Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Rare Earths ‘Arms Race’ Will Define 2026: Devere The global scramble for rare earths and other critical minerals is accelerating, and financial advisory giant deVere Group believes it will be one of the defining investment themes of 2026 as the United States and China intensify their fight for control of the materials powering the modern economy. Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, says, “Rare earths have moved from the periphery of the commodities market to the centre of global strategy. “The battle to secure them will shape trade, technology, and investment decisions for years to come.” The minerals, which…

NPFL: Kano Pillars Suspend Technical Adviser, Chief Coach Over Poor Run The management of Kano Pillars Football Club has announced the suspension of the team’s Technical Adviser, Ogenyi Evans, and Chief Coach, Ahmed Garba. The suspension, it said, follows what it described as the club’s unsatisfactory performance in the ongoing 2025/2026 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season. In a statement issued by the club’s Media and Communications Directorate on Monday in Kano, the management said the suspension, which is with immediate effect, is aimed at repositioning the team for better results. According to the management, the team played eight league…

Oil Prices Decline as Trump Whispers Tariff Cut for China Oil prices declined as President Donald Trump of the United States of America hinted about a tariff cut for the top rival economy ahead of a meeting in South Korea. US officials’ soft tones over trade tensions with China also supported the decline. Brent crude was trading at $60.69 per barrel, down 0.8% from the previous close of $61.21. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also fell 0.9% to $56.67, compared to $57.20 in the prior session. Prices extended last week’s losses as investors weighed the outlook for demand…

OMO, T-Bills Yields Fall Over Rising Demand for Naira Assets Nigerian Treasury papers and OMO bills yields declined in the secondary market, reflecting an untamed investors’ appetite for naira assets amidst repricing. To reflect the slight reduction in benchmark interest rates, the market anticipates spot rates on short-term instruments issued by the authority to adjust downward. The real interest rate has increased to about 9% due to sustained moderation in headline inflation. Excess liquidity in the financial system also impacts subscription levels across Treasury and OMO bills auction in Q4. With lower appetite for lending, high default and declining net…

Interbank Rates Surge as CBN Moves to Tighten Liquidity Interbank rates inched higher as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved to reduce excess liquidity level in the financial system via its open market operations. The funding profile was broadly stable but ended slightly lower compared to the previous week, despite inflows from FGN bond coupons and OMO repayments, while funding rates inched up modestly. System liquidity opened the week at a net surplus of N2.0 trillion, lower than the previous week’s N3.4 trillion. The liquidity profile was supported by N300 billion OMO maturities that helped sustain interbank stability. However,…

SEC Tasks Stockbrokers on Professionalism, Ethical Conduct The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged stockbrokers to uphold the highest level of professionalism and ethical conduct to ensure a fair and transparent market. The Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said this in a notice to stockbrokers in Abuja on Sunday. Agama said upholding ethical conduct was necessary to enable investors to have confidence that intermediaries who managed their wealth were guided by the highest standards of honesty and competence. He said digitisation, ethics, and sustainability formed the foundation of a modern, inclusive and resilient capital markets. “Across the world,…

Nigerian Breweries Investors Take Profit on Bumper YTD Return Investors took profit on Nigerian Breweries Plc following an impressive year-to-date (YTD) return. The market value of Nigerian Breweries Plc’s 30.983 billion shares outstanding in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) declined to N2.354 trillion at the close of the trading session last week. Investors trading highs and lows in the stock market trimmed their interest in Nigerian Breweries Plc, in contrast to the Nigerian index’s positive performance. During early trading hours, investors’ sentiment was positive, and this stoked bargain hunting, which lifted the Nigerian Breweries share price to a one-week high of…

Transcorp Power Surges in Post-Q3 Investors’ Earnings Reactions Transcorp Power Plc’s 7.5 billion shares outstanding were priced higher by about 9% to N2.565 trillion in the Nigerian Exchange as value hunters staked bets on the company’s after-earnings release. Data from the Nigerian stock market showed that the company’s value increased to N2.565 trillion at the close of the trading session last week, still tracking below its highest value in 52 weeks in the local bourse. Transcorp Power share price surged to N342 last week from N314, though trading volume were relatively low compared to its overall outstanding shares in the…

New Tax Law to Benefit Downtrodden More, CITN President Says The President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr Innocent Ohagwa, says the new tax reform will rather benefit the downtrodden than impoverish them. Ohagwa made the clarification on Saturday at the Investiture of the 7th Chairman of CITN Ilorin and District Society and the inauguration of the Executive Committee. He said the fear of the new tax law was unfounded because the new reform would solve the problems of medium and small-scale business owners. “For example, if you have a small company that is operating up…

BUA Foods Hits N11.7trn amidst Earnings Delay Notice BUA Foods Plc maintained its top position on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as the largest by market value at the close of the trading session on Friday. This positive price movement has lifted BUA Foods’ year-to-date return, which printed at 51.70% at a reference price of N629.70 at the beginning of the week, attracting a sell rating from Afrinvest Securities Limited. Shareholders brushed off the sell rating and earnings delay notice and ramped up BUA Foods shares in the local bourse. The action triggered a spike in its market value to the…