Global oil markets are entering renewed volatility. Geopolitical tensions, shipping disruptions, and strategic producer decisions make sustained high prices more likely. The impact of oil prices in Africa goes beyond energy; they serve as a crucial economic lever shaping the fate of nations across the continent. Understanding this larger role sets the foundation for examining…
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“Gold is money. Everything else is credit.” — J. P. Morgan Gold, once seen as a relic of the old monetary order, is quietly reclaiming a role in reserve management. Last week, Nigeria’s Central Bank confirmed the purchase of locally sourced gold for the country’s foreign reserves. The move may seem small, but it reflects…
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Emerging markets are pivoting. After leading the world into aggressive tightening, they are now leading the turn toward easier money. Policy rates that once defended currencies and crushed inflation are beginning to fall — not because risks have vanished, but because the balance of risk has shifted. The question is no longer whether inflation can…
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In 2016, Nigeria was in recession. In 2026, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Nigeria will rank among the largest contributors to global real GDP growth. This shift is not cyclical. It is structural. And it says as much about the changing architecture of the global economy as it does about Nigeria itself. Importantly,…
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Prudence is designed to make financial systems safer. Higher capital buffers, stricter underwriting, stronger compliance, and clearer rules all serve one aim: reduce the chance that shocks become crises. Prudence has a shadow cost: when imposed abruptly, uniformly, or without regard to transmission, it can shrink the economy it intends to protect. Nigeria’s financial reset…
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Nigeria’s financial system is changing. It faces a major regulatory reset across banking, capital markets, fintech, FX intermediation, and cash usage. The trend is clear: higher capital, tighter compliance, clearer rules, and more market-based pricing, especially in foreign exchange. Officially, the goal is stability. In reality, it is during the adjustment phase that risk is…
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When central banks lower policy rates or governments deploy countercyclical fiscal stimulus, the standard transmission narrative is well known: the cost of capital declines, intertemporal substitution favors present consumption, risk appetite increases, private investment accelerates, and aggregate demand recovers. Monetary easing should relax financial conditions and spur balance-sheet expansion. Fiscal transfers and spending should smooth…
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