The Markets | - Part 154

Rand Bounce Back Seen at Risk on South Africa Political Outlook

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s politics and economic outlook could trip up the gains the rand has managed to make in bouncing back from an expected credit-rating downgrade, analysts say. The rand rallied as much as 3.2 percent on Monday, overturning its losses on Friday when S&P Global Ratings demoted local currency-denominated debt to junk, amid relief that Moody’s Investors Service retained its investment-grade rating. Moody’s has warned it may do the same…

Wild Swings in Iraq Oil Production Give OPEC Another Problem

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – OPEC has an Iraq problem: the group’s second-biggest exporter is lurching between quota busting and production-crimping crisis, clouding the policy-making picture as ministers decide how long they need to extend output curbs. After consistently exceeding its output quota all year, Iraqi production plunged in October when clashes between the federal army and fighters from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region disrupted fields in the disputed Kirkuk province. While the conflict has calmed, exports from…

Bitcoin Falls on $31 Million Hack of Cryptocurrency Peer Tether

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin slipped from a record after the $31 million theft of a cryptocurrency peer renewed concern about the security of digital coins. The company behind tether, a cryptocurrency used by bitcoin exchanges to facilitate trades with fiat currencies, announced the theft on Tuesday. It said in a statement that a “malicious” attacker removed tokens from the Tether Treasury wallet on Nov. 19 and sent them to an unauthorized bitcoin address. The company…

Mugabe’s Woes Wipe Out $6 Billion From Zimbabwe’s Skewed Stocks

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investors dumped Zimbabwean stocks every day since the military seized power on optimism that 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe will be forced to step down. The stocks, which are denominated in U.S. dollars and were used to hedge against rising inflation, fell another 10 percent on Tuesday, bringing the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Industrial Index’s retreat since the army’s takeover on the morning of Nov. 15 to 35 percent. The bourse’s market capitalization has…

Nigeria Sells $3 Billion of Eurobonds in Its Biggest Offer Yet

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria raised $3 billion in a two-part international bond sale as it seeks to fund a fiscal deficit and reduce its local-currency debt burden. The West African nation split the offering equally between 10- and 30-year tranches. The yield was 6.5 percent for the shorter notes and 7.625 percent for the 30-year portion, down 25 basis points on each tranche from the initial guidance. The offering, its biggest Eurobond…

Blockchain Gets a Wall Street Win: `We Know the Thing Works Now’

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The prospect of blockchain technology remaking financial services just moved a step closer to reality after banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. completed a successful six-month test in the $2.8 trillion equity swaps market. The program, managed by blockchain startup Axoni, kept track of the swaps contracts after they were executed, recording things like amendments or termination of the deals, stock splits and dividends, and achieved…

Bitcoin Flirts With Record $8,000 High, Leaving Sell-Off Behind

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin has picked up right where it left off, capping a resurgent week by climbing within a few dollars short of a record $8,000 just days after a plunge of as much as 29 percent from the previous high tested the confidence of advocates of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has gained 17 percent this week, touching a high of $7,997.17 during Asia hours before moving lower in late trading. The rally…

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