Features

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Donald Trump pushed the Federal Reserve to “match” what he said China would do to offset economic hardship being caused by tariffs as he sought to draft the U.S. central bank into his simmering trade war. “China will be pumping money into their system and probably reducing interest rates, as always, in order to make up for the business they are, and will be, losing,” the president said in…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Swedish prosecutors will reopen a probe into rape allegations against Julian Assange, potentially derailing U.S. attempts to extradite the WikiLeaks founder for hacking military computers and distributing secrets. Authorities want to question Assange over nine-year-old accusations that were shelved when he skipped bail and sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Sweden’s interest opens a legal dilemma for Britain, which is also considering his extradition to the U.S. “There…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – In the financial capital of South Africa, an informal army of collectors find their best chance of income curbside in wealthy suburbs. Luyanda Hlatshwayo wakes up at 4 a.m. in the abandoned inner-city school building with shattered windows he calls home. He stuffs a pair of worker’s gloves in his pocket and rides a warehouse trolley like a giant skateboard to a suburb of South Africa’s economic metropolis, Johannesburg:…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) –  On May 6, Kenyan authorities arrested and then released Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan photographer and political activist, on suspicion of fomenting a “revolution” against the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The previous week, news reports said Mwangi participated in the “Beyond Zero Corruption” campaign in Nairobi (also dubbed the Red Vest Movement) — an initiative highlighting the poor state of Kenya’s economy, rampant corruption and entrenched impunity in the…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nearly a year after the U.K. Attorney General sought external legal advice on the country’s most sensitive bribery case, the logjam surrounding the saga appears no closer to easing. More than 14 months ago, the Serious Fraud Office, the U.K.’s top white collar crime prosecutor, asked the Attorney General to approve charges against former employees of a unit of Airbus SE. It alleged that the Riyadh-based subsidiary, GPT Special Project Management,…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Some of West Africa’s biggest economies are increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Islamist militants, whose influence is spreading to the inland borders of coastal nations. Heavyweights Ghana and Ivory Coast as well as smaller neighbors Benin and Togo are strengthening security along their boundaries with Burkina Faso, which has seen a surge of attacks by al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked insurgents this year. The raids have spread so fast that…

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angolan President Joao Lourenco fired Sonangol EP Chairman Carlos Saturnino as he revamps the company amid persistent fuel shortages in the southern African nation. The presidency appointed Gaspar Martins to lead the state-owned company with a new board after incumbent members were dismissed, according to a statement late Wednesday. Lourenco met with oil industry officials on Tuesday, vowing to end shortages at gas stations across the country that imports almost all of its fuel. Lourenco…