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.
CBN Policy Committee Keeps Benchmark Interest Rate at 27% The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) voted to keep the benchmark interest rate at 27% after the two-day meeting closed on Tuesday. Against Broadstreet analysts’ expectations, the monetary authority brushed off disinflation as a key reason to axe the interest rate, keeping the private sector guessing about its dovish signal. The authority cut the policy rate by 50 basis points in Oct after years of a hawkish pose. The committee vote to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 27% and adjust the asymmetric corridor around…
US Dollar Inflow into Nigerian FX Market Sinks Further US dollar volume, or FX inflow, into the Nigerian currency market dropped further last week, down by about 24% to close at $512.20, according to an update released by Coronation Merchant Bank Limited. US dollar inflows into the official foreign exchange market have remained on the decline week on week as foreign portfolio investment and exporter’s flows weakened. Last week, FX inflows into the currency market fell by 24% and the same falling spree was recorded last week, a situation that weakened the naira exchange rate and forced the Central Bank…
OMO, Treasury Bills Yields Increase Ahead of Rate Decision The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills printed at 16.96% in the secondary market as investors slowed down trading activities ahead of Broadstreet’s expectations of an interest rate adjustment. Nigerian OMO bills’ yield was well priced, higher at 21.5%, to retain foreign portfolio investors seeking alpha on naira assets. On Monday, OMO and Nigerian Treasury bill yields rose at the secondary market as investors’ appetite for the naira assets reduced as the market awaits the monetary policy committee (MPC) decision on interest rate. Transaction closed negative with soft selloffs seen at…
Conoil to Pay Shareholders N3.5 Final Dividend in Dec. Conoil Plc has moved to pay shareholders a final dividend of N3.50 in December, according to a regulatory filing on the Nigerian Exchange announcing its annual general meeting. According to details from the disclosure, Conoil annual shareholders meeting will be held on December 19 in Akwa Ibom, where the board will lay the financial year 2024 audited result before the owners of the company. The oil company said the amount will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the register of members at the close of business in November 25.…
AI Has Potential to Boost Global Growth – IMF Boss Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to boost productivity and economic growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, has said. Georgieva stated this in her remarks at the closing of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. She noted that slow productivity growth remained the main reason for slow global economic growth. “AI can reverse this trend. In our assessment, AI can deliver almost one per cent additional economic growth. This is remarkable,” she said. She said that AI was penetrating societies rapidly, with varying impacts…
Nigerian Bonds Rally Ahead of Debt Office Reopen Offers Nigerian bonds rallied in the secondary market as investors took positions ahead of the Debt Management Office (DMO) reopening 5- and 7-year papers on Monday. The DMO is set to conducted primary market auction today with N460 billion worth of local borrowing papers in offer across 5 and year reopened bonds. The market anticipates rates repricing on bonds in anticipation of the benchmark interest rate by the monetary policy committee of the Central Bank this week. Last week, the benchmark yield on Nigerian government bonds reduce by 9 basis points to…
Brent Steady as Markets Weigh Russian–Ukrainian Peace Talks Brent crude oil steadied on Monday as markets weighed the prospects of a possible peace deal in Ukraine and the likelihood that the US could lift sanctions on Russian oil exports. Traders chart showed Brent crude is stable, hovering around its previous daily close at $61.90. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil price advances on Monday, early in the European session. WTI trades at $58.13 per barrel, up from Friday’s close at $57.90. US announced that, following peace plan talks held in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, the parties had…
MPC: Analysts Eye CBN Interest Rate Cut as Inflation Tempers Broadstreet analysts and Nigerian private sector financial market participants anticipated a sharp reduction in the policy rate as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins its final meeting for 2025. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is expected to cut benchmark interest rate as the country’s headline inflation softens since its last monetary policy committee meeting in Sept. The market, investment firms’ project monetary authority to axe benchmark interest rate below 27% after 50 basis points cut in September. Anchored on macro indicators, economists at Cordros Capital Limited said the development…
SMDF, ORDF, Partner to Develop Mining Finance Framework The Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) says it is partnering with the Ores Reserves Development Forum (ORDF) to develop a mining finance framework aimed at addressing the difficulties miners experience in accessing finance for their operations. The Executive Director of SMDF, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, made this known in a statement by her Technical Adviser, Mr Abdulmajeed Amussah, on Monday in Abuja. Amussah said financing has been identified as one of the major challenges affecting the sector due to limited investor confidence in geological and project data, which the SMDF and ORDF was…
Raising the Bar: Ayoola Gilbert Sets New Agenda for Stronger Shareholder Advocacy The Ibadan Zone Shareholders’ Association, comprising Ekiti, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States has ushered in a new era with the election of Mr. Ayoola Gilbert Olufemi as its 8th Chairman during the Association’s combined 31st–33rd Annual General Meeting held on November 20, 2025. Gilbert, a long-standing member and respected voice within the Association, is known for his calm leadership style and firm commitment to investor protection. His emergence, according to members, reflects years of steady contribution, professionalism and deep understanding of shareholder activism. In his acceptance…