Dear Subscriber,

Nigerians face bleak yuletide and an uncertain 2023

With less than eight weeks to Christmas, many Nigerians are living on a shoe string whilst those who cannot afford to, are emigrating (Japa-ing). The season appears gloomy, especially with elevated food prices. For example, the price of a 50kg bag of rice has surged to N48,000 and could spike further as floods ravage food producing areas in the country. Worse still, fuel scarcity has resurfaced in many states. This has driven the cost of PMS to N300/liter in some filling stations.

In addition, the CBN recently announced a redesign of three of the country’s currency denominations. This could potentially weigh on festive demand and supply as market women will be constrained to exchange goods for a currency that will soon cease to be legal tender. Meanwhile, the naira has continued its free fall, depreciating to N818/$ and could tank further as people go long on the dollar in response to economic uncertainty.

Password sharing to come at a cost

When Netflix shares surged by over 14% in October, many investors were taken by surprise. But this spike was expected by a few speculators who knew that Netflix shares had declined sharply earlier this year. The giant streaming platform, Netflix became extremely popular during the pandemic, when people had to stay at home because movie houses and cinemas were closed for over 18 months. Interestingly, users could share passwords to family and friends to enjoy the streaming services. However, this became a massive drag on the company’s revenue and subscription count.

In response, Netflix Inc. intends to start charging users who share their login credentials additional fees. The new rule would go into effect in 2023 and is projected to yield $1.6 billion yearly. Meanwhile, experiments in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru have begun. Netflix also intends to launch lower-cost subscriptions subsidized by advertising with the hope to gain 4.5 million subscribers, recoup its losses and keep its position as the top streaming service.

In exploring additional sources of income, Twitter is proposing a $20 per month premium service charge for a verification badge. To which, Elon Musk, the new majority shareholder is making a counter-proposal of $8 per month for the same premium service.

This edition of the Unity Bank Digest provides you with interesting social stories and recent economic news.

Please enjoy your read!