Business News

Thursday, 02 September 2021 06:01

Italy's Eni makes huge oil discovery in offshore Ivory Coast

Italian energy group Eni said on Wednesday it had made a giant oil discovery in offshore Ivory Coast which could hold as much as 2 billion barrels of oil. It said in a statement it had found light oil in block CI-101, adding there could be 1.5-2.0 billion barrels of oil in place and 1.8-2.4 trillion cubic feet of associated gas. “An evaluation program will be carried out to assess the significant upside potential of the overall structure that extends into block CI-802, also operated by Eni,” the company said. Baleine-1x is the first exploration well drilled in the Ivory…

Thursday, 02 September 2021 06:00

Naira loses again at parallel market

Naira again plunged against the U.S. dollar at the unofficial market Wednesday. Also, the currency fell at the official market, after clinching a slight gain in the previous session on Tuesday. According to abokiFX.com, naira closed at N528.00 per $1 on Wednesday, the lowest ever recorded at the parallel market. This represents a N2.00 or 0.40 per cent devaluation from N526.00 it traded in the previous session on Tuesday. The continuous decline of the currency has been majorly spurred by dollar scarcity and market sentiments resulting from the ban of forex sales to the Bureau De Change operators by Central…

Thursday, 02 September 2021 05:49

With 3 words, Google’s CEO just gave the best reason yet for not returning to the office

As Covid-19 cases surge, many employees aren't ready or interested in returning to work. They shouldn't have to. Over the last few months, tech companies were optimistic that they'd be able to begin bringing employees back to their offices this fall. After 19 months of working mostly from home, companies like Google had come up with creative plans to allow employees the flexibility to come to the office or continue working remotely. Still, the hope was that the world was heading back towards normal, even if it looked different than before shutdowns and stay-at-home orders last spring. Now, however, as…

Wednesday, 01 September 2021 05:45

3 things you should never outsource

Some things should be reserved for you, as a leader. As a business coach, I am a firm believer in focusing on the things that you do best and outsourcing the things that you struggle with. For instance, unless you are an accountant, hiring a controller or bookkeeper is probably a good idea for your business. If you don't have the slightest clue how to write a sales copy piece or put together a marketing campaign, your return on investment by hiring an outside firm would be well worth the effort. Same thing goes for website design, IT work, etc.…

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 06:03

Naira falls to lowest level ever at parallel market

Naira weakened significantly against the U.S. dollar at the black market on Monday, as it touched an all-time low of 527. The local unit, which closed at N524 per $1 at the previous session on Friday, started the new week at N527 to a dollar, according to abokiFX.com, which collates parallel rates in Lagos. The currency has struggled to maintain gain since the Central Bank of Nigeria in July suspended sales of foreign currencies to Bureaux De Change operators. The bank accused the BDCs of fraud. In the last one week, Naira declined at a faster pace as the currency…

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 06:01

Stocks on NSE lose N100bn on industrial goods, energy shares sell-offs

Nigerian stocks were weaker by 0.40 per cent on Monday as investors put huge volumes of industrial goods and oil and gas stocks up for sale, causing equities to shed about N100 billion in value. Oando, Champion Breweries, Dangote Cement and Zenith led the retreat, even though there was a marked improvement in liquidity, with trade volume jumping by 29 per cent. Market breadth was nevertheless positive as 21 gainers emerged against 18 losers. The all-share index inched down by 158.98 points to 39,326.67, while market capitalisation dipped to N20.5 trillion. The index has lost 2.34 per cent so far…

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 05:48

7 words and phrases that make people think less of you professionally

If you don't have anything productive to say, don't say anything at all. Radio host Bernard Meltzer is famously quoted as having said, "Before you speak, ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid." I find that this is as true in the workplace as it is in personal life. That said, here are seven unhelpful words and phrases anyone in the workforce should consider removing from their professional vocabulary. 1. I can't. "Whether you…

Monday, 30 August 2021 05:51

Cooking gas prices are rising and could get to N10,000 per 12.5kg cylinder soon. This is why

Federal Government has implemented a 7.5 per cent tax on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, as the cost of the commodity leap by over 100 per cent within a period of eight months. It was gathered on Sunday that the government implemented the VAT on LPG imports about three weeks ago and some dealers were also mandated to pay the tax for commodities imported several months ago. Operators told our correspondent that Nigeria imports about 70 per cent of the commodity, while the rest was mainly supplied by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company. It was also gathered…

Monday, 30 August 2021 05:50

UAC to buy minority stake as S.Africa's Tiger Brands exits

Nigerian conglomerate UAC Plc has signed an agreement to acquire the minority shares of its unlisted subsidiary UAC Foods from South Africa’s Tiger Brands next month, it said. The sale makes Tiger Brands the latest South African business to exit Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, where economic weakness last year curbed consumer demand, input cost rises have cut into margins and currency volatility has further eroded profits. UAC, with interests in real estate, paints and livestock feed, said it will operate Tiger Brands’ food company, after the acquisition closes in September. Tiger bought 49% of UAC’s food…

Monday, 30 August 2021 05:47

Warren Buffett explained the secrets of his success. Most people just ignore them

"It's not what you look at that matters. It's what you see." Warren Buffett turns 91 on Monday (today). A compendium of some of the secrets to Buffett's success that he's shared over and over again. Longtime readers will know that I've spent time scouring Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway letters and other pronouncements for useful advice. It's striking to realize how simple some of it is -- and yet the sheer number of people I'm sure we both know who so often take the opposite course. It's all there for the learning. For the day Buffett turns 91, here's a…

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Saturday, 28 August 2021 05:58

Game stores in Nigeria, other countries in West and East Africa up for sale

Massmart is disposing of all its general merchandise Game stores in West and East Africa to stem losses in that struggling business, chief executive Mitch Slape said on Friday, after the Walmart majority-owned retailer reported a narrower half-year loss. Like its peer Shoprite Holdings, forays into African markets including Nigeria have been marred by currency volatility and constrained consumer demand, making it difficult to operate profitably on the continent once touted as the next bright growth spot for retailers. As part of a turnaround plan to stabilise the business, Massmart had said it will review its store portfolio outside of…

Friday, 27 August 2021 06:02

Naira continues to fall at parallel market

Naira fell against the U.S. dollar at the unofficial market on Thursday, data posted on abokiFX.com, a website that collates the parallel market rates showed. However, the currency gained against the foreign currency at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window where forex is officially traded. According to abokiFX.com, the local unit closed at N522.00 per $1 at the black market, representing a N1.00 or 0.20 per cent devaluation from the N521.00 it traded in the last two sessions respectively. The FMDQ Security Exchange window also known as Nafex rate where forex is officially traded, showed that the local unit closed…

Friday, 27 August 2021 06:00

NNPC declares profit for first time, Buhari reports

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has made a profit for the first time in its 44-year history, generating an income of N287 billion ($698 million) after tax in 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday. Buhari, who also holds the title of minister of petroleum resources, gave no explanation for the state company’s swing to profit in 2020, a year when the economic shock caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic triggered a slump in the oil price. At a virtual briefing in Abuja, NNPC’s chief Mele Kyari said the oil company saw opportunities to cut cost, improve efficiency as well…

Friday, 27 August 2021 05:45

9 customer service phrases that should be retired immediately

You're not fooling anybody with these canned lines, so why not just tell us the truth? I was recently on hold for customer service for a big website and the more I listened to their pre-recorded messages, the more I realized that the standard customer service on-hold verbiage was weasel wording of the worst stripe. Here are the 9 worst offenders and what they really mean: 1. "For your convenience..." Translation: "We are going to greatly inconvenience you in order to increase our profit margins by having you wait." 2. "Please remain on the line and we will be with…

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