The Nation Newspaper

Tag: gold

  • Accountant with a heart of gold

    Accountant with a heart of gold

    An accountant,  Mr Gabriel Onyema, enjoys serving humanity. To live his passion, he joined some clubs. Following his emergence as 33rd President of Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, District 9110 Nigeria, Onyema is promises to touch more lives, writes OLATUNDE ODEBIYI. 

    Gabriel Onyema is an accountant with a passion for  humanity.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Whitehall Multinational Limited and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Onyema is also the founder and sponsor of the late Mary Ann Charity Foundation in Amamaogu, Imo State.

    His quest for solving other people’s problems led him to joining social and charity organisations, like Rotary Club, the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul, OMPH Catholic Church and the Lagos Metropolitan Council of the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul, where he held senior positions.

    Onyema became a Rotarian to fulfil his dream of touching lives and rendering service to humanity. He is a strong supporter of Rotary Foundation: he has held various positions, attended about eight international conventions and is a Six Star Paul Haris Fellow and a member of the Paul Haris Society, which is earned by only those who have given over $6000 to Rotary Foundation.

    Today, Onyema is the 33rd President of Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, District 9110 Nigeria, whose investiture took place last month.

    “My passion for charity and service to humanity is excellent. It is one thing that I derive personal satisfaction from. I feel great solving people’s problem and helping others. Becoming a Rotarian in 2002 and now the President makes me happy to accomplish my dreams of making life better for people.”

    Being a President of the group, he said, offers him another opportunity to impact positively on the lives of people, saying: “It is my intention to touch all the areas of service in Rotary”.

    To boost economic and community development in FESTAC, his district under Onyema, trained and gave money and equipment to 15 indigents in the community. He also provided physiotherapist equipment to Beth-Torrey Home for the Handicap, inaugurated a borehole and installed water treatment plant at The Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, Scian Village, Amuwo Odofin.

    Onyema described his one-year journey as a “very big task but is achievable”. “Indeed, the year will be exciting, fun and challenging. With all hands of my members involved. And I urged Rotarians in my club to donate their time, talent and treasure.”

    With a budget of about N25million for several project executions within the year, he said his administration hopes to inaugurate many projects in FESTAC Town and Amuwo Odofin. And because malaria cases are increasing and more people are dying from it, he added that his administration will make provision for disease control and prevention, adding they hope to put more smiles on the faces of many people.

    He said: “Within the next one year of my administration, we will construct six rooms toilet in Sosaid Charity Home and carry out other projects in The Maternal and Child Care Hospital, FESTAC Town. We will distribute treated mosquito nets; carry out health assessment/ screening of various diseases and supply clean bedding to General Hospital. We will sponsor two children in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos with hole in the heart surgery in India and also provide assessed equipment at the local government health centre. We are also going to construct and maintain a peace Triangle symbol and let people see and embrace peace in the market square and other places.”

  • Okagbare, Brume win gold medals in 200m, Long Jump

    Okagbare, Brume win gold medals in 200m, Long Jump

    Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare claimed the  sprint double at the 2014 Commonwealth Games by taking the 200 metres title in 22.25 seconds. The reigning 100m Games Record holder had a smooth race from the start to the finish line of yesterday’s race.

    England’s Jodie Williams and Bianca Williams settled for the second and third position in a time of 22.50 and 22.75 secs respectively.

    On Monday evening, Okagbare broke Debbie Ferguson’s 12-year record of 10.91 secs as she ran a time of 10.85 secs to emerge as the new record holder in the women’s 100m race.

    Meanwhile, in the Women’s Long Jump event, Ese Brume achieved a 6.56m leap to win Nigeria’s second gold medal of the night.

    Okagbare had earlier withdrawn her quest for a medal in the Long Jump event and opted to concentrate on the 200m race for the night, a decision which proved worthwhile for her.

    However, in the final of the Men’s 400m hurdles, Team Nigeria’s Chris Morton finished 5th with a time of 49.65secs while Nigeria also suffered a setback in the women’s 100m hurdles.

  • Golden moment for Team Nigeria as Wrestling accounts for two gold

    Golden moment for Team Nigeria as Wrestling accounts for two gold

    Odunayo Adekuoreye and Aminat Adeniyi gave Nigeria the perfect pick-up as they claimed two gold in wrestling- and then celebrated their achievement by singing round the venue with the green white green flag fluttering.

    It was a glorious day for Nigeria in Glasgow as the national anthem held everybody spell-bound with rapturous celebrations coming from other athletes and officials.

    Odunayo Adekuoreye started the Gold rush when she rushed India’s Lalita Lalita to submission winning 5-0.

    While the ovation and celebration was still on, Aminat Adeniyi did not give her Indonesian opponent, Shakishi any chance as she pilled up points after points romping into a 6-0 lead.

    The second round was swifter and the Nigerian still smiling while twisting and turning the Indonesian amassed more four points to gross 10 points and win gold for Nigeria in a night that solely belonged to Nigeria. Aminat also showed off her dancing prowess as she took time to dance to the admiration of the crowd. Later, Odunayo and Aminat covered by the Nigerian flag took a lap of honour savouring the praises.

    Team Nigerian officials were not left out of the celebration as Chef de mission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye jumped and danced.

    Weightlifting Gold

    Superwoman Maryam Usman capped a remarkable performance yesterday lifting Nigeria to a Gold medal in a gritty test of power between her and Samoa’s Ele Opeloge.

    The two greats started their snatch lifts at 115kg. It was the Nigerian who lifted 120 and 125kg respectively while the Samoan could not lift the 125kg thereby allowing Usman to enter the Clean and Jerk with an edge.

    The two who stayed back while the little lifters tried their hands on smaller weights, they bounced back to finish their rivalry starting with 145kg. It was Maryam who led the way with 150 and 155kgs respectively.

    Aware that the Nigerian had gone further, the Samoan opted to lift 151kg and heightened the blood pressure of Nigerians when she lifted it. In her last lift, she called for 161kg to leap-frog the Nigerian but could not cross the rubicon after suceeding in the clean but failed woefully in the jerk.

    As her babel hit the ground, sporadic applause erupted from the Nigerian camp as Maryam slumped on her knee giving Allah all the glory.

     

  • Ndanusa banks on weightlifting for gold medal haul

    Ndanusa banks on weightlifting for gold medal haul

    Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) President Engineer Sani Ndanusa is banking on the high ratings and performances of the Nigerian weightlifters to get gold medal haul for Nigeria at this month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

    The former Minister who was elated with the performance of the Nigerian weightlifters in the weightlifting trial held at the Abuja National Stadium, Package B recently confessed to SportingLife that the only sports that is crystal clear to fetch Nigeria gold medals at the Games is surely weightlifting in men and women’s categories.

    The former Sports Minister who was a Special Guest at the Trial held in Abuja to prepare the weightlifters for the 2014 Glasgow, Scotland Commonwealth Games was a satisfied man after watching impressive lifting in the men’s 165kg, 170kg, 175kg and 180kg clean and jerk categories at the Trials.

    Sodique Jamiu and Gideon Aigbovo were very impressive in the competition with heartwarming performances.  Both Jamiu and Aigbovo lifted 170kg, 175kg while they failed in the 180kg but Aigbovo almost lifted the 180kg. The Chairman of the weightlifting Coaches Association Peter Young told SportingLife at the end of the competition that Gideon Aigbovo has the capability of lifting the 180kg with hard work and more training before the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

    A very happy NOC boss assured the weightlifters and their coaches that plans have been concluded by the National Sports Commission to send the team on a training tour abroad which will further prepare them for the Games which he said would be tougher than the last edition since top athletes in the Commonwealth family would be eligible to compete.

    “I am quite happy with what I saw in today’s (last Friday’s) weightlifting trials as regards the size of the lift and the quality of the lifters. All the athletes that have qualified are really looking forward to the competition. Right from time weightlifting has been one of our assured sports and areas of achievement and I don’t envisage anything different in what will happen in Glasgow. At the last edition in India we took all the medals that were available so this year again I want to assure Nigerians that we will repeat more than that. I am glad and happy with what I saw and we will continue to monitor them throughout their preparations.

    “Right now I have been told that they are going on training tour and will commence immediately and from there Glasgow here we come,” Ndanusa disclosed.

    He, however, envisaged tough Games in this year’s edition since top athletes and world and Olympics record holders have signified their intention of participating in Glasgow 2014 edition of the competition.

    “The Commonwealth in Europe is going to attract many high quality athletes because of the location. It will be more like an Olympic Games because world beaters are coming. We look forward to it and I can assure Nigerians that we will do our utmost best in the competition,” he assured.

  • Treasuries, gold fall as dollar rises

    Treasuries, gold fall as dollar rises

    •S&P 500 rebounds

    Treasuries sank the most since July and gold slid as a bigger-than-forecast increase in American payrolls fueled speculation the Federal Reserve may trim stimulus earlier than expected. The dollar strengthened against all 16 major peers while U.S. stocks advanced.

    The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped 14 basis points to 2.74 percent at 11:32 a.m. in New York and climbed as much as 16 basis points. Gold futures dropped 1.8 percent to $1,285.00 an ounce. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) rebounded 0.7 percent after tumbling 1.3 percent yesterday. French bonds fell after S&P downgraded the country’s debt. The dollar climbed 0.5 percent against the euro. AT&T Inc. and BNP Paribas SA led 21 billion euros ($28 billion) of bond sales in Europe this week, the busiest in two months.

    Employers in the U.S. added 204,000 workers last month, the Labor Department said, following a revised 163,000 gain in September that was larger than initially estimated. The median forecast of 91 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 120,000 increased. Data yesterday showed faster-than-estimated economic growth. France’s rating was lowered to AA from AA+ at S&P.

    “For markets it shows that the labor market continues to tighten and should bring forward people’s estimates of when the Federal Reserve will have to reduce bond purchases,” said David Kelly, the chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds in New York, which oversees about $400 billion in long-term assets. “Ultimately this is good news for the economy. I think in the long run it’s good news for the stock market.”

    Treasury Yields

    Thirty-year U.S. bond rates jumped 12 basis points to 3.83 percent and two-year note yields increased three basis points to 0.31 percent.

    Yields have risen since the Federal Open Market Committee said Oct. 30 that the economy showed signs of “underlying strength” even as policy makers agreed to continue the $85 billion of monthly bond purchases, known as quantitative easing. They next meeting is Dec. 17-18.

    The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency against 10 major peers, climbed 0.6 percent to reach an almost two-month high of 1,022.7. The currencies of Norway, Brazil and Sweden led losses against the dollar, weakening at least 0.9 percent.

    The S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent yesterday, its worst loss since August, and is down 0.1 percent this week. The gauge is up about 23 percent for the year, rivaling 2009 for its biggest gain in a decade, and is trading near its most-expensive price-to-earnings valuation in more than three years.

    Market leaders

    Financial, consumer-discretionary, industrial and health-care stocks led the rebound today as seven of the 10 main S&P 500 industry groups advanced. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Walt Disney Co. climbed the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gaining more than 2 percent. Twitter Inc. (TWTR) fell 4.4 percent after jumping 73 percent in its trading debut last Thursday.

    Three shares dropped for every two that rose in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, leaving the gauge down 0.3 percent today and trimming its weekly gain to 0.3 percent. Finmeccanica SpA sank 5.5 percent, the most since April on a closing basis, after the Italian arms company predicted a cash outflow for this year amid suspended helicopters payments and a sluggish rail business. Rheinmetall AG retreated 6 percent as the German maker of armored vehicles reported declining profit.

    Numericable SAS (NUM), France’s largest cable operator, rallied 15 percent in its trading debut after raising about 652.2 million euros ($875 million) in the country’s biggest initial public offering in four years.

    European Movers

    International Consolidated Airlines Group SA advanced 8 percent after the parent of British Airways said third-quarter earnings more than doubled and lifted its full-year outlook. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR/), the world’s second-largest maker of commercial jet engines, gained 3.2 percent after raising the earnings target for its defense aerospace unit.

    The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell for a seventh day, the longest losing streak since March, sliding 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent before the start of a Communist Party meeting tomorrow. Benchmark indexes in Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, the Czech Republic and the Philippines dropped more than 1 percent.

    Ten-year French government debt yields increased seven basis points to 2.22 percent. Since S&P’s first downgrade on Jan. 13, 2012, French government bonds returned more than 10 percent, according to Bloomberg France Sovereign Bond Index. France’s government debt is the second biggest in the euro area, trailing only Italy, and the fourth largest among global sovereign-debt market, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     

    Culled from Bloomberg

  • Miners buoyed by China newsflow, gold price

    European shares steadied around two-month highs on Monday, propped up by mining stocks after positive newsflow out of top metals consumer China, as investors awaited German economic data later in the week.

    Heavyweight basic resources stocks advanced 1.2 per cent after reassuring numbers on the Chinese economy last week.

    The sector was also helped by a report in the South China Morning Post saying Beijing was quietly offering financial stimulus to key cities and provinces.

    Mexican silver and gold miner Fresnillo, up 6.6 percent, and Randgold Resources, 2.5 percent firmer, were among the biggest gainers as gold hit its highest level in nearly three weeks.

    The FTSEurofirst 300 closed up 0.45 point at 1,230.03, while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 firmed 0.1 per cent to 2,827.15 points.

    With the summer holiday season fully underway and no significant macroeconomic data set for release until later in the week, volumes were thin, with trading on the FTSEurofirst 300 just 70 per cent of its 90-day daily average.

    German ZEW economic sentiment data, due at 0900 GMT on Tuesday, could confirm the euro zone’s powerhouse economy is stabilising after narrowly avoiding a recession early this year.

    “There’s a chance that we could see an upside surprise, just on the basis that we’ve seen decent numbers out of the euro zone and out of the UK over the course of the last couple of weeks,” CMC Markets trader Matt Basi said.

    “Any significant beat could send us much higher on small volume but I think the likelihood is that an in-line number will see us just continue to drift sideways until bigger numbers later in the week.”

    German second quarter GDP data is due on Wednesday. A Reuters poll forecasts growth of 0.6 percent but a German government minister said on Friday it was likely to be 0.75 percent, its strongest rate in more than two years, although the pace of expansion would slow in the second half of 2013.

    Investors will keep a close eye on U.S. data, with retail sales, consumer prices, housing starts, industrial production and surveys of regional manufacturing all due this week.

    Strong numbers will increase the chances of a cut in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s bond purchases, which have boosted equities in the past months.

    The Euro STOXX 50 rose 0.5 percent last week, notching its fifth consecutive weekly gain. The index, which has jumped some 13 percent since late June, is trading within a whisker of two-year closing highs hit in May, at 2,835. It recently hit ‘overbought’ territory, whereby its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) reading was at 70.

    “It looks like resistance might be kicking in, although we’d need to see a close below the recent trading low at 2,775 to confirm that – after which the next area of possible support is going to be down at 2,750 or so,” Charles Stanley analyst Bill McNamara said.

  • Reinsurer cuts gold holding amid bear market

    Reinsurer cuts gold holding amid bear market

    Greenlight Capital Re Limited (GLRE), the reinsurer that counts hedge-fund manager David Einhorn as its chairman, cut an investment in gold in the three months ended June 30 as prices fell into a bear market.

    The reinsurer according to Bloomberg, had about $50.5 million of commodities at the end of the second quarter, compared with $90.3 million on March 31, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The cost basis for the investments fell to $41.8 million from $59.9 million in the period, the Cayman Islands-based company said.

    The “decrease in commodities was due to a decline in the price of gold combined with the disposal of a portion of our physical gold holdings,” according to the filing.

    Gold futures dropped 23 per cent last quarter, the most since Bloomberg data begins in 1975, and reached $1,179.40 an ounce on June 28, the lowest since August 2010. The metal remains in a bear market reached in April after some investors lost faith in bullion as a store of value and amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will curb its stimulus program. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast July 22 that prices are likely to decline further.

    About 90 per cent of Greenlight Capital Re’s $1.01 billion of investments backing policyholder liabilities was in stocks at the end of June, according to the filing. Einhorn, 44, who oversees the portfolio, has said the bet on gold was a hedge against currency devaluation as central banks around the world have worked to stimulate the economy by buying bonds and keeping interest rates low.

    The stock market’s “rapid advance is creating a potentially unstable condition which could resolve a number of ways and is difficult to predict,” the reinsurer said. The company plans “to continue holding a combination of a significant position in gold, macro positions in the form of options on higher interest rates and foreign exchange rates, short positions in sovereign debt and sovereign credit default swaps.”

    Brian Ruby, a spokesman with ICR Inc., who represents Greenlight Capital, had no immediate comment on when the reinsurer sold its holdings.

  • Lagos female football team wins gold

    Lagos female football team wins gold

    THE LAGOS Female Football Team on Saturday trounced their Akwa Ibom counterparts 4-0 to win the gold medal at the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos, ending on Sunday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the four goals were scored in the 17th, 20th, 67th and 76th minutes of the match, which was clearly dominated by Lagos.

    Commenting on her team’s victory, Team Lagos Coach, Ann Chiejine, said the victory was well-deserved, commending the Lagos State Government for its support to the team.

  • Rivers, Oyo win cycling gold

    Rivers, Oyo win cycling gold

    Edward Osim of Rivers State and Joke Durogbade of Oyo State got the first gold medals of the 18th National Sports Festival in the 200 metres cycling male and female events held at Eric Moore street, Lagos.

    Osim beat Enoruwa Marvis of Ogun and Isa Mohammed of Kaduna to second and third positions with 25 seconds to clinch the first gold medal of Eko 2012.

    The first gold medalist of the 18th National Sports Festival, Edward Osim won 13 gold medals in cycling in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State in 2011.

    Speaking to sports writers, Osim, who said he was expecting four more gold medals in the remaining cycling event, pointed out to admiration of his fans that he trained harder than expected for the festival events.

    In the female category, Joke Durogbade, who won the gold to the surprise of journalists that had earlier tipped Juliet Akaejbu of Rivers State to win medal the gold, thanked God for his miracle and prayed to sustained the tempo for the remaining events. Enajiro Clara of Delta won the Bronze for the 200 metres.

    Phillip Okpara of Delta and Onura Madubuchi of Edo crashed out of the 200 metres cycling event in the quarter final.

    A cycling technical official, Osaretine Emuze called on other states’ sports commissions to emulate Rivers State in buying modern equipments for their athletes’ to train with.

    “States should buy good bicycles. Human beings are good, but equipments are better. The athletes should always train in two-week intervals for better performances. Let me also recommend that governors, their commissioners, ministers should ride on bikes to their various campaign venues; that will enhance the development of cycling in this country”, he said.

  • When gold rusts …

    When gold rusts …

    TRADITIONALLY, the nation’s erstwhile blue-chip companies generally see themselves as a beacon of hope in matters of corporate governance. Timely rendition of financial statements to investors, capital market regulators and the general public stood out as their hallmark. However, it is a sign of the changing times that things are no longer as they seem; indeed the rigid requirement of timely rendition of financial statements seems to have become a fading virtue.

    Consider, for instance, a recent report in the Daily Official List of the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Blue-chip companies like Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, PZ Industries Plc, Forte Oil Plc are said to be among companies in breach of disclosure rules. The companies, 90 in all, reportedly missed the deadlines for filing their financial statements. While pointing out that the companies failed to meet “the minimum listing standards in terms of timely disclosure of their quarterly financial performance and are thus operating below the listing standards of the Exchange”, the NSE drew the attention of the companies to the penalties for non-compliance as spelt out in the statutes governing their activities in the capital market, even as it warned that the “Exchange will protect the integrity of its Rules.”

    Why the companies would run afoul of the rule of disclosure is a question best answered by them. However, it comes across as a major failure that one of the most fundamental rules for listing on the exchange is said to have been observed in the breach. Having elected to be quoted as public entities, the management of the companies cannot claim to be unaware of their statutory responsibilities, particularly the duty to ensure timely disclosure of financial statements as spelt out in the relevant statutes. The rules, which many companies feign to forget, are in place to serve the investing public, the regulators and indeed, the general public. They guide different stakeholders to make informed decisions on the activities of the entities. We need to add that the requirement is at the heart of corporate governance; it is in alignment with global best practices. If only for these, the management of the companies ought not to have treated it with levity.

    The NSE, therefore, cannot be faulted for drawing attention to the infractions. At this time, the market needs such interventions, both to restore confidence and to boost the market. After the lull of the past four years, such measures are needed to sustain the current momentum and to further spur investor confidence. The measure flows from the expectation that those running publicly quoted companies must be seen to act in line with best practices. So, if the planned sanctions are what the erring companies need to sit up – so be it.

    However, we must observe also that timely rendition of financial statements does not, alone, guarantee that the statements will be accurate or even reliable. The NSE cannot afford to keep an eye on the issue of timely rendition of financial statements while neglecting the requirement for their reliability. They represent different sides of the same coin of corporate infractions which need to be dealt with.

    As the recent example of Cadbury-Schweppes Nigeria Plc does show, it is one thing to have a published financial statement; it is another for it to be reliable. In pushing to ensure that quoted companies publish their statements as they fall due, the NSE should also move to ensure that published statements are accurate and reliable. A good way to ensure this is for the exchange to partner with relevant accounting bodies to restore integrity to published financial statements.