The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – If the world’s biggest crude exporter says it’s going to ramp up production, prices usually drop. But as Saudi Arabia adds barrels before its customers get burned, prices have jumped. And Donald Trump isn’t happy. The U.S. president tweeted on Saturday that the Saudi king had agreed to raise production to cut the cost of oil for consumers. While the White House later back pedaled from his assertion, Trump on Sunday…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s Finance Ministry is considering offering debt through a private placement. The Treasury invited fund managers and insurers to a July 6 meeting for a “market-sounding exercise,” according to a June 29 letter signed by Daniel Ndolo, director of debt policy strategy and risk management. Participants will “discuss and agree on the schedule of activities towards the issuance” of bonds by private placement along with pricing methodology, according to…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Old Mutual Ltd. plans to grow its existing insurance, asset-management and lending business in Africa, spurning the acquisitive approach taken by its parent. “We’re definitely not shopping,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Moyo said in an interview. “Don’t expect any acquisitions from us.” The 173-year-old insurer is refocusing its efforts on Africa after being spun out of Old Mutual Plc and listing its shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Its London-based…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s prodigal insurer returned home to a lukewarm welcome on Tuesday. Old Mutual Ltd. started trading its stock in Johannesburg at 28.50 rand before swinging between 28.20 rand and 29.39 rand. The listing — done in conjunction with others in Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe — brings an end to a global acquisition spree that took its former parent Old Mutual Plc from its Cape Town roots to London, New…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Stocks in emerging markets sank to a 10-month low and most currencies retreated as heightened anxiety over a global trade war spurred demand for haven assets. A measure of equity volatility in developing nations surged 13 percent, while technology and consumer stocks led losses in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Seventeen out of 24 currencies tracked by Bloomberg fell, led by South Africa’s rand. The gains in Turkey’s lira that followed Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s…