Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Trump Says he Supports New Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine War President Donald Trump said he supports a new package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, but hopes the measures will not have to be used. “I support it,” Trump told U.S. broadcaster Fox News in an interview published on Thursday, adding: “I hope we don’t have to use it.” Trump said the United States had already imposed “big sanctions on Russia” and claimed the Russian economy was “very bad,” while noting that Russia is larger and more influential than Ukraine. In recent months, Trump has introduced…

Naira Drops at Official Window as 2026 FX Projections Emerge The naira declined against the U.S. dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) on Friday as corporate foreign payments began to pick up again. The FX spot rate dropped by 0.24% to ₦1,423.17/$ after a four-day gaining streak, touching an intraday high of ₦1,430, suggesting market demand eclipsed supply significantly. The naira also dropped to ₦1,465/$ in the parallel market, reflecting renewed currency pressures and softening sentiment across both the regulated official segment and the informal foreign exchange market. In its outlook for 2026, AIICO Capital Limited said the…

Nigerian Exchange Expands as Equity Investors Gain N954bn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) maintained its positive momentum on Friday, concluding the week with the All-Share Index advancing 0.93% to 162,298.08 points. Data from the local bourse revealed that the Nigerian bourse expanded to ₦103.78 trillion as investors gained about N934 billion due to sustained positive sentiment. Trading activities remained upbeat with 0.93% growth in key performance indicators at the end of the session. The surge was driven by buying interest in MTNN (+7.63%), DANGSUGAR (+9.23%), and WAPCO (+2.04%). Market breadth remained positive at 1.68x, with 47 gainers outstripping 28 losers. IMG…

MTN Nigeria Soars to New High Ahead of Q4 Earnings MTN Nigeria Plc’s market value increased by about 8% at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) during an intraday trading session on Friday as its share price reached its highest level in the last 52 weeks. The telecom stock pushed above the barrier ahead of the fourth-quarter earnings release in the coming weeks. A slew of analysts expect MTN Nigeria to pay a final dividend and are looking forward to a potential public offering pledge by the group for Nigerian shareholders. The ticker inched higher to N550 on Friday, gaining N39 on…

UN Regrets U.S. Withdrawal From Dozens of International Organisations UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed regrets over the decision of the White House to withdraw the United States from 35 international organisations and 31 UN entities. Guterres, in a statement by the UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric on Thursday in New York, said the UN has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on the organisation. President Donald Trump had directed the immediate withdrawal of the U.S. from some international organisations, Conventions, and Treaties that his administration considers as being contrary to the interests of the country. In a White…

Listed Companies: Nigerian Exchange Ranks Third Highest in Africa The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says Nigeria’s stock market ranks third-highest in Africa by the number of listed companies. According to the OECD Africa Markets Report 2025, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) has 156 listed companies, ranking behind Egypt’s Stock Exchange with 245 listings and South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange with 204 and market capitalisation of about $33 billion. “South Africa has the most developed public equity market, accounting for 60 per cent of the region’s market capitalisation. “Its market capitalisation to GDP ratio (84 per cent) is…

Lagos Assembly Passes ₦4.44trn 2026 Budget The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a ₦4.44 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, adopting the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget’s report. The Chairman of the committee, Mr Sa’ad Olumoh, presented the report during plenary on Thursday, outlining assumptions, projections and structure of the ‘Budget of Shared Prosperity’. Olumoh said the framework was guided by macroeconomic indices, including an exchange rate benchmark of ₦1,512 to the dollar. He added that assumptions included an inflation rate of 14.7 per cent, oil production of 2.06 million barrels daily, and a benchmark…

Equities Investors Gain N137bn in Nigerian Stock Market The Nigerian equities market maintained an upbeat performance in today’s session, as the All-Share Index advanced by 0.13% to reach 160,806.56 points. Also, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation rose by ₦137.35 billion to ₦102.82 trillion. Stockbrokers said this was largely supported by gains in mid- to large-cap stocks. Gainers include PRESCO (+6.17%), CHAMPION (+3.34%), DANGSUGAR (+1.56%), UBA (+0.91%) and WAPCO (+0.68%), among others. The local bourse also experienced profit-taking activities in some banking names, resulting to price depreciation in FCMB (-4.27%), WEMABANK (-3.72%), FIRSTHOLDCO (-2.08%), and ACCESSCORP (-1.31%). The market recorded…

FGN Bond Yield Rises to 16.73% as Investors Trim Holdings The average yield on the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bond increased by four (4) basis points (bps) in the secondary market as investors trimmed their holdings on changing sentiment ahead of monthly supply. Bonds yields fluctuated after rates were repriced at December auction conducted by the Debt Management Office (DMO), where spot rates on reopened 5- and 7-year local papers were adjusted upward. The higher bond spot rates mirrored development in the treasury bills segment, where the monetary authority offered higher returns on short-term investment securities to attract investors.…

Nigeria Customs Begins Safe Passage Scheme for Personal Vehicles The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has begun procedures for granting safe passage to personal vehicles temporarily imported or transiting through Nigeria by international travelers. NCS`s Comptroller-General(C-G), Bashir Adeniyi, made the announcement on Wednesday in a statement by the service`s spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, published on all its verified social media handles. Maiwada said the initiative was in line with NCS Act, 2023 and with relevant international conventions on temporary admission and transit of vehicles. He said that the new framework covered all personal, non-commercial vehicles belonging to international travellers visiting…