Business

Resolve trade tensions inimical to global economic growth – IMF tells countries

Published

2 months ago

April 25, 2025

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, on Thursday urged countries to swiftly resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

Georgieva said the unpredictability arising from President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports was causing companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending.

She made the call while addressing reporters in a briefing during the spring meetings of the IMF and its sister agency, the World Bank.

“Uncertainty is bad for business,’’ she said.

Georgieva’s comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook for world economic growth this year.

The 191-country lending organisations which seek to promote global growth, financial stability and to reduce poverty, also sharply lowered its forecast for the United States.

It said the chances that the world’s biggest economy would fall into recession have risen from 25 per cent, to about 40 per cent.

Georgieva warned that the economic fallout from the trade conflict would fall most heavily on poor countries, which do not have the money to offset the damage.

Trump, since his second return to the White House on January 20, has aggressively imposed tariffs on American trading partners.

Among other things, he slapped 145 per cent import taxes on China and 10 per cent on almost every country in the world, raising U.S. tariffs to levels not seen in more than a century.

He has, however, repeatedly changed US policy, suddenly suspending or altering the tariffs.

This has reportedly left companies bewildered about what he is trying to accomplish and what his endgame might be.

Trump’s tariffs culminated in a sharp reversal of decades of U.S. policy in favour of free trade and the resulting uncertainty around them have caused a week-long rout in financial markets.

But stocks rallied Wednesday, after the Trump administration signaled that it was open to reducing the massive tariffs on China.

“There is an opportunity for a big deal here,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.

Up Next

Aussie boss’s $2,000 mistake after using AI to write a work email

Don't Miss

Naira depreciates against dollar across official, black markets after Easter holidays

Click to comment

Business

Nigeria projected among top-five world’s biggest economies

Published

2 days ago

June 28, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Nigeria has been projected to be among the top five biggest economies in the world by 2075.

The Spectator Index disclosed in a post on Friday, quoting a Goldman Sachs’ document titled ‘The Path to 2075—Slower global growth, but convergence remains intact’.

According to the news platform, Nigeria’s economy is estimated to reach $13.1 trillion by 2075.

The report showed that Nigeria followed China ($57 trillion), India ($52.5 trillion), the United States of America ($51.5 trillion), and Indonesia ($13.7 trillion) in projected world’s biggest economies by 2075.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.84 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. The country’s GDP is estimated to be $568 billion at the end of 2024 in real GDP terms.

Africa’s most populous nation is expected to reach a GDP estimate that could be $585.9 billion.

The development comes as the President Bola Tinubu administration projects a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Meanwhile, financial analysts had expressed doubts over the possibility of Nigeria achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030 when the country’s projected GDP growth rate is 3.2 percent.

Business

Dangote Sugar, Oando, other stocks push NGX to N1.185tn gains

Published

4 days ago

June 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Oando, Dangote Sugar and other stocks have propelled Nigerian Exchange Limited, known as the Nigerian Stock Market, to a significant N1.185 trillion single-day gain.

Accordingly, NGX market capitalisation increased by 1.57 percent to reach N76.761 trillion, up from N75.576 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,466.87 points, or 1.22 percent, settling at 121,257.69 from its previous close of 119,790.82.

Other stocks that fueled the bullish run on Wednesday are Cileasing, Champion Breweries, and 59 other stocks.

Consequently, Ekwutosblog reports that market breadth closed positive, with 63 gainers and 17 losers.

On the gainers’ table, Dangote Sugar rose by 10 percent, closing at N48.40, while Oando Plc also increased by 10 percent, settling at N68.75 per share. Then, Cileasing grew by 9.98 percent, finishing at N5.18, and Champion Breweries soared by 9.98 percent, ending the session at N10.91 per share.

Also, Computer Warehouse Group gained by 9.95 percent, closing at N11.60 per share.

Meanwhile, conversely, University Press dropped by 6.25 percent, finishing at N6.00, while RT Briscoe fell by 6.12 percent, closing at N2.30 per share.

Multiverse Mining declined by 4.89 percent, settling at N8.75, and Meyer shed 4.69 percent, ending the session at N9.15 per share.

In another level of analysis, a total of 861.67 million shares worth N26.18 billion were exchanged across 22,896 transactions.

This is compared to 868.68 million shares worth N23.71 billion that were traded across 22,207 transactions earlier.

Market data showed that transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 82.98 million shares worth N1.66 billion. Accordingly, Caverton Offshore Support Group followed with 64.18 million shares valued at N319.69 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 60.62 million shares worth N3.45 billion.

Also, Ja Paul Gold traded 56.26 million shares valued at N115.35 million, and Access Corporation sold 48.59 million shares worth N1.12 billion.