Finance

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in  Africa): The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a key ruling party ally, is pushing senior members of government to consider its proposals to rescue the state’s indebted power utility before next month’s budget. In addition to suggestions it made in a November document that civil servants’ pensions and a state-run unemployment fund be used to cut Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt by more than half to 200 billion rands ($14…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in  Africa): American authorities have agreed to repatriate $321 million of funds taken out of the country by late military dictator Sani Abacha, according to Nigerian Justice Minister Abubakar Malami. The sum will be sent from the Island of Jersey in the U.S. within the next three months and used to fund ongoing construction projects, including two major highways connecting the commercial heartbeat of Lagos to Ibadan in the country’s southwest, and the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in  Africa): Nigeria’s biggest city has partially banned the use of motorcycle taxis following an escalating number of fatal accidents, dealing a blow to Softbank Group Corp.-backed OPay and a potential boost to Uber Technologies Inc. The Lagos State Government cracked down on the popular way to dodge traffic congestion in the commercial capital of Africa’s most populous country, calling the bikes and their three-wheel equivalents a “menace” that is responsible for “scary figures”…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – One way the rich get richer is through inheritance, and they’re barely paying taxes on it. Americans are projected to inherit $764 billion this year and will pay an average tax of just 2.1% on that income, New York University law professor Lily Batchelder estimates in a paper published Tuesday by the Brookings Institution. By contrast, the estimated tax on work and savings is 15.8%, more than seven times higher. Many higher-income…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith, nearing the end of a legendary career, says he’s going to prove himself right one more time. Best known for disrupting the parcel delivery business by introducing overnight service, Smith is now getting disrupted by e-commerce and the rise of online shopping. He’s taking a pounding from Wall Street for FedEx’s disappointing performance, while analysts praise archrival United Parcel Service Inc. for reversing a…

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Republic of Congo’s public debt may exceed $12.5 billion, more than a third higher than previous International Monetary Fund estimates, corruption watchdog Global Witness said. The debt could further complicate Congo’s three-year, $449 million loan program it began with the IMF in July. The Washington-based lender has already postponed its first review of the program while Congo restructures external commercial debt, an IMF spokesman said by email Friday…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. business is lobbying for a say in shaping Britain’s post-Brexit immigration system as the government draws up plans for tighter controls on migration that could threaten the supply of foreign workers. In an open letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel, the country’s five largest business organizations and about 30 trade associations said the new regime needs to provide access to required skills and labor, while also curbing the inward…