The Editorial Team |

Johnson Seeks Path to U.K. Revival as Poll Ratings Slip Away

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Boris Johnson is finalizing plans to ease the U.K.’s lockdown and rebuild the economy as he seeks to stop the hemorrhaging of support for his government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. The prime minister will brief cabinet ministers Tuesday on the next stage of lifting restrictions and use a speech later this month to accelerate increased spending on roads, hospitals, and research, his office said. Three opinion polls at…

Trump Faces More Defections by Republicans as Colin Powell Bolts

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New York (Capital Markets in Africa) — Colin Powell on Sunday became the latest notable Republican or former military leader to express concern about President Donald Trump, saying he’ll vote for Joe Biden in November instead. The former secretary of State said that by threatening last week to use active-duty U.S. troops against protesters, Trump showed he has “drifted away” from the U.S. Constitution. “He is now the candidate, and I’ll be voting for him,”…

Fed to Stay Full Throttle With Credit Support Despite Debt Rally

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Federal Reserve may have stoked one of the strongest corporate debt market rallies in decades, but it’s too soon to declare an all-clear for credit with the economy facing a potentially rocky road ahead. Sure, U.S. investment-grade borrowing costs have retreated to near all-time lows, and companies have sold $1 trillion of bonds at the fastest pace on record — evidence that merely announcing a plan to pump liquidity…

Big Pharma Looks Beyond Covid With AstraZeneca Eyeing Gilead

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — Two drugmakers behind the industry’s most prominent responses to the Covid-19 pandemic are looking into the possibility of a combined future as economies emerge from lockdowns. AstraZeneca Plc, co-developer of one of the fastest-moving experimental coronavirus vaccines, has made a preliminary approach to Gilead Sciences Inc., maker of the only U.S.-approved treatment, according to people familiar with the matter. If they decided to pursue a merger, it would be…

Egypt Forms Multi-Donor Platform to Help Boost Economy

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) — Egypt has formed a multi-donor platform to help boost the North African nation’s economy, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al Mashat said. The program “includes electricity, transportation, the health sector,” Al Mashatsaid in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday. The platform received help and support “through the sovereign, but also through the private sector, through credit lines, through Egyptian banks that are availed through the EBRD and the EIB,”…

Good and Bad News for Nigeria’s Economy Last Week

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Africa’s largest economy had a week of good and bad news as the oil price rebounded to the highest level in two months, while the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on consumers and business activity became clearer. Crude prices have doubled since hitting a two-decade low in April, climbing past $40 a barrel after OPEC+ cuts started taking excess supplies from the market. With oil bringing in 90%…

Ninety One Raising Fund for Virus-Hit South African Firms

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ninety One Plc is raising a recovery fund to invest in South African companies struggling with the economic fallout from the spread of coronavirus. The firm is targeting 10 billion rand ($595 million) and will market the fund to institutional investors in South Africa, according to a statement from the firm. The Ninety One SA Recovery Fund will invest in public and private equity as well as debt, with…

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