The Markets | - Part 160

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…

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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…

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

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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…

Tullow Rises After Boosting Output Forecast on Africa Fields

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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…

Ethereum Creator Wonders Whether His Currency Should Be Scarcer

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Vitalik Buterin, the inventor of the ethereum blockchain, may have created too much of a good thing. The 23-year-old helped sell one of the first digital currencies in 2014 when he introduced ether to the public. Three years later he’s witnessed scads of other digital currencies raise more than $3 billion in 2017 via so-called initial coin offerings. The sheer number of coins now being created has made him ponder…

Iron Ore Imports Collapse as China’s Great Cleanup Kicks In

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Iron ore imports by China slumped last month to the lowest in more than a year, sinking from a record of above 100 million tons, as mills prepared for unprecedented state-ordered curbs on steel output over winter. Purchases dropped to 79.49 million tons in October, according to customs data on Wednesday. That’s down from September’s 102.8 million tons, and is the lowest amount since February 2016. Over the first 10 months,…

South Africa Stocks Regulator May Seek Foreign Help in Gupta Probe

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s stock-market regulator said it has started a formal investigation into trades in Oakbay Resources and Energy Limited, a company controlled by the politically connected Gupta family, and may seek assistance from international supervisory bodies. A preliminary probe into the November 2014 dealings has been completed, and if needed, the Financial Services Board will contact counterparts in other countries, the Pretoria-based authority said in an emailed response to questions…

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