The Editorial Team |

Kenyan Central Bank Says Credit Market Failure Persists

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan credit costs that prompted the introduction of interest-rate caps last year have remained high despite the government’s efforts, according to the central bank. Authorities in East Africa’s biggest economy instituted a 400 basis-point rate cap above the prevailing benchmark measure for commercial loans last year with the view to making credit more affordable. Instead, banks now lend only to the least risky clients and the government. “Some of the structural…

China Offers Infrastructure to Cement New Ties With Burkina Faso

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BURKINA FASO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Months after severing ties with Taiwan, Burkina Faso says it’s counting on Chinese money to get large infrastructure projects off the ground, including a key highway linking the West African nation’s two main cities. Burkina Faso broke off diplomatic relations with Taipei in May in favor of China, leaving only the tiny kingdom of Swaziland as the island’s last African ally and cutting the number of countries that…

Iron Ore Breaks Above $70 as China’s Pivot Helps to Stoke Demand

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Iron ore has finally broken above $70 a metric ton. After a crawl higher in recent weeks, bulls drove the price back over that threshold, encouraged by surging steel prices in China, where there’s growing demand for high-quality material aided by state-driven investment and pollution curbs. SGX AsiaClear futures rallied as much as 1.5 percent to $70.60 a ton, the highest since March, and were last at $70.49. On the spot…

Goldman Sachs says Bitcoin will continue to decline

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Despite headline-making plans to open a bitcoin trading desk earlier this year, Goldman Sachs still isn’t sold on the virtual currency. In a midyear economic-outlook report, the bank’s investment strategy group says the price of bitcoin is likely to decline even further than the 45% it has in the first seven months of 2018. “Our view that cryptocurrencies would not retain value in their current incarnation remains intact and, in fact, has been…

Armed Security Agents Deploy at Nigeria Houses of Parliament

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Armed Nigerian security agents temporarily blocked the entrance to the National Assembly in the capital, Abuja, amid heightening political tensions ahead of general elections in February. Legislators, reporters and staff were turned away by secret police officers wearing masks and their standard black uniforms as they tried to enter the complex on Tuesday. After a couple of hours, lawmakers were allowed in one by one, while reporters and staff…

What to Watch in Commodities: Trump Vs Iran, Glencore, USDA, BHP

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The temperature’s rising and events this week will help investors figure out how to profit, not get burned. On top of tensions with China, Donald Trump will turn up the heat on Iran as some sanctions snap back into place as a prelude to oil curbs. Get ready for an on-air riposte from counterpart Hassan Rouhani, who plans an address later Monday. These guys have prior on Twitter, so it’ll be a signal of how they…

World’s Top Miner Charges Into Cobalt as Battery Ambitions Grow

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, is advancing plans to add production of a key cobalt material used in rechargeable batteries to boost its exposure to the electric vehicle revolution. The Nickel West operation in Western Australia, aiming to sell 90 percent of its output to the battery sector by the end of next year, has had success with laboratory tests on adding production of cobalt sulphate alongside…

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