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Justice M. A. Oyetenu of the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has convicted one Etiusen Stephen for spraying naira notes.

The convict was arraigned on July 19, 2024, on a two-count charge bordering on naira ab¥se by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

One of the charges reads: “That you, Etiusen Stephen Udo, on or about 27th June 2024, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did sell forty thousand naira notes (N40,000.00) only to one Edidiong Usoro and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act.”

When the charges were read to the defendant, he pleaded ‘guilty’ to both counts.

Justice Onyetenu thereafter convicted him and ordered the forfeiture of the N40,000 recovered from him to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

EFCC in a statement on Wednesday, July 24, noted that: “The convict was arrested at the Shelter Afrique area of Akwa Ibom State on Thursday, June 27, 2024, alongside ten others while partying at Ken’s Court Luxury Apartments. He was caught spraying naira notes and carelessly stepping on them while dancing.”

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It was quite a day for shares of Bausch Health Cos. (BHC), which were cut nearly in half before recovering as it addressed a research firm's report saying it was mulling bankruptcy options.

Bausch's stock finished Wednesday down 23%, above earlier lows that represented their lowest level in nearly 20 years. After trading in the shares was halted Wednesday afternoon, the pharmaceutical company issued a statement citing a report by Reorg.

Investopedia has not read the report, and Reorg did not respond to a reporter's request in time for publication.

“The [Reorg] article contains unsubstantiated rumors, including that the company is considering a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding of any kind — it is not,” the company said. “We understand that Reorg has subsequently issued an update to its original news article to clarify that the company has not been involved in discussions with its creditors regarding bankruptcy proceedings.”

Bausch is scheduled to report second-quarter results before the opening bell on August 1. In the first quarter, the company posted a net loss of $64 million.

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The Ondo State government has appealed to Nigerian students, particularly those from the state, to shun the planned August 1st nationwide protest against hardship in the country.

The Senior Special Assistant on Students’ Affairs to the state government, Kevin Olaolu, who made the appeal in a statement said the government urged its citizens to embrace peace and dialogue.

“We urge all students to support the Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to bring about positive change and development in our country.

In the spirit of unity and progress, we call for peace among all Nigerian students and emphasize the importance of constructive engagement and dialogue in addressing our challenges.

It is important to note that Ondo state students firmly dissociate themselves from any planned protests, vi%lence, or d£§truction of public properties belonging to the government. We believe that change takes time, and as the saying goes, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to the progress and prosperity of our great nation. Together, we can overcome our challenges and build a better future for all. Nigeria shall be great,” the statement reads.

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The Area Controller of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Cross River/Akwa Ibom Command, Chukwudi Gabriel Ogbonna, has stressed that Nigeria requires more manufacturing firms instead of hotels.

Speaking in Calabar on Wednesday, July 24, the Customs boss said there seems to be more hotels in the country compared with manufacturing facilities.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, he said: “The local or national economy cannot survive without manufacturers. Manufacturing or productive economy energizes any economy.

But there seems to be more hotels than manufacturing facilities in Cross River and many other states. It shouldn’t be that way.

We ourselves are affected when manufacturers are not working. We take in revenues when manufacturers are working. We should give more support to local manufacturers.”

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Canada's central bank isn’t waiting for its economy to get any worse before making interest rate cuts—and some say the Federal Reserve shouldn't either.

After becoming the first Group of Seven (G7) economy to cut its interest rate in the face of a global fight against inflation, the Bank of Canada again reduced its rate by a quarter-percentage point Wednesday. The move comes as inflation in Canada decreased to 2.7% in June, down from May levels.

Central bankers in both Canada and the U.S. have been watching closely to see signs that inflation was moving lower. However, Canadian officials are now raising worries that their inflation may fall too fast as a result of weakening economic conditions.

"With the target in sight and more excess supply in the economy, the downside risks are taking on increased weight in our monetary policy deliberations. We need growth to pick up so inflation does not fall too much, even as we work to get inflation down to the 2% target,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said today.

Some U.S. economists echoed those messages this week. Some argue the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) shouldn’t wait until its September meeting to cut, and should instead take action at its meeting next week.

Canada’s rate cuts have come as the country faces economic conditions that are unwinding faster than in the U.S. Canadian economists are particularly worried about employment levels and the health of consumer spending.

“Household spending, including both consumer purchases and housing, has been weak. There are signs of slack in the labor market. The unemployment rate has risen to 6.4%, with employment continuing to grow more slowly than the labor force and job seekers taking longer to find work,” the Bank of Canada said in a statement accompanying the decision.

Economists following the U.S. have seen similar economic trends, with some believing the Federal Reserve already has enough evidence to act on interest rates. Recent employment reports show that job growth has been slowing in the U.S., with the unemployment rate ticking up.

Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley joined that group Wednesday when he warned in a Bloomberg column that the labor market in the U.S. could also rapidly decline, which he argued is an impetus for the Fed to act at its upcoming meeting at the end of July.

"Although it might already be too late to fend off a recession by cutting rates, dawdling now unnecessarily increases the risk," he wrote.

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