HashFlare

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Stagnant EU growth, alongside weak German ZEW Survey, lead to additional calls for further ECB stimulus

The fallout from ECB President, Mario Draghi’s explicit threat that the European Central Bank may add further stimulus in June was very much apparent in the currency markets, with the EURUSD continuing to be sold. Despite Draghi inspiring the EURUSD to depreciate by over 200 pips last week, after stating that if inflation levels continue to disappoint, the ECB would be “comfortable” acting in June, it was other economic data which raised eyebrows.

Last Tuesday, Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment recorded its lowest reading since January 2013. The ZEW Survey scored a 33.1, far below the 40.0 expectation. Bearing in mind Germany’s own GDP correlates to nearly 30% of the EU economy, this alone woke up the bears. Further dismay was caused when a preliminary EU GDP report suggested that EU growth in the past quarter remained unchanged, at 0.2%. It was hoped that the EU economy would display 0.4% expansion. Together with the disappointing German ZEW Survey, this led to further calls for extra ECB stimulus in June. EU CPI (inflation) remained unchanged, at 0.7%. All in all, the EURUSD is currently situated at a three-month low, just below 1.37.

Elsewhere, a dovish Mark Carney inspired traders to sell the GBPUSD. Last Wednesday, during the BoE’s inflation report, Carney emphatically stated that despite UK economic data continually surpassing expectations, the BoE were in “no hurry” to increase their benchmark interest rates.

In previous weeks, a collection of impressive UK economic data had the bulls in full swing, with optimists hoping that the BoE would increase rates in late 2014. Carney made further dovish remarks regarding the UK economy over the weekend, stating that the UK housing sector represents one of the biggest risks to the UK economy, moving forward. It appears that Carney is attempting to talk down the GBP, after it touched a five-year high against the USD the week before. Currently, the GBPUSD is starting to move upwards, after reaching its lowest valuation in two months.  

In regards to the Asian markets, during the previous week, the JPY surprisingly strengthened. Japan’s latest GDP release showed that during the previous quarter, Japan’s economy expanded at is fastest pace in nearly three years. Overall, Japan’s economy expanded by 1.5%, far beyond the 1% expectation. Consumer expenditure showed a noticeable improvement, with consumers being enticed to make purchases, before the Japanese government imposed a new sales tax in April.

The week ahead sees a variation of Japanese economic data released between the 19th - 21st May. The majority of attention is likely to be directed towards BoJ’s Governor, Kuroda’s live press conference, this upcoming Wednesday. It is hoped that Kuroda will offer some sort of indication on when the BoJ will look to increase their Quantitative Easing program. If Kuroda indicates that further easing could come as soon as next month, then JPY weakness is possible. However, if Kuroda states that the timeframe for further QE has not yet been determined (like in previous months), then additional JPY strength could be forthcoming.

In reference to the USD, confidence remains low in the Greenback, despite US economic data continuing to exemplify improvements. For starters, last week’s Initial Jobless Claims showed the fewest number of American citizens filling applications for unemployment benefits, since 2007.

Last week, only 297,000 Initial Jobless Claims were made, compared to the 325,000 expectation. Additionally, there were signs that the US housing sector is starting to make progress. Compared to last month, Housing Starts improved by 13% and Building Permits by 8%. Recently, the Federal Reserve had expressed that a noticeable slowdown in the housing market, was hampering progress to the US economic recovery.  Perhaps more importantly to the Federal Reserve, US CPI (inflation) climbed by 0.3% in April, their fastest CPI improvement in over one year.

Although the majority of US economic data was positive last week, there was some disappointment in regards to consumer expenditure. Advance Retail Sales came in at only 0.1%, quite some distance from the 0.4% expectation. It is widely reported that consumer expenditure represents around 70% of the US economy and this led to some suspicions that US consumer confidence, remains low. Federal Reserve leader, Janet Yellen is expected to give a speech at New York University, this coming Wednesday. Although is not yet known whether Yellen is scheduled to address the US economy, any references made, may provide financial market volatility.

What to Watch this Week:
Over the last week, there was a high quantity of economic data released to the general public. This results in the week ahead, being slightly less heavy on economic releases. However, market eyes will be paying close attention to the release of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC minutes this coming Wednesday. Elsewhere, on Tuesday, the UK’s latest CPI figures are released. Right now, it is expected that below target inflation levels will validate Mark Carney’s assertion last week, that the BoE are in no need to increase interest rates anytime soon.

Written by Jameel Ahmad, Chief Market Analyst at FXTM.

For more information please visit: Forex Time

Monday, 19 May 2014

AstraZeneca rejects Pfizer's final takeover bid

AstraZeneca has rejected Pfizer's £69bn takeover approach, saying the bid undervalues the UK company and poses too many risks.

AstraZeneca's shares tumbled 13% to £42.04 on the news, wiping about £8bn off the company's market value as investors concluded that the chance of a deal was now remote. Some of the company's biggest shareholders, including the fund manager Jupiter, criticised the AstraZeneca board for not engaging with Pfizer.

Leif Johansson, AstraZeneca's chairman, said Pfizer's £55-a-share valuation fell short of the price that the US company was told was necessary.

Pfizer said it was prepared to pay £53.50 on Friday, but AstraZeneca said at the weekend that the price needed to be at least 10% higher, valuing the company at about £74bn.

Pfizer announced on Sunday night that it would make a final approach at £55 a share and that it would not raise its offer further. It also increased the cash portion of the bid from 33% to 45% with the rest payable in Pfizer shares.

Johansson said Pfizer had already said its £53.50 approach was its final offer and that the US company did not alert AstraZeneca to Sunday night's increased proposal.

Advertisement

Pfizer said it would not make a hostile offer by going straight to AstraZeneca's shareholders, but it called on them to urge the board to enter talks. Pfizer has until 26 May to make a firm offer unless AstraZeneca's board asks the takeover panel for an extension.

Johansson said Pfizer's approach, which falls short of a formal bid, undervalued the Anglo-Swedish company's prospects for producing new drugs as an independent business.

He added that Pfizer's plans to move to the UK for tax purposes and its record for slashing research spending endangered the future of a combined company.

"Pfizer's approach throughout its pursuit of AstraZeneca appears to have been fundamentally driven by the corporate financial benefits to its shareholders of cost savings and tax minimisation," he said.

"From our first meeting in January to our latest discussion yesterday, and in the numerous phone calls in between, Pfizer has failed to make a compelling strategic, business or value case. The board is firm in its conviction as to the appropriate terms to recommend to shareholders.

"We have rejected Pfizer's final proposal because it is inadequate and would present significant risks for shareholders, while also having serious consequences for the company, our employees and the life-sciences sector in the UK, Sweden and the US."

Advertisement

The rejection appeared to end a battle between the two companies unless AstraZeneca shareholders push the board to talk to Pfizer without a higher offer.

Pfizer said it was considering its options.

Johansson told the BBC's Today programme he did not know if the deal was dead.

"I have no idea. This has been going on for quite some time, and in very deep engagement over the whole of the weekend. Pfizer now says this is the final offer. I have to believe what they say."

Savvas Neophytou, an analyst at the brokers Panmure Gordon, said he thought shareholders could yet force AstraZeneca to talk to Pfizer.

"There is a lot going on and I suspect there are more developments to come," he said. Under Britain's takeover rules, if Pfizer made a firm offer for AstraZeneca, the board would have to recommend it to shareholders and it could not be for more than £55 a share.

Pfizer's pursuit of AstraZeneca has divided opinion among shareholders, with some calling for the firm to negotiate with Pfizer while others have supported the board in resisting the bid.

A top 10 investor said the board had failed to represent shareholders' interests, but that a deal now looked unlikely.

"This is the single biggest case of value destruction on behalf of shareholders of all time," the fund manager said. "I think it is closed. Personality clashes have triumphed over shareholder value creation."

By mid-morning on Monday, AstraZeneca's market value was £53bn, £16bn less than the price Pfizer had indicated it would pay.

Alistair Gunn, a fund manager at Jupiter, which is one of AstraZeneca's top 30 shareholders, said: "We are disappointed the board of AstraZeneca has rejected Pfizer's latest offer so categorically. They should have at least engaged in a constructive conversation with Pfizer on the details of the offer to assess the opportunities that a combined entity could bring.

"There now seems little room left to manoeuvre with Pfizer having ruled out a hostile bid. We will be expressing our dissatisfaction to the AstraZeneca board over the way the bid process has been handled up to now."

The Viagra maker's offer also stoked a political row because of the potential impact on jobs and Britain's science base.

On Monday David Cameron said he would remain neutral about AstraZeneca's rejection of the bid from Pfizer, although officials are still involved in talks with both companies.

Despite Pfizer's decision not to raise its offer any further or launch a hostile takeover, the prime minister's spokesman said "official-level engagement" was continuing, in a sign the government does not believe prospects of a deal are dead.

Asked for his reaction to the latest twist, Cameron said it was a "matter for the companies to resolve themselves" but he would continue to follow events closely.

"The government, quite rightly, should be neutral in this. What we should do, though, is always be engaged with both companies – as we have been – to try and make sure that, whatever the outcome, British science, British jobs, British manufacturing, that they get proper and deserved attention," he told the BBC.

Source:TheGuardian(UK.)

Friday, 16 May 2014

60 Belgian firms for investment in Nigeria

FOR the first time in 50 years, over 60 high networth investors from Belgium will be storming Nigeria to explore investment opportunities in such areas as power, transport, logistics, agro-allied and health, among others.   

   The expected huge investments in these sectors, should they materialize, would create a lot of employment opportunities and also contribute immensely to the growth of the nation’s economy. While in the country, the investors will network and establish prospective business partners.

   Their investment exploration is under the auspices of the Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce and the Belgian Commercial Information and Documentation Centre. 

   According to the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Dirk Verheyen, who addressed newsmen in Abuja Thursday, the drive stems from the revelation of the great opportunities existing in the country following the recent rebasing of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

   The development is coming on the heels of a lopsided trade relationship between both countries, in favour of Belgium, which exports to Nigeria as at the end of 2013 stood at N459.165 billion, as against Nigeria’s N16.753 billion.

   Ambassador Verheyen explained: “Our country is with a total export figure of two billion Euros a year - the third largest European exporter to Nigeria. But it’s time for diversification and for more sustainable structure of our trade. This is why there was such a big response in Belgium when Flanders Investment and Trade, in charge of commercial missions, looked for candidates to come to Nigeria.

   “Everyone knows that the progress of the GDP in your country has been 7 percent for over a decade. So, more than 60 companies are coming to Lagos from June 1 to 4, 2014. 50 of them will latter that week make the trip to the Federal Capital Abuja; stay here until the 6th. 

   “Not by accident, the trade delegation is headed by the President of the Port of Antwerp, Sir Marx Van Peel, who is also Deputy Mayor of that city - the second largest port in Europe - with an annual turnover of almost 200 million tons, that is to say almost 10 times the output of the biggest African port.”

   He added: “During their trip to Lagos, the trade delegation will visit the (Nigerian Ports Authority) NPA and the Apapa Port. Antwerp has excellent relations of friendship and cooperation with both. Still in Lagos, the mission will also visit the Eco Atlantic City project - as a matter of fact, a Belgium international dredging giant and a Belgian construction company are actively involved in this public-privet project.

Source: Guardian Newspaper

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

HOW TO MAKE $500/MONTH WITH ALMOST ZERO CAPITAL

Livedrive is an online backup and sync storage company owned by j2 Global, inc. Livedrive have been in operation for 6 years and currently have over 2 million customers worldwide.
Back up your files and access it anywhere you are in the world for as low as $6.
Livedrive is the fastest growing and most loved cloud storage and online backup company on the web today. 

We're Number 1
Number 1 in Europe. Number 1 in the USA. Livedrive is the fastest growing and top rated cloud storage vendor on both sides of the Atlantic. 
Livedrive's aim is to protect your files and enable you to access them from anywhere at any time.They partner with some of the world's most famous online and offline electronics retailers including; Currys, PC World, Dixons, CompUSA and TigerDirect. They also sell all-in-one online storage solutions to consumers and businesses directly via our website and through several thousand small businesses.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH LIVEDRIVE 
- Click on this Link to sign up: www.livedrive.com?a_aid=53678aa02663e
Choose the Back up $6/Month trial (You won’t enter any card info here… it won’t charge you anything here… just ENTER YOUR NAME and EMAIL below in the “One-click Instant sign up”
Once in the back-end go to “refer friends” in the red box, CLICK “Enter billing details now”.. This will take you to the page where you choose package option of choice and pay.
You Must Download the software on your computer to ensure that you are actually using the product. If you have your personal computer then upload all the document and files on your computer for back up or YOU WILL NOT GET PAID when you make sales.
After you finished downloading, install it on your computer.
 - Click on livedrive icon on your computer task bar and click on login with your email address and password you used to sign up. 

- After registration. click http://affiliates.livedrive.com/affiliates/ for affiliate signup for free. 
Livedrive Affiliate Program
Earn up to $75 for referring one customer to Livedrive cloud storage
 If you have a popular website, blog, podcast or newsletter you can earn considerable amounts of money in minutes by referring your audience to Livedrive.
Just follow our simple steps and add our ready-made Livedrive banners and text links to your website, newsletter or blog. We have free Affiliate Marketing kits and dedicated landing pages to help make sure you get as much assistance selling Livedrive as possible.
Livedrive provides the highest paying cloud storage affiliate scheme in the world. We currently reward affiliates with a $75 commission for every paid customer they refer.
AccountPayout
Pro Suite$75 per account  payout for (Purchase Price @ $19)
Briefcase$45 per account
(Purchase Price @ $12)
Backup$30 per account
(Purchase Price @ $6)
- If a customer from you purchase the backup package for $6, you will be paid $30
- If a customer from you purchase the briefcase package for $12, you will be paid $45
- If a customer from you purchase the pro suite package for $19, you will be paid $75
The Payout for any of the package used to be $200 per sell as at last year, but it was reduced early this year. for those that started way back last year, racked in so much $
Livedrive is the world's only unlimited online backup and colossal cloud sync storage company. Livedrive allows you to stream your movies, music, view your pictures, or edit your documents from anywhere.
Key selling points:
  • 2,000GB+ online storage space per user account
  • Unlimited Backup space
  • PC & Mac compatibility
  • Free Apps for iOS, AndroidChrome OS & Blackberry (You can use you smartphone to accesss your backup files anywhere in the world)
  • Reliable & Free customer support

WORKING STRATEGY THAT I USED TO MAKE $500 MONTHLY ON LIVEDRIVE: After you have sign up on both links above, make sure that you send me your invoice number and email addresss via abodesynergypr@gmail.com  and i will send you the steategy i use in making $500 on livedrive. I am not asking you for a dime. Its FREE

$6 should not stop you from making $500 every single month. 

Google Glass goes on sale to US public



Google has put its Glass headset on sale to anyone in the US who can pay the $1,500 price.
The eyewear-mounted device, which is still at the beta development stage, would be on sale until stocks ran out, Google said.


The company said on a blogpost on Tuesday that it had "decided to move to a more open beta" in the device's development.

Google opened sales of Glass to the US public for one day in April, making it briefly available to people other than just a previous select group of users such as app developers.

Google said it was still working to improve hardware and software. It did not specify how many glasses would be sold or whether it would make any more once sold out.  

The consumer version is expected to go on sale to the general public towards the end of 2014.A stamp-sized electronic screen mounted on the side of a pair of eyeglass frames.

Google Glass can record video, access email, provide turn-by-turn driving directions and retrieve information from the web by connecting wirelessly to a user's phone.

Google Glass has also raised privacy and safety concerns, prompting legislators in some jurisdictions to propose bans or limits on its use including when driving.

Source: The Guardian (UK.)

China’s growth slowdown pressures the global economy



Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen
The health of China’s economy has come under the spotlight in early trading this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping saying over the weekend that the market will need to adapt to a “new normal” rate of slower growth for China as, even though the country is still in a “significant period of strategic opportunity”, projections indicate the weakest expansion in China’s growth since 1990. This bold statement from the President had a negative impact on the Asian opening this week and investors are now keenly waiting for Tuesday’s release of industrial production and retail sales from China for signs of endemic weakness. 

The Asian markets are in fact dominating the spotlight early in the week, with the yen dropping 0.1% after Japan announced a current account surplus of just ¥116.4 billion, much lower than the forecast ¥348 billion and a fraction of February’s figure of ¥612.7 billion. This disappointing data is only further fuelling the belief that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will have to expand their monetary stimulus by the end of 2014. The market is still yet to see what the full impact of the rise in sales tax will be and this will likely be the defining indicator of whether the BoJ is forced to increase the stimulus. Thursday will see preliminary GDP for Japan released which is likely to generate yen volatility. The USD/JPY pivot point is 101.94, with resistance levels at 101.98, 102.03 and 102.08; and support levels at 101.89, 101.85 and 101.80.

Meanwhile, Australia is bracing for the annual Budget announcement on Tuesday where the Government is expected to reveal a raft of spending cuts and new levies which aim to make up a A$123 billion shortfall over four years. This aggressive economic policy announcement is likely to make waves in Australia and may well prevent the Reserve Bank of Australia from raising rates in the short term. Traders should closely watch the Australian dollar for volatility before, during and after the announcement. The AUD/USD pivot point is 0.9370, with resistance levels at 0.9375, 0.9379 and 0.9384; and support levels 0.9366, 0.9361 and 0.9357.

The week ahead for the US includes a number of economic and corporate announcements that are expected to provide some USD volatility. Tuesday sees the latest month-on-month retail sales announced with a drop from 1.2% to 0.4% expected, followed by consumer prices and consumer sentiment data later in the week. No doubt the Federal Reserve is hoping that these figures will show some signs of positivity and the results are being eagerly awaited by those who are skeptical of the health of the US economy. If the data shows any sign of weakness or deterioration this may well call into question the decision to continue the current rate of tapering asset purchases. Thursday will see Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen giving an evening speech on small business and the market will be looking to this speech for any indications of future monetary policy.

The euro dropped last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated that he may announce easing as early as next month. As a result the euro is expected to maintain a downward pressure until the June meeting. This week sees preliminary data which will indicate first quarter growth and if this too is disappointing Draghi’s hand may be forced to concede that easing is necessary. The EUR/USD pivot point is1.3768, with resistance levels at 1.3775, 1.3782 and 1.3789; and support levels at 1.3761, 1.3754 and 1.3747.

Wednesday will see the latest monthly inflation report released by the Bank of England and with the UK unemployment rate falling below the 7% threshold in the first quarter, BoE Governor Mark Carney is expected to be questioned about his plans to raise interest rates. Although a rise in interest rates is not expected before Q1 in 2015, a series of strong data releases recently have led some analysts to believe that an increase may come as soon as the end of this year. GBP/USD pivot point is 1.6886, with resistance levels at 1.6901, 1.6911 and 1.6926; and support levels at 1.6876, 1.6861 and 1.6851.

What to Watch this Week:
AUD/USD should be closely watched during the Australian Federal Budget announcement on Tuesday and USD/JPY may provide some good opportunities, especially on Thursday when the preliminary GDP data is released. Yellen’s speech late on Thursday night should also be monitored as her comments have the potential to influence the performance of USD pairs.

For more information please visit: Forex Time


Deflating 4 myth about the wonders of cloud computing

Whether inside or outside the technology sector, entrepreneurs find themselves constantly wrestling with tech decisions that affect their business. Many owners find it a challenge to take advantage of technological innovations while also managing expectations surrounding the hype. Cloud computing is one such area that holds a lot of promise for entrepreneurs -- so long as they understand how to maximize their investment.

While an article like Entrepreneur.com's "10 Questions for Choosing a Cloud Provider" gives a good introductory primer, most discussions of cloud computing involve several harmful myths, notably that the cloud is inherently redundant, scalable, vulnerable or cheap. If entrepreneurs buy into any of the following misconceptions, they may be rushing to the cloud before they're ready:

Related: Many Entrepreneurs Still Up in the Air About the Cloud

Myth 1: The cloud is inherently redundant. Indeed, redundancy -- or the ability to have the company's data available and backed up in an outage -- is not automatically included when a firm purchases cloud services. 

Amazon Web Services' outage earlier this year that took down popular apps like Instagram and Vine drew a massive amount of criticism. Nontechnologists must realize that outages are inevitable in any computing environment and that even massive cloud-service providers like Amazon are not immune. All data centers experience cooling issues and equipment failures, so it’s important for every company to take the precautions necessary to avoid data loss.

The cloud is not a fail-safe solution out of the box. Any company using a cloud-service provider is responsible for designing and building a computer infrastructure that can be easily and quickly duplicated. That way when one facility of its cloud-service provider fails, say, because of a power outage in Washington state, the company's data is still accessible via the cloud service provider's alternate facility in Texas. 

Related: The Downsides to Cloud Storage

Myth 2: The cloud scales automatically. The ability to scale up operations is a key selling point when it comes to entrepreneurs' interest in cloud computing. All business owners want to know that their IT infrastructure can be added to, thereby meeting demand when everyone starts buying their products.

While it may be easy to scale up the pure computing power, the applications a company uses (for example, a relationship management system) are not easily scalable.

Entrepreneurs need to make sure that a given application was developed to allow scalability in the cloud. Specifically (and technically speaking), applications should be modular, which means that functionality is broken into independent commands. Separating functions will allow the company to configure, manage and maintain additional servers for whichever application needs it.

Related: How the Cloud Could Huff and Puff and Blow Your Business Down

Myth 3: The cloud is not secure. This is repeated a lot: A company can’t have critical information on the public internet, sitting on shared hardware where Amazon or some other company or even the National Security Agency can access it. A 2013 CDW Report on Cloud Computing suggested that 46 percent of IT leaders ranked concern about security as the top impediment to adopting a cloud environment.

But most cloud providers’ certifications, especially Amazon’s, make clear that they have more security protocols than any company would have using a private, non-cloud data center.

In addition, adding security layers is the responsibility of the user and business owner. As one can see from many cyber attacks -- and even the Edward Snowden leaks -- employees represent the main point of vulnerability. Keeping strong password and access controls and designing applications with security in mind will help mitigate these risks

Myth 4: The cloud is cheap. At the outset, the cloud seemed like an incredibly inexpensive and easy alternative to independent data centers. Companies can bring on separate servers and begin replicating their data for only $200 a month. Amazon, for example, offers an incredibly sophisticated and massive infrastructure at a low price because it spreads the fixed costs among all its business customers.

Yet because Amazon makes it so easy to add on more capacity and more services, the costs can quickly pile up. Business owners can get carried away by spending if they’re not careful, and suddenly the $200-a-month charge might become something completely unaffordable.

Company owners can manage their costs by knowing exactly which services are in use, what they access them for and the price. Corporate managers will find that while not necessarily “cheap,” cloud services can be an inexpensive alternative to independent data centers and self-hosted environments. 

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

Yahoo buys messaging app Blink

Yahoo has acquired Blink, a mobile application that allows users to share messages that self-destruct, in order to poach the talent behind it.

The app will reportedly be shut down in the coming weeks so that Blink’s seven-person team can work on Yahoo’s “smart communication” products.

This includes former Google employees Kevin Stephens and Michelle Norgan, who founded Meh Labs, the start-up that created Blink.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Blink made the announcement on their website, saying they “look forward to the possibilities that will come from bringing the Blink vision to Yahoo”.

“We built Blink because we believe everyone should be free to show the same honesty and spontaneity in their online conversations as they can in person.”

Yahoo has reportedly bought 40 start-ups since chief executive Marissa Mayer took over two years ago in an attempt to revamp the internet company.

It has been looking to generate more mobile content and advertising revenues as an increasing number of people use tablets and smartphones.

Source: Punch Newspaper

Diamond Bank to raise $250m equity capital

Diamond Bank Plc plans to tap the equities market to raise between $200 million to $250 million following its debut Eurobond issue due to be priced today, its Chief Finance Officer, Abdulrahman Yinusa, told Reuters yesterday.

Shareholders of Diamond Bank had last month endorsed the plan by the bank to raise $500 million additional capital in its quest to raise its tier-2 capital by $750 million.

The bank had explained that it had already raised about $250 million out of $750 million.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Alex Otti had said the fund would enhance Diamond Bank's operations as well as its expansion drive.

He had explained: "The capital raising is actually part of the $750 million we wanted to raise earlier. It is not that we are looking for $750 million; we already have close to $250 million.

"So what we are looking for is around $500 million and I don't think shareholders have anything to worry about because we really took our time and went through the process. I assure you (shareholders) that it is going to make the bank better, rather than dilute your shares."

Global rating agency, Fitch Ratings last week assigned Diamond Bank Plc's United States dollar senior debt notes an expected Long-term rating of 'B(EXP)' with a recovery rating of 'RR4(EXP)'.

Source:This Day Newspaper