FINANCE MORNING FOR 7TH OF DECEMBER 2016

Charges to agencies: FG gives airlines deadline to automate payments

Lagos—The Federal Government yesterday gave all domestic and international airlines operating in Nigeria January, 2017 deadline to automate their payment of charges to aviation agencies. The measure is aimed at ending the airlines indebtedness to the agencies arising from the 5% Ticket Sales Charge/Cargo Sales Charge (TSC/CSC). Source: Vanguard. Read More.

Obaseki calls for prayers to end recession

BENIN—Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, yesterday, called for prayers from religious bodies to end the current recession, saying the peaceful conduct of the governorship election in the state was as a result of prayers. Obaseki made the call in Benin, when the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House. Source: Vanguard. Read More.

Trump claims $50 billion SoftBank investment due to his election win

Billionaire business tycoon Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday he would invest $50 billion in the United States and create 50,000 new jobs, a move President-elect Donald Trump claimed was a direct result of his election win.

The investment revived speculation that U.S. telecoms giant Sprint Corp (S.N), 82-percent-owned by Son’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), might rekindle merger talks with T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) that died under pressure from U.S. regulators. Source: Reuters. Read More.

Apple says iPhone 6 battery fires in China likely caused by external factors

Apple Inc said external factors were the likely cause of iPhone 6 battery fires detailed in a Chinese consumer protection report that featured widely in state media earlier this week and created a buzz on social media.

The Shanghai Consumer Council released a report on Friday detailing battery fires in eight iPhone 6 handsets. It also detailed iPhone 6 handsets powering down before their batteries are depleted – handsets outside of a global iPhone 6 recall range that Apple announced on Nov. 20 to address the issue. Source: Reuters. Read More.

Trump Claims Japan’s Richest Tech Billionaire Will Invest $50 Billion In U.S. Business

Will Japanese tech giant SoftBank pour $50 billion into the U.S.? President-elect Donald Trump claims it will, and says it will create 50,000 domestic jobs in the process.

Trump shared the news with reporters (including from CNBC) in the lobby of Trump Tower  after SoftBank’s billionaire Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son met with the future U.S. president on Tuesday afternoon. Source: CNN. Read More.

The 20 startups shown off at HTC’s Vive X accelerator demo day

Today, HTC hosted a demo day event in San Francisco highlighting 20 of the startups that have made their way through the company’s Vive X virtual reality accelerator program.
Vive X is dedicated to accelerating the virtual reality industry as a whole, something that is undoubtedly useful to HTC as the company doubles down on its virtual reality bets. Source: Techcrunch. Read More.

Trump fires a member of his transition team for tweeting fake news

So-called fake news has real consequences, and everyone in the U.S. keeps learning that the hard way. Not just executives at social networks like Facebook, Reddit and Twitter. Or disgruntled and brilliant Weather Channel meteorologists.

Driven by misinformation masquerading as news, in the latest tragic incident, a gunman on Sunday opened fire in a kid-friendly Washington, D.C. pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. Source: Techcrunch. Read More.

‘A beam of new hope’: Taiwan reacts to controversial Trump call

Taipei (CNN)When asked what he thinks about Donald Trump, Taiwanese politician Freddy Lim responded with a laugh.

“I am not a fan,” he said, particularly when it comes to the incoming US President’s comments on women and ethnic minorities. It’s not that surprising, given that Lim, lead singer in a popular heavy metal band, is one of Taiwan’s most progressive legislators. Source: CNN. Read More

Wole Soyinka, Nigerian Nobel prize winner, gives up green card over Trump

Africa’s first Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Wole Soyinka, has spoken for the first time since he said in October that he would cut up his green card if Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.

While the writer and poet would not elaborate on whether or not he had torn up his green card, or even if he had disposed of it, he told CNN: “I did exactly what I said I was going to do, which is how I always operate. It was a personal thing and I did everything I had to do personally.” Source: BBC. Read More.

Deadly earthquake hits Aceh in Indonesia

An undersea earthquake off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province has killed at least 25 people.
The 6.5 magnitude quake struck 19km (12 miles) south-east of the town of Sigli on Sumatra island, where dozens of buildings have collapsed and people are feared trapped under rubble. Source: BBC. Read More.