The Editorial Team |

Brawls, Autocratic Moves Threaten East African Democracy

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ugandan lawmakers brawl over a bill that could create a president-for-life. Tanzania arrests lawmakers and shutters newspapers. And as Kenya tries to rerun a botched election, a ruling party leader says what the country really needs is a benevolent dictator. As unrest and crackdowns plague some of the region’s largest economies, home to various levels of political freedom, the situation is adding to uncertainty in a part of the world already rocked by…

My Reluctant Education in Bitcoin: Fully Charged

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – While markets as a whole have been pretty boring this year, cryptocurrencies have been anything but. I, along with a vast majority of the population, have avoided thinking about this super-complex world for as long as possible. But I’ve finally forced myself to make the dive. And it looks like a lot of people have as well. Even my boxing coach recently asked me if he should buy bitcoin or ethereum….

Blythe Masters’s Blockchain Firm Raises Money, Hires Executive

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Blythe Masters’s blockchain software firm Digital Asset Holdings LLC raised another $40 million and hired a technology executive who previously worked for software giant Microsoft Corp. and quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma Investments. The company, where former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Masters is chief executive officer, is one of several trying to reshape finance by leveraging the blockchain ledger technology that underpins bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. DAH’s clients include the…

U.K. Is Said to See Brexit Breakdown Without EU Compromise

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Brexit negotiations are heading for a catastrophic breakdown unless the European Union signals this week that it will allow talks to move on to trade, according to a person familiar with the U.K. government’s position. Without a clear sign, that negotiations will progress to trade and transition arrangements by December at this week’s summit of EU leaders, the entire Brexit process will be in danger of collapse — and senior…

Carney’s Countdown to BOE Rate Hike Faces Make or Break Week

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mark Carney is heading into a crucial week in the countdown to a possible Bank of England rate increase in early November. After the International Monetary Fund meetings where most central bankers fretted about weak inflation even amid robust global growth, the governor returns to an economy that’s almost the mirror opposite. While Brexit is weighing on U.K. businesses, price growth is above target — something for lawmakers to press him on…

Sierra Leone Ruling Party Names Koroma Successor for 2018 Polls

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FREE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sierra Leone’s ruling All People’s Congress appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Samura Kamara as its candidate for next year’s presidential polls to succeed President Ernest Bai Koroma. Kamara was named uncontested on Sunday as Koroma’s preferred successor at a party convention that was broadcast live on state-owned radio from Makeni, 187 kilometers (116 miles) northeast of the capital, Freetown. Koroma is due to step down after more than 10 years in…

Busy IPO Season Beckons for Cairo as Reforms Yield Results

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s stock market is shaping up to be the Middle East’s hot spot for initial public offerings next year. At least six companies plan IPOs by the end of 2018, following two sales since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s a marked increase on the average of three in the past three years as foreign investors fretted that a severe dollar shortage would trap their money. Between…

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