by Barnabas Esiet

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE) – Jamie Rixton, General Manager (GM) PanAfrican Group (Agric Division) in Nigeria on Friday said the Mohammed Buhari’s administration quest to transit from oil based economy to agriculture is going to be an uphill task, more so as there has not been any significant investment in the sector during the oil boom days by past administrations in the country.

Rixton said this in Lagos when  a delegation of the Nigerian Association of Agriculture Journalists (NAAJ), paid him a courtesy visit over the weekend. He disclosed that Nigeria imported less than 250 Tractors every year in the past five (5) years, reflecting a significant decline compared to about 2500 Tractors imported between 1988 and 1992.

“I feel the present government is trying to do something right but as far as the transformation from oil to agric, to be honest to you, it’s a very tall order because in my opinion the previous governments should have saved for a rainy day, they had plenty opportunities to do that but they didn’t. You imagine how much was produced from oil in terms of revenue, it bugles the mind how many billions and billions of dollars that represents. Now the situation would be that oil has gone from over a hundred dollars down to about $26 per barrel there’s a problem but the issue is the fact that government had all that money instead of thinking long term what to do with Agric they left it until now,”. he noted.

Rixton urged the Nigerian Government to take a cue from Brazil which had similar situation like Nigeria by adopting their agric transformation model. The PanAfrican Group representative decried the current restrictions placed on dollar sale in the country noting that this has affected the company’s operations and its ability to procure essential agric equipment.

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Mon Mar 14, 2016/Reuters

By Abhiram Nandakumar

Wall Street was slightly lower on Monday as a fall in oil prices weighed on energy stocks and investors paused ahead of the release of a slew of economic data and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting.

Crude prices, which have dictated the direction of the stock market this year, fell about 3 percent after Iran quashed hopes of a quick deal by major producers to freeze output. [O/R]

Steadying oil prices and data pointing to strengthening U.S. economy have helped stocks recover from a steep selloff at the start of the year. The S&P 500 is now down only 1 percent in 2016, after falling as much as 10.5 percent.

“You have a little pullback this morning and I don’t see it as anything more than that, unless something material, i.e. the Fed goes back on their word, come Wednesday,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

“Right now, it looks to be like a healthy pullback and a little profit-taking off the strength on Friday,” Bakhos said.

The S&P and the Dow recorded their highest close of 2016 on Friday.

At 9:38 a.m. ET (1338 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 30.88 points, or 0.18 percent, at 17,182.43, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 5.46 points, or 0.27 percent, at 2,016.73 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 9.02 points, or 0.19 percent, at 4,739.45.

Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by a 1.08 percent fall in the energy sector .SPNY.

Shares of Chevron (CVX.N) were down 1 percent at $93.64 and weighed the most on the Dow, while Exxon (XOM.N) was off 0.6 percent at $81.63 and dragged down the S&P 500.

The Fed is not expected to raise interest rates at the two-day meeting, which begins on Tuesday, but investors will be on the lookout for the central bank’s comments on the economy and its plan to hike rates amid global economic weakness.

Central bank intervention has been at the forefront of efforts by major economies to calm financial markets and spark growth at a time when demand and inflation remain low.

The Bank of Japan began a two-day meeting on Monday and is expected to keep policy unchanged after adopting negative interest rates in late January.

Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT.N) were up 7.8 percent at $75.88 after the hotel operator received a takeover offer of $76 per share from a consortium of companies. Marriott (MAR.O), which was set to take over Starwood, was up 2.5 percent at $70.58.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,729 to 919. On the Nasdaq, 1,341 issues fell and 879 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed five new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 11 lows.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Don Sebastian)

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Thu Feb 25, 2016/Reuters

By Abhiram Nandakumar

Wall Street was little changed in choppy trading on Thursday, breaking away from sliding oil prices, as strong U.S. durable goods data pointed to a recovery in the struggling manufacturing sector.

Orders for U.S. durable goods rose more than expected in January, as demand picked up across the board.

Movements in crude prices have been the biggest influence on stock markets this year as investors see weak energy demand as a sign of sluggish global growth.

Some analysts, however, said the two could soon break step as investors focus on data and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has hinted at sticking with the plan to raise rates gradually this year, while other policymakers have warned against a hike amid the turmoil in global markets.

“I think we’re going to see a stagnant market over the next few days, with volatility picking up between now and next Friday, when the (monthly) jobs report comes out,” said Mohanned Aama, managing director at Beam Capital Management in New York.

At 11:25 a.m. ET (1625 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 23.05 points, or 0.14 percent, at 16,508.04, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 1.27 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,931.07 and the Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC was down 5.72 points, or 0.13 percent, at 4,536.88.

Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 0.57 percent rise in financials .SPSY. The sector has fallen more than 12 percent this year, easily the worst performer on the index.

Shares of Salesforce (CRM.N) surged 9.2 percent to $68.27 after the company reported higher-than-expected revenue and raised its full-year forecast. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500.

NetEase (NTES.O) was down 15.3 percent at $135.50 after the Chinese online games maker reported disappointing quarterly sales.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,548 to 1,296. On the Nasdaq, 1,274 issues fell and 1,198 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 27 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 26 new highs and 21 new lows.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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