Inflation Rises for 13th Straight Month to 18.48%, Unemployment Climbs to 13.9%

The country’s unemployment rate rose further to 13.9 per cent in the third quarter of the year (Q3 2016) compared to 13.3 per cent in the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated yesterday.

Unemployment rate was recorded at 12.1 per cent in Q1; 10.4 per cent in Q4 2015 and 9.9 per cent in Q3 2015.
It said a total of 27.12 million persons in the Nigerian labour force were either unemployed or underemployed compared to 26.06million in Q2 and 24.5 million in Q1 2016.

According to the statistical agency, economically active population or working age population (persons within ages 15 and 64) increased to 108.03 per cent in Q3 compared to 106.69 million in Q2, representing a 1.26 per cent increase over the previous quarter and a 3.57 per cent increase when compared to Q3 2015.

The labour force population (i.e those within the working age population willing, able and actively looking for work) increased to 80.67 million from 79.9 million in Q2 2016, representing an increase of 0.98 per cent in the labour force during the quarter.

By implication, about 782,886 persons from the economically active population entered the labour force in Q3.
However, the magnitude of increase between Q2 and Q3 2016 was smaller when compared to Q1 and Q2 2016, which was an increase of 1.39 million in the labour force population.

According to the employment/underemployment report for Q3 2016, which was released by the agency yesterday, the country’s underemployment rate or those working but doing menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or those not engaged in fulltime work and merely working for few hours, increased to 19.7 per cent from 19.3 per cent in Q2. That brought the underemployment population to 15.9 million.
Essentially, underemployment increased by 501,074 persons or 3.25 per cent in the period in review.

The labour force population was put at 80.67 million, meaning 27.36million persons within the economically active or working age population decided not to work for one reason or the other in Q3 2016, hence were not part of the labour force and cannot be considered unemployed.

The NBS said: “This is a marginal increase of 0.4 percentage points between
quarters 2 and 3 of 2016, and shows a steady rise in the rate since Q3 of 2015. During the reference period, the number of unemployed in the labour force, increased by 554,311 persons…Accordingly, there were a total of 27.12 million persons in the Nigerian labour force in Q3 2016, that were either unemployed or underemployed compared to 26.06million in Q2 and 24.5 million in Q1 2016.”

Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation further rose to 18.48 per cent (year-on-year) in November compared to 18.33 per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated yesterday.
It attributed the 0.15 per cent rise in headline index to increases in all the divisions which determine inflation.

Notably, the highest increases were recorded in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and articles of
clothing, books, liquid fuel, passenger transport by air, motor cycles and shoes and other footwear.
The Food Sub Index increased also by 17.19 per cent (year-on-year) in November, up by 0.10 per cent from 17.09 per cent in October.

According to the CPI figures for the period under review, major food sub-indexes increased with soft drinks recording the slowest pace of increase at 7.76 per cent year on year.

Also, communication and insurance recorded the slowest pace of growth in November, growing at 5.61 per cent and 6.76 per cent year-on-year respectively.
The Urban inflation rose by 20.07 percent (year-on-year) in November from 19.91 per cent recorded in October, while the rural index increased by 17.10 per cent in November from 16.95 per cent in October.

On month-on-month basis, the urban index eased by 0.03 per cent while the rural index was also down by 0.05 per cent.
According to the NBS, the composite food index rose by 17.19 per cent in November 2016, mainly driven by increase in prices of imported foods, meat, bread and cereals and fish.

On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increase by 0.88 per cent in November from 0.86 per cent recorded in October.
It stated: “The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the twelve- month period ending in November 2016 over the previous 12-month average was 14.39 per cent (0.57 per cent) points from the average annual rate of change recorded in October (13.82 per cent).”

It said: “All Items less Farm Produce’’ or Core sub-index, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce increased by 18.20 per cent during the month, 0.10 percentage points lower from the rate (18.10) recorded in
October as all key divisions which contributes to the index increased.
“On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index rose by 0.71 per cent in November, down by 0.04 percentage points from the 0.75 per cent recorded in October.”

Access Bank’s Triple Honour at Emerging Markets Awards Shows Resilience, Says Analyst

Foremost African financial institution and one of Nigeria’s Tier 1 banks, Access Bank Plc has emerged as Nigeria’s biggest winner at the 2016 EMEA Finance Banking Awards held by leading financial publication, EMEA Finance magazine, which a market analyst described last night as the resilience of the bank despite the challenging macroeconomic environment.

A statement by the bank said it won in three categories awarded to financial institutions in the Pan-African Region: ‘CEO of the Year’, awarded to Access Bank’s Group Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, ‘Best Bank in Nigeria’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.

Receiving the award on behalf of the bank at the annual African Banking Awards dinner held in London, the United Kingdom recently, Wigwe thanked the staff of Access Bank, acknowledging their support in achieving the goal of not only becoming one of the top three banks in Nigeria, but also for participating in the firm’s CSR activities that have touched the lives of thousands of Nigerians.

Wigwe said: “We are delighted to receive these prestigious awards. It is a testimonial to the hard work we have done in line with our five-year strategy to become the world’s most respected African Bank.

“2016 has been a remarkable year for the bank as we continue to receive both regional and international acclaim. We have reaffirmed our status as innovative industry pioneers equipped to help our customers take tomorrow today.”

Commenting on Access Bank’s impressive streak, EMEA Finance CEO, Christopher Moore said: “A repeat winner of our Best Bank in Nigeria award, Access Bank has become a Nigerian powerhouse, and one of the premier financial institutions in the country.
“Generating steep increases in revenues and profit growth over the past several years is no small feat, particularly with the strong negative macroeconomic headwinds.”

The hat trick comes after two recent big wins at the Business Day Awards where the bank was named ‘Bank of the Year’ and Access Bank’s Group Managing Director and CEO was also crowned ‘Bank CEO of the Year’.
“We are delighted to recognise Wigwe as our CEO of the Year in our African Banking Awards 2016 awards package,” Moore said.

“Leadership requires ambition, and Wigwe possesses this quality and much more. His years of dedication and commitment to the development of Access Bank have helped it to attract over eight million customers, to complete complex and strategically important financings, and to create an international presence,” he added.

EMEA Finance is a leading bi-monthly global industry publication that reports on the major financial events and happenings initiated and influenced by the international financial industry active in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Wigwe has led Access Bank’s efforts to incorporate sustainability across all aspects of the bank’s activities.

In doing so, he also moved the entire sector forward, and now all of Nigeria’s banks, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have adopted what is known as the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles.

NSE ends on losing streak, sheds N54bBln

Activities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended for the week on a negative streak on Friday with the market capitalisation shedding N54 billion amid price loses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that market capitalisation which opened trading at N8.774 trillion lost N54 billion or 0.62 per cent to close at N8.720 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index lost 157.31 points or 0.62 per cent to close at 25,333.39, compared with 25,490.70 recorded on Thursday.

Dr Glenn Prince-Abbi, Executive Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Espera Global Corporation attributed the capital market headwinds to prevailing economic challenges and uncertainties.

Prince-Abbi said the stock market was a barometer used in measuring economic growth and development.

“These headwinds in the market are not stand-alone events which are cut off from the Nigerian economic ocean.”

Prince-Abbi said that the market could only experience improved growth and development with a healing of the economy.

Forte Oil recorded the highest price loss to lead the losers’ table, dropping by N6.20 to close at N62.80 per share.

Okomu Oil lost N3.88 to close at N36.20 and Dangote Cement dipped N1.51 to close at N159.99 per share.

Lafarge Wapco shed N1.40 to close at N42.70 and Julius Berger declined by N1.10 to close at N35 per share.

Conversely, Total topped the gainers’ chart with a gain of N22.85 to close at N245.85 per share.

Mobil followed with a growth of N7.95 to close at N208.97, while Presco garnered 22k to close at N44.70 per share.

Dangote Sugar rose by 19k to close at N6.20 and Africa Prudential appreciated by 13k to close at N2.92 per share.

However, the volume of shares traded improved by 48.87 per cent as investors staked N2.14 billion on 144.16 million shares traded in 2,459 deals.

NAN reports that this was against the 97.14 million shares worth N1.14 billion exchanged in 1,929 deals on Thursday.

A breakdown of the activity table indicated that FCMB Group emerged the most active with 33.97 million shares valued at N37.82 million.

Zenith Bank came second with an exchange of 20.03 million shares worth N280.99 million and Wema Bank sold 16.00 million shares valued at N8.33 million.

FBN Holdings accounted for 12.77 million shares worth N39.03, while Transcorp exchanged 7.39 million shares valued at N5.33 million.

Oil prices jump as planned oil production cuts start to materialise

Oil prices jumped on Friday as evidence increased that producers in the Middle East were informing customers of upcoming supply cuts as part of a coordinated effort to drain a global glut.

Brent crude futures were trading at 54.11 dollars per barrel, up nine cents from their last settlement.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 18 cents at 51.08 dollars per barrel.

Oil producers, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, who are key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have started notifying customers.

They are telling customers that they would cut supplies from January as part of an effort by OPEC and other producers led by Russia to rein in a global fuel supply overhang and prop up prices.

“These greater projected cuts and our strong demand growth forecast lead us to forecast a normalisation in inventories and backwardation across the forward curve by next summer,” Goldman Sachs said on Friday.

‘Backwardation’ refers to trading where oil for future delivery is cheaper than that for imminent delivery.

Rice smuggling thrives in spite of ban

The smuggling of rice through the land borders has continued to thrive in Badagry area of Lagos State in spite of the Federal Government’s ban on the practice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that markets along Badagry Expressway close to Seme border, are stocked with various varieties of smuggled rice, especially as the Christmas season approaches.

A smuggler, who identified himself as Sunday Egeseme, was seen offloading bags of rice from his car at Alaba Rago Market in Okokomaiko area of Lagos.

He described the business as “lucrative’’.

“We are messengers to the main owners of the goods who are in the Seme border.

“Transporting rice from Seme to customers in various location of the town is a fast moving business with good returns,’’ Egeseme said.

He, however, declined to say the exact amount it cost to ferry a bag of the commodity.

Egeseme, a driver, said that the Christmas period was the peak of the business as many families depended more on the consumption of rice.

At Doyin Bus Stop market before Navy Gate Market, Okokomaiko, a trader who could not find space at the Alaba rice market, was seen taking delivery of the product from smugglers.

A driver simply known as Taiwo, who was exchanging banters with his colleagues for a successful trip, said his target was to make a lot of money before the end of the season.

“I run three trips before morning breaks and two in the day time if the road is good.

“The security officers are there but we still find our way unless one is a new person on the route,’’ Taiwo said.

Mrs Celine Ukachi, a rice seller at the Navy Gate Rice Market, said, “we are used to selling the Cotonou rice because it is easy to get than the local ones.

“If we see the local ones, we sell together with the Cotonou one so that everybody who wants anyone can buy,’’ Ukachi said.

The trader also claimed she had been in the business for four years. - Guardian

Five things to do with smartphones when offline

In many ways, your smartphone is more powerful than the computers of Apollo 11. While it won’t get you to the moon, you can be lightyears ahead if you use your phone to its full potential. That includes using it when you have no mobile or data connection.

Listen to podcasts

You can listen to music to pass the time or you can go with informative podcasts. One Android app that is yet uncovered is Podcast Addict. Using this app, you can search audio and video podcasts by keywords or networks, subscribe to your favourites, manually add RSS feeds or YouTube channels, import OPML files, and download episodes for listening or watching them offline.

Catch up on your reading list

If you’re like most people, you hardly have time to read all the interesting articles you come across on a daily basis. Maybe you can get through some of them if you started reading during your commute. While doing nothing or reading novels can be very relaxing, it’s not always the best use of your time. Plenty of applications support offline reading and syncing between your desktop and your smartphone, it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you.

Pocket

Pocket, formerly known as Read It Later, lets you save pretty much anything you can view in a browser, including articles and videos. You can even email content to your Pocket. When you have some Internet downtime, check your Pocket for entertainment.

Download: Pocket (free) for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and more.

Readability

Do you already use the Kindle app to read books? With Readability, you can send articles from your desktop or its mobile apps to your favourite e-Book reader and read them on the go. Simply add kindle@readability.com to your Kindle approved email list, then send articles to your Kindle email address.

FeedMe

If you’re using RSS, you can go through your feeds with an add-free Android app that supports offline reading and Feedly. You’ll find more mobile RSS apps for various platforms in the Unofficial Feedly Guide.

Evernote

Did you know the web clipping service, Evernote, had an offline feature for mobile devices? It’s only available to Premium subscribers, but if you happen to be one, this is a feature you should take advantage of!

Improve your foreign language skills

Whether you’re a bloody beginner or have some basic skills, practising a foreign language has many benefits. Apart from being able to eventually speak a few sentences or even have a conversation, it’s also a great way to sharpen your memory and expand your horizon. With new words and phrases come new insights.

Duolingo

The question is, can you learn a new language using your phone? Absolutely! If you’re lucky, the language you’re interested in is offered by Duolingo. You can learn Spanish, French, Italian, German, or Portuguese with the most engaging, fun and best tool out there. And it’s completely free!

Babbel

If you’re not so lucky, give Babbel a try. Here, you can currently pick from 13 different languages. You can try the tool for free.

Play games to improve your memory

Is it possible to have fun and be productive at the same time? Kill two birds with one stone by playing games that sharpen your memory. Be sure to set an alarm, as time will fly as you are drawn into these brain teasers.

Edit your to-do lists

You can be all low tech and do this on a digital or even physical notepad, or you can employ an app. If you pay for Premium, you can use Evernote to manage your ‘To Do’ list, while your phone is offline. A free alternative that offers unlimited offline editing and one free sync per 24 hours is Remember The Milk.

Man kills, buries mother in soakaway

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 33-year-old man, Segun Ogunlusi, for allegedly killing his 60-year-old mother, Abimbola Ogunlusi, and later burying her in a soakaway.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Tuesday, December 13, 2016,  on Oketunde Street, Molatori, Ogijo, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of the state.

The suspect was said to have been arrested following a report from his younger sister, Yetunde Ogunlusi.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said Yetunde had reported to the police that she left their mother at home when she was going to work on Tuesday, December 13, 2016.

The spokesman for the police added that when the complainant got back home at about 7.15pm, she could not find her mother.

Oyeyemi said, “She further stated that when she inquired from her elder brother, Segun, who was at home with their mother, the explanation given by her brother was not satisfactory enough.

“Based on her report, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo Division, Ahmed Tijani, led a team of policemen to the house situated on Oketunde Street, Molatori, Ogijo, and the suspect was promptly arrested.”

Oyeyemi said during investigation, the police discovered that the Segun stabbed his mother to death and hurriedly buried her in a soakaway very close to the house.

“The reason for his action is still under investigation,” Oyeyemi added.

The PPRO said the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, had directed that the case be transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Eleweran , Abeokuta.