The Editorial Team |

Vaccines, Energy Top South African President’s Priority List

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…

Why the Mutated Coronavirus Variants Are So Worrisome: QuickTake

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Viruses mutate all the time, including the novel coronavirus that’s caused the global Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the changes have no apparent effect. But recent variants that have emerged in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil are causing particular concern. Studies suggest they are more contagious, and some evidence points to the U.K. strain being more deadly. An increase in infections has led to a surge in hospitalizations and…

Naira Bonds Drop as Traders See Higher Nigeria Rates Likely

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian bonds tumbled, pushing their yields as much as 164 basis points higher Tuesday, on forecasts for higher rates and inflation. Debt across all maturities of central bank-issued Open Market Operations Bills, also known as OMO, continued to drop in price in Tuesday’s trade with the average yield rising 95 basis points to close at 6.4% as against Monday’s 5.5%, according to a note by FSDH securities. Yields on…

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