The Editorial Team |

South Africa Cuts Rates to 4-Year Low Even With Moody’s Lurking

JOHANNESBURG Capital Markets in Africa): Reserve Bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to the lowest level in four years after slashing forecasts for inflation and economic growth. The Monetary Policy Committee unanimously voted to lower the repurchase rate to 6.25% from 6.5%, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. Of the 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, only three predicted the move, although forward-rate agreements showed the market foresaw an even-chance of a cut….

How Putin Was Thrown Off Course by a Furious Libyan General

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TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Russia and Turkey attempted to broker a truce in Libya. It didn’t go as planned. Khalifa Haftar was expecting the Kremlin red carpet. Instead, he was cooped up in a Russian Foreign Ministry reception building hoping for an audience with Vladimir Putin. In the end, the Libyan military commander lost patience and stormed out. Hours later, he left Moscow in his Dassault Falcon corporate jet bound for the Jordanian capital,…

Lekoil Slumps as Alleged Scam Puts Oil-Field Future at Risk

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Lekoil Ltd. sank to a record low in London trading after falling victim to an alleged scam, leaving the future of a Nigerian oil project at risk. A loan deal struck earlier this month is no longer valid, the company said, alleging that individuals claiming to be from the Qatar Investment Authority were in fact fraudsters. Lekoil now has until February to raise enough money to cover its drilling costs…

U.K. Inflation Slowdown Ramps Up View a Rate Cut Is Imminent

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The path to a Bank of England interest-rate cut as soon as this month became clearer on Wednesday after inflation unexpectedly slowed to a three-year low. The pound fell and traders increased bets that policymakers would reduce rates on Jan. 30, as the shock reading reinforced speculation fueled by dovish comments from BOE Governor Mark Carney and others in recent days. Less than an hour earlier, policymaker Michael Saunders, who’s been…

Trump Set to Sign ‘Beautiful Monster’ Trade Deal With China

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Donald Trump is poised to sign a deal with China on Wednesday that leaves significant tariffs in place and for the first time would punish Beijing if it fails to deliver on pledges related to its currency, intellectual property, and the trade balance. But the question set to dog Trump the moment the ink dries is whether the pact will rewire the relationship between the world’s biggest…

Nigerian News: Macro-Economics, Politics and Others

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Equity market’s Year-to-Date gain hits 10.4% on continuing bullish trading: The year-to-date (YTD) gain by the Nigerian equities market hit 10.4% yesterday as the bullish performance extended further on a day the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema unveiled plans of the Exchange for 2020. Click here for more. Nigeria debt service hits $1.31 billion in 2019:Available data from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that Nigeria spent $1.31…

Prosus Still Hungry for Food Firms After Losing Just Eat Battle

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prosus NV hasn’t lost its appetite for food delivery, even after the e-commerce giant was defeated in a grueling $8 billion bidding war for U.K. firm Just Eat Plc. Takeaway.com NV last week declared victory in the battle for Just Eat, saying investors holding 80.4% of the shares had formally backed its all-stock bid and rejected a cash offer from Prosus. But the Naspers Ltd.- the controlled company has alternative targets…

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