Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Some chief executive officers are so eager for their employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 that they’re granting workers time off or cash incentives to get shots. In the U.S., retailer Lidl is giving its staff $200, while Aldi, Dollar General Corp.and Trader Joe’s Co. are offering extra hours of pay. Online grocery delivery firm Instacart Inc. is providing a $25 stipend for workers and contractors. Yogurt makers Chobani LLC and Danone SA are offering as much as six hours of…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Senate Banking Committee is questioning whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. paid dividends at the expense of lending to businesses and households during the pandemic as lawmakers take a broad look at the support big banks offered clients to get through the economic slump. Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown and fellow Democrat Elizabeth Warren sent Goldman Chief Executive Officer David Solomon a letter late last week, asking how its banking…

LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) — A West African court ordered Cape Verde’s government to free Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman close to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and halt plans to have him extradited to the U.S. The Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice found the authorities on the Atlantic Ocean island nation carried out Saab’s arrest before a so-called Red Notice had been issued by Interpol. “We found his arrest by the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Colombia has already paid a steep price in the pandemic with more than 61,000 deaths from Covid-19. Now the South American nation faces another cost: about $850 million to immunize its population. South Africa, Colombia and other middle-income countries hit hard by Covid have lined up behind richer ones to buy vaccines in hopes of averting more suffering. They’ve pursued cheaper doses from AstraZeneca Plc, as well as far more…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — President Joe Biden got his giant coronavirus stimulus bill. Now, he wants to make sure he gets the credit. The president will hold a ceremony on Friday to sign his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law, kicking off a victory lap that aides and allies describe as a campaign to persuade the nation that he and fellow Democrats are responsible for preventing millions of Americans from enduring poverty…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — MTN Group Ltd. has begun work toward separating its fiber and fintech units as part of plans to unlock value and raise funds to fuel expansion. Africa’s biggest wireless carrier is seeking strategic partners and investors for the businesses, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said in a presentation Wednesday. The company owns 85,000 kilometers (52,817 miles) of fiber across the continent, while fintech products such as mobile-payment services are growing rapidly….

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Senator Elizabeth Warren renewed her attacks on Citadel Securities and Robinhood Markets on Tuesday, accusing the companies at the center of the GameStop Corp. trading saga of profiting at the expense of their customers during periods of extreme market volatility. “When big sharks like Citadel and Robinhood come out ahead no matter what happens, and when the information they gather isn’t disclosed, and when it’s secret how that information…