₦airaland Forum

FOOD 4 THOUGHT

By Dele Sobowale

If you see a banker jump out of the window; follow him. There must be money in it.”
Anonymous.Once upon a time, that was considered good advice.

Bankers, in those halcyon days, could do no wrong. They had a sure nose for sound investments from which to profit. For decades in Nigeria the wisest investment a banker could make was in oil and gas.

So, bankers literally jumped out of the window to get their own pieces of the action in oil and gas. Money in local and foreign currency flowed into their coffers; so much so, they could, like Gowon in the 1970s say “Money is not our problem, but, how to spend it”.

What better way was there to spend it than to invest in more oil and gas ventures? If one goose lays a golden egg a day, surely two birds will lay two eggs a day; three layers will produce three eggs – ad infinitum.Unfortunately, life does not always move in straight lines.

Sometimes it is like a boomerang; the stuff you throw out, turn your back and which returns to crack your skull.

It was one of our brightest and best bankers, Mr Atedo Peterside, who during the debate on banking Con-SOLUDO-tion, who warned his fellow bankers, lining up to support Professor Soludo, that it is easier for an economist to understand banking than for a banker to understand economics.

He earned my everlasting gratitude for that frank admission – as an economist naturally.
Economics is full of paradoxes. At least two of them are responsible for the dire situation facing the banks in 2016. The first is the idea of economic cycle.

Plainly stated, it means that nothing lasts for ever – neither good times nor bad periods. When global or national economic boom occurs the incentive is there for more investors to enter the key sectors and for those already there to expand.

When the global price of crude, driven by double digit GDP growth in China, India, Russia and near eight per cent in Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa, shot up to $145 per barrel in 2008/9 there were speculations that it might eventually reach $200 per barrel.

The frenzied search for more oil deposits globally was only equaled by the famed search for gold in Colorado in America’s early days.
Every puddle containing a “spoonful” of crude became valuable and more crude oil was pumped into the world than ever in history. Even the export embargo placed on Iran and Libya’s inability to produce were unnoticed by a world swimming in the “black gold”.

Come to think of it, when was the last time oil was called “black gold”?
Crude started to lose steam as several countries in Europe went into economic recession and Greece twice threatened to default on loans.

This was followed by economic slowdown in other countries as well – Nigeria is as good an example as one can get. From annual growths of 6.5% to 7.2% in 2008 to 2014 — the best racer on the continent during the period — our country crawled to 2.8% growth in the first three quarters of 2015.

China is expecting less than 5% growth, Brazil and Russia are in recession and Saudi Arabia has a $200bn budget deficit to manage.

Suddenly, the gold had become dross on our hands globally. Another economic principle which explains why all the banks might suffer the consequences of “Group Think” is called the “Fallacy of Composition”.

Again simply explained, it warns economic units that if one or two profit from a venture and later everybody else joins disaster will follow.

We are all familiar with drivers on Nigerian roads in a hold up. Suddenly, one driver peels off and goes down the wrong way which is free and beats the traffic jam. Then two others follow down the wrong way.

Soon every vehicle is going down the wrong way and standstill occurs – until Road Safety comes to restore sanity. When all the banks in Nigeria jumped out of the window in pursuit of oil and gas companies, a good economist could have told them that financial paralysis would follow eventually.

Financial paralysis is round the corner because the investments in oil and gas, which made sense at $145-90 per barrel, are now threatening to result in bankruptcy as the price of crude dives closer to $30 per barrel. Production has been halted in many rigs, meaning no money flowing in.

When oil companies fail to pay, bankers are in a fix. But, not just bankers; we are all in a fix.

Shareholders of Nigerian banks, already waving off a bad 2015, will again have to endure two economic woes – low or no dividends and plummeting share prices.

Currently, only two banks shares are above N15 per share: ECOBANK and GTB. None of the others is above N6 per share.
These are shares that were eagerly purchased at N40-70 per share when Professor Soludo assured Nigerians that we could put our money in banks and go to sleep with our eyes closed.

Nobody is sleeping now because the economic wolves at the gate are set to swallow what is left of bank share prices and, perhaps, the banks themselves.

Unfortunately, for the banks and the rest of us, “returning to base” – meaning a more diversified client base will not be easy.

The easy money available in oil and gas rendered Nigerian banks lazy and, to some extent, unprofessional. It will not be easy for them to identify the next golden opportunities; and they might not even have the funds to lend.

Turning back from the wrong road takes a lot of time and eats up your fuel.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/banking-blues-in-2016/

http://www.chichinwaafrica.com/two-nigerian-pastors-listed-among-worlds-most-famous-prophets-see-photos/

According to an American website, www.ranker.com, that has compiled a detailed list of the most famous prophets in the world, two Nigerian prophets, Prophet TB Joshua and Prophet Joseph Babalola, are on the list.

T.B. Joshua, Pastor of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) held the number 15 spot while Joseph Ayo Babalola, the founder of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), held number 36.

Ranker’s website reported that they have “built one of the world’s largest opinion databases, collecting more than 250 million user votes”.

The website is known to provide ‘crowd-sourced rankings’, therefore attracting more than 20 million visits, monthly.

Majority of the 79 ‘prophets’ chronicled by the website are ancient figures from Biblical or Islamic history such as Moses, Shuaib and Isaiah, with Jesus Christ topping the list.

“This list of notable prophets is ordered by their level of prominence,” Ranker revealed in the introduction put together for the list. “What they have in common is that they’re all renowned prophets.”

However, Prophet TB Joshua is the only individual mentioned who is still alive and one of seven from the modern era.Babalola, who is credited with popularising ‘Aladura’ in Nigeria and across Africa, died in 1959.

T.B. Joshua’s alleged prophecies on world events have proved very controversial,often stirring debate on social mediums after their release.

The cleric is reported to have predicted world events such as the terrorist attacks in Paris, the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Flight MH370 and the death of pop legend, Michael Jackson.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/imf-md-arrives-to-hold-talks-with-buhari/

Buhari and his APC goons finally decide to sell Nigeria into slavery.
May GOD have mercy on the masses

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/insolvency-nnpc-owes-iocs-2-84bn-in-11-months/

The insolvency of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has been brought to the fore, with its inability to fund its obligation to International Oil Companies (IOCs), as it owes its Joint Venture (JV) partners $2.839 billion, about N567.76 billion, between January and November 2015.

The NNPC, in its Monthly Financial and Operations Report for November 2015, obtained from its website, yesterday, stated that it was only able to pay $3.395 billion to fund its JV cash call obligation with IOCs, instead of a total of $6.774 billion.

To this end, a monthly funding of $615.8 million translates to $567.76 billion for the 11-month period.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/04/us-markets.html?__source=newsletter%7Ceveningbrief

Dow closes down triple digits, posts worst opening day in 8 years.

U.S. stocks closed lower Monday, the first day of trade of the year, weighed by renewed concerns of global economic slowdown and increased tensions in the Middle East.

An overnight drop in Chinese stocks that triggered a new circuit breaker rule also pressured sentiment.

"Anytime a big market stops trading and it spills over to Europe, investors are nervous," said Marc Chaikin, CEO of Chaikin Analytics.

Earlier, the index fell more than 450 points, down more than 2.5 percent, temporarily on pace for its largest percent decline on the first trading day of the year since 1932.

Intendy:
it circuit shut down when it was loosing close to 7% and many market in asia closed in the red,same with europe
And to make matters worse in China a law prohibiting sale of share by investors who owns 5% upward will be lifted on thursday which is what is prompting a sell off.
Guys should watch well but that should not stop people from investing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35219127

Trading on China's stock markets has been suspended after the market dramatically plunged and triggered a new system meant to limit volatility.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 7% while the benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 6.9%.

The technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was the worst performer and fell by more than 8%.

Trading had been halted earlier in the day for 15 minutes after the stock market fell by 5%.

But shares continued to fall, leading regulators to end trading early.

Under China's new circuit-breaker mechanism, moves of 7% from the previous session's close trigger a trading suspension for the day.

The measures were introduced in early December after the stock market's turbulent sell-off over the summer. They came into effect for the first time on Monday.

One factor behind the stock market falls was a manufacturing survey that pointed to more bad news for the Chinese economy.

Godisfaithful:
Sir Peterichy, you forgot to include these news too...


Oil prices volatile after Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran


http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/04/investing/oil-hike-saudi-arabia-iran/


Bahrain, Sudan and United Arab Emirates Join Diplomatic Feud Against Iran



http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/world/middleeast/bahrain-sudan-united-arab-emirates-join-diplomatic-feud-against-iran.html?_r=0

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/03/oil-prices-jump-over-2-pct-on-saudi-arabia-iran-tensions.html?__source=newsletter|breakingnews

Oil prices slid on Monday in volatile trade that saw an early rally of more than 4 percent on tensions in the Middle East until those gains were erased on worries about a slowing global economic growth and sliding stock markets.

Data showing an inventory build at the Cushing, Okla. delivery hub for U.S. crude futures also weighed on sentiment, traders said.

Brent, the global oil benchmark, fell 5 cents, or 0.13 percent, at $37.24 a barrel, having hit an intraday high of $38.99.

U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled 28 cents lower, or 0.76 percent at $36.76 a barrel.

WTI was also weakened by data from market intelligence firm Genscape that showed a build in Cushing supply, traders who saw the data said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35219745

Stock markets have fallen after a sharp decline in Chinese shares, while oil and gold prices have increased as tensions rise in the Middle East.

Trading in China's main stock markets ended early on Monday after the indexes tumbled 7%.
Europe's main stock markets followed Asia lower, with the FTSE 100 sinking 2.4% and Germany's Dax index down 4.3%.

Meanwhile, news that Saudi Arabia had broken off diplomatic ties with Iran sent oil and gold prices higher.

China weakness
Earlier on Monday, trading on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was halted for the first time under new "circuit breaker" rules, which are designed to curb market volatility.

The share price falls came after more signs of trouble in the world's second-largest economy.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/04/oil-may-hit-18-amid-saudi-iran-tensions-kilduff.html

Oil prices could break below $20 this year as tensions rise between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the world's largest oil players, Again Capital founding partner John Kilduff said Monday.

"I think you're going to get as low as $18 and maybe get as high as $48. ... It's going to get really ugly," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "The Iranians doubled down again, if that's even possible, by saying that they could put 500,000 more barrels on the market within weeks after the sanctions get lifted."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35219745

Stock markets have fallen after a sharp decline in Chinese shares, while oil and gold prices have increased as tensions rise in the Middle East.

Trading in China's main stock markets ended early on Monday after the indexes tumbled 7%.
Europe's main stock markets followed Asia lower, with the FTSE 100 sinking 2.4% and Germany's Dax index down 4.3%.

Meanwhile, news that Saudi Arabia had broken off diplomatic ties with Iran sent oil and gold prices higher.

China weakness
Earlier on Monday, trading on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was halted for the first time under new "circuit breaker" rules, which are designed to curb market volatility.

The share price falls came after more signs of trouble in the world's second-largest economy.

ukay2:
Gurus in the house...

Should I buy a land 100x 50 ft in lokoja ,kogi state with community document at N250,000 only or I should invest the money in NSE

If NSE, WHICH STOCKS SHOULD I BUY NOW THAT WILL GIVE ME GOOD RETURNS IN 18 MONTHS TIME Or should I buy the land and sell it 18 months time

Advise please

Angelo, Ellai, manie, Godisfaithful, gbolahau, PeterRichie etc

China Halts Stock Trading After 7% Rout Triggers Circuit Breaker - Bloomberg Business http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-04/chinese-stocks-in-hong-kong-extend-annual-slump-as-yuan-declines

China halted trading in stocks, futures and options after a selloff triggered circuit breakers designed to limit swings in one of the world’s most volatile equity markets.

Trading was halted at about 1:34 p.m. local time on Monday after the CSI 300 Index dropped 7 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

An earlier 15-minute halt at the 5 percent level did little to stop the retreat, with shares extending losses as soon as the market re-opened.

The selloff, the worst-ever start to a year for Chinese shares, came on the first day the circuit breakers took effect.

THATS A GLARING SIGN OF ANOTHER GLOBAL MELTDOWN,

IF YOU HAVE AN AVENUE TO STORE YOUR FUND IN DOLLAR BETTER.

IF NOT THEN GO FOR THE LAND AS LONG AS ITS GENUINE BECAUSE BEFORE YEAR END NIGERIA WILL WITNESS A SORT OF HYPERINFLATION AND THE VALUE OF THAT LAND WOULD DEFINITELY APPRECIATE.

DISCLOSURE: I DONT HAVE A DIME IN THE STOCK MARKET.

PETERiCHY:
We are on the same page by the time i buy OANDO N3 and sell N4 I would ve recouped my loss.

For now we are on the sideline patiently waiting for the time this hypocritic government will come up with subsidy removal then with Labour reaction,

we are going to witness a repeat of Jan 2012 scenario by then stocks will be buy one get 10 free

http://www.punchng.com/fg-officially-stops-petrol-subsidy/

The Federal Government has officially ended the subsidy on premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol.

The latest Petroleum Products Pricing template, issued by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency does not contain the usual subsidy component.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/first-us-oil-export-leaves-port-marks-end-to-40-year-ban/ar-BBo5Vxs

The first U.S. shipment of crude oil to an overseas buyer departed a Texas port on Thursday, just weeks after a 40-year ban on most such exports was lifted.

The Theo T tanker has left NuStar Energy LP’s dockside facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, along the western shore of the Gulf of Mexico, Mary Rose Brown, a spokeswoman for NuStar, said in an e-mail. The ship is carrying a cargo of oil and condensate to Italy from ConocoPhillips’s wells in south Texas that was sold to Swiss trading house Vitol Group.

A campaign by oil explorers including Continental Resources Inc., Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. to lift the 1970s-era export prohibition culminated in a Dec. 18 congressional decision to end the ban.

Vitol, which owns stakes in refineries from northern Europe to Australia, has a second cargo of U.S.-sourced crude scheduled to depart a Houston port within days.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/30/oil-to-fall-under-30-before-rebounding-analyst.html

The first half of 2016 is looking "pretty ugly" for hammered oil prices that are poised for even more losses, an analyst said Thursday.

While some recovery in prices--perhaps at $60 a barrel--may take place at the end of 2016, "You would hit a price in the 20s before you would certainly get there,

U.S. WTI and Brent crude oil prices settled over 3 percent lower Wednesday and are now flat above $36 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-fall-on-oversupply-fears-1451470725

Oil prices tumbled Wednesday after data showed an unexpected increase in U.S. crude supplies.

Diesel futures dropped to the lowest level since 2004 as U.S. stockpiles of distillates, a category that includes diesel fuel and heating oil, rose more than expected.

A global glut of crude has weighed on the market for more than a year.

Oil prices are on course to fall by more than a third this year as big suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have continued pumping crude in a bid to defend their market share.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude output has been resilient despite the low prices, and much of the excess has gone into storage.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled down $1.27, or 3.35%, at $36.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent, the global benchmark, declined $1.33, or 3.5%, to $36.46 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/30/puerto-rico-will-default-on-small-portion-of-the-1b-in-bonds-due-monday-officials.html?__source=newsletter|breakingnews

Puerto Rico will default on a portion of the nearly $1 billion in debt obligations due to its bondholders on Jan. 4.

Top officials for the commonwealth have confirmed that it will not be able to make two out of the 13 total payments due Monday to bondholders.

Puerto Rico will default on a $35.9 million payment on the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority, and a $1.4 million payment on the Puerto Rico Public Finance Corporation.

Intendy:
please try think deeply.people didn't protest subsidy removal in 2012, they protested fuel price hike which is presently not happening now.
NLC will not protest as long as their is no price increment

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Nigeria


Occupy Nigeria was a socio-political protest movement that began in Nigeria on Monday, 2 January 2012 in response to the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday, 1 January 2012. Protests took place across the country,

THE LINK BELOW IS TODAYS NEWS

[http://sunnewsonline.com/new/nlc-alleges-removal-of-fuel-subsidy-prepares-for-showdown/

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the Federal Government of removing subsidy through the back door without letting Nigerians know about the process.

A statement by the General Secretary of NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, declared the union would mobilise to resist the move.

“The chieftains of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), who supported and encouraged the massive protests against subsidy removal in 2012 are now preaching the inevitability of subsidy removal.

“The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, first announced that come next year, the price of petrol would revert to N97 per litre and that subsidy would be phased out.

Two days after, he denied this and stated that what he said was that the price would operate within a band of N87 to N97 and that this did not mean removing the subsidy.

The same minister now says that the price of petrol will now be N85 in January signifying the deregulation of the sector.

“These vacillations and flip flops are, in our view, designed to confuse Nigerians and pave the way for deregulation of petrol prices through the back door,”

HOPE YOU NOW SEE THE APC HYPOCRISY THAT IM TALKING ABOUT?

locodemy:
That stock you call molue will certainly defile all these your inexperience market analysis.if a stock didnt favour you does not mean its not good.As some peope who unity bank dealt with has no good thing to say about the bank,others who bought at 0.65 and sold at #1.00 is telling people how unity bank made them rich.one thing you must know is that action and reactions are equal and opposite.just calm down and keep on averaging.money MUST be made from oando.if you are still in doubt go and ask MR F. OIL.He has a lot to tell you bro.calm down so that you will not be attacked by high blood pressure because of oando.

We are on the same page by the time i buy OANDO N3 and sell N4 I would ve recouped my loss.

For now we are on the sideline patiently waiting for the time this hypocritic government will come up with subsidy removal then with Labour reaction,

we are going to witness a repeat of Jan 2012 scenario by then stocks will be buy one get 10 free

Our Molue is gradually heading back to N3:50k bustop to pick more passengers.

WALE think say e go fit chop my 1m just like that, dem no born am well

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/30/europe-seen-lower-as-oil-prices-slide-again.html

Once again, the price of oil is the main focus for markets Wednesday.

After a brief reprieve on Tuesday, with both U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and the global benchmark Brent futures rising more than 2.5 percent each, the upward momentum did not continue.

Brent was trading down 2 percent just above $37.25 per barrel,

while, U.S. WTI crude slipped even further, down almost $1 around $37, as higher supplies and a slowing demand weighed on sentiment.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/30/despite-brief-rally-further-downside-risk-for-oil-on-opec-output-citi.html

Crude oil prices face further downside risk in the first half of 2016, with OPEC holding on to hopes of pumping the competition out of business, a Citigroup analyst said Wednesday.

"We do have a current physical supply-demand surplus. That fits with the price theme…that prices will be lower for longer," Tim Evans, an energy analyst with the bank, told CNBC.

U.S. WTI and Brent crude oil prices were down more 1 percent at about $37 a barrel in Asian trade on Wednesday, after rallying about 3 percent in the prior U.S. and European sessions on hopes that a cooling in winter temperatures would spur demand for heating fuel.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/30/oil-iran-saudi-arabia-russia-venezuela-nigeria-libya

A glut of oil, the demise of Opec and weakening global demand combined to make 2015 the year of crashing oil prices. The cost of crude fell to levels not seen for 11 years – and the decline may have further to go.

There have been four sharp increases in the price of oil in the past four decades – in 1973, 1979, 1990 and 2008 – and each has led to a global recession.

By that measure, a lower oil price should be positive for the world economy, with lower fuel costs for consumers and businesses in those countries that import crude outweighing the losses to producing nations.

The oil price slump has not prevented Nigeria’s new government from unveiling big spending plans – but analysts warn that the generosity is misplaced at a time when oil prices languish below $40 a barrel.

But some analysts think the proposed budget is unrealistic during times of $40 oil.

“This brings a dose of reality to a people who have extremely high expectations,” said Bismarck Rewane, the chief executive of Financial Derivatives Co. He predicted the government would have to back down on some of its promises.

http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-major-oil-producers-could-face-a-huge-problem-in-2016

This coming year is shaping up to be a difficult one for economies that are disproportionately dependent on oil.

This is especially true for Nigeria, where there's a possibility of renewed conflict in the country's oil-producing Niger Delta region,

Oil plunged to under $38 a barrel by December, with Goldman Sachs raising the possibility that the price could go as low as $20 in the coming year.

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy and most populous country with over 180 million citizens, faces an additional challenge. As the SBM Intelligence report recounts, "2015 will also mark the end of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) which ended a petro-insurgency in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region."

And the country faces security challenges with both regional and global dimensions to them.

Although Boko Haram lost territory in 2015 in the face of a renewed government offensive against the group, Africa's deadliest jihadist organization also pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015.

Emerging tensions between the government and an Iranian-backed Shiite group also threaten stability in parts of the country's north.

The Nigerian government is facing urgent security pressures at a time when the country's main source of revenue is becoming less lucrative

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/29/asian-equities-oil-commodities-prices-up.html

Asian shares ran out of juice, retracing some early gains Wednesday to trade mixed, with markets in Hong Kong, China and South Korea falling into the red.

Oil prices saw some respite overnight during U.S. trading hours, with both U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and the global benchmark Brent futures rising over 2.5 percent each.

However, the upward momentum did not continue. In Asian trade WTI futures were down 68 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $37.19 a barrel, while Brent traded at $37.30 a barrel, down some 1.3 percent.

Oil's overnight rally was driven in part by expectations for U.S. crude inventories to continue falling,

megainvest:
Stop complaining about Forte Oil and start making money. When bear comes, people complain of the economy. When the bull comes, they start complaining about manipulation. Haba!

I used to think this thread is for people who are interested in making money. As for me and my house, I have been making the money and I wil keep making the money. I don't know about you.

My advice for BNSITL in 2016 is this: Don't waste your time and energy here trying to prove yourself to be a prophet or trying to show others how correct you are. Busy yourself with learning and acquiring useful information for your trading. You will find better fulfilment that way.

I blame Buhari for high rate of unemployment in Nigeria,

if not tell me how some people will come to this forum with the sole aim of knowing those that have money to invest and those that don't have,

Instead of channelling their time and energy to better their miserable lives.

At the end of the day they keep blaming the devil for their misfortunes.

.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0UC02S20151229

Oil prices jumped 3 percent on Tuesday, recouping the previous day's loss as colder weather encouraged buyers, but traders said prices remained under pressure due to slowing global demand and abundant supplies from OPEC members.

Brent LCOc1 finished up $1.17, or 3.2 percent, at $37.79 a barrel. About 40 minutes after the API numbers, Brent was up only 76 cents at $37.38

WTI closed up $1.06, or 2.9 percent, at $37.87. After the API numbers, WTI was up only 52 cents, at $37.33.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/petrol-to-sell-for-n86litre-from-january-2016-fg/

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/nlc-alleges-removal-of-fuel-subsidy-prepares-for-showdown/

ABUJA— The Federal Government, yesterday, stated that effective January 1, 2016, Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, would be sold at N86 per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Retail stations, while other oil marketers would sell at N86.50 per litre.

The Nigerian Labour Congress said, however, that it would resist with all its might, any attempt to remove fuel subsidy.

PETERiCHY:
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/up-to-50-hike-in-fuel-prices-from-today/

RIYADH — The Council of Ministers on Monday decided to increase petrol prices by more than 50 percent for some products from Tuesday.

The price of lower-grade petrol (Octane 91) for a liter was increased to 75 halalas from the current 45 halalas, a 67 percent rise, while the price of higher-grade unleaded petrol (Octane 95) was hiked to 90 halalas from 60 halalas, a hike of 50 percent.

Prices will also increase for electricity, water and sewage, diesel and kerosene, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting a Cabinet statement.

Saudi Aramco said in a statement it was immediately closing petrol stations until midnight on Monday, when it will resume sales at new prices.

According to the Cabinet decision, prices of natural gas, kerosene, Arabian light and heavy crude oil, heavy fuel oil, ethane, and butane have also been revised. The new prices for these products will be effective from Jan. 11.

The Cabinet also approved revision of electricity tariff.

Saudi Arabia stocks fall sharply on tax rises - BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35188807

Saudi Arabia's stock market has fallen sharply after it announced public spending cuts and rises in tax, fuel and energy prices in 2016.

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit soared to $98bn (£65.7bn) this year on the back of falling crude prices.

Petrol prices could in some cases increase by as much as 50%, authorities said, although they will remain low by international standards.
Diesel, electricity and water prices will also increase.

King Salman said the budget came "in light of the decrease in oil prices, the economic and regional and international financial challenges - where global economic growth has declined from its previous level.

Oil revenue
Oil prices have plunged from a five-year high of $125 a barrel in March 2012 to just $37.18 now.

Saudi Arabia said that oil revenues, which make up 77% of the total revenue figure for 2015, are down 23% compared to last year.

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/10-Trillion-Investment-Needed-To-Avoid-Massive-Oil-Price-Spike-Says-OPEC.html

OPEC says that $10 trillion worth of investment will need to flow into oil and gas through 2040 in order to meet the world’s energy needs.

The OPEC published its World Oil Outlook 2015 (WOO) in late December, which struck a much more pessimistic note on the state of oil markets than in the past.

On the one hand, OPEC does not see oil prices returning to triple-digit territory within the next 25 years, a strikingly bearish conclusion.

The group expects oil prices to rise by an average of about $5 per year over the course of this decade, only reaching $80 per barrel in 2020.

From there, it sees oil prices rising slowly, hitting $95 per barrel in 2040.

http://www.businessinsider.com/russai-says-saudi-arabia-destabilized-oil-market-2015-12?r=UK&IR=T

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has destabilized the global oil market by increasing production, TASS news agency quoted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Monday.

"Saudi Arabia has this year increased production by 1.5 million barrels per day, thus effectively destabilizing the situation on the market," Novak was quoted as saying.