The Editorial Team |

The Debate Over Whether to Call It QE Is Over, and the Fed Lost

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – In the court of investor opinion, the verdict is in. The Federal Reserve is guilty of quantitative easing. Never mind that Chairman Jerome Powell tells everyone his efforts to shore up funding markets are “in no sense” QE. Try as policymakers may, they’ve lost the ability to convince people that Treasury purchases aren’t at least partially why the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up almost 4,000 points since late…

Charts Showing S. Africa Central Bank Data That Led to Cut

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two months can be a long time in central banking, and if you are the South African Reserve Bank it can mean bringing an interest rate cut forward and a move to signaling even more. The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee unexpectedly cut its key rate to 6.25% from 6.5% on Thursday, a move predicted by only three of the 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Reserve Bank has…

Egypt Interrupts Rate Cuts as Inflation, Unrest Give Pause

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt unexpectedly refrained from another cut in interest rates on Thursday after inflation ticked up in December and as unrest jolted other parts of the Middle East, from Iran to Libya. After three rounds of easing since August, the Monetary Policy Committee left the deposit rate at 12.25% and the lending rate at 13.25%, according to a statement Thursday. All but three of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a…

Emerging Market Fiscal Gaps No Longer Bogeyman, HSBC Says

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fiscal deficits are no longer such a worry for emerging-market investors, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. In a world of low-interest rates and quantitative easing, governments aren’t being punished for running bigger budget deficits and pushing up debt, said David Bloom, HSBC’s London-based global head of foreign-exchange strategy. Instead, investors are continuing to snap up emerging-market bonds as they search for higher yields. A case in point is South…

Nigeria Starts Stock Lending With 20.8 Million Shares Available

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian Stock Exchange started lending and borrowing of shares as it seeks to reignite liquidity in Africa’s third-biggest bourse by listings. A combined 20.8 million shares are available, with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, the nation’s biggest lender, providing 8.4 million, according to a statement on the Lagos-based NSE’s website. Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission last year announced plans for securities lending, short-selling and hedging to attract inflows. Trading volumes on the…

Ghana Names JPMorgan Among Banks to Sell $3 Billion in Bonds

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana named five banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. to market a sale of as much as $3 billion in Eurobonds by the first week of February, according to a person familiar with the matter. The four other main advisers are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Plc and Standard Bank Group Ltd., said the person, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized…

Lesotho Premier to Resign as Police Probe Wife’s Murder

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) Lesotho’s prime minister said he intends to step down, following increased calls for his resignation over the murder of his second wife, which police have linked to the woman he married a little over two months later. Thomas Thabane, 80, was inaugurated as prime minister of the tiny African mountain kingdom two days after his second wife was shot in June 2017. He previously held the post from 2012 to…

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