Author: The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The obituaries for the London interbank offered rate may have been written, but as businesses, consumers and investors brace for a likely tightening of U.S. monetary policy it remains a keenly watched bellwether for financial conditions — for now at least. The three-month dollar rate, one of the few of the Libor suite to get a temporary reprieve and still be published until mid next year, has risen in…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of England officials have largely decided to keep quiet in the run-up to February’s crunch meeting, allowing expectations to solidify for another interest rate increase. Since the bank hiked rates in December, few of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee have spoken, and none are scheduled to before their next meeting. That’s despite increasing market bets that another increase will come on Feb. 3.The relative silence breaks from the effusive commentary…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Jerome Powell’s first four years as Federal Reserve chair were defined by saving the U.S. economy from the historic challenge of the pandemic. His second term — and his legacy — will be about saving the economy from overheating. Powell and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee, who meet Tuesday and Wednesday, are wrestling with how to quell the highest inflation in a generation without stalling…