Job Cuts Will Depress Limping South Africa Economy Even More

Job Cuts Will Depress Limping South Africa Economy Even More

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Less than a month into 2020, South African companies have already announced thousands of job cuts. In a country where a third of the labor force is already unemployed, this will put even more strain on demand and economic growth. Almost 8,000 jobs are at risk as companies including Telkom SA SOC Ltd., the country’s largest fixed-line operator, and Walmart Inc.’s local unit Massmart Holdings Ltd. plan to reduce their headcount after…

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Banker Tied to Billionaire Found Dead Amid Angolan Graft Probe

Banker Tied to Billionaire Found Dead Amid Angolan Graft Probe

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – A banker with ties to Isabel dos Santos was found dead on the same day that Angola’s prosecutor named both him and Africa’s richest woman as suspects in an investigation over alleged mismanagement at state oil company Sonangol. Nuno Ribeiro da Cunha, 45, appeared to have hanged himself in the garage of his apartment building in Lisbon, Portuguese police said in a statement Thursday. He had attempted to commit suicide earlier…

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World Bank Urges Kenya to Slow Down on President’s Pet Projects

World Bank Urges Kenya to Slow Down on President’s Pet Projects

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya should slow down on borrowing to fund President Uhuru Kenyatta’s key legacy projects, the World Bank has warned. Kenyatta’s “Big Four,” a plan to boost manufacturing, farming, health care, and low-cost housing, has put pressure on the treasury to hike spending even as it struggles to grow revenue. The Treasury expects public debt to climb 11% to 6.45 trillion shillings ($64 billion) by the end of June from a year earlier….

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Nigeria Demands U.K. Return Wanted Ex-Oil Minister

Nigeria Demands U.K. Return Wanted Ex-Oil Minister

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.K. should return Nigeria’s former petroleum minister to face a corruption trial unless it produces its own charges against her, The Cable reported, citing the West African nation’s top anti-graft official. A long-running British probe into Diezani Alison-Madueke, who served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015, has yet to yield any charges, the news website cited Economic & Financial Crimes Commission Chairman Ibrahim Magu as saying. The EFCC…

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Nigeria Surprised by News of Possible U.S. Travel Restrictions

Nigeria Surprised by News of Possible U.S. Travel Restrictions

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s government was surprised by the news that the U.S. is considering travel restrictions on its citizens and the ban would mean officials will have to find new ways to meet with investors, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said. Nigeria is one of seven countries, more than half of which are in Africa, included in a list that may be affected if the Homeland Security Department’s recommendation to expand restrictions is approved,…

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Trump Limps Into Fast-Track Trial With GOP Senate in His Corner

Trump Limps Into Fast-Track Trial With GOP Senate in His Corner

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial formally opens in the Senate on Tuesday, promising to shape his legacy, deepen the country’s political divisions and influence control of power in the nation’s capital for years to come. While the president faces little risk of removal from office by the Republican-led Senate, the trial may bring to light new details of Trump’s Ukraine scandal and help sway undecided voters in the 2020…

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At More Than 500%, Zimbabwe’s Ncube Sees Inflation Stabilizing

At More Than 500%, Zimbabwe’s Ncube Sees Inflation Stabilizing

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa)~ Zimbabwean inflation is beginning to stabilize, even with consumer prices increased more than 500% on an annual basis, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. Year-on-year inflation remains high, “but that’s expected, that happens when you liberalize a currency,” Ncube said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos. After a decade of using a basket of foreign currencies, including the South African rand and the…

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