release. The board’s decision to sharply increase dividend payments came…
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says crude oil and condensate reserves stand at 31.09 billion barrels and 5.92 billion barrels, respectively, amounting to a total of 37.01 billion barrels.