Author: Olu Anisere

Israel’s Haifa Oil Refinery Hit by Rocket From Lebanon An oil refinery in the northern Israeli city of Haifa was struck by a rocket fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon on Monday, Israeli authorities said. A fire broke out, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising above a structure following the strike. The Fire and Rescue Services said that there was no leakage of hazardous materials. Israel’s local media reported that the rocket hit an oil tanker and an industrial structure. The military confirmed that a barrage of about 10 rockets was fired by Hezbollah before noon, activating…

Crude oil prices surged early on Monday amid concerns about rising supply risks as the war in the Middle East spread across the region.  The US-Iran war could be prolonged after the 15-point peace proposal by Washington was rejected by Tehran, with a counterproposal last week.

Experts Spotlight Innovation as Driver of Africa’s Structural Transformation Africa must move faster to harness data and frontier technologies if it is to turn economic growth into structural transformation, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa for Programme Support, Mama Keita, said at the opening of the Committee of Experts segment of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Speaking on behalf of the ECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete, Keita said the conference theme, “Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for the economic transformation of Africa”, comes at a critical moment…

XRP Hovers at $1.33 as Ripple Plans AI Security Integration Ripple (XRP) hovers around $1.33 on Sunday amid bearish crypto market conditions, with its trajectory shaped by strengthening regulatory foundations amid weak technicals. Over the last 24 hours, XRP trading volume has dropped sharply, down by 47% to $1 billion. Following the recent selloffs, XRP stabilised, with crypto analysts projecting a rebound after Ripple revealed plans to integrate AI security into the XRP ledger (XRPL). Ripple is rolling out AI-powered security checks across XRP Ledger development workflows, targeting vulnerabilities earlier in the development cycle as institutional demand for the network…

Lasaco Assurance Plc has announced a rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares as part of efforts to reinforce its capital base and support future growth.

Siren Price Surges 113% as AI-Linked Crypto Token Rally Siren (SIRENUSD) is up about 113% in 24 hours to $1.72, dramatically outperforming a flat broader market, primarily driven by a speculative surge within a broader memecoin rally. While Bitcoin fell to a four-week low near $65,500, SIREN staged a dramatic counter-trend rally.  The AI-linked token surged by more than 100% in 24 hours, though it remained 50% below its recent all-time high of $3.60. This decoupling occurred as most large-cap altcoins declined in a weak broader market. Traders spotted sector rotation into high-risk memecoins, with multiple tokens posting triple-digit gains,…

Fitch Affirms Tanzania at ‘B+’ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has affirmed Tanzania’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B+’ with a stable outlook. Tanzania’s rating reflects its relatively strong real GDP growth and low inflation, underpinned by reforms and access to external financing under the current IMF programme, Fitch said. It added that Tanzania’s rating is constrained by weak governance and low, albeit improving, government revenue relative to ‘B’ category peers, and a weak macroeconomic policy framework that leads to distortions in the FX market. In the rating note, Fitch said Tanzania’s incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan,…

Ethereum Price Drops as BlackRock, Fidelity Lead ETF Outflows Ethereum (ETHUSD) price fell by 4.22% to $1,987.97 over the past 24h, closely tracking a broader market sell-off and primarily driven by a seventh straight day of institutional outflows from U.S. spot ETFs. The move was amplified by a cascade of long liquidations. Persistent ETF outflows erode institutional demand, with $92.54 million exiting on March 26 alone. Broad risk-off sentiment driven by Middle East tensions and a liquidation cascade that exacerbated the drop. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $92.54 million in net outflows on March 26, marking the seventh consecutive day…

Petrol price stands at N1,051.47 per litre in February – NBS The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased slightly from N1,034.76 in January to N1,051.47 in February. The NBS said this in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for February, released in Abuja on Friday. It said that the February price of N1,051.47 represented a 1.62 per cent increase over the price of N1,034.76 recorded in January. It, however, said that the average retail price of petrol decreased year-on-year from N1,245.80 recorded in February 2025 to N1,051.47 in February.…

Oil Prices Surge over Unresolved Supply Risk Reflecting unresolved supply risks, oil prices edged slightly higher on Friday, as rising concerns over sustained Middle East tensions overshadowed prospects for de-escalation. International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $102.24 per barrel, up around 0.34% from the previous close of $101.89. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased about 0.26% to $94.73 per barrel, compared with $94.48 in the previous session. Conflicting statements from Trump and Iranian officials have reinforced expectations that tensions in the region may persist. US President Donald Trump said he had decided to halt plans targeting Iran’s power…