The Markets | - Part 149

Lafarge Africa Mulls Raising Additional Cash for Expansion

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Lafarge Africa Plc, which is busy with a share sale to cut its debt levels, will consider raising additional funding for an expansion that could boost cement production by 24 percent. Lowering the debt will enable the Lagos-based company to get cheaper funding for the next stage of expansion, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Bayet said in interview Nov. 30. “If you want to expand or construct a cement plant, it is…

Mystery Shrouds Tether and Its Links to Biggest Bitcoin Exchange

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Among the many mysteries at the heart of the cryptocurrency market are these: Does $814 million of a digital token known as tether really exist? And what is tether’s connection to Bitfinex, the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange? This is the state of crypto in late 2017, where questions about the companies behind the currencies are multiplying with the profits. While cryptocurrencies appeal to people who lack faith in governments and banks, the…

OPEC Crude Output Drops to Six-Month Low on Angola Maintenance

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Crude production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries dropped again in November to a six-month low. Total production fell 80,000 barrels a day to 32.47 million a day last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data. That was the lowest level since May, when output was 32.29 million. Angola led the declines in November, with a drop of 100,000 barrels a day from…

Goldman’s an Oil Bull in 2018 With 9% Total Returns Forecast

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts oil prices will retain their strength, at least through 2018. The bank raised its forecast for U.S. West Texas Intermediate as well as global benchmark Brent crude, saying OPEC and its allies showed a stronger commitment than expected to extending their output curbs at the producer group’s meeting last week. It expects positive total returns of 9 percent from crude over the next 12 months, according to a…

Steinhoff Africa Retail Gains Most Since Listing as Profit Beats

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff Africa Retail Limited rose the most since its September listing after South Africa’s second-biggest retailer reported debut earnings that beat estimates. The stock climbed as much as 6.6 percent and traded 1.1 percent higher at 25.99 rand as of 10:28 a.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 90 billion rand ($6.5 billion). That brings its gain since listing to 27 percent. With more than 4,800 stores in 12 African countries, the…

Bitcoin Job Postings Are Surging on LinkedIn as Price Soars

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin-related job postings as a proportion of total listings on LinkedIn jumped more than nine fold in the financial services industry over the past three years and 4.6 times in the software technology industry, according to data from the career-oriented social network. While the number of listings within financial services is growing faster, the majority of crypto-related jobs — 70 percent — are still tied to software development. And as bitcoin’s…

Bitcoin Heads to Wall Street Whether Regulators Are Ready or Not

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two U.S. exchanges, including the parent of the venerable Chicago Mercantile Exchange, are racing to embrace bitcoin, dragging federal regulators into a realm skeptics call a fad and fraud. The development shows how some big financial players are moving to co-opt the volatile cryptocurrency and lure more mainstream investors into the market, even before regulators have agreed on just what bitcoin is. CME Group Inc.’s contracts will debut Dec. 18. Cboe…

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