Finance
Getting to Know ETFs
Today we’re going to talk about an instrument that’s gaining a great deal of popularity lately—the Exchange Traded Fund, or ETF. While an ETF may not have the same visual appeal as, say, a commodity, which may inspire visions of glimmering gold, sprawling oil fields or towering piles of coffee beans, or shares of today’s top companies, which can make you think of the flashy logos of companies like Apple, Tesla, Netflix or Facebook, you may be surprised to learn that many ETFs actually give you access to these very instruments, albeit in a very different way. As more and more investors turn to online trading with ETF as CFDs, let’s take some time to unpack exactly what an ETF is, how it factors into the financial markets, and what some of today’s top-traded ETFs are, including the Vanguard ...
Paxful Records Over 6 Million Users
Paxful now has more than six million users across its peer-to-peer payments platform. The fintech allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, make payments and send money. “Our mission at Paxful is to give everyone equal access to finance, no matter who they are or where they are, so they can control their own money and build the future they want with financial freedom,” says Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful. “The financial system is failing 99% of the world’s population; it’s disconnected and out of date. This means there’s no way out of income inequality for a lot of people in the world. With crypto-currencies, we see an alternative way to create a financial system based on equality. Hitting the $5 billion volume mark shows us we are making a difference and we’re just getting started.” Paxf...
NASU: Decision to reduce civil servants salaries ’provocative’
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says plan by the Federal Government to slash salaries of Federal civil servants is “provocative’’. NASU made this known in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, had given the hint on May 4, at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja. Ahmed said during the dialogue that the review of salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies were part of measures to reduce cost of governance. She said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had bee...
Streaming Prices, New Revenue & More: 5 Highlights From WMG’s Earnings Call
The May 4 earnings call was filled with notable insights ranging from Spotify’s price increases in select markets to the importance of Warner’s data analysis. Here are the call’s highlights. Streaming Subscription Rate Increases: Cooper spoke about Spotify’s price increases in a small number of markets. He said he expects other streaming services will follow Spotify’s lead and rase their prices as well, provided Spotify does not see the higher prices increase its churn rate — which Spotify has said has not happened. “What people have a tendency to do on these services is build their library, build their playlists, and so there is a stickiness,” he said. “And I think that as Spotify and/or others experiment with these price increases, if they don’t see any meaningful churn event...
President Buhari presides over FEC meeting — in pictures
President Muhammadu Buhari is presiding over the 44th virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The weekly meeting holding at the First Lady’s Conference Hall at the State House, Abuja, is being attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari. The ministers who are also physically attending the meeting include those of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Justice, Abubakar Malami; Industry, Trade and Investment; Adeniyi Adebayo; and Power, Mamman Saleh. Other ministers, as well as the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, are participating in the weekly cabinet meeting from their various of...
Spotify & Fellow Streamers Soared in 2020, But Expect Growth to Slow
Don’t put too much stock in how companies’ quarterly earnings compare year-over-year to 2020. The pandemic caused some services’ subscriptions to spike early in the year (Netflix) or build throughout the year (Spotify). Long-term trends have not changed. On-demand streaming will continue to erode linear programming like cable television and broadcast radio. An odd quarter here or there won’t change the course of technology in entertainment. Streaming video on demand (SVOD) is a battle of titans — AT&T, Comcast, Disney, Apple, Amazon, ViacomCBS — that requires big pockets to survive the war of attrition. Music streaming companies get to focus less on original content and more on technologies to create better user experiences. Un...
Kebbi governor: Why we can’t pay leave grant, gratuities
Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, on Saturday, thanked the organised labour in the state for their patience, understanding and maintaining very good relationship with the government. The governor, who spoke during activities organised to mark the 2021 Workers Day in Birnin Kebbi, however, said his administration would not be able to pay the 2020 leave grant of workers and outstanding gratuities. “NLC is aware of the burden of gratuities the government inherited and how far we have gone in trying to clear the debts. “In spite of the dwindling resources, the state government still pays salaries, runs the government and puts in some infrastructure in the state. “The union should liaise with the Ministry of Finance for a way out. “On the 2020 leave grants, the state cannot afford to pay but you shou...
Absa Group Appoints New Chief Risk Officer
Absa has appointed Deon Raju as the new Group Chief Risk Officer – effective 1 June 2021. Raju is currently Absa Group Treasurer, primarily responsible for the liquidity risk, funding, capital, and non-traded market risks of the Group. He has been with Absa for more than 20 years, having held roles including in Enterprise Risk, Finance, Investment Banking, Credit Portfolio Management and Global Markets. He is a seasoned banking professional with deep institutional knowledge of the Group, as well extensive and diversified banking experience in business, finance and risk management. Raju is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He holds a BCom (Honours) from the University of Natal and is currently completing an MSc in Finance at the University of Michigan (Dearborn). “De...
Spotify Stock Drops Over 12% on Softened Listener Forecast
That adjustment followed Spotify’s reported first-quarter monthly active users (MAU) of 356 million, falling on the bottom end of earlier guidance. There was good news too, though. First-quarter subscriptions were at the high end of guidance, and Spotify did not revise its 2021 guidance for subscribers (172 million to 184 million), suggesting it expects the dip to come from “freemium” listeners. Average revenue per month on those free listeners is 0.35 euros ($0.42), compared to subscribers’ 4.07 euros ($4.94) per month. (Subscribers account for about 90% of the company’s total revenue.) That MAU adjustment could have a larger financial impact in the future, as Spotify uses its freemium business model to acquire new subscribers. So, fewer free listeners this year means there will be fewer ...
Senate passes amended AMCON bill, empowers agency to seize debtors’ assets
The Senate Wednesday passed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Amendment bill after considering the report of its Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions. The amendment bill passed by the upper chamber empowers the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria to, among others, take possession, manage or sell all properties traced to debtors, whether or not such assets or property is used as security/collateral for obtaining the loan in particular. It also empowers the corporation to access the Special Tribunal established by the BOFIA, 2020 for dealing with financial related matters. Presenting the report, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) said the Committee engaged with stakeholders such as AMCON, Federal Ministry of Finance, ...
Will an eCommerce Boom Benefit South African Consumers?
The acceleration of eCommerce as the global COVID-19 pandemic revolutionises buying trends is giving rise to exciting new developments in the financial technology industry. According to research by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), eCommerce’s share of global retail trade grew from 14% in 2019 to about 17% in 2020. And the phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. “Businesses and consumers who were able to ‘go digital’ have helped mitigate the economic downturn caused by the pandemic,” says UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_7e3.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_7e3.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “But they have also sped up a digital transition that will have lasting impacts on our societies and daily live...
Senator Tinubu: Terrible people want to break Nigeria’s appointment with destiny
All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, says terrible people and strong forces want to break Nigeria’s appointment with its greater destiny by attacking “agricultural players” in the country, thereby creating food scarcity. He spoke on Saturday on the occasion of the 23rd to 25th convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Tinubu was also awarded a honorary doctorate at the event by the university Senate and Governing Council. The former Lagos State governor said, “We approach a defining moment as a nation. A reckoning of special importance beckons. We must decide whether to give the truest meaning to our national motto “peace and unity” or we allow the agents of destruction and merchants of violence to have their way with us...
