Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond issued a fresh warning that leaving the European Union without a deal would damage the U.K. economy and leave people less well off. He said Parliament’s rejection of Theresa May’s Brexit deal had created a “cloud of uncertainty” and warned that crashing out would cause “significant disruption.” He urged politicians to rule out a no-deal Brexit in a vote Wednesday evening. In his Spring Statement, the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Boeing Co. 737 Max crash in Ethiopia looks increasingly likely to hit the planemaker’s order book as mounting safety concerns prompt airlines to reconsider purchases worth about $57 billion. VietJet Aviation JSC, which doubled its order to 200 of the aircraft priced at about $25 billion only last month, said it will decide on its future plans once the cause of the tragedy has been found, while Kenya Airways Plc is reviewing proposals to…

New York (Capital Markets inAfrica) – Emergency crews scrambled to rescue dozens of children Wednesday morning from the wreckage of a three-story building housing a nursery and primary school that collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria. Hundreds of people were gathered at the site, on Lagos Island, wailing as motionless children were removed from the rubble and spirited by ambulance to a nearby hospital. There were news reports that some people had been killed, but no official…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa)  – Since its founding almost a century ago, South Africa’s central bank has been owned by private shareholders. Now President Cyril Ramaphosais pushing ahead on a plan to nationalize the Reserve Bank in order to address its anomalous ownership structure and assert the nation’s sovereignty. Critics say the move could shake faith in an institution that’s been seen as being above politics and be the first step toward infringing on its…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Boeing Co. staggered into a deepening global crisis as governments around the world grounded the company’s best-selling jet over safety concerns after a second deadly crash. The U.K. blocked flights Tuesday by the 737 Max plane until more information becomes available about why an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft plunged into a hillside near Addis Ababa, killing 157. Germany, France, the Netherlands and Ireland took similar steps. A blanket ban from…

PARIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Past French presidents have arrived in office promising to move France’s African policy beyond its focus on propping up former colonies. Each one has gotten dragged back in. Emmanuel Macron’s three-day trip to Africa this week is meant to boost trade with Ethiopia and Kenya, two countries that were never controlled by France. Still, the trip takes place against a backdrop of deepening French military involvement across West Africa,…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a potentially catastrophic defeat for her Brexit strategy as members of Parliament line up to attack her revised deal, hours before they are due to vote on it. If she loses the critical vote on Tuesday evening by a large margin, the risk is it will spell the end for the agreement May has spent the past two years painstakingly piecing together with the…