Germany has granted 80,000 visas for employment purposes between January and June 2024, of these, 40,000 visas were granted to skilled workers, marking an increase of 3,000 compared first half of the year 2023. According to the report by Schengen.News the rise in visa issuance is closely linked to Germany’s significant labour shortages, particularly in skilled professions. Germany is facing shortages in more than 70 occupations, including transportation, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, engineering, and information technology. An analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW) confirms the severity of these shortages, highlighting that 570,000 jobs remained unfilled in 2023. This workforce deficit…
Author: Temitope N.
Grayscale Ethereum Trust Exchange Traded Funds (ETHE) is one of the newly launched Ethereum ETFs and has hit a net outflow of $1.513 billion in the first four days of trading. ETHE has recorded significant outflows since the launch of trading on the spot Ethereum ETFs, the latest being an outflow of $356 million yesterday to take its total number of outflows in the first four days of trading to $1.513 billion. According to Farside Investors UK Data, ETHE recorded an outflow of $484.1 million on the first day of trading, its highest of the four days so far. On The…
Michael Saylor popular Bitcoin activist and co-founder of MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm has dropped his latest prediction for Bitcoin price in the ongoing Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. Michael stated that his forecast for Bitcoin is to be worth over $13 million per coin by 2045 while giving a keynote speech at the Bitcoin conference. Michael’s latest forecast was an upgrade from his previous forecast in June which pegged the price of Bitcoin at $10 million per coin. While addressing the audience at the Bitcoin conference, Michael Saylor explained how a crypto enthusiast can manipulate their investment portfolios to free up…
MRS Oil Nigeria Plc has reported a pre-tax profit of N3.411 billion for the Q2 ended June 30, 2024, representing 190.96% year-on-year (YoY) increase. According to the company’s Q2 2024 financial statements, MRS Oil reported impressive revenue of N82.813 billion, marking a 186.94% year-on-year increase from the N28.880 billion recorded the previous year and a 4.62% rise compared to Q1 2024. This brings the half-year revenue to N161.973 billion, which is more than 80% of the company’s total revenue for the full year 2023. Key highlights (Q2 2024 vs Q2 2023) Revenue: N82.813 billion +186.94% YoY Cost of sales: N76.265…
Cadbury Nigeria Plc has reported a pre-tax loss of N3.423 billion for Q2 2024, a significant improvement from the N10.457 billion loss recorded in Q1. This has moderated the half-year 2024 loss to N13.880 billion, which is 4.5% lower than the loss recorded in the same period in 2023. The company reported a pre-tax loss of N28.157 billion in 2023, a stark contrast to the pre-tax profit of N1.298 billion achieved in 2022. Key highlights (H1 2024 vs H1 2023) Revenue: N51.440 billion +44.46% YoY Cost of sales: N41.853 billion +64.92% YoY Gross profit: N9.587 billion -6.28% YoY Administrative Expenses:…
The exchange rate for import duties collection by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has risen to N1601.84/$ on the back of recent depreciation of the naira. This is coming on the heels of the naira trading at a four-month low of N1,609 to the USD according to data from the FMDQ exchange on Friday, 26th July 2024. The renewed depreciation of the naira serves as a blow to the continued monetary policy tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which hopes the MPR hike will help stabilise and strengthen the value of the naira. It is the lowest level…
Okomu Oil Palm Plc reported a pre-tax profit of N6.24 billion for Q2 ending June 30, 2024, representing a 22.28% year-on-year (YoY) decline and falling short of the company’s Q2 2024 pre-tax profit forecast of N6.699 billion. According to Okomu Oil Palm Plc’s Q2 2024 financial statements, the company reported revenue of N31.525 billion, which is 25.7% lower than its Q1 2024 revenue. However, when examining the first half (H1) of 2024 compared to 2023, there is significant growth and optimism. The H1 2024 revenue of N75.008 billion is nearly equal to the total revenue for 2023. Local sales continue…
Nigerian banks sustained a bearish run last week as investors reacted to the planned 70% windfall tax to be imposed on the capital gains earned from forex between 2023 and 2025. Data from the NGX indicate the Banking Index fell 2.9% during the week taking the month to date losses to 1.32%. The Nigerian Banking Index has now reversed at the start of the year when it ended the first quarter with 14.76% gain. The banking index is currently down to 819 points, the lowest level in nearly a month Sell pressures arising from high liquidity and bearish sentiments amidst…
Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States and the current flagbearer for the Republican party in the November presidential elections has pledged to make the US, the crypto capital of the world at the Bitcoin 2024 conference held in Nashville. Donald Trump addressed the crowd which made up the largest Bitcoin gathering with over 20,000 people in attendance. He stated his admiration for the crypto community likening it to the steel industry when he was young. Donald Trump who arrived the venue an hour late compared Bitcoin to Gold while predicting that the former will soon overtake the…
WazirX, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in India has revealed its plan to spread the $230 million loss it incurred following a hack on the platform amongst its users in an equitable manner. The WazirX team after weeks of putting up a bounty program in a bid to recover the stolen funds have finally announced their plan to deal with the loss and compensate affected users. Wazir X shared its latest plan on its X page stating their commitment to handling the issue fairly and transparently “In response to the recent cyber-attack that led to the theft of $230 million (45% of user funds),…
Airtel Africa has recorded a profit before tax of $74 million for the quarter ending June 30, 2024. This marks an impressive 134% year-on-year appreciation from the $221 million pre-tax loss posted by the company in corresponding period of the 2022/2023 financial year. Following the impact of currency devaluation, especially in Nigeria, the group’s revenue during the quarter declined to $1.16 billion, reflecting a 16% YoY decline from the $1.38 billion posted in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. However, there was a significant decline in Airtel Nigeria’s contribution to the group’s overall turnover during the period. In…
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that government revenue obtained from the oil sector increased from 11% in 2023 to 30% in the first half of 2024. Edun made this disclosure in a statement during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday. According to the minister, government revenue has seen an increase due to recent changes in financial management. He said the adjustments involved a comprehensive reconfiguration of the government’s financial systems. He added that these improvements have effectively enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of revenue collection, leading to a notable boost…
Data and AI Leader, Mr Abel Aboh urged Nigeria to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address some of its current challenges even as he highlighted some strategies that can be adopted. Aboh gave the charge on Saturday during the July edition of the Nairametrics webinar themed, ‘How to Make Money Using AI: Value Creation for Businesses, Entrepreneurs, and Government.’ According to him, Nigeria would need to deploy in the area of agriculture to achieve food sufficiency and this should be one of the immediate actions that the government needs to take. He added that this would require setting up a team…
Nigeria’s total import from Malta rose from zero to about N1.03 trillion in 2023, according to an analysis of the foreign trade statistics reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is as controversy continues to trail the sudden increase in Nigeria’s import from the small Southern European country, following recent accusation by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, against Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. A cursory review of the NBS reports show that Nigeria’s total import for 2023 was N35.92 trillion, which indicates that about 2.87% of Nigeria’s total imports were from Malta, despite no record of…
Nigeria’s imported food inflation jumped to 36.38% in June 2024, from 34.83% recorded in the previous month, which represents a 1.55%-points increase. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for June 2024 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average price index for imported food rose to 806.0 in June 2024 from 591.0 in the same month of the previous year. Nigeria’s imported food inflation increased significantly from the 19.10% recorded in June 2023, as naira weakened following the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The unification process in June 2023, aimed at…
The much-anticipated Marvel blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine” which premiered at Nigerian cinemas on Friday, July 26, 2024, has grossed N41.6 million in ticket sales within its first day. This figure, reported by the Nigerian Box Office, excludes Wednesday and Thursday preview screenings. At this rate, the film is projected to surpass N130 million in ticket sales over its 3-day opening weekend. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which had a production budget of $200 million and an additional $100 million allocated for marketing, aligns with the highest-grossing entries in the Multiverse Saga, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of…
The United States government has outlined actions for Americans living in Nigeria ahead of the planned nationwide protests commencing on August 1. The US mission in Nigeria believes that past protests in Nigeria have led to physical confrontations. This information was disclosed on the US Embassy website dated July 26, tagged “Alert: Potential Nationwide Protests.” Planned Day of Rage The planned protest is called “Day of Rage” and also runs under the X formerly known as Twitter hashtag #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria. The organizers claim to raise awareness about alleged widespread corruption and poor governance in Nigeria. A prominent public interest lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa SAN,…
The Portuguese government has decided to expedite the process for athletes seeking residence permits and simultaneously end the expression of interest for immigrants already present in the country. This means that it has agreed to make exceptions for sports clubs that are expressing interest in athletes in the immigration process especially for relevant events that serve the public interest. These sports clubs and sport federations will now sign a protocol with the government, that allows to speed up the process of regularisation of athletes who are third-country nationals already in the immigration system. To facilitate this process, the Agency for Integration, Migration…
Bolanle Austen-Peters‘ latest film, “House of Ga’a,” has made a significant impact on Netflix, entering the top 10 rankings across various countries as of July 26, 2024. Set in the ancient 18th century Yoruba history, “House of Ga’a” tells the gripping tale of a power-hungry political figure, Ga’a, who orchestrates a brutal betrayal within the Oyo Empire. This cultural phenomenon, with its captivating storyline and stellar performances, has resonated deeply with audiences globally. According to Flix Patrol, a platform that provides video on demand charts and streaming ratings worldwide, “House of Ga’a” has achieved notable success in several regions: Regional…
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stressed that Nigeria needs to adopt a coordinated approach to effectively tackle tax crimes. This is according to a statement published on its website, which was seen by Nairametrics. The statement read: “Nigeria needs a coordinated approach to tackle tax crimes due to overlapping regulatory oversight. A critical step is fostering cooperation among parallel agencies through a comprehensive understanding of each agency’s functions, legislative powers, and their ability and willingness to collaborate.” Corruption breeds tax crimes According to the organization in the statement, tax crimes and corruption are closely intertwined, with individuals and companies engaged in corrupt activities often…