The Editorial Team |

Bitcoin Needs to Hit $213,000 to Replace Money Supply, UBS Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin evangelists preach that the virtual currency will one day supplant the dollar. UBS says they may have to wait a while since it can’t be considered money or even a viable asset class yet. For Bitcoin to replace U.S. money supply — paper bills, coins, travelers’ checks and the like — its price could need to hit nearly $213,000, or its network’s processing capabilities would need to dramatically improve, a…

Bitcoin Whale’s Bad Trade Leaves Counterparties Holding the Bag

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A massive wrong-way bet on Bitcoin left an unidentified futures trader unable to cover losses, burning counterparties and threatening to dent confidence in one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency venues. The long position in Bitcoin futures listed on OKEx, a Hong Kong-based exchange, had a notional value of about $416 million, according to an OKEx statement on Friday and data compiled by Bloomberg. OKEx moved to liquidate the position on Tuesday, but…

Africa is a buoyant continent which is rising

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Africa is a buoyant continent which is rising, however, it suffers from large gaps in infrastructure and public finance, and on its own will not be able to fill these gaps. As an example, 35% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity. Private investments in the form of Private Equity are helping the continent to bridge these gaps to provide people with access to basic infrastructure needs. Those Private Equity firms…

After Decade in Jail, Bemba Returns to Seek Congo Presidency

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo to prepare his latest bid for the presidency, after spending the past 10 years in prison. A former vice president, Bemba is one of four key opposition figures expected to register to compete in elections scheduled for December. He was acquitted of war crimes in the International Criminal Court in June and released after a decade of detention in The…

South Africa MPC May Adjust Policy if Price Risks Materialize

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank will adjust monetary policy to keep inflation expectations anchored close to 4.5 percent if price risks materialize, Deputy Governor Daniel Mminele said. The rand is likely to continue to be vulnerable due to the change in sentiment toward emerging markets and rising trade tensions, he said. That and uncertainty around the speed at which electricity prices will increase are upside risks to inflation, Mminele said in a copy…

South African PMI Shows First Factory Growth in Three Months

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – An index tracking South African manufacturing activity rose for the first month in three in July, but this was tempered by a lowering of expectations for future business conditions. The purchasing managers’ index compiled by the Stellenbosch-based Bureau for Economic Research and Absa Bank Ltd. climbed to 51.5 in July from 47.9 in June. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the factory sector. This is the highest reading since May…

Emerging Markets Struggle Amid Trade Woes as Commodities Slide

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging markets struggled to gain traction amid heightened trade-war rhetoric and a slide in commodities. The largest stock ETF in developing nations started the month lower, and most currencies fell after China warned the U.S. against “blackmailing and pressuring” it over trade. Chile’s peso slumped with copper, while miner Vale led losses in raw-material peers. South Africa’s rand rose amid bets that the ruling party’s proposal to speed up land redistribution will reduce uncertainty,…

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