I’m Not Under Any Pressure To Resign – Osinbajo

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo says he is not under any pressure from any quarter to resign. Professor Osinbajo stated this after a closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun at the Presidential Villa.

Ambode: Lagos to Become Africa’s 3rd Largest Economy by 2020

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, monday disclosed that the prime goal of his administration is to grow the state from fifth to third largest economy in Africa by 2020.

NCAA Fines First Nation Airways, Pilot N33.5m for Violation of Safety Regulations

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it has penalised First Nation Airways and one of its pilots as well as fined them the sum of N33.5 million for violation of safety regulations. It said the fine must be paid within seven days.

Buhari Extends Medical Leave Indefinitely, Nigerians React

The social media went into overdrive sunday once got word got out that President Muhammadu Buhari had written yet another letter to the National Assembly notifying it that he was extending his leave in the United Kingdom in order to complete and get the results of the medical tests recommended by his physicians.

U.S. economy adds a strong 227,000 jobs in January

America added 227,000 jobs in January, well ahead of December's gain of 157,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked up a bit to 4.8%. More Americans started looking for work again -- a good sign -- which explains the small increase in unemployment. It's the first jobs report to be released under the Trump administration. However, the Labor Department conducted its jobs survey in the second week of January, when President Obama was in office.

ECB president to Trump: 'We are not currency manipulators

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has struck back at the Trump administration, forcefully rejecting accusations that Germany is manipulating the euro and warning that banking regulations must not be rolled back.

"We are not currency manipulators," Draghi said Monday at a hearing in the European Parliament. "Our monetary policies reflect the diverse positions in the economic cycle of the eurozone and the United States."

Patriots complete biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, win fifth title

Houston (CNN)For the first time, a Super Bowl needed overtime, and for the fifth time, the New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions.

This time, it took the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to do it, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 at NRG Stadium in Houston in Super Bowl LI.

Trump Loses Bid to Restart Travel Ban While Court Hears Appeals

A U.S. appeals court declined to immediately reinstate President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions, leaving visa holders and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim nations free to travel to the U.S. as arguments over the president’s authority wind toward a possible Supreme Court showdown.

The action in San Francisco followed moves by the departments of Homeland Security and State on Saturday to revert to rules in place before the president acted, even as Trump’s administration expressed outrage over a Friday ruling in Seattle blocking the order.

President Buhari to attend the 71st session of UN General Assembly in New York

President Muhammadu Buhari will participate in the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from September 19-23, 2016 in New York, United States.

 The President will deliver Nigeria’s statement at the opening of the General Debate of the Assembly, on the theme: The Sustainable Development Goals: a Universal Push to Transform our World.”
He will also attend a high-level summit, hosted by the UN, on ``Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants’’.


The summit, which is the first of its kind organised by the General Assembly at the Heads of State and Government level, is expected to come up with a blueprint for a better international response to enhance protection of migrants and refugees.

Recession makes Nigeria cheaper for doing business - Jumia Travels boss

The Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Travels, Mr. Paul Midy, has said that the ongoing recession and falling value of the naira has made Nigeria a cheaper place to do business.

He disclosed this while on a three-day working visit to Jumia Travels, Nigeria office.

He said, “The fall in the value of naira makes it cheaper for people who want to trade with Nigeria and for businessmen and women to travel through Nigeria to other destinations both in Africa and beyond.”

Uganda targets US market with its coffee

In a move meant to increase the visibility of Ugandan coffee to key markets The National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (Nucafe) is rolling out key campaigns to market the commodity in the United States.

This follows a match-making meeting between Nucafe executive director Joseph Nkandu and US investors in agribusiness value addition, including Chromatic Coffee and Seva Coffee, held in Silicon Valley, California, recently.

 Nkandu said though the Government targets to export 20 million bags of coffee by 2020, insufficient marketing of the commodity in key consuming countries like the US could hamper its plan.

Kaduna to Prosecute Anyone Who Rejects Polio Vaccines

The Kaduna State Government has warned that any parent found obstructing health workers from immunising children against polio will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

The warning came following the commencement of another round of polio immunisation campaign across the 23 local government areas in the state.

A statement by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, said government would not tolerate a situation where the laxity of some parents expose children to a bleak future.

Nigeria Economic Downturn: More Airlines May Close Shop

There is an indication that more Nigerian airlines may close shop as the current economic downturn has hampered airlines operations.

Industry experts have expressed concern that the forex scarcity is taking a huge toll on the aviation sector because virtually everything done in the airline business requires foreign exchange, except the purchase of aviation fuel.

Companies Linked to Patience Jonathan’s $15m Plead Guilty

Four companies involved in a money laundering case linked to the former First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, on Thursday pleaded guilty before a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos.

The companies — Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited — pleaded guilty to a 15-count charge preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Babs Kuewumi.

The companies were arraigned alongside former Special Assistant to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamo Dudafa; former presidential aide, Amajuoyi Briggs; and former Skye Bank official, Damola Bolodeoku.

Buhari Rallies His Team: Think Out of the Box to Pull Economy Out of Recession

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged his cabinet ministers and financial experts to think out of the box to develop the most effective strategies for pulling the nation out of its current economic recession.

“Indeed, the challenges we face in the current recession require out-of-the-box thinking, to deploy strategies that involve engaging meaningfully with the private sector, to raise the level of private sector investments in the economy as a whole,” the president said thursday at the opening of a ministerial retreat tagged: “Building Inter-ministerial Synergy for Effective Planning and Budgeting in Nigeria.”

Chinese tycoon who bought Grindr paying wife more than $1 billion in divorce

 

The Chinese tech tycoon who bought gay dating app Grindr is paying his wife an eye-watering $1.1 billion in a massive divorce settlement.

Zhou Yahui, the chairman of online gaming firm Beijing Kunlun Tech, has agreed to transfer hundreds of millions of shares in the firm to his wife, Li Qiong, according to a stock exchange filing this week.

The huge settlement has made headlines in Chinese state media, which have described it as one of the costliest splits in the country's history.
Earlier this year, the couple were ranked 11th in a global list of self-made billionaires under 40. Compiled by the Hurun Report, their combined wealth was estimated at $3.5 billion.
But under a civil mediation agreement issued by a Beijing court, Zhou will hand over 278 million Kunlun shares to Li.

16-year-old South African invents wonder material to fight drought

 

South Africa's worst drought in recorded history has left eight of the country's nine provinces in a state of disaster, with thousands of communities and millions of households facing water shortages.

The agricultural union Agri SA has requested over $1 billion in government subsidies to help farmers through the crisis, but a cut-price solution could soon be available -- from an unlikely source.

Johannesburg schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, 16, recently won the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa with her submission "No More Thirsty Crops."

India's richest man offers free 4G to one billion people

Mukesh Ambani is taking a big risk building a network from scratch.

Indian consumers are already celebrating the arrival of Mukesh Ambani's new Reliance Jio service, seizing on the billionaire's promise to deliver rock bottom prices and download speeds that will enable streaming video.

The 4G network, which reaches more than 80% of the country, officially went live Monday with a set of generous introductory offers. Indians will be able to use Jio for free until the end of 2016, and pay as little as 149 rupees ($2.25) a month for data after that.
"Anything and everything that can go digital is going digital -- at an exponential rate," Ambani told investors last week at his company's annual general meeting. "Life is going digital."

The Solution To All Of Your Budgeting Problems

Most traditional approaches to budgeting have us list out a single, Master Plan version of our income and expenses for the month. And while this may be helpful for some people as an initial money practice, it ignores the richness and complexity of our money relationship as something that is always unfolding, shifting, and evolving, over time. The Three-Tier Money Map is the antidote for this over-simplification.

Here is its basic framework:

FG Refuses Fuel Price Increase Despite Forex Crises, Pressure from oil Marketers

 

The federal government will not increase its gasoline prices, President Muhammadu Buhari told his oil minister and state oil firm head, summoned to his villa last week, sources at the compound said.

Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the head of state oil firm NNPC Maikanti Baru and the entire government have stepped up efforts to keep fuel flowing into Nigeria without repeating the price increase of May and risking civil unrest.

GTBank, Glo, others top media advertisers as newspaper industry records N143bn ad revenue in 10 years

Advertising income for Newspapers in Nigeria was reported to have hit N143.1 billion between 2006 and December 2015, revealing a wavy pattern that reached its peak in 2014 with N25 billion; and declined to 23.7 billion at the end of 2015.

Naira Stands At N423/$ At Parallel Market

At the resumption of trading at the money market, the Naira, on Wednesday, September 14, closed selling at N423 at the parallel market, from N424 which it traded before the holiday.

The Nigerian Currency however gained momentum against the British Pound, as it sold at N550 compared to N555 which it sold last week.
Meanwhile, at the interbank market, it appreciated by 1.39% to the Dollar today to close at N306.33 compared to a fall by 0.86% on Friday when the Dollar traded at N310.64.

10 Reasons Why You Should Stop Looking For Job As A Graduate

In all my life, when it comes to source of income, the only thing I have not done is work for anyone in a 9 to 5 job. I made that decision long before I went for higher institution. I could remember my dad telling us that he is sending us to school to acquire academic knowledge but that if we want to succeed financially in life, we should be thinking of starting our own business.

Those were my guiding words all my year in school. So, while in school, I made sure I had a profitable business. In fact, it was the proceeding I used to see myself through and even start a better business after graduation. Today, I have a couple of businesses and I still have bigger dreams. I can’t thank my dad enough. Maybe today, I would have been roaming the street looking for job.
If you are a graduate and you are looking for job/employment, honestly, there are at least 10 reasons why YOU will not get a job. So, I will advise you should start building your capacity to start your own business. Below are 10 reasons why you will not get a job.
You Lack The Required Skill. Employers continue to complain about a dearth of skills among graduates. Employers are obviously tired of seeing same set of individuals with same set of qualifications springing up for interviews daily whereas they are in need of someone that will stand out. So ask yourself, what employable skill do I have?

This four-letter word will get you better customer service on the phone

There are certain innate natural responses everyone possesses, honed by millennia of evolution. Babies, for example, hold their breath if they accidentally fall into the deep end before they can walk. A person facing a sudden drop in blood pressure will often faint, following standard doctor’s orders to lay down.

Add one more to the list that you may not know about, but you may have instinctively done and seen results without even realizing. If you angrily swear at the customer service robot, called an interactive voice response (IVR) system by people in the biz, this reflex-like behavior often actually gets you what you want: a human.

LinkedIn cofounder pledges to donate up to $5 million if Trump releases tax returns

Apparently, LinkedIn's cofounder wants to add "Trump instigator" to his resume.

Reid Hoffman, the cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, pledged on Monday to donate up to $5 million to veterans organizations if Donald Trump releases his tax returns before the final presidential debate.

The pledge follows a crowdfunding campaign launched late last week by Peter Kiernan, a Marine, to raise $1 million and donate the money to ten veterans group if Trump releases his tax returns by October 19.
"Trump claims to love veterans, and so we're asking him to put his money where his mouth is," Kiernan wrote on the crowfunding page. "These ten groups all support causes that I personally believe in and best identify with the current generation of millennial veterans."

The World’s Biggest Floating Natural Gas Terminal Can’t Get Steady Work

Nobody will ever accuse shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines of not thinking big. Its new 40 billion yen ($394 million) floating liquid natural gas terminal, scheduled for delivery as early as the end of this year, is longer than three football fields and capable of storing enough LNG to power all of Sweden for a day. That heft was supposed to be one of its biggest selling points, allowing customers to quickly sail in a complete complex to store and transform LNG back into gaseous fuel at a fraction of the cost of building a billion-dollar gas terminal on land.
But since the vessel was ordered three years ago from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, supplies of onshore gas have risen, and the number of smaller competing ships has grown—lowering ship-leasing rates and dimming the appeal of the floating megafactory. That means the gas complex may sit idle after delivery.

Uber Gets No Love From London Mayor’s Pledge to Cab Industry

Four months into his new job as mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is pledging new measures to protect the city’s taxi drivers. Just as long as they’re driving one of the city’s traditional black cabs and not an Uber.
The mayor’s office said Tuesday that the city’s transport authority will incorporate taxi booking information into its Transport for London journey planner mobile app by “summer 2017.” It will allow tourists and locals seeking a travel itinerary to be shown routes and times available using the capital’s traditional cab services in addition to other forms of public transport.
“From my first day at City Hall I have been determined to drive up standards and improve safety for every passenger in London, while protecting the future of our iconic black cabs that provide a unique and invaluable service for Londoners,” Khan said in a statement Tuesday.

Sadiq Khan

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Why This Fund's Robot Hates Facebook, Amazon and Google

The surge of tech giants Facebook and Google isn’t captured by the algorithms used by the model-based equity team at Norwegian insurer Storebrand ASA.
But that doesn’t matter. The Global Multifaktor fund avoids large-sized growth stocks because they aren’t winners over time, according to Baard Bringedal, who oversees about 160 billion kroner ($19 billion) of stocks at the Oslo-based company.
“The perfect storm for our portfolio is big growth companies that outperform,” the 38-year-old chief investment officer equities at Storebrand Asset Management, said in an interview on Friday. “Nowadays, there are some big growth companies that make trouble. We don’t like expensive growth companies -- Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon and Google.”

Meet the Chinese CEO Who Made $423 Million Betting on Himself

Sina Corp. Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao isn’t your typical internet company boss.
Known more for his financial acumen than strategic insight, Chao is something of an outlier in an industry that celebrates leaders with grand visions of the future. His nickname -- The Accountant -- doesn’t exactly scream cutting edge.
Yet for Chao and Sina’s shareholders, the 50-year-old CEO’s knack for finance is paying off big time this year.

World's Richest Lose $194 Billion In First Trading Week of 2016

The world’s 400 richest people lost almost $194 billion this week as world stock markets began the year with a shudder on poor economic data in China and falling oil prices.
Forty-seven billionaires lost $1 billion or more during the worst week for U.S. stocks since 2011, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The combined drop was almost seven times the $29 billion lost in the first five trading days of 2015. The 400 people on the index had a combined $3.7 trillion at the end of the week, compared with more than $4 trillion a year ago.

Egypt Suspended Facebook Free Internet Service

 

A Facebook scheme to provide free internet access to people in developing nations has been suspended in Egypt.

The company's Free Basics service lets people in some countries access Facebook and some other websites without charge.
But critics of the service say it undermines the principle of net neutrality - the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally.

US Dollar Sets For History

The dollar has an opportunity to make history.
After three straight years of gains, strategists are forecasting the U.S. currency will be a world beater again in 2016, strengthening against seven of 10 developed-world peers by the end of the year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. That outlook is backed by the Federal Reserve’s stated intent to continue raising interest rates while peers in the rest of the world keep them flat or lower.

New Year's resolution: Start investing- for US citizens

Are you in the 1%? Congratulations! This article isn't for you. For everyone else, make a New Year's resolution to get into the 50% club.

About half of Americans own stocks. They understand the secret to getting wealthy and financially healthy.

The U.S. stock market has been on steroids. It's gained about 200% since 2009. The rich (and many people in the middle class) have figured out that you can make money without getting off the couch.
You can do it too.

People the business world lost in 2015

Michael Hammond

BlackBerry will keep operating in Pakistan

       Without a resolution, BlackBerry would have been forced to exit the country on Dec. 30.

"After productive discussions, the Government of Pakistan has rescinded its shutdown order, and BlackBerry has decided to remain in the Pakistan market," BlackBerry chief operating officer Marty Beard said in a statement.