The Markets

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Egyptian Exchange EGX 30 Price Index rose 1.7 percent to 14,972.94. The move was the biggest since rising 2.2 percent on Nov. 28 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.6 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Europe, Middle East and Africa Index advanced 1.2 percent. Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE contributed the most to the advance, rising 1.8 percent. Abou Kir Fertilizers & Chemical Industries increased 4.9 percent, the biggest gain. Telecom…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may never stabilize, and digital tokens risk simply ending up being the equivalent of Ponzi schemes. Using mathematical modelling and experimental economics, two University of Pittsburgh researchers tried to determine Bitcoin’s value, and concluded that it’s “an asset which has no value by traditional measures” and may be in a bubble. Its price is largely driven by the opinion of fringe buyers, often holding erroneous…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The global iron ore industry got off to a very strong start in 2018 with record exports from key shippers just as Barclays Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. duel about whether high prices will last amid a debate about prospects for demand in China and rising mine supply. Exports from Australia’s Port Hedland were 41.1 million metric tons in January, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority. That’s a record for the…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – If money talks, the relationship between Egyptians and their cigarettes won’t be changing any time soon. Shares of Cairo-based Eastern Tobacco, which holds a monopoly on cigarette production in Egypt, have hit successive record highs, in both dollar and local-currency terms, after the company posted an increase of almost 161 percent in first-half profit. Eastern Tobacco has been on a upward trend since Egypt let its currency float freely…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin miners face a reckoning as the cryptocurrency’s tumble wipes out profits for all but the industry’s most efficient operators, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Only miners with access to “very cheap” electricity of about 6 cents per kilowatt hour or less can stay profitable after Bitcoin slumped to $6,000 on Tuesday, said Sophie Lu, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Beijing. If Bitcoin stays this low…