PROSHARE MARKETS

Investors Gain N10.15bn as NGXASI Advances by 0.03%; Overnight Rate Expands to 18.38%; BDC Rate Closes Flat at N750 - The NGX All-Share Index advanced by 0.06% to close at 54,936.11 basis points as against 0.03% gain recorded previously to close at 54886.04 basis points at the end of the last trading session. In Naira terms, the NGX Market CAP records a N17.13bn gain. YTD, the NGXASI Stands at +7.19%. Source Proshare Research Read More

CAP Plc Approves 2022 AFS, Recommends a Dividend of N1.55k for Payment - At the Meeting of the Board of Directors of Chemical and Allied Products Plc held on Monday, March 20, 2023. The 2022 AFS will be released to the public on or before 31 March 2023. Consequently, the closed period which commenced on 1 January 2023 will remain in force until 24 hours after the 2022 AFS has been released to the public. Source NGX Read More

First Republic Shares Volatile as Capital Infusion Remains In Limbo - Shares of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) were volatile in morning trading on Wednesday as the regional lender struggled to raise capital amid worries that it may need to downsize or seek government support. Source Reuters Read More

PROSHARE ECONOMY

IMF Pares South Africa Economic Growth Forecast, Urges Reforms - South Africa must implement reforms to boost private-sector investment, promote good governance and improve the efficiency of public spending to shore up an economy hamstrung by rolling blackouts, the International Monetary Fund said. Source Bloomberg Read More

LCCI: High Inflation May Hurt Productivity, Raise Poverty Figures - The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has warned that sustained high inflationary rate in the Nigerian economy might further constrain production of goods and services and lead to a steeper rise in poverty figures in the country. Source THISDAYLIVE Read More

NIPC Rallies Chinese, Foreign Firms on Value-Chain Addition - The federal government has called on Chinese companies as well as other foreign investors to play a stronger role in adding value to Nigeria’s raw commodity exports. Source THISDAYLIVE Read More

Red Line Rail Ready Before June, Says Sanwo-Olu - The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the Red Line Rail project will be ready for use as an alternative means of transportation for Lagosians before the end of his first term in office. Source Punch Read More

NLC Directs Members to Cripple Activities at CBN Offices Nationwide - The leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, directed all workers to picket all the offices of Central Bank of Nigeria nationwide starting from next week over the current cash crunch in the country. Source Daily Trust Read More

PROSHARE REGULATORS

How New Regulations’ll Support Petroleum Industry Growth — NMDPRA - The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, yesterday, unveiled six new regulations for the oil and gas industry, saying they will support sustainable growth for the mid and down streams sectors. Source Vanguard Read More

PROSHARE BUSINESS

FG Plans Stakeholders’ Meeting For Aviation Industry Growth - In continuation of the tradition of regular interactions with major players in the aviation industry since the inception of the Buhari administration, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika will host aviation stakeholders on Thursday in Abuja. Source Punch Read More

Outage Looms as TCN May Disconnect 13 Defaulting DisCos, GenCos - There may be a widespread outage at the expiration of a 14-day grace given to the 13 defaulting Distribution Companies (DisCos), Generation Companies (GenCos) and the Ajaokuta Steel Company to balance up their remittances and other deficits with the market operator arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria. Source Daily Trust Read More

Oil Price May Not Reach $100/b In 2023–Goldman Sachs - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the most bullish banks on its outlook for oil, has reviewed its forecasts down as worries over the banking sector and the potential for recession outweigh a surge in demand from China. Source Leadership Read More

U.S. Fed Delivers Small Rate Hike Amid Global Banking Turmoil - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Source Reuters Read More

Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott, Democrat Warren Unveil Fed oversight Bill - A conservative Republican and a progressive Democrat in the U.S. Senate are introducing legislation on Wednesday to replace the Federal Reserve's internal watchdog with one appointed by the president, aiming to tighten bank supervision following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Source Reuters Read More

PROSHARE TECHNOLOGY

Coinbase Gets SEC Notice Signaling Intent to Sue Over Crypto Offerings - Coinbase Global Inc. said it received a notice from the SEC formally declaring the securities regulator’s plans to bring an enforcement action against the largest US crypto exchange, the latest development in a long-running dispute between the watchdog and the digital-asset company. Source Bloomberg Read More

Mobile Sector Adds $5.2 Trillion to Global Economy - In 2022, mobile technologies and services generated five per cent of global GDP, a contribution that amounted to $5.2 trillion of economic value added. The greatest benefits came from productivity effects, which reached $3.5 trillion, followed by mobile operators, which generated $650 billion. Source Guardian Read More

New Microsoft Toolkit Will Measure Real-Time Xbox Energy Use - How much energy does it take to play Xbox? Microsoft Corp. is helping developers find out. At the 2023 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the company announced a new toolkit for developers to measure real-time energy consumption from Xbox games. Source Bloomberg Read More

Africa E-Commerce Firm Jumia Seeks to Expand with French Tools - Jumia Technologies AG made a deal to sell French retailer Leroy Merlin’s products in West Africa, part of a plan to expand its reach and cut losses in half by the end of 2023. Source Bloomberg Read More

PROSHARE FINANCE

Finance Is Going Back to the Age of Mercantilism - Since the history of financial regulation is a history of crisis management, it is inevitable the current chaos in the financial sector will bring forth new rules designed to prevent a repeat. Already, there is a debate on whether there is a better way to govern banks. Source Bloomberg Read More

Anchor Borrowers Programme: CBN Disburses N1.09trn to Farmers - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has disbursed N12.65 billion to the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), its flagship agriculture intervention scheme from January till date. Source Market Forces Africa Read More

‘Only Six States, FCT Adopted Group Life Insurance in 2022’ - Only six out of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have complied with the group life insurance scheme of their workers, leaving 30 states without any form of cover for their employees. Source Guardian Read More