The Markets

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…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — Greylock Capital Associates filed for bankruptcy protection in New York as investors pulled money from the hedge fund following three consecutive years of losses. The Chapter 11 proceedings will allow Greylock to restructure its debt and terminate its Madison Avenue office lease in Manhattan, according to a Jan. 31 filing signed by Chief Financial Officer David Steltzer. Assets under management at the emerging markets hedge fund — which more…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South African stocks have made their best start to the year since 2012, even after last week’s pullback, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America are among those predicting further gains. A global appetite for riskier assets has propelled emerging market inflows and the Johannesburg exchange is set to benefit from its heavy weighting in mining stocks as China’s economy emerges from the pandemic. Add to this…