According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the country recorded the highest number of 1,145 new Covid-19 cases on 17 December, even as a few prominent public officials have tested positive for the disease.

From the publisher of BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun's welcome address at the recently held BusinessDay's Banks and other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards came the following words: 'The year 2020 has been a most interesting year.

Global GDP is expected to dip by 4.4% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The economy will however recover in 2021 as countries relax lockdown and social distancing policies. The discovery of vaccine for the virus, coupled with improved consumer demand will speed up recovery in 2021.

As the race to find a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is showing increasing promise, a new World Health Organization (WHO) analysis finds that Africa is far from ready for what will be the continent's largest ever immunization drive.

We listened with great interest to four prominent private equity players in Africa in a discussion of prospects during and after COVID-19. The event took place in early November, and so was before the announcement by Pfizer and Moderna on their vaccines to tackle COVID-19. The panel discussion was part of the Africa Debate, an annual event put together by an established London-based business association.

The Simplification of Government processes that removes bottlenecks and bureaucracy will go a long way in effectively managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigeria. Africa's most populous nation. This was part of the key takeaways from the hybrid forum (physical and virtual) of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) that discussed a "10-Point Programme of Action on Promoting Transparency and Accountability In COVID-19 Spending In Nigeria".

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 COVID-19 pandemic and other shocks.

As much of Europe and the US struggle with the second wave of COVID-19 infections, it seems a good time to share a few opinions on what their governments and their health practitioners have learned from the first wave that broke in March.

Digitalization has in the past few years enabled developing countries in particular to leapfrog on financial inclusion. Countries like Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania have made great advances in connecting their citizens to financial systems by leveraging on mobile phone technology.

The Lagos State Government has once again stressed the need for residents to strictly adhere to precautionary measures against COVID-19 infection transmission to prevent a recurrence of the situation that led to the lock down of the economy.

Where Big Oil, Big Pharma, bulge-bracket investment banks and Coca Cola once dominated US stock markets, their roles have now been usurped by the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Tesla Motors.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis continues to spread, the amount of money migrant workers send home is projected to decline 14 percent by 2021 compared to the pre COVID-19 levels in 2019, according to the latest estimates published in the World Bank's Migration and Development Brief.

Emerging markets and developing economies grew consistently in the two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, allowing for much-needed gains in poverty reduction and life expectancy. The crisis now puts much of that progress at risk while further widening the gap between rich and poor.

Members of the Private Sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) wish to call for calm, amidst the looting of COVID-19 palliatives meant for distribution in various State Government warehouses across the country.

When the United States began grappling with COVID-19 in March 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement acted swiftly to make clear to market participants that it was ramping up its efforts to identify and prevent fraud in the wake of the pandemic. Approximately seven months later, statistics released by the SEC bear this out.

Earlier in the year, the world experienced an unprecedent event of COVID-19 outbreak with Africa not being an exception. The incidence of COVID-19 in Africa was followed by stringent measures across the region.

Changes in the trends of business activities and financial transactions precipitated by COVID-19 pandemic inadvertently led to increase in financial crimes globally. This therefore requires financial institutions to adapt rapidly and keep abreast with emerging risks and other developments while taking proactive steps to address the new and emerging ML/TF risks.

According to the latest report by World Bank on the Sub-Sharan African (SSA) economies, many countries within the region are seizing the opportunity created by the COVID-19 crisis to accelerate long-needed structural but unpopular reforms to guarantee more sustainable fiscal positions in the near future.

Nigeria's Banking sector in H1 2020 pulled in its neck and sauntered into the COVID-19-induced headwinds of Q1 and Q2. The brave challenge of a health and economic pandemic saw the sector with lower growth in topline income and decapitation of growth in bottom lines.

The international media have picked up on the theme that "Africa has done all right" in the fight against COVID-19.

Concerns have continued to grow following the Federal Government of Nigeria's decision to securitize unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances of up to six (6) years in the country. In the recently assented 2020 Finance Bill, the management of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances has been captured as part of many other provisions intended by the Federal Government of Nigeria to mitigate Nigeria's fiscal frailties and economic crunch caused by the emergence of Covid-19.

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.

Owing to the rising default in loan repayment forced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the declining economy that affected borrowers' revenue inflow, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) faced an upsurge in credit loss expenses in the third quarter but its management waded through the strain and maintained the elevated profit performance it demonstrated at half-year

Cutting down the cost of governance in Nigeria which is the clamor of youths, civil society groups and concerned citizens should take a holistic approach in execution. The Governor of Sokoto State Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal made this point as one of the speakers at the " December, 2020 Emmanuel Chapel, Methodic Church Discourse" which was held in a virtual format in adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

The year 2020 brought a rapid and unpredictable change to global economies and stock markets with an unprecedented health crisis that disrupted markets throughout the year. As the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, the year was characterized by a fall in oil prices and the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil tiff.

2020 was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the crash in commodity prices and the global recession. Right? Not quite. Looking back over the past 12 months in Nigeria we reason that domestic factors have driven Nigeria's financial markets: the intentional crashing of market interest rates, and the associated rally in the stock market.

Oil has seesawed back and forth over the past week, sandwiched between very strong bullish and bearish forces on each side. Covid-19 is at its worst in many parts of the world, but vaccinations are picking up in earnest as well. Brent edged back above $51 per barrel after the house passed a major stimulus bill on Monday evening.

The FGN's revenue has crashed dramatically this year due to the spread of Covid-19, the official response to contain its impact and the related decline in the oil price. These broad trends we noted in our pre-holiday daily note on gross, federally collected revenue for the three tiers of government (Good Morning Nigeria, 24 Dec. '20).

2020 has been an intriguing year with the effect of COVID-19 and its multifaceted impact on all spheres of life, both positively and negatively.

As anticipated, the courts has apparently saved NAICOM the embarrassment of being seen as "unable to accomplish the deadline" set given the realities of, and impact of Covid-19 in the year.

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.

Optimism about COVID-19 vaccines is driving oil prices higher and energy stocks are now on course to see their largest quarterly gain since 1989