
Gold prices suffer worst two weeks in a row since November

$128 million worth of Bitcoin exchange hands, Bitcoin drops to $36,100

Very few nations permitted to issue their Crypto – IMF

COVID-19 Update in Nigeria

FG to organize another tripartite meeting for Lagos-Ibadan expressway gridlock

COVID-19 Update in Nigeria

Bitcoin, Gold, leading Stocks tumble on strong U.S dollar

Polkadot fast-rising Crypto, jumps past XRP

How to fund capital projects debt-free with high interest yielding investments

World Bank grants Cross River $20 million under SFTAS programme
Markets
A tale of two banks as NSE ends this week in the red
This week was a bearish one on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Published
2 years agoon

This week was a bearish one on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as the All Share Index opened at 32,200.21 basis points and closed at 32,058.28 basis points, down 0.44%.
Year to date, the index is down 16.17%.
24 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than the 27 in the previous week. 36 equities depreciated in price, lower than 39 of the previous week, while 109 equities remained unchanged, higher than 103 equities recorded in the preceding week.
Gainers
Unity Bank Plc
Unity Bank Plc was the best performing stock this week, appreciating by 30.99%, The stock opened at N0.71 and closed at N0.93, up N0.22. Year to date, the stock is up 75% and is one of the best performing banking stocks year to date.
Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc
Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc gained 11.69%. The stock opened at N15.40, and closed at N17.20, up N1.80. Year to date, the stock is down 40.69%.
Prestige Assurance Plc
Prestige Assurance opened at N0.51 and closed at N0.56, up N0.05 or 9.8%. Year to date, the stock is up 12%.
The company this week proposed a bonus of 41 shares for 100 held. Qualification date is November 27, 2018. The shareholders’ register will be closed from November 28 – December 5, 2018.
GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc
GSK Consumer Nigeria gained 9.55% this week. The stock opened at N11 and closed at N12.05, up N1.05. Year to date, the stock is down 44.24%.
Niger Insurance Plc
Niger Insurance opened at N0.22 and closed at N0.24, up N0.02 or 9.09%. Year to date, the stock is down 52%.
May and Baker Nigeria Plc
May and Baker Nigeria Plc appreciated by 8.70%. The stock opened at N2.30 and closed at N2.50, up N0.20. Year to date, the stock is down 3.85%.
Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc
Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc also gained 8.70%. The stock opened at N0.23 and closed at N0.25, up N0.02. Year to date, the stock is down 50%.
Oando Plc
Oando Plc opened at N4.65 and closed at N5, up N0.35 or 7.53%. Year to date, the stock is down 16.53%.
Meyer Plc
Meyer Plc gained 7.27%. The stock opened at N0.55 and closed at N0.59, up N0.04. Year to date, the stock is down 15.71%.
Lafarge Africa Plc
Lafarge Africa Plc, opened at N15 and closed at N16, up N1 or 6.67%. Year to date, the stock is down 64.36%.
Losers
Diamond Bank Plc
Diamond Bank Plc was the worst performing stock this week. The stock opened at N1.28 and closed at N0.90, down N0.38 or 29.69%. Year to date, the stock is down 40%.
C and I Leasing Plc
C and I Leasing Plc shed 25.43% this week. The stock opened at N2.80 and closed at N2.06. Year to date, the stock is up 59.69%.
Eterna Plc
Eterna Plc declined by 17.43% this week. The stock, which was Nairametrics’ stock pick of the week, opened at N5.45 and closed at N4.50, down N0.95. Year to date, the stock is up 10.84%.
Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc
Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc opened at N0.27 and closed at N0.23, down N0.04 or 14.81%. Year to date, the stock is down 54%.
University Press Plc
University Press Plc shed 11.93% this week. The stock opened at N2.18 and closed at N1.92, down N0.26 or 11.93%. Year to date, the stock is down 15.79%.
UACN Property Development Company
UPDC opened at N1.60 and closed at N1.44, down N0.16 or 10%. Year to date, the stock is down 48.39% and is trading at a year low.
International Breweries Plc
International Breweries opened at N33.55 and closed at N30.20, down N3.35 or 9.99%. Year to date, the stock is down 44.59%.
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc
Julius Berger shed 9.92% this week. The stock opened at N23.70 and closed at a year low of N21.35, down N2.35. Year to date, the stock is down 21.35%.
Ikeja Hotels Plc
Ikeja Hotels Plc opened at N2.27 and closed at N2.05, down N0.22 or 9.69%. Year to date, the stock is up 15.17%.
Abbey Building Society Plc
Abbey Building Society rounds up the list of the top 10 worst performing stocks this week. The stock opened at N1.17 and closed at a year low of N1.06, down N0.11 or 9.40%. Year to date, the stock is down 18.46%.
Onome Ohwovoriole has a degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin and prior to joining Nairametrics in December 2016 as Lead Analyst had stints in Publishing, Automobile Services, Entertainment and Leadership Training.He covers companies in the Nigerian corporate space, especially those listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).He also has a keen interest in new frontiers like Cryptocurrencies and Fintech. In his spare time, he loves to read books on finance, fiction as well as keep up with happenings in the world of international diplomacy.You can contact him via [email protected]


Commodities
Gold prices suffer worst two weeks in a row since November
Gold futures prices at their most recent trading session settled at $1,829.90 an ounce, down by 1.2%.

Published
9 mins agoon
January 17, 2021
Gold prices suffered significant losses at their most recent trading session.
The yellow metal lost its shine at the expense of charging U.S dollar, whose surge of late astonished many investors amid the currency debasement expected from the U.S President-elect’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 support programme.
What you should know
- Gold futures at their most recent trading session settled at $1,829.90 an ounce, down by 1.2%.
- Although the yellow metal’s recent loss on a weekly basis moderated to just 0.3% on the week, that loss added to the previous week’s plunge of 3.2% — handing gold its worst two weeks in a row since November.
- The greenback was an outlier at the last trading session despite drops seen in U.S bond yields associated with the benchmark 10-year U.S. note, whose resurgence in the previous week had been the catalyst for the U.S dollar comeback.
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at Axi, in a note to Nairametrics, gave insights on the odds weighing on the yellow metal in the near term.
- “With short dollar trades tempering over the great US dollar debasement story of 2021, it’s not such an easy glide path for gold to start the year. So, I suspect gold remains tied to the hip of the US dollar fortunes this quarter. The market then morphs into “sell the rally mode” as the US economy recovers tangentially to the vaccine distributions.”
Bottom line
Investors are increasingly confronted with the reality that the pandemic is still far from being under control, thereby flocking back to the safe-haven currency despite the significant progress that was made in the past few months, and several COVID-19 vaccines already in the market.
Cryptocurrency
$128 million worth of Bitcoin exchange hands, Bitcoin drops to $36,100
Bitcoin traded at $36,262.41 with a daily trading volume of $56.4 billion, down 0.49% for the day.

Published
15 mins agoon
January 17, 2021
Large crypto entities are definitely up to something with the prevailing bullish trend at the world’s flagship crypto. Before dropping to $36,100, an unknown Bitcoin whale moved about $128 million worth of cryptos.
Data retrieved from Whale alert, an advanced crypto tracker, revealed recently, that a large entity transferred 3,510 BTC valued at $128.3 million from an unknown wallet to an unknown wallet.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 3,510 #BTC (128,266,672 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) January 16, 2021
At the time of writing this report, Bitcoin traded at $36,262.41 with a daily trading volume of $56.4 billion. Bitcoin is down 0.49% for the day.
- While it is difficult to predict market movements, large owners of Bitcoins have shown historically that they often determine the BTC trend.
- The timing of this movement suggests that such activity could be linked to an institutional investor amid the bias that of late, a lot of institutional players are flocking into the world’s flagship crypto market at unprecedented levels.
What you should know
- In the Bitcoin market, investors or traders who own large amounts of bitcoins are typically known as Bitcoin whales. This means that a BTC whale would be an individual or business entity (with a single Bitcoin address), that owns around 1000 coins or more.
- The flagship cryptocurrency is mainly decentralized, the first of its kind, and created by Satoshi Nakamoto. It was launched around January 2009.
Cryptocurrency
Very few nations permitted to issue their Crypto – IMF
The IMF says close to 80% of the world’s central banks are not allowed to issue a digital currency under their existing laws.

Published
19 mins agoon
January 17, 2021
While many countries are already planning to or already developing fiat-crypto, the International Monetary Fund’s most recent report has indicated that only a few nations are permitted legally to carry such actions.
“Countries are moving fast toward creating digital currencies. Or, so we hear from various surveys showing an increasing number of central banks making substantial progress towards having an official digital currency.
“But, in fact, close to 80% of the world’s central banks are either not allowed to issue a digital currency under their existing laws, or the legal framework is not clear,” the IMF stated.
In the recent post, seen by Nairametrics, the global financial body disclosed various reports suggested a large number of central banks are examining the possibility of having a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
It stated;
“Still, a majority of such countries have legal structures that do not support the establishment of cryptocurrencies, or in some cases do not permit the development of them
“Any money issuance is a form of debt for the central bank, so it must have a solid basis to avoid legal, financial, and reputational risks for the institutions.
“Ultimately, it is about ensuring that significant and potentially contentious innovation is in line with a central bank’s mandate. Otherwise, the door is opened to potential political and legal challenges.”
What you should know: A digital currency is a cash balance recorded electronically on a store value card or other physical devices, which could someday replace the physical notes.
- Digital currencies can be decentralized, that is where the control over the cash supply can come from diverse sources. Digital currencies can also be centralized, where there is a midway point of control over cash supply, just like the way central banks work.
Recall some months ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a video illustrating what cryptocurrency is.
Besides suggesting that cryptocurrency could “completely change the way we sell, buy, save, invest, and pay our bills,” IMF went on by saying that it “could be the next step in the evolution of money.”
The IMF tweeted the video giving vital details on what cryptocurrency is. Referring to cryptocurrency as “a special currency,” the two-minute video attempts to outline its benefits in payments, such as by removing middlemen, lowering costs, and increasing transaction speed.
What are cryptocurrencies? https://t.co/ggONlLkA2r pic.twitter.com/yYpj3Jf37E
— IMF (@IMFNews) August 23, 2020
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