U.K. Unveils Post-Brexit Immigration Plan, Angering Business

U.K. Unveils Post-Brexit Immigration Plan, Angering Business

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.K. published its long-awaited immigration plan for life outside the European Union, to end freedom of movement from the bloc and prioritize skilled workers regardless of nationality. Home Secretary Sajid Javidsaid the aim was to bring net migration down to “sustainable levels.” Reducing immigration has been a major issue for British voters and was a key motivation for many who chose to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum….

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UBS Wealth Has Hedge Fund-Like Playbook to Combat Market Mayhem

UBS Wealth Has Hedge Fund-Like Playbook to Combat Market Mayhem

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s largest private bank is doubling down on exotic strategies to profit from the intensifying meltdown in the synchronized bull market. As Wall Street frets another annus horribilis, UBS Global Wealth is embracing a playbook beloved by hedge funds — a slew of options trades that bet, for example, on the continued outperformance of U.S. healthcare stocks versus industrials when tensions in commerce sink equities. The $2.4 trillion money manager’s…

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Goldman’s $1 Trillion Asset Manager Is Betting on Stocks in 2019

Goldman’s $1 Trillion Asset Manager Is Betting on Stocks in 2019

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) –  Equities is the place to be in 2019, according to a senior money manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The company, which says it oversees more than $1 trillion, is betting that global growth will extend into next year, giving support to stock fundamentals. GSAM favors emerging-market assets over the developed market, although U.S. stocks look appealing after the sell-off even as the economy moderates. “We’re broadly positive on equities,” said…

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Tullow CEO Rises From Founder’s Shadow as Risk-Taking Ebbs

Tullow CEO Rises From Founder’s Shadow as Risk-Taking Ebbs

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The fortunes of Paul McDade and Tullow Oil Plc have mirrored each other for almost three decades. Drawn to the industry in the 1980s as a way to see life outside his native Scotland, McDade moved through the Middle East, South America and Southeast Asia. At the turn of the century, just as a promising career was shaping up at Canadian oil company Talisman, a different opportunity emerged.  “I’ve met this Irish guy…

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Ghana Keeps Key Rate at 4 1/2-Year Low With Inflation in Target

Ghana Keeps Key Rate at 4 1/2-Year Low With Inflation in Target

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a 4 1/2-year low for a third consecutive meeting as the currency stabilized and inflation remain within its target band. The Bank of Ghana maintained the rate at 17 percent, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters Monday in the capital, Accra. All eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast the hold. Key Insights: Underlying inflation pressures are easing, Addison said. The recent oil…

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FirstRand’s FNB Targets South Africa Townships With Fintech Deal

FirstRand’s FNB Targets South Africa Townships With Fintech Deal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank and a startup financial-technology company in South Africa are partnering to connect informal traders in townships with fast-moving consumer-goods companies. FNB is seeking to tap into a market that it estimates could consist of as many as 1 million enterprises that have largely been ignored and falls into the “unseen economy,” the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement. Townships were created during apartheid on the…

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South Africa Probes Illegal Miners Blast Risk Under City of Gold

South Africa Probes Illegal Miners Blast Risk Under City of Gold

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa is probing a potential catastrophe lurking beneath its richest city — illegal gold miners are digging and blasting 30 centimeters (12 inches) from gas pipelines beneath some of Johannesburg’s most vital infrastructure, raising the risk of explosions. The government has been jolted into action after the Sunday Times newspaper reported on the activity that could create an inferno. Some of the illegal miners are digging right below…

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