Naija Business Hub

💼 Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Employees Amid AI Shift Microsoft has launched a Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) for roughly 60,000 employees — about 25% of its global workforce — in the US, UK, Canada, and India. The offer, announced by Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, targets staff at level 70 and below across participating teams, including AI experiences, Copilot, Xbox, finance, and HR. Terms mirror Microsoft's standard severance: a minimum of 60 days' base pay, up to 39 weeks depending on seniority. Eligible staff have until early December to decide, with exits at year-end. The move follows a Voluntary Retirement Program earlier this year, which about one-third of eligible employees accepted. Source

💼 Anthropic Files for IPO, Targeting Nasdaq Under "ANT" Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI, has filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC, moving toward what is expected to be one of the largest stock market debuts in history — and the first by a major frontier AI lab. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "ANT." The filing reveals explosive but costly growth: in H1 2026, Anthropic posted $16.3 billion in revenue alongside an $80.7 billion net loss. Anthropic had confidentially filed with the SEC in June before releasing the public document Monday. Source

💼 SoftBank Eyes $50B Tech Investment in Malaysia SoftBank Group plans to invest $50 billion in Malaysia's technology sector, including AI and data centers, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The move would expand SoftBank's footprint in Southeast Asia, which is emerging as a key hub for AI infrastructure. Source

🇳🇬 Geopolitical Shocks, Oil Volatility Threaten Nigeria's Transport Sector The convener of JustNet has warned that rising geopolitical instability, volatile global oil markets, and maritime trade disruptions pose immediate threats to Nigeria's transport sector — air, road, and shipping — and broader economic stability. The warning calls for urgent integration of Nigeria's fragmented transportation networks as a buffer against external shocks. Source

🇳🇬 Polysmart Repays ₦5.7bn in Commercial Paper Obligations Polysmart Packaging Limited, Nigeria's largest plastic recycling company, has fully repaid ₦5,711,405,308.33 across four series of its non-interest commercial paper (NICP) programme, with Marble Advisory Limited acting as adviser. The company is also reportedly building what it describes as Africa's largest food-grade recycled PET (rPET) plant. Source

🌍 AfDB Raises $2.5bn Bond on $4.8bn Investor Demand The African Development Bank raised $2.5 billion through a three-year global benchmark bond, with investor orders reaching $4.8 billion — nearly double the amount issued. Source

🇳🇬 NDPHC Targets 15-Year Blackout in Kaduna's Rigasa The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and BAT-IG have launched a substation project in Rigasa, Igabi LGA, Kaduna State, aiming to restore electricity to a community that has gone without power for roughly 15 years. Source

🌐 Oil Jumps 4% as Trump Threatens Iran Strike Brent crude surged 3.82% to $116/barrel and WTI rose 3.14% to $103/barrel Saturday after President Trump threatened Iran with another "Epic Fury" military operation. Source

🇳🇬 CBN Grants JPMorgan Approval to Open Nigeria Merchant Bank The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted JPMorgan an Approval-in-Principle to establish a merchant bank in Nigeria. The proposed lender will be known as JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited. JPMorgan deposited $38 million as part of the process and must still meet remaining regulatory requirements before receiving a final banking licence. Source

🇳🇬 NLC Sets Oct. 27 Strike Deadline Over Fuel, Wages Nigeria Labour Congress has given the Federal Government until October 27 to cut petrol prices and raise the minimum wage, or face a nationwide strike. Acting General Secretary Benson Upah said all core issues remain unresolved after talks with the Labour Minister ended inconclusively. Petrol prices have reached ₦1,429/litre, while labour is demanding an upward review of the current ₦70,000 minimum wage. NLC has directed state councils and affiliate unions to begin mobilising for potential industrial action. Source

💼 Meta Hit With Record $25B Fine Over Facebook Privacy Lies A New Mexico jury has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion — its largest-ever penalty — after finding Facebook misled users about how their data was handled. The verdict marks a landmark moment in U.S. data privacy enforcement against Big Tech. Source

🇳🇬 US Lobby Firm Demands Details on Nigeria's $700bn Mining Deal Von Batten-Montague-York, a US political advisory and lobbying firm, has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking full details of the $700 billion mining deal signed between Nigeria and the United States. The firm announced the move on its verified X account. Source

🌐 US Jobless Claims Hit 194,000, Near 60-Year Low Initial unemployment insurance filings fell to a seasonally adjusted 194,000, hovering near the lowest levels since the 1960s, as the low-layoff trend in the US labour market continues. Source

💼 Barclays Cuts 5,000 Jobs in AI Efficiency Push Barclays announced it is cutting 5,000 jobs — about 5% of its full-time workforce — citing AI-driven efficiency gains. The British bank disclosed the move in its third-quarter earnings statement, linking the reductions directly to "organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI." The cuts come as third-quarter profits fell short of analyst expectations. Source

💼 Walmart Opens Doors to AI Shopping Agents as Amazon Blocks Them Walmart is rolling out two tools — "agent profiles" and an "agent gateway" — letting third-party AI agents shop on customers' behalf. Agent profiles link transactions to specific bots and let customers set spending limits; the gateway gives agents direct API-style access instead of navigating a human-facing website. The move contrasts sharply with Amazon, which blocked Meta's Muse and Perplexity's shopping agent, and sued Perplexity over similar activity. Walmart says agents must follow its terms: same pricing as human shoppers, standard returns policy, and no changes to payment methods without customer approval. Source

📈 Wall Street's Big Three Capture 80% of Equity Trading Market Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have generated $52 billion in equity trading revenue this year, driven by the AI stock boom and rising margin lending to hedge funds — cornering roughly 80% of the market between them. Source

🌍 600 Million Africans Still Without Power, Summit Pushes Reform ACBF, the African Union and Benin are convening policymakers and investors to overhaul Africa's failing power utilities, unlock energy financing and accelerate industrialisation. The summit targets the persistent gap leaving nearly 600 million sub-Saharan Africans without electricity access. Source

💼 Amazon Stockpiles $5B+ in Nvidia AI Racks It Can't Yet Power AWS is receiving roughly $5 billion in Nvidia GB300 server racks upfront — before data centers have power to run them — with a further ~$3 billion in racks expected monthly "for the foreseeable future," per internal emails reviewed by Business Insider. Power shortages are forcing some GPU systems into warehouses, creating "dark GPUs" — purchased but idle hardware. The early-rack strategy aims to lock in scarce Nvidia supply ahead of rivals, but ties up billions before generating cloud revenue. Amazon projects ~$220 billion in capex this year, and its free cash flow turned negative last quarter for the first time since 2023. Source

🇳🇬 JPMorgan Deposits $38m with CBN for Banking Licence JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, has deposited N50 billion ($38 million) with the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of its application for a merchant banking licence. The CBN has yet to officially confirm the move, which was reported by Bloomberg citing sources. The deposit is part of JPMorgan's broader push to expand across Africa, where it aims to grow its share of payments, lending, trade finance and corporate banking. Source

🚀 ADVERTISE SMARTER WITH EXCLUSIVE PACKAGE DEALS! 📣 32 TELEGRAM CHANNELS | 25M+ SUBSCRIBERS Looking to expand your reach and get more visibility for your brand? We’ve got you covered! 🔥 💎 Unlock special partnership terms when booking advertising packages across our Telegram channel network! ✨ WHY ADVERTISE WITH US? 🎯 Wider Reach — Connect with audiences across 32 channels and multiple niches. 💰 Exclusive Terms — Access special conditions when booking package placements. 📈 More Visibility — Increase brand awareness across a network with over 25 million subscribers in total. 🤝 Flexible Packages — Find advertising solutions tailored to your goals, audience, and budget. 🌟 PERFECT FOR BRANDS, BUSINESSES, STARTUPS & MEDIA BUYERS! 📩 Ready to promote your brand? Message us to explore available packages and get a personalized offer. 🔥 32 channels. 25M+ subscribers. More opportunities for your brand. 🤝 Let’s grow together! 📱 Contact our manager 📲