The Editorial Team |

White House Broke Law in Withholding Aid to Ukraine, Agency Says

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The White House budget office violated federal law when it withheld about $214 million appropriated by Congress to the Defense Department for security aid to Ukraine, an independent congressional watchdog agency concluded. “Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday. The Office of Management…

Tariffs Become New Normal as Trump Moves to Next China Demands

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – As he signed an initial trade deal with China on Wednesday, President Donald Trump promised further negotiations to tackle some of U.S. companies’ most long-standing complaints would begin “very, very shortly” and that tariffs on some $360 billion in imports from China would remain in place as leverage. What he didn’t say is that almost no one thinks those negotiations aimed at getting China to rein in its vast web of…

Rush of Bets on Imminent BOE Cut Leaves Analysts Urging Caution

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Pound traders piling into bets on an interest-rate cut this month are getting a warning from strategists preaching the virtue of patience. Bank of New York Mellon and Nomura International are calling for calm after the market became the most aggressive on an imminent rate cut from the Bank of England since 2016, pricing in a more than 60% chance. They recommend waiting for more evidence of the economic…

Ethiopia Plans to Build Africa’s Largest Airport at $5 Billion

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ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia plans to start building Africa’s largest airport at $5 billion within six months and continue the ascendancy of its national carrier, the most profitable on the continent. The new airport, 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from the existing Bole International Airport in the capital Addis Ababa, will be able to handle as many as 100 million passengers yearly, Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Tewolde GebreMariam told the state…

Telkom in Talks With 20% of Workforce Over Cuts as Economy Wilts

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Telkom SA SOC Ltd. is in talks with 3,000 of its employees over potential job cuts as the South African carrier contends with falling sales in its landline business and a weak local economy. The former monopoly, which has more than 15,000 staff, started the consultation process with labor unions “to restructure our business for future competitiveness,” Pretoria-based Telkom said in an email. It is experiencing “declining performances in fixed voice, which…

Charts Showing South Africa Central Bank Data That Triggered 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. These charts show how the…

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

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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….

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