Author: Olu Anisere

Ghana Upgraded on Improving Fiscal, BoP Performance – S&P S&P Global Ratings raised its long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Ghana to ‘B-/B’ from ‘CCC+/C’. According to the rating note, the outlook is stable. Ratings analysts also revised up S&P transfer and convertibility assessment on Ghana to ‘B-‘ from ‘CCC+’. S&P said the stable outlook balances the potential for stronger balance-of-payments (BoP) performance and improvements in Ghana’s fiscal outcomes as a result of ongoing expenditure reforms against still-high debt-service costs, reform implementation risks, and Ghana’s sensitivity to terms of trade, such as gold and cocoa…

BTCUSD Sinks Below $96K as Investors Unwind Positions Bitcoin price (BTCUSD) declined below $96 as sell-offs heated up, dragging the global market cap down to $3.25 trillion, down by about 1% on the day.  The sell-offs have been fast and furious. BTC had reached $126K last month before sentiment turned negative. Trading data obtained showed that Bitcoin fell 1.6% over the past 24 hours, underperforming the broader crypto market as investors closed positions The drop reflects leveraged position unwinding, cautious derivatives positioning, and breakdown below key technical levels – though strong institutional bids near $90K-$95K suggest contained downside The world’s…

TotalEnergies Commits $100m to Climate Investment TotalEnergies says the company has committed $100 million to climate investment, the amount was announced during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30) taking place in Belém, Brazil. As a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) and of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), TotalEnergies announces its commitment to Climate Investment’s Venture Strategy fund, which backs technologies that cut emissions across the oil and gas value chain. It said Climate Investment is now a Partner of the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) under a MoU signed on July…

Strong FX Inflow, Tighter Controls Driving Naira Stability – CBN The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says recent foreign exchange (FX) stability is driven by increasing FX inflows, tighter market controls and the return to orthodox monetary policy. Dr Victor Eboh, Director of Monetary Policy at the CBN, said this during a Business, Economy and Financial Training for Journalists organised by Premium Times Academy in collaboration with the apex bank in Abuja. According to him, the move by the CBN is aimed at restoring confidence and transparency in the sector. Eboh said that the Naira had for years been “overvalued”…

UK Growth Slowdown Sparks Recession Fears Ahead of Budget UK recession concerns are rising sharply after the latest figures revealed a far weaker run of growth and a notable rise in unemployment ahead of the November 26 Budget, warns the CEO of a global financial advisory giant. The warning from Nigel Green of deVere Group comes as new figures reveal that the UK economy expanded by only 0.1% in the third quarter while unemployment has climbed to 5%, its highest level in four years. The combination of fading momentum and job-market stress is sharpening fears that the country is moving…

XRP Slumps by 8% as ETF Launch Fails to Fuel Rally With downbeat sentiment in the cryptocurrency market, the price of Ripple (XRP) tumbled by about 8% in the last 24 hours due to investors trimming their holdings. XRP’s drop stems from macro liquidations overwhelming its exchange-traded fund (ETF) catalyst, which had earlier fuelled price appreciation, compounded by technical triggers. XRP fell 8% in the past 24h, underperforming the broader crypto market, down by 6% due to a mix of technical breakdowns, market-wide liquidations, and profit-taking after its ETF launch. Its price movement in the past 24 hours revealed that…

Attractive Yields Boost Bonds Buying in Nigerian Market The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds closed on a positive note in the secondary market as investors continue to ramp up naira assets ahead of key economic data. Demand for local bonds persisted with demand across the belly and long duration which caused average yield to decline by 5 basis  points (bps) to 15.57%. Yields on bonds are declining but still attractive as market anticipate sharp slowdown in risk premium on local papers. In anticipation of rates repricing at the Debt Management Office monthly bonds auction, investor demand for domestic sovereign…

Euro Ticks Higher on Soft US Economic Data The euro ticked higher on Thursday and pushed above 1.16 as soft US economic data weighed on the dollar. The market expects US Fed to axe rate as a results weak labor, and inflation data. The American labour market is losing momentum, prompting traders to price in a high chance of another Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Investors and markets anticipate that the September employment report though, which was due on October 7, could be released early next week. Recall that according to ADP private sector employment fell by 29k, the…

Surplus Liquidity Keeps Money Market Rates Steady The short-term benchmark interest rates were steadied in the money market as excess liquidity levels climbed near N5 trillion in the absence of Central Bank action. Surplus liquidity continues to keep rate movement in check. The excess funds in the market continue to enhance the banks’ placement at the Apex Bank deposit window. The market liquidity opened the day with a surplus balance of ₦4.8 trillion, reflecting a marginal increase of ₦14.8 billion from the previous level. The improvement was mainly driven by an increase in the CBN standing deposit facility (SDF) window,…

OPEC Oil Production Rises 33,000 bpd in October – Report Crude oil production by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 33,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October compared to the previous month, reaching around 28.46 million bpd, according to the group’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report. The largest output increase came from Saudi Arabia, while Iran recorded the biggest decline last month. Saudi Arabia, the group’s top producer, increased its output by 43,000 bpd to about 10 million bpd. Iran’s production, meanwhile, declined by 66,000 bpd to approximately 3.2 million bpd in October. Total crude production…