Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Here’s something European officials are loath to admit in public: They would quite like Boris Johnson to triumph in U.K. elections. Despite personal and political differences and a lingering lack of trust, those close to EU chiefs privately acknowledge that a strong Johnson victory on Dec. 12 will mean the U.K.’s long-drawn-out departure from the European Union will finally happen, according to more than half a dozen EU officials speaking on condition of…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – He was Tony Blair’s ultra-loyal spin doctor in the era of New Labour. But in this week’s U.K. election, Alistair Campbell is calling on voters to back the rival Liberal Democrats — all because of Brexit. “Voting Labour will just help the Tories,” Campbell wrote in a leaflet to electors in the district of Wokingham, a small town 40 miles west of London where Labour and the Liberal Democrats are vying to…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lead in Britain’s general election was slashed by more than half in a hotly anticipated opinion poll released two days before the vote. The pound fell as much 0.4% on the news. The Tories will win 339 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Labour 231, the Scottish National Party 41, and the Liberal Democrats 15, according to a YouGov forecast on Tuesday. If the research…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Boris Johnson’s Conservatives will paint their party as one of law and order on Monday, while London reels from a terror attack and prepares to welcome Donald Trump this week for a NATO summit. Both the president’s visit and the deadly assault threaten to derail campaigning and crimp the Tories’ lead over Labour, less than two weeks before the U.K. votes in the general election. When Trump lands in London on…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said he’ll seek a third term in next year’s presidential election if “certain people from his own generation” decide to run.   “I want my generation to understand our time is up, and we should all step aside. But if they decide to run, I’ll run too,” Ouattara told a rally in the northern city of Katiola Saturday. The world’s top cocoa producer is…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – North Korea appears to have fired off two missiles on Thursday in a move that comes as it has threatened to break off sputtering nuclear talks unless President Donald Trump offers up concessions by year-end. Two unidentified projectiles were fired at 4:59 p.m. local time from North Korea’s east coast into waters between it and Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that it was monitoring…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Donald Trump signed legislation expressing U.S. support for Hong Kong protesters, prompting China to threaten retaliation just as the two nations get close to signing a phase one trade deal. China summoned U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad, with Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng telling him to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs. He warned that such actions would strain ties and risk affecting “cooperation in important areas,” according to a foreign…