The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — For a glimpse of how quickly and unevenly economies are recovering from the pandemic, look no further than the market for shippingraw materials. Rising demand for everything from soybeans to steel has sent the cost of hauling dry goods soaring more than 50% this year. Manufacturing, which first picked up in China, is now accelerating elsewhere, and countries are stepping up commodity purchases to rebuild stockpiles after running them…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — In the gig economy, who’s the boss? Gig work refers to jobs done by workers who aren’t employees, at least according to the companies they work for. The term is most often used to describe people deployed for piecemeal tasks through smartphone apps created by tech startups, such as Uber Technologies Inc.’s ride-hail and delivery drivers. Such arrangements are a linchpin of the field that used to be called…

ICE Brent crude oil front-month prices averaged $65.7 per barrel (p/b) in March 2021, constituting an increase of 5.5% from $62.3 p/b in February 2021 and a rise of 95% from $33.7 p/b in March 2020. The recovery in oil prices was mainly due to improving demand prospects amid the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine world-wide, as well as to supply discipline from the recurrent OPEC and non-OPEC output cuts, and to lower oil production…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): The adage that money flows to where it’s treated best describes what we see as firming underpinnings for the price of Bitcoin. It’s not necessarily bearish for gold, which is backing into layers of support below $1,700 an ounce, but most indicators show a shifting global tide that favors the nascent digital currency as a reserve asset.  1. Digital vs. Analog: Bitcoin’s Upper Hand Bitcoin’s relationship to gold is similar…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian stocks look unlikely to shake off their poor start to 2021 anytime soon, with an investor preference for returns available in the local debt market set to persist, according to analysts and investors. The benchmark Nigeria Stock Exchange All Share Index slipped 3% in the first quarter and the conclusion of a positive annual reporting season leaves few incentives to tempt investors to bet on slightly higher returns…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) — A deadly raid by insurgents that stopped work at a gas project that Mozambique depends on for an economic revival has done little to derail a world-beating rally in the country’s currency. The metical has appreciated 14% against the dollar since the beginning of February, making it the world’s best performing currency in the period. And its stellar run isn’t over yet, according to Rand Merchant Bank’s Johannesburg-based analysts Neville Mandimika and Daniel Kavishe….

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is close to offering investment vehicles for Bitcoin and other digital assets to clients of its private wealth management unit. ″We are working closely with teams across the firm to explore ways to offer thoughtful and appropriate access to the ecosystem for private wealth clients, and that is something we expect to offer in the near-term,” Mary Rich, who was recently named global head of digital…