The Treasury House at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is on fire.Presently, efforts were being made to put out the flames.It remains unclear where the fire started and what triggered the outbreak.The building houses office of the Accountant General of the Federation.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation says demand for Nigeria’s crude oil in March dropped by 6.8 million barrels due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday, said the drop in demand for oil was not peculiar to Nigeria but global.According to him, demand for Nigerian crude, last week, dropped as low as 15 dollars per barrel. He however notes that oil is currently around 32 dollars, 79 cents a barrel.The NNPC boss expressed optimism that things would rebound before the end of the year.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

Nigeria has recorded another death from the deadly COVID-19 virus. This puts the total death-toll from the virus at seven. The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, made the announcement in a tweet on Wednesday. The Commissioner said the fatality recorded in Lagos involved a 66-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom.Prof Abayomi said the victim travelled from India via Dubai and entered Lagos on the 17th of March, 2020.He further disclosed that another COVID-19 patient has been discharged after full recovery, bringing the number of discharged patients to 32.Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria has risen to 254 after 16 new cases were recorded on Tuesday. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said ten of the new cases were discovered in Lagos and two infections were confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory. The agency adds that Oyo also recorded two new infections while Delta and Katsina States recorded their first cases of coronavirus.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

A major car insurer in the US is refunding millions of dollars to customers stuck at home during coronavirus lockdowns.Allstate, the country's fourth biggest car insurer, said it would give back $600m (£490m) in total to customers.Another insurer, American Family Mutual, is also refunding customers, with cheques totaling $200m. Both have seen a dramatic drop in accident claims as residents stay at home and off the roads.The refunds come at a good time with millions of households suffering financially from lockdowns across the country.Allstate will be paying customers back in two ways. Drivers in quarantine will receive refunds, while most customers will be given a 15% discount on monthly premiums for April and May. The discounts will apply to 18 million customers.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to announce a state of emergency on Tuesday for the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures to stem a worrying rise in coronavirus infections in major population centres.The government is also planning to finalise a massive stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen ($990 billion) - equal to 20% of Japan’s economic output - to cushion the heavy impact of the pandemic on the world’s third-largest economy.Abe will hold a news conference at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT), after seeking formal advice on declaring the emergency from a panel of experts.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

Exxon Mobil Corp on Tuesday throttled back a multi-year investment spree in shale, LNG and deep water oil production and will cut planned capital spending this year by $10 billion as the coronavirus pandemic saps energy demand and oil prices.Oil companies are reversing 2020 spending and production increases by an average 20% as countries limit air travel, order businesses to close and tell residents to stay home. In a one-two punch to suppliers, crude prices are down nearly 60% this year and demand for fuels is falling sharply.Exxon previously expected to spend up to $33 billion and had spent $26 billion last year.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

South Africa’s banking index opened 4.3% lower on Tuesday, a day after the country’s central bank said it had advised lenders not to pay dividends or bonuses amid the coronavirus outbreak.The decline in the banking index, which recovered slightly by 0703 to stand 3.7% lower, compared to a 1.36% rise across the Johannesburg Stock Exchange overall.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

Africa’s biggest lender by assets Standard Bank said on Tuesday it would consider guidance from South Africa’s central bank asking lenders not to pay dividends in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak disrupts economies around the world.The South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority advised lenders on Monday not to pay dividends or bonuses due to the crisis, joining the Bank of England, European Central Bank and others in asking banks to skip shareholder returns.Standard Bank, which last week told investors it had not had any guidance from the central bank that such a move was imminent, said it would consider the request and advise shareholders in due course. The bank added that it remained well capitalised and liquid.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

South Africa is urging its banks to withhold ordinary dividends and executive bonuses for 2020 to preserve capital as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic remains uncertain.Kuben Naidoo, chief executive officer of South Africa’s Prudential Authority and deputy governor of its central bank, said on a conference call hosted by Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s SBG Securities that The principle is Keep as much ammunition in the armory as you possibly can also they don’t know how long this crisis is going to last.The regulator was commenting on guidelines released late Monday on how lenders should handle shareholder payouts and executive compensation. Naidoo said dividends already declared and investor payouts that lenders are legally obliged to make should still be paid.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

German carmaker Volkswagen hopes to partially reopen its plant in Spain’s Navarra region on April 20 after its closure in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for the plant said on Tuesday.The plant in northern Spain should reopen with one of its three daily shifts operating during four days in the first week, and the goal is to extend it to two shifts the following week, depending on how well the supply chain works, the spokesman added.All workers would wear masks and gloves, and the plant’s disinfection would be intensified, he added. The plant has around 4,800 workers and produces the Polo and T-Cross models.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support