Author: Marketforces Africa

British Pound Pulls Back as U.K Inflation Eased to 2.8% British pound pulled back against the US dollar after consumer prices eased more than expected in February. Data showed that UK inflation slipped back from 3.0% to 2.8% in February. Inflation slowdown is expected to be temporary, with the central bank anticipating inflation to rise toward 4% later this year. This is coming as US dollar begins to see some light after bearish performance that started earlier in the year. In the last three months, the sterling has climbed by 6.5%, jumping from $1.21 to current market rate in the…

How to Manage Cash Flow for Business Stability, Growth For any business, cash flow is more than just numbers on a financial statement—it is the heartbeat of the organization. A steady cash flow ensures that a company can meet its financial obligations, invest in growth opportunities, and withstand unexpected economic shifts. On the other hand, poor cash flow management can lead to liquidity crisis, delayed payments, and even business failure. Business can succeed making sales, and still found itself struggling to cover its operational costs. A business can have a profitable product line and a growing customer base, yet frequent…

FBN vs GHL $225.8m Debt Lawsuit Adjourns Indefinitely The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned sine die (indefinitely), the proceedings in the case of an alleged $225.8 million debt owed First Bank Nig. Ltd & FBN Quest Trustees Ltd by an oil and gas company firm, General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL). Justice Deinde Dipeolu adjourned indefinitely to await the outcome of the appeal filed by the parties. At the proceedings on Tuesday, Buchi Ofolue represented the plaintiff, First Bank & FBN Quest Trustees while Taiwo Doherty and Wilson Okereke represented the Ist defendant, General Hydrocarbons Ltd.(GHL). Senior Advocate of…

Naira Mixed as FX Interventions Hit $1 Billion The Nigerian Naira mixed across the foreign exchange (FX) markets as the monetary authority’s US dollar intervention sales crossed $1 billion in March while data showed external reserves at $38.303 billion. On Tuesday, Naira declined to N1532 against the US dollar despite sequence of FX interventions in the foreign exchange market. The local currency lost N1.20 to close at N1,532.39 in the official market. In the first two trading sessions this week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected US dollar into the official market, while authorised dealer banks also maintained $25,000…

Nigerian Exchange Rises as Investors Gain N26bn Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation rose as equities investors’ portfolio value rose by more than N26 billion on Tuesday. For the second trading sessions, the local stock market closed on a positive note on Tuesday, as the All-Share Index edged up by 0.04% to 105,593.28 points. The slight gain recorded on Tuesday lifted market capitalisation by 0.04% to N66.21 trillion, adding N26.27 billion to investors’ portfolios, stockbrokers said. As a result of this, year to date return advanced to 2.59% and month to date loss moderated to -2.07%. Trade metrics showed mixed performance, as total…

Share Price Sticky as PZ Cussons Navigates Debt Challenges Share price of PZ Cussons sticky as the company navigates debt challenges, with shareholders rejecting debt to equities conversion offered by its majority shareholders. The consumer goods company faced distasteful financial developments that have shaped its market performance and shareholder relations. At the heart of these events was the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), where a proposed debt-to-equity conversion was put to a shareholder vote. During the EGM, the Board of Directors proposed converting $31 million of an outstanding intercompany loan from PZ Cussons (Holdings) Limited (PZCH) into equity. This move…

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share index is trending lower during the intraday trading session on Tuesday. The sell pressures seen in banking and oil and gas names dragged market index lower by 10 basis points.

BlackRock Launches Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product in Europe The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product in Europe, according listing details on iShares’ website. The iShares Bitcoin ETP will trade on Xetra and Euronext Paris, according to its latest filing. The move is in a bid to tap growing demand for cryptocurrency. The company venture into Europe after attracting more than $50 billion into similar products in the United States. BlackRock was one of the first institutional investors to offer exchange-traded products in the U.S. to track the spot price of bitcoin after the Securities and Exchange Commission…

Geregu to Pay Dividend on Friday, Amperion Takes 78.05% With two major owners taking 83.05% of total payment, Geregu Power Plc will pay shareholders N8.50 as final dividend on Friday per number of shares. A total of N21.250 billion will be paid to eligible shareholders who have shares in the company at the close of business on Thursday, March 13, 2025. Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, owned by Femi Otedola, controls 78.05% of shares outstanding in the Genco and 5% credit to Libreville Power Limited. Hence, Amperion is expected to receive N1.658 billion as dividend income, and Libreville is expected…

Interbank Rates Diverge as Bonds Inflows Reduce Banking Deficit The interbank rates or the short-term benchmark interest rates diverge as N600 billion inflows from Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds maturities and coupon payment reduced total deficit in the banking system. The Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) declined across all tenors, indicating improved liquidity in the banking system, though the balance closed negative, Cowry Asset Limited said. The financial system liquidity saw some improvement but stayed in negative territory, even with inflows from FAAC disbursements, FGN bond maturities ₦562 billion and coupon payments totalling ₦38 billion. Despite these inflows, the…