Five things to know to start your Tuesday

FG unveiled two savings bonds

Nigeria’s government is offering two new savings bonds for people to invest in this month. These bonds are like loans to the government that pay back interest to investors.

For the two-year bond, you’ll get your money back in January 2027. You’ll earn 17.23% interest each year. If you choose the three-year bond, which ends in January 2028, you’ll get a higher rate of 18.23% per year.

If interested, you can buy these bonds between January 13 and January 17, 2025. The government will start paying interest on January 22, 2025. After that, they’ll pay interest four times a year – in April, July, October, and January.

These bonds are especially attractive because you don’t have to pay taxes on the money you earn from them, and organizations like pension funds can invest in them too. Each unit costs N1,000, and you can invest as little as N5,000 or as much as N50,000,000. The Nigerian government guarantees these bonds, which means your investment is safe.

NCC will name defaulting banks in the USSD saga this week

The Nigerian Communications Commission is about to publicly name 18 banks that haven’t paid their debts for using mobile phone networks’ USSD services. These banks owe about N200 billion in total, and the commission might cut off their USSD services if they don’t pay.

According to The PUNCH newspaper, only four banks have followed the payment rules set by the Central Bank and NCC in December 2023. The rules said that by January 2, 2025, banks needed to pay 60% of what they owed before new systems were put in place, and work out payment plans with the mobile networks for the rest. But most of the banks haven’t paid up yet.

Read Also: Banks must settle N250bn USSD debt as usage declines 150%

A Gaza ceasefire deal is close

Peace talks will take place in Doha today (Tuesday) to try to end the war in Gaza. US President Biden says a deal for a ceasefire and release of hostages is very close to happening.

On Monday, negotiators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of the agreement, according to someone who knows about the talks. This came after an important breakthrough at midnight in discussions where representatives of both President Biden and President-elect Trump were present.

“The deal … would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,” Biden said in a speech Monday about his foreign policy work.

If the deal works out, it would be the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early part of the conflict, when Hamas released about half of its prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinians held by Israel. This agreement would come after more than a year of on-and-off negotiations.

Japan’s 40-year yield rose to a record high

The interest rate on Japan’s 40-year government bonds has hit its highest level ever, as investors worldwide are selling bonds and many think Japan’s central bank might raise interest rates soon.

The yield went up by 0.03% to reach 2.755%, which is the highest it’s been since these bonds were first sold in 2007. Interest on Japan’s 20-year bonds also reached its highest point since May 2011, after Japanese markets opened back up following a Monday holiday.

Interest rates are going up around the world because people are worried about continuing high prices and governments spending more than they earn. The U.S. economy has been doing better than expected, which has made investors think the Federal Reserve won’t cut interest rates as soon as they thought. Markets are also trying to figure out what President-elect Trump’s win might mean for the economy.

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military.

South Korea’s military leaders (the Joint Chiefs of Staff or JCS) said they spotted the missiles’ launch Tuesday morning around 9:30 am local time. The missiles came from North Korea’s Jagang Province.

The missiles flew about 250 kilometres (155 miles) before landing in the water between Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s military is getting ready for the possibility of more missile launches. They’ve increased their monitoring of North Korea and are sharing information closely with both the United States and Japan. They say they’re fully prepared for any situation.