PROSHARE MARKETS

Investors Gain N440.93bn as NGXASI Advances by 1.51%; Overnight Rate Contracts to 18.80%; BDC Rate Depreciates to N750 - The NGX All-Share Index advanced by 1.51% to close at 54,413.21 basis points as against 0.90% loss recorded previously to close at 53,603.80 basis points at the end of the last trading session. In Naira terms, the NGX Market CAP records a N440.93bn gain. YTD, the NGXASI Stands at +6.17%. Source Proshare Research Read More

Oando Plc Announces Proposed Scheme of Arrangement; Receives Offer to Acquire Shares of Minority Shareholders - Oando Plc said that it has received an offer from its core shareholder - Ocean and Oil Development Partners Limited (“OODP”) - to acquire the shares of all minority shareholders in Oando. The Company will subsequently be delisted from NGX and JSE and re-registered as a private company. Source NGX Read More

Ecobank Group Declares N156.55bn PAT in FY2022 Results; Proposes 0.11cents Final Dividend, (SP: N10.55k) - ETI Plc, a financial institution in financial services sector announced 12.9% gross earnings growth in FY 2022 Audited Results. Source NGX Read More

N300bn Bond Listing: Dangote Industries Lauds NGX Market Depth - The Group Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Olakunle Alake has expressed delight upon the completion of the listing of the firm’s N300bn series 1 and 2 Bonds on Nigerian Exchange Limited, commending the depth of capital market. Source NGX Read More

Oando’s Core Investor Set to Take Company Private, Offers Minority Shareholders 58% Premium - Ocean and Oil Development Partners Limited (OODP), the core shareholder of Oando Plc, is taking the energy firm private more than three decades after the driller listed in Lagos as a public firm. Source Premium Times Read More

PROSHARE ECONOMY

Improving Trend in Crude Oil Production; Increased by 4% MoM to 1.55mbpd in February 2023 - Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) shows that Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 4% m/m to 1.55 million barrels per day (mbpd). The total output includes condensates of around 241k bpd. As shown by our chart, oil output has been on an upward trajectory since Sept ’22 when it fell to recent year lows of c.1.1mbpd. Source FBNQuest Read More

Oil posts its highest finish since mid-March on stronger demand expectations, tighter supplies - Oil futures finished higher on Thursday as brighter prospects for the Chinese and U.S. economy and tighter supplies helped lift prices to their highest finish since mid-March. Source Market Watch Read More

Ghana Lawmakers to Vote on New Tax Bills to Rake in $340 Million - Ghanaian lawmakers are set to vote on new taxes to rake in an additional 3.96 billion cedis ($340 million) in revenue this year and satisfy a key requirement for the International Monetary Fund to approve a $3 billion bailout. Source Bloomberg Read More

PROSHARE REGULATORS

US Banking Sector Tremor: Could Charles Schwab be Next? - Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) Financial Group, financial markets have been concerned about the strength of the US banking sector, and weary of the next bank(s) and financial firms to fail. The pace of benchmark rate hikes has left several banks with unrealised losses on their bond holdings. Source United Capital Research Read More

Yellen Says US Bank Rules May Be too Loose, Need to Be Re-Examined - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) failures to ensure current banking system risks are addressed. Source Reuters Read More

Shareholders Blame Aso Savings of Breach of Corporate Governance Rules, Asset Stripping in Management of Union Homes, Petitions SEC, FRCN and CAC - Shareholders have lodged a petition with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) pleading for intervention to prevent the imminent loss of their investments. Source Nairametrics Read More

PROSHARE BUSINESS

Egypt Pound Dips Further on Black Market Amid Devaluation Fears - The value of Egypt’s pound on the local black market for US dollars diverged further from the official bank rate, amid speculation the cash-strapped country might enact its fourth devaluation since March 2022. Source Bloomberg Read More

US Stocks Extend Rally Buoyed by Technology Shares: Markets Wrap - Technology stocks propelled US stocks higher as Federal Reserve officials reiterated their resolve to lower inflation. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% — even with financials under pressure — while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%, pushing further into a bull market. Source Bloomberg Read More

Nigeria Air Sale: Court to Deliver Judgement On Airline Operators’ Suit April 25 - A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 25 for judgment in the suit by Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and others challenging the transfer of their suit against the federal government to another court. Source Daily Trust Read More

PROSHARE TECHNOLOGY

World Bank Supports Nigeria to Develop Skills in Cybersecurity - The World Bank, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has commenced capacity building for stakeholders in the digital economy sector to enable the country to tackle cybersecurity challenges effectively. Source Guardian Read More

U.S. Advocacy Group Asks FTC to Stop New OpenAI GPT Releases - The tech ethics group Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy is asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to stop OpenAI from issuing new commercial releases of GPT-4, which has wowed some users and caused distress for others with its quick and human-like responses to queries. Source Reuters Read More

Google Says Microsoft Cloud Practices Are Anti-Competitive - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud has accused Microsoft (MSFT.O) of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticised imminent deals with several European cloud vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms. Source Reuters Read More

PROSHARE FINANCE

NDIC Urges Nigerians to Save with Formal Banking Systems - The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called on Nigerians to keep saving their money with formal banking systems because they remain the safest, smartest and most prudent place to save and the only way through which the corporation can protect bank deposits. Source THISDAYLIVE Read More

China calls US debt trap accusation 'irresponsible' - China on Thursday called remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen "irresponsible" and "unreasonable" after Yellen said Beijing's lending activities leave developing countries "trapped in debt." Source Reuters Read More