"I don't understand. Why is it that the media only seems to talk about Africa when bad things happen?" Continue reading the main story The man behind the counter at my hotel in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, was talking to me about my job, and why I was visiting. He looked genuinely pained. He told me he is a big fan of the BBC - in west Africa the World Service and language services have a big following - but it seemed to him that the media outside the continent often only noticed when bad things happened.
Updated 6 Years ago

The minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Allison- Madueke has said the amount of the annual subsidy expended has been reduced by 59.05 per cent to N850 Billion. The Minister said in a statement at the weekend that the quantity of PMS consumed per day has also reduced by 34.17 percent to 39.66 million litres. “As at December 2012, the Nation had spent N5.27 trillion on products subsidy since the commencement of the Scheme in 2006. But the comprehensive reform programme put in place under her leadership as the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, yielded outstanding results as the amount of annual subsidy expended was reduced by 59.05 percent to N850 Billion, while the quantity of PMS consumed per day was reduced by 34.17 percent to 39.66 million litres.”
Updated 6 Years ago

The Nigerian pension fund assets is being anticipated to grow to N10 trillion by December 2014 following expected increase in the return on investment by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). Mr. Abayomi Sanya, Chairman, Organising Committee of Stockbrokers Annual Conference disclosed this, weekend at a press briefing in Lagos, saying that pension funds which is being anticipated to grow to N10 trillion by December 2014 should not be allowed to lie idle in the banks as such fund could be used to finance the infrastructural needs of the country.
Updated 6 Years ago

US banking giant JP Morgan is set for a record $13bn (£8bn) fine to settle investigations into its mortgage-backed securities, US media reports have said. A tentative deal is believed to have been reached in talks with senior US Justice Department officials. The fine relates to the sale of securities based on home loans, which led to the near-collapse of the banking system in 2007.
Updated 6 Years ago

Choking smog all but shut down one of northeastern China's largest cities on Monday, forcing schools to suspended classes, snarling traffic and closing the airport, in the country's first major air pollution crisis of the winter. An index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), reached a reading of 1,000 in some parts of Harbin, the gritty capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province and home to some 11 million people.
Updated 6 Years ago

At a major forum convened by the World Bank Group at the just concluded IMF/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington DC, bankers, financial leaders and government functionaries of member countries set a goal of achieving universal financial access by 2020 as a way to accelerate economic progress and reduce extreme poverty. The leaders at the forum included Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Updated 6 Years ago

An interview with CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of recent events and future intentions
Updated 6 Years ago

The Federal Government has announced its preparedness to sign the first-ever Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel. It stated that previous attempts to sign the BASA in 2005 and 2012 were unsuccessful. The Federal Ministry of Aviation, in a statement on Sunday, said the agreement, which is expected to be signed this week during President Goodluck Jonathan’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land, was a culmination of months of rigorous negotiations between the two countries.
Updated 6 Years ago

MTN Nigeria has achieved another milestone as its Callertunez service has grown to become the largest distribution platform for music in Nigeria, with over 17 million subscribers – a record in the telecommunications industry. Launched in 2008, MTN Callertunez has been found to be one of the unique solutions to the distribution problem in the Nigerian music industry as it is impossible for the service to be pirated or duplicated. Nigerian artistes are thus provided with a credible means for monetising their content. The service currently offers Nigerians a library of over 12,000 Callertunez from various artistes.
Updated 6 Years ago

As the capital market community awaits the listing of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), a pan-African information communications technology (ICT) firm, in November, THISDAY can report that the shares will boost the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by about N14 billion. THISDAY had last Wednesday reported the shares of CWG would be listed on the NSE in the middle of November. Further investigations showed that the company would list 2.5 billion shares of 50 kobo each on the exchange at a price of N5.48 per share. This will translate to a market capitalisation of N13.7 billion.
Updated 6 Years ago