NIGERIA

Nigeria continues to rank as the riskiest country to do business with over the Internet a new survey released Wednesday shows, with New York identified as the riskiest city in North America.

The United Nations (UN) has called for a review of the country's fuel supply management in Nigeria after an oil pipeline explosion killed at least 260 this Tuesday in Lagos, the commercial capital of the West African nation.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, or Comesa, agreed to eliminate non-tariff barriers and end conflicts that weaken trade within the 21-member grouping, a statement issued at the close of a two-day summit of member countries said Monday.

MTN is spending $348,9m to bump up its shareholding in MTN Nigeria by buying out some of the minority investors. It will pay $287,8m in cash and issue 6-million shares in the parent company to take an extra 6,98% in the Nigerian subsidiary, giving it an 81,87% share.

OPEC President Nigeria called on its fellow OPEC countries to make deeper output cuts on Tuesday as prices tumbled to an 8-month low......

Oil steadied above $62 on Friday as burgeoning U.S. inventories and slower-than-expected economic growth balanced possible action from some OPEC producers to trim output to halt the decline in prices.

Nigeria, the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, is trimming supplies from October 1 after discussions with fellow OPEC members on how to stem a price fall, a senior Nigerian oil industry source said on Thursday.

Oil held above $61 on Tuesday after rebounding from a six-month low as speculators fear a deepening fall could prompt OPEC to rein in output.

Anthony Green, Chairman of PZ Cussons Plc, today made a statement at the shareholders AGM. In it he announced that operating profit before exceptional items had increased by 13% to £60.2m.

Leading mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia and Motorola, would soon establish plants for the manufacturing and assembling of mobile phone handsets and other accessories in Nigeria.The plants were to be established under a special partnership arrangement between the Nigerian government and the foreign investors.

The Federal Government may soon revoke Royal Dutch Shell Plc oil license in Ogoniland area of River State, although the timing has not been officially decided.Agency reports yesterday quoted an Assistant Director at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mrs. Bamidele Ogedengbe as telling newsmen at an energy conference that: We are going to revoke Shell's license to operate in Ogoniland.

The world can promote development in Africa by supporting the private sector in Africa, as Spanish businesses agreed to do this week, and combating people-trafficking mafias, according to a non-governmental aid group.

The OPEC crude basket price, a daily reference level based on the prices of 11 crudes - dropped to $55.99 on Thursday from $56.23 the previous day.

Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL), a subsidiary of TOTAL, says it has encountered hydrocarbon resources in Usan field discovery in its deep water Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 222.

President Mobutu Sese Seko was said to have sipped pink champagne daily, hired Concorde to fly his family to New York to shop and bought numerous friends in high places, much of it with the help of foreign aid.

African stock exchanges may merge into integrated regional pan-African markets if African financial market leaders have their way. This was one of the main topics at the annual African Stock Exchange Association's three-day annual meeting that started in Johannesburg yesterday.

Shortfall in Nigeria's crude oil output is currently put at about 872,000 barrels per day, owing largely to an increase in the cycle of violence - hostage taking, arson leading to damage of oil production facilities in the Niger Delta, is expected to last for the next six months.

Africa'S deepening engagement with Asia's two economic giants-China and India-holds enormous potential for economic growth in Africa, according to a new report by the World Bank, released September 9.

Oil hovered around $63 a barrel on Friday, near its lowest levels since March, as ample U.S. fuel stocks looked set to meet winter heating demand in the world's biggest consumer.

Oil dipped back below $64 a barrel on Wednesday as traders await the debate among members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog over Iran's atomic work.

New gasoline-rich crude from Azerbaijan and Russia is blunting the impact of oil attacks in Nigeria this year but the relief will be shortlived as the world's available oil becomes ever more sulphurous.