Author: Julius Alagbe

XRP Gains 6% Amidst Japan’s Crypto Tax Cut, Escrowed Funds Ripple, XRPUSD, surged by 6.27% in the last 24 hours, outperforming the broader crypto market as investors sentiment improved following Japan’s crypto tax cut and supply tightening. XRP is hovering around $1.99 with more than a 59% spike in trading volume in the last 24 hours across the crypto market. With $120 billion in XRP market capitalisation on Friday, trading data showed volume climbed by $2.71 billion on the day. On the technical side, XRP defended $1.80 support and broke above $1.90 on Tuesday. Its positive price movement combines technical…

UN General Assembly Approves $3.45bn Regular Budget for 2026 The General Assembly has approved a 3.45 billion dollar regular budget for the United Nations for 2026. The approval followed weeks of intensive negotiations and one of the Organisation’s most important reform initiatives, UN80. The budget, approved by the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday, authorised 3,450,426,300 dollars for the coming year, covering UN’s three core pillars of work. These are peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. The budget largely reflected the Secretary-General’s proposed 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.…

CBN Mops Up Liquidity with N1.27trn OMO Bills Sales The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allotted OMO bills totaling N1.27 trillion to investors, according to details of its open market operation on Tuesday. The CBN decision to offer OMO bills for subscription was to stem rising excess liquidity level in the financial system. The market anticipates N594 billion in OMO bills repayment during the week. With a move to balance money market equation, the Apex Bank floated N600 billion OMO bills for investors’ subscription amidst excess liquidity level in the financial system. With huge appetite for the naira asset, the…

Equities Investors Gain N411bn as NGX Index Surges Equities investors gained N411 billion in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), and the bargain hunting boosted market index significantly. The local bourse closed on a positive note, with the All-Share index (ASI) gained 0.42% to close at 155,034.72 points. Overall, equities markets capitalisation surged by #411.35 billion to #98.84 trillion on Tuesday. The bullish close was buoyed by price upticks in BUAFOODS (+3.88%), BUACEMENT (+2.00%), GTCO (+1.62%), and WEMABANK (+6.28%). Overall, market sentiment was bullish, with market breadth printing at 1.88x, as 45 gainers led by GUINEAINS (+10.00%), JBERGER (+10.00%), and HONYFLOUR (+10.00%)…

Litecoin Slides as Cryptocurrencies Face Sell Pressures Litecoin (LTCUSD) fell 0.6% over 24 hours, underperforming the broader crypto market amid persistent risk-off sentiment. Top cryptocurrencies are bleeding, and this bearish condition has dragged Price data showed that LTC declined to $78.10 as trading volume climbed, leaving the coin’s market value at $6 billion at the press time. Data obtained from CoinMarketCap.com showed Litecoin decline amidst a 40% spike in trading volume to $382 million on Monday amidst a recent privacy-tech upgrade. Over 90% of Litecoin nodes now validate MWEB – MimbleWimble Extension Blocks – enabling optional transaction privacy. Combined with…

Euro Trades Strong after Rates Decision Diverge The euro (EURUSD) hovered around $1.18 with a small gain against the US dollar in 2025, reflecting diverging policy paths between the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve. Investors continue to accumulate the single currency as markets await the U.S. and European interest rates policy for 2026, which could stay over the short term early in 2026. The euro’s positive outlook against the pound was reaffirmed by the European Central Bank (ECB), which left the deposit rate unchanged at 2.00%, having lowered it from 4.0% to 2.0% between June 2024 and June…

Otedola Sells Geregu Power after 1,041.50% Gain in 3 Years Femi Otedola has exited its position as the largest shareholder of Geregu Power Plc following a block deal closed with MA’AM Energy Limited for an undisclosed amount. The stock market value of Geregu Power Plc’s 2.5 billion outstanding shares in the Nigerian Exchange remained flattish at N2.853 trillion at a unit price of N1,141.50. Trading activities on the power-generating linked stock have always been tight versus the post-listing transaction that lifted the company’s market value tenfold. The sale of a 77% shareholding based on the stock market price ought to…

MTN Nigeria Delivers 152% Gain on Investment Year-To-Date Despite a rough start to the year, investors who staked bets and stuck to MTN Nigeria Plc closed the year stronger with better-than-expected capital appreciation and a surprise interim dividend payment.  According to data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the telecom company share price fell by N27.7 or 5.21% to N504 following a last-minute sell-off last week. The last week selloff reduced the company’s year-to-date return to 152%, having opened the year at N200 per share. Share price fell as investors traded 3.239 million units of MTN Nigeria valued at N1.628…

Zenith Bank Delivers 39% Return Amid Regional Expansion Move Zenith Bank Plc boosted shareholders’ value with a 39% gain year to date. The tier-1 bank, however, underperformed the Nigerian Exchange with 49% year-to-date ahead of the holiday. However, the below NGX index performance was compensated for due to an interim dividend that Zenith Bank paid to shareholders amidst earnings-dilutive regulatory development. It suffices to say that no tier-1 lender stock market performance beat the NGX index except First Holdco, which got re-rated following a fast and furious rally. First Holdco now stands as the best performer, outpacing the market index,…

Nigeria’s Half-Year Budget Performance Raises Fiscal Concerns Nigeria’s budget for the first half period was roughened by a wide gap between government revenue and spending, raising concerns over the country’s leadership and economic quality. Despite subsidy removal, the government has accelerated borrowings due to revenue non-performance. Bola Tinubu led administration has extended the path walked by his predecessor late Mohammadu Buhari in terms of national borrowings. Surprisingly, the government has been taunting its achievement to increase a significant increase in revenue collection by its agencies including Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Customs among others. A slew of analysts queried that…