The Markets

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Almost a year after MTN Group Limited thought it had been cleared over accusations of illegally taking money out of Nigeria, the issue has resurfaced with a vengeance. Late Wednesday, the country’s central bank ordered Africa’s largest wireless carrier to return $8.1 billion it says was repatriated improperly over eight years through 2015. The decision caught the company and its shareholders off guard and the shares plunged the most in 20…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – It’s been a great month, but things may be about to turn a lot grimmer for South African stocks, if technical signals are any guide. The benchmark is coming off its longest winning streak since October, rising for nine consecutive days through Tuesday. The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index this week revisited levels above 60,000, last seen in February, taking its August advance to 4.5 percent, set for the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rally in emerging markets waned as concern over a confidence crisis in places such as Turkey and Argentina reminded investors of the fragile landscape for the developing world. The lira led global losses as a central bank move on overnight borrowing limits failed to bolster investor sentiment. Argentine bonds slumped as the nation asked the International Monetary Fund to speed up payments, underscoring the need to reassure markets that it has enough…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin advanced for a fourth day, exceeding $7,000 in its longest winning streak in more than a month, and with momentum indicators suggesting the rally has further to run. The biggest cryptocurrency climbed as much as 4.7 percent on Tuesday to $7,035, the highest since Aug. 3, on course for the first close above its 50-day average since July, according to composite weekday prices on Bloomberg. Other cryptocurrencies were swept up…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Futuregrowth Asset Management, South Africa’s biggest specialist fixed-income money manager, said it didn’t tell Transnet SOC Ltd. to remove Chief Executive Officer Siyabonga Gama after the state-owned rail and ports operator said auditors couldn’t give its 2018 financial results a clean bill of health. “The Futuregrowth team has had continuing engagements as a lender to Transnet over many months,” Chief Investment Officer Andrew Canter said in an emailed statement late Monday. “Those discussions…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sterling slumped more than 4 percent in the past three months, spurring a slew of forecast cuts by analysts amid rising risks that the U.K. will tumble out of the European Union without an economic deal. Still, pound bulls are keeping the faith, with Investec Bank Plc estimating that the two sides will reach an agreement by year-end, while ECU Group Plc sees long-term value in the currency. The pound is…