The Markets

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ethiopia’s Eurobonds slumped, sending yields to their highest levels in more than eight months after Fitch Ratings said the nation’s decision to seek debt relief raised the risk of default. The yield on $1 billion of notes due in December 2024 jumped 68 basis points to 9.16% by the close in London on Tuesday. Fitch downgraded the Horn of Africa nation’s long-term foreign currency debt rating by one…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Hedge funds VR Capital Group Ltd. and Farallon Capital Partners LP have filed lawsuits against both Credit Suisse Group AG and the government of Mozambique over a $2 billion debt scandal. VR Capital, which is led by Richard Deitz, and Farallon are suing the investment bank in London over its involvement in arranging loans for a series of unsuccessful maritime projects in the southern African country, according to a legal…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — GameStop Corp.’s rally fizzled further in premarket trading, meaning the stock has now given up about 70% of the spectacular gains that were fueled by last month’s attack on short-sellers from Reddit day traders. The stock traded at $134 as of 8:30 a.m. in New York, that’s about $349 below Thursday’s record intraday peak of $483. The video-game retailer’s market value has dwindled by $24.3 billion to $9.4…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — The wild run-up of trades popular with Reddit crowds is starting to come crashing down. GameStop Corp. sank 44% in U.S. pre-market trading, extending a 31% plunge on Monday. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. slid 32% and Express Inc. lost 22%. Silver tumbled more than 5% after surging to an eight-year high. The speculative activity hatched online has captivated global markets, drawing attention from U.S. politicians and overwhelming brokerages around…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) — Argentina, Mozambique, Barbados and the Republic of Congo have two things in common: They’ve all restructured their debt, and they’ve all tangled with Greylock Capital Management. Now Greylock, one of the best-known hedge funds in emerging markets investing, finds itself at a similar crossroads. Some 25 years after its founding, the firm — its assets headed to a mere $350 million or so by the end of March —…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Silver broke above $30 an ounce as the precious metal took center stage in the retail investor frenzy sweeping through markets. Most-active futures jumped as much as 13% to $30.35 an ounce on the Comex, the highest in eight years. That followed a weekend buying binge that overwhelmed online sellers of silver coins and bars from the U.S. to Australia. BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Silver Trust, the largest exchange-traded product tracking the metal, recorded…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Elon Musk once again sent ripples through the price of Bitcoin after declaring that he’s a supporter of the largest cryptocurrency. Speaking on social audio app Clubhouse, the billionaire said at this point he thinks “Bitcoin is a good thing,” adding he’s “late to the party” and should have bought the cryptocurrency eight years ago. The digital coin spiked to almost $34,500 Monday amid the comments, before easing back. It…