Timothy Ray Brown, First person to be cured of HIV/AIDS

The Telegraph
Researchers believe that there will be a breakthrough in finding a cure for HIV “within months”.
Danish scientists are expecting results that will show that “finding a mass-distributable and affordable cure to HIV is possible”.
They are conducting clinical trials to test a “novel strategy” in which the HIV virus is stripped from human DNA and destroyed permanently by the immune system.
The move would represent a dramatic step forward in the attempt to find a cure for the virus, which causes Aids.

With modern HIV treatment if medication is stopped, HIV reservoirs become active and start to produce more of the virus Photo: Alamy

The scientists are currently conducting human trials on their treatment, in the hope of proving that it is effective. It has already been found to work in laboratory tests.
The technique involves releasing the HIV virus from “reservoirs” it forms in DNA cells, bringing it to the surface of the cells. Once it comes to the surface, the body’s natural immune system can kill the virus through being boosted by a “vaccine”.
In vitro studies — those that use human cells in a laboratory — of the new technique proved so successful that in January, the Danish Research Council awarded the team 12 million Danish kroner (£1.5 million) to pursue their findings in clinical trials with human subjects.
These are now under way, and according to Dr Søgaard, the early signs are “promising”.
Dr Ole Søgaard, a senior researcher at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark who is part of the research team, said: “I am almost certain that we will be successful in releasing the reservoirs of HIV.
“The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognise the virus and destroy it. This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems.”
Fifteen patients are currently taking part in the trials, and if they are found to have successfully been cured of HIV, the “cure” will be tested on a wider scale.
Dr Søgaard stressed that a cure is not the same as a preventative vaccine, and that raising awareness of unsafe behaviour, including unprotected sex and sharing needles, remains of paramount importance in combating HIV.
With modern HIV treatment, a patient can live an almost normal life, even into old age, with limited side effects.
However, if medication is stopped, HIV reservoirs become active and start to produce more of the virus, meaning that symptoms can reappear within two weeks.
Finding a cure would free a patient from the need to take continuous HIV medication, and save health services billions of pounds.
The technique is being researched in Britain, but studies have not yet moved on to the clinical trial stage. Five universities — Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, London, University College, London and King’s College, London — have jointly formed the Collaborative HIV Eradication of Reservoirs UK Biomedical Research Centre group (CHERUB), which is dedicated to finding an HIV cure.
They have applied to the Medical Research Council for funding to conduct clinical trials, which will seek to combine techniques to release the reservoirs of HIV with immunotherapy to destroy the virus.
In addition, they are focusing on patients that have only recently been infected, as they believe this will improve chances of a cure. The group hopes to receive a funding decision in May.
“When the first patient is cured in this way it will be a spectacular moment,” says Dr John Frater, a clinical research fellow at the Nuffield School of Medicine, Oxford University, and a member of the CHERUB group.
“It will prove that we are heading in the right direction and demonstrate that a cure is possible. But I think it will be five years before we see a cure that can be offered on a large scale.”
The Danish team’s research is among the most advanced and fast moving in the world, as that they have streamlined the process of putting the latest basic science discoveries into clinical testing.
This means that researchers can progress more quickly to clinical trials, accelerating the process and reaching reliable results sooner than many others.
The technique uses drugs called HDAC Inhibitors, which are more commonly used in treating cancer, to drive out the HIV from a patient’s DNA. The Danish researchers are using a particularly powerful type of HDAC inhibitor called Panobinostat.
Five years ago, the general consensus was that HIV could not be cured. But then Timothy Ray Brown, an HIV sufferer — who has become known in the field as the Berlin Patient — developed leukaemia.
He had a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that made his cells resistant to HIV. As a result, in 2007 Mr Brown became the first man to ever be fully cured of the disease.
Replicating this procedure on a mass scale is impossible. Nevertheless, the Brown case caused a sea change in research, with scientists focusing on finding a cure as well as suppressing the symptoms.
Two principal approaches are currently being pursued. The first, gene therapy, aims to make a patient’s immune system resistant to HIV. This is complex and expensive, and not easily transferrable to diverse gene pools around the world.
The second approach is the one being pursued by Dr Søgaard and his colleagues in Denmark, the CHERUB group in Britain, and by other laboratories in the United States and Europe.

 
The U.S. economy accelerated at the beginning of the year, but don't get too excited. Economists aren't very optimistic that trend will continue in the months ahead.
Gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic output -- rose at a 2.5% annual pace in the first three months of the year, driven largely by a pick-up in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.

Consumer spending, which alone accounts for roughly two-thirds of GDP, rose at a 3.2% annual pace, the fastest pace since the end of 2010.
At first glance, that's pretty remarkable, since most workers saw their take-home pay drop in January, following the end of the payroll tax cut.
But the data also shows that consumers funded that spending in part by saving less. Americans saved an average of 2.6% of their disposable income in the first quarter, down from 4.7% at the end of 2012.
"Households are drawing down savings, and they are borrowing to continue spending," said Steve Cunningham, director of research and education for the American Institute for Economic Research. "That won't last forever."
What were people buying? Primarily, more services. That too could be partly temporary in nature.
Americans spent more on housing and utilities, which rebounded after slumping following Hurricane Sandy in the prior quarter. This March was also the coldest since 2002, a weather patten that boosted the demand for heating.
Consumer spending on durable goods like autos also contributed to stronger economic growth, but to a lesser extent.
On the business side, investment in equipment and software added slightly to growth. An even bigger boost, however, came as businesses restocked their shelves and warehouses after drawing down their inventories in the fourth quarter. That effect is also likely to be temporary, Cunningham said.
Related: The global economy is losing steam
Meanwhile, cuts in government spending, mainly related to defense, dragged on the economy in the first quarter.
The last two quarters marked the biggest six-month contraction in the federal government's economic activity since the months following the Korean War, which ended in 1953, noted Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist of Capital Economics.
Spending by federal, state and local governments is now lower than it was in mid-2007, before the recession began.
Given the fiscal squeeze, Ashworth said it's rather impressive that the economy still grew 2.5% in the first quarter. Since the recovery began in mid-2009, the economy has grown an average of 2.1% a year. Once you strip out the government's spending, though, that growth looks more like 3.1%.
"It's becoming more and more clear that the public sector is the real thing holding the economy back now," he said.
Public-sector cutbacks are likely to continue dragging on the economy through the rest of the year as the federal government alone cuts $85 billion over a seven-month period.
Economic growth isn't likely to be as strong in the second quarter. Other economic data already shows the economy may have lost some steam starting in March.
Job growth slowed, retail sales slumped and the manufacturing sector showed signs of weakness.
Overall, the first quarter GDP report was a bit of a letdown. Economists had been expecting the economy to grow at an even stronger rate of 2.8%.
"Even this weaker-than-hoped-for growth rate exaggerates the true underlying momentum in the economy," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
U.S. stocks were mixed Friday morning, following the report.
CNN

President Goodluck Jonathan has endorsed the establishment of a Multi-Stakeholder Trust Fund, MSTF, in order to fast tract the development of the Niger Delta region.

President Jonathan who endorsed the mechanism Friday while inaugurating the 40-member National Council on Niger Delta at the Le Meridien Hotel, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, said, the process will create development partners to ensuring transformation of the region.

The proposed MSTF is expected to solve the decades of funding problems faced in the process of developing the region.

Under this arrangement as contained in the Niger Delta Action Plan, developed by the Ministry, the MSTF will mobilise an additional $200 million, about N3.2billion,  as the first tranche of funding.

President Jonathan who was represented by his Vice President Arch. Namadi Sambo, said, the government is committed to push forward a new dawn of development in the region.

He said, “this mechanism will assist the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to more effectively coordinate development resources from different stakeholders in achieving the intended objectives.

“Today’s event marks one in the series of efforts by the Federal Government to consolidate and reaffirm all commitments to the people of the Niger Delta, made within the framework of the Amnesty programme in 2010.

“We must now capitalize on the prevailing peace frameworks in the region to push forward a new dawn in the region. When we work together, we are better able to unleash our creative potentials in optimising our huge human and natural resources for the stability and prosperity of the Niger Delta, and the good and progress of our people.”

The President stressed further that, “we consider it a priority to sustain the consolidation of the current security situation in order to deepen the very foundations of durable and mutually beneficial peace.

“This is achievable if we forthrightly and with articulation to address the development challenges and neglect of its people.”

He said, this has been the foremost objective in the development of the Niger Delta Action Plan, by this administration, to complement the specific commitments contained in the Amnesty programme.

“This plan is also of great relevant for its concrete, comprehensive and coherent programme of investments in the social and infrastructure sectors of the various communities of the Niger Delta. This enthusiasm that met its recent presentation at the stakeholders’ conference, is an encouraging indication of joint purpose.”

The Action Plan according to him if implemented diligently will help to drive on investment programme of economic and social empowerment that will increase the capacity of communities to partake in their own development process.
The Vanguard

(Reuters) - With signs of a slower economy mounting, the near-term outlook for U.S. stocks isn't rosy, but investors may find comfort next week from the world's major central banks.

The Federal Reserve will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the report of weaker-than-expected, first-quarter growth could reinforce expectations the Fed will keep purchasing bonds at a pace of $85 billion a month.

Low interest rates and ample liquidity provided by the Fed and other central banks have buoyed global equity markets because low borrowing costs for businesses and consumers lead to richer corporate profits. Major U.S. stock indexes hit record highs earlier this month.

"As long as it looks like central banks are on your side and on investors' side as far as providing more liquidity, that's going to help improve sentiment," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

"I don't think (Fed officials) have got enough data since the last meeting to really justify changing policy. I really don't think they're going to look at slowing the pace of purchases until probably September."

A strong commitment from the Fed to continue its stimulative policy, coupled with corporate earnings that have mostly exceeded lowered forecasts, could help Wall Street extend a rally despite signs that the U.S. economic recovery is losing momentum.

Even though the market ended flat on Friday, its performance for the week was positive. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1.7 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 percent and Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.3 percent

The economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday, short of expectations of 3.0 percent and setting a cautious tone.

A heavy slate of key economic indicators will be released next week, including personal income and spending, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing and services activity indexes, pending home sales, the Chicago purchasing managers' index and consumer confidence from the Conference Board.

The highlight of the week will come on Friday when the Labor Department releases its employment report for April.

Economists polled by Reuters are looking for job growth of 150,000, up from 88,000 in March. The unemployment rate is likely to remain unchanged at 7.6 percent.

"Today's (GDP) data suggests maybe the momentum is much weaker that what was priced in," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers in Newark, New Jersey.

"We have had a very strong rally, so people are looking for any trigger for profit-taking," he said. Praveen said the market could see a 5 percent pullback in the months ahead should upcoming data prove weaker than expected.

Stocks have had a wild run over the past week after hackers attacked the website of stock broker Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) and a false report on the Associated Press's Twitter account about explosions at the White House sent the market into a brief tailspin.

On Thursday, a software glitch shut down the Chicago Board Options Exchange for half the day, preventing trading in options on two of the stock market's most closely watched indexes and delivering the latest blow to confidence in the way U.S. financial markets operate.

EUROPE, EARNINGS

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and investors will watch to see if it delivers an interest-rate cut as the euro zone economy deteriorates further. Further monetary easing would encourage investors to buy riskier assets and boost stocks.

"The market has been rallying on the fact the ECB might actually start to do something; if the U.S. market reacts in the same way, that might get the market rallying," said John Canally, investment strategist and economist for LPL Financial in Boston.

With earnings reporting now half over, investors will look to see if companies can continue to exceed profit estimates despite lackluster revenue.

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 271 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings for the first quarter, 69 percent have beaten analysts' expectations, above the 63 percent average since 1994.

However, only 43.9 percent have topped analysts' revenue forecasts, well below the 62 percent average since 2002 and the 52 percent rate for the last four quarters.

Analysts now see earnings growth of 3.8 percent this quarter, up from expectations of 1.5 percent on April 1.

Next week Dow components reporting results will be Pfizer (PFE.N) and Merck (MRK.N). Other companies scheduled to report include Loews Corp (L.N), Aetna Inc (AET.N), Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N), Visa Inc (V.N), Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) and Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT.O).

David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, based in Boston where he helps oversee about $700 billion in assets, said the lackluster figures suggest the second quarter may not be as robust as hoped.

"Right now, markets are going through an adjustment process, trying to figure out just how robust the economy is here and overseas as well," Joy said. "You have investors sort of biding their time. They are invested, but not with complete conviction."

Japan's population has been reluctant to spend in the face of falling prices

Can Japan win the war against deflation?
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has raised its forecast for both economic growth and inflation this year in its twice yearly report.

The BoJ now estimates growth for the year from March to March of 2.9%, up from its previous forecast of 2.3%.

Of equal interest was its forecast for inflation, which it lifted to 0.7% from 0.4%.

Deflation has been one of the biggest bugbears for Japanese policy makers as it holds back consumer spending.

The bank said: "Japan's economy has stopped weakening and has shown some signs of picking up."

It said it was expecting an increase in demand ahead of tax increases which will double sales taxes to 10% by 2015.

Japan, the world's third-largest economy, has the developed the worst debt-to-GDP ratio.

Earlier this month the BoJ announced the latest in a series of massive stimulus boosts, aimed at lifting the country out of a decades long economic doldrums.

Before the announcement, the scale of the task of reflating Japan was underlined by inflation data, showing prices fell by 0.5% between March 2012 and March 2013.
BBC

The Earth's solid inner core is surrounded by a fast-moving liquid core, giving rise to the planet's magnetic field

New measurements suggest the Earth's inner core is far hotter than prior experiments suggested, putting it at 6,000C - as hot as the Sun's surface.

The solid iron core is actually crystalline, surrounded by liquid.

But the temperature at which that crystal can form had been a subject of long-running debate.

Experiments outlined in Science used X-rays to probe tiny samples of iron at extraordinary pressures to examine how the iron crystals form and melt.

Seismic waves captured after earthquakes around the globe can give a great deal of information as to the thickness and density of layers in the Earth, but they give no indication of temperature.

That has to be worked out either in computer models that simulate the Earth's insides, or in the laboratory.

X-ray vision
Measurements in the early 1990s of iron's "melting curves" - from which the core's temperature can be deduced - suggested a core temperature of about 5,000C.

"It was just the beginning of these kinds of measurements so they made a first estimate... to constrain the temperature inside the Earth," said Agnes Dewaele of the French research agency CEA and a co-author of the new research.

"Other people made other measurements and calculations with computers and nothing was in agreement. It was not good for our field that we didn't agree with each other," she told BBC News.

The core temperature is crucial to a number of disciplines that study regions of our planet's interior that will never be accessed directly - guiding our understanding of everything from earthquakes to the Earth's magnetic field.

"We have to give answers to geophysicists, seismologists, geodynamicists - they need some data to feed their computer models," Dr Dewaele said.

The team has now revisited those 20-year-old measurements, making use of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility - one of the world's most intense sources of X-rays.

To replicate the enormous pressures at the core boundary - more than a million times the pressure at sea level - they used a device called a diamond anvil cell - essentially a tiny sample held between the points of two precision-machined synthetic diamonds.

Once the team's iron samples were subjected to the high pressures and high temperatures using a laser, the scientists used X-ray beams to carry out "diffraction" - bouncing X-rays off the nuclei of the iron atoms and watching how the pattern changed as the iron changed from solid to liquid.

Those diffraction patterns give more insight into partially molten states of iron, which the team believes were what the researchers were measuring in the first experiments.

They suggest a core temperature of about 6,000C, give or take 500C - roughly that of the Sun's surface.

But importantly, Dr Dewaele said, "now everything agrees".
BBC

A US citizen will be tried soon on charges including attempting to overthrow North Korea's government, the North's official news agency says.

KCNA says that Pae Jun-Ho has admitted the charges, without specifying when the verdict will be handed down.

Pae Jun-Ho, who is known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was held last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.

His case comes at a time of high tension between Pyongyang and Washington.

This follows North Korea's third nuclear test in February.

'Proved by evidence'
"The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun-Ho closed," the KCNA said in a report on Saturday.

"In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it.

"His crimes were proved by evidence," the report added. "He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgement."

It is not clear what sort of sanction Mr Pae, 44, might face, although North Korea's criminal code provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for similar offences.

North Korea has arrested several US citizens in recent years, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytism. They have been released after intervention by senior American public figures.

Mr Pae, believed to be a tour operator of Korean descent, is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009.

'Bargaining chip'
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson have all been involved in mediation efforts to gain the release of previous American detainees.

In one of the most high-profile cases, Mr Clinton negotiated the release in 2009 of two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been found guilty of entering North Korea illegally.

"For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the US," Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul told Associated Press news agency.

"The North will use him in a way that helps bring the US to talks when the mood slowly turns toward dialogue,'' he said.

Mr Pae was reportedly arrested in November after arriving in Rason - a special economic zone in the north-east of the country near the Russian border.

Washington has so far not publicly commented on the latest development.

The US and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations. The Swedish embassy in Pyongyang represents the US.
BBC

Almost two million North Koreans now use the country's only 3G network, reports a blog dedicated to technology news in North Korea.

The figure has been confirmed by 3G provider Koryolink, a partnership between Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom and the North Korean government.

The service can only be used to make voice calls, and all international calls are banned.

At the start of 2012 Koryolink claimed to have one million 3G subscribers.

In January 2013 the government began allowing visitors to the country to bring in their mobile phones for the first time.

Unlike residents, they would now be able to use the 3G network for mobile internet access as well, by purchasing local SIM cards, the country said at the time.

However last month a China-based tour operator called Koryo Tours, which specialises in tourist visits to North Korea, posted a note on its website saying that 3G was no longer available for visitors.

North Koreans only have access to a very limited, state-run set of internet pages.

When Google Chair Eric Schmidt visited the country at the start of the year he urged the government to allow citizens access to the wider internet and said it would be "easy" for the 3G network to include data access.

"As the world becomes increasingly connected, the North Korean decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth," he wrote in a blog post.
BBC

Apart from Ekiti, Enugu, Katsina, Imo, Abia States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), all other states in Nigeria will experience a devastating flood this year.

The states are Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Rivers, Taraba, Plateau, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Niger, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kwara,  Kogi, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe, Edo, Ebonyi, Delta, Cross Rivers, Benue, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Adamawa.

This was contained in 2013 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) for Nigeria presented by the Director General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), John Shamonda.

Speaking after a three-day programme on the flood outlook, organised by the NIHSA, Shamonda, said efforts were being geared towards ensuring that the effect was less felt in these areas.

The DG explained that 156 Local Government Areas would experience the devastating flood, while other areas might not be affected at all.

“Floods and associated hazards may be inevitable, but they can be minimised and turned into an opportunity to transform society into a higher level of sustainability. This requires pro-activeness and a change of paradigm from emergency management to flood risk management in order to avert a disaster," he said.

The DG said his agency came to the conclusion of the flood forecast based on the earlier report by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), which led his team to assess flood outlook that came out with the report.

He said: “The 2012 NIMET SRP drew the attention to high rainfall which led to devastating floods across Nigeria. NIMET’s 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP)   has again indicated that high rainfalls are to be expected in some parts of the country in 2013. In response to this prediction, the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency set up a Technical Committee to assess the Flood Outlook for 2013 in Nigeria.

“In the absence of a reliable model adapted for flood forecasting for the country, the committee adopted simple empirical techniques of relating flood factors referenced to 2012 data and flood extent in combination with spatial analysis using our own method to assess the flood outlook for 2013 based on NIMET’s 2013 SRP data.

“The analysis of deviation in annual rainfall and length of season, together with 2012 flow discharges observed at selected stations led to the outlook of greater flooding scenario across the country than occurred in 2012. A digital map of the country showing the spatial extent of flooding to be expected in 2013 is a major output of the assessment.”

Shamonda said the expected areas of worse scenario of river flooding were located in the Komadugu Yobe Basin and the Niger and Benue troughs.

“The peak floods at the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue to the Niger Delta are also expected to be as high as the 2012 floods. The worst scenario are expected in Kogi, Edo, Delta and Anambra States, the Coastal Delta States of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta and some States in the Southwest such as Ondo, Ogun, and Lagos are expected to have coastal flooding.

“Also flash floods are expected in major urban centres of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Yola, Onitsha, Oshogbo, Ibadan, except where urban drainage facilities may have been cleared of debris and waste dumps.

As part of efforts in cushioning the effect of the flood, the NIHSA boss recommended that the major reservoirs on the Komadugu, Yobe Basin and the Niger and Benue basins should be lowered of storage in May and June in order to accommodate flood water arriving from July.

Continuing, he said: “Governments at all levels should create awareness on the need for communities to relocate to safer terrain. The need to develop flood modelling and early warning systems cannot be overemphasized with current trends in climate and weather change.

“There is also need to carry out a comprehensive flood hazard map for all areas considered at risk of flooding in the country”.

While commending the NIHSA for the early warning given to Nigerians concerning flood in 2013, Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochkepe urged the people to incorporate risk management principles in water resources management, prevent flood hazards turning into disasters, as well as increasing multidisciplinary approaches in flood management.

Ochekpe also enjoined Nigerians to improve information on integrated flood management approaches, alleviate poverty through preventive and response strategies for flood vulnerable sections and finally enhance community participation in irrigation and appropriate adaption.

“The 2013 Flood Outlook is a flood risk management element which entails multidisciplinary contributions to improve information that will promote preventive and responsive strategies in mitigating the impacts of floods through informed decisions by relevant authorities and agencies
Thisday

Weekly transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on bearish note on Friday as the market indices depreciated further.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market indices dropped by 0.34 per cent following price losses.
The NSE All-Share Index lost 112.26 points to close at 33,159.08 against the 33,271.34 posted on Thursday.
Also, the market capitalisation, which opened at N10.64 trillion, dropped N36 billion to close at N10.60 trillion.
Total topped the losers’ table with N15 to close at N157 per share.
Nestle trailed with N2.01 to close at N898, while Unilever lost N1.50 to close at N55 per share.
Cadbury depreciated by N1.29 to close at N32.21, while Dangote Cement lost N1.15 to close at N158.85 per share.
On the other hand, Ashaka Cement recorded the highest price gain to lead the gainers’ chart by 29k to close at N23.50 per share.
Dangote Sugar came second on the gainers’ chart with 20k to close at N7.49, while RT Briscoe gained 18k to close at N2 per share.
GTBank appreciated by 15k to close at N25.55, while John Holt increased by 14k to close at N1.54 per share.
NAN reports that in all 123.54 million volume of shares valued N1.61 billion transacted in 3,876 deals.
This is against the 634.71 million shares worth N4.24 billion exchanged by investors in 4,729 deals.
Skye Bank emerged the most traded stock, accounting for 14.56 million shares valued N81.36 million.
It was followed by GTBank with 10.66 million shares worth N272.19 million, whille FBN Holdings sold a total of 8.20 million shares valued at N162.24 million.
NAN

Islamist sect, Boko Haram, was paid an equivalent of around $3.15 million by French and Cameroonian negotiators before freeing seven French hostages this month, Reuters reported yesterday quoting “a confidential Nigerian government report.”
It said the memo did not specify who paid the ransom for the family of seven who were all released on April 19.
Cameroon was said to have freed some Boko Haram detainees as part of the deal.
France and Cameroon reiterated denials that any ransom was paid. Nigerian authorities declined to comment.
Armed men on motorcycles snatched Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, his wife, brother and the couple’s four young children, the youngest of whom was four years old, on February 19 while they were on holiday near the Waza national park in north Cameroon, some 10 km from the Nigerian border. They were believed to have been held in northeast Nigeria.
Boko Haram claimed the capture of the family of Moulin-Fournier who worked in Cameroon for French utility firm GDF Suez.
French President Francois Hollande at the time denied any money was paid when the family was released on April 19.
The Nigerian memo, according to Reuters, suggests that 1.6 billion CFA francs ($3.15 million) was paid, but that right up until the last minute Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had insisted on double that, before agreeing to reduce it if some Boko Haram members in Cameroonian jails were freed.
Reacting to the report, a French foreign ministry official said that France has passed a clear message that it does not pay ransoms. Cameroon government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said “Cameroon did not pay any ransom”.
A spokesman for Nigeria’s government declined to comment.
The report suggests Nigerian security forces decided not to try to rescue the hostages so as not to endanger their lives. A botched rescue attempt of a British and an Italian hostage believed to have been held by Islamist sect Ansaru in March last year resulted in both hostages being killed.
French news network i-tele reported earlier yesterday that a ransom of $7 million had been paid, suggesting either Cameroon President Paul Biya or GDF-Suez had paid it.
Eight French hostages are being held in the Sahel region, although the fate of one of them is unclear after al-Qaeda’s north African arm last month said it had beheaded Philippe Verdon.
Hollande has said Paris has ended a policy of paying ransoms for hostages, but suspicion that the country still does despite official denials has been a source of tension with the United States.
France brushed off an allegation by a former U.S. diplomat that it paid a $17 million ransom in vain for the release of four hostages abducted in 2010 from Niger.
Hollande told the family of the Sahel hostages in January that the new policy also meant that he had told companies and insurance firms not to pay ransoms.
The Nation

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s 2013 Annual Meetings take place from 27-31 May in Marrakech, Morocco.

The 48th meetings of the AfDB and the 39th meetings of the African Development Fund (ADF) will be held under the central theme of “Structural Transformation in Africa.”

For the AfDB, transforming Africa’s economies entails diversifying and expanding the sources of economic growth and opportunity in a manner that promotes greater productivity for sustained and inclusive economic development.

“A major policy challenge for Africa today is how to broaden access to economic opportunities for its expanding population, including the most vulnerable groups,” the Bank says in its 2012 Annual Report, which will be presented to the institution’s Governors at the Marrakech meetings.

“Africa requires structural transformation to propel it towards inclusive growth,” the report says, citing high unemployment and underemployment especially among young people and women, as one of the main problems facing the continent today.

Structural transformation will not materialise unless there is a concomitant investment in skills development in areas that have kept the continent behind other developing regions. In this regard, Africa needs to harness its natural resources to build skills for its youthful population in order to leapfrog development and secure a place in the global value chain.

Developing skills will unleash the dynamism of Africa’s untapped entrepreneurship potential, creating opportunities for increased job and wealth creation. An enlightened population is also important in Africa’s global engagement in trade and commerce.

“The key message is that Africa should accelerate its structural transformation by boosting the potential of its youthful population, investing in science and technology and innovation, speeding up its rate of economic integration, greening the economy and supporting private sector enterprise,” the report emphasised.
Businessday

Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has disclosed that the size of Nigeria’s agriculture sector is currently estimated at $99 billion a year, with potential to grow to about $256 billion annually, over the next few years.

He disclosed this in Sao Paulo Brazil at a dinner with Brazilian investors and stakeholders in agribusiness during an official tour of agro-ventures in the country, Adesina, who said that Brazil was a net importer of food, just like Nigeria few years ago has since risen above her challenges to become a net expoter.

“The size of Nigeria agriculture is $99 billion a year and we want to grow that to about $256 billion annually but we should not wait till 10 years or 20 years before seeking credible partnership with those whose history is in sync with Nigeria’s to learn from Brazilian experience in order to achieve the purpose of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

The Brazil study visit was arranged and supported by Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for the main purpose of ensuring that Nigeria looks inward and harness its potentials to become a net exporter of food as Brazil.

According to him, ATA of Nigeria recognized the fact that her dependency on oil was not sustainable and so it was decided that the economy must be grown in a manner that would create jobs, stressing that the efforts made so far under scheme has made her the 4th fastest growing economy in the world and number one when it comes to foreign direct investment and there is no doubt that Nigeria is coming up just as Brazil.

In order to achieve the goal of ATA, he said government has started doing things differently including value chain approach to agriculture, focusing on import substitutions and getting private sectors regular investment also providing incentives for private sectors to grow the agriculture sector in the way it has never been done before, which includes, tax holidays, 0 per cent duty on all agricultural machineries and equipment.

“A risk sharing facility with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that will leverage $3.5 billion into the agricultural sector and the country has received global recognition in the last one year in addition to $8 billion of private sector investment commitment to Nigeria Agriculture that continues to grow.”

In the year 2012, the country was able to add 8.1 million metric tons as against 5 million metric tons which is 70 per cent above the target set by ATA of adding 20m metric tons of food to the domestic food supply in over a four year period.
Sunnewsonline

No fewer than 18 Chinese companies have indicated their interest to visit and establish manufacturing bases and offices in Nigeria. This is sequel to the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Sam Ortom’s recently led trade delegation to the Peoples Republic of China to woo foreign investors.

In his address of welcome Mr. William Wang, director African Investment Network said, China and Nigeria trade relations have been cordial, adding that Nigeria remains China’s biggest trading partner in Africa. According to Wang, his organization is a bridge linking Nigeria and Chinese businessmen, stressing that the visit of Nigeria’s business delegation to China will open a floodgate of Chinese investments to Nigeria. He called on the Nigerian government to provide an enabling environment for business to thrive especially in the area of power sector.

“This visit will strengthen the China – Nigeria trade relations and also attract more Chinese investors to Nigeria but you people must improve on power supply because no business thrives in an environment where power is not steady.” Responding, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Ortom explained that the Goodluck Jonathan administration was determined to make Nigerian investment haven, as it was ready to deliver on its promises in the electricity sector.

He said, the ongoing reform in the power sector is geared towards improved power supply, which, he said if completed would attract more foreign investments to Nigeria. On security challenge, Dr. Ortom, highlighted measures taken by government to end terrorism in the country, which include: granting amnesty to Boko Haram and equipping the Nigerian Police force to be proactive towards crime detection and prevention.

He urged the Chinese investors to take advantage of business opportunities in Nigeria. “ Nigeria is a land of business opportunities, therefore I encourage you to take advantage of enormous business opportunities in Nigeria and invest in my country” he said. Speaking at the business meeting Mr. Festus Mbisiogu, Chairman Blue Diamond Logistics China, commended the minister for his painstaking efforts to boost business development in Nigeria and promised to continue to work with the ministry on the ongoing industrialization of the nation’s economy.

praised President Jonathan’s effort to achieve steady power supply but called for improvement, which according to him is the major factor that will attract foreign investment. Highlights of the event was a visit of the delegation to one of the China’s industrial parks led by the Deputy Mayor of Sonshui Municipal Government in Foshan, Guangzhou province, an industrial city harbouring Songshui economic Development zone, where Dr. Ortom on behalf of the Nigeria government signed an MOU with Chinese Africa Investment, Trade and Commerce Institution on transfer of technical skills and to open manufacturing bases, offices similar to the ones in Songshui Industrial Park and the establishment of Economic zone in Nigeria. The Nigerian Ambassador to China, Alhaji Aminu Bashir Wali, later hosted the minister to dinner.
Sunnewsonline.com

The universities will be able to admit about 200,000 people each.
The National Economic Council, NEC, on Thursday approved the conversion of one university in each of the six geo-political zones to a ‘Mega University.”
The recommendation for the conversion was part of those contained in the report of the Peter Obi-led Technical Committee on the recommendations of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities, CNANU. All the recommendations were approved, Mr. Obi, Governor of Anambra State told journalists after the meeting.
The NEC is made up of the president , the vice president, state governors, ministers and others.
The Committee recommended the upgrading of one university in each of the six geo-political zones to the status of a Mega University to expand their intakes from the present number of students.
Mr. Obi stated that government wants to create universities that are capable of taking up to 200,000 students as against the less than 30,000 admitted by some of the biggest universities in Nigeria.
A decision has not been taken on which universities will be considered for selection.
The committee’s report, which followed an extensive review of the CNANU report presented to the Federal Executive Council on September 19, 2012, therefore made the following recommendations towards changing the fortunes of the universities:
“The Committee agreed with CNANU that funding was a big issue in tertiary education and recommended that both the Federal and State Governments should prioritise funding by raising budgetary allocation to schools and guaranteeing that funds for education are disbursed as appropriated to ensure that the necessary facilities are provided.
“It recommended the strengthening of the composition and character, especially of external members, of the Governing Councils of the Universities by populating the board with members who have a direct stake in academics to ensure better management of the universities.
The committee had noted that the Nigerian University system is grossly understaffed and recommended the introduction of attractive incentives towards promoting post-graduate education and upgrading the academic qualifications of all lecturers to PhD level within a given period.
“The Committee also recommended the designation of a focal Federal University per geo-political zone to be upgraded towards expanding its absorptive capacity to between 150,000 – 200,000 students in the medium term,” Mr. Obi said.
Premiumtimes

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday approved N5,747,694,780 for victims of 2011 post-election violence in nine states .
The victims lost property, their means of livelihood and places of worship to the violence.
Jonathan set up a panel of enquiry, headed by Sheik Ahmed Lemu to, among other things, identify the spread and extent of losses suffered across the country following the post-election violence and disturbances in the states.
After the submission of the panel’s report and its adoption by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing was mandated to assess the reported losses and damage to property in all affected states.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, noted that based on the Ministry of Lands and Housing’s report, President Jonathan approved the release of funds to nine of the 14 affected states.
The President also directed that an Implementation Committee for the disbursement of the funds to beneficiaries in the nine states be constituted as follows: “Chairman of the committee – Governor or Deputy Governor, and members to include representative of State Government, Secretary of the Sheik Lemu Panel, Representative of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Representative of the FMLH&UD.”
The statement reads: “Inspection and assessment of damages and losses suffered are yet to be carried out in Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna and Nasarawa states as modalities and further instructions for the exercise are still being expected from the state governments.”
“Funds to cover the losses sustained by victims of the post-election violence in these five states will be approved and released at the conclusion of the assessment exercise,” the statement said.
THE BENEFICIARIES
•Bauchi – N1,574,879,000.002,
•Sokoto – N55,888,506.003,
•Zamfara – N93,253,485.004,
•Niger – N433,375,875.005,
•Jigawa – N208,667,634.006.
•Katsina – N1,973,209,440.007,
•Kano – N944,827,000.008,
•Adamawa- N420,089,840.009,
•Akwa Ibom – N43,504,000.00.
The Nation

DG, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo

The cash will go into infrastructure development, the Council said.The Federal Government and the 36 states got yesterday the National Economic Council’s (NEC’s) green light to borrow about $9 billion in 2013-2014.
NEC, which comprises the 36 states’ governors, ministers of National Planning, Finance, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, took the decision at its monthly meeting chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House, Abuja.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi disclosed that the loans would be sourced from various international funding agencies and would be strictly used for developmental projects.
Stressing that the total portfolio cuts across both federal and state governments, he said that about $450 million of the total loan package would be sourced for the eastern states, including Edo and Cross River, to fund erosion projects.
He said: “The Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME) briefed the Council on the current facilities made available by different international funding organizations, including Islamic Development Bank (IDA), African Development Bank (ADB), French Development Agency as well as Chinese and Indian Exim Banks, totalling about $9 billion for projects development.”
“The facilities, which have up to 10 years moratorium and 40 years repayment periods, are available to both the Federal and state governments to fund high impact projects towards improving infrastructure, agriculture and employment generation.”
Maintaining that the National Assembly has already approved the loan portfolio, he said that states are now expected to “meet the requirements for the loans and to ensure that the facilities are meant to fund meaningful projects in their states”.
Cross Rivers State Governor Liyel Imoke said the Council received the report of the Ad-Hoc Review Committee on the Re-Investment Plan in the power sector, headed by him.
According to him, the committee recommended the need to urgently source for and disburse N3.37 billion to ensure the closing of the huge gap between the required power generation and transmission capacity.
He said: “The Committee highlighted the over $4 billion NIPP investment already made in generation, which has produced additional 4,774MW generation capacity by NDPHC and would have raised the overall generation capacity in Nigeria to 9,582 MW in December 2013 – in line with the nation’s updated generation capacity target of 20,000 by 2020.”
“It further noted that investing in the needed transmission infrastructure would ensure, among other benefits, the needed return on investment, the maximization of proceeds from the sale of the generation assets, improved GDP growth rate as well as ensure effective distribution of generated power to the ultimate consumers.
“As a means of solving the envisaged significant transmission constraint by the end of this year and bridging the gap for counterpart funding in hydro plants, the report recommended the following:
“utilisation of the proceeds from sale of generation assets for reinvestment in transmission and hydro projects; Disbursement of $1.65 billion to fund critical transmission infrastructure; $1.72 billion to fund hydro generation; the sourcing and immediate release of $3.37 billion to bridge funding, pending the realisation of proceeds from generation asset sale”.
NEC, he said, commended the Committee for the detailed report and recommended the implementation of the recommendations to ensure adequate evacuation of generated power towards meeting effective power demand in the country.
“The Council also recommended that 11 small dams spread across the country should be accommodated in the funding plan because of their potentials towards boosting power, water supply and agriculture in the country”, he stated.

   

 Bill Gates announced in Abu Dhabi on Thursday his foundation will contribute $1.8 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a third of the total funds needed.

“I am pleased to announce for the foundation that we are committed to fund a third of what is needed for this campaign,” the Microsoft co-founder told the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi. “So for the fully funded campaign, that would be $1.8 billion that we are committed to.”

“There has been a total of four billion dollars raised here. That gives us 73 percent of” the $5.5 billion needed, he said.

Other participants at the summit also announced their contributions — $457 million from Britain, $250 million from Canada, and $240 million from Norway.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan announced he will donate $120 million.

Germany, which had already pledged 100 million euros, announced it will donate a similar amount again. Meanwhile, the Islamic Development Bank offered $227 million.

The number of worldwide polio infections plunged to 223 in 2012, compared to 360,000 in 1988 when the United Nations launched a campaign to eliminate the highly contagious and crippling illness.

Only three countries are still considered polio endemic — Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nigeria, where an Islamist insurgency in the country’s north has taken a hit on immunisation campaigns and at least 10 people were killed in attacks on two vaccination centres in February, saw most of the cases in 2012.

At least 20 people have been killed in such attacks in Pakistan since December.

Gates, listed by Forbes as the world’s second-richest person, had said the global campaign to eliminate polio was currently spending about $900 million a year.

But Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has criticised the high prices of the vaccines.

“High prices for new vaccines could put developing countries in the precarious situation of not being able to afford to fully vaccinate their children in the future,” warned the medical charity.

“Urgent action is needed to address the skyrocketing price to vaccinate a child, which has risen by 2,700 percent over the last decade,” said Dr Manica Balasegaram, executive director of MSF’s Access Campaign.

“The lack of transparency by companies on vaccine manufacturing costs and their focus on profits above ensuring sustainable prices for vaccines for low-income countries are at the root of the problem,” she said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major contributor to the GAVI Alliance, which helps make vaccines available to developing countries.

The two-day Global Vaccine Summit was aimed at highlighting the need for continued support for immunization, as well as discuss a six-year plan to eliminate polio.
ABU DHABI. (AFP)

 The party was just getting started at a plush club in this teeming Nigerian city, hip-hop blaring, the bar bathed in blue light — and champagne bottles on ice already adorning tables.

“Too much oil money,” said a 40-year-old man at Rhapsody’s in the high-end Victoria Island district of Lagos, when asked about Nigerian spending on champagne.

Two bottles of Laurent-Perrier chilled in ice buckets on the table in front of him. His company was picking up the tab, like others here, he said, declining to give his name or say what he did for a living.

Recent data puts Nigeria among the fastest-growing countries in the world for champagne consumption, spending an estimated $59 million in 2012 on bubbly, according to Euromonitor International research firm.

That number is up from $49 million in 2011, and the firm forecasts that the country will spend some $105 million on fizz in 2017.

Analysts say oil wealth, hip-hop, movie stars and an elite obsessed with status symbols have driven demand.

One Euromonitor analysis using data from about a year and a half ago forecast Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, as having the world’s second-highest growth in new champagne consumption from 2011-2016, trailing only France.

The study showed 849,000 litres in new consumption during that time-frame in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with a huge gap between its rich and poor.

Euromonitor senior analyst Spiros Malandrakis said the figures have since come down somewhat, with projections around 500,000 litres in new consumption from 2012-2017, which would still keep Nigeria in the upper tier.

“It’s among the top markets for the future of champagne,” Malandrakis told AFP.

Malandrakis said one aspect of Nigeria’s market seemed to set it apart from countries such as China, where champagne producers have banked on an emerging middle class to drive growth.

“In the case of Nigeria as far as I understand, we have a very divided society with big sections of the population in the working class,” he said, while the elite “have the money to spend on really extravagant consumption.”

Oil barons and Nigeria’s movie industry, known as Nollywood, have especially helped drive growth, he said, while hip-hop has also played a role.

US hip-hop stars with global appeal have long promoted their love of bubbly — and Nigeria’s homegrown music scene has toasted it as well.

A hit song from a couple years back — seemingly ubiquitous in Nigeria’s clubs and on the radio — featured the memorable hook: “Pop-pop-pop-pop … pop champagne.”

Prices at clubs can vary widely here, with a standard bottle of Moet & Chandon running around $120, while bottles of Cristal can come in at $900 or more. Store prices tend to be much lower.

Nigeria has long been considered one of the world’s most corrupt nations, with billions in oil revenue pocketed and misused over the years, while basic development has been neglected.

Such spending on champagne is particularly striking when considered against World Bank calculations from 2009-2010 showing some 63 percent of Nigerians live on less than $1 dollar per day.

Data from the same years, the latest available, shows 46 percent of the country’s population living in poverty, a slight decrease from 48 percent in 2003-2004.

However, the decrease is less than population growth, meaning more people live in poverty in Nigeria today than a decade ago.

The gap between the rich and poor has also been growing, with a scale measuring inequality moving from 0.39 in 2003-2004 to 0.42 in 2009-2010. Zero represents complete equality on the scale, while one is absolute inequality.

“By international comparisons, that’s fairly high, but not out of the range of other countries,” said John Litwack, the World Bank’s lead economist for Nigeria.

Some members of Nigeria’s class of super-rich would likely may not have participated in the survey, possibly distorting the figures to a certain degree, he said.

Those with money clearly have lots of it to spend. Martin Kapsdorfer, who runs the Cafe Vanessa lounge down the street from Rhapsody’s, said a recent group there ordered 80 bottles of champagne.

Back at Rhapsody’s, where the car park is full of BMWs and Land Rovers, a man at one table with a bottle of Moet was drinking a Guinness instead. He said the person buying the champagne was in the oil industry.

“It’s like a prestige kind of thing,” he said of champagne buying. “Personally, I hate it.”
(AFP)

Access Bank Plc, yesterday, announced a reduction in its unclaimed dividend by 78 per cent in one year, even as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive  of the bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede assures shareholders that his exit from the bank will not create a vacuum or hinder the growth of the bank.

This came on the heels of declaration by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, that the value of unclaimed dividends as at the end of 2012 is N60 billion.

Access Bank, according to its annual reports and accounts for the 2012 financial year, presented to shareholders at its Annual General Meeting, in Lagos, said the value of the unclaimed dividend dropped by N2.46 billion to N687.67 million at the end of the 2012 financial year, from N3.148 billion recorded in the 2011 financial year.

The bank declared a total dividend of 85 kobo per share, broken down into interim dividend of 25 kobo per share and a final dividend of 60 kobo per share.

The bank recorded profit before tax of N44.9 billion, rising by 86.3 per cent from N24.1 billion recorded in 2011, while its profit after tax appreciated by 150.9 per cent to N42.9 billion from N17.1 billion in 2011.

Commenting on the result, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman, Access Bank, said, “in 2012, your bank made clear progress on a number of strategic fronts towards ensuring sustainable growth in revenue, profitability and shareholder value.

“The successful acquisition of Intercontinental Bank in 2011 has enabled us to create one of Nigeria’s largest banking groups..”

The outgoing Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of the bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede assured shareholders that the bank has in place a strong succession plan, expressing confidence that the growth currently seen in the bank will be sustained and surpassed by the incoming executive.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who is to step down in the next couple of months, thanked the bank’s shareholders and other stakeholders for their support over the years, saying, “I am clear that the company I run today will be far greater in all parameters tomorrow.”
Vanguard

An estimated 80,000 metric tonnes of rice is smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic every month, which represents a loss of revenue to the country amounting to about N9.7 billion monthly, or N116.4 billion annually.

A group of stakeholders in the rice business sector under the aegis of All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), who made the disclosure, said the potential revenue of the rice sector is being threatened by the activities of smugglers and their collaborators. They called on the federal government to review its Trade Liberalisation Scheme agreement among West African states in the face of continued smuggling activities from the country’s neighbours.

A large scale farmer in Kano and a member of the association, Sabo Nayara , said the call for the review became imperative because of imbalance of trade, smuggling and dumping of goods in the country. He said while the government is trying to encourage local production of rice, thereby creating employment, income and value chain, some other people are rubbishing these noble efforts by smuggling the product into the country.

Nayara said that it was disheartening to note that investments and policies of government were being threatened on a daily basis by the incessant smuggling activities by a small few. “Unscrupulous smugglers find it attractive to smuggle goods from neighbouring countries into Nigeria without paying necessary duties. This affects investors’ investment in the country.

For instance, Benin Republic consumes only white rice but imports parboiled rice with destination for the Nigerian market. If the Federal Government reviews the trade liberalization scheme and closes its borders to smuggled goods, neighbouring countries will take us serious. The quantum of rice being smuggled through our land borders from the Republic of Benin is increasing on a daily basis. Almost 45,000 MTS is entering the Northern part of the country from Niger and Cameroun,” he stated.

According to him, if they are encouraged in Kano State, “we have great potential for supporting the increasing rice demand in Nigeria, as today, the average out put per hectare in the state stands at 6.25 metric tons .”

Bunmi Owolabi, a local rice farmer in Kogi, said that the major routes used for smuggling in the North is Maradi and Zinder as lot of warehouses in Katsina state are used for smuggling operation of rice.

He urged the Nigeria Customs Service to quickly take action. “The present scheme, as it is being run, is to the detriment of the nation’s industrial sector and government needs to address this as soon as possible. We as Nigerian investors have made sacrifices by paying higher duties for the importation of rice through the official channels, while some of our members have begun the backward integration process for rice value-chain. We cannot allow smugglers to keep destroying these investments. There should be zero tolerance for smuggling.”

A rice seller at Daleko market, who pleaded for anonymity, said most of the rice products on display for sale are smuggled into the country through the land borders. A survey at the Seme and Idiroko border posts showed that big-time smugglers now have a long queue of specially-built trailers to carry 72 tons of goods – mostly rice – as against the 32-ton trailer.

Nigeria’s yearly consumption of rice is about 5.5 million metric tonnes. While 1.8 million is produced locally, the country relies on importation to make up the balance of 3.7 million metric tonnes.
Vanguard

Britain's economy dodged a return to recession and grew faster than expected in the first three months of this year, providing some political relief for a government under fire over its austerity drive.

The Office for National Statistics said Britain's gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the first quarter, well above forecasts for a 0.1 percent rise.

The economy shrank 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in late 2012, so a second contraction would have put Britain into its third recession in less than five years.

Year-on-year, the latest GDP reading was 0.6 percent higher, the strongest rise since the end of 2011.
Finance minister George Osborne said Thursday's data was encouraging and vowed to stay the course on fixing Britain's budget problems, reports Reuters.

"We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future," he said in a statement.

Sterling hit its highest level in two months against the dollar after the data and British government bond prices fell.
Britain's preliminary GDP figures are one of the first for a major advanced economy, and based mostly on estimated data, but it would be rare for a reading this high to be revised down into negative territory.

The rise was driven by strong services sector growth and a bounce-back in North Sea oil and gas output.
Politically, a slip back into recession would have been difficult for the government in general and Osborne in particular, coming just days after ratings agency Fitch stripped Britain of its top-notch credit rating.

Osborne is sticking to his commitment to eliminate Britain's underlying budget deficit in five years, betting that growth will pick up in time for a national election in May 2015 despite sluggish expansion forecast to be just 0.6 percent this year.

But the International Monetary Fund - previously supportive of Britain's approach to deficit reduction - thinks some cuts may need to be deferred given the weakness in demand.

An IMF mission visits Britain next month for an assessment of the country's economy that could include recommendations for a change of course.

The stronger-than-expected reading may help Osborne when he tries to convince the IMF that Britain's economy is on track for recovery, and that he is right to stick with his current plans.

PITFALLS AHEAD
Analysts warn of a broader problem of stagnation that has led some to warn that Britain risks a Japanese-style 'lost decade of near-zero growth.

Britain's GDP remains 2.6 percent below its peak in the first quarter of 2008 and even with Thursday's data, has stagnated for the past 18 months.

Rob Wood, an economist at Berenberg Bank, said a recovery appeared to be on the horizon but pitfalls lay ahead.
"The economy seems to have done a little better than the main surveys suggested but it is hardly a picture of rude health right now," he said. "We suspect there will be another couple of disappointing quarters to get through before the UK can see a return to sustainable growth."

Reuters

Despite the much reported 'glut' in the cement industry in the last quarter of 2012, Dangote Cement Plc yesterday released its 2012 results, showing improvements  across its performance indicators.

Also for the first time since the company was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), its published figures include financials from its Ghana operations.

The results released to the NSE showed that Dangote Cement recorded a turnover of N298.45 billion in 2012,  indicating a 23.63 per cent increase over N241.41 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011.

The company's profit before tax grew by 19.22 per cent to N135.65 billion from N113.78 billion in 2011. Profit after tax stood at N151.93 billion, up by  25  per cent  from  N121.4 billion  in  2011. Its administrative expenses declined by 56.7 per cent to N14.65 billion from N22.9 billion in 2011.

Analysis of the results showed that although Q4 2012 sales of N77.4 billion were up  15 per cent year-on-year(yoy),  PBT grew much faster, by 57per cent yoy due to a combination of 865bp expansion in gross margin and a marked reduction in net interest cost to N331million compared with N4.0 billion in the comparable period of 2012.  In addition,  a tax credit of N14.2 billion (vs. N8.7 billion Q4 2011),  led to an even stronger growth in PBT of 59 per cent yoy.

Based on the results, the directors have recommended a dividend of N3.00 per share, up  marginally from N1.20 paid the precious year. The dividend would be paid on June 3, 2013  after the company’s annual general meeting on May 23, 2013.

Commenting on the results, analysts at FBN Capital, said "compared with our estimates, although sales came in around seven per cent higher than what we were looking for, PBT missed our forecast by 14 per cent  largely due to operating expenses  of N14.3 billion coming in significantly higher than the N6.9 billion that we had modelled.”
Thisday

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy

Spain's unemployment rate soared to a new record of 27.2% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures.
The total number of unemployed people in Spain has now passed the six million figure, although the rate of the increase has slowed.

The figures underline Spain's struggle to emerge from an economic crisis which began five years ago, according to BBC report.
A big demonstration in Madrid is being planned against the austerity measures.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will unveil fiscal and policy measures aimed at halting recession in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.
"These figures are worse than expected and highlight the serious situation of the Spanish economy as well as the shocking decoupling between the real and the financial economy," said Jose Luis Martinez, strategist at Citi.
Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country”

Last week, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 forecast for Spain's growth to a 1.6% contraction from 1.5% and said the unemployment rate would peak at 27% this year.

Peak reached?
The unemployment figure is the highest since at least 1976, the year after dictator Francisco Franco's death began Spain's transition to democracy.

The jobless rate, which stood at 7.9% in mid-2007, has risen relentlessly since the collapse in 2008 of a Spain's labour-intensive property boom.

On Wednesday, Mr Rajoy told parliament that the job situation for the entire year "will not be good, but it will be less bad than in the preceding years".

"Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country," he said.
Meanwhile, in France, the second biggest eurozone economy, official figures to be released later on Thursday are also expected to show a record number of jobless workers.
BBC

CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Federal Government of Nigeria has so far expended over $1 billion (N158 billion) on the amnesty programme since 2009. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, disclosed this yesterday, while delivering a lecture at the first Ochendu Youth Empowerment Series, held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia, Abia State.

At the lecture, titled: ‘Youth Empowerment as Panacea to Insecurity in Nigeria’, Sanusi regretted that Nigeria, like most developing nations, is faced with numerous socio-economic challenges, which include unemployment, poverty, insecurity and conflicts. He, therefore, recommended youth empowerment for their active participation in economic activities, as part of the solution to these challenges. The Federal Government proclaimed and granted unconditional amnesty to Niger Delta militants in 2009 and pledged its commitment to institute programmes to assist their disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and re-integration of repentant militants.

The Amnesty Programme has so far been engaged in the training of youths in Ghana, South Africa, the Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, India, among other countries. Also, more than 5,000 youths have been enrolled in formal schools and various vocational training centers within and outside the country. Available data show that no fewer than 5,067 of the total beneficiaries had already graduated in skills acquisition fields such as welding and fabrication (1,847), entrepreneurship (1,609), pipe fitting (150), carpentry & plumbing (206), oil drilling (32), electrical installation (232), ICT (125), marine related courses (564) and others (302).

Apart from the amnesty programme which had been running for the restive Niger-Delta youths, the President recently approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee to ‘constructively engage’ key members of ‘Boko Haram’ and define a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the crisis of insecurity in the country. The committee was set-up following the consideration of the report of the technical committee set up to review fresh modalities for addressing security challenges in the northern part of the country by the National Security Council. Meanwhile, despite efforts to curb unemployment situation in Nigeria, the phenomenon still rose to 20 per cent in 2011 as against 15 per cent in 2008.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who gave details of the unemployment figures, noted that insecurity can be triggered and fuelled by high unemployment rate. He regretted that the unemployment rate in Nigeria has remained worrisome in spite of measures by government to curb it, adding that the increase in the rate coincided with the period of heightened insecurity situation in Nigeria. He listed several aspects of insecurity which include, ethno-religious conflict, politically-based violence, economic-based violence, corruption, unemployment, maladministration ethics, faulty culture and political interference.

“Insecurity has taken various forms in different parts of the country in recent times. Predominantly, it is armed robbery in the South-West, while cross-border bandits and terrorism have become manifested in the North. “In the South-South and East, the act of kidnapping, youth restiveness and other violent crime have become rampant. Specifically, the spate of kidnapping across the country, the incessant wave of crime and armed robbery points to the fact that insecurity is a big challenge to development in Nigeria,” he said. Besides unemployment, the CBN boss identified poverty as another causative factor to insecurity. “Governments at all levels are unable to address this because there is no realistic social security programme in Nigeria to meet the people’s basic needs.

This often provides the basis for the desperation and criminally-minded activities. “Although it is known that certain state-based institutions and agencies have responsibility for the security of the citizens, these agencies appear overwhelmed and are being overstretched. “The situation is compounded by improper funding as well as governance challenges in the hierarchy of some of the security agencies. “This is manifested clearly in lack of strategic vision, inadequacies of enrolled men, modern communication equipment, sophisticated arms and ammunition and capacity building,” he noted.

The governor also said that there are raging issues on service conditions which are said to be below the standards obtained in other jurisdictions, which tend to dampen officers’ morale. Sanusi acknowledged some measures which the government has taken to combat unemployment like the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which trains unemployed youths and retired persons in vocational skills acquisition, entrepreneurship or business development, labour-based works; rural employment promotion and job placement guidance and counseling but added that much more needed to be done by the authorities.

“The NDE is committed to employment generation, poverty reduction, wealth creation and attitudinal change to enable Nigerian youths to be self-employed and contribute to the economic growth and development of the nation” he said..
Sunnewsonline

From Premiumtimes
Here is a very important information from PREMIUM TIMES for the 47 million Nigerian Internet users. Big Brother, in the form of the Jonathan administration, is watching you, and your communication is no longer safe.
It is one of the most far-reaching policies ever designed in Nigeria’s history to invade the privacy of citizens.
The Jonathan administration secretly, and in open violation of lawful contracting procedures, has awarded an Israeli firm, Elbit Systems, with headquarters in Haifa, a $40million contract to help it spy on citizens’ computers and Internet communications under the guise of intelligence gathering and national security.
Elbit announced the contract award Wednesday in a global press release but was silent on the Nigerian destination of the contract. Its general manager, Yehuda Vered, opaquely announced that “Elbit Systems will supply its Wise Intelligence Technology (WiT) system to an unnamed country in Africa under a new $40 million contract announced on 24 April… for Intelligence Analysis and Cyber Defense,” but effusively claimed, in the statement, that his company is “proud to be selected to supply this unique system, which is already field-proven, fully operational and customisable.
“Elbit Systems is a world leader in the fields of intelligence analysis and cyber defense, with proven solutions highly suitable for countries, armies and critical infrastructure sites. We hope that additional customers will follow in selecting our highly advanced and cutting edge systems in these fields as their preferred solution,” Mr. Vered added.
Multiple and very reliable sources in the administration confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Nigeria is indeed the “unnamed African country,” and with details from the Elbit statement, our sources say the contract will now help the Jonathan administration access all computers and read all email correspondences of citizens in what is clearly, an infringement on constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.
No single policy of this administration has so far affected, in one fell swoop, the lives of 47 million citizens, a third of the Nigerian population and about four times the number of voters who brought the president to power two years ago.
Nigerian netizens, the horde of active citizens that use the computer and Internet, are the 10th in a global ranking that make them 27 per cent of Africa’s total Internet users, far ahead of Egypt [19th global ranking] and South Africa [37th in global ranking].
The growth path of the Internet in Nigeria has also been dramatic, rising from a mere 200,000 Internet users in 2002 to 47 million this year, according to data from the Global Internet user, one of the Internet audit groups.
This development has not always gladdened public officials in Nigeria many who have expressed open displeasure at the use of the Internet by social media activists and the power of its possibilities as an empowering medium for popular communication. The calls for regulation have been loud in both the administration and in the Nigerian legislature.
The earliest hint that the Jonathan administration had desires to invade privacy of citizens surfaced ealy April when researchers at the Munk School for Global Affairs at the University of Toronto alerted the world that Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya were deploying Internet surveillance and censorship technology developed by an American company, Blue Coat, which specializes in online security. Blue Coat’s technology will allow the government to invade the privacy of journalists, netizens and their sources. Its censorship devices use Deep Packet Inspection, DPI, a technology employed by many western Internet Service Providers, to manage network traffic and suppress unwanted connections.
Civic groups kick against DPI because, they say, it makes it possible for censors to look into every single Internet Protocol packet and subject it to special treatment based on content (censored or banned words) or type (email, VoIP or BitTorrent Protocol).
DPI not only threatens the principle of Net Neutrality and the privacy of users, civic groups say, it makes single users identifiable and, in countries that flout the rule of law and violate human rights, often exposes them to arbitrary imprisonment, violence or even torture.
While details on the Blue Coat contract appears to have managed to evade scrutiny up till this point, PREMIUM TIMES sources say the Elbit annunciation of the contract, opaque as it was, terribly rattled top administration officials – from the presidency to the National Security Adviser’s Office, and the National Assembly.
“The presidency had wanted this contract to be a top secret,” said one of our sources. “The presidency did not envisage that Elbit was going to make it public. Monitoring computers and Internet use is a contentious issue and the National Security Adviser had tried to keep the contract secret.”
Elbit says it will take it two years to complete the project, by which time it claimed, the administration will have “a highly advanced end-to-end solution, [to] supports every stage of the intelligence process, including the collection of the data from multiple sources, databases and sensors, processing of the information, supporting intelligence personnel in the analysis and evaluation of the information and disseminating the intelligence to the intended recipient…[that] will be integrated with various data sources, including Elbit Systems’ Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) solution and Elbit Systems’ PC Surveillance Systems (PSS), an advance solution for covert intelligence gathering.”
The administration had indicated in the 2013 budget that it would procure a Wise Intelligence Network Harvest Analyzer System, Open Source Internet Monitoring System and Personal Internet Surveillance System at a cost of N9.496 Billion ($61.26 million).
Now that the contract has been awarded to Elbit for about  $40million, it is unclear if the National Assembly will raise questions as to what becomes of the extra $21million earmarked for the project.
Investigations indicate that in awarding the contract to the Israeli firm, no tenders or calls for bids were made just as there were no public announcements. The contract was awarded following a proposal from a single vendor who dictated the contract sum and the terms of the contract.
The procedure for public procurement of services as stipulated by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Nigerian agency charged with the duty of ensuring transparency in all matters concerning government contracts, were largely ignored. In addition, there are no public records indicating that the BPP approved this contract.
The manner of award directly contravenes the 2007 Public Procurement Act. While the Act gives room for single source contracts, the Elbit contract met none of the requirements under which such special contracts could be awarded.
Section 47 (3) (iii) of the 2007 Act stipulates that single source contracts are to be awarded in emergency situations such as “natural disasters or a financial crisis”.
Presidential spokespersons, Reuben Abati, and Doyin Okupe were not available for comments Wednesday.  They didn’t answer or return calls seeking comments.
Calls to Elbit’s headquarters in Haifa, Israel, were also unanswered.
Shari Clarkson, a spokesperson at the company’s subsidiary in the United States declined comments on the contract saying only Dalia Rosen, a spokesperson based in Israel, could comment. Rosen’s phone was unanswered.

Kingsley Moghalu, Deputy Governor, FSS, CBN

The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, (FSS), Dr. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has said that foreign investment in Nigeria can only be useful if it addresses skills and infrastructural development.

Dr. Moghalu stated this on Monday, when he hosted a team of foreign investors and their Nigerian technical partners at the CBN headquarters. The ten-man delegation led by Chief Tony Osagie Hicks of Anita Energy Ltd, informed the Deputy Governor that the purpose of the team’s visit was to bring massive investment in the region of 100 billion dollars to the country.

This is expected to add value to the transformation agenda of the oil and gas infrastructure, power generation, fast speed train, telecommunications and the establishment of a Merchant Bank. He added that this would be done in partnership with APEC Logic Investment Limited, an Australian funding investment partner and SINOPEC, one of the largest oil and gas corporations in China.

Moghalu informed the delegation that the CBN had undertaken far reaching reforms of the banking sector to make it strong, resilient and able to serve the needs of the real economy which was a total departure from the past where some individuals enriched themselves to the detriment of the economy.

He reiterated that one of the four pillars of the banking reform aims to enhance the quality of banks and also establish financial stability through the creation of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) which absorbs the toxic assets of the deposit money banks.

He observed that the banks now have a clean balance sheet and are able to lend to the economy again. The third pillar, according to the Deputy Governor, is to facilitate the evolution of a healthy financial system through the new banking model that categorizes them into commercial, merchant and specialised banks.

The merchant banks, he said were established to ring – fence depositors fund from trading, while the fourth ensures that the banks contribute to real economy. Dr. Moghalu equally informed the team of investors that there was a confluence between the banking reforms and the desire of the investors to establish merchant banks expected to facilitate concrete investment in Nigeria.

This he observed would strengthen the relationship between the financial sector and real economy, adding that the Bank as economic adviser to the government had advocated for the structural reform of the economy.

The Deputy Governor promised the delegation that the Bank would provide the needed support to ensure that the investment plans bear fruits and process the banking license application, provided the requirements are met.
Vanguard

Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga

Nigeria loses N755 billion every month due to inaccurate metering and measurements, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, has said.

Aganga disclosed this at the launching of the Legal Metrology web-portal of the Weights and Measures Department of the ministry in Abuja. He said the amount is the aggregate loss incurred by both government and corporate organisations on a monthly basis due to imprecision of weights and measures in the country.

The minister said the effective implementation of legal metrology would ensure proper inspection, verification and certification of meters and billing systems for electricity, water, hydrocarbon, and telecommunications. He added that it would also result in the establishment of credible and reliable database for oil and gas exports/imports data for proper reconciliation of revenues from oil and gas as required by the Pre-shipment Inspection Act.

“The implementation will eliminate the loss of N755.72 billion due to inaccurate measurements at billing points every month by Nigerians. It is widely accepted that the status of a country’s measurement system is a good indicator of its development level. The inauguration of this portal this morning is therefore another major step towards the actualisation of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The importance of legal metrology in developing nations cannot be over-emphasised, especially as it enhances confidence in domestic trade, protects consumers, strengthens confidence in imported goods and products, and facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products globally.

“In realisation of this, therefore, the federal government came up with the initiative to launch the implementation of the program in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the enabling laws, which are: The Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, exclusive list item 65 of 1999; the Weights and Measures Act Cap W3 LFN 2004 and the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act Cap. P25 LFN 2004. There are other subsidiary legislations in force.

“And in line with international best practice, the weights and measures department of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has been repositioned to effectively supervise and monitor weighing and measuring devices used in trade transactions in all sectors of the Nigerian economy,” he stated.

Also speaking at the event, Director, Weights and Measures in the ministry, Alhaji Bashir Zoru, stressed that Legal Metrology is critical for economic advancement. “This is because it instills confidence in the domestic trade, protects the consumers, as well as confers integrity to imported goods and products, and facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products globally.

Consumers, Traders, Industries, Government regulators and Collectors of taxes and duties make decisions on a daily basis based on measurement, and these affect economic and personal well-being of the society. From a consumer’s perspective, a kilogram of rice must be a kilogram and no less, a motorist needs to trust the volume delivered by a petrol pump, a mobile telephone user must be assured in the knowledge that one minute of airtime must be one minute and no less”

Zoru said the department is recruiting over 200 young Inspectors and the first batch of private companies who will work as Independent Service Providers (ISPs) – providing Calibration, Testing and Verification services to cover the millions of Weighing and Measuring devices used.
Vanguard