Morocco’s Wheat Outlook Is Bad News for Top Exporters of Grain

Morocco’s Wheat Outlook Is Bad News for Top Exporters of Grain

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morocco is poised to have a bountiful wheat harvest in 2018, and that may mean another slow year for the North African country’s top suppliers from Russia to France and Ukraine. The crop will be 7.09 million metric tons this year, the Agriculture Ministry said in a document distributed Monday. That’s after the harvest more than doubled in 2017-18 and imports dropped 23 percent, according to U.S. Department of…

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Glencore’s Prize Cobalt Miner Is Bogged Down Deeper in Congo

Glencore’s Prize Cobalt Miner Is Bogged Down Deeper in Congo

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Katanga Mining Ltd. will soon be the world’s top cobalt miner, churning out thousands of tons of metal and billions of dollars in revenue for Glencore Plc. It’s also turning into a major thorn in the commodity giant’s side. Katanga is controlled by Glencore but trades in Toronto, making it one of few options for equity investors seeking exposure to the coveted battery ingredient. Its shares surged more than 1,200…

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Sweden’s Very Own Bitcoin. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Sweden’s Very Own Bitcoin. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The finance industry’s attitude to automation and technical innovation resembles the old song lyric: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Bank executives love to warn of robots replacing humans across the industry, but basic IT management often seems beyond them. The blockchain and digital currencies are the future, they tell us, but no-one seems quite sure what to do with them or whether they really want them….

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Bitcoin’s Real Value Is $20, According to a Night of Drinking

Bitcoin’s Real Value Is $20, According to a Night of Drinking

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) –  It took two economists one three-course meal   and two bottles of wine to calculate the fair value of one Bitcoin: $200.  It took an extra day for them to realize they were one decimal place out: $20,   they decided, was the right price for a virtual currency that was worth $1,200 a   year ago, flirted with $20,000 in December, and is still around $8,000. Setting  …

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Liberian President Weah Orders Probe of Exxon 2013 Oil Deal

Liberian President Weah Orders Probe of Exxon 2013 Oil Deal

MORONVIA (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Liberian President George Weah ordered a probe into Exxon Mobil Corp.’s 2013 deal for drilling rights off the West African nation’s coast, his office said. The investigation follows last month’s report by campaign group Global Witness that Exxon purchased the rights despite knowing that the block was suspected of being partially owned by Liberian individuals who may have illegally granted it to themselves while holding public office. Exxon voiced concerns over the…

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South African Inflation at 7-Year Low Boosts Rate-Cut Case

South African Inflation at 7-Year Low Boosts Rate-Cut Case

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa )- South Africa’s inflation rate fell to seven-year low in March, making a stronger case for the central bank to consider an interest-rate cut. Inflation slowed to 3.8 percent from a year earlier, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Wednesday in a report on its website. The median estimate of 20 economists was 4.1 percent in a Bloomberg survey. Price growth has remained within the central bank’s target range of 3…

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INTO AFRICA April 2018 Edition: Key to Growth – Africa’s Tax System

INTO AFRICA April 2018 Edition: Key to Growth – Africa’s Tax System

Welcome to the April edition of INTO AFRICA the publication with fresh insight into Africa’s emerging markets. This month’s edition, titled: Key to growth: Africa’s Tax System explores the tax laws and regulations across African countries. In the global environment of scarce economic activity and resources, investors are increasingly looking to new sources of growth. Africa is one of these areas. However, navigating differing business customs across a continent as vast and diverse as Africa…

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