Features

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Republic of Congo and commodities-trading house Trafigura Group agreed to reorganize several hundred millions of dollars in oil-for-cash loans that the African nation struggled with after crude prices fell, according to people familiar with the talks. The restructuring, which also involves several banks that supported the Trafigura deal, is key for Congo as it will help to unlock financial support from the International Monetary Fund. Congo owes creditors more than…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The idea that China would dump its $1.1 trillion of Treasuries to retaliate against U.S. tariffs is often dismissed as improbable. It’s seen as a nuclear option that would inflict more harm on China’s economy than America’s. Yet the tensions rippling through global financial markets could still lead Beijing to reduce its stockpile in the $15.9 trillion Treasuries market — not to retaliate, but to defend its currency if it goes into a…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Microsoft Corp.  plans to spend more than $100 million over five years to open its first development centers in Africa to work with local partners and governments, as well as hire engineering talent. Initial sites will be in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. The software giant plans to hire 100 full-time developers at the two sites by the end of this year and expand to 500 by the…

LAGOS (Capital Martkets in Africa) – At least six people were killed when militiamen attacked a long-running sit-in outside Sudanese army headquarters, throwing into doubt a fresh deal between the opposition and ruling military on how to divide power in the aftermath of President Omar al-Bashir’s ouster. Gunfire rocked the protest site overnight in Khartoum, with the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reporting the death toll and use of live ammunition. The worst sustained violence in…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prime Minister Theresa May will meet with her cabinet Tuesday as she comes under increasing pressure to pull out of Brexit talks with the opposition Labour Party and set a date for her departure. The latest in a series of cross-party meetings aimed at ending the parliamentary deadlock over leaving the European Union broke up without substantive progress Monday evening, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Monday night’s meeting “took stock…

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…