Business
Dollar Rises From Lowest in Week on Bets Fed Will Taper
WASHINGTON – The dollar rose from the lowest level in a week as investors wagered the Federal Reserve is still moving toward reducing its bond buying after chairman-nominee Janet Yellen said it “will not continue indefinitely.”
The yen weakened beyond 100 per dollar for the first time since September after a government report showed economic growth slowed, adding to the case for the Bank of Japan to boost stimulus. Emerging-market currencies rose on bets the Fed will continue its asset purchasing. Yellen said in Washington testimony she is committed to promoting a strong recovery and will ensure monetary stimulus isn’t removed too soon.
Yellen Signals Stimulus Until Recovery Improves0:31
Currency investors “are not completely convinced that the Fed will be able to follow through on its dovish inclinations,” Steven Englander, global head of Group of 10 currency strategy at Citigroup Inc., wrote in an e-mail. “There is a small case for the dollar within G3 even if tapering is in the slow lane, and a big case if it turns out that data and asset-market conditions force the Fed to slow the pace of buying.” The G3 refers to the dollar, yen and euro.
The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, which monitors the greenback against 10 major counterparts, was little changed at 1,018.82 at 5 p.m. in New York after dropping to 1,015.83, the lowest since Nov. 7. It fell 0.4 percent yesterday.
The yen fell 0.8 percent to 100.01 per dollar after touching 100.15, the weakest level since Sept. 11. Japan’s currency declined 0.6 percent to 134.61 per euro. The euro slid 0.2 percent to $1.3461 after declining as much as 0.5 percent.
Won, Ringgit
South Korea’s won and Malaysia’s ringgit rose the most in three weeks after Yellen’s comments damped speculation funds will flow out of emerging markets.
“Demand for riskier assets may come back,” Son Eun Jeong, a currency analyst at Woori Futures Co. in Seoul, wrote in a research note.
South Korea’s currency appreciated 0.4 percent to close at 1,067.91 per dollar in Seoul, the biggest gain since Oct. 23.
The ringgit strengthened 0.2 percent to 3.2045 per dollar, the steepest increase since Oct. 28, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It earlier touched 3.1861, the highest level since Nov. 11.
Australia’s dollar reversed earlier gains on speculation the central bank will cut interest rates even after a potential delay in the Fed’s plan to slow asset purchases.
The Aussie fell 0.5 percent to 93.16 U.S. cents from 93.60 yesterday, when it added 0.6 percent.
‘Strong Recovery’
Yellen said the central bank’s key interest rate, now at a record zero to 0.25 percent, would remain low even after it starts to pare back on bond purchases.
“I consider it imperative that we do what we can to promote a very strong recovery,” Yellen said in response to a question during testimony today to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington. “It’s important not to remove support, especially when the recovery is fragile and the tools available to monetary policy, should the economy falter, are limited given that short-term interest rates are at zero.”
The Federal Open Market Committee she is poised to lead is considering whether to begin slowing its $85 billion monthly bond-purchase program, which is pushing the Fed’s assets toward a record $4 trillion. The Fed has kept its target interest rate near zero since December 2008.
‘Comforting Signal’
Yellen “has expressed a clear conviction in the merit of stimulative monetary policy,” Jens Nordvig, managing director of currency research at Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest brokerage, wrote in an e-mail. “Hence, it is a comforting signal for the market, that tapering is not about to happen very soon, and risk assets are supported, that is the main move.”
The greenback weakened earlier as the U.S. trade deficit widened, with the gap in goods and services trade increasing 8 percent to $41.8 billion from a revised $38.7 billion in August, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 72 economists called for a $39 billion deficit.
Jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 330,000.
Japan Policy
The yen fell versus all of its major peers as Finance Minister Taro Aso said the nation must retain intervention as a policy option.
Japan’s gross domestic product growth slowed to an annualized 1.9 percent in the July-September period from 3.8 percent in the second quarter, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.7 percent increase.
“Weaker Japanese data suggests we’re likely to get more policy action, and that will put the yen under pressure,” said Ian Stannard, head of European foreign-exchange strategy at Morgan Stanley in London.
The European Union’s statistics office said the economy expanded 0.1 percent after growing 0.3 percent in the previous three months.
The euro has gained 6.3 percent this year, the best performer of 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The dollar advanced 4 percent and the yen slumped 11 percent.
– BLOOMBERG
The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has uncovered financial irregularities amounting to ₦514 billion in the 2021 operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
The revelations were contained in a comprehensive audit report highlighting non-compliance and internal control weaknesses within Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) during the 2021 financial year.
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Breakdown of Infractions
The audit detailed four major financial discrepancies within NNPCL:
“Irregular Deductions: A total of ₦343.64 billion was deducted from domestic crude oil sales at source without proper documentation.
“Sinking Fund Deposits: ₦83.66 billion, categorized as miscellaneous income, was retained in a sinking fund account.
“Unauthorised Refinery Deductions: ₦82.95 billion was deducted from federation revenue purportedly for refinery rehabilitation.
“Unsubstantiated Payments: ₦3.75 billion was flagged for transactions related to petrol sales that lacked proper verification.
The Auditor-General’s report stated that these financial activities violated the 1999 Constitution and the Financial Regulations Act of 2009, underscoring significant lapses in compliance with statutory guidelines.
According to the report, NNPCL generated ₦484.73 billion from domestic crude oil sales in March and May 2021.
However, ₦343.64 billion was deducted for various purposes, including “Value Shortfall,” “Strategic Stock Holding Cost,” and “Pipeline Maintenance.”
The deductions were made unilaterally by NNPCL without adequate documentation or justification.
Additionally, the report flagged ₦50 billion of the net payable amount for May 2021 as unaccounted for, creating a significant gap in the federation’s revenue.
“Audit observed from the review of NNPC SAP payment record for March and May 2021 payments that the sum of ₦484.73bn was the gross amount generated for the sale of domestic crude for the months of March and May 2021.
“The sum of ₦343.64bn from the gross amount was unilaterally deducted from the gross domestic crude sales as NNPC Value shortfall, Strategic Stock Holding Cost, Crude Oil and Products Pipeline Losses, as well as the pipelines maintenance and management costs.
“The details of each of the cost components deducted were not provided for audit review. Hence, the reasons for the deductions could not be justified by the management.”
On the unremitted ₦50 billion from May 2021, the report noted: “In the month of May, the net payable that could have been remitted ought to have been ₦127.075bn, but only the sum of ₦77.075bn was remitted, leaving an unremitted balance of N50bn to the Federation Account, which has remained unaccounted for.”
The report attributed these anomalies to weaknesses in NNPCL’s internal control systems, warning of the risks they pose to public funds.
It read, “The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at NNPC, now NNPC Ltd. This is a potential loss of Federation revenue, diversion of public funds, or misapplication or misappropriation of funds.”
The success of the maiden edition of the Lagos Shopping Festival (LSF), Africa’s first 72-hour non-stop commerce and entertainment event has been credited to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
This is the view of Managing Director/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Africa Ltd, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, one of the main organisers of the event.
According to Opayemi, though Chain Reactions Africa conceptualised the event, the festival could be rightly described as the Governor’s baby and owes its success to his leadership. “Firstly, the Lagos Shopping Festival could not have come to fruition if the Governor did not buy into our audacious plan when we first presented the idea to him during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Secondly, it was the Governor’s exemplary leadership of the project as its Chief Marketing Officer which attracted the buy-in of key sponsors like Zenith Bank, Tolaram Group, First Bank Plc, and Guinness Nigeria Plc,” Opayemi revealed.
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While the duo of Zenith Bank and First Bank provided their bank on wheel platforms for buyers at the Lagos Shopping Festival, they also supported the Vendors with special Point of Sale Machines with which to process payments from buyers. The banks were also seen marketing their diverse banking products to guests within the shopping arena.
For Tolaram, it was a time to support the citizens and give back to society. Guests at the Lagos Shopping Festival were freely given some of the products of the group such as PowerOil, Indomie and Kellogg’s packaged into goodie bags and given out to prospective buyers at the shopping arena. The Children’s Arena was however activated by Indomie with the children entertained by Santa Claus within a well-equipped arena manned by the Indomie Brands team and the Lagos State Safety Marshalls. The children were daily treated to free Indomie meals daily and given various gifts to go home with.
On its part, Guinness Nigeria came through as the real life of the Nigerian party by organizing product sampling activation for the teeming guests at the festival using brands such as Singleton, Johnnie Walker, Ciroc, Don Royale and Captain Morgan to deliver pleasant experiences to guests aside from Guinness and Malta Guinness.
While unveiling the identity of the festival last month, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had thanked the management of Zenith Bank Plc, Tolaram Africa Group, Guinness Nigeria Plc and First Bank of Nigeria for supporting the idea of a Lagos Shopping Festival, describing it as a value addition on the state’s tourism calendar and the overall efforts to grow the State’s GDP. The Governor further said, “I must specially acknowledge your pioneering sponsorship role. It is easy for a corporate sponsor to jump on the sponsorship band wagon of an already established festival and fund it. But you are supporting the maiden edition of this Lagos Shopping Festival with us. The competition is watching you now. Do not build this brand with us and yield the space for the competition to take over. I do hope you would all commit long term to this brilliant initiative.”
On his part, Girish Sharma, CEO Guinness Nigeria Plc, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. “Lagos is the commercial heartbeat of Nigeria and Africa’s entertainment capital, and the Lagos Shopping Festival captures its essence. We see opportunities in this initiative because it is a creative fusion of commerce and entertainment. This partnership reflects our dedication to fostering economic opportunities and support the nation’s vibrant entertainment industry.”
A first-of-its-kind, the festival was a convergence of commerce and entertainment, bringing together buyers and sellers in the MSME ecosystem, and hordes of fun-seekers who were entertained with thrilling performances by A-list entertainers, including Adekunle Gold, Wande Coal, Teni, Young Jonn, BNXN, Ayo Maff, SB Live and EmmaOMG. The list also included some of Nigeria’s most sought after DJs such as DJ Neptune, DJ YK Mule, DJ Baddo while Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st and Larry J dished out rib-cracking comedy performances.
Held from 23rd to 25th Day of December 2024, at the iconic Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan Stadium, Lagos, the Lagos Shopping Festival saw thousands of fans throng the main venue and select Lagos malls during the three-day period to bag the latest bargains from local and top global brands.
The Nigerian Naira experienced mixed movements in the foreign exchange markets on Monday, as it depreciated to N1,665 per dollar in the parallel market, down from N1,660 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
In contrast, the official exchange rate saw the Naira appreciate to N1,534.56 per dollar, improving slightly from N1,535 per dollar last Friday, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
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This reflects a marginal gain of 44 kobo in the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
As a result, the gap between the parallel market rate and the NFEM rate widened to N130.44 per dollar, compared to the N125 per dollar margin recorded over the weekend.
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