Billionaire Dangote Plans 29% Growth in Cement Capacity

Billionaire Dangote Plans 29% Growth in Cement Capacity

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Aliko Dangote, the richest person in Africa, is looking to expand cement capacity on the continent by 29% to 62 million tons, entrenching his flagship company’s position as the continent’s biggest producer of the construction material. The billionaire plans to add six million tons in Nigeria next year, taking volume in Dangote Cement Plc’s home market to 35 million tons, he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. The…

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Brexit-Backing Hedge Fund Boss Odey Rejects Conflict Claims

Brexit-Backing Hedge Fund Boss Odey Rejects Conflict Claims

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is a Brexit supporter and he’s shorting the pound. But he dismisses allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s links with investors like him amount to a conflict of interest. “What they’re thinking is: can we show that the people who back Boris are unpatriotic, have no interest in the U.K. and basically are only there to try and make money out of the suffering of others,” Odey…

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Why Ireland’s Border Is Brexit’s Intractable Puzzle: QuickTake

Why Ireland’s Border Is Brexit’s Intractable Puzzle: QuickTake

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The frontier between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remains the essential conundrum of Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is determined to leave the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a negotiated transition deal. But any departure must take into account the historically fraught Irish border, which is set to become the only land crossing between the EU and the U.K. after Brexit. A controversial…

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WTO Cuts Outlook for Global Trade Growth to Lowest in a Decade

WTO Cuts Outlook for Global Trade Growth to Lowest in a Decade

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The World Trade Organization cut its global trade growth forecast for this year to the weakest level in a decade, warning that further rounds of tariffs in an environment of heightened uncertainty could spark a “destructive cycle of recrimination.” The volume of merchandise trade will increase by 1.2% this year and 2.7% next year, after a 3% advance in 2018, the WTO said in a report published Tuesday. The outlook marks…

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How the Hedge Funds Are Really Playing Brexit: Lionel Laurent

How the Hedge Funds Are Really Playing Brexit: Lionel Laurent

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – It’s hardly controversial to short the pound, but Crispin Odey and his ilk also have their eyes on a low-tax, low-regulation, no-deal Brexit paradise. Philip Hammond is officially “outside the tent,” to use Lyndon Johnson’s phrase. After losing his job as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer and then his badge as a Conservative MP by rebelling against Boris Johnson’s hardball Brexit strategy, Hammond has kicked up an almighty stink by accusing Johnson…

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Thomas Cook Collapse Risks Recovery of Africa Nation on the Mend

Thomas Cook Collapse Risks Recovery of Africa Nation on the Mend

BANJUL (Capital Markets in Africa) – The collapse of Thomas Cook Group Plc is jeopardizing the efforts by one of Africa’s smallest countries to revive its fortunes after the end of a dictator’s two-decade rule. The Gambia, a $1-billion West African economy surrounded by Senegal aside from its access to the Atlantic Ocean, depends on tourism for nearly a third of its gross domestic product. Thomas Cook typically flew in 45% of tourists that visited its white-sand…

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What to Watch in Commodities: China, Crude, Saudi, Novak, USDA

What to Watch in Commodities: China, Crude, Saudi, Novak, USDA

LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) – Commodity investors get to draw a line this week under what’s been an eventful quarter while assessing fresh signals about how energy, crop, and metals markets will fare into the year-end. In the U.S.-China standoff, traders will be on alert for a set-piece address from President Xi Jinping on Tuesday for hints on whether there’s much chance of a resolution. In energy, the fallout from the strikes against Saudi facilities is in…

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