Business

European Shares Fall Over Growth Fears

Published

12 years ago

March 7, 2012

European shares fell sharply and the euro hit a near three-week low on Tuesday on worries that Greece will not be able to complete a major debt restructuring deal and on growing concern that global economic growth is weakening.

Private sector Greek creditors have until late Thursday to agree a debt swap needed to release its 130 billion euro second bailout and avert an imminent messy default, but fears have risen that acceptances may not meet the minimum required.

A disorderly Greek default would probably leave Italy and Spain needing outside help to stop contagion spreading and cause more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) of damage to the euro zone, the group representing private bondholders warned in a document seen by Reuters.

“This week will determine the success or otherwise of the largest sovereign bond restructuring in history,” said Bill O’Neill, chief investment officer for EMEA at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

The euro fell to $1.3125, its weakest since February 17, according to Reuters report.

China’s lowering of its growth target and data pointing to Europe possibly slipping back into recession have also eroded the optimism on global markets generated by the European Central Bank’s provision of massive loans to banks since December.

“We’ve had the ECB bathe us in this warm glow of liquidity but politically there is a lot more to be done, and there is still a risk that tensions could rise again into the spring and summer,” said Rabobank’s senior currency strategist Jane Foley.

The potential for Europe to fall into recession was confirmed when statistics agency Eurostat said the economic output for the euro zone fell by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the previous three months.

Leading indicators for the current quarter have signaled further weakness since the start of the year.

SAFE HAVENS SOUGHT

The growing worries over the Greek debt swap drove demand for safe-haven German government bonds and hit peripheral euro area debt. Without the additional rescue funds agreed by euro zone finance ministers on February 21, Greece will be unable to make billions of euros of bond payments falling due this month.

The front month German Bund futures contract rose 42 ticks from the previous close to 140.25, after setting a record high of 140.39 during the day on Monday.

Spanish 10-year bond yields rose back above the 5 percent barrier, climbing 6 basis points to 5.05 percent. The Italian equivalent rose two basis points to hit 4.97 percent but continued to fare better than Spain.

“The market is really now looking at, on one side, what will happen to Greece and, on the other, the details of the next macro data releases to get an idea of growth in the second half of this year,” said Alessandro Giansanti, strategist at ING.

The weaker growth outlook saw stocks in China and Japan fall for a second day and triggered weakness in Australian resource shares, sending the MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) down 0.5 percent to 328.23.

In Europe, automobile shares were being hit on the weaker demand outlook, with the falls led by French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PAR:UG.PA – News) after it announced a planned 1 billion euro capital raising would involve a deep share price discount.

The FTSE Eurofirst (FTEU3) index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 1,067.26 points, its lowest level in over a week, although the index is up around 6.5 percent year-to-date.

“Latest macroeconomic figures from the euro zone, especially at a time when the ECB’s major liquidity operations are over, have raised concerns of a recession and disappointed markets,” Koen De Leus, strategist at KBC Securities in Brussels, said.

In oil markets Brent crude traded around $123 in a volatile market on Tuesday as fears of a disruption in Iranian supplies battled with the prospect of demand falls from slowing economies in China and Europe.

Front-month Brent crude fell 98 cents $122.82 a barrel at one point after climbing to a day’s high of $124.39. U.S. April crude gained 25 cents to $106.97.

The commodity-linked Australian dollar slipped 0.5 percent to $1.0621, as the nation’s central bank held its cash rate steady at 4.25 percent for a second month, but left the door open for an easing should the economy materially.

The New Zealand dollar also hit a near 6-week low of US$0.8122, down 1 percent on the day.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

6 hours ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

4 days ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu