The world over has experienced an estimated lose of N19.5trillion ($130 billion) due to natural catastrophes in the last 10 years just as 2010 cost insurers N5.5trillion, according to Munich Re.

Despite the number of microfinance banks in operation, MFBs, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has employed more measures to reduce the number of economically active poor that are excluded from any form of formal financial services.

According to World Bank estimates, between 25% and $40% of GDP in developing Asian and African countries comes from the informal sector. In Nigeria, Africa’s largest country, the figure might be close to 65% of GNP according to independent research.

Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh, Interim Administrator of the Exchange, Mr. Onyewuchi Asinobi, Managing Di-rector, CSCS Limited and Binus Yaro, General Manager, Listing and Quotation Department of the NSE, in an interactive session with journalists, x-ray the performance of the capital market in 2010 and the future expectations of the Exchange.

Indications emerged last week that the Asset Management Company set up by the CBN will after all take up shareholding in banks from which they purchased bad debt.

T hat the world is now a global village is no more in doubt thanks to developments in science and technology and many developing countries, especially in Asia, are benefitting immensely from it and Nigeria can benefit too if we get our act together as Ghana employs about 800 people in one station where they are doing IT returns to transfer medical records back to the US.

The nation’s currency, the naira suffered heavily last week against the United States dollar, losing 150 kobo at the official market owing to upsurge in demand, which crossed the $900 million mark.

If the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria were a bank, a private sector operator who borrowed money and was unable to pay or a political opponent to be silenced, may be many of the officials of the agency would have been chatting with the EFCC operatives who would have called a press conference on the arrest of officials who have enriched themselves with public funds put under their care.

According to the last official Nigerian census in 2006, women comprised almost half of the then 140 million populace at 68.3 million. Updated figures for 2009 put the headcount in Africa’s most populous, as well most densely populated nation, at 148 million . Allowing for applicable variables, it would be logical to assume that the female population has grown correspondingly in the period, were it not for another set of disturbing statistics.

The only true driver of any business success in competitive markets is customer service. Even in less competitive market environments, poor customer service endangers respect for businesses that approach the customer with nonchalant attitudes.