OKHYPE-TRENDING GOSSIP

CBN Injects $388.66m Into Foreign Exchange Market as FCMB Increases Sales   CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele   The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released an additional sum of $388.66million to ease pressure on the naira, stimulate business activities and make foreign exchange (Forex) accessible to local operators.   Confirming the numbers, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the sum of $87.885million was for spot sales, while $300.8 million was sold as forwards.   Mr. Okorafor further explained that the forwards were sold into three tenors of 30, 45 and 60 days respectively. According to him, the Bank sold $100.95 as 30-day forwards; $110.48 million as 45-day forwards and $99.37 as 60-day forwards.   Meanwhile, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has increased its sale of Forex to all customers and members of the public who play in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) sector, ma...

Inflation-Unemployment: The Relationship And Its Implications - PROSHARE The Nigerian economy is in turbulent times. A dark cloud hovers with the series of drastic and unwanted changes of the past two years.   Spikes in inflation, a dramatic increase in unemployment and a substantive decrease in foreign reserves signify economic turmoil.   The most notable indicator is the exchange rate which spiked to over N500/$ from the N300/$ range in the parallel market. This extreme variance caused pandemonium across the nation, making it the most discussed topic by Nigerians.   Everyone was concerned, even those who had never travelled abroad nor held a dollar.  The gap between the official and parallel exchange rates affects everyone because Nigeria is an import-dependent country.   It results in a substantial increase in the cost of goods, and subsequently, in the rate of inflation.   Most products used in the country are imported an...

Dollar Rises as Focus Returns to Rates - WSJ Investors more optimistic of June Fed rate rise By Chelsey Dulaney   The dollar rose broadly Tuesday as investors assessed the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against 16 others, rose 0.4% to 90.52. The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and many emerging-market currencies. Investors have grown more optimistic that the Federal Reserve will  it its meeting next month. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said Tuesday the U.S. central bank should press forward with interest-rate increases, warning that the economy might overheat if borrowing costs aren’t increased quickly enough. Fed-funds futures, used by investors to bet on the U.S. interest-rate outlook, show a 88% chance that the Fed raises rates at its next meeting in June, according to CME Group data. That is up from 67.5% a week ago. Higher rates typically support the...

Market Structural Change Will Sustain Naira Strength - Proshare Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 4:28 PM /FDC In 2016, the adoption of the flexible exchange rate policy initially led to a major depreciation of the Naira. This was because, in reality the CBN adopted a managed fixed rate. In Q1 2016, $3.51bn was deployed into the market and the Naira fell by 17.39%. In the same period in 2017, with only 68% ($2.41bn) of the amount, the Naira has appreciated by 25% because of a more transparent process. Nigerians have gone from despair to anxiety in 2017 and will be more hopeful if the strengthened currency is accompanied by an increase in economic activity. In the attached slides presented on Channels TV Business Morning Program, Bismarck Rewane explains how and why the economy in Q2 will be brighter than the previous quarter.    Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 4:28 PM /FDC In 2016, the adoption of the flexible exchange rate policy initially led to a major depreciation of the Nair...

South Africa's net foreign reserves rise to $41.728 bln in April - REUTERS JOHANNESBURG May 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's net foreign reserves rose to $41.728 billion in April from $41.419 billion in March, the Reserve Bank said on Monday. Gross reserves also increased, to $46.69 billion from $46.588 billion, the central bank data showed. The forward position, which represents the central bank's unsettled or swap transactions, edged up to $2.893 billion in April from $2.867 billion in the previous month. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)

U.S. raises hope for return of $500m Abacha loot - THE GUARDIAN Efforts to recover some $500 million worth of United States-based proceeds of corruption traced to Nigeria’s former Head of State, the late General Sani Abacha have taken a positive turn. The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria yesterday, in an electronic mail exchange with The Guardian confirmed it would transmit to President Donald Trump, a letter from the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) requesting the administration to release the assets to Nigeria. Executive Director at SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, had, in a statement, quoted the U.S. Embassy as saying, “the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are in regular communication with the Nigerian Attorney General and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding further cooperation needed to conclude pending asset forfeiture cases and to develop a mechanism for the timely and transparent repatriation of those assets.” The embas...

Dollar Gains as Traders Seek Equilibrium Levels, Fre sh Drivers - BLOOMBERG After French presidential election, traders ask, ‘What next?’ Resource currencies slip as yields rise, commodity prices drop The dollar gained versus all of its G-10 peers as Treasury yields rose, with markets seeking fresh drivers and equilibrium levels after a strong U.S. employment report on Friday and as French election risk evaporated. Flows were moderate as traders quickly locked in gains after the euro rose to its highest since November following Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French runoff, an outcome that was signaled by daily opinion polls. The Bloomberg dollar index rose to its highest since April 12 as traders mulled next month’s Federal Reserve decision and further European elections. With the French presidential race now completed, traders are left to seek fresh cues and to ponder the possibilities of the French legislative election which takes place over two weekend...

Euro to US Dollar Poised for Period of Volatility - PSL EUR/USD has presented investors with something of an enigma of late after acting in an arguably completely unexpected fashion following the French election. The pair refused to rise after Macron’s victory, opting instead to fall. Analysts said this was because the pair had already soaked up the risk of a Macron win after the first round, and, in their defence EUR/USD did gap up following the first round which he won outright. But another reason the Euro  after Macron’s win could be because of its inverse relationship to risk. The Euro is inversely correlated to risk which means it rises during times of crisis and falls during times of confidence, so when Macron won and the world breathed a sigh of relief, the currency did what it always does - the opposite - it weakened. The Euro still benefits from extremely low relative borrowing rates and is therefore used by investors to fund riskier investments abroad. When ri...

E-commerce firm uready to accept crypto currency - THE GUARDIAN An e-commerce firm, KAVWIN Nigeria Limited has declared it readiness to accept crypto currencies such as Bit coins, TBC as medium of payment for goods services. Bit coin is a decentralize crypto currency that is presently use as means of exchange globally.The Managing Director of KAVWIN Nigeria Limited, Dayo Okewole said, The Company is Nigerian’s first e-commerce company accepting crypto currencies such as Bit coins, TBC as medium of payment. Like any other e commerce company, you can shop on our website, paying with the Crypto currencies”. According to him: “Crypto currencies are decentralized currencies that are presently making transfer of money easier globally. There are countries of the world like Japan that have legalized as there national legal tender. In countries like United States, you can spend your TBC in different shops, there is ATM around the world where you can cash in or cash out Bit c...

Nigeria’s Oil Company, NNPC Addresses Nigerians Over Its Alleged Recruitment Exercise For the third in recent times, the nation’s indigenous oil company, NNPC has addressed the members of the public over a recurrent fraudulent vacancy announcements purporting to have emanated from the Corporation.     The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has once again called on members of the public to disregard any announcement of recruitment or invitation to recruitment interview as it is not carrying out any recruitment exercise at the moment.   The disclaimer, the third in recent times, is coming on the heels of recurrent fraudulent vacancy announcements on various social media platforms purporting to have emanated from the Corporation.    “We are constrained to announce, once again, that NNPC is not recruiting at the moment. Members of the public are, therefore, advised to disregard any vacancy announcement on any online or social media platform as...