Business
Brazil, US Talks To Focus On Trade
President Barack Obama and visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Monday stressed the importance of strong ties between their countries, despite Brazil’s concerns about United States economic policies that it says can work against emerging economies, reports the CNN.
In comments to reporters after a White House meeting, Obama and Rousseff highlighted the areas of cooperation on energy development, education and trade as the two leaders prepare to attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, beginning Friday.
However, they made no mention of less collaborative topics, such as whether each country will purchase new military aircraft from the other, or whether the United States will support Brazil’s efforts to gain a seat at the U.N. Security Council.
Two-way trade between Brazil and the United States last year totaled around $74 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the balance has gone from a U.S. deficit to a surplus in recent years.
Brazil has recently announced a series of measures to boost economic growth and rein in its overvalued currency, including slashing interest rates and levying taxes on short-term currency inflows.
At the same time, Brazil complains that low U.S. interest rates amid a sluggish recovery are hurting foreign trade partners.
On Monday, Rousseff and her foreign affairs minister both noted the U.S. trade surplus with Brazil, and Rousseff called for better balance in U.S. monetary and fiscal policies to prevent a depreciation of the dollar that harms emerging market trade partners.
Expansionist monetary policies, such as holding down interest rates, in isolation of fiscal expansion through increased investments, “ultimately lead to depreciation in the value of the currencies of developed countries, thus impairing growth outlooks in emerging countries,” Rousseff said.
Earlier, in comments to U.S. business leaders, Foreign Minister Antonio de Agular Patriota cited increased trade between the countries despite the global economic downturn of recent years, but he also called the Brazilian trade deficit with the United States “not ideal” and “a challenge.”
In particular, he said the United States now buys more Brazilian commodities and fewer of his country’s manufactured goods, adding, “this is something we have to look at very seriously, and we will.”
In her comments, Rousseff noted that the global economy’s “resumption of growth in the medium-term future certainly involves a substantial resumption of growth in the U.S. economy.”
“We very much welcome the major improvements that have been found in the U.S. economy in the recent past, and I am quite certain that that will very much be the emphasis in the next few months and years ahead under the capable leadership of President Obama,” she added in what amounted to either an endorsement or prediction of Obama’s re-election in November.
It is Rousseff’s first official visit to Washington as Brazilian president and comes more than a year after Obama went to Brazil, shortly after Rousseff came to power in the South American country.
In his own remarks to reporters, Obama emphasized Brazil’s rising influence in global affairs as a South American power that has become the world’s sixth-largest economy.
He cited “the extraordinary progress that Brazil has made” to become “not only a leading voice in the region, but also a leading voice in the world.”
In particular, Obama noted Brazil’s growing energy development and its growth into a leader in the biofuel industry as well as a major player in oil and gas development.
“The United States is not only a potential large customer to Brazil, but we think that we can cooperate closely on a whole range of energy projects together,” Obama said at a time when he is under attack from Republicans over rising domestic gas prices.
Speaking through a translator, Rousseff agreed that oil and gas development offered “a tremendous opportunity for further cooperation, both as regards the supply of equipment and provision of services, and also as regards a wider role in our trade relations.”
Business in Nigeria remain under pressure as a result of insecurity and erratic power supply which continue to stifle productivity in the country.
This is even as new data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicate sustained improvements in economic activity.
This was the response of businesses in the CBN’s October 2025 Business Expectations Survey (BES) and the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report.
While the PMI showed that economic activity expanded for the 11th consecutive month, the BES revealed that businesses are still grappling with crippling operational constraints that threaten to reverse recent macroeconomic gains.
According to the BES conducted between October 6 and 10, firms identified insecurity (71.8 points) as the most critical challenge affecting operations nationwide. This was closely followed by insufficient power supply (70.9 points), multiple taxation (70.2 points), high interest rates (68.4 points) and financial constraints (65.6 points). Analysts say these constraints underscore the depth of structural weaknesses confronting Nigeria’s private sector.
Despite these challenges, the survey reported a rise in business optimism. The Business Confidence Index increased to 38.5 points in October from 31.5 in September. Firms also projected confidence levels to reach 45.6 points in November, with expectations of further improvement over the next three to six months.
However, sector analysts warn that the optimism remains fragile due to the lack of significant improvements in the operating environment.
The BES further showed a modest rise in capacity utilisation from 60.4% in September to 62.0% in October, suggesting that businesses have yet to deploy their productive capacity amid ongoing disruptions fully.
In contrast to the structural constraints highlighted in the BES, the PMI report indicated strengthening economic momentum. The composite PMI rose to 55.4 points, reflecting expansion across major components such as output, new orders, employment, inventories, and supplier delivery times.
A sectoral breakdown showed that the agriculture sector recorded the most substantial improvement, with its PMI climbing to 57.5 points, marking 15 consecutive months of expansion. The services sector also expanded for the ninth straight month to 55.6 points, while the industry sector rose to 54.2 points, the highest in more than a year.
The CBN attributed the positive trends to improvements in the broader macroeconomic landscape, including declining inflation, which eased from 24.5% in January to 18.0% in September, and the year-to-date appreciation of the naira across both official and parallel markets.
The BES showed that the North-East posted the highest business confidence at 56.1 points, while the South-South recorded the lowest at 23.3 points, a trend linked to declining activity in oil-producing communities.
The Federal Government will on Tuesday, November 25, officially unveil a strategic programme for a free nationwide training of over 100,000 youth on financial literacy.
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development will launch the programme in collaboration with Investonaire Academy. Tagged, the “Financial Literacy, Investment, and Wealth Creation programme.”
The flagship initiative is designed to equip young Nigerians with essential financial skills, investment knowledge, and digital competencies for sustainable wealth creation.
A statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Omolara Esan, and made available to newsmen, confirmed that the launch of the programme, to be held in Abuja, would promote nationwide participation.
It added that the launch would bring together senior government officials, development partners, private sector leaders, and youth representatives to explore innovative approaches for improving financial capability and strengthening the economic prospects of young Nigerians.
Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, would serve as the chief host, while the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, would grace the event as the Special Guest of Honour.
Also expected are representatives of key government institutions and private sector partners, including Dr Enefola Odiba, International Programme Director, Investonaire Academy, and Mr. Bashir Nurmohamed, Chief Executive Officer, Hantec Markets
The statement reads, “A major highlight of the event will be the unveiling of a free national financial literacy training programme targeting over 100,000 youths annually. The programme will be powered by a state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) designed to enhance financial intelligence, investment capacity, and entrepreneurial readiness among Nigerian youth.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
The chairman of the United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, says Nigeria’s economic transformation will be driven by entrepreneurs, not government handouts or foreign assistance.
Elumelu, who spoke at the Grow Nigeria Conference 2.0 and themed ‘Empowering Nigeria’s Entrepreneurs: Building Institutions That Last’, in Lagos, Monday, said the nation’s future is already being shaped by business owners who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
Elumelu, who is also the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, described Nigeria as an entrepreneurial nation but stressed the need to build institutions that can stand the test of time.
“Starting businesses is good. Sustaining them is critical, and that’s how we transform this economy,” he said.
He noted that many promising ideas fail because the systems and support structures necessary for growth are absent.
According to him, Nigeria’s renewal must come from the private sector, backed by strong governance frameworks and proper succession planning.
“Nigeria will not be built by government handouts or foreign aid. Government’s role is critical, but Nigeria will be built by entrepreneurs — by you, building businesses that create jobs, hope, and prosperity from the ground up,” he said.
Elumelu, however, emphasized that entrepreneurs cannot succeed in isolation.
“You need frameworks — clear governance, succession planning, and relentless focus on value. We need the right environment. We need a Nigeria where policies are predictable, infrastructure works, and financing is truly accessible,” he said.
He called for stronger alignment between public and private sector efforts, warning that progress would remain limited if institutions work independently rather than collaboratively.
Elumelu commended the Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, for ongoing reforms within the agency.
He further lauded President Bola Tinubu for appointing young Nigerians to lead key institutions and for prioritizing youth entrepreneurship.
“Let us cut the bureaucracy. Make finance and opportunity real, not theoretical. Let’s help Nigeria’s entrepreneurs move from surviving to winning.
“Every job we create fights insecurity. Every thriving business increases our tax base and accelerates prosperity for all,” Elumelu added.
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