Business
BREAKING: Interest Rate, Increase to 15-Year High – Bank Of England
The Bank of England on Thursday lifted its key interest rate to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, noting inflation remained stubbornly high but that the economy would now avoid recession this year.
The BoE hiked the rate by a quarter-point to 4.5 percent — its 12th increase in a row with UK annual inflation stuck above 10 percent, fuelling a cost-of-living crisis across Britain.
Global policymakers are battling elevated inflation caused largely by runaway energy bills following last year’s invasion of Ukraine by major oil and gas producer Russia.
Following a regular policy meeting, the BoE warned of “considerable uncertainties” on when UK inflation would return to its two-percent target, as soaring food prices offset sharp drops to energy costs.
At the same time, the central bank made a record upgrade to its British GDP forecast, adding there would be only a small impact from recent turmoil in the commercial banking sector.
“Six months ago, we were expecting a shallow but long recession,” BoE governor Andrew Bailey told a press conference.
“Since then, energy prices have fallen substantially and economic activity is holding up much better than expected.”
– ‘Modest but positive’ growth –
Bailey said the UK would this year experience “modest but positive economic growth and a much smaller increase in unemployment.
“We think inflation will fall quite sharply over the coming months,” he added.
Official data Friday is expected to show the UK economy grew during the first quarter of this year after narrowly avoiding recession in the last three months of 2022.
The rate decision comes one week after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government suffered a drubbing in local elections, as voters gave their verdict over rampant living costs despite government efforts to partly subsidise energy bills.
The nation has been plagued by strikes as high inflation erodes the value of wages. Train staff will walk out again on Friday following months of industrial action across the private and public sectors.
The latest BoE hike is set to deepen the crunch in living standards as retail banks pass on the increase, resulting in higher repayments on loans, including mortgages.
At the same time, those who can afford to save will benefit for increased fixed returns on investments.
“Although it is good news that the Bank of England is no longer forecasting recession, today’s interest rate rise will obviously be very disappointing for families with mortgages,” said British finance minister Jeremy Hunt.
– Highest inflation in G7 –
Thursday’s news took British borrowing costs to a level last seen in October 2008, before rates were slashed during the global financial crisis.
The BoE has ramped up borrowing costs from a record-low of 0.1 percent in December 2021.
Its latest hike came one week after the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve implemented quarter-point rate increases as inflationary pressures ease only slightly in the eurozone and the United States.
UK annual inflation stood at 10.1 percent in March, the highest level in the Group of Seven richest nations.
Sunak and the BoE blame the high level in part on rises to pay and have urged employers to show restraint.
BoE chief economist Huw Pill recently stated that Britons need “to accept that they’re worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices via higher wages”.
AFP
Business
2026: CPPE foresees stronger growth for Nigerian economy, people and businesses
Dr Muda Yusuf, the CEO of CPPE, stressed that the periodic marginal appreciation of the Naira, strengthened business confidence, eased imported inflation and restored predictability to pricing, contracting and investment planning.
• Dr Muda Yusuf, the CEO of CPPE
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), has described 2025 as “a year of macroeconomic stabilisation,” for Nigeria; projecting that the economy will in 2026, transition more decisively from stabilisation to growth.
CPPE, in its review of the outgoing year, noted : ” The year 2025 marked a significant turning point in Nigeria’s macroeconomic trajectory following the turbulence associated with the early phase of the government reforms.
“Exchange-rate stability emerged as the most visible achievement, with the naira largely trading within the ₦1,440–₦1,500/US$ band.”
Dr Muda Yusuf, the CEO of CPPE, stressed that the periodic marginal appreciation of the Naira, strengthened business confidence, eased imported inflation and restored predictability to pricing, contracting and investment planning.
“Inflation decelerated sharply from 24.48 percent in January to about 14.45 percent by November 2025.
The slowdown was supported by currency stability, easing logistics pressures and improving supply conditions.
Several food items and imported consumer goods recorded outright price declines, contributing to improved consumer sentiment and reduced price volatility.”
Given the above, Dr Yusuf said that overall, 2025 laid a solid foundation of macroeconomic stability.
He said : ” The outlook for 2026 is reassuring, with expectations of stronger growth, easing inflation, improving investor confidence and a gradual shift toward more inclusive expansion.
He emphasised that if reform momentum is sustained and security challenges are effectively addressed, 2026 could mark the beginning of a more robust growth phase with tangible improvements in living standards.
Business
Nigerians consume 1.236 million terabytes mobile data Nov’25– NCC
The NCC said that seasonal factors, including holiday promotions and increased online activity, likely boosted November’s marginal rise over October.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says that Nigerians consumed 1.236 million terabytes (1.24 petabytes) of mobile data in November 2025, a slight increase from October’s estimated 1.235 million TB.
NCC, in the November data reports, said ” Data usage climbed progressively from lower levels earlier in the year, around 983,000 TB in April amid post-tariff adjustments, to crossing the 1 million TB threshold by mid-year. June saw 1.044 million TB, July surged to 1.131 million TB (then hailed as a record), and August reached 1.152 million TB,” said the NCC.
According to the records, month-on-month gains averaged 1.8 percent in the second half, driven by recovering subscriptions, expanded 4G coverage, and insatiable appetite for video streaming, social media, and fintech services. This all-time high reflects Nigeria’s deepening digital integration.
MTN and Airtel, controlling over 85 percent of the market, benefited most, with users averaging higher per-subscriber consumption – MTN at around 13 GB monthly and Airtel nearing 10 GB.
The NCC said that seasonal factors, including holiday promotions and increased online activity, likely boosted November’s marginal rise over October.
Broader metrics reinforce the boom: Internet subscriptions hit 144.8 million in November, while broadband penetration reached 50.58 percent (109.7 million high-speed connections), up sharply from 45.61 percent in January. Active telephony lines rebounded to 177.4 million, adding 2.1 million month-on-month, pushing teledensity to 81.8 percent.
Business
ICPC: Dangote must testify in person
The agency said that the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, does not allow proxy representation on criminal matters.It gave Dangote December 29 deadline to appear before it.
File Photo: Aliko Dangote and Farouk Ahmed
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says that Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote must appear personally before the Commission to testify the corruption allegations against the former against the former Chief Executive of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Alhaji Farouk Ahmed.
The agency said that the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, does not allow proxy representation on criminal matters.It gave Dangote December 29 deadline to appear before it.
The anti-graft commission conveyed its decision to Dangote’s lawyer, Dr. Ogwu Onoja (SAN), in a December 24 letter.
Onoja had on December 22, gone to the ICPC office to adopt the petition.But in a letter to Onoja by the Chief of Staff to ICPC Chairman, Rouqayya Ibrahim, the commission said it was necessary for Dangote to come in person.
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