U.K. Spy Warns Against Triumphalism Over Islamic State Collapse

U.K. Spy Warns Against Triumphalism Over Islamic State Collapse

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)  – As U.S. forces prepare to oust Islamic State militants from their last foothold in Syria, the head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency warned of the lasting threat from the group’s ideology. “We are not triumphant because I think from triumphant you get to hubris,” MI6 Chief Alex Younger told reporters in Munich on Friday. “This is a societal, generational problem that we face in the West and it can only…

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Kenya Sees Agreement on IMF Standby Loan Facility After Meeting

Kenya Sees Agreement on IMF Standby Loan Facility After Meeting

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya said it’s almost reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a new standby loan facility after a meeting this week in the East Africa nation’s capital, Nairobi. A similar facility, where the IMF availed $1.5 billion for Kenya to draw from in the event of balance of payment shocks, but didn’t, lapsed in September. The insurance-type facility will serve to reassure buyers of Kenyan debt such as…

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Here’s Who Analysts See Winning Nigeria’s Election Saturday

Here’s Who Analysts See Winning Nigeria’s Election Saturday

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Whether President Muhammadu Buhari or his main opponent, Atiku Abubakar, will win Nigeria’s election on Saturday has split analysts down the middle. Polls in Nigeria tend to be unreliable, given the difficulty of sampling a nation of 200 million people and factoring in rigging, which has marred almost every vote since Africa’s biggest oil producer got independence from the U.K. in 1960. Here are the forecasts of eight analysts, with four expecting that Buhari, a…

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A Bellwether for African Democracy – Nigeria Poised to Vote

A Bellwether for African Democracy – Nigeria Poised to Vote

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – When Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday, there’ll be much more at stake than the presidency and seats in the parliament of Africa’s most populous nation. Democracy is on the back foot in Africa, and a credible and widely accepted outcome will go some way toward offsetting negative perceptions of the world’s poorest continent. While most Nigerian elections since military rule ended in 1999 concluded acrimoniously, the last…

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Nigeria Top Judge Pleads Not Guilty of False Assets Declaration

Nigeria Top Judge Pleads Not Guilty of False Assets Declaration

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen pleaded not guilty to charges of false declaration of his assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the capital, Abuja. Onnoghen appeared at the court on Friday for the first time since charges were filed against him on Jan. 11 after tribunal Chairman Danladi Umar issued a warrant for his arrest on Wednesday. The chief justice, who was suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari on Jan….

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Discovery Falls to 16-Month Low as Profit Drops on Soaring Costs

Discovery Falls to 16-Month Low as Profit Drops on Soaring Costs

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Shares of Discovery Ltd. dropped to their lowest level since October 2017 after the South African financial-services company said first-half earnings will decline after investments into new initiatives soared. The owner of a wellness loyalty program that stretches from China to the U.S. is expanding into banking and commercial insurance to tap deeper into its existing customer base to boost income. Spending on new projects in the six months through December…

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Why Lamb Chops Could Be on the Menu in a No-Deal Brexit

Why Lamb Chops Could Be on the Menu in a No-Deal Brexit

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) -The U.K. is the world’s third-largest lamb exporter and farmers will have a lot to sell if there’s no European trade deal. For the sheep on Alan Hutton’s farm outside Basingstoke, the outcome of Brexit will mean life or death. Hutton, who farms about 1,000 acres (405 hectares) on grassy, rolling hills in southern England, specializes in raising ewes for other farmers to breed. Like many farmers and business owners, he’s…

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