The Editorial Team

Algeria Leader Dubs IMF Foreign Debt Advice ‘Political Suicide’

ALGEIR (Capital Markets in Africa) – Algeria’s president said following International Monetary Fund advice to reverse its long-standing policy and take on foreign borrowing would lead to “political suicide,” describing the OPEC member as able to ride out economic troubles exacerbated by the pandemic. “We will never choose that option, it is unthinkable,” Abdelmadjid Tebboune told a select group of journalists in a televised briefing late Sunday. The North African nation will end the year with enough…

Tunisian Leader Ushers In Loyalist Ministers After Power Shift

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TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s president swore in a government with loyalists taking up key positions in the finance and the interior ministries, his latest step to reshape the country after suspending parliament more than two months ago. The moves come after President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament in July, saying he acted to save the country from economic and political mismanagement. Opponents called it a coup. The political crisis has…

South Africa Rate-Hike Bets Jump on Upside Risks to Inflation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders raised bets that South Africa’s central bank will raise interest rates in November after it warned of upside risks to its inflation outlook. Forward-rate agreements starting in two months, used to speculate on borrowing costs, are now pricing in almost 40 basis points of tightening by year-end. Less than a week ago, those contracts were predicting just an 80% probability of a quarter-point increase, before the South African…

South Africa Business Mood at One-Year Low on Covid Curbs, Riots

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JOHANNEBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African business sentiment dropped to a one-year low in September as economic activity continued to be hamstrung by restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic and unease persisted following deadly riots in July. A confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry dropped to 91, from 91.9 in August, the group said Monday in an emailed statement. While that’s the lowest since September 2020, the…

Angola’s Central Bank to Focus on New Mandate From Start of 2022

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s central bank will focus on inflation and then financial stability from the start of next year after lawmakers agreed to change its mandate, Governor Jose de Lima Massano said. Parliament on Sept. 1 approved a law to boost the central bank’s independence by changing the way the governor is appointed and the mandate of the bank. At a meeting of the central bank’s monetary policy committee on Thursday, the first since the…

Pound’s Break With Tradition Casts Doubt on Rate Hike Playbook

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The pound is breaking the time-honored tradition that higher interest rates will mean a stronger currency, as growth and inflation fears take their toll. U.K. two-year yields climbed this week to the highest since the start of the pandemic, buoyed by traders’ ramped-up expectations for Bank of England rate hikes in 2022. Yet the pound fell to a year-to-date low and suffered the most volatility since March — a sign that…

Inflation Gauge Hits Highest Since 1991 as Americans Spend More

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.S. personal spending growth accelerated by more than forecast in August, driven by goods purchases, while a closely watched measure of inflation exceeded estimates. Purchases of goods and services increased 0.8% from a month earlier, following a downwardly revised 0.1% decline in July, Commerce Department figures showed Friday. Spending in July was previously reported as a 0.3% gain. The personal consumption expenditures price gauge, which the Federal Reserve uses for…

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