Company fundamentals and stock price movements: The role of crude oil prices – Evidence from Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)

This study analyzed company fundamentals on how it relates and predict stock price movements and the extent of the role of oil prices in moderating the influence of these company fundamentals in stock price movements. The study covered the period of 2014 to 2018. The study is a panel study. A total of 132 companies were sampled from 196 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as of December 2018. Data were collected from a secondary source. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the data. The study found that a relationship exists between selected companies' fundamentals and stock prices, and oil prices moderate the relationship. But EPS and Working Capital have high predictive power on stock price movements but moderating with oil prices the influence reduces significantly. The study recommends among others that Managers of companies in Nigeria should formulate policies and exert effort geared towards improving company fundamentals in the event of oil prices increases

An Empirical Analysis of Free Cash Flow and Dividend Policy in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector

The paper is to determine the impact of free cash flow on dividend policy of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The data was collected from annual reports and accounts of the sampled companies for the period of twelve years from 2003 to 2014. Data is analyzed by means of descriptive statistics to provide summary statistics for the variables and correlation analysis is also carried out using Pearson correlation technique for the correlation between the dependent and explanatory variables. Multiple regression technique was used to analyze the data using STATA software version 12.00. The study found that free cash flow and earnings per share have positive effects on the dividend policy while a negative significant relationship is found between leverage and dividend policy of listed oil and gas companies Nigeria. Companies in which high proportion of shares are held by managers are more reluctant in paying a higher dividend. Hence, The study recommends that companies in the oil and gas sector should endeavor to improve the level of free cash and profitability while reducing the level of leverage thereby paying a higher dividend payout policy. Keywords: Free cash flow, Dividend policy, Earning per share, Leverag

A Study of Polysemy and Metaphor of Hausa Perception Verbs of Vision: A Cognitive Linguistics Approach

This paper examines the polysemy and metaphor of Hausa perception verbs of vision from a cognitive semantics perspective, which is a sub-field of cognitive linguistics. The objective of the study is to identify how underlying polysemous extensions of the Hausa perception verbs trigger the conceptual metaphor of vision. In conducting the research, ethnographic research methods were employed in collecting the data for this study, while the conceptual polysemy model proposed by Ibarretxe-Antunano (1999) and the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) propounded by Lakoff and Jhonson (1980) were adopted as the theoretical framework of the research. The outcome of the study reveals that Hausa perception verbs of vision, when polysemously extended conceptually, encode an array of conceptual metaphors that conceptually denote mental activity and experience, social activity, and evidential experience. Finally, the result of the study establishes a relationship between perception and cognition. &nbsp

Antifungal activity of “Mahogany” ( Khaya senegalensis ) leaf extract against some selected fungi

Effect of leaf aqueous extracts of Khaya senegalensis were determined on disease causing fungi. This work aimed to determine the antifungal effect of Khaya senegalensis leaf extract on the growth of some selected fungi. In this study, the phytopathogenic fungi isolated from the spoiled bread are identified based on morphological and cultural characters. The identification of the fungi was confirmed by pathogenicity tests, the organisms were found to be Mucor spp. and Rhizopus spp. Leaf aqueous extracts of different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg mL-1) of Khaya senegalensis were added to the growth media prior to inoculation. The aqueous extracts have inhibited the mycelial growth of the fungi, and this effect gradually increased with an increase in the concentration. It could be emphatically concluded that the tested plant extract can effectively control fungi affecting. This makes it potential biofungicide for the management of fungi associated with bread as it is cheap and environmentally safe due to their fungicidal and fungitoxic ability.Se determinó el efecto de extractos acuosos de hojas de Khaya senegalensis sobre hongos causantes de enfermedades. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto antifúngico del extracto de hoja de Khaya senegalensis sobre el crecimiento de algunos hongos seleccionados. En este estudio se identifican los hongos fitopatógenos aislados del pan podrido con base en caracteres morfológicos y culturales. La identificación de los hongos se confirmó mediante pruebas de patogenicidad, los organismos resultaron ser Mucor spp. y Rhizopus spp. Extractos acuosos de hojas de diferentes concentraciones (100, 200, 300, 400 y 500 mg mL-1) de Khaya senegalensis se agregaron a los medios de crecimiento antes de la inoculación. Los extractos acuosos han inhibido el crecimiento micelial de los hongos, y este efecto aumenta gradualmente con el aumento de la concentración. Se podría concluir enfáticamente que el extracto de planta probado puede controlar eficazmente los hongos que afectan. Esto lo convierte en un potencial biofungicida para el manejo de hongos asociados al pan ya que es económico y ambientalmente seguro debido a su capacidad fungicida y fungitóxica.O efeito de extratos aquosos de folhas de Khaya senegalensis foi determinado sobre fungos causadores de doenças. Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar o efeito antifúngico do extrato da folha de Khaya senegalensis no crescimento de alguns fungos selecionados. Neste estudo, os fungos fitopatogênicos isolados do pão estragado são identificados com base em caracteres morfológicos e culturais. A identificação dos fungos foi confirmada por testes de patogenicidade, os organismos encontrados foram Mucor spp. e Rhizopus spp. Extratos aquosos de folhas de diferentes concentrações (100, 200, 300, 400 e 500 mg mL-1) de Khaya senegalensis foram adicionados ao meio de crescimento antes da inoculação. Os extratos aquosos inibiram o crescimento micelial dos fungos, e esse efeito aumentou gradativamente com o aumento da concentração. Pode-se concluir enfaticamente que o extrato vegetal testado pode efetivamente controlar os fungos que afetam. Isso o torna potencial biofungicida para o manejo de fungos associados ao pão, pois é barato e ambientalmente seguro devido à sua capacidade fungicida e fungitóxica

How do markets react to political elections during periods of insecurity and governance crises? Evidence from an African emerging democracy

PURPOSE – This paper operationalizes insecurity and governance crises to study their effects on stock market response to two political events in Nigeria – the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – An event study was used to capture the market responses. Abnormal returns at the aggregate and sectoral levels were measured over several time windows before and after the respective election results were announced. FINDINGS – The market reacted strongly positively to a change in presidency from an incumbent to an opposition party candidate in the 2015 election but weakly positively, at best, to the re-election of the incumbent candidate in the 2019 election. In addition, banking stocks exhibited greater sensitivity to these events than oil and gas stocks. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS – There may be peculiarities with the Nigerian case and with the two elections analyzed. Therefore, future research could focus on understanding the extent to which the results generalize to the broader sub-Saharan context and other regions that face similar governance challenges. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – Understanding that markets may have a different perception towards incumbent versus opposition candidate electoral victories during periods of insecurity and governance crisis is important for investors, policymakers, researchers and the wider society. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – Past empirical studies on political events and stock returns in Sub-SaharanAfrica contexts such as Nigeria ignore shifts in voter mood and produce contradictory findings. This paper helps to resolve some of these contradictions by providing insight into how the markets can have a different perception towards incumbent and opposition candidate electoral victories during periods of insecurity and governance crisis.https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-0705.htmam2023Economic

Genomic signatures for drylands adaptation at gene-rich regions in African zebu cattle

BackgroundIndigenous Sudanese cattle are mainly indicine/zebu (humped) type. They thrive in the harshest dryland environments characterised by high temperatures, long seasonal dry periods, nutritional shortages, and vector disease challenges. Here, we sequenced 60 indigenous Sudanese cattle from six indigenous breeds and analysed the data using three genomic scan approaches to unravel cattle adaptation to the African dryland region.ResultsWe identified a set of gene-rich selective sweep regions, detected mostly on chromosomes 5, 7 and 19, shared across African and Gir zebu. These include genes involved in immune response, body size and conformation, and heat stress response. We also identified selective sweep regions unique to Sudanese zebu. Of these, a 250 kb selective sweep on chromosome 16 spans seven genes, including PLCH2, PEX10, PRKCZ, and SKI, which are involved in alternative adaptive metabolic strategies of insulin signalling, glucose homeostasis, and fat metabolism.ConclusionsOur results suggest that environmental adaptation may involve recent and ancient selection at gene-rich regions, which might be under a common regulatory genetic control, in zebu cattle

Genomic signatures for drylands adaptation at gene-rich regions in African zebu cattle

BackgroundIndigenous Sudanese cattle are mainly indicine/zebu (humped) type. They thrive in the harshest dryland environments characterised by high temperatures, long seasonal dry periods, nutritional shortages, and vector disease challenges. Here, we sequenced 60 indigenous Sudanese cattle from six indigenous breeds and analysed the data using three genomic scan approaches to unravel cattle adaptation to the African dryland region.ResultsWe identified a set of gene-rich selective sweep regions, detected mostly on chromosomes 5, 7 and 19, shared across African and Gir zebu. These include genes involved in immune response, body size and conformation, and heat stress response. We also identified selective sweep regions unique to Sudanese zebu. Of these, a 250 kb selective sweep on chromosome 16 spans seven genes, including PLCH2, PEX10, PRKCZ, and SKI, which are involved in alternative adaptive metabolic strategies of insulin signalling, glucose homeostasis, and fat metabolism.ConclusionsOur results suggest that environmental adaptation may involve recent and ancient selection at gene-rich regions, which might be under a common regulatory genetic control, in zebu cattle

The mosaic genome of indigenous African cattle as a unique genetic resource for African pastoralism

© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. Cattle pastoralism plays a central role in human livelihood in Africa. However, the genetic history of its success remains unknown. Here, through whole-genome sequence analysis of 172 indigenous African cattle from 16 breeds representative of the main cattle groups, we identify a major taurine × indicine cattle admixture event dated to circa 750–1,050 yr ago, which has shaped the genome of today’s cattle in the Horn of Africa. We identify 16 loci linked to African environmental adaptations across crossbred animals showing an excess of taurine or indicine ancestry. These include immune-, heat-tolerance- and reproduction-related genes. Moreover, we identify one highly divergent locus in African taurine cattle, which is putatively linked to trypanotolerance and present in crossbred cattle living in trypanosomosis-infested areas. Our findings indicate that a combination of past taurine and recent indicine admixture-derived genetic resources is at the root of the present success of African pastoralism

Genomic Reference Resource for African Cattle:Genome Sequences and High-Density Array Variants

The diversity in genome resources is fundamental to designing genomic strategies for local breed improvement and utilisation. These resources also support gene discovery and enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of resilience with applications beyond local breeds. Here, we report the genome sequences of 555 cattle (208 of which comprise new data) and high-density (HD) array genotyping of 1,082 samples (537 new samples) from indigenous African cattle populations. The new sequences have an average genome coverage of ~30X, three times higher than the average (~10X) of the over 300 sequences already in the public domain. Following variant quality checks, we identified approximately 32.3 million sequence variants and 661,943 HD autosomal variants mapped to the Bos taurus reference genome (ARS-UCD1.2). The new datasets were generated as part of the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) Genomic Reference Resource for African Cattle (GRRFAC) initiative, which aspires to facilitate the generation of this livestock resource and hopes for its utilisation for complete indigenous breed characterisation and sustainable global livestock improvement.</p