₦airaland Forum

Forte Oil Shareholders Told to Suspend Proposed Sale of Shares
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/31/forte-oil-shareholders-told-to-suspend-proposed-sale-of-shares/

UBA Fixes Sept 18 for Payment of 20 kobo Interim Dividend
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/31/uba-fixes-sept-18-for-payment-of-20-kobo-interim-dividend/

Expect Our 2019 Half Year Results Sept 15—Access Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/31/expect-our-2019-half-year-results-sept-15-access-bank/

AMCON Gets Order to Seize SEPLAT Chairman’s Assets, Shares
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/31/amcon-gets-order-to-seize-seplat-chairmans-assets-shares/

Great Nigeria Insurance Joins NASD OTC Exchange After Exiting NSE
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/31/great-nigeria-insurance-joins-nasd-exchange-after-exiting-nse/

No Nigerian Bank Matches Our Financial Inclusion Strategy—First Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/no-nigerian-bank-matches-our-financial-inclusion-strategy-first-bank/

UBA Grows Post-Tax Profit by 21%, EPS by 31.7% in H1'19
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/h119-uba-pre-tax-profit-rises-21-eps-by-31-7/

73% of Nigerians Would Put Spare Cash into Savings—Report
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/73-of-nigerians-would-put-spare-cash-into-savings-report/

Nigeria May Lose 44m Barrels of Crude Oil in 2019
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/nigeria-may-lose-44m-barrels-of-crude-oil-in-2019/

PZ Cussons to Share N596m to Investors October 30
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/pz-cussons-to-share-n596m-to-investors-october-30/

By Dipo Olowookere

A new report released by Nielsen Africa, which measures Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in some countries on the continent, said things were not to rosy for Nigeria in the second quarter of 2019 because the country’s index slightly increased by one point to 127 unlike its West African neighbor, Ghana, which gained 10 points to settle at 118.

The 127 points reached by Nigeria, according to a summary of the report made available to Business Post, remains the highest confidence level for the country since the first quarter of 2016.

“Following a turbulent period in its history, Nigeria’s economic recovery is gaining momentum with GDP expected to grow slightly to 2.5 percent year on year, off the back of moderate improvements in net exports and domestic demand. Nigerians are optimistic about their future and this is reflected in the confidence scores,” Nielsen MD for Nigeria, Mr Ged Nooy, commented.

Looking at the consumer picture, Nigerians immediate-spending intentions have shown a healthy increase; with 54 percent of consumers versus 46 percent in the previous quarter saying now is a good or excellent time to purchase what they want or need.

However, their perception around job prospects have slightly declined, with 60 percent viewing them as excellent or good, a nine-point drop from the previous quarter.

It was stated that sentiment around the state of personal finances has shown a slight improvement with 82 percent Nigerians agreeing their state of personal finances will be excellent or good over the next year, a one-point increase from the previous quarter.

Looking at whether Nigerians have spare cash to spend, 51 percent said yes, versus 55 percent in the previous quarter.

In terms of their spending priorities, once they meet their essential living expenses, 76 percent would invest in home improvements/ decorating, 73 percent would put their spare cash into savings and 66 percent say they will invest in shares/mutual funds.

Surprisingly, in light of their propensity towards savings and investment, the lowest number 39 percent said they would put their spare cash into retirement funds.

Looking at the top concerns for Nigerians over the next six months, work/life balance tops the list with 27 percent (a six-point increase compared to the previous quarter) and has displaced political stability as the number one concern for Nigerians.

This is followed by increasing food prices at 22 percent (a one-point increase compared to Q1’19) and the economy at 20 percent (a four-point increase compared to the previous quarter)

Elaborating on these results, Mr Nooy said, “Nigerian consumers are positive and open to spending, however, the country’s retail environment continues to feel the effects of steep inflation. Manufacturers and retailers will therefore need to tackle this challenge head on, to harness the true value of Nigeria’s powerful consumer base.”

On the part of Ghana, its CCI for the second quarter of 2019 showed an extremely healthy increase of 10 points to 118.

Looking at Ghana’s overall performance, Nielsen Market Lead for West Africa, Yannick Nkembe said, “Ghana is currently the poster child for African economic growth and positive consumer sentiment. The International Monetary Fund estimates its GDP will rise 8.8 percent this year – double the pace of emerging economies as a whole, and well ahead of world growth.

“This is a result of factors such as expanding crude oil production, a stable democracy and the introduction of a more favourable taxation structure. Ghana’s manufacturing industry has also been boosted by policies aimed at diversifying the economy and preventing an over-reliance on the commodity markets.”

This overall positive outlook is reflected by Ghanaian consumers’ greatly improved view of their job prospects, with a 10-point increase to 63 percent, saying they will be excellent or good in the next six months.

In terms of the state of their personal finances over the next 12 months, 74 percent say excellent or good up from 70 percent and the number of Ghanaian consumers who feel now is a good or excellent time to purchase has also seen a large increase quarter on quarter, from 34 percent to 46 percent.

Looking at whether Ghanaians have spare cash, 52 percent say yes, up nine points from the previous quarter. Once they meet their essential living expenses, the highest number of consumers (82 percent) put their spare cash into savings, followed by 72 percent on home improvements/decorating and 67 percent who invest in stocks and mutual funds.

When looking at the real life factors that are having a negative impact on Ghanaians outlook, the top concerns over the next six months include work/life balance at 24 percent; the same figure as the last quarter, rising food prices at 22 percent (dropped by three points compared to Q1’19) and tolerance towards different religions, also at 22 percent (increased by one percent since the previous quarter), and children’s education and welfare at 18 percent which has seen a 2-point increase.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/73-of-nigerians-would-put-spare-cash-into-savings-report/

Guinness Nigeria Proposes N1.52k Dividend
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/guinness-nigeria-proposes-n1-52k-dividend/

SEC Seeks Involvement of Security Operatives in Capital Market
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/sec-seeks-involvement-of-security-operatives-in-capital-market/

Stats Office to Release Nigeria's Q2 2019 GDP Data Sept 3
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/stats-office-to-release-nigerias-q2-2019-gdp-data-sept-3/

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Nigerians have been assured by federal government that by the year 2030, they will have access to water, sanitation and hygiene. They were also assured that five years before then, by 2025, the problem of open defecation would have been totally solved.

Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, who gave this assurance on Tuesday at the closed meeting at the 2019 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, said government was determined to meet this target.

At the meeting on the National Action Plan for the revitalization of the Wash Sector in Nigeria, Mr Adamu urged all Nigerians and International Development partners to give focused attention and consideration to the possibility of establishing a program in Nigeria to support the actualization of the goals.

During his speech themed Open for Business: Building Partnerships for the Revitalization of the Nigeria WASH Sector, the Minister noted that the journey to revitalize the WASH sector in Nigeria began in 2017, after the receipt of the worrisome World Bank WASH Poverty Diagnostic Report on the state water supply system and the increasing number of people without access to sustainable sanitation, including those defecating in the open.

To address the problem of low access to water and poor sanitation in Nigeria, Mr Adamu stated that, “President Muhammadu Buhari, demonstrated high political commitment on November 8, 2018 with the launch of the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Sector and declared a State of Emergency for the WASH Sector.”

Federal government, he continued, “has made the conscious decision to open up opportunities in the Nigerian WASH sector to the international development community, to support our efforts through establishment of new partnerships in development cooperation and investments for the development of requisite skills, competences, technologies and financial systems.”

He said, “Our goal is to listen to you and learn from you on what we need do as a government to strengthen our existing partnerships and collaboration as well as build new international development cooperation and private sector relationships to enable us to achieve the SDG 6 in Nigeria.”

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/fg-assures-nigerians-water-sanitation-hygiene-by-2030/

By Dipo Olowookere

Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that the tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria is around 7 to 8 percent, from about 6 percent it was during the first term of the present administration, which the Accountant said was too low for the country.

She made this disclosure recently in a television interview monitored in Abuja, where she highlighted how she plans to improve the economy of the country by formulating growth-driven policies.

During the interview, the Minister said the nation’s debt portfolio was not high as feared by some Nigerians, stressing that the problem confronting the economy was basically low revenue generation, not high debt profile.

According to her, efforts would be increased towards boosting non-oil revenue in order to bridge the gap and keep the debt to GDP ratio at a manageable level.

“We have to become more efficient in our revenue collection as well as enforcement. Tax to GDP is still 7 or 8 percent to GDP which is too low. Our ERGP target is 15 percent,” she said.

Mrs Ahmed declared that “we have to increase taxes and we have reduced our dependence on oil revenue. We have to increase our non-oil revenue.”

“We have to continue to emphasise our increase in non-oil revenue. Even as we try to maximize what we can’t from the oil revenue,” she added.

Explaining why the ministries of Finance and Budget and National Planning were merged by President Muhammadu Buhari, she said it was purely to ensure better coordination.

“There was the challenge of the implementation of the budget and there was this gap as to what was seen as a priority as seen by the Ministry of Finance and what was seen as the priority as seen by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

“Of course, the Ministry of Finance is the treasury so it always had its way because it was the one that was disbursing the funds.

“It created a significant strain and the President decided to bring back the Budget Office to the Ministry of Finance and brought the Planning to the Ministry so that we can maintain the positive trend of linking budget with plans,” the Minister said on the programme.

While admitting that her current mandate “is a very wide one,” she explained that she was already working out how things will work between the planning budget and finance.

“My role is to coordinate all these and make sure that, as much as possible, there are no delays in implementation.”

While commenting on the foreign exchange market in Nigeria, Mrs Ahmed said “there is still a gap and that gap is what we have to bridge and narrow as much as possible from 305 to 360.”

“That is one of our targets,” she stated while disclosing “we have been having a cordial working relationship with the monetary authorities but we have to do more.”

“We did a quick assessment on the ERGP’s impact on households. We have agreed that the priority will have to be agriculture and food security, power, petroleum, as well as, oil and gas, manufacturing, as well as, small and medium enterprises; and the alignment of the fiscal and monetary policies.

“Of course, security and fight against corruption and we added housing and financing of SMEs,” she said.

Mrs Ahmed also said that her team would work more closely with the monetary authorities for better coordination of the economy.

“As a result of the gaps, the monetary authorities are developing or implementing policies that ideally should have been done by the fiscal authorities. So, we have to bridge that gap.

“And maybe because there is not enough impetus from the fiscal side, the monetary authorities appear in some cases to be running faster than the fiscal.

“For me, we have been able to establish an excellent relationship with the CBN and working together, we have to determine things that have to do with tariffs, imports and exports,” she added.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/nigerias-tax-to-gdp-ratio-rises-to-8/

Retail Banking Buoys Fidelity Bank H1’19 Earnings, PBT up 16.2%
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/retail-banking-buoys-fidelity-bank-h119-earnings-pbt-up-16-2/

One-Year T-Bill Yield Rises to 14.98% Thursday
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/one-year-t-bill-yield-rises-to-14-98-thursday/

Nigerian Equities Lose 0.66% on Selloffs in High-Cap Stocks
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/nigerian-equities-lose-0-66-on-selloffs-in-high-cap-stocks/

Trading in Royal Exchange Shares Resumes on NSE
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/29/trading-in-royal-exchange-shares-resumes-on-nse/

One-Year T-Bill Yield Rises to 14.98% Thursday
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/30/one-year-t-bill-yield-rises-to-14-98-thursday/

By Adedapo Adesanya

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has said if Nigeria must compete in the oil and gas sector, it must bring down the cost of production of its crude oil as the country is currently perceived as a laughing stock in the way it runs business in the sector.

Mr Sylva was quoted saying this on Tuesday in Abuja when he hosted the Country Chair/Managing Director, Total Exploration and Production, Nigeria, Mr Mike Sangster, who led a delegation from the company to visit the minister.

In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Minister said, “We have to bring down our cost of production of crude, as we are presently a laughing stock in the way we do our business.”

He noted that the country was making losses in the sector and kicked against the unwarranted practice perpetuated by some international oil companies and expressed the hope that Total E&P was not among the IOCs that sold the country’s assets.

“Those assets are amortised assets; you can’t sell what you don’t have,” the minister told the visiting team.

Mr Sylva opined that he expects the country to be producing nothing less than four million barrels of crude per day and frowned at the fact Nigeria was still hovering between two million and 2.2 million.

“The quicker we produce our oil, the better for us. The industry has to grow. We need to look at exploration. Our reserves are growing far less than expected,” he said.

The Minister then used the opportunity to speak on the necessity of getting the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill revisited by the National Assembly.

He said, “We need to tidy up the regulatory environment with the National Assembly. I have called the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for us to meet with the National Assembly and have a timeline which we can announce to the world.

“We also need to harmonise the laws so that we don’t have too many with which we can regulate the industry.”

During his goodwill message, Mr Sangster stated that the main purpose of the visit of his team was not only to congratulate the minister but also to express Total’s firm belief in the minister’s ability to proffer solutions to the challenges facing the oil and gas industry.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/28/nigerias-oil-output-should-be-4million-barrel-day-sylva/

Stanbic IBTC to Pay Highest Interim Dividend in Banking Sector
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/29/stanbic-ibtc-to-pay-highest-interim-dividend-in-banking-sector/

Zenith Bank Shifts Interim Dividend Payment Date
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/29/zenith-bank-shifts-interim-dividend-payment-date-2/

Nigeria’s Oil Output Should be 4million Barrel/Day—Sylva
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/28/nigerias-oil-output-should-be-4million-barrel-day-sylva/

Buhari Assures Foreign Investors Attractive Yields
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/29/buhari-assures-foreign-investors-attractive-yields/

MTN Nigeria to Launch Momo Mobile Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/28/mtn-nigeria-to-launch-momo-mobile-bank/

Arise Completes Acquisition of 14.1% Stake in Ecobank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/28/arise-completes-acquisition-of-14-1-stake-in-ecobank/

Zenith Bank, GTBank May Acquire Other Banks
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/zenith-bank-gtbank-may-acquire-other-banks/

How Oil Firms Can Achieve Exponential Growth—Verraki
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/how-oil-firms-can-achieve-exponential-growth-verraki/

These Three Stocks Could Make You Laugh to Your Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/these-three-stocks-could-make-you-laugh-to-your-bank/

Online Trading Portal: SEC Approves New Rules for Stockbrokers
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/online-trading-portal-sec-approves-new-rules-for-stockbrokers/

NSE Empowers Stockbrokers to Close Investors’ Accounts Used for Fraud
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/nse-empowers-stockbrokers-to-close-investors-accounts-used-for-fraud/

Manufacturing Sector Posts 29th Consecutive Monthly Expansion in August
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/manufacturing-sector-posts-29th-consecutive-monthly-expansion-in-august/

By Adedapo Adesanya

The new trading week kicked off on a positive note at the foreign exchange market on Monday with the Naira appreciating by 15 Kobo against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market.

It was gathered that the local currency was traded at N362.99 against the American Dollar at the Investors window in contrast to N363.14/$ it was exchanged at the last session on Friday, representing a 0.04 percent gain.

The gains posted yesterday occurred despite fears nursed by observers that the local currency may not perform well at the market due to events at the global scene as a result of fluctuations in the prices of crude oil as earlier reported by Business Post.

It was observed that the daily market turnover on the first trading day of the week stood at $150.36 million, lower than the $680.48 million turnover recorded last Friday, indicating a drop by 77.90 percent.

At the Central Bank’s interbank segment, the Naira/US Dollar rate finally saw a movement on Monday as the Naira depreciated by 5 Kobo from N306.95/$1 to trade at N307/$1.

On the parallel market, all three foreign currencies placed against the Naira – the US Dollar, the British Pound Sterling, and the Euro saw no movement from their trading rates on Friday.

Leading the pack was the Naira/USD which traded at the still price of N360/$1 as it has done for sometime. The local currency also saw no changes against the British Pound Sterling as it closed at N444/£1. The Naira/Euro rate closed on Monday like it did last week Friday at N397/€1.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/naira-gains-15-kobo-against-dollar-at-ie-loses-5-kobo-at-interbank/

Selloffs in Oil Stocks Crash NSE Index by 0.39%
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/selloffs-in-oil-stocks-crash-nse-index-by-0-39/

Oil Prices Tumble on Monday after Earlier Rise
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/oil-prices-drop-monday-after-earlier-rise/

Naira Gains 15 Kobo Against Dollar at I&E, Loses 5 Kobo at Interbank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/naira-gains-15-kobo-against-dollar-at-ie-loses-5-kobo-at-interbank/

T-Bills Yields Shed 0.14% Monday to Settle at 14.44%
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/t-bills-yields-shed-0-14-monday-to-settle-at-14-44/

T-Bills Yields Shed 0.14% Monday to Settle at 14.44%
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/27/t-bills-yields-shed-0-14-monday-to-settle-at-14-44/

Purchase of Value Stocks to Dominate Market This Week
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/purchase-of-value-stocks-to-dominate-market-this-week/

SEC Mulls e-Dividend Fee in Bank Charges
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/sec-mulls-e-dividend-fee-in-bank-charges/

9mobile Secures $230m Loan to Achieve Growth Plan
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/9mobile-secures-230m-loan-to-achieve-growth-plan/

Pension Operators Buy N1.94trn T-Bills, N537bn Shares
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/pension-operators-buy-n1-94trn-t-bills-n537bn-shares/

GTBank Records Milestone With Tier III Design Certification
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/gtbank-records-milestone-with-tier-iii-design-certification/

Pension Operators Buy N1.94trn T-Bills, N537bn Shares
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/pension-operators-buy-n1-94trn-t-bills-n537bn-shares/

Stop Rates to Rise as CBN Sells Fresh T-Bills Wednesday
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/stop-rates-to-rise-as-cbn-sells-fresh-t-bills-wednesday/

NSE Fines This Company N4.9m
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/nse-fines-this-company-n4-9m/

NSE Approves Listing of Access Bank's N30bn Bonds
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/nse-approves-listing-of-access-banks-n30bn-bonds/

Interlinked Technologies Appoints Banker as MD/CEO
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/24/interlinked-technologies-appoints-banker-as-md-ceo/

Nestle Nigeria, 23 Others Keep NSE Index Flying by 0.62%
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/24/nestle-nigeria-23-others-keep-nse-index-flying-by-0-62/

Stop Rates to Rise as CBN Sells Fresh T-Bills Wednesday
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/26/stop-rates-to-rise-as-cbn-sells-fresh-t-bills-wednesday/

CBN Authorises Two Directors to Join Zenith Bank Board
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/24/cbn-authorises-two-directors-to-join-zenith-bank-board/

UBA Board Proposes Interim Dividend, Okays H1 2019 Results
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/22/uba-board-proposes-interim-dividend-okays-h1-2019-results/

Red Star Express to Raise N1.33bn to Generate Higher Revenue
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/22/red-star-express-to-raise-n1-33bn-to-generate-higher-revenue/

Investors Snub DMO's August N145bn Bond Sale
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/22/investors-snub-dmos-august-n145bn-bond-sale/

Nigeria’s on Verge of Crisis, Economy Still Fragile–Finance Minister
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/22/nigerias-on-verge-of-crisis-economy-still-fragile-finance-minister/

Average T-Bills Yields Hit 15.08% Wednesday
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/22/average-t-bills-yields-hit-15-08-wednesday/

Mobile device security threats are on the rise and it’s not hard to see why. In 2019, the number of worldwide mobile phone users is forecast to reach 4.68 billion of which 2.7 billion are smartphone users.

So, if you are looking for a target, it certainly makes sense to go where the numbers are. Think about it, unsecured Wi-Fi connections, network spoofing, phishing attacks, ransomware, spyware and improper session handling – mobile devices make for the perfect easy target.

In fact, according to Kaspersky, mobile apps are often the cause of unintentional data leakage.

“Apps pose a real problem for mobile users, who give them sweeping permissions, but don’t always check security,” says Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager for Kaspersky in Africa. “These are typically free apps found in official app stores that perform as advertised, but also send personal – and potentially corporate – data to a remote server, where it is mined by advertisers or even cybercriminals. Data leakage can also happen through hostile enterprise-signed mobile apps. Here, mobile malware uses distribution code native to popular mobile operating systems like iOS and Android to spread valuable data across corporate networks without raising red flags.”

In fact, according to recent reports, six Android apps that were downloaded a staggering 90 million times from the Google Play Store were found to have been loaded with the PreAMo malware, while another recent threat saw 50 malware-filled apps on the Google Play Store infect over 30 million Android devices. Surveillance malware was also loaded onto fake versions of Android apps such as Evernote, Google Play and Skype.

Considering that as of 2019, Android users were able to choose between 2.46 million apps while Apple users have almost 1.96 million app options to select from, and that the average person has 60-90 apps installed on their phone, using around 30 of them each month and launching 9 per day – it’s easy to see how viral apps take several social media channels by storm.

“In this age where users jump onto a bandwagon because it’s fun or trendy, the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) can overshadow basic security habits – like being vigilant on granting app permissions,” says Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa.

“In fact, accordingly to a previous Kaspersky study, the majority (63%) of consumers do not read license agreements and 43% just tick all privacy permissions when they are installing new apps on their phone. And this is exactly where the danger lies – as there is certainly ‘no harm’ in joining online challenges or installing new apps.”

However, it is dangerous when users just grant these apps limitless permissions into their contacts, photos, private messages, and more. “Doing so allows the app makers possible, and even legal, access to what should remain confidential data. When this sensitive data is hacked or misused, a viral app can turn a source into a loophole which hackers can exploit to spread malicious viruses or ransomware,” adds Badenhorst.

As such, online users should always have their thinking caps on and be more careful when it comes to the internet and their app habits including:

Only download apps from trusted sources. Read the reviews and ratings of the apps as well

Select apps you wish to install on your devices wisely

Read the license agreement carefully

Pay attention to the list of permissions your apps are requesting. Only give apps permissions they absolutely insist on, and forgo any programme that asks for more than necessary

Avoid simply clicking “next” during an app installation

For an additional security layer, be sure to have a security solution installed on your device

“While the app market shows no signs of slowing down, it is changing. Consumers download the apps they love on their devices which in turn gives them access to content that is relevant and useful. The future of apps will be in real-world attribution, influenced by local content and this type of tailored in-app experience will lead consumers to share their data more willing in a trusted, premium app environment in exchange for more personalised experiences. But until then, proceed with caution,” concludes Opil.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/the-dark-side-of-mobile-apps/

LASACO Assurance Plans Share Reconstruction
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/lasaco-assurance-plans-share-reconstruction/

NSE Delists Skye Bank, Fortis Microfinance Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/nse-delists-skye-bank-fortis-microfinance-bank/

Total Nigeria Appoints Baxter-Green to Board
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/total-nigeria-appoints-baxter-green-to-board/

Buhari Remains as Petroleum Minister as Ahmed Keeps Finance (See Full List and Portfolios)
https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/buhari-remains-as-petroleum-minister-as-ahmed-keeps-finance/

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Brent Crude oil traded at $60.04 (9PM Nigerian Time) on Tuesday, giving Nigeria new hopes that funding its 2019 budget may no longer be under threat. The nation, which relies heavily on income made from the sale of its crude oil for revenue, set the benchmark for this year at $60 per barrel.

But in the past few weeks, the commodity has been trading lower, casting doubts on the possibility of government to meet its obligations back home.

At the market yesterday, the Brent Crude saw an increase of 30 Cents equivalent to 0.5 percent. Last week, the black gold was sold for as low as $54 per barrel.

As for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude, it saw no growth as it dropped 3 Cents equal to 0.05 percent to trade at $56.09.

Oil prices were trading up on Tuesday prior to the data release as the market clawed its way back up after reaching 2019 lows last week as prospects for demand growth dimmed in the wake of the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 3.45 million barrels for the week ending Aug 15, compared to analyst expectations of a 1.889-million barrel draw.

The API this week reported a 403,000-barrel draw in gasoline inventories for week ending Aug 15. Analysts predicted a build in gasoline inventories of 169,000 barrels for the week.

Distillate inventories rose by 1.806 million barrels for the week, while inventories at Cushing fell by 2.803 million barrels.

US crude oil production as estimated by the Energy Information Administration showed that production for the week ending August 8 stayed the same at 12.3 million bpd, just 100,000 bpd off the all-time high of 12.4 million bpd.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration report on crude oil inventories is due to be released at its regularly scheduled time on Wednesday at 10:30a.m. EST.

https://businesspost.ng/2019/08/21/fresh-hopes-for-nigeria-as-brent-returns-to-60-per-barrel/