Business News

Monday, 03 February 2020 05:56

Banks make huge profits as gap between interest and lending rates widens

Interest rates are falling to all-time low, investigation has shown. This has widened the gap between lending rates and interests. At some banks visited by our correspondent, interest on savings and fixed deposits was as low as 1.25 per cent while lending rates were as high as 25 per cent. Similarly, yields on treasury bills in the secondary market have fallen to between 2.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent. About a year ago, the yield on these securities could be as high as 12 per cent. Central Bank of Nigeria, in a recent circular to lending institutions, slashed most…

Monday, 03 February 2020 05:50

The number of the best: How big should a business team be?

Finding the optimal size of teams and organisations How big should a business team be? It is an enormously important issue for companies. Teams that are too small may lack the skills required to get the job done; teams that are too big may be impossible to co-ordinate. Similar trade-offs may apply when it comes to firms as a whole. Startups are often short of staff. The founders must play a host of different roles, from obtaining finance to product development and marketing, for which they may not be equally suited. But the upside is that they can have highly…

Monday, 03 February 2020 05:49

How strong is your password, really? 9 rules to make, remember and manage your logins

Strong passwords are of course key to your security. The challenge is to create strong passwords you can actually remember, without stumbling into the bad habits that can harm you -- like reusing the same password for multiple accounts. But how many passwords can you actually remember? You could easily have 85 passwords for all your accounts, from banking to streaming to social media, according to LogMeIn, which makes the LastPass password manager. Weak passwords, or overusing the same password, can have serious consequences if your data is compromised -- even if that password is strong. For example, companies reported…

Saturday, 01 February 2020 03:06

Jeff Bezos adds $13.2bn to his fortune in just minutes

Jeff Bezos just got a whole lot richer. Shares of his Amazon.com Inc. surged 12% to $2,100 in extended trading at 4:16 p.m. Thursday in New York, after the largest U.S. e-commerce company reported fourth-quarter results that smashed Wall Street estimates. Bezos, already the world’s richest person, added $13.2 billion to his fortune in about 15 minutes. At the current price, his net worth would be about $129.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos, 56, owns about 12% of Amazon’s outstanding stock, making up the bulk of his fortune. His ownership of closely held Blue Origin accounts for…

Friday, 31 January 2020 05:46

Nigeria earns $813m from cashew export - FG

Minister of Agriculture, Mr Sabo Nanono, yesterday, disclosed that the cashew sub-sector generated over $813million between 2015 and 2017. Nanono in his keynote at the Cashew stakeholders and Export meeting, organised by Association of Cashew Farmers, Aggregators, and Processors of Nigeria (ACFAP), pointed out that Cashew being the second non-oil export commodity has been contributing significantly to the nation’s foreign exchange earnings, but unfortunately the potential are not fully taped. Nanono, represented by Director Agriculture Extension in the Ministry, Mrs Karima Babangida, noted that “The cashew sub-sector is one of the commodities Nigeria has comparative advantage in its production, processing…

Friday, 31 January 2020 05:41

Apple displaces Samsung as world's No. 1 smartphone seller

Led by demand for the hugely popular iPhone 11, Apple's share of the global smartphone market topped all competitors in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to statistics released on Wednesday. According to the latest estimates from Strategy Analytics, Apple shipped 70.7 million iPhones during the three-month period ending in December to take a 18.9% share of the global market. That figure is up 7% from 65.9 million units in the year ago quarter, when Apple sat in the No. 2 spot behind Samsung. Whole year iPhone shipments are pegged at 197.4 million units for 2019. "This was Apple's best…

Friday, 31 January 2020 05:39

Facebook to pay $550m to settle privacy lawsuit

Facebook has agreed to pay roughly half a billion dollars to settle a class-action case alleging the company violated Illinois law in the way it collected data for its facial-recognition tools, the tech giant said Wednesday. The $550 million settlement — revealed by company executives during their latest earnings call — comes after Facebook tried, and failed, to quash the lawsuit in a petition to the Supreme Court. If the company prevailed, it might have made it harder for other Web users to bring similar legal actions. The settlement must still be reviewed by a judge. Under Illinois law, tech…

Thursday, 30 January 2020 05:23

Nigeria’s ports most expensive in West Africa - Minister

Minister of State for Transportation, Ms Gbemisola Saraki has described Nigeria’s ports as the most expensive in West African sub-region. This, according to her, was occasioned by duplicity of functions by operators in the ports. The minister said this when she received members Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) in Abuja in a courtesy call. According to her, the high cost of operation has made it difficult for Nigeria to compete with other neighboring countries. “Nigeria is supposed to be the biggest and cheapest player but unfortunately, we are not. But I assure you that changes will be witnessed…

Thursday, 30 January 2020 05:16

Picking the moment: Finding entrepreneurial opportunities in the big tech trends

If - as I do - you spend a lot of time talking to the founders of early-stage companies, it’s perhaps a little too easy to form the impression that the technology revolution we’re all experiencing is driven by plucky startups armed with nothing more than great ideas, drive, determination and significant amounts of venture capital cash. But that’s a view from a certain kind of bubble. In reality, the trends that are shaping what we’re now obliged to call the “fourth industrial revolution” are driven in large part by the activities of the world’s tech giants - the Googles,…

Wednesday, 29 January 2020 05:49

No one wants to be a Nigerian stock trader as volumes plunge - Bloomberg

Not a single company registered to become a dealer on the West African country’s stock exchange in 2019, according to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s a comedown from the record 19 brokerages accredited in 2006, before upheaval in the banking industry and the global financial crisis caused domestic equities to tumble from all-time highs. It’s also the first time that’s happened in 19 years. “There’s a lot of brokers that are finding it very difficult to make a living,” Temi Popoola, the chief executive officer of Renaissance Capital’s Nigerian business, said by phone from Lagos. “Revenue that brokerage companies…

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Wednesday, 29 January 2020 05:44

What it means to be rich, according to 9 financial planners who would know

We spoke to nine experts who defined "wealth" in many different ways, from being able to give generously to buying back your time. One financial planner told us that some individuals with millions of dollars will never feel "rich" because no amount of money is ever enough. What does it mean to be rich? The answer probably depends on who you ask. For some people, wealth might mean the ability to buy whatever they want. For others, it might mean living without debt. And to some people, being rich might have nothing to do with money at all. Financial planners…

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 06:06

Lagos bans motorbikes from most parts of sprawling metropolis

Nigeria’s business capital of Lagos will ban commercial motorcycles from operating in large parts of the city, the state government announced on Monday, a move that could change the commute for thousands and threaten ride-hailing startups. Lagos state government announced on Twitter that it would ban motorcycles, commonly known as okadas, from operating in most of Lagos because of what it described as their “chaos and disorderliness” and “scary figures” of fatal accidents. Companies such as Max.ng, Oride and Gokada have been aiming to capitalize on the congested Lagos roads and the city’s teeming population to expand their operations. The…

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 06:04

Unilever Nigeria appoints new MD

Board of Unilever Nigeria Plc has appointed Mr Carl Cruz as its new managing Director. The appointment takes effect February 1, 2020. Cruz comes with extensive career in Unilever D & E Markets in Asia (Philippines, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from De La Salle University, Philippines. Speaking about the business, Cruz said: “Nigeria is an important market with exciting opportunities. Unilever Nigeria has a great team and our ambition is to satisfy consumers’ needs and make sustainable living commonplace.” He further explained that the new leadership reflects Unilever’s focus on…

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 06:01

20 years ago, Bill Gates made an Important Decision. Somehow, almost nobody even noticed

Lots of people want a second act. Very few people actually get it. What do you think of when you think of Bill Gates? Maybe it's that he was the co-founder and original driving force behind Microsoft. Maybe it's that he's one of the wealthiest people on the planet. Maybe it's that he's among the most devoted philanthropists in modern history. Here's an idea, though: You could say there are actually two versions of Gates. He's the rare person who has had the chance to live two entirely different lives--either of which would have been enough for most people to…

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