Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The threat of a no-deal Brexit is back, and companies on both sides of the English Channel are gearing up once again for the scenario they consider the worst case. Boris Johnson, the U.K.’s new prime minister, has vowed to lead the country out of the European Union on Oct. 31, whether or not he secures a deal to smooth the process of untangling more than 40 years of integration. What…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Old Mutual Ltd., fresh from an embarrassing court ruling that reinstated its fired chief executive officer, is facing another battle over whether Peter Moyo can start working again. The insurer said late Tuesday it will appeal the Johannesburg High Court judgment and that Moyo is therefore not “required or permitted to resume his duties.” Moyo arrived at the company’s headquarters on Wednesday, and will meet with Old Mutual and his legal team later…

LONDON (Capiatla Markets in Africa) – Top officials in Britain’s main opposition Labour Party are preparing a dramatic policy to campaign to reverse the 2016 Brexit vote and keep the U.K. inside the European Union, if a snap election is held in the months ahead. Labour’s manifesto for an election is being drafted already and is likely to promise another referendum on EU membership with the party campaigning for remain, people familiar with the matter…

LONDON (Capiatla Markets in Africa) – The scale of the challenge facing Boris Johnson to break Britain’s political deadlock was laid bare in his first days as prime minister, as the European Union immediately rejected his demands for a better Brexit deal. Johnson told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that the U.K.’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU would have to change for it to pass Parliament, according to his office’s account of the phone conversation between the two Thursday. Juncker said…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a little-known minister as acting head of the Treasury a day after finance minister Henry Rotich was charged with corruption. Ukur Yatani Kanacho, a former governor of the northern county of Marsabit, will also retain his role as the labor and protection minister, a position he’s held since February 2018. Kenyatta also appointed Julius Monzi Muia as principal secretary at the Treasury. He previously held a…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dominic Cummings, the director of the 2016 campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, is one of the most acerbic and divisive figures in British politics. His appointment as one of Boris Johnson’s senior advisers could signal a radical shake-up in Westminster. Cummings was made famous outside political circles earlier this year when he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in a TV drama about the referendum campaign. It captured his…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A proposal by the biggest owner of Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt to convert its $6.4 billion holding into equity has become a rescue option as South Africa seeks to restructure the troubled power utility. In return, the Public Investment Corp., which manages about $150 billion and is responsible for the pensions of more than 1 million state workers, wants a say over Eskom’s messy finances, including board representation, said…