FCMB says group will diversify earnings from retail, raise Tier-2 Capital. After disappointing earnings in the third quarter of 2019, FCMB Group www.fcmbgroup.com said it plans to diversify earnings concentration from banking, sets strategic course for 2020 with Tier-2 capital raise which is expected to be closed in January.

Access Bank Economic Intelligence sees November inflation climbing to 11.9%| The Access Bank Economic Intelligence Unit has stated that the nation’s November headline inflation would hit 11.9%, as analysts cited border closure, security issues in the food producing region as driving factors.

AMCON Takes over Olajide Omokore’s Cedar Oil & Gas Limited Over ₦29 bn Debt. The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, www.amcon.com.ng has taken over Cedar Oil & Gas Limited, the company promoted by Olajide Omokore, over N29 billion debt owed by the company.

Declining External Reserves Threaten CBN’s FX Market Intervention| The declining in the amount credited to the nation’s external reserves threatens the apex bank ability to supporting the local currency in the foreign exchange market, analysts have stated.

Foreign investors’ shy away from CBN’s OMO auction. In the money market last week, exit of foreign investors impacted the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) www.cbn.gov.ng open market operation (OMO) as subscription was significantly under sold.

Analysts say Moody’s Negative Outlook Reflects Weak Macroeconomic Fundamentals. Afrinvest, a leading independent investment banking firm, said that Moody’s, an international rating agency, negative outlook reflects the nation’s current realities. The firm however said that fiscal ratio could worsen in 2019.

Deloitte faults application of IFRS 9 by Nigerian Banks. Many Nigerian banks applied International Financial Reporting Standard 9 impairment provisioning modelling differently, thereby making comparison a tough task, Deloitte Nigeria’s report has revealed.

Investors’ wealth decline as sell-offs in Bellwethers Drag Index. The Nigerian equity market today shed 0.09% to further extended downtrend to four consecutive trading sessions.

Senate passes N10.594 trn budget for 2020. The Senate, on Thursday at plenary, passed the 2020 budget of N10.594 trillion as against N10.33 trillion presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tellimer’s Hasnain says Pension funds allocation shift to equities to drive rally|The Nigerian equities market has underperformed investors’ expectations year to date, but some analysts are already forecasting renew interests starting from the first quarter of financial year 2020