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Nigeria in 1min: Economic, Business and Financial Headlines - 310320

All One Min News	2823 VIEWS
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2823 VIEWS

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Tuesday, March 31, 2020 / 06:35 AM / By News Aggregator / Header Image Credit: @dabiodunMFR

COVID-19 Health Updates

On the 30th of March 2020, Twenty (20) new confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in Nigeria
Till date, One hundred thirty-one (131) cases have been confirmed, eight cases have been discharged and two deaths from COVID-19 recorded in Nigeria
Of the Twnety(20) new cases reported on the 30th of March, Four(4) are in FCT, thirteen (13) are in Lagos, two (2) are in Kaduna and one(1) in Oyo State.
All new cases have mild to moderate symptoms and are currently receiving care.
A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities. Source NCDC Read More

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Europe's COVID-19 Crisis and the Fund's Response - COVID-19 has struck Europe with stunning ferocity. While we do not know how long the crisis will last, we know that the economic impact will be severe. In Europe's major economies, nonessential services closed by government decree account for about one-third of output. Source IMFBlog Read More

Goldman: The Oil Industry Will Never Be The Same After Coronavirus - The unprecedented oil demand plunge in the COVID-19 pandemic is poised to change the oil sector forever, as fewer companies holding high-quality assets emerge after the downturn, Goldman Sachs said on Monday. Source Oilprice Read More

Full Letter: U.S. shale producers Pionner Natural Resources and Parsley Energy formally ask Texas oil regulator (Railroad Commission) for an emergency meeting to consider output cuts. Source Javier Blas Read More

Oil Price Plunges To $22, Lowest In 18 Years - The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, plunged to its cheapest in 18 years on Monday as it traded around $22 per barrel. This comes amid growing fears that the global coronavirus shutdown could last months and demand for fuel could decline further. Source Punch Read More

COVID-19: Ogun State Suspends Total Lockdown Till Friday - Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has announced that the total lockdown of the state which was scheduled to commence today (Monday by 11pm) has been shifted till Friday this week. Source Vanguard Read More

Nigeria's Economy Fragile Before COVID-19 Pandemic -Finance Minister - The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed has said that prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Nigerian economy was already fragile. She said this in a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Communication, Mr Yunusa Abdullahi on Monday in Abuja. Source Punch Read More

Coronavirus Job Losses Could Total 47 Million, Unemployment Rate May Hit 32%, Fed Estimates - The coronavirus economic freeze could cost 47 million jobs and send the unemployment rate past 32%, according to St. Louis Fed projections. Source CNBC Read More

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CBN Suspends Cheques Clearing Instruments Indefinitely - The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday suspended indefinitely the clearing of cheque instruments in the Nigerian clearing system. The apex bank said this in a circular released on Monday to all Deposit Money Banks and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. Source Punch Read More

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Takeaways from ETI's Investors Conference Call; Reimaging The Past - Continental banking conglomerate, ETI, has had mixed results in its operating performance over the last half decade. The three past years in particular have been especially stressful as the group saw its Nigerian operations stumble while its francophone markets have had to take up the slack. Source Teslim Shitta-Bey, Managing Editor Read More

Coronavirus to Weaken Eurozone Fiscal Positions amid Recession - The following comment, originally published on 20 March 2020, misstated Greece's sovereign rating in the seventh paragraph. This has been corrected and all other text is unchanged. The ECB's EUR750 billion bond-buying reduces refinancing risk for eurozone sovereigns and will help facilitate their fiscal responses to the coronavirus crisis, Fitch Ratings says. Source Fitch Ratings Read More

A More Challenging Auction for the DMO in March 2020 - The auction of FGN bonds last week was tricky for the DMO because it launched two new issues (15 and 30-year benchmarks), and naturally wished to contain the cost of the coupons. It offered N50bn, raised N50bn (US$130m) on a competitive basis and attracted a total bid of N181bn. Source DMO Read More

ACI Experiences An Uptick - AFEX Commodities Weekly Report 260320 - In the review week, the benchmark AFEX Commodities Index (ACI) rallied by 1.80% WtD to close at 161.65 points, indicating an increase in the overall market performance. Soybean led the pack as it rose by 4.6% due to a resurgence in the volume of demand witnessed on the exchange while Paddy Rice remained neutral. Source Kainosedge Consulting for AFEX Commodities Exchange Read More

Investors Lose N276.73bn WoW as NSEASI Dips by -2.43% to Open the Week Negative - Equities market closed today on a negative note, as NSEASI depreciated by -2.43% to close at 21,330.79 points as against +0.48% appreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at -20.53%. Source Proshare Markets Read More

FGN 14 Day Restriction: NSE to Sustain Remote Trading Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic - The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has announced restriction of all movements in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja for an initial period of 14 days effective 11:00 pm on March 30, 2020, to stem the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria. Source NSE Read More

Naira Plunges Further, Dollar Sells For N412 - The dollar exchanged for N412 on Monday at the Bureau De Change segment of the market. This followed a temporary suspension of sale of forex to the Bureau De Change operators in the industry by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Source Punch Read More

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COVID-19 and Commercial Transactions: Some Emerging Legal Issues - By the time the World Health Organization ("WHO") upgraded the status of the novel Coronavirus Disease (officially known as COVID-19) outbreak from an epidemic to a global pandemic on 11th March, 2020, the virus had already travelled beyond Wuhan, China, its point of original outbreak in December 2019 and crossed international borders. Source Oluwatoba & Isa of Banwo & Ighodalo Read More

SEC Awards $450,000 to Whistleblower With Significant Information On Investigation - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of $450,000 to a whistleblower whose significant information helped focus an ongoing investigation on the violations that were ultimately charged. Source US SEC Read More

President Buhari Signs COVID-19 Regulations 2020 - In exercise of the powers conferred on him by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act (CAP Q2 LFN 2004), and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, signed the COVID-19 Regulations, 2020, which declared COVID-19 a dangerous infectious disease. Source State House Read More

CBN Assures of Undisrupted Financial Services During COVID-19 Lockdown - It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a directive restricting the movement of people - excluding those on essential service - with effect from 11pm on Monday, March 30, 2020, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States, as a response to the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic. Source CBN Read More

NNPC: Petrol Depots Remain Open despite Lockdown - The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it has activated measures to guarantee seamless distribution of fuel across the country throughout the 14-day lockdown announced by President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday. Source Thisday Read More

Rand Hits Record Low After Moody's Cuts South Africa Rating - The South African rand plunged to a record low after Moody's downgraded the government's debt to junk status, before recovering slightly Monday, analysts said. Source Guardian Read More

Manufacturers Seek Pre-COVID-19 Forex Rates, Other Incentives - To ensure continuous production of essential commodities during the lockdown occasioned by Coronavirus pandemic, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called for pre-Covid-19 foreign exchange (forex) rates for its members, among other enabling incentives. Source Vanguard Read More

China Factory Activity Unexpectedly Expands, But Economy Unable To Shake Off Virus Shock - Factory activity in China unexpectedly expanded in March from a collapse the month before, but analysts caution that a durable near-term recovery is far from assured as the global coronavirus crisis knocks foreign demand and threatens a steep economic slump. Source Reuters Read More

Oil rebounds from 18-year lows after U.S., Russia agree to talks - Oil recovered ground on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to talks to stabilize energy markets, with benchmarks climbing off 18-year lows hit as the coronavirus outbreak cut fuel demand worldwide. Source Reuters Read More

Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel Suspends Operations Over Coronavirus - From March 31, 2020, Southern Sun Ikoyi will suspend its operations temporarily. The hard decision, according to the management of the hotel, was in light of the current COVID-19 global pandemic that has seen the hospitality and aviation industries experiencing a dramatic decline in economic activities via a sudden drop in international tourism, cancellations of bookings, events and conferences, which have had a severe impact on the viability of business. Source Businessday Read More

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MTN Launches Free Daily Data Lifeline to Keep South Africa Connected During COVID-19 Lockdown - MTN has rolled out a 20MB daily data lifeline to assist South Africans in staying connected during the 21-day COVID-19 lockdown. The free daily data has been made available for use on the instant messaging app ayoba; and can be used for video, text, image and audio sending and receiving. Source Broadcast Media Africa Read More

Maroc Telecom's $898m Fine Gets Directed Into COVID-19 Fund - Maroc Telecom's $898 million fine that had been issued by Morocco's National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ANRT) has now been directed into a fund that was set up by the government to help fight coronavirus (COVID-19). Source Broadcast Media Africa Read More

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