Economy | - Part 68

Fitch: Global Sovereign Downgrades Set for a Record Year

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Fitch Ratings-London-07 July 2016: Sovereign credit ratings are on track for a record number of downgrades in 2016, driven by the impact of lower commodity prices in emerging market economies, Fitch Ratings says in its latest bi-annual Sovereign Review and Outlook. There were 15 downgrades in 1H16 compared with the previous annual high of 20 in 2011, and 22 ratings are on Negative Outlook, suggesting this year’s final total…

South Africa Most Exposed to Brexit Fallout in Region, Moody’s Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s reliance on foreign money to finance the shortfall on its current account makes it the most vulnerable in sub-Saharan Africa to fallout from the U.K.’s vote to quit the European Union, Moody’s Investors Service said. “South Africa’s current-account deficit leaves it vulnerable to short-term capital outflows amid changes in investors’ risk perceptions and appetite,” Moody’s Vice President and Senior Analyst Zuzana Brixiova wrote in an e-mailed report…

Ghana Cuts Growth Outlook to Lowest in More Than 30 Years

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA, Capital Markets in Africa: Ghana cut its economic growth forecast for 2016 to the lowest rate in more than three decades as the country reduced its targets for oil and gold production. West Africa’s largest economy after Nigeria will likely expand 3.2 percent this year after growing 3.9 percent in 2015, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said in a statement on the ministry’s website. That will be the slowest rate since 1983, when the economy contracted 4.6 percent, according…

Mozambique Yields at Record as IMF Warns of Debt Distress

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Mozambique, Capital Markets in Africa: Mozambique government bond yields jumped to a record 18.94 percent after the International Monetary Fund warned the south eastern African nation’s public debt was at a high risk of distress. The Washington-based lender said Friday Mozambique’s public debt stock had jumped to 86 percent of gross domestic product after the government revealed it had guaranteed $1.4 billion in loans to state-owned companies. “According to our technical assessment, public debt is now likely…

Credit Ratings | Fitch Downgrades Nigeria to ‘B+’; Outlook Stable

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong-23 June 2016: Fitch Ratings has downgraded Nigeria’s Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-‘ and Long-term local currency IDR to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB’. The Outlooks are Stable. The issue ratings on Nigeria’s senior unsecured foreign-currency bonds have also been downgraded to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-‘. The Country Ceiling has been revised down to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-‘ and the Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR affirmed at…

Slowing South Africa CPI Gives SARB More Room to Pause on Rates

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South African inflation unexpectedly slowed for a third month in May as food-price growth decelerated, giving the Reserve Bank room to keep interest rates unchanged to support an economy at risk of falling into recession. The inflation rate dropped to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent a month earlier, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website on Wednesday. The median of 21 economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for an acceleration to 6.4…

Ghana GDP Growth Rate Climbs in First Quarter as Farming Expands

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA, Ghana, Capital Markets in Africa: Ghana’s economic growth quickened in the first quarter as farming output and telecommunication services expanded. Gross domestic product in the West African nation rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier compared with a revised 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter, Philomena Nyarko, government statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service, told reporters in the capital, Accra, on Wednesday. The economy grew 1.1 percent from the previous quarter, she said. Economic growth…

« 1 … 66 67 68 69 70 … 88 »