The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin rallied early Monday after falling over the weekend, ahead of an anticipated U.S. exchange-traded fund approval. The largest cryptocurrency gained as much as 5.5% and was trading at about $61,975 as of 10:21 a.m. in London. It fell both Saturday and Sunday to nearly $59,000. Bitcoin is in focus as the first futures ETF tied to the token may debut Monday, according to a filing. Major levels being watched include…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s president on Saturday said a revamp of the nation’s bloated and costly subsidy system was necessary, amid a broader push by the government to ensure that such aid reaches the neediest segment of the population. Speaking at the inauguration of a state housing project, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisisaid that the lack of sufficient digitization of data in Egypt has, over the years, opened the door to a misallocation of state resources….

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…