The Editorial Team |

Google Ban Fails to Stamp Out Short-Term Payday Lending Apps

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – In August, Google announced a global crackdown on Android apps that offer short-term loans, saying it wanted to protect consumers from what it called “deceptive and exploitative” terms. But five months later, payday-style applications offering fast money for one or two weeks are still easy to find in many countries on Google Play, the company’s marketplace for Android apps. Some charge interest rates that can exceed 200% annualized. Lending apps…

Democrats Make Pitch for More Trump Witnesses as Case Wraps Up

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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…

Wall Street Caves on MiFID, Allows Separate Payment for Research

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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…

Signs of Election Bounce Undermine Case for BOE Rate Cut

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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…

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

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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…

Fallen UBS Trader Adoboli Seeks Redemption in Bond Market Deals

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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…

Job Cuts Will Depress Limping South Africa Economy Even More

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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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