Rand’s on a High as Commodities, Politics and Greenback Team Up

Rand’s on a High as Commodities, Politics and Greenback Team Up

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The stars are aligned for South Africa’s rand as it enters the new year. Not only are investors backing the currency on prospects that market favourite Cyril Ramaphosa may soon become the country’s leader, but the ailing dollar and rising commodity prices are playing along. The rand touched its strongest level in more than two years on December 28 and remained near that level on Tuesday. The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed to a…

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Tunisia SE Falls 0.6%; Banque Internationale Tunisie Leads

Tunisia SE Falls 0.6%; Banque Internationale Tunisie Leads

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Tunisia Stock Exchange Tunindex fell 0.6 percent to 6,241.96. The move was the biggest since falling 0.7 percent on Sept. 26 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Europe, Middle East and Africa Index advanced 0.9 percent. Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie contributed the most to the decline, falling 3.3 percent. Societe Ciments de Bizerte decreased 5.3 percent, the biggest loss. Arab Tunisian Lease rose 2.6…

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African Roses Are U.S.-Bound as Ethiopian Growers Go Global

African Roses Are U.S.-Bound as Ethiopian Growers Go Global

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia’s burgeoning flower-growing industry is setting its sights on the U.S. in a bid to break the dominance of Latin American producers in supplying roses and other blooms to the world’s largest economy. State-owned Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise is evaluating freighter flights through Miami — the main entry point for U.S. flower imports — Los Angeles or New York, regional manager Girum Abebe said in an interview. The company currently transports…

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South Africa’s New Man Has a Daunting Task Pleasing Markets

South Africa’s New Man Has a Daunting Task Pleasing Markets

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investors got what they wanted in South Africa when Cyril Ramaphosa became the ruling party’s new leader, putting himself in prime position to be the nation’s next president. Now comes the difficult part. He’ll be hard pressed to turn around a struggling economy, avoid more rating downgrades and ease political tensions, according to AllianceBernstein LP and Credit Suisse Group AG. That means the rand will struggle to sustain the 14 percent…

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Steinhoff Losing Credit Lines as Accounting Scandal Deepens

Steinhoff Losing Credit Lines as Accounting Scandal Deepens

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Embattled retailer Steinhoff International Holdings NV said lenders are starting to cut off support after an accounting scandal swept out its leaders and destroyed most of its value in a matter of days. The owner of Conforama in France, Mattress Firm in the U.S. and Poundland in the U.K. isn’t yet able to assess the magnitude of financial irregularities disclosed two weeks ago, it said in a presentation to lenders in London on…

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Ramaphosa’s Narrow ANC Vote Win Cuts Odds of Quick Zuma Ouster

Ramaphosa’s Narrow ANC Vote Win Cuts Odds of Quick Zuma Ouster

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cyril Ramaphosa’s victory in a gruelling battle to lead South Africa’s ruling party may have been the easy part. His narrow win and his allies’ failure to secure three other top posts is likely to delay his ascendancy to the nation’s presidency and plans to revive a stuttering economy. While Ramaphosa won 52 percent of the vote for the top post of the African National Congress, edging out Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,…

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Opinion Piece : Artificial intelligence (AI) a day …

Opinion Piece : Artificial intelligence (AI) a day …

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – One of the greatest benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to humankind is its influence on the medical field. “Powered by some of the most sophisticated technology, AI is assisting in improving medical diagnosis,” says Anton Jacobs, managing director at African value-added technology distributor, Networks Unlimited. From an AI doctor and chatbot to AI’s powerful applications, machine learning and deep learning, a world that used to be all about coding,…

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