Feb 12, 2021 - Business Metrics

Google Search reveals spikes in Nigerian ladies’ commitment to Valentine’s Day

Feb 12, 2021 David Alonge

Google Search reveals spikes in Nigerian ladies’ commitment to Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is almost here and online Search trends show that lovers in Nigeria are already busy preparing to thicken the air with romance. In the last week, there have been huge spikes in Valentine’s Day related searches on Google by Nigerians. According to the tech giant, the search for how to be romantic to your boyfriend on phone spiked by 250 per cent, while ‘Gift for boyfriend’ was searched 71 per cent more than ‘gift for girlfriend’…

Online users to spend $45.5bn on cyber security this year

Feb 12, 2021 David Alonge

Online users to spend $45.5bn on cyber security this year The digital transformation accelerated by the pandemic and the growing number of data breaches and cyberattacks has forced online users, companies, and organizations to increase their spending on security software solutions. According to data presented by Stock Apps, global security software revenues are expected to hit $45.5 billion in 2021, representing a 20 per cent jump in two years. Revenues to Jump Over $61bn by 2025 The security software market includes all software solutions that aim to protect individual…

Ramaphosa prioritizes recovery, vaccinations in speech to parliament

Feb 12, 2021 Business Metrics

Ramaphosa prioritizes recovery, vaccinations in speech to parliament South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged support for his government’s efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as it struggles to implement a vaccination program and an economic recovery plan. South Africa this week halted the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to start inoculating front-line healthcare workers after it was found to be minimally effective in preventing mild to moderate cases of the disease caused by the variant dominant in this country. Instead, the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be…

PayPal unlikely to invest in crypto assets

Feb 12, 2021 David Alonge

PayPal unlikely to invest in crypto assets The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Paypal Holdings Inc, John Rainey has revealed that Paypal is not likely to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Rainey said in an interview with CNBC that “we’re not going to invest corporate cash, probably, in sort of financial assets like that, but we want to capitalize on this growth opportunity that’s in front of us.” PayPal said in October it will allow U.S. customers to hold bitcoin and other virtual coins in its online wallet, and…

Just In: Buhari approves formation of N1trn firm to tackle infrastructure deficit

Feb 12, 2021Feb 12, 2021 Umar Suleiman

Economic council engages Buhari on three disturbing national issues

Buhari approves formation of N1trn firm to tackle infrastructure deficit President Muhammadu Buahri has approved the establishment of a company, Infra-Co, saddled with the responsibility of tackling the nation’s infrastructure deficit. Laolu Akande, the senior special assistant to the vice president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Friday titled “President Buhari approves formation of trillion naira company to address infrastructure deficit.” Akande said the company would take off with an initial seed capital of N1trillion which will come from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the…

Nigeria to rebase GDP in 2021, says NBS boss

Feb 12, 2021 Business Metrics

Nigeria to rebase GDP in 2021, says NBS boss The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Yemi Kale, has disclosed that Nigeria would rebase its GDP later this year. Dr. Kale disclosed this at the media conference on the significance of the on-going National Survey of Establishment (NSE) on Thursday in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported. He revealed that after the GDP is rebased, the NSE would include information on 17 economic activities which would…

Commercial banks’ lending rates killing productivity, manufacturers lament

Feb 12, 2021 Business Metrics

Commercial banks’ lending rates killing productivity, manufacturers lament Most manufacturers have said the commercial banks’ lending rates are discouraging productivity in the nation’s manufacturing sector, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said. In a report, MAN revealed that 71 per cent of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) interviewed “disagreed that the rate at which commercial banks lend to manufacturers encourages productivity in the sector.” It said the cost of borrowing in the country remained at double digits even amidst the reforms meant to culminate in lower rates to engender the…

Trimmed demand outlook causes oil first loss in 10 days

Feb 12, 2021 Business Metrics

Oil hits six-week high $68.47 as dollar weakens

Trimmed demand outlook causes oil first loss in 10 days Crude oil returned to the red territory on Thursday, halting a nine-day gaining streak after demand recovery was trimmed even in the face of production cuts and hopes that rollouts of vaccines will drive recovery. At the session, the price of the Brent crude depreciated by 19 cents or 0.31 per cent to sell at $61.28 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by 13 cents or 0.22 per cent to trade at $58.49 per…

Large cap stocks buoy NSE rebound amidst negative breadth

Feb 12, 2021 Omobayo Azeez

Investors recoup N88bn amid depressed stock turnover

Large cap stocks buoy NSE rebound amidst negative breadth The benchmark All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resisted further decline on Thursday, thereby halting eight successive sessions of losses on a very high traded volume and buying position of 100%. The day’s rebound followed gains by two high cap stocks- Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria, as the market turned around and closed higher, even as the high transaction volume, just after previous day’s low suggests that the ongoing price correction may be temporary. The market, which had…

FG to auction N150bn February bonds

Feb 12, 2021 Business Metrics

FG to auction N150bn February bonds The Debt Management Office (DMO) has said the Federal Government will auction N150 billion worth of bonds by subscription on February 17. A circular by the DMO on Thursday showed that a N50 billion 10-year reopening bond maturing in March 2027 would be offered at 16.288 per cent; another N50 billion 15-year reopening bond maturing in March 2035 would be auctioned at 12.5 per cent. It will also offer the longest of them which is a N50 billion 25-year reopening bond maturing in…