Thursday, January 7, 2021
W’Bank: Vaccine Deployment, Investment Key to Global Economy’s Recovery
The World Bank has predicted that the global economy will expand by four per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. It stated that top near-term policy priorities would be to control the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring rapid and widespread vaccine deployment. Read more
Goldman Sees Surprise Saudi Cut as Signal Oil Demand to Weaken
Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut oil production probably reflects expectations for demand to weaken further as coronavirus lockdowns return around the world, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The kingdom’s pledge to lower output by one million barrels a day in February and March was surprising for several reasons, Bloomberg quoted Goldman’s analysts including Damien Courvalin and Jeff Currie, to have stated in a note. Read more
Trump Supporters Assault US Congress, Breach Democracy
Vice President Mike Pence returned to the United States Congress earlier today to resume the process of certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in last November presidential election, hours after a mob, incited by President Donald Trump, sacked the US Capitol. Read more
Alibaba, Tencent shares tumble on US ban fears
Shares in China’s two biggest companies Alibaba and Tencent tumbled in Hong Kong on Thursday in response to the media reports that the Trump administration plans to press ahead with a ban on Americans investing in them. Ecommerce titan Alibaba sank more than four per cent and internet powerhouse Tencent shed 3.3 in morning trade after the Wall Street Journal said officials in multiple government departments were assessing the impact of an investment ban. Read more
Senate raises concern over power ministry’s N478m in mortgage bank
The Senate has raised concern over the safety of the N478m deposited by the Federal Ministry of Power in Aso Savings and Loans Plc. The money, according to the 2015 report of the Auditor General for the Federation, was in connection with the Zungeru Power Project. The report currently being scrutinised by the Senate Public Account Committee stated that the amount was meant for the compensation of persons that would be displaced to pave the way for the project execution. Read more
Nigeria, others’ll lose $1tn oil revenue in 20 years – PwC
Nigeria and other African oil-producing countries will lose an estimated N1tn in oil export revenues over the next 20 years as prices are forecast to remain low, a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has said. PwC, in its Africa Oil and Gas Review 2020, said oil production in Africa saw a decline of 10 per cent in 2020 from 8.3 million barrels per day, driven by the COVID-19 demand slowdown for exports. Read more
FG removes VAT from airfares, aviation services
About three years after a similar order, the Federal Government has again suspended the deduction of 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on airfares and other air transport services. The latest suspension order, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021, is contained in the 2020 finance act recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Read more
Amazon Web Service to rescue unbanked Nigerians
Aella App, Nigeria’s leading single-point financial service and payment solution provider, is working with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to empower underbanked individuals through quick access to credit and other financial services using Amazon Rekognition for identity verification. Read more
‘Poor yields on securities, inflation affect pension growth’ Low yield on fixed-income securities and escalating inflation rate are threats to the growth of pension fund assets in the short and medium-term, the Director-General, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, has said. Read more