South Sudan Rebel Attacks Kill 34 People Since Beginning of Year

South Sudan Rebel Attacks Kill 34 People Since Beginning of Year

South Sudan (Capital Markets in Africa)  – Attacks by rebel groups in South Sudan killed 34 people in the first three days of this year even as warring parties agreed in December to cease hostilities, according to a military official. Three attacks in the south of the country by rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar and the army’s ex-deputy chief of staff, Thomas Cirillo Swaka, left six assailants dead Wednesday while an ambush on traveling…

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Bitcoin Loses Dazzle as Second-Tier Crypto Coins Catch Up

Bitcoin Loses Dazzle as Second-Tier Crypto Coins Catch Up

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin alternatives are closing the gap with the market leader after names like stellar and cardano became red hot as 2017 was closing. The biggest cryptocurrency’s share of market value has fallen to a record 36 percent from 56 percent a month ago, according to CoinMarketCap prices for coins and tokens. Stellar, designed for cross-border payments, has more than doubled in the first trading days of this year, achieving…

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Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency

Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin is losing its luster with some of its earliest and most avid fans — criminals — giving rise to a new breed of virtual currency. Privacy coins such as monero, designed to avoid tracking, have climbed faster over the past two months as law enforcers adopt software tools to monitor people using bitcoin. A slew of analytic firms such as Chainalysis are getting better at flagging digital hoards linked…

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African Roses Are U.S.-Bound as Ethiopian Growers Go Global

African Roses Are U.S.-Bound as Ethiopian Growers Go Global

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia’s burgeoning flower-growing industry is setting its sights on the U.S. in a bid to break the dominance of Latin American producers in supplying roses and other blooms to the world’s largest economy. State-owned Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise is evaluating freighter flights through Miami — the main entry point for U.S. flower imports — Los Angeles or New York, regional manager Girum Abebe said in an interview. The company currently transports…

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Steinhoff Losing Credit Lines as Accounting Scandal Deepens

Steinhoff Losing Credit Lines as Accounting Scandal Deepens

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Embattled retailer Steinhoff International Holdings NV said lenders are starting to cut off support after an accounting scandal swept out its leaders and destroyed most of its value in a matter of days. The owner of Conforama in France, Mattress Firm in the U.S. and Poundland in the U.K. isn’t yet able to assess the magnitude of financial irregularities disclosed two weeks ago, it said in a presentation to lenders in London on…

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Glencore Will Double Dividend, Restart Zinc as Metals Rally

Glencore Will Double Dividend, Restart Zinc as Metals Rally

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc promised to double its dividend, restart some zinc production and boost spending as the world’s largest commodity trader reaps rewards from soaring metals prices. The slate of news from Glencore’s investor presentation on Tuesday shows the mining company is firing on all cylinders, with profitable zinc, cobalt and copper mines around the world. The growth has been aided by a powerful trading business that’s on track for its second-best…

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Angola Too Small for Four Phone Operators, Dos Santos Says

Angola Too Small for Four Phone Operators, Dos Santos Says

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s plan to allow a fourth telecommunications company to enter the market will make life tougher for existing operators and probably lead to consolidation, according to Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman and a shareholder of local wireless carrier Unitel SA. “Four licences in a 24-million-people market is a non-sustainable scenario,” Dos Santos, the former Angolan president’s oldest daughter, said in an interview during a conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm…

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