The Markets | - Part 162

Bankers Go on a Day Trip to Blockchain’s Magical World

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Blockchain experiments are everywhere in finance these days. Actual blockchain applications that are big enough to have any lasting impact on banking, not so much. Those offenders who talk a lot without doing anything of substance have even been given a name in crypto world. “Too many people are using [blockchain] as a buzzword and are not focused on solving a real problem,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote recently. “We like…

German Investor Optimism Gains as Economy and Stocks Power Ahead

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – German investor confidence rose for a second month as stocks rallied and data signalled that Europe’s largest economy is on track for a solid expansion in the second half of the year. The ZEW Centre for European Economic Research’s index of investor expectations climbed to 17.6 in October from 17 in September. The reading compares with a median estimate in a Bloomberg survey for an increase to 20.0. After a…

Hedge Fund That Loves Bitcoin Unfazed by Surge Toward $6,000

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin-focused hedge fund BitSpread Limited isn’t interested in the price of the cryptocurrency, even as it soared close to the $6,000 mark this week. Instead, the firm is looking at something else: the price disparity between the exchanges that sell bitcoin. “We’re not interested in the price of bitcoin — high or low,” said Cedric Jeanson, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. trader who started Bit Spread, which manages more than $25…

Blythe Masters’s Blockchain Firm Raises Money, Hires Executive

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Blythe Masters’s blockchain software firm Digital Asset Holdings LLC raised another $40 million and hired a technology executive who previously worked for software giant Microsoft Corp. and quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma Investments. The company, where former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Masters is chief executive officer, is one of several trying to reshape finance by leveraging the blockchain ledger technology that underpins bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. DAH’s clients include the…

Busy IPO Season Beckons for Cairo as Reforms Yield Results

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s stock market is shaping up to be the Middle East’s hot spot for initial public offerings next year. At least six companies plan IPOs by the end of 2018, following two sales since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s a marked increase on the average of three in the past three years as foreign investors fretted that a severe dollar shortage would trap their money. Between…

London’s Stock of Unsold Homes Under Construction at Record High

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The stockpile of unsold London homes under construction rose to a record as developers ramped up supply, despite a housing market that has been suppressed by higher taxes and economic uncertainty. The number of properties being built or completed that have yet to find a buyer rose to 12,952 units from 12,601 at the end of last year, according to a report by Molior London seen by Bloomberg News. That’s the…

Egypt’s EGX 30 Falls Most in Five Months; CIB and AMOC Pressure

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s main stock benchmark falls 2.6% to 13,546.24 as of 2:09pm in Cairo, the most since April 23 and the lowest level in a month. Index is pressured by Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) and Alexandria Mineral Oils (AMOC). Commercial International Bank Egypt down 2.3% to 76.17 Egyptian pounds Biggest contributor to index decline; down to the lowest level since May NOTE: Bank is the biggest singular weight to the EGX 30 (35.2%) Overal, Egyptian…

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