Want to Know What Investors See for the Rand? Follow This Stock

Want to Know What Investors See for the Rand? Follow This Stock

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – If you want to know what investors are thinking about prospects for South Africa’s rand as the ruling African National Congress’ leadership battle unfolds, look no further than Cie Financiere Richemont SA’s Johannesburg share price. The company has the highest correlation to movements in the rand among stocks in the FTSE/JSE Africa Top 40 Index of South Africa’s biggest listed companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The correlation this month rose…

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Bitcoin Is No Bubble, Says Investor With $213 Million Stake

Bitcoin Is No Bubble, Says Investor With $213 Million Stake

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tim Draper was walking through a pavilion at a tech conference in Lisbon on Tuesday when he was cornered by an entrepreneur touting a new digital currency. No sooner had the venture capitalist heard the pitch than he was approached by another guy hawking his own initial coin offering. Another followed, then another. It’s no mystery why cryptocurrency peddlers flocked to Draper. As founder of the Silicon Valley VC firm…

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MTN Extends Gains After Nigeria Funds-Transfer Case Is Dropped

MTN Extends Gains After Nigeria Funds-Transfer Case Is Dropped

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. extended gains after Nigerian lawmakers ruled that allegations of illegal repatriation of almost $14 billion were unfounded and the wireless company hadn’t violated the law. There were no “proofs of collusion to contravene the foreign exchange laws,” a Senate investigative committee said in its report released on Wednesday in the capital, Abuja. “There was evidence of massive capital outflow but that alone is not conclusive that a…

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Bitcoin’s Exorbitant Energy Costs May Prove to Be Biggest Risk

Bitcoin’s Exorbitant Energy Costs May Prove to Be Biggest Risk

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – It may not matter whether bitcoin’s a bubble. The staggering energy costs associated with “mining” the digital currency could prove to be its downfall. Even as bitcoin flirts with $8,000, the price required for mining to be marginally profitable stands at a jaw-dropping $300,000 to $1.5 million by 2022 based on current growth trends and energy use, according to Christopher Chapman, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., with implied consumption matching…

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Bitcoin’s Spike Toward $8,000 Fades as Free-Money Trades Unwind

Bitcoin’s Spike Toward $8,000 Fades as Free-Money Trades Unwind

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Turns out not everyone is happy with the detente in bitcoin’s civil war. While the cryptocurrency soared to a record $7,882 within minutes of news that it would avoid another split on Wednesday, the gains quickly evaporated. Bitcoin is now trading about 3 percent below where it was before a faction of the community scrapped plans for a so-called hard fork. Some speculators are disappointed they won’t get the additional coins that…

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KCB of Kenya Nine-Month Profit Growth Slows as Loan Income Falls

KCB of Kenya Nine-Month Profit Growth Slows as Loan Income Falls

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – KCB Group Ltd., Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, posted slower growth in profit in the first nine months of the year as income from loans dropped. Profit grew to 15.1 billion shillings ($145.7 million) from a restated 14.4 billion shillings a year earlier, as earnings from loans decreased 1 percent to 35.7 billion shillings, the Nairobi-based bank said in an emailed statement. Non-interest income climbed by almost a fifth to…

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Tullow Rises After Boosting Output Forecast on Africa Fields

Tullow Rises After Boosting Output Forecast on Africa Fields

ACCRA (Capital markets in Africa) Tullow Oil Plc jumped to a five-month high in London trading after raising its oil-production forecast for the year. The company expects net production of 85,000 to 89,000 barrels a day from its West African operations, up from 78,000 to 85,000 barrels a day, according to a statement. Performance from the Jubilee and Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme fields off Ghana has been “strong,” it said. It raised its free-cash-flow estimate to about…

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