Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prince Andrew’s attempt to explain away his friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein in a high-profile TV interview degenerated into a farce that threatens to be the British royal family’s biggest public relations disaster since its handling of the death of Princess Diana in 1997. #PrinceAndrew trended high on Twitter as Saturday’s hour-long interview with the BBC began airing on prime-time British TV. Interviewed by Newsnight host Emily Maitlis…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The bonhomie between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is nearing a key deadline showing new signs of strain. Trump urged Kim over the weekend to “act quickly” to get a nuclear deal done, suggesting the two leaders could meet again “soon.” His comments came hours after North Korea ruled out nuclear talks without a policy change by the U.S. and reported on a…

The gaming industry is booming. Industry reports reveal that revenue from worldwide gaming reached $135 billion (₦48.7 trillion) in 2018. That number is 10.9% higher compared to 2017, and it speaks to how much the industry is thriving. All three major sectors, in fact, saw marked improvements: mobile revenue rose by 12.8% to $63.2 billion (₦22.8 trillion); PC, by 3.2% to $33.4 billion (₦12 trillion); and the console sector by 15.2% to $38.3 billion (₦14…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambicans voted Tuesday in elections that have the highest stakes in the southeast African nation’s history, after a campaign marked by violence, insurgent attacks and the fallout from a debt scandal. The winner will oversee more than $50 billion of investments in gas projects planned by companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA, and need to tackle an Islamic State-linked insurgency that threatens to disrupt them. The vote’s…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – As hundreds of pensioners line up outside a bank in central Harare in the hope of collecting their pensions, military veteran Elias Nyabunzi has a sense that he has seen this all before. If there is cash available, he will collect the equivalent of just $26, down from the $400 he was getting a few months back. A decade ago when he went to collect the lump sum he…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Community groups are working to convince Latinos that answering the decennial survey isn’t just important, it’s essential. Lizette Escobedo, director of the census program for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (Naleo) Educational Fund, oversees staff in six states. She runs a bilingual hotline. She produces brochures upon brochure. But overshadowing all her efforts is the reality that thousands of people are frightened just to answer…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The financial industry is prepared for Brexit, regardless of the state of political talks, with hundreds of banks and money managers primed to move thousands of employees to their European Union bases to weather the fallout, according to a new study. New Financial, a London group that analyzes the sector, said in a report on Wednesday that it has identified 332 firms that have relocated part of their business,…