Banknotes are looking Up!

OK it's been quite a while since I've written on this blog. First I need to apologise to all you loyal readers who still kept visiting. I've had quite a bit of a change in the last year and therefore my silence.

Hopefully all that has been taken care of and I will return to give you an update regularly.

My shock though is to find that not only is it difficult to get banknote collectors around me, but that even most of the bankers do not know what I'm talking about when I mention the fact that I collect banknotes. They think I'm joking.

I'm sure a wrote an article a while ago about how we in Nigeria tend to "spray" celebrants at parties with brand new notes! The practice still exists and now bank workers spend new notes. You are much likely to get new notes that way. When you go to the bank to withdraw money the customer usually more than likely gets old worn smelly notes!

The think is this like everything else will eventually change! Banknotes are looking UP.

Gold Stock or Gold Bullion

There are arguments about whether people should invest in stocks or bullion when buying gold. This is a very simple matter so far as I am concerned. If you have a lot of money to go around then you can afford to buy both, in order to spread your investments.

But if like me you are just worried that our current paper money may lose its value and you want some gold bullion stored away for that rainy day, then please just stick to bullion, and buy gold coins that can be easily sold off for cash, gold bullion bars are much more difficult to sell off and you may even have to sell these at a bit of a loss, if you have to produce proof of its authenticity.

Gold stocks and bonds are speculative investments, gold bullion coins and bars means you have the actual product in your possession or in the vault of your bank. I would therefore prefer to have the physical ownership than speculative certificates that could mean big losses or gains down the line.

5 Nigerian Banks: Bosses get the Sack!

What a disaster, these 5 Nigerian Banks most of which were giants in the Nigerian Financial sector now brought to their knees in just space of time.

Most people in the west would not be aware of these banks existence, but they are another result of the current global economic recession now at hand. They are namely, Oceanic Bank, Union Bank, Finbank,Intercontinental Bank and Afribank. The bosses of these banks have been sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria and 19 Top Executives are wanted for questioning regarding "bad loans" which led ultimately to the hundreds of billion of Naira ($2.6 billion) bail-out.

It can be argued that sacking these bosses seems quite drastic if not draconian, some-one even said if I can remember rightly that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor has been too high handed and should not have taken this action as it has now caused panic amongst the banks clients. Britain and USA were cited as examples of countries that did not sack their bank bosses.

Maybe the argument should be that the Western government should take a leaf from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria who has had the guts to get rid of the arm of "Untouchable Bankers" who think they can hold the economy of a nation in their hands and use it as a pun on their corrupt playing field.

The hope is that their injection of cash into the banks will help to free the flow of liquid cash into the system and that the panic will die down. A lot of work still needs to be done. But it seems that Nigeria's Central Bank has started cleaning house for the countries financial sector and the Naira may finally start finding its feet in the worlds economy