Democrats Make Pitch for More Trump Witnesses as Case Wraps Up

Democrats Make Pitch for More Trump Witnesses as Case Wraps Up

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The struggle over calling witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is escalating as House Democrats prepare to wrap up their case Friday by focusing on White House “stonewalling.” House impeachment managers will have another day to convince a handful of Republicans to vote with Democrats to subpoena witnesses and documents before Trump’s lawyers take the Senate floor to present their defense. Over the past two days, Intelligence Chairman Adam…

Read More

Wall Street Caves on MiFID, Allows Separate Payment for Research

Wall Street Caves on MiFID, Allows Separate Payment for Research

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Banks are increasingly embracing a change that could trigger upheaval for Wall Street’s vaunted stock analysts: They’ve started allowing U.S. clients to buy research without paying a steep tab for trading services. The shift, which banks’ brokerage businesses have privately shared with customers, is arguably the biggest U.S. fallout yet from sweeping European rules that force firms to charge separately for analysis. Those regulations, which took effect in 2018, sparked a…

Read More

Signs of Election Bounce Undermine Case for BOE Rate Cut

Signs of Election Bounce Undermine Case for BOE Rate Cut

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – A closely watched measure of U.K. economic activity unexpectedly surged to the highest level since 2018 in January, potentially undermining the case for a Bank of England interest-rate cut next week. IHS Markit’s flash index for output across the whole economy jumped to 52.4 as firms cited reduced political uncertainty in the wake of Boris Johnson’s decisive election victory. That’s up from 49.3 last month. The Purchasing Managers Indexes had…

Read More

Moroccan Bourse Expects Two IPOs in 2020, Bets on MSCI Comeback

Moroccan Bourse Expects Two IPOs in 2020, Bets on MSCI Comeback

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two companies are expected to go public on the Casablanca Stock Exchange this year, the Moroccan bourse’s managing director said Wednesday, in IPOs that could help revive trading and return the country to emerging market status. Karim Hajji, speaking at a conference in Marrakesh, didn’t identify the two companies. But Hamza Bennani, who heads Aradei Capital, a REIT that has property assets valued at 4 billion dirhams ($416 million), said in…

Read More

Fallen UBS Trader Adoboli Seeks Redemption in Bond Market Deals

Fallen UBS Trader Adoboli Seeks Redemption in Bond Market Deals

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa)~ – Former UBS Group AG trader Kweku Adoboli fought to avoid deportation from the U.K. to the nation of his birth after his conviction for a $2.3 billion loss at the Swiss bank. Now, he is seeking a comeback in Ghana with a plan to kick-start its mortgage-backed bond market. The 39-year-old was extradited to the West African country in November 2018 after being jailed in 2012. He spent the first nine…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More
1 223 224 225 226 227 1,077