Unstuck at last
After five days of struggling to free the Ever Given from where it ran aground, the vessel is now partially afloat and almost free, raising hopes traffic can soon resume.
The mammoth cargo ship blocking one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries was wrenched from the shoreline and set partially afloat again early on Monday morning, raising hopes that traffic could soon resume in the Suez Canal and limit the economic fallout of the disruption.
Salvage teams, working on both land and water for five days and nights, were ultimately assisted by forces more powerful than any of the machines that rushed to the scene to assist in the rescue: the moon the tides.
As water levels swelled overnight, the hours spent digging and excavating millions of tons of earth around the EverGreen paid dividends as the ship slowly regained buoyancy, according to officials.
While shipping officials and Egyptian authorities cautioned that the complicated operation was still underway, they expressed increasing confidence the ship would soon be completely free.
It appeared to be the culmination of one of the largest and most intense salvage operations in modern history, with the smooth functioning of the entire global trading system hanging in the balance.
Each day the canal was blocked put global supply chains another day closer to a full-blown crisis.
Oil eases
Oil prices eased as markets assumed the re-floating of the Ever Given would allow tankers to use the waterway again. There were over 300 vessels waiting to pass through the shipping route which accounts for 12% of global trade.
The market will also be cautious ahead of an OPEC meeting this week, which will have to decide whether to extend supply limits or loosen the spigots.
Brent fell 90 cents to $63.67 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost $1.03 to $59.94 per barrel.
Burger King’s bet on Nigeria
Burger King, the world’s second-biggest burger chain, is planning to come to Nigeria. While this might be exciting news, the current economic situation – high inflation, unemployment and rising poverty levels – makes many wonder why the burger chain is coming at this challenging time, and what tricks it may have up its sleeves to survive.
The Nigerian market is no doubt attractive to international investors due to its young population of over 65 percent. However, due to current economic realities and tough business environment, many foreign companies have left the country. Others who have stayed are targeting the larger segment of the economy that is at the pyramid’s bottom, by packaging their products into smaller packs that are more affordable.
Read more: Coming to Nigeria: The curious case of Burger King
COVID update
On the 28th of March 2021, 104 new confirmed cases and 7 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
That takes the total number of confirmed cases to 162,593. 150,308 cases have been discharged and 2,048 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Some 1.73 million tests were carried out on March 28 compared to 1.68 million tests a day earlier.
According to the NCDC, the 104 new cases are reported from 12 states- Lagos (48), Enugu (16), Kwara (8), Kaduna (6), Plateau (5), Kano (5), Rivers (4), FCT(4), Ogun (4), Edo (2), Ekiti (1) and Katsina (1).
The latest numbers bring Lagos state’s total confirmed cases to 57,501, followed by Abuja (19,603), Plateau (9,019), Kaduna (8,908), Rivers (6,899), Oyo (6,835), Edo (4,873), Ogun (4,613), Kano (3,897), Ondo (3,168), Kwara (3,070), Delta (2,599), Osun (2,522), Nasarawa (2,318), Enugu (2,221), Katsina (2,082), Gombe (2,030), Ebonyi (1,993), Anambra (1,909), Akwa Ibom (1,759), and Abia (1,649).
Imo State has recorded 1,642 cases, Bauchi (1,516), Borno (1,327), Benue (1,188), Adamawa (942), Niger (930), Taraba (910), Ekiti (857), Bayelsa (863), Sokoto (773), Jigawa (501), Kebbi (438), Cross River (357), Yobe (293), Zamfara (231), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.
Rare drop in pension assets
The total value of pension assets in the country dropped by N77 billion to N12.299 trillion as of January 31, 2021, compared with the N12.306 trillion it was as of December 31, 2020.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom), in its latest monthly report on the pension fund portfolio obtained on its website, put the total amount of the pension funds invested in FGN Securities in January at N8.107 trillion, compared with the N8.131 trillion recorded in December. The amount invested in corporate debt securities in the review period stood at N836 billion, same as the previous month.
The report showed that while a total of N1.687 trillion of the pension fund was invested in local money market securities in December, it reduced to N1.647 trillion in January; while the amount invested by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in mutual funds was raised to a total of N162.090 billion in January, higher than a total of N161.392 billion recorded the previous month.
The report showed that total Retired Savings Account (RSA) registered as at January 31 was 9,236,841, slightly higher than the 9,215,788 it was the previous month.
The decline in pension assets was largely as a result of the increase in the unemployment rate as well as the low yield environment.
