Saturday, October 30, 2010

FCMB posts N6bn pre-tax profit


First City Monument Bank Plc has announced a N6.1bn group profit before tax for the nine-month period ended September 2010.

This is against the N300bn recorded in the same period previous year.

A press statement issued by the bank on Friday, said the main contributor to this was improved assets quality, culminating in a net write- back of N1.8bn in 2010, as against N12.7bn charged in the previous year.

Quarterly profitability trend also showed improvement, growing from N1.1bn in first quarter to N2.3bn and N2.6bn in second and third quarters respectively, largely due to loan growth and related income.

However, total gross earnings fell by 20 per cent in 2010 to N44bn from N55bn in 2009, while it had been oscillating between N14.3bn and N15bn in the past three quarters. The bank attributed this to a general fall in interest income on loans and liquid assets.

Net interest margin remained flat in the third quarter at previous year, rate of five per cent, indicating an improvement over the average of six percent first and second quarters.

Non-interest income grew 13 per cent year-on-year in 2010 to N9.9bn from N8.8bn in the corresponding period of 2009. This was largely driven by increase in loan volume and transaction commissions, according to the statement.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010311224418 Read more...

GSK re-brands Macleans


GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has re-branded Macleans, its iconic toothpaste.

The Marketing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer, Ms. Hannah Oyebanjo, on Wednesday in Lagos, expressed the company’s commitment to making sure there was no vacuum in making the best toothpaste the best in the market.

She said this during the re-inauguration of Macleans Herbal and Macleans Complete Care, which now come in new attractive holographic packs.

According to her, “The first position could be given to any brand, but it is all for the benefit of consumers, but our brand has always retained its good name and we are committed to good oral hygiene in Nigeria.

“People still call for Macleans all the time, even when the brand was out of market for some time before it came back.”

According to the company’s Export Marketing Manager, Ms. Chinyere Chima, “The two variants re-inaugurated today are endorsed by the Nigeria Dental Association because we have quality toothpastes that have adequate fluoride in line with the NDA recommendations.”

She, however, disclosed that the company had collaborated with healthcare professionals and had joined the NDA to support dentists to provide platforms for oral health education via Community Dental Health Education programmes in schools, communities and markets.
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Ronaldo double rescues Real Madrid; Milan crash to Juventus defeat

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their hot goalscoring runs as Real Madrid and Barcelona moved ominously clear of their La Liga rivals in Spain on Saturday night.
Ronaldo followed up his four strikes from last weekend with another two as Real came from behind to beat Hercules 3-1 and stay a point clear of second-placed champions Barcelona.
Third-placed Villarreal trail Real by four points ahead of Sunday's trip to Sporting Gijon.
Real, held 0-0 by third-division Murcia in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, looked like suffering another humiliation after going behind only three minutes into the game in Alicante -- the first time the Galacticos have trailed in Jose Mourinho's first season as coach.
Former France World Cup winner David Trezeguet headed home David Cortes' right-wing cross to continue his good scoring run since joining from Italian club Juventus as promoted Hercules raised hopes of repeating their upset wins over Barca and Sevilla earlier this season.
Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/10/30/football.ronaldo.messi.madrid.barcelona/index.html Read more...

FG re-affirms commitment to non-oil sector development

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Federal Government has said that it is committed to the development of the country’s non-oil sector.

President Goodluck Jonathan gave the assurance during the opening ceremony of the Nigeria Non-Oil Conference, Exhibition and Awards in Abuja.

He noted that the Federal Government was committed to addressing the problem of poor infrastructure in order to fast-track industrial development.

Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, stressed that the emergence of the petroleum sector as the mainstay of the nation’s economy had resulted in the neglect of the non-oil sector, adding that the Federal Government was committed to reversing the trend.

He said, “The non-oil sector of the Nigerian economy has traditionally played a vital role in our national economic development, particularly in the area of providing foreign exchange earnings and revenue for government.
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Global agency rates Stanbic IBTC Bank

A global rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has affirmed Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc’s long-term national ratings of AAA (nga).

According to a statement made available to our correspondent by the Head, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Social Investment, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Bimbo Ashiru, this is the highest rating assigned by the agency on its National Rating scale with the lowest expectation of default risk.

Stanbic IBTC’s rating, the statement added, was based on the strong support of its parent, Standard Bank Group Limited, and its robust financial performance, which was underpinned by a strong capital base, good liquidity profile and sound risk management practices.

The statement said, “The bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 29 per cent as at end September 2010 is well above the 10 per cent regulatory minimum, while its liquidity ratio in excess of 50 per cent as at same date is twice the statutory minimum.

“The bank’s well diversified business model has hugely contributed to its revenue streams in a challenging and competitive operating environment. SIBTC, earnings are benefitting from increasing transactional banking volumes, closure of good advisory mandates and steady growth within its wealth business.”

SIBTC, according to the statement,has grown its branch network to 123 from 68 at the beginning of the year and also increased its Automated Teller Machines to 181 from 131 in January 2010 to support growth in its retail and commercial banking franchise.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010311241157 Read more...

‘Nigerians are ready to comply with tax payment, if …’

Kunle Quadri
Multiple taxation and sundry levies are two controversial issues in the tax system. In this interview with NIKE POPOOLA, the President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Quadri, clarifies these, explaining the rights and duties of the government and the tax payers.



What major lapses have you observed in Nigeria‘s tax system?

There are quite many lapses in the Nigerian tax structure but many of them are being addressed now. One of them is that we don‘t have accurate data on people that are supposed to pay taxes. Who are really the tax payers? A number of tax authorities are just compiling these data. There is also the issue of training and retraining of staff. This is a big problem because the authorities don‘t even have enough funds to train them. There is the need for the system to be independent; they should be able to get as many professionals as possible into the system. Not just tax professionals, but other professionals should be brought in according to the lines of discipline they actually belong to. For instance, legal practitioners and accountants are needed to come into the tax system. There should be political backing for the tax authorities. Some tax offices just issue assessments, and before you know it, someone is telling the chairman or whoever to reverse the assessment or else he may lose his or her job.

The issue of technology is also very important; we are far behind as far as technology is concerned. I mean, serious Information Communications Technology should be involved, where a tax payer, from the comfort of his office or home, can make returns. Above all, there is the issue of transparency, accountability and judicious use of the tax payers‘ money. If you are not accounting properly for the taxes taken by the tax authorities, then the tax payer will not be too willing to bring their money to you. If you are not using that money judiciously, tax payers will not be too willing to comply. So, these are issues that we are having within the tax system. But like I said, many of them are now been resolved. We are only expecting that in the next few years, we should have a more refined tax system because it is only the tax payers that can ask questions from the government. The reason is if I have not been paying my tax, then I won‘t have any moral justification to be asking any question on what the government has used the money for.

The issue of multiple taxation is a common complaint from taxpayers. How can this problem be resolved?

We should not forget that the tax professionals are available to assist the populace. For instance, let‘s look at the legal aspect; if you want to go to court, you cannot just go to court and appear by yourself. The judge will ask you: where is your lawyer? The same thing goes with an architect. In the drawing of building plans, you have to draw up the plan through an architect. The same thing goes with the tax system. There are tax professionals that have been trained in the law, in terms of the policy and in terms of relating with administration. So, nobody should be saying there is multiple taxation or whatever. If there are issues that are to be resolved, take them to your tax professionals. Take them to the CITN professionals that have been actually trained along that line. They should be able to tell you ‘these are the amounts that you are supposed to pay, these are taxes that you are supposed to pay and these are what should not be paid.‘

Can you differentiate between taxes and the different charges that some who claim to be tax officials go about collecting on the streets?
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Diamond Bank’s Q3 profit up by 638%

Diamond Bank Plc on Friday, announced its results for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

According to a statement released by the bank, it recorded an impressive growth of 638 per cent in profit before tax and exceptional items, from a negative of N1.2bn in the corresponding period last year, to N7.0bn in the period ended September 30, 2010. It added that its balance sheet grew by1.56 per cent, while its liquidity ratio stood at 40 per cent, which was 15 per cent above the minimum regulatory ratio of 25 per cent.

Speaking on the result, the Managing Director, Diamond Bank, Mr. Emeka Onwuka, affirmed that the bank was making steady progress.

He stated, ”I am happy to announce that Diamond Bank has made good progress in the last quarter in consolidating its position in the banking sector by delivering a third consecutive profitable quarter. We have maintained our high liquidity and strong capital adequacy positions, with both being well above the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s requirements, to support our continued growth.

“Through the implementation of Project Sparkle, we continue to focus on cost efficiency and the Group‘s cost to income ratio has improved in the last quarter, while staff productivity continues to improve.”
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How women can be financially independent

With the current economic reality, both married and single women are required to be financially independent. This means that they will not have to rely on men to survive or meet their daily obligations.

Furthermore, though it is the primary obligation of the husband in the Nigerian culture to provide for the needs of the immediate family, there is the need for married women to complement the efforts and contributions of men.

In some cases too, there are certain needs of women that may not be provided for by men, especially when they are personal.

While it is true that some educated women are actively engaged, so they can meet their financial obligations, there is still need for them to be prudent. This will ensure that even after retirement, they will be able to sustain their lifestyles, or at least meet their day-to-day obligations.

To be able to do that, those who spoke on the issue suggested that women must be enterpris
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US, Russia join Asia club in a blow to China — Analysts

Hillary Clinton

The United States and Russia will be formally welcomed into a 16-nation Asian bloc on Saturday, in what analysts say is a blow to Chinese attempts to diminish US influence in the region.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be invited to join the East Asia Summit (EAS) when the group holds its annual summit in Hanoi on Saturday.

Their entry into the EAS, which elevates its diplomatic heft, comes despite Chinese attempts to promote another grouping — which does not include the US — as the region‘s premier forum for regional cooperation.

”China will be very uneasy”, said John Lee, a China expert at Australia‘s Centre for Independent Studies think-tank.
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Controversy in Niger over PPP projects

Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu

A verbal war has emerged between the Niger State government and the Action Congress of Nigeria following the latter‘s allegations that the government had turned all the public private partnership projects into a conduit to siphon money from the state‘s treasury.

Our correspondent learnt that the party raised the alarm following failures of many of the PPP projects which were said to have collapsed after government had doled out huge sums of money to contractors handling them.
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Federal doctors in Lagos plan strike







Doctors working in federal hospitals in Lagos will on November 3 embark on a three-day strike, the state chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Edamisan Temiye, said on Thursday.

The NMA chairman told newsmen in Lagos that the action was in solidarity with striking resident doctors and the medical guild in the employment of the Lagos State Government, the News Agency of Nigeria.

Doctors in state hospitals had on August 9 withdrawn their services over government’s failure to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure.



Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010293482681 Read more...

WAUG: Ghana take first gold




Ghana became the first team to win gold at the ongoing West African University Games holding at the Federal University of Technology, Akure after Oduro Godwin-Friko of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi breasted the tape in the 10000 metres final in a time of 33 minutes 59.95 seconds.

Lompo Patrick of the University of d‘Abomey, Calavi, Benin Republic came second in a time of 34 minutes 38.84 seconds while Oyema Obukawho of Delta State University came third in a time of 35 minutes 2.12 seconds.

Bunmi Odejobi of University of Lagos clinched the gold medal in the 1500 meters women‘s event while Yarigo Noehie of the University de Parakou, Benin Republic took the silver. Sarah Soeroth of the University of Ghana, Legon won the bronze.

In triple jump women final, Euphemio Edem of the University of Calabar leaped 11.68 meters to win the gold while UNIPORT‘s Mercy Honesty won the silver with a leap of 11.12 meters. Hope Ideh of Delta State University won the bronze.

In the 100 meters women‘s heat, FUTA‘s Ademuwagun Adewumi, UNIPORT‘s Adaeze Igwe, Eferobor Oghene-Fojiri of Lagos State University and UNIBEN‘s Egorie Kesiena and Egode Anthony made it to the final round.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010292291315 Read more...

England overtake Germany in shirt deals




The English Premier League has leapfrogged Germany‘s Bundesliga as the biggest earner from shirt sponsorship, according to a study by consulting firm Sport+Markt published on Thursday.

Despite tough times for the British economy, endorsement deals for the 20 Premier League clubs totalled 128m euros ($177m) in 2010/11, compared with 118.5m for the 18 sides in Germany‘s top league, the study showed.

English clubs, who also earn the most from television deals, increased their revenue from 83.5m euros the previous year while income for their German counterparts was up from 108.6m.

Italy‘s Serie A was third in the latest rankings on 65.9m euros, followed by France‘s Ligue 1 on 58.8m and Spain‘s La Liga with 57.5m. Holland were sixth on 42m.

Gareth Moore, Sport+Markt‘s UK director, said the study showed financial firms appeared to have shaken off the economic crisis, while betting companies had also made a significant contribution to shirt sponsorship revenue across the continent.

”The Premier League is the standard bearer for jersey sponsorship in Europe and represents the major platform for international companies wishing to invest in football,” Moore said.

”Betting and gambling have helped to deliver significant revenues for football clubs across Europe in what are challenging economic times and the importance of the sector cannot be overlooked,” he added.

”As a consequence of liberalisation for betting companies on the French market and, potentially in the future, in Germany, next year‘s sponsorship engagements from the sector may increase even further.”


Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010292204893 Read more...

Owen hints at retirement



Michael Owen

Michael Owen has hinted that he could retire if Manchester United do not award him a new contract.

Owen‘s current deal expires at the end of the season, and with the emergence of young strikers like Javier Hernandez and Federico Macheda, the chances of him being offered a new contract could be slim.

And rather than join a ‘lesser‘ club, Owen suggests he may call it a day.

Owen is quoted in The Sun as saying, ”I would honestly love to stay but you will have to ask the manager about the long term. I could score at this level for many years and would love it to be at a top club like United.

”Whether I would want to be dropping down to a poorer Premier League team, I don‘t know. Yes I could score goals but I would probably get less opportunities and less enjoyment.

”I just don‘t feel my game is suited to a team that is really struggling. I won‘t drop down leagues.

”I have played in big teams before and played every game and I have played in a struggling team. I know which I prefer. When you play here, you play with quality.”

And Owen already seems to be looking towards his post-playing career, ”I‘m on my second stage of coaching badges and management is a real possibility,” he said.

”Horse racing will always be a big part of my life but, if there‘s a job going forward, it will be in football

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029218340 Read more...

What’s in a kiss?







There has been a lot of hoopla and outcry about a photograph that made the rounds recently showing unyielding showbiz newsmaker, Charly Boy, and his younger alter ego, On-Air-Personality, Denrele Edun, kissing. Instead of putting curious and agitated minds to rest that it was all make-belief, a mere photo-shoot, the duo is laughing at the concomitant tailspin and foolhardiness of those who couldn‘t see beyond the act.

To further send tongues wagging, Charly Boy was quoted as saying that there is indeed ‘chemistry‘ between him and Denrele while the younger man has carried on like heavens may fall. We should have known better than to bother about this duo.

For the past almost two decades, Charly Boy has done everything to remain in the news. He has been a transvestite, actor, activist, singer, columnist, author, television talk show host and more recently, publisher.

He has posed nude. He has done it all. In the end, we never stop talking about him. Can‘t we all see that exactly is his motive? Pretending to kiss a willing younger man who has similar views and eccentricities is just another obvious way for us to talk. And the showman is listening with a smile-wide grin.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029055765 Read more...

A monk’s heart of gold

Rosiji
There are reasons to believe that celebrated monk and former president of the Performing Musicians’ Association of Nigeria, Bolaji Rosiji, is tired of being behind the scene while his protégés get all the shine time. Or well, the time has really come for him to give vent to a burning musical passion, not just administrative or supportive but actual performing, which lay beneath his pious posturing. Either way, Rosiji is grabbing the microphone from his wards, promising to add spice and intensity to an otherwise dour music scene, and there are reasons to believe him.

Early in the week, E-Punch had an exclusive listen of his new single, Heart of Gold. Dance-worthy and poignant, the afro-pop song shows a different side to Rosiji that only a few probably knew existed the latent singer.

Beyond showing people that he could sing, the soft-spoken embryonic artiste says the song is a clarion call to Nigerians to vote wisely as the 2011 elections hot up. He says, ”The song is a very personal journey for me. It is a tribute to all the wonderful people that I have encountered in this adventurous odyssey called life, people who have sacrificed for me at times of need. And in particular, it is a song that urges us to vote in good leaders and get Nigerians out of this desperado cycle.”

The inspiration for the song, he said, came from We are the World as performed by late Michael Jackson featuring a constellation of music stars of the period but this, Rosiji says, should be called, We are Nigeria. So, when the song is eventually released, it would feature leading Nigerian artistes like Sir Shina Peters, P-Square, Tee Mac, ArtQuake, Adewale Ayuba, Ara, Fatai Rolling Dollar, 9ice, Charly Boy, Lord of Ajasa and Daddy Showkey among others. Heart of Gold, Rosiji said further, is one of six tracks he is working on for his debut album scheduled for release very soon.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290412345 Read more...

Tuface denies rift with Mikel Obi




Tuface

Is there anyone that can lay claim to being the purveyor or custodian of wealth? Hardly. So, why are people insinuating that the seemingly innocuous, feel-good song, Only Me, off the international album of comeback music star, Tuface Idibia, Unstoppable, lending credence to this assertion, was dedicated to combating youthful footballer, Mikel Obi?

In the song, Tuface preaches, in vernacular, humility in whatever position one found himself saying poignantly though, ”Not everybody would play (foot)ball. So, make you just dey do your thing, make I do my thing, live and let living instead of to be feeling like a king, on top of nothing, stop the bragging, on top the posing.”

The chorus, delivered in Yoruba, admonishes that one should never think he is the only one that would be rich because “all of us will make this money.” Since the song became a street anthem, breaking all barriers and reasserting the singer‘s musical pre-eminence, there had been a groundswell of insinuations that Only Me was actually addressed to Mikel who is alleged to be so arrogant that he is not on speaking terms with some of his teammates in the Super Eagles.

The story goes that the two superstars met in a London club where Tuface made to greet his countryman only for Mikel to allegedly refuse recognising his presence while also brusquely shunning his greetings. Despite the intervention of Nigerians in the club who tried to introduce Tuface as a popular Nigerian musician, Mikel, allegedly did not budge. The music star, it was gathered, bore the embarrassment with equanimity, or so people thought, until the song was released. But Tuface demurred. Days back, he wrote on his page on social networking site, Twitter, “I hear people saying that the song, Only Me, is for Mikel Obi. For the record, I don‘t have any problem with him. He’s a talented (foot)baller and I have met him once.”

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Seun performs at Afrika Shrine


Fela‘s Egypt 80 Band led by Seun Anikulapo Kuti will be performing live on stage at the New Africa Shrine on Saturday October 30.

Among other outings, Seun recently performed at the Felabration , and has promised to thrill fans with Afro vibes from his second album due for release before the end of the year.http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290304315 Read more...

Proposed NLC strike


All Nigerians should join hands with the Nigeria Labour Congress to down tool and refuse to go back to work, not just until the minimum wage promised Nigerian workers is paid.

The demands of the NLC should include compelling the National Assembly to slash their mind-boggling allowances. As long as the legislators earn what they are said to earn, there is no hope for meaningful legislation/governance in the country. NBA‘s move to go to court over this issue has been killed. Or has NBA been settled or muzzled? KOLAWOLE Adeyemi, Ota, Ogun State


Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010291255271

 
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World's fastest supercomputer belongs to China


The United States no longer owns the world's fastest supercomputer. A computer called Tianhe-1A, unveiled on Wednesday at a conference in Beijing, China, can run calculations faster than the previous speed leader, a computer at a U.S. lab in Tennessee.
The new computer set a performance record by crunching 2.507 petaflops of data at once. The previous leader, a computer called Cray XT5 Jaguar and located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, completed 1.75 petaflop calculations.
Analysts say the new record underscores China's place as a global tech leader.
According to Nvidia, the computer technology company, the world's fastest computer will be operated as an open access system and will be used for large scale scientific computations.
Supercomputers, which essentially are many computers strung and networked together, fill entire rooms and even small warehouses. They are often used to processes huge amounts of scientific data. Climate models, for example, are run using the supercomputing power that's found in U.S. national labs.

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Obama's Asia trip highlights region's growing global importance

President Barack Obama
-- President Barack Obama will meet on U.S. Veterans Day with Chinese President Hu Jintao -- while both men are in South Korea -- as part of a hectic schedule of summit meetings, news conferences and cultural events on his upcoming four-nation trip to Asia, top administration officials said Thursday. The 10-day trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan encompasses a G-20 summit, an Asia-Pacific Economic Council summit, major holidays in India and Indonesia and bilateral talks with Hu and at least five other leaders, as well as four presidential news conferences, the officials told reporters.
It's all part of an administration focus on Asia as a vital region for expanding trade and fighting terrorism, said Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/28/obama.asia.trip/index.html Read more...

CITN urges government to depend less on oil


The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria on Thursday cautioned the Federal Government on its over-dependence on crude oil.

The President of the institute, Prince Razaq Quadri, also urged governments at all levels to invest heavily in the non-oil sector of the economy.

Quadri advised government that the “slight increase in the price of crude oil as noted over the past few months calls for caution’’, adding that Nigeria’s overdependence on oil posed a risk to the economy.

Quadri, who spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the inauguration of the Ilorin and District Society of the CITN, urged the government not to lose track of its determination to invest in the generation of revenue from the non-oil sector.

He added, “Our major customers have intensified research into alternative sources for oil and are making breakthroughs. The implication of this will be devastating on Nigeria’s economy and it is better imagined than witnessed.”

He also advised his colleagues to rise up to their professional calling since the government had started paying attention to taxation.

According to him, “Governments at various levels have embraced taxation as a major income earner as a result of the economic meltdown and dwindling price of crude oil.

“The onus of achieving this objective to accelerate economic recovery depends on the tax professional. The success or failure of this laudable objective, therefore, hinges more on professionals than technocrats or politicians.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029102654 Read more...

CBN sells N63bn T-bills, bonds to control money supply

The Central Bank of Nigeria 
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday said it sold N63.08bn in treasury bills and bonds as part of measures to control money supply and help lenders manage their liquidity.

According to the CBN, at the auction held on Wednesday, the apex bank sold N16.38bn in 364-day bonds; N16.73bn in the 182-day paper and N30bn in the 91-day bills.

It added that the 364-day bonds attracted a 9.28 marginal rate compared to 8.25 per cent recorded previously. The 182-day paper was issued at nine per cent against 7.79 per cent, while the rate for the 91-day bills was stable at 6.59 per cent.

Meanwhile, the apex bank said total subscription stood at N110.62bn.

The seven-day Nigerian Inter-bank Offered Rate, last week closed the week at 9.46 per cent, indicating a four basis point decrease from the previous week‘s figure of 9.50 per cent.

The 90-day NIBOR closed the week at 12.42 per cent, representing a 51 basis points decrease from 12.93 per cent recorded the previous week.

At the three-year FG Bonds auction, a total of N40bn was offered, N37.78bn was subscribed leading to a subscription level of 94.45 per cent.

Total allotment was N26.67bn, representing 70.59 per cent of the amount demanded.

At the seven-year FG Bonds auction, a total of N62.81bn was offered, N54.10bn was subscribed leading to a subscription level of 86.13 per cent.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290595623 Read more...

PDP ‘ll Take Over Kano in 2011, Says Shuaibu

Former military governor of Niger and Plateau states, Colonel Habibu Idris  Shuaibu, speaks with Ibrahim Shuaibu on his ambition to vie for the governorship seat of Kano State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 You contested for the senatorial seat in 2007, but lost, now you want to be governor. Why did you dump your senatorial ambition for governorship?  &nbs..
Source:http://www.thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=185692 Read more...

UK may allow changes to air security checks

LONDON: The transport Secretary, Mr. Philip Hammond, has signalled his willingness to change the regulations on security checks at British airports.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday that, Hammond was responding to senior figures in the airline industry who had backed British Airways Chairman, Martin Broughton‘s attack on measures imposed by the United States.

Broughton said many of the checks were ”completely redundant.”

Hammond said he would be allowing airlines to look at ways of ”easing the passenger experience.”

He said practices such as forcing passengers to take off their shoes should be abandoned and he also questioned why laptop computers needed to be screened separately.

Responding to the BA chairman‘s comments, the former Head, policy, US Department of Homeland Security, Stewart Baker, said practices such as taking shoes off and limiting the amount of liquids taken on board were in place on domestic flights in the US.

However, air security analyst at Jane‘s Information Group, Mr. Chris Yates, said while a lot of measures were in place, they were not applied consistently in all the US airports.

Baker said Broughton was inferring that the UK was a ‘ US poodle‘, but that this was not the case.

He stated, ”It does sound as though he was kind of venting, rather than engaged in a careful analysis. I‘ve sort of learned that when Brits play the ‘poodle card‘, it‘s more emotional than rational and it sounded like he was playing the poodle card.”

Hammond responded to the row by saying the government would give airport operators permission, through changing the regulations, to look at the way they carry out security procedures.

”(They can) do them differently, if they believe that that can reduce the queuing and ease the passenger experience,” he said.

But he said he could not order the US to relax the restrictions on passengers travelling to the states.

He added, ”I have to defend the right of every country to define the security requirements that it places on flights entering its airspace.”

BAA, which operates six British airports including Heathrow and Glasgow, was supportive of Broughton‘s comments.

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US dollar overvalued – IMF


The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the United States dollar was overvalued on currency markets, while the euro, yen and pound were in line with fundamentals.

”The real effective exchange rates of Japan, the euro area, and the United Kingdom, all appear broadly in line with medium-term fundamentals, while the United States dollar is on the strong side of fundamentals,” the IMF said in a report to the Group of 20 economic powers.

Agency France Presse reported on Thursday that the IMF noted that recent government interventions in the foreign-exchange market had contributed to the imbalance, which had sparked fears of ”currency wars” to protect exports amid the global economic recovery.

”While advanced economies have generally avoided intervening in currency markets, some have intervened more recently to limit rapid appreciations, contributing to the above-mentioned tension on this issue,” IMF said.

The IMF reiterated its view that China‘s currency, the yuan, remained ”substantially undervalued.”

The Fund prepared the report for a G20 meeting of financial ministers and central bank governors in South Korea on October 22-23, in preparation for a G20 summit in mid-November.

Since then, the dollar has been relatively stable. The US currency had weakened sharply between mid-September and mid-October amid expectations that the Federal Reserve would restart major large-scale asset purchases to support a flagging recovery, effectively printing money.

In a final statement, the G20 finance chiefs agreed to ”refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies” and aim for ”more market-determined exchange rate systems.”

The IMF was empowered to police the agreement, which, however, lacks teeth in the absence of numerical targets for countries such as China to lower their swollen trade surpluses.

The IMF noted tensions among the G20 developed and developing members stemming from currency imbalances in part propelled by large capital inflows to fast-growing emerging economies as investors seeking higher-yielding returns.

Key emerging surplus economies, notably in Asia, have responded to the capital inflows by intervening in foreign-exchange markets to accumulate reserves and limit currency appreciation, the Washington-based institution said.

Those actions were contributing to ”continuing significant exchange rate misalignments relative to fundamentals – for instance, the Chinese reminbi remains substantially undervalued.”

Meanwhile, some other emerging economies, notably South Africa and countries in Latin America, have allowed their currencies to appreciate ”substantially,” boosting real-effective exchange rates to levels that appear increasingly overvalued, it warned.

”The significant cross-country differences in the extent of de facto exchange rate flexibility and the limited scope for policy responses in countries receiving large inflows is stirring some tension across G20 members,” the 187-nation IMF said.

The United States, burdened with a massive trade gap with China, is the leading critic of Beijing‘s currency policy. Washington accuses China of keeping the yuan undervalued to make its exports cheaper and gain an unfair trade advantage.

However, many emerging markets including China suspect that the United States is deliberately allowing the dollar to flounder on currency markets so that it can export its way back to prosperity.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010102953418 Read more...

Indonesia volcano erupts again


Indonesia volcano erupts again

 

  Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted again Friday, sending a plume about 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above the mountaintop, an extreme weather chaser said.

Ash drifted to the south after the eruption about 10 a.m. local time, weather chaser James Reynolds said.
Residents started streaming down the mountain, heading for safer ground. Some were being evacuated after having already returned home following eruptions earlier in the week, observers from the Volcanology Agency near Merapi said.
No injuries or deaths were immediately reported Friday.

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/28/indonesia.volcano/index.html?hpt=T2 Read more...

Law school seeks more funding







The Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Bwari in FCT, Dr Tahir Mamman, has called on the Federal Government to support the school through proper funding.

Mamman told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Bwari in FCT that the school would continue to produce high standard of lawyers in the country if it was properly funded.

“We in the law school are concerned with the appropriate environment for the training of lawyers.

It is the last point before lawyers are called to the bar, so the standard of such training must be high and we cannot have high standard if we are not properly funded.

“The issue of funding here is always a sore point. We wish that the government supports our work here, especially in the area of capital funds.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010293473815 Read more...

EFCC: Furore Over Advisory List


The advisory list released by the Farida Waziri-led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), containing names of politicians and other prominent Nigerians at the weekend, is another issue agitating the minds of many. It was one publication which has stirred the hornet’s nest with a number of persons seeking to know what exactly the commission seeks to achieve.
Events to unfold in the next couple of days will reveal the extent of the controversy that the list has generated in the polity. What makes the publication to be of concern to many, is the perception that it attempts to tread the path that the commission trod in 2007 when Nuhu Ribadu, was the commission’s chairman. Ribadu’s list caused a serious uproar prior to the 2007 general election as it was accompanied by a number of controversial acts. Some of the victims were the incumbent governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who was substituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the gubernatorial candidate of Rivers State with Celestine Omehia following the inclusion of his name on the list. Amaechi had to fight his way to the Supreme Court before the indictment was dismissed for lack of cogent and verifiable reasons. Another person was Peter Okocha, Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate at the 2007 general election in Rivers State who was disqualified but got a reprieve through judicial intervention.

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Wozniacki clinches year-end No.1 spot


Caroline Wozniacki recovered from the loss of the opening set to beat French Open champion Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships in Doha and seal the year-end No.1 spot. The Danish top seed prevailed 3-6 6-1 6-1 Thursday to claim her second victory in the Maroon Group round-robin and all but clinch her place in the semifinals of the $4.5 million end of season tournament.
But more importantly, it guarantees she will top the global rankings in 2010, having fluffed a chance to seal the status 24 hours earlier as she slumped to a straight sets defeat to Samantha Stosur of Australia, who has booked her place in the last four.
Is Wozniacki worthy number one ?
Wozniacki, who has yet to win a grand slam, has produced a late season run of five tournament wins from seven, to become world number one at the expense of Serena Williams of the United States.

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/tennis/10/28/wta.wozniacki.dementieva.stosur/index.html Read more...

FG Committed to Teacher Improvement’



he Federal Government is committed to improving the quality of teachers, because their position is central to the provision of quality education, Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi has said.
Gbagi, who made the remark at the formal flag-off the distribution of 500 computer sets, instructional materials and other learning kits to all National Teachers’ Institute (NTI)’s Study Centres across the country, held at the NTI Headquarters in Kaduna, recently, said the above could be achieved through professional development programmes provided by the Institute.
He said the distribution was a demonstration of Government’s determination to move the education sector to the next level and expressed optimism that the materials being distributed, if properly utilised, would go a long way in improving teaching and learning.
The Minister assured NTI of government’s continued support to enable it discharge its social responsibility of providing teacher education and congratulated it for successfully conducting re-training workshops for 140,000 teachers across the country under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) project last September.

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Mimiko defends appointment of new CJ




Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, 

Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has said that the appointment of the new state Chief Judge, Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi, was transparent and in line with the established practice.

Mimiko while administering the oath of office on the new CJ in Akure on Thursday, said the National Judicial Council picked Kumuyi as the new head of the state judiciary from the names of the three candidates recommended to the NJC by the state Judicial Service Commission.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, made available to THE PUNCH, said Kumuyi was also the most senior judge out of the three shortlisted for appointment as the CJ.

Kumuyi succeeds Justice Gladys Olateru-Olagbegi who formally bowed out of office on Thursday.

The appointment of Kumuyi had earlier been confirmed by the State House of Assembly yesterday in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Administering the oath of office on the CJ, Mimiko said the objective of his administration was to make the state judiciary the best in the state.

He said, “Our dream is to make Ondo State judiciary number one in Nigeria. In this direction, the executive arm of government will continue to co-operate with the judiciary to ensure that this strategic arm of government effectively discharge the sacred duty imposed on it by the constitution of our land.”

He said, “I have no doubt in my mind that your Lordship is ready for the job and will dutifully discharge the onerous responsibility expected of this high office. It is also my expectation that you abide by the oath of office which you have subscribed to. When there is peace in judiciary, there is going to be peace in the executive arm, there will also be peace in the legislature and even in the state generally.”

Responding, Justice Kumuyi pledged that he would not betray the confidence reposed in him and assured that the state judiciary would witness brighter days.

Among those who witnessed the ceremony were two former Attorneys-General and Commissioners for Justice as well as ex-Presidents of the Nigeria Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010293411490 Read more...

UK court orders detention of Nigerians’ cash






UK court orders detention of Nigerians’ cash

An Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in London has granted a request by the United Kingdom Border Agency to detain £500,000 (N115m) seized from two Nigerians at Heathrow Airport on October 20.

Officials of the UKBA had seized the sum from both men, a father and his son, as they flew into London from Paris, France. The men claimed that they were traders in wine, spirits and cosmetics and were going to use the cash, which they were carrying in their hand luggage, to buy supplies for their business.

Officers from the UK Border Agency discovered the money, which was in €500 notes and US$100 bills, when the pair were stopped as they arrived on the flight. But they were not arrested.

But, a statement by Political and Press Secretary, British High Commission, Abuja, Hooman Nouruzi, on Thursday said the court granted an order to hold the cash for a further four months pending the conclusion of investigation.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency had earlier this year announced that the €500 note would no longer be available over the counter in the UK after evidence showed over 90 per cent of UK demand was linked to criminality.

The statement added that the money was detained under the Proceeds of Crime Act and would only be returned if they can provide proof that it came from a legitimate source.

It added, “UK Border Agency officers have powers to detain any amount of cash that is declared or that they suspect is the proceeds of crime using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, this applies to travellers departing or arriving from EU and non-EU destinations.”

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029347575 Read more...

Bin Laden tape is real, French say


Bin Laden warns France to get out of Afghanistan.

A tape of a man claiming to be Osama Bin Laden threatening France appears to be authentic, the French Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Bin Laden warned France to get its troops out of Afghanistan and not to oppress Muslims at home in a tape broadcast by the Al-Jazeera network Wednesday.
"If you want to tyrannize and think that it is your right to ban the free women from wearing the burqa, isn't it our right to expel your occupying forces, your men from our lands by striking them by the neck?" the speaker demands, in reference to recently passed French legislation barring women from covering their faces in public.
"This message only confirms the reality of the terrorist threat against which the French authorities have taken and continue to take appropriate measures," the ministry said in a statement Thursday.
"French authorities are fully mobilized to secure the release of seven hostages kidnapped in Niger on September 16. These statements by Bin Laden will not affect our assessment of the situation of our hostages and obviously will, therefore, not erode our efforts to secure their release. France will continue to fight against terrorism alongside its partners," the ministry said.

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/28/france.bin.laden/index.html?hpt=T2 Read more...

Accreditation: Fashola assures LASU students

Accreditation: Fashola assures LASU students


Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Thursday assured that the accreditation issue at the Lagos State University, Ojo would not affect the course of development of its students.

A statement by Fashola’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, said the governor spoke in an interview with newsmen after delivering the fourth Lateef Femi Okunnu Annual Lecture at the Oduduwa Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Fashola, who spoke on ‘Democratic Consolidation and Good Governance in Nigeria - Myth or Reality,’ said the students were admitted lawfully with valid accreditation.

The governor explained that he had a similar experience as an udnergraduate at the University of Benin, when the National Universities Commission threatened to withdraw the accreditation of the law faculty because it lacked the required number of professors.

Fashola, who spoke against the background of a resolution passed by members of the state house of assembly calling for the sacking of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lateef Hussein, said the main issue was the interest of the students.

“The most important thing is to find out why the accreditation has been suspended because it could encompass a combination of human capacity, lecturer capacity and even availability. These are things to be checked and see if it can be remedied in the short term and where it came from,” he said.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010293374178
 
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Electoral Act: Reasons Senate rejected amendment bill


Details emerging from the National Assembly indicated at the weekend that a myriad of reasons instigated the Senators to reject the amendments proposed
by President Goodluck Jonathan to the 2010 Electoral Act.
The most contentious of the amendments was the push to make presidential aides and aides of governors automatic delegates to the national conventions of the political parties.
Sources in the Senate however confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that while the lawmakers were not opposed to the idea of granting the request for President Jonathan, many of them were afraid that the governors could use the same clause to knock out a number of senators and members of the House of Representatives.
One of the unstated reasons for the rejection of the bill according to a source had to do with the failure of the Jonathan camp to manage the legislature in a deliberate manner since his inception as president.
A top member of the National Assembly said that the usual consultations between the National Assembly and the Presidency had stopped in the last five months.
“During the period of President Olusegun Obasanjo, we used to meet every week. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua continued with the tradition. Later, he changed it to fortnightly before his sickness became worse. I have not heard of any such meeting of minds in recent months,” a source said.
The source added that the lawmakers, being the active participants in the lawmaking process have to know the underlining effects of every bill before it could be passed into law.

Read More:http://tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/front-page-articles/2373-electoral-act-reasons-senate-rejected-amendment-bill Read more...

National Assembly okays constitution amendments







After some initial hitches in the electronic voting procedure, the Senate and House of Represen-tatives yesterday approved all the clauses presented for amendment in the Constitution (Second Alteration) Bill 2010, thereby effectively moving the 2011 elections to April.


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This followed the unanimous adoption of the report of its committees on the review of the 1999 Constitution. The bill will now be forwarded to the 36 state houses of assembly for the concurrence of at least 24 of the legislative houses before the amendments can become law.
The bill was principally necessitated by the need to give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) more time to put all prerequisite logistics for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in place, especially as the timelines given the commission by the Constitution (First Altera-tion) Act were said to be too tight for next year's general election.
In the new amendments, new time-lines for the conduct of the National Assembly, state Houses of Assembly, presidential and governorship elections by INEC and also to address the process of adjudication of governorship election petitions have been accommodated.
With the amendments passed yesterday, Sections 76, 116, 132 and 178 of the First Alteration Act that stipulate the holding of elections on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 120 days before the expiration of the tenure of office of the respective incumbents were amended to read "not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before" the expiration of the respective incumbents' tenure of office.
This means that next year's general election, which was to have held in January according to the "not later than 120 days" timeline stipulated in the amended Act, would now hold in April next year, which is "not later than 30 days" to the May 29 hand-over date. 

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

[Feedback] Feedback Share this on: Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn Viadeo Stosur stuns No. 1 Wozniacki in Doha; Clijsters makes winning return


Samantha Stosur stopped Caroline Wozniacki from clinching the year-end women's No. 1 tennis ranking with a shock 6-4 6-3 victory at the WTA Championships in Qatar on Wednesday night. The Australian romped to her second straight victory in the Maroon Group, following her revenge win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone on Tuesday.
The Roland Garros runner-up's kick serve was a potent weapon against Wozniacki, with the triumph giving the 26-year-old every chance of reaching the semifinals ahead of her final group match against Russia's Elena Dementieva on Thursday.
It was her second victory over a top-ranked player this year, having beaten Serena Williams on the way to reaching the final in Paris


Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/tennis/10/27/tennis.stosur.wozniacki.clijsters.zvonareva/index.html Read more...

Energy labels coming to TVs in 2011


The new rules require EnergyGuide labels for all TVs made after May 10, 2011

All new televisions will soon include labels that estimate the TV's annual energy cost, and compare its consumption to that of other models, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.The rule will go into effect for all TVs made after May 10, 2011. The requirement is an expansion of the FTC's appliance labeling rule, which previously applied to other consumer electronics like washing machines and refrigerators.

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Flour Mills donates to varsity


Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has donated the sum of N5m to Wesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo to support the development of the institution.

The company‘s Group Managing Director, Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi, said the gesture was in demonstration of its commitment to giving back to the society.

Speaking at a thanksgiving service held at the Methodist Church, Ikate, Surulere, to mark the company’s 50th anniversary, Ukpabi also announced the donation of a 100KVA diesel generator to the church.

In his sermon, the Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Makinde, commended the company for putting God first by coming to the church to give thanks.

He noted that many companies which started operation with Flour Mills had folded up, and therefore, called on the government to provide the enabling environment to help the manufacturing sector grow.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010282501492 Read more...

Computer problem blamed for missile site malfunction

An Air Force technician inspects a Minuteman III missile in a silo in North Dakota.

A malfunctioning launch control center for a portion of the nation's nuclear missiles remained offline Wednesday as investigations continued into a weekend computer problem that disrupted communications with more than 10 percent of America's land-based nuclear missiles. Early indications are that Saturday's disruption to one of the launch control centers linked to Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming lasted longer than an hour, Lt. Col. John Thomas said. The problem appears to be very similar to glitches at two other nuclear missile sites in the late 1990s.
The United States has 450 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles in its nuclear arsenal. The 50 Minuteman III missiles involved in Saturday's incident are all currently at "normal operating capability," said Thomas, the director of public affairs for the Air Force's Global Strike Command. But while those missiles are typically controlled by five underground launch control centers, only four are currently online, he added.


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What's inside alcoholic energy drinks?

The name "Four" is derived from the major ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana and alcoho


Neon, caffeinated alcohol drinks often boast exotic-sounding ingredients such as taurine, guarana, ginkgo, bitter orange and ginseng. These give the beverage manufacturers clever marketing strategies, but do little else, said pharmacology and nutrition experts.
The key ingredients in these drinks are alcohol and caffeine. The rest is "silly window dressing," said David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Energy drinks became controversial after two colleges banned Four Loko, a caffeinated alcohol beverage, after students became ill.
'Blackout in a can' blamed for student party illnesses
The name "Four" is derived from the major ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana and alcohol, according to Phusion Projects, Four Loko's maker.


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Military wants to scan communications to find internal threats






The Pentagon wants computers to see into the future -- and stop crimes before they happen.
As the U.S Army considers whether Col. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in last year's Fort Hood massacre, should face a court-martial, it also is looking at whether the military missed signals that might have indicated what was about to happen.
Now a Pentagon research arm is asking scientists to create a way to scan billions of e-mails to identify suspects in advance so that crimes can be stopped before they are committed.
That's the goal of the latest $35 million project announced by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is credited with breakthroughs like the internet, GPS and stealth technology.
But this latest idea is already is drawing fire from privacy and security experts.
In a request for proposals, the think tank highlights the Fort Hood shootings.


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