Congo Seeks More Cobalt Control as Batteries Drive Boom

Congo Seeks More Cobalt Control as Batteries Drive Boom

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo will seek greater control of the global cobalt market by engaging directly with car and battery manufacturers, according to its largest state-owned mining company. “I find it scandalous that when cobalt is discussed, and the explosion of electric vehicles, only the traders and consumers are referenced and Congo and Gecamines are not cited,” Gecamines Chairman Albert Yuma said in an interview in Cape Town. The market…

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Bitcoin Miners Face Shakeout as Only Strongest Survive at $6,000

Bitcoin Miners Face Shakeout as Only Strongest Survive at $6,000

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin miners face a reckoning as the cryptocurrency’s tumble wipes out profits for all but the industry’s most efficient operators, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Only miners with access to “very cheap” electricity of about 6 cents per kilowatt hour or less can stay profitable after Bitcoin slumped to $6,000 on Tuesday, said Sophie Lu, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Beijing. If Bitcoin stays this low…

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Bitcoin and Stocks Have More in Common Than You Think: Gadfly

Bitcoin and Stocks Have More in Common Than You Think: Gadfly

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin has been a plaything for risk-hungry traders and punters rather than a widely held investment or real-world currency. It’s been shunned by banks and banned by governments. Yet it’s still possible that its slide on Monday made the broader market selloff worse, as investors sold assets to compensate for crypto-losses. Marginal as this may be, and you can’t be certain of correlation with something as unstable as digital…

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Cryptocurrencies Under Pressure After Bitcoin Dips Below $6,000

Cryptocurrencies Under Pressure After Bitcoin Dips Below $6,000

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rout in cryptocurrencies rolled on, sending Bitcoin to its lowest level since October, as worries over tighter regulation by U.S. authorities and central bankers elsewhere gave traders fresh reasons to exit after a brutal start to 2018. The selloff has now knocked about half a trillion dollars from digital coins since early January. That’s shaken a nascent market whose core attraction — anonymity and decentralization — is being challenged as never before…

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Egypt Economy: Four Tailwinds for Economic Growth in 2018

Egypt Economy: Four Tailwinds for Economic Growth in 2018

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s economy took a battering after the revolution of 2011, with annual growth declining to 3.1% in 2011-16 from an average of 6.2% in 2005-10. But the economy should recover in 2018, helped by four tailwinds: declining inflation, lower interest rates, recovering tourism and gas production from a new field. Egypt’s macroeconomic conditions were dire in 2016. Foreign currency was in short supply, resulting in the emergence of a…

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Investec’s Koseff, Kantor Step Down After 40 Years at Helm

Investec’s Koseff, Kantor Step Down After 40 Years at Helm

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investec Plc Chief Executive Officer Stephen Koseff and Managing Director Bernard Kantor will step down in October after 40 years of building a small leasing company in Johannesburg to one managing more than 154 billion pounds ($215 billion) in assets. Glynn Burger, group risk and finance director and also one of the “founding members” of Investec, will retire at the end of March next year, the Johannesburg- and London-based specialist bank and asset…

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South Africa JSE 40 Falls 1.8% to 49,580.21; Naspers Leads

South Africa JSE 40 Falls 1.8% to 49,580.21; Naspers Leads

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The FTSE/JSE Africa Top40 Tradeable Index fell for the ninth day, dropping 1.8 percent, or 916.09 to 49,580.21. The index dropped to the lowest level since Sept. 29. The MSCI Emerging Markets Europe, Middle East and Africa Index declined 2.1 percent. Naspers Ltd. contributed the most to the decline and had the biggest loss, decreasing 4.3 percent. The biggest movers also included: Anglo American, down 3.7 percent; and Standard Bank, down 3.4 percent….

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