Connect with us

E-Financial

Disappointing Retail Sales Pressures Sterling

Published

on

Kindly share this post

FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga comments on potential market reactions to the French Presidential elections this weekend.

Sterling attracted a school of sellers during early trading on Friday, following the disappointing 1.8% decline in U.K retail sales in March that rekindled fears of Brexit impacting the U.K economy.

U.K retail sales posted their largest quarterly fall in seven years in the first quarter of 2017, as accelerating prices and a Brexit-fueled Sterling selloff pressured consumers.

With wage growth lagging behind inflation, concerns may continue to heighten over the longevity of the U.K’s prized consumer-driven economic growth.

The Pound remains gripped by the Brexit developments as they continue moving forward and heightened political uncertainty created from the snap general election shocker should limit extreme upside gains.

From a technical standpoint, although the sustainability of the Sterling rebound can be questioned, the GBPUSD remains undeniably bullish on the daily timeframe.

The decisive breakout above 1.2775 could encourage a further incline higher towards 1.3000. On the other hand, if the bearish Brexit fundamentals inspire sellers, then repeated weakness below 1.2775 could open a path lower back towards 1.2600.

French Presidential Election Countdown Begins
The French presidential elections remain a major event risk that has the ability to send serious shockwaves across the financial markets. With recent polls indicating a fierce battle between the four candidates in the first round and millions of voters still undecided, uncertainty remains the name of the game.

Although Emmanuel Macron has been labelled as favorite to become the next French President, an unexpected Marine Le Pen victory could deal a symbolic blow to the unity of the European Union and ultimately create a tidal wave of risk aversion. Investors should remain diligent as we enter the weekend, and be prepared to expect the unexpected when dealing with the elections’ repercussions on the Euro.

From a technical standpoint, the EURUSD has struggled to close above the 1.0750 level, with pre-election jitters exposing the Euro to downside risks. If anxiety continues to heighten, then Euro bears may be inspired to send prices lower towards 1.06850 or lower.

Commodity spotlight – Gold
Jitters surrounding the forthcoming French presidential elections and the ongoing tensions engulfing North Korea have supported Gold this week, with prices balancing around $1280 as of writing. Risk aversion remains rife amid the political risk, with uncertainty accelerating the flight to safe haven investments.

Bulls remain in control on the daily charts and the decreased probability of a U.S interest rate increase in June could provide a foundation for buyers to attack.

If the mounting concerns over Trump’s ability to push through with fiscal spending continue to pressure the Dollar further, then Gold may target $1300 and potentially higher.

Much attention will also be directed towards the French elections this weekend and could spark a wave of risk aversion if the results of the first round rekindle Frexit concerns. From a technical standpoint, Gold bulls remain in control above $1260, with $1300 acting as the next key level of interest.

 

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

E-Financial

MoneyMaster PSB Marks 2024 Global Money Week

Published

on

Kindly share this post

MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), Nigeria’s payment service bank, is joining blue chip companies and other corporate entities across the globe to celebrate the 2024 Global Money Week from March 18 to 24, 2024.

In a press statement issued on the celebration, MMPSB emphasized  its commitment to the provision of top-notch banking services to its customers at all times, including payment services through wallets, savings, individual and business accounts, as well as provision of a platform for customers to buy airtime/data, pay bills and subscribe to cable television, amongst others.

MMPSB said its plans for the week include a “Catch them Young” experiential campaign to tutor kids on the need to embrace savings and investment culture. An estimated 5,000 students from across major schools in Nigeria have been programmed to participate in the week-long financial literacy training in the bank’s coordinating centres across 10 states.

Besides this, the MoneyMaster team will also engage teachers and enlighten them on basic knowledge of savings and investment for future purposes.

The bank added, “As part of the week-long celebration, MoneyMaster PSB will also be releasing thought leadership videos on safety and security on how banking customers can protect themselves. These videos will be shared to its customers via direct email and also on its social media handles for the benefit of the general public”.

The week, celebrated annually, creates global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people, from an early age, are financially aware, and are gradually acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve financial well-being.

“Protect your money, secure your future”, the theme for this year’s celebration,  is focused on safe money management, underscoring  the importance of adopting a responsible and informed approach to personal finance, by being aware of potential risks in the financial sector and protecting one’s hard-earned money.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Financial

Moniepoint Emerges Lead Sponsor of Payments Forum Nigeria – PAFON 1.0

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Moniepoint Inc. a global digital financial services provider with operations in Nigeria and an ongoing expansion into other emerging markets, has emerged the lead sponsor of the maiden edition of Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 1.0).

Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON] is an event focused on providing inside-look at the payment industry in the country, offering perspectives from key stakeholders, including payment networks, technology innovators, leading merchants, issuers, acquirers and payment processors.

The Forum is scheduled to take place this Thursday, March 21, 2024 at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Lagos by 9am-12noon, under the theme: “Payments: Trust, Security and Privacy in AI Era”.

Register here: https://bit.ly/4c4N19H

Moniepoint Inc., founded with the vision to create a society where everyone experiences financial happiness, joins other sponsors of the event: Digital Encode Limited (a leading consulting and integration that specializes in the design, management, and security of business-critical architecture); Cybervergent (a company dedicated to helping protect business sensitive data from cyber-attacks, including customer information, financial records and intellectual property); Payble (a fintech startup that modernises local government payments such as creating citizen-centric payment experiences, delivering flexible billing and simplified rate collection, and Inlaks, an IT company that offers core banking, fraud management, cybersecurity, cloud, data center, enterprise risk management, amongst other industry players.

Moniepoint Inc is the parent company of TeamApt Limited, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed Switch and Processor, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, a CBN-licensed Microfinance Bank, and operates the largest distribution network for financial services in Nigeria through its subsidiaries, and has been awarded by the CBN in 2022 as the most inclusive payment platform in the country.

Over 70 million people use their cards on Moniepoint’s POS terminals monthly across every local government in Nigeria.

Led by its Group CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint Inc.’s technology has powered businesses, offering all the payment, banking, credit and business management tools they need to succeed. It aims to power the dreams of businesses, their employees and customers by providing them with the financial technology tools they need to grow, no matter their digital literacy level.

Moniepoint Inc. currently processes the majority of the POS transactions in Nigeria through its subsidiaries, processing over $182 billion in TPV. It is Africa’s largest Fintech by transaction volume. It is profitable and, in 2022, became QED Investors’ first investment into Africa.

Moniepoint Inc was recently named as the Fintech Company of the Year by the Leadership Newspapers Group.

Speakers:

Meanwhile, speakers lined for PAFON 1.0 are: Chibuzo Efobi, Director, Payments System Management, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Festus Amede, Chairman, Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial institutions (CCISONFI); Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Chief Visionary Officer (CVO), Digital Encode Limited; Adetokunbo Omotosho, Chief Executive Officer, Cybervergent; Roosevelt Elias, Founder, Payble; Ikenna Ndugbu, Chief Compliance Officer, Moniepoint MFB, and others.

Participation:

Participation is FREE, however, pre-registration is required: https://bit.ly/4c4N19H


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Financial

BVN Registration Hits 61.16m

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System has said the registration for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) has now increased to 61.16 million, according to Vanguard report.

NIBSS disclosed this on its website on Saturday, adding that the BVN is 61,166,384 as of Friday, March 15, 2024.

Earlier in the year, the agency had reported that as of January 26, the BVN count stood at 59.9 million.

This indicates that there have been 674,280 new registrations for BVN between late January and mid-March.

The need for Nigerians to register their BVN arose following the demands by banks and telecommunication companies asking people to link their accounts and phone numbers with SIM.

Majority of Nigerians have let out their frustrations at some point when the linking of BVN with accounts were not successful.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending