The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Crude in London surged toward $85 a barrel as the global power crunch boosts demand for oil ahead of winter.  Brent futures rose as much as 2.7% to the highest level since October 2018. Prices of coal and natural gas have surged in Europe and Asia with stockpiles running low before the Northern Hemisphere winter, prompting some switching to oil products such as diesel and fuel oil. It is quickly tightening the market…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin jumped, rising in a matter of minutes to its biggest daily gain since July, and other digital currencies surged in a shock rally that followed the largest monthly decline since May. The largest cryptocurrency gained as much as 10% to $47,884 early in New York trading before paring gains. Ethereum, Litecoin and EOS also jumped, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index rising as much as 8.9%. Bitcoin had slumped 7.6%…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian Exchange Group will review membership rules to lure tech unicorns and other companies to list on Africa’s second-biggest stock exchange, where there’s been a lull in new offerings. The Lagos-based bourse plans to ease requirements such as track record of profitability and the quarterly filing of financial statements, Olumide Bolumole, the divisional head of listings at NGX, said at a virtual conference on Thursday. “If you are looking…

LAGOS (Capital Matkets in Africa) – A strengthening dollar is reducing the appeal of emerging-market carry trades, which handed investors their biggest monthly loss in 18 months. An index that measures returns from borrowing in dollars and investing the funds in eight high-yielding currencies, such as the Turkish lira, Brazilian real and Indonesian rupiah, lost 3.3% in September, the most since March 2020. The Bloomberg Cumulative FX Carry Trade Index is now down 1.2% this year. The…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African stocks are feeling the pain coming from China. The country’s benchmark equity index has posted its worst quarter since the first three months of 2020 amid concern about an energy crunch weighing on China’s economic growth and Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on key sectors including technology. China is the biggest buyer of South African raw materials. With the 18-month rally in industrial metals on shaky ground, and the Federal Reserve…

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The yield on Ethiopia’s $1 billion of Eurobonds surged after the government’s expulsion of seven senior United Nations officials drew criticism from the UN chief and a fresh threat of U.S. sanctions. The rate on the debt jumped 24 basis points to a record high of 12.1% by 11:17 a.m. in London. The yield has almost doubled since a conflict erupted in the country’s northern Tigray region in…