Money Monday
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Market Data
Local
Global
*Data as of 6pm WAT
Market News
Local
Herbert Wigwe: Exit of banking whiz-kid - Punch
The death of the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, will leave the country, especially the financial sector, in a pensive mood for some time. In this piece, Oluwakemi Abimbola, writes about his strides in banking and the business world.
Weak naira offers opportunities for exports (APM Terminals CEO) - Punch
Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Mr Steen Knudsen, with ANOZIE EGOLE, speaks on issues affecting port operations and how goods can be cleared faster from the port.
Tame inflation, Senate committee tells CBN - Punch
Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance & other Financial Institutions has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to tame inflation in the country. The chairman of the committee said this on Saturday at a retreat with the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation in Lagos.
Power Supply - Nigerian Govt Sets Up Committee to Resolve Gas Shortage - All Africa
The Nigerian government has set up a ministerial committee towards resolving the challenges associated with gas supply to power-generating companies (GenCos) in the country. Bolaji Tunji, special adviser on strategic communication and media relations to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday..
Global
Super Bowl 2024 - Highlights from Chiefs' win vs. 49ers - ESPN
With a relentless defense and opportune plays by their star quarterback -- including a pair of gutsy overtime scrambles -- the Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years in a 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in only the second overtime game in Super Bowl history.
Elon Musk Isn’t the Only Billionaire Fighting Delaware - WSJ
Tripadvisor, under media executive Greg Maffei, wants to reincorporate in Nevada, over the objection of minority shareholders. Billionaire Barry Diller is awaiting a ruling that could relax Delaware’s scrutiny of transactions like the 2020 split of some of his online businesses. And Elon Musk, who reincorporated Twitter as X in Nevada last year, has said he would ask shareholders about reincorporating Tesla in Texas.
Market Commentary:
Currencies/Macro:
On Friday, the US dollar saw a slight decline against most major currencies despite an increase in bond yields. The EUR/USD edged up to 1.0785, while the GBP/USD increased by 0.1% to 1.2630. The USD/JPY fell to 149.02 alongside Treasury yields before stabilizing at 149.30. The AUD/USD reached a peak of 0.6534, settling at 0.6515, a 25 pip rise from the start of Friday. The NZD/USD experienced the largest gain among the G10 currencies, rising by 0.9% to 0.6150.
Interest in the annual US CPI data revisions was unusually high, following last year's significant upward adjustments. This time, changes were minimal, with December's CPI adjusted to a 0.2% month-over-month increase (previously 0.3%), while the core rate excluding food and energy remained at 0.3%.
The Canadian job market data for January exceeded expectations, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.7% (expected 5.9%, previous 5.8%) and a net employment increase of +37.4k (expected +15k), primarily driven by a rise in part-time work (+48.9k) despite a decrease in full-time employment (-11.6k)
Interest Rates:
The yield on the US 2-year treasury increased slightly from 4.45% to 4.48%, and the 10-year yield from 4.15% to 4.18%, with minimal disturbances from the CPI data adjustments. The market's expectations for the Federal Reserve's funds rate, currently at 5.375%, are to remain steady at the upcoming March meeting, yet there's a 70% likelihood of a reduction by May.
The week concluded positively for credit spreads, narrowing the Main by a basis point to 58.5, nearly reaching its year-to-date narrowest margin, while the CDX also tightened by a basis point to 54, matching levels last observed in late January. In the investment-grade cash market, activity was subdued, and the issuance of new deals in the EUR/US market decreased during Friday's session.
Commodities:
Last week, the crude and liquids markets experienced significant gains amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and disruptions in Russian oil production. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu continued military operations in southern Gaza without agreeing to a ceasefire, while a fire at the Ilsky refinery, the second largest in the Black Sea region, marked the fifth refinery fire this year, largely attributed to Ukrainian drone strikes. The March West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract ended the week up by 0.8% at $76.84, and the April Brent contract increased by 0.7% to $82.19. Fuel markets also saw rises, with March New York heating oil up by 2.5% and February European gasoil climbing 3.5%, resulting in a 12.88% increase for the week. Drone strikes in Baghdad and increased Houthi attacks were noted for further destabilizing the region. Upcoming oil market reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as a call for sour crude offers by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), are closely watched events. The SPR's preference for sour over light sweet crude, citing blending issues with the latter, was highlighted by Bloomberg.
Metals saw a downturn last week, with copper prices dropping 3.7% to $8,169 and zinc declining 6.1% to $2,300. The optimism surrounding a Zambian copper mine, potentially the world's third-largest, backed by a Bill Gates-funded startup, was a notable exception. However, the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays and rising inventory levels dampened market sentiment.
Iron ore prices also fell, with the March Singapore Exchange (SGX) contract decreasing slightly and the 62% Mysteel index dropping $1.35 to $126.60. The Chinese Lunar New Year contributed to subdued trading and demand, while negative sentiment surrounding China's property market impacted expectations.
Investment Tip of The Day
Diversify your investment portfolio across different geographies to mitigate risk and exploit growth opportunities in emerging markets. This approach not only hedges against volatility in any single market but also capitalizes on the potential high returns from regions experiencing rapid economic growth.