The Nation Newspaper

Tag: decline

  • Africa records decline in maternal deaths – UN

    The United Nations has disclosed that there is a decline in maternal deaths in Africa.

    The Gambia Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, Ms. Seraphine Wekana, made this disclosure during the Pan-African Youth Conference holding in Banjul, The Gambia.

    According to her, the decline has been reduced due to improved health services and increase in the area of childbearing.

    “Africa has recorded significant decline in maternal death which can be attributed to improved health services in terms of access and quality. The age of childbearing has also increased significantly. “

    Seraphine, however, said that Africa still experiences the highest number of child mortality deaths urging governments at all levels to work towards reducing the indices.

    She lamented the high level of gender inequality in the continent saying women and girls continue to be disadvantaged in harnessing their potentials.

    “We need to accelerate our efforts to work at safeguarding the future of women and girls by enabling them to fully harness their potentials.

  • Equities continue decline with N121b loss

    Nigerian equities continued on the decline yesterday, losing N121 billion in the fifth consecutive negative session. With more than three losers for every gainer, the overall market situation indicated continuing selloffs across the sectors.

    Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a decline of 1.02 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N121 billion in the five-hour trading session. The decline depressed the average year-to-date return to -0.37 per cent.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, declined from its opening index of 31,636.66 points to close at 31,313.36 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N11.798 trillion to close at N11.677 trillion.

    All sectoral indices also closed negative with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods Index, which rose by 0.24 per cent. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 2.26 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 1.26 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index dropped by 0.51 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index declined by 0.37 per cent.

    There were 30 losers against eight gainers. 11, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria, led the losers with a drop of N5.10 to close at N165. International Breweries followed with a loss of N2.65 to close at N24.05. Guaranty Trust Bank declined by N1.80 to close at N35.50. Dangote Cement and NASCON Allied Industries dropped by N1 each to close at N194 and N20.70 respectively. PZ Cussons Nigeria lost 65 kobo to close at N11 while Dangote Sugar Refinery declined by 55 kobo to close at N14.

    On the positive side, Lafarge Africa Plc led the gainers with a gain of 50 kobo to close at N13. UACN Property Development Company and United Capital followed with a gain of 13 kobo each to close at N1.95 and N3.28 respectively. Africa Prudential rallied 12 kobo to close at N4.92. Union Bank of Nigeria added 10 kobo to close at N7 while Law Union and Rock Insurance chalked up 4.0 kobo to close at 56 kobo per share.

    Total turnover stood at 219.37 million shares valued at N2.93 billion in 3,345 deals. Banking stocks dominated activities chart. FBN Holdings was the most active stock with a turnover of 60.14 million shares valued at N493.12 million. Zenith Bank followed with 46.46 million shares worth N1.05 billion while Diamond Bank placed third with 14.47 million shares valued at N35.32 million.

    Many analysts however stated that recent declines in share prices have primed the market for a recovery, but many others remained cautious.

    “Despite the consecutive negative performance recorded, we expect investor bargain hunting to drive market performance over the near term,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Analysts at Cordros Capital noted that in the absence of a positive catalyst, as well as the still tense political milieu, investors should trade cautiously in the short term.

    “However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals and compelling valuation remains supportive of recovery in the mid-to-long term,” Cordros Capital stated.

     

     

     

  • Equities halt 7-day decline with N166b gain

    After seven days of consecutive decline and a net capital loss of N1.05 trillion, Nigerian equities yesterday rebounded as investors sought to take advantage of the decline in share prices to increase their shareholdings. The increased bargain-hunting for most of the stocks that had witnessed considerable price decline stimulated the overall market position, turning the market around to a seller’s market.

    With 25 gainers to 19 losers, benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average gain of 1.11 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N166 billion. The rebound also nudged the average year-to-date return to double digit at 10.27 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N14.968 trillion to close at N15.134 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark value index for quoted equities, rallied to 42,171.80 points from its opening index of 41,708.15 points.

    The overall market performance was boosted by gains recorded by large-cap stocks in the food and beverages, breweries and banking sectors.

    All sectoral indices closed positive with the exception of the NSE Oil and Gas Index, which dropped marginally by 0.3 per cent. The NSE Banking Index led the rally with above-average gain of 2.7 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index followed with a gain of 1.3 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

    “The market gradually recovered from the oversold region with increased buying interests. We expect market activity and sentiments to increase in coming trading sessions as investors take advantage of the low valuation in the market,” FSDH Securities stated.

    Nestle Nigeria- Nigeria’s highest-priced stock led the rally with a gain of N25 kobo to close at N1, 345. Beta Glass followed with a gain of N3.40 to close at N72.10. Zenith Bank rose by N1.50 to close at N31.50. Nigerian Breweries appreciated by N1.20 to close at N129. Flour Mills of Nigeria gathered 90 kobo to close at N32.40. Dangote Flour Mills rose by 75 kobo to close at N15.85 while United Bank for Africa added 70 kobo to close at N11.85 per share.

    The momentum of activities also improved as investors traded 520.74 million shares valued at N4.72 billion in 5,694 deals. Skye Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 113.2 million shares valued at N121.95 million. FCMB Group followed with 54.11 million shares worth N146.1 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 41.93 million shares worth N487.57 million.

    On the negative side, Total Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N1 to close at N229. Forte Oil followed with a drop of 80 kobo to close at N45. Okomu Oil Palm dropped by 50 kobo to close at N72. Dangote Cement lost 30 kobo to close at N258.40 while NASCON Allied Industries dropped by 25 kobo to close at N20.75 per share.

    “Following the improvement in investor sentiment, we anticipate positive market performance till the end of the week. We also expect sustained improvement in market activity as investors take position in stocks with attractive valuation,” Afrinvest Securities noted in its post-trading investment note.

     

  • Trump and the decline of the US

    When Donald Trump threw his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination, most Americans did not think he was a serious contender. There were others in the field with government experience either as governors or senators. Trump has no such experience. He was just a brash New Yorker with lots of money and television experience as host to a programme famous for his firing people. His critics even dispute how much money he has. He claimed to be a billionaire but his financial history is characterized by bankruptcies. In one of his businesses, he was awarding degrees in business without a university building or academic staff. The only thing he had was his braggadocio about how he could make people billionaires like himself after payment of appropriate fees. Many people were sucked into his scheme and when he was sued for fraud, he quickly gave their money back settling the cases out of the glare of the judicial system. He built many estates here and there and quietly banned blacks from owning any of his flats or apartment buildings. He also merely lent his notorious name to buildings all over the world, thus there were Trump Towers across the world. He also had casinos in Jersey and Las Vegas which closed down one after the other after fulfilling their money hacking purposes. He also ran the Miss World or Miss Universe pageants during which time he allegedly groped the girls.

    Now how can such a man be elected  president in the most advanced democracy and the most technologically advanced country in the world?  Under normal circumstances, he should not be elected dog catcher! He overwhelmed his Republican contenders by insults, bullying and  he reduced decent debates to exchange of insults and raw language. When he faced Hilary Clinton, he exploited Mrs Clinton’s secretive nature to say she has something to hide. Mrs Clinton’s long service and experience in government also proved her undoing during the election. Her use of private server for government e-mails did her incalculable damage. The shady and buccaneering way the Clinton Foundation was raising money sometimes using the facilities of the State Department to raise questionable donations was said by Trump to have amounted “to pay for play”. Incredibly, a man of Trump’s sexually explosive background was not ashamed to say former President Bill Clinton’s sexual peccadilloes disqualified his wife for the presidency and suggested Mrs Clinton bullied those women who were victims of her husband ‘s philandering and  that she prevented them from seeking justice.

    There were many  other reasons responsible for the rise of Trump chief among which was the loss of opportunities by blue collar white workers who lost out to workers in other parts of the world due to globalization. This sector of the American population who numbered about 40 percent of the population felt increasingly left out of the so-called American Dream because of its poor education vis-à-vis college educated young Americans.

    I remember discussing the prognosis of Mrs Clinton winning the election in November 2016 with Ambassador Akporode Clark and the wise analysis by this experienced retired ambassador telling me the Americans will not elect a woman after “enduring a black” for eight years. The analysis was right on the spot and has been proved right. This analysis has gained so much traction that President Barack Obama has had to deny being responsible for Trump’s election laying the blame at the door of the Republicans who for eight years had peddled the rumor that he was not born in America and was therefore not qualified to run for the exalted office of president and some of them had been responsible for the gridlock in Washington. Throughout the Obama years, Trump also represented the arrow-head of white American nationalism that felt threatened by Blacks, Latinos, Jews, Asians and by the youth and women coalition that was responsible for electing a black president twice for a period of eight years. Even Jeb Bush while campaigning for the Republican ticket said this much when he said he was the only white Republican who could defeat the strong Democratic coalition.

    Whatever was responsible for Trump’s election, it should be pointed out that while  he won the majority of the votes in the electoral college, Mrs Clinton won the plurality of the votes by about three million votes. But American system is the only one that does not reflect majority votes  but rather takes the election state by state as if it was different elections in American 52 states and territories.

    Now Trump has been president for the past seven and a half months and he has broken all known rules in American  democratic culture. He has packed his cabinet with retired Generals and right wing peoples spewing all kinds of largely unacceptable political messages that most civilized Americans find troubling. Because of general press opposition to his government, many of his appointees have had to resign because they were found to be unworthy of holding high offices of responsibility. His popularity has hung around 35 percent, the lowest in recent American history. Trump’s administration has suffered a high level of attrition in the revolving doors of coming in and going out of people in the White House. The government also suffers from accusations of nepotism with Trump’s son-in-law and daughter wielding unusual influence in government. Trump also has in residence one Steve Bannon who until recently before he too left a sinking ship served as some kind of Rasputin in the Trump court advising the president to follow a right wing trajectory not seen in American politics since Dwight Eisenhower.

    The president has alienated his neighbours in Canada and Mexico by abandoning North Atlantic Free Trade Area which bound the economies of the USA, Canada and Mexico, creating one of the biggest free trade areas in the world from which the three economies have ostensibly benefited. Trump says it has hurt American working class. He has withdrawn from the Pacific trading pact that would have created the biggest trading area in the world linking the economies of the North America, some South American economies and those of Asian countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. He was also not too excited about NATO, a defensive military alliance that had guaranteed world peace since 1945. He was determined on some trade wars with Europe, China and Japan.

    The only country he seems favorably disposed to is Vladimir Putin’s Russia that has been accused fairly of illegally helping elect Trump by leaking secrets about Hilary Clinton’s e-mails. It seems however that Congress would not allow any Trump-driven rapprochement with Russia. The final point of his unworthy leadership was demonstrated at Charlottesville in the state of Virginia when a mob of  KKK( Ku Klux Klan ) a cross-burning gang of black-killing and hating people to which Trump’s father allegedly belonged, and also including neo -NAZI group and other white supremacist groups invaded the small town allegedly demonstrating against the pulling down of the statue of General Robert Lee, a treasonable confederate general during the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865. The statue and others have been in recent times, symbols of persecution of Jews and Blacks and other minorities in the United States. A counter-demonstration led to one of these people using a high speed car to kill and wound the demonstrators. Rather than condemning the white terrorists, Trump seemed to have believed that there was a moral equivalence between the terrorists and racists and those protesting to reassert American values. After waiting for nearly 72 hours, Trump came out to condemn the racists but then immediately changed the issue to be between protecting American history and statues of people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, founders of the American republic who were of course slave-holding Americans, thus reducing his own apparent failure of leadership to protecting American slave-holding national heroes like Washington and Jefferson.

    The point he does not seem to appreciate is that being heroes does not remove the fact that these people were moral delinquents and failures. We do not know where the ferment and political contradictions in America will lead the country.

    What is certain is that we are witnessing the decline of America from self-inflicted wounds leading to implosion which will definitely weaken America from within before an inevitable confrontation with the power of a rising China. This is a phenomenon which the virtual begging of China to rein in the North Koreans who are threatening to nuke America itself or to begin with, the American Pacific territory of Guam, clearly demonstrates. If American leadership under Trump knows a little bit about the reading of history predicted by the Grecian historian Thucydides of inevitable clash between a declining and a rising power, Trump should be doing everything to unite America for eventual conflict in Asia. This is of course assuming that this dangerous man understands the lessons of history.

    In the meantime, a country which prides itself as the moral and political leader of the world is being brought down by a president suffering from immense moral deficit.

  • Steady decline in research skills

    Research, as the name connotes, is an organised study; a methodological investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discover.

    Research is key among other base upon which the quality of a nation’s education are measured. Thus, its importance among students and institutions cannot be overemphasised. To demonstrate further the importance of research in tertiary institutions, it is a prerequisite for students in their final year to take courses on different research skills and methodologies, which they are made to conduct on contending issues in the contemporary society.

    This is done for students to be qualified for graduation from tertiary institutions, thereby contributing to knowledge and development of the country. The students’ researches are supervised by academic staff. Thus, topics for these theses are crafted by students and submitted for scrutiny and approval by their supervisors or a panel set up, while the students defend the topics. They also defend project proposals and finally the thesis itself. These processes are usually undergone at the undergraduate, master and doctoral degree levels.

    Amidst these efforts, it has become a worrisome trend that students have deviated from the tradition of writing their projects themselves. Instead, resort to what is called “copy and paste” – the habit of duplicating or plagiarising works that have already been done by others. Given that the advent of new technologies has eased the entire process, students prefer to surf the Internet and get topics of their choice with complete materials. What they do is to copy verbatim and give the plagiarised materials to their supervisors, who in turn approve the work.

    In most cases, students go to other universities and get ready-made theses. Only students who might be considered intelligent would make some changes in the case study areas of the projects. Lecturers also play very important role here, as it is common now that they give students project topics and materials to just copy and submit as new works.

    In some instances, lecturers unfortunately tell the students not to bother themselves as there is no single area in a particular field that a research has not been carried out. The question is, are they encouraging the students on research or killing their morale?

    However, project works are intended to help students build themselves in research and to enable them contribute to the development of knowledge and the society. That is why students must state categorically the significance of their researches.

    What make students do all these, I think, is the attitudes of lecturers, because they seem to underplay their roles as supervisors. Lecturers are given courses on research, but they never mind to teach students appropriate skills needed in conducting qualitative and quantitative researches. However, students are rushed to present chapters 1 to 5. In this case, I wonder what the students will write and take to the supervisors. Unless the lecturers give the students projects to copy or the students surf the Internet and get completed projects, download and present to supervisors, students have no fault in this fire-brigade approach, because they have not been equipped with basic skills to carry out proper research.

    One notable area that kills morale of students to conduct research is government’s lackadaisical attitude. There is no funding provided to tertiary institutions by the government to allow students embark on researches. More so, there is no enabling environment for effective learning. Our libraries are equipped with outdated books, thus limiting both the staff and students’ access to updated materials on any chosen research topic.

    Of course, duplication of projects has become the order of the day in Nigeria – a great factor that reverses education development. When ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Singapore, he was amazed with the level of development in Singapore. He didn’t hesitate to ask the Singaporean president how they came about their development. The Singaporean President showed him a book and the interesting thing is that, the book was written by the president. Without research, Singapore and other developed countries will not attain their status today.

    To arrest this problematic situation, measures must be taken urgently to reviewing curriculum of tertiary institutions and see the possibilities of making research methodology a course that would be taught from 100 to 400-Level. This would help to solving this great menace.

    Government should also increase the funding of tertiary institutions and give special incentive to boost students’ research capacities so that our universities can promote cutting-edge research that will make them compete globally.

    Students must know that they are the leaders of tomorrow. As such, it is pertinent to do the right thing when it comes to education and knowledge. Lecturers, too, should know students are entrusted to them and they are being paid to impart lasting knowledge on them, academically and in character. Plagiarising research works is a bad habit. Lecturers and students must look into this and do the appropriate.

  • Equities slump to 37-month low amidst crude oil decline

    Nigerian equities slumped below its three-year low yesterday as global decline in crude oil price exacerbated concerns over Nigeria’s fiscal and macroeconomic outlook. After a loss of 1.08 per cent or N104 billion on Tuesday, quoted equities dropped by 1.92 per cent or N 181 billion on Wednesday as investors reacted sharply to similar decline in crude oil price.

    The average decline at the Nigerian stock market yesterday correlated with 1.95 per cent decline in the Brent Crude Oil price to $43 per barrel. Crude oil incomes account for about 85 per cent of Nigeria’s national revenue. Nigeria’s N6 trillion budget for 2016 was benchmarked against crude oil price of $38 per barrel.

    “OPEC’s decision to abandon its production quota which has led to a further decline in oil prices, seems to have fuelled the renewed sell pressure on the Nigerian Bourse,” said Afrinvest Securities- a Lagos-based dealer at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE slumped from N9.466 trillion to close at N9.285 trillion, representing a loss of N181 billion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks prices of all quoted companies, also dipped by 1.92 per cent from 27,533.03 points to close at 27,004.50 points, its lowest point in the past 37 months.

    The successive decline built up the negative average year-to-date return at the stock market to -22.08 per cent. With 24 losers to 15 gainers, widespread losses across the sectors and losses within the highly capitalised stocks group. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 2.6 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.9 per cent.

    Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock at the stock market, recorded the highest loss of N8.53 to close at N162.19. Guinness Nigeria followed with a loss of N1.90 to close at N123. Nigerian Breweries, the second most capitalised stock at the market, lost 99 kobo to close at N112.01. Cadbury Nigeria declined by 98 kobo to close at N18.68. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria lost 66 kobo to close at N36. PZ Cussons Nigeria dipped by 50 kobo to close at N26.50. Guaranty Trust Bank lost 37 kobo to close at N18.53. Zenith Bank declined by 35 kobo to close at N14 while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Fidson Healthcare lost 14 kobo each to close at N16 and N2.69 respectively.

    Afrinvest Securities stated that the downtrend reflected the waning investors’ appetites consequent on the ongoing decline in crude oil prices that has sparked concerns on Nigeria’s fiscal viability and macroeconomic fundamentals.

    “As outlook for the oil market remains bearish, strong policy responses from fiscal and monetary mangers to adjust to the reality of a lower oil revenue environment are medium term factors that could lead to an improvement in sentiments. In the interim, our short term outlook for the market remains bearish although we anticipate that bargain hunting might result in a mild uptrend in the trading session ahead,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Total turnover stood at 240.8 million shares valued at N2.41 billion in 3,073 deals. Zenith Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 64.3 million shares worth N856.04 million in 590 deals.

  • Insecurity: Companies count losses as earnings decline

    As the security forces battle to clear the remnants of insurgents in some Northern states, companies have fingered the insecurity in the Northern region as one of the major contributors to widespread decline in corporate earnings.

    Full-year audited report and accounts of several quoted companies for the 2014 business year and earnings reports for the first quarter of 2015 showed a largely tepid performance. Besides declines in sales, the profitability of several companies also dwindled. The low performance trend was particularly visible in the results of companies with nationwide business model, especially those with substantial Northern operations.

    For instance, key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Learn Africa for the year ended December 31, 2014 showed that turnover dropped marginally to N2.21 billion in 2014 as against N2.28 billion in 2013. Profit after tax halved from N100.13 million to N58.68 million.

    Also, during the same period, Cadbury Nigeria’s turnover dropped from N35.76 billion in 2013 to N30.52 billion in 2014. Profit before tax slumped to N1.47 billion as against N7.42 billion while profit after tax declined from N6.02 billion to N1.51 billion. Earnings per share thus dropped from N1.92 to 75 kobo.

    Nestle Nigeria’s turnover rose by eight per cent from N133.08 billion in 2013 to N143.3 billion in 2014. Profit before tax however dropped from N26.05 billion in 2013 to N24.4 billion in 2014. Profit after tax was almost unchanged at N22.24 billion in 2014 as against N22.26 billion in 2013.

    Unilever Nigeria’s turnover dropped by seven per cent from N60 billion in 2103 to N55.75 billion in 2014. Pre-tax profit dropped by 58 per cent from N6.79 billion to N2.87 billion. After a 78 per cent reduction in tax provisions, net profit after tax dropped by 49 per cent to N2.41 billion in 2014 as against N4.72 billion recorded in 2013. Earnings per share consequently dropped from N1.25 in 2013 to 64 kobo in 2014.

    Also, the audited report of Dangote Sugar Refinery indicated that turnover dropped from N103.15 billion in 2013 to N94.86 billion in 2014. Profit before tax also slipped from N16.27 billion in 2013 to N15.27 billion in 2014. However, with reduction in tax provisions, net profit increased from N10.85 billion to N11.64 billion. With this, earnings per share rose marginally from 90 kobo to 97 kobo.

    In the first quarter of 2015, the Gombe-based Ashaka Cement, which had once come under attacks by the insurgents, reported that first quarter sales dropped to N4.56 billion in 2015 as against N6.51 billion recorded in comparable period of 2014. Profit after tax also slipped to N889.01 million compared with N1.92 billion in corresponding period of 2014.

    Managing director, Learn Africa Plc, Mr. Segun Oladipo said companies have had to scale down or completely close their operations in some Northern states because of the deadly activities of the insurgents, which have destroyed economic and commercial activities in the affected states.

    According to him, the frequent bombings and clashes between Boko Haram members and the law enforcement agents have forced many companies to close their offices while others have substantially reduced their operations and business hours.

    “The general feelings of uncertainty and insecurity in those areas have made many investors to relocate their businesses to safe areas. As a company, we are greatly concerned about this terrible situation which has limited our promotional activities and revenue generation efforts. Our sales and marketing operatives have not been able to move extensively in order to sell the full benefits of our excellent learning resources to the teachers, school administrators and other influential persons in the educational sector. As a matter of fact, several schools have been closed down due to the destruction of facilities, widespread killings and threats to the lives of students and their teachers,” Oladipo noted.

    He added that bookshops and other sales outlets have stopped operating due to high level of insecurity while many of the teachers in those areas have also lost the opportunity to update their knowledge and upgrade their skills through attendance at capacity building events like the seminars and workshops that his company usually organises in several locations across Nigeria.

    He pointed out that many of the state governments that used to buy books in bulk for distribution among students in their public schools have stopped doing so as they are now allocating more resources to fighting the criminal elements in order to guarantee security of lives and properties. This represents loss of significant business to a company like Learn Africa.

    “We have reduced our business activities in the troubled areas in order to protect the lives of our employees and our company’s assets,” Oladipo said.

    He, however, said the company has been taken measures to mitigate the adverse impact of the insecurity crisis on its earnings by allocating more resources to the identification and exploitation of business opportunities in other parts of the country.

    According to him, more sales representatives have been employed to saturate schools in the safe areas with vigorous promotions of the company’s new and backlist titles while the company has purchased additional vans to enable the mobile sales teams to distribute products to wider areas.

  • Hedge funds bet on oil decline

    Hedge funds boosted bearish wagers on oil to a four-year high as U.S. supplies grew the most since 2001.

    Money managers increased short positions in West Texas Intermediate crude to the highest level since September 2010 in the week ended Jan. 20, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Net-long positions slipped for the first time in three weeks.

    US crude supplies rose by 10.1 million barrels to 397.9 million in the week ended Jan. 16 and the country will pump the most oil since 1972 this year, the Energy Information Administration says. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the new ruler of the world’s biggest oil exporter, said he will maintain the production policy of his predecessor despite a 58 percent drop in prices since June.

    “There’s been a rush to call a bottom,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said by phone Jan. 23. “The fundamentals are still stacked against a rebound.”

    Bloomberg reported that WTI rose 50 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $46.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the CFTC report period. The US benchmark fell 44 cents, or 1 percent, to $45.15, the lowest settlement since March 11, 2009. Brent slipped 63 cents, or 1.3 percent, to end the session at $48.16.

    Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ascended to the throne after King Abdullah died last week. The kingdom pumped 9.5 million barrels a day in December as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries exceeded their 30 million-barrel daily target for a seventh month.

    “I don’t see any major catalyst from either the supply or demand side that will send prices higher this year,” Stewart Glickman, an equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ in New York, said by phone Jan 23. “It looks like $50 crude is the new reality that we’ll have to get used to.”

    Production in the US will be slow to decline as improvements in drilling technology boost well output even as companies drill less. Oil production per rig from new wells in the Bakken in February will be double what it was three years ago, the EIA said Jan. 12.

    The nation’s oil boom has been driven by a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which has unlocked supplies from shale formations including the Eagle Ford and Permian in Texas and the Bakken in North Dakota.

    Drillers idled 49 US oil rigs last week, bringing the total to 1,317, the lowest level in two years, Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said on its website Jan. 23. It was the seventh weekly decline.

    “The fundamentals are terrible,” Mike Wittner, head of oil research at Societe Generale SA in New York, said by phone Jan. 23. “The drop in the rig count will have a limited impact. We’re going to see huge builds during the first quarter worldwide.”

    Short positions in WTI increased by 6,262 contracts to 94,203 futures and options in the week ended Jan. 20, CFTC data show. Long positions dropped 0.3 percent. Net-long positions fell 3.3 percent to 216,704. Producers increased net-short positions by 7,623 to 132,143 contracts, the most since December 2011.

    In other markets, bullish bets on gasoline advanced 5.8 percent to 39,418 contracts, the first gain in five weeks. Futures increased 3.5 percent to $1.3128 a gallon on Nymex in the reporting period.

    Retail gasoline, averaged nationwide, slid to $2.033 a gallon Jan. 25, the lowest since March 2009, according to Heathrow, Florida-based AAA, the largest U.S. motoring group.

    Bearish wagers on U.S. ultra low sulfur diesel increased 2.3 percent to 29,943 contracts, the most since the period ended Nov. 4. The fuel slipped 0.4 percent to $1.6266 a gallon in the report week.

    Net-short wagers on U.S. natural gas decreased 32 percent to 11,967 lots. The measure includes an index of four contracts adjusted to futures equivalents: Nymex natural gas futures, Nymex Henry Hub Swap Futures, Nymex ClearPort Henry Hub Penultimate Swaps and the ICE Futures U.S. Henry Hub contract.

    Nymex natural gas dropped 3.8 percent to $2.831 per million British thermal units during the report week.

    “We’ve been here before,” said Wittner. “There have been points when it looked like it was stabilizing only to then take another leg lower.”

  • Group laments decline in food manufacturing

    Group laments decline in food manufacturing

    THE Association of  Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN)  has decried the decline in food manufacturing, urging the government to reverse the situation.

    Its President, Prince Saviour Iche,  said Nigeria used to be attractive  to multinational companies seeking to reduce production costs, but because of poor infrastructure, costs have gone up.

    According to him,  food manufacturers are grappling with some problems. He listed these as increased wages, cost of doing business and a weak currency, noted that these have forced multinational companies to rethink their strategy to remain competitive.

    For firms that are not in a position to move up the cost/quality curve, an attractive option, he  suggested, is to shift their operations to other parts of West Africa where production costs are still a fraction of what obtains in the country.

    He said beacause local and multinationals were facing competition, some of them had to  relocate.

    He said the government should     create a high value-adding manufacturing industry, as opposed to its traditional low-cost, low value-added ecosystem.

    In doing so, he said, the focus had been on indigenous innovation – creative production that is less reliant on foreign capabilities.

    He called on the  government to create an industrial corridor by   investing in vital support infrastructure, such as power plants, water facilities and transport infrastructure.

    “This means that local  manufacturers need to be prepared for increasing competition in higher value manufacturing and consider some options when looking to offshore operations,” he added.

    He noted that  the economy  needs to expand its industry base to cover new products and transform relationships between research, skills, training and industry.

    At the micro level, he  said companies were creating a workforce, which needs to begin through schools, universities and even into organisations.

  • Konyeagwachie bemoans decline in Nigerian boxing

    Konyeagwachie bemoans decline in Nigerian boxing

    Los Angeles Olympics Silver medalist, Peter Konyeagwachie has bemoaned the declining state of boxing in the country. He also expressed his desire to expend his wealth of experience on the development of boxing in Nigeria if given the opportunity.

    He told SportingLife that for boxing to return to its glory days in Nigeria, the right people must be appointed to administer the sport.

    Konyeagwachie, who represented Nigeria at the 1984 edition of the quadrennial event, winning the country’s first ever silver medal in the men’s Featherweight (54-57 kg) category, said his over 24 years sojourn outside the shores of the country, coupled with his experience can help develop the sport from the grassroots.

    He said: “My brother Anthony is already a coach. I don’t want to coach but I feel I can serve in other capacities if given the opportunity. I think I have a lot to offer the sport in terms of offering the right advice. One thing I feel is wrong with boxing and sports generally in Nigeria is that we lack the frame work for proper monitoring of implementation of policies. Somebody will always be there to ensure that every goal set is monitored to accomplishment.

    “It happens in government as well when one government leaves, the other comes in and destroys what is being built. Also we have to bring the right people into the administration of different sports. Only an ex-boxer can help a boxer. For boxing to really grow you need people who have been through the system to tutor them on the right path.”

    Speaking from his base in England, Konyeagwachie charged the authority to take the provision of facilities as the major priority, adding that no country can develop in sport without modern facilities.

    “I trained for the Olympics at the National Stadium but when I travelled home recently and saw that facility, the level of dilapidation is alarming. I took some pictures and was so angry with what I saw. The weightlifting gym is no longer as good as it was, the boxing gym is still the same like it was in those days, and there was no progress.

    “For Nigeria boxing to return to its glory days we must build functioning gyms across the country, and we must endeavour to organise regular competitions at home and abroad and that will help the country in subsequent competitions,” he said.

    After he turned pro in 1986 and won his first 15 fights prior to getting stopped by a journeyman in 1990, he retired afterwards at 15-1.