The Editorial Team |

S&P Cuts South Africa Deeper Into Junk as Virus Hits Growth

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — S&P Global Ratings cut South Africa deeper into junk territory amid concern the Covid-19 pandemic will send the economy into a sharp downturn. The rating firm downgraded the country’s long-term foreign-currency rating to BB-, three notches below investment-grade, from BB. South Africa’s cost of servicing the public debt will climb to about 6.5% of gross domestic product by 2023, S&P said Wednesday. The South African Treasury said it’s “disappointed”…

Bondholders Mull Joining Poor-Country Debt Waiver as Calls Grow

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Private creditors are exploring ways to join an initiative to waive debt payments from poor countries, potentially opening a new chapter in efforts to avert sovereign defaults in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Creditors will work in the coming weeks on reference terms for voluntary private-sector participation in debt-relief efforts, the Paris Club and the Institute of International Finance, a trade group that represents the world’s biggest banks and…

Biden Woos Left Flank Along With Wall Street to Avoid 2016 Rerun

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — Joe Biden is trying to win over progressives by courting the movement’s leaders and backing their calls for significant increases in pandemic relief, yet faces an uphill fight to convince skeptics on the left he won’t abandon working people in favor of Wall Street. Since the economic crisis began with the coronavirus pandemic, he has shifted some of his stances leftward, calling for trillions of dollars more in…

Fed to Focus on Next Steps to Save Economy: Decision Day Guide

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — With interest rates near zero, Federal Reserve policymakers are likely to turn attention to other steps they could take to ensure a strong economic rebound once the coronavirus lock-down ends. The Federal Open Market Committee is all but certain to keep its benchmark overnight rate in a target range of 0-.25%, where it was lowered at an unscheduled FOMC on March 15 to help soften the pandemic’s blow. The committee…

IMF Approves $3.4 Billion in Emergency Funding for Nigeria

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The International Monetary Fund approved $3.4 billion in emergency funding to Nigeria, the single biggest disbursement for any country yet with the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa said that the pandemic and the plunge in oil prices are severely impacting Nigeria and that the funds will provide much-needed liquidity to respond to the urgent balance of payments needs. He also called for the…

Nigeria Turns to Local Debt as Virus Shuts Eurobond Markets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Nigerian Senate approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to raise 850 billion naira ($2.2 billion) in domestic markets, scrapping plans to sell Eurobonds this year. Lawmakers in the committees for finance and appropriation will work with the finance minister on the details of the borrowing plan, Senate President Ahmed Lawan said during Tuesday’s plenary session “Conditions in the international capital market may not be favorable for the issuance of…

Beleaguered East Africa Just Can’t Catch a Break: Bobby Ghosh

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — How much more calamity can East Africa take? Already struggling with the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a Biblical scourge of locusts, the region is now being lashed by exceptionally heavy rainfall, with floods that threaten life and livelihood from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and all parts in between. For the continent’s most economically vibrant region, the trifecta of tribulations may well add up to a fourth: food…

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