Stocks lose N114bn in week ended April 8
Nigeria’s stock market decreased by 0.45percent in the trading week ended Friday, April 8 as investors failed to raise bet on some of the value stocks seen trading at their new lows.
The market rout seen this month caused about N114billion aggregate loss on the Nigerian Bourse in the review week.
The record dip was driven majorly by insurance stocks which led to a 1.84percent dip in the sector’s index, followed by industrial stocks as the sector’s key performance index decreased by 0.42percent.
Likewise, NGX Consumer goods Index was down in the review trading week by 0.35percent.
Meanwhile, bargaining in banking stocks pushed the sector’s key index higher by 1.60percent while NGX Oil & Gas index rallied most by 3.14percent.
The equities market capitalisation which opened the review week at N25.253trillion decreased by N114billion to N25.139tillion on Friday, April 8.
The equities market’s benchmark performance indicator – Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) –All Share Index (ASI) also decreased week-on-week from a week-open high of 46,842.86 points to 46,631.46 points as at Friday, April 8.
The record dip pushed the market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) to new low of 9.17percent. Read more
Food prices hit record high in March-F.A.O says
The United Nations food agency has revealed that global food prices, especially for staple grains and edible oils, rose by nearly 13% in March to a record-breaking new high following the worsening political situation in Ukraine.
Data, as provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), showed that the food price index, averaged 159.3 points last month versus an upwardly revised 141.4 for February.
Unlike the March figure, which spiked higher, the February figure was previously put at 140.7, which analysts at the agency said was still very high and a record at that time.
The countries at war are major exporters of sunflower oil, corn, barley, and wheat via the Black Sea, and the unplanned six-week-old aggression of Russia has put a stop to Ukrainian exports.
The FAO last month said food and feed prices could rise by up to 20% as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, raising the risk of increased malnutrition.
Just last month, the Food and Agriculture Organization warned last month that global food and feed prices would rise by up to 20% following the war in Ukraine, spreading more fear about malnutrition in continents like Africa and Asia.
The FAO stated that the vegetable oil index rose 23%, while that of cereals surged higher by 17%.
Aside from the disruption in production caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the blockage of the supplies of crops from the Black Sea region pushed food prices even higher.
US stocks close mixed
Gains from financial and energy stocks drove the Dow Jones to close higher by more than 100 basis points at the close of trading on Friday, while investors’ selloffs on tech stocks forced the NASDAQ and S&P 500 to close lower by 1% and 0.3%, respectively.
Apparently, fears about the FED rate hike to address inflationary pressure on the economy pushed the Week-to-Date (WtD) indices of the market lower.
There have been more market drops in high-growth stocks because there is a risk that interest rates will rise and this could hurt the value of tech companies in particular.
The possible rate hike is accompanied by the unplanned and provoked attack of Russia on Ukraine as the US, EU, and UK implement crippling sanctions on Moscow.
All of these add to the gloomy economic prospect for the second quarter of 2022. Read more
Maurice Goddard is AfDP Auditor General
The African Development Bank (AfDP) announced that Maurice Goddard, a British citizen with extensive experience in internal audit, risk management, and finance, will be its new Auditor General, effective Monday, May 16, 2022.
According to information available on the bank’s website, Goddard has more than 33 years of significant experience in international business, with a particular focus on financial services, regulated industries, organizations experiencing transformative change, and those empowered by technology, with a particular focus on financial services.
The bank stated that Goddard gathered most of his financial regulator experience in the United Kingdom.
Accordingly, the bank stated that “he brings extensive internal audit and risk assurance expertise in financial services, including controlling the management of regulatory change, governance frameworks, market risk, risk-based capital models, financial systems and controls, and payments technology.”
The bank, which looks forward to Goddam’s resumption, will be leaving Astellas Pharmaceuticals, where he was the Executive Director in charge of internal audit.
His resume showed that as head of internal audit he undertook an internal audit effectiveness review, restructured and strengthened the regional internal audit function, and subsequently contributed to the globalisation of internal audit within the company, the AfDP revealed on their website.
Bet9ja’s website hacked
The management of the online gaming company, Bet9ja, revealed on Thursday, April 7 via its official Twitter handle, @Bet9jaOfficial, that its website has been recently compromised. The reason why the website has been unreachable for some days now.
Nigeria’s biggest online gaming company, which has significantly contributed to job and wealth creation in the country, has assured its loyal gamers and Nigerians in general that they are working round the clock to resolve this situation.
The statement read, “Our priority is protecting our customers, and you have our assurances that your accounts will not be compromised and your funds are safe.”
The company used the opportunity to thank its customers for their patience and promised to reward them with “a truly sensational bonanza of promotions.”
The company promised to be back to continue to make their customers happy.
