Nigerian Oil Region Crisis Threatens Buhari’s Economic Plans

Nigerian Oil Region Crisis Threatens Buhari’s Economic Plans

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fresh from his comfortable re-election, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari faces a huge hurdle to keep his vow to end the economy’s addiction to oil: win a lasting peace in the crude-rich Niger River delta. The 76-year-old former military ruler will have to score a breakthrough that’s eluded previous governments in an area where armed groups and thieves pose a constant threat to the flow of crude. To carry out his plans…

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Zimbabwe Eases Grip on New Currency in Bid to End Dollar Squeeze

Zimbabwe Eases Grip on New Currency in Bid to End Dollar Squeeze

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – For investors who doubted Zimbabwe would let market forces determine the price of its new currency, there’s some evidence it’s doing just that. The southern African nation’s central bank has allowed the currency, known as RTGS, to slide to 2.6481 per dollar this week, taking its depreciation since trading started on Feb. 22 to 5.6 percent. That marks a change from the previous fortnight, when it was stuck at almost exactly…

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Tunisia Bank Chief Says Unlikely to Hike Rates Again in 2019

Tunisia Bank Chief Says Unlikely to Hike Rates Again in 2019

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates again in the first half of the year, its governor said Wednesday, arguing that the latest increase was already paying off. The regulator raised the benchmark rate by 100 basis points in February, the first increase since June, as annual inflation rose to 7.4 percent, near the 25-year high of 7.7 percent recorded in mid-2018. “We hope we don’t have…

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FirstRand’s RMB Seeks New Management for Corporate-Finance Unit

FirstRand’s RMB Seeks New Management for Corporate-Finance Unit

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd.’s corporate and investment banking division Rand Merchant Bank is seeking new management for its corporate-finance unit with co-heads Craig Forbes and Puso Manthata stepping down later this year. New leadership will be appointed at the start of the lender’s new financial year in July, RMB said in response to emailed questions. Forbes will be joining his family’s investment office by the end of the calendar year, while…

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Ghana Inflation Quickens to 9.2% in February From Record Low

Ghana Inflation Quickens to 9.2% in February From Record Low

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s inflation rate edged up in February, remaining inside the central bank’s target band for an 11th consecutive month. Consumer prices rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with the record-low rate of 9 percent in January, David Kombat, the acting government statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service, told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Accra. Prices rose 1 percent in the month. Key Insights: The uptick in inflation…

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U.K. Unveils Tariffs for a No-Deal Brexit Ahead of Key Vote

U.K. Unveils Tariffs for a No-Deal Brexit Ahead of Key Vote

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.K. will avoid imposing tariffs on most imported goods in the event of a no-deal Brexit, though officials said prices of key European Union products including beef, cheese and cars will rise. The government said Wednesday its “balanced approach” aims to offset a spike in prices that consumers would experience in a no-deal departure as a result of the falling pound and higher costs of imports. But a…

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Ned Davis Pivots Toward U.S. Growth Stocks as Goldman Backpedals

Ned Davis Pivots Toward U.S. Growth Stocks as Goldman Backpedals

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The debate over a decade-long winning trade is heating up in the U.S. equity market. Shares of the fastest-growing companies will extend their record stretch of leadership over those seen as cheaper relative to earnings or book value, according to Ned Davis Research. The firm shifted its preference after recommending investors hold growth and value stocks equally based on benchmarks. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, a long-standing bull on growth stocks, is…

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