Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency

Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin is losing its luster with some of its earliest and most avid fans — criminals — giving rise to a new breed of virtual currency. Privacy coins such as monero, designed to avoid tracking, have climbed faster over the past two months as law enforcers adopt software tools to monitor people using bitcoin. A slew of analytic firms such as Chainalysis are getting better at flagging digital hoards linked…

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Politics Trumps Oil Recovery: A Guide to Mideast Markets in 2018

Politics Trumps Oil Recovery: A Guide to Mideast Markets in 2018

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – For as long as Gulf economies rely on oil, crude will be a factor in determining how investors trade regional markets. But right now, politics is king. In the past 12 months, tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran escalated, ties between Qatar and its neighbours were severed, rebels in Yemen fired rockets over Riyadh and Saudi Arabia started a crackdown on corruption that led to the arrest of high-profile…

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From Angola to Zimbabwe: Guide to Key Africa Markets in 2018

From Angola to Zimbabwe: Guide to Key Africa Markets in 2018

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – For bond investors, Africa was a happy hunting ground last year. Its local-currency and dollar securities easily outperformed those of emerging markets overall as investors piled into a continent offering high yields and starting to recover from the commodity bust of three years ago. But risks abound, among them policy tightening in advanced economies, local and global politics, weakening currencies and another fall in oil prices. And then there is…

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Steinhoff Gains as Retailer Plans to Restate 2015 Results

Steinhoff Gains as Retailer Plans to Restate 2015 Results

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Shares of Steinhoff International Holdings NV rose after the South African retail giant said it will restate financial results going back as far as 2015 amid a probe into accounting irregularities. The stock jumped 27 percent to 5.90 rand by 9:56 a.m. in Johannesburg, the most on an intraday basis since Dec. 12. Shares in Steinhoff, whose retail empire includes France’s Conforama furniture chain and Poundland in the U.K., have slumped 87…

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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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