The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has said that it is taking steps to address the perceived dormancy in the corporate bonds market. The Acting Director General of SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, disclosed this while briefing of capital market correspondents at the end of the first quarter of 2015 Capital Market Committee, CMC meeting in Lagos.

The Nigerian Federal House of Representative on Thursday passed the sum of N4.5tn budget for the 2015 fiscal year with an increase of N135.4bn over initial proposal submitted in November 2014. In addition, the House has adopted an oil benchmark of US$53.0, daily oil production of 2.3mbpd, exchange rate of N190.00/US$1.00 and fiscal deficit/GDP ratio of 1.1%.

Amidst concerns over sudden flattening of the bull run in the Nigerian stock market, dealers are speculating large inflows of Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) on the heels of the post election market rally. World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund (SWF), Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is said to be refreshing its interests in the Nigerian market after a tactical ‘hold action’ late last year.

No doubt, companies are increasingly recognising the strategic importance of building business practices that create sustainable economies, environments and societies. In the business world, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR is an indispensable tool for corporate legitimacy and competitive edge. Even as Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, is a keenly pursued objective of developing nations, its quest has lead to multinationals having access to emerging economies and when they are eventually admitted, the companies do not live up to the CSR demands of their host communities.

The month of May is going to be a special year in the annals of Nigerian history as General Muhammadu Buhari will be sworn in as the President of the country having defeated the incumbent, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. In the same month of May another Nigerian, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the current Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, might be elected the President of the African Development Bank as the financing institution is electing a new president to replace the incumbent President Donald Kaberuka.

“The Economic Benefits of Aviation and Performance in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index Report 2013 states that the aviation industry supports tourism and international business by providing the world’s only rapid worldwide transportation network. Airlines transported 2.8 billion passengers and 47.6 million metric tonnes of air cargo in 2011, connecting the world’s cities with 36,000 routes. By providing these services, the aviation industry plays an important role in enabling economic growth and providing various economic and social benefits.”

Ahead of their training tour of Germany, Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has warned his players that they are not embarking on a jamboree.

The actual value of dollars deployed for this purpose is not known, but it was certainly large enough to temporarily overwhelm subsisting Naira supplies with BDC operators to make the Naira relatively scarce against the dollar. It was consequently no big surprise therefore, that the heavy inflow of dollars into vibrant black market centres in Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Abuja etc. quickly strengthened the Naira exchange rate below the official N197=$1.

The Federal government has denied recalling its High Commissioner in South Africa over the ongoing xenophobic attacks.

One of the most notable features of online shops, since online retail debuted in Nigeria, is its cheap prices of goods. Compared with the offline market prices, these online shops, despite free shipping services and high cost of logistics, still manage to maintain clear edge in terms of price while still offering quality goods. One of the online shops that has maintained this tradition since inception is Nigeria’s pioneer online retailer, Jumia.com.ng.

A socio-polical pressure group, Maka Odinma Anambra, has asked Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State and other leaders of the South East to stop embarrassing themselves and zone by trying to hobnob with the president-elect, General Mohammadu after casting their ballot against him.

TWO months after the anti-vandals squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, was attacked by some suspected pipeline vandals in Oke-Oko, a border town in Ikorodu, the Lagos State Command of the Corps has come out to say that the law enforcement agents were overwhelmed by the sophisticated weapons employed by the vandals, adding that three of its men were still missing.

The Lagos State Government has said 4.3 million children were immunised against childhood vaccine preventable diseases including polio during the March National Immunisation Plus Days, NIPDs, in the State even as it is targeting more four million children in the April NIPDs. Disclosing this last week, Special Adviser on Health to the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Yewande Adeshina said the March NIPDs had 96 percent coverage.

It is important to get babies immunised because when they are born, they have little or no immunity, so they are prone to infectious diseases. They have a little protection from their mothers’ immunity but that wanes within a short time. The time to immunise a baby is right from birth. There is an immunisation protocol that is followed. The vaccination protects them and prepares them for the challenges ahead from the infectious diseases that can occur.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, of Lagos State is expected to lead other dignitaries from the public and private sectors to declare open the 10th edition of the Lagos Motor Fair & 4th Autoparts Expo Nigeria. The Fair which kicks off on Thursday, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, will parade over 100 companies from Nigeria and abroad.