The Editorial Team |

U.K. Economy Caps Worst Year Since 1709 With a Surprising Surge

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — The U.K. economy grew at double the pace expected in the fourth quarter, showing signs of resilience to coronavirus restrictions at the end of a year that delivered the worst recession since 1709. Figures published Friday to add some weight to the Bank of England’s view that while the economy will likely shrink in the first three months of the year, a successful vaccine rollout and a surge in…

Ethiopia Will Approach Private Creditors Only as Last Resort

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ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ethiopia plans to only approach private creditors as part of its debt-restructuring efforts if it runs out of other options. Yields on the nation’s Eurobonds plunged by the most in eight months. “The debt treatment will be carried out on a case-by-case basis and under a fair burden-sharing principle,” Brook Taye, a senior adviser at the Finance Ministry, said by text message. “This does not put private creditors…

Vaccines, Energy Top South African President’s Priority List

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to intensify efforts to rebuild an economy shattered by the onset of the coronavirus, with vaccine procurement and enhanced energy security among his top priorities. The government has secured 9 million single-shot vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, with 80,000 expected to arrive next week and 500,000 over the next four weeks, Ramaphosa said in a state-of-the-nation address on Thursday. Talks are ongoing to secure sufficient…

Covid-19 Crisis Grows in Tanzania as President Rejects Risks

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DAR ES SALAM (Capital Markets in Africa) — Tanzania’s main hospitals have been swamped by patients displaying coronavirus symptoms, intensive-care units are full and funeral masses have become daily occurrences. Amid the unfolding health-care crisis, President John Magufuli has declared the East African nation free of Covid-19. He’s eschewed lockdowns, discouraged the use of face masks and banned the release of infection data since April, making Tanzania the only country in the world besides insular North Korea…

Biden’s Next Economic Challenge: Getting Manufacturing Jobs Back

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Joe Biden began his presidency much as his predecessor did, promising to restore hope to a blue-collar middle class battered by decades of relentless job losses from automation and foreign competition. But the realities of trying to stoke U.S. manufacturing employment in the wake of an economic crisis are quickly endangering his plans. After a period of recovery last year, U.S. factory payrolls stagnated in recent months, then went into reverse…

Most bitcoin investors are inexperienced and volatility-shy.

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — More than one-third of crypto investors surveyed said they bought to capitalize on ‘digital trends’ Most bitcoin investors don’t have a tax-free savings account or pension, and are far more unwilling to lose money on their investment than the volatility in crypto assets would suggest they should be, according to new research. Last week, MarketWatch reported on exclusive data from a crypto app showing that young men are wildly…

Why a U.S. Bitcoin ETF Could Be a Real Thing in 2021: QuickTake

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Looking for the adrenaline rush of investing in Bitcoin but without the bother of crypto-exchanges and digital wallets? An exchange-traded fund might appeal, except an investor won’t find one tracking Bitcoin in the $5.8 trillion U.S. ETF universe — at least not yet. While exchange-traded crypto-tracking products exist in Europe, U.S. regulators have repeatedly batted down attempts to introduce them citing concerns about potential manipulation and thin liquidity. Yet…

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