We began releasing an annual commodity review in 2020 to provide a trusted source of information for participants in the commodities market in Nigeria.

Lagos state government has committed to upgrading and building a robust healthcare infrastructure that is fit-for-design and meets best international standards. The state's Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, disclosed this at a recent media forum where he discussed the strategies in place to effectively mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic risks.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Nigeria, BUA has donated three ambulances and 100,000 facemasks to the Yobe State Government as part of its social support and humanitarian commitment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Federal Government's management of the COVID-19 pandemic from containment strategies, roll out of vaccines, guaranteeing the security of the nation from insurgency, and the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), will be critical to Nigeria's recovery from an recession. Professor Akpan Ekpo an economist and public policy analyst said this at in a recent discussion on Nigeria's Fiscal strategy in 2021.

President-elect, Senator Joe Biden, says his core focus immediately after swearing in on January 20th, 2021 will be to carry out sweeping immigration reforms, ensure effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and implement comprehensive economic relief in the United States of America.

Corruption, the abuse of public office for private gain, is about more than wasted money: it erodes the social contract and corrodes the government's ability to help grow the economy in a way that benefits all citizens.

Earlier this week, Ghana became the first country CGAP is aware of to launch a digital financial services (DFS) policy. While the policy has been years in the making, the government hopes the policy will support various measures it is taking to leverage DFS in its COVID-19 response.

Yesterday marked the end of a two-day heated meeting between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies on oil production cuts for the first quarter of 2021. After serious deliberations, the group and its allies reached an agreement to reduce the production cut to 7.2mb/d in January, 7.13mb/d in February and 7.05mb/d in March, an average of 7.13mb/d for the first three months compared with 7.7mbpd as of December.

As nations around the globe race to provide vaccines for citizens to combat the COVID-19 virus, leadership will be paramount in the effective distribution of the vaccine in Nigeria. Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede a banker, business leader, and Founder/Chairman of the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) said this in a conversation on national issues hosted by the Emmanuel Chapel, Methodist Church, Lagos.

Nigerians are playing with COVID-19, and in so doing, they are playing with fire and death. Why are we so blest and yet so suicidal? When the index case of the virus was announced on February 27, 2020, and the government proceeded to adopt lockdown measures at both national and sub-national levels, the people were gripped by fear and anxiety.

The WTO Secretariat has published a new information note on trade-related issues for COVID-19 vaccine production, manufacturing and deployment.

The coronavirus pandemic has supercharged growth of mobile money and credit on the continent. Consumers struggling with Covid-19 shut-downs across sub-Saharan Africa have found a new place to get cash to make ends meet: their cellphones.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria's premier and leading financial inclusion services provider has announced its ongoing digital campaign "Mask Up, Stay Safe" as part of its advocacy to encourage everyone to consciously protect one another against the COVID-19 pandemic

The Federal Government says it may impose a travel ban to and from certain parts of the world as a new strain of covid-19 is manifesting itself in various countries including the United kingdom. A member of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said while the government appreciates the negative economic impact of another lockdown, it would not rule out restriction on movement to and from certain parts of the world.

Oil sentiment turned negative as near-term problems with demand have finally moved to the front burner after weeks of increasingly bullish sentiment. Dozens of countries cut off travel to the UK over fears of a coronavirus mutation. Lockdowns have also grown tighter in multiple places in December.

The Federal Government has imposed new restrictions amid the rising cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in various parts of the country. The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, announced this on Monday at the briefing of the task force in Abuja, the nation's capital.

Following the second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria and increase in number of coronavirus cases in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has banned carnivals, concerts and street parties in the State until further notice.

In the last month, vaccine-related positivity across the globe spilled into the continent, raising hopes that economic recovery in SSA economies could be faster than first thought.

The Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned that the country is on the verge of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the rising number of new cases, the Commission wishes to provide the following guidance...

In April 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with support from the World Bank, launched the COVID19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS); a monthly survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,950 households to monitor the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic and other shocks.

Today the monetary policy committee (MPC) opens its latest meeting. It created two shocks last year with policy rate cuts of 100bps in both May and September. They may have been warranted in view of the economic slowdown (although its origins have been the external shock of the Covid-19 virus) but sit uncomfortably with the steady rise in inflation since August '19.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is a once in a lifetime phenomenon that impacts millions of people across the world. Many people have died from the virus, others have been hospitalised, unemployment is at unprecedented levels, businesses have shut, and borders closed. Since Britain is a part of the global community, it is not exempt from the pandemic's side effects. However, in its attempt to tackle the virus, the British government is slowly moving along the road to totalitarianism.

Oil prices fell more than 2% on Monday on rising concerns about oil demand. New lockdown restrictions in China spooked the market. "The COVID-19 pandemic's spread is taking center stage again and traders are getting increasingly worried about the long duration of European lockdown and about the new restrictions (in) China," Bjornar Tonnage from Rystad Energy said.

The Africa Investment Roundtable (AIR) held its maiden edition in which it addressed the issue of the application of technology in driving growth in Africa. The session focused on a few issues ranging from lessons of the COVID-19 and sundry challenges in 2020 to the continental economic outlook in 2021 and how African policymakers can turn crisis into opportunities.

Drawing inspiration from the Irish poem "Second Coming", written in the aftermath of the First World War in 1919 amid a rampaging flu pandemic, we argue that the fate of several countries hangs in the balance in the face of the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 virus.

Oil prices may have surged to $56pb (highest levels in 11 months) following OPEC+'s decision to increase oil output by 75,000bpd in February over January levels and the surprise cuts by the Saudi's (1mbpd in February and March above its current quota). However, global appetite for crude will remain subdued in Q1'21 due to rising COVID-19 infection rates and lockdown measures.

In our 2021 outlook report, we stated that the outlook for SSA economies was largely dependent on the pandemic. Recent data of Covid-19 caseloads across the region has seen a spike in the number of cases in what has been confirmed as the second wave.

In a recent conversation on "Personal Finance Management in 2021" Elizabeth Ekpo a Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA, highlighted ways in which women could achieve financial liberation in a year shaped by the uncertainties of COVID-19.

COVID-19 cases remained high on both sides of the Atlantic, aggravated by a more contagious strain discovered in the UK that brought large swathes of the country back into full lockdown. In the US, cases, deaths, and hospitalization over the Christmas period surpassed record levels last seen in April. US states and cities put in place the most severe restrictions since spring.

The 2020 special edition of The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) series comes out at a very difficult and uncertain historical moment. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to a global health crisis and deep economic recession-deeper than the downturn during the 2008-2009 financial crisis-but has also created a climate of profound uncertainty about the future outlook.

2020 will be described as the year of unprecedented shifts and shocks. COVID-19 effects were evident in the economy and real estate markets world over. Crude oil prices hovered around $42p and employment numbers weakened.

We learn from CBN data that Nigeria's gross official reserves declined by USD40m in December to USD35.37bn. Since the disbursement of IMF loan proceeds of about USD3.4bn in May to tackle the external shock of the Covid-19 virus, the CBN has almost held the line on reserves, with a decline of USD1.22bn over seven months.

In 2020, SSA currencies under our watch depreciated against the US dollar, except the CFA franc which firmed 9.3% against the greenback as at the end of the year. The depreciation recorded was majorly attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic