Author: Julius Alagbe

PayPal’s ‘A-’rating is unchanged following recent financial results, Fitch Ratings said in a non-rating commentary note.

Nigeria, Egypt Yields Up as African Issuers Face Sell Pressure Led by sell pressure in Nigeria, Egypt, and Angola issuers, the African Eurobonds market traded largely bearish due to investors’ reaction to geoeconomic uncertainties and policy choices. Oil-linked African issuers’ yields edged higher as foreign investors reacted to various macroeconomic data, such as higher-than-expected U.S. weekly jobless claim data. The market risk-off positions heated up significantly after the Bank of England (BoE )’s dovish interest rate decision and rising tension ahead of U.S. –Iran negotiation. Oil prices eased due to easing tensions in the global commodity market. The U.S. and…

NIMASA Mulls Expansion of Deep Blue Project The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is considering an expansion of the Deep Blue project, whose impact has been felt across the Gulf of Guinea. The project has also gained global recognition in ensuring sustainability. The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, made this known in a statement through the Head of Public Relations Unit of the Agency, Mr Edward Osagie, on Thursday. The NIMASA boss, on his strategic visit to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abass, at the Naval Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday commended the Navy…

Overnight Rate Drops on Excess Liquidity in Banking System Overnight lending rate declined slightly as the banking system remained liquid despite debit for Nigerian Treasury bills auction settlement on Thursday., System liquidity remained relatively buoyant, closing today’s session at a net long position of ₦2.47 trillion compared to ₦2.25 trillion recorded the previous day. The surge occurred following inflow from Nigerian Treasury bills that expired, to the tune of ₦668.87 billion. Consequently, funding rates, the overnight rate (O/N), and open repo rate (OPR) remained firm at 22.50% and 22.80%, respectively. The banking system opened the day with a liquidity surplus…

The naira declined following a period of gains in the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM), attributed to a heightened demand for US dollar transactions at the official exchange rate on Thursday.

Fidelity Bank Gains 6.3% as Investors Take Positions Fidelity Bank Plc.’s market valuation climbed by 6.3% in on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as investors took positions as the market anticipates bumper Q4 earnings harvest. The tier-1 challenger lender surged by 6.3%, trading data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) revealed on Thursday. The gain in Fidelity Bank and others boosted the banking index by 64 basis points. Fidelity Bank’s share price edged higher to N19.4 as about 9.5 million units valued at N179.392 million were traded in the local bourse. Stockbrokers expect this momentum to remain, driven by the expectation…

Ripple (XRP) has lost about 14% in the last 24 hours, settling at $1.35 on Thursday in the crypto market as extreme fears stoked sell pressure.

Bitcoin Plunges to 69K, Lost About 9% in 24h Bitcoin has plunged by about 9% to $69.1K in 24h, closely tracking a 7.67% drop in the total crypto market cap. The market sentiment has declined sharply due to extreme fear. The greed and fear index has turned red, and investors are exiting positions in the markt. Crypto analysts said a cascade of leveraged long liquidations put pressure on top crypto. A derivatives-driven liquidation cascade, with $396.84 billion in BTC positions forcibly closed (mostly longs) in 24h, amplifying selling pressure. Trading signals indicate that no clear secondary driver was visible in…

CBN Cuts 1-Year Treasury Bill Rate by 138bps, Rejects Bids The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cut the spot rate on its one-year tenor treasury bills by 138 basis points to 16.98% at the primary market auction on Wednesday. At the auction, the authority offered Treasury bills worth N1.15 trillion for investors’ subscription across standard tenors. Demand was strong, with investors showing interest in long tenors amid rising appetite for duration. The CBN underwrote its offer with total sales settling at N952.6 billion amidst spot rates repricing.  Details from the main auction indicate that the total subscription printed at N4.586…

Risk-off Sentiment Drives Nigerian Bonds Yield to 16.31% The Nigerian bond benchmark yield surged by two basis points to 16.31% as negative sentiment exhibited by investors in the secondary market drove prices lower. The market was mildly bearish on Tuesday, as selling pressure at the mid-to-long end largely outweighed muted activity across most other tenors. At the short end, yields were mostly stable, with the 20-Mar-2027 FGN bond recording a marginal 1bp compression, while other nearby maturities closed flat, AIICO Capital said in a note. Fixed income market analysts reported that trading activity was weaker at the belly of the…