The Markets

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The gap between Zimbabwe’s black market and official currency rates vanished after the central bank tightened regulations on trade in foreign exchange by bureau de change operators. On Monday, black market rates for the Zimbabwe dollar ranged from 14.7 to 15 to the U.S. dollar, according to Marketwatch.co.zw., a site run by financial analysts. The official rate was at a record low of 14.91, according to the Reserve Bank of…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging-market sovereign borrowers are returning to international debt markets as the stimulus from central banks cuts borrowing costs and investors chase yields again. South Africa’s decision to sell Eurobonds for the first time since May last year follow Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Abu Dhabi announcing new issues. That has revived action in a market that saw a seven-week lull amid a resurgence in U.S. Treasury yields and uncertainty over the…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.S. money markets are taking a breather following last week’s volatility, but the Federal Reserve remains on alert and is examining what implications the turmoil may have for the central bank and the financial system. Rates on repurchase agreements held steady on Monday after stabilizing late last week in the wake of an unprecedented market spike. A daily Federal Reserve operation — aimed at keeping funding markets on an even…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Wall Street could soon get one of its most consequential wins of the Trump era as regulators are considering ripping up a rule that’s forced banks to set aside billions of dollars for swaps trades, according to people familiar with the matter. At issue is a requirement approved during the Obama administration that’s made lenders post tens of billions in the margin when engaging in derivatives transactions with their…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s inflation eased in August to its lowest level since the start of 2013, paving the way for what could be the second-biggest push to cut interest rates across emerging markets. Consumer prices in urban parts of Egypt rose 7.5% from a year earlier, the state-run CAPMAS statistics agency said Tuesday. Core inflation, the gauge measured by the central bank that strips out volatile and regulated items, slowed to an annual…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Money managers at BNY Mellon and Pacific Investment Management Co. have snapped up Japanese bonds. Both companies have made the country the second-largest geographic allocation in some of their biggest international fixed-income funds. Ordinarily that wouldn’t seem remarkable, but right now many of Japan’s government bonds have a negative yield—it actually costs money to hold them to maturity. BNY Mellon and Pimco aren’t alone. Investors from outside Japan more than doubled purchases…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has a simple yet firm message for its wealthy clients: stick with U.S. equities. “As we’ve gone through various crises, we’ve still told clients to stay invested and not get out of U.S. equities, it’s too early,” said Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, chief investment officer for Goldman’s Private Wealth Management, which oversees about $500 billion and caters to high-net-worth individuals, families and endowments. “There’s a strong message there…