The Editorial Team |

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

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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…

PSG Weighs Spinoff of Best-Performing S. African Bank Stock

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — PSG Group Ltd. is weighing a spinoff of Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd., the best-performing South African banking stock since its listing in 2002, to unlock more value from its investments. All or part of PSG’s 30.7% stake in Capitec might be distributed to its investors, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “The unbundling should be positive for PSG and result in a further decrease in the discount to net asset value,”…

Safaricom Profit Jumps Ahead of Looming Pain From Coronavirus

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — Safaricom Plc said full-year earnings jumped by 18% as East Africa’s biggest company reported growth in mobile money and data sales ahead of the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Net income was 73.7 billion shillings ($696 million) in the 12 months through March, beating a median analyst estimate of 69.7 billion shillings, the Nairobi-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Service revenue increased by 4.8%. The arrival of…

« 1 … 185 186 187 188 189 … 1,077 »