The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that cross-border holdings of securities amounted to $40.3 trillion as at the end of December 2010.

Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on privatisation, Senator Ayo Arise, has warned that the incessant probe into the sale of some public companies to private investors and the curious recommendation to rescind such sales will be bad for the overall image of Nigeria and may in fact spell doom for its economic recovery.

Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS has exceeded its 2011 revenue target set by the Federal Government; and by the end of the year, the revenue agency is optimistic of also exceeding its own revenue target of N4.378.31 trillion.

eTranzact International Plc, a mobile and switching company has been given the final approval to commercially launch the Mobile Money operation by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The approval to commence Mobile Money in Nigeria essentially marks the beginning of mobile payment revolution in the country.

LEADERS of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Related Institutions, NASU and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, weekend gave government up till Wednesday to implement the 2009 agreement reached with unions especially university funding and the 65 years retirement age for members in the universities or face indefinite strike.

Former Director, Trade & Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr.(Mrs) Omolara Akanji has explained that the Monetary Policy(MP) of the apex bank affects the all-share index of the stock market.

Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Dr. Sina Agboluaje has said that the investment at the Calabar Free Trade zone stands at about N24 billion. Dr. Agboluaje who disclosed this last Thursday in Calabar, Cross River State on the occasion of the 10th year anniversary of the CFTZ said already, the zone has 34 manufacturing companies with about 8,000 people being employed.

Driven by losses on the share prices of majority of the blue-chip companies, the value of listed equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, depreciated last week by N59.59 billion.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said that it has paid over N2 billon to over 69,000 depositors of closed microfinance banks, MfBs, while the Managing Directors of the liquidated 103 MfBs would be prosecuted.

Chairman of Linkage Assurance Plc, Mr. Babatunde Fatayi-Williams said the company has initiated merger talks with a reputable insurance company for the purpose of building capacity, increasing market share and providing value for its shareholders.

“We agree that the work involved is quite tedious but we will try to make the environment better and stronger. There is a lot of work to do in SEC and NSE and we will contribute our quota to building a world class market that all of us will be proud of”.

Our discussion on this topic will focus on key vital points an investor need to know in acquisition or disposal of a business. Generally it takes two to buy a business, a willing buyer and a willing seller, other parties to sale or purchase of a business are brokers, accountants, lawyers, valuers, financial advisors and other experts.

Nature abhors waste and so every material on earth is useful. Man can only say a material is useless when he has not found the means of converting it to something useful. Author Richard Dawkins rightly said: “Nature is a miserly accountant, grudging the pennies, watching the clock, punishing the smallest extravagance.”

Due to declining economic situations coupled with erratic power supply in the country, some Nigerians may not be too eager to embrace the compulsory insurance products which the federal government is currently trying to enforce through the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is set to issue new guidelines and modalities for the insurance sector on the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS).