Kenya Banks, Economy Seen Winning as Rate-Cap Law Annulled

Kenya Banks, Economy Seen Winning as Rate-Cap Law Annulled

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan banks might turn the lending taps back on after a court ordered lawmakers to review a law that capped the interest rates they can charge, potentially providing further impetus to economic growth. Shares in the East African nation’s largest lenders rallied after a Nairobi High Court on Thursday described the legislation governing the rate caps as “vague, imprecise, ambiguous and indefinite.” The court suspended the implementation of the…

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Votes on Sale for $50,000 Repulse Wannabe Senators in Congo

Votes on Sale for $50,000 Repulse Wannabe Senators in Congo

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Lawmakers are offering their votes to prospective senators in the Democratic Republic of Congo for as much as $50,000 apiece, according to candidates who’ve quit before the election is held on Friday. The allegations raise the prospect of further discord in the world’s biggest cobalt producer two months after a disputed vote installed former opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi as president. Runner-up Martin Fayulu said the Dec. 30 presidential and parliamentary polls…

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Algerians Pile Pressure on Regime With Massive Friday Rally

Algerians Pile Pressure on Regime With Massive Friday Rally

ALGEIRS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Algerians thronged streets nationwide in some of the biggest anti-government protests since they began three weeks ago, signaling their rejection of regime attempts to appease the anger and piling pressure on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to immediately end his two-decade rule. The largely peaceful demonstrations in the OPEC member that began Feb. 22 were initially called to force the ailing 82-year-old leader not to seek a fifth term in office in an…

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Benin Opposition Wants Election Body to Resign Over Vote Crisis

Benin Opposition Wants Election Body to Resign Over Vote Crisis

BENIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Benin’s main opposition said it wants the electoral body as well as the justice minister to resign over its exclusion from legislative elections due next month as the West African nation faces its worst political crisis since 1990. The electoral commission has “lost all credibility” since it decided earlier this month to only allow two parties loyal to President Patrice Talon to participate in the vote, opposition spokesman Guy Mitokpe told…

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May’s Brexit Deal Seen Boosting Carbon, Power in Europe

May’s Brexit Deal Seen Boosting Carbon, Power in Europe

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Power and carbon prices across Europe may rally if U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May succeeds in getting Parliament to approve a deal for leaving the European Union this month, according to Alfa Energy Ltd. Britain is a key member of the EU’s emissions trading system, and the risk of Brexit without agreement has weighed on carbon prices in recent weeks. Relieving that risk may push the cost of those allowances higher…

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Ashley Takes on Debenhams Lenders With ‘Project Serpico’

Ashley Takes on Debenhams Lenders With ‘Project Serpico’

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Billionaire Mike Ashley’s latest bid to control Debenhams Plc has sharpened battle lines with the troubled U.K. department-store chain’s lenders as it seeks to restructure its debt and avoid insolvency. Ashley, angling to add Debenhams’s roughly 240 U.K. and overseas stores to his empire that already includes Sports Direct International Plc and House of Fraser, has launched an effort he’s dubbed “Project Serpico” to expose what he says is an insider plot to steer…

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Malawi’s Ex-President Withdraws From Vote, Backs Opposition

Malawi’s Ex-President Withdraws From Vote, Backs Opposition

MALAWI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Former Malawian President Joyce Banda withdrew her candidacy from elections scheduled for May 21 and said she’d back opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera in the vote. It’s the second time since February that Banda, who ruled Malawi from 2012 to 2014, has pulled out of the race. Last month, she announced she wouldn’t compete in the ballot, before announcing her candidacy two days later.  “Malawi is bigger than individuals,” Banda said in a joint…

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