Features

CFA franc peg to Euro sustainable

Standard Chartered Bank considered that a devaluation of the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc, which are both pegged to the Euro, is not likely in the near term. The CFA franc is the common currency of the West African Economic & Monetary Union and the Central African Economic & Monetary Community. First, it anticipated that the depreciation of the Euro against the US dollar would benefit the CFA franc zones…

Why it’s crucial to know your trading environment

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MARKETS will usually experience three types of market condition: downtrend, uptrend or ranging. Knowing which trading environment you are in can save you money and time. This is because the technical analysis tools and systems investors use will act differently depending on the market environment. Working with breakouts, in strong trending markets a sloppy entry might work, as the trend will eventually lift price beyond your entry. Using the same technique in a flat market,…

Africa’s Oil & Gas Explorers Must Rethink Capex on Exploration

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, February 17, 2015/ — Oil & gas explorers must rethink their capital expenditure on exploration activity across the African continent in the wake of the significant drop in the global oil price, according to an analysis on the oil & gas industry in Africa released by PwC . “Oil & gas explorers will be relooking at their budgets and deciding where to allocate their limited capital spend given the substantial decline in the…

How to choose the market that matches your convictions

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MOST people have a fairly good idea of what is driving the financial markets. But much of the time, only a few are any good at choosing the right market to express their views of what’s going on. A good example of this is the overly bearish view of the Eurozone throughout 2013 by professional forecasters. While many were anticipating euro weakness, it took until the first quarter of 2014 before we saw a major…

This week on the frontiers: Nigeria grabs fund managers’ attention

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Within the past week, Nigeria postponed its presidential election, begged for more international help in fighting Boko Haram, saw its currency plumb a new record low, and joined a list of countries that ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is poised to downgrade. The impact on investors? They’re starting to like what they see. Michael Levy, manager of Barings’ $50m frontier markets fund, says the country’s market is starting to be “extremely cheaply valued”. In an…

Runa Alam Considers Why Africa’s Opportunities Far Outweigh Its Risks

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Runa Alam is something of a private equity pioneer. Alam co-founded Development Partners International, which she calls the first pan-African firm, in 2007. London-based DPI’s clients now include the $9.3 billion Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System and International Finance Corp., the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group. In a region where private equity general partners complain about a paucity of exit opportunities, DPI has managed eight initial public offerings and six corporate…

Egypt: Steadfast Reforms Key for Economic Stability, Jobs, Growth

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Following four years of political uncertainty and economic slowdown, Egypt has chosen a path of adjustment and reform which, if followed resolutely, will lead to economic stability and growth, the IMF said in its first comprehensive assessment of the North African nation’s economy since 2010. Speaking to the IMF Survey, IMF Mission Chief for Egypt, Christopher Jarvis, noted that Egypt faces a challenge. On the one hand, it needs to put its fiscal and external accounts…

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