The Markets

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique plans to finally conclude restructuring its dollar bonds by the end of September, nearly three years after first announcing the proposal. The southeast African nation has asked bondholders of $727 million of debt due 2023 to exchange it for $900 million of notes maturing five years later. That’s mainly because the government expects it will have started earning revenue from Africa’s largest liquefied natural gas project, and won’t have…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hedge funds have already bled 50% more money this year than in all of 2018, as the industry struggles to win back investors fed up with high fees and poor performance. Investors yanked $8.4 billion in July, bringing net outflows this year to $55.9 billion, according to an eVestment report on Thursday. That’s up from $37.2 billion for all of last year. Investors’ frustration with hedge funds continues to…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in AfricaA) – Federal Reserve officials viewed their interest-rate cut last month as insurance against headwinds from the trade war and low inflation — reasons that look even sharper as they move toward their meeting in September. Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 30-31 meeting released Wednesday in Washington laid out the reasons for the quarter percentage-point cut, highlighting risks to the outlook even though the U.S. economy, for…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian stocks may be among this year’s worst performers, but that’s at least boosting the appeal of their yields. The benchmark index in Africa’s biggest oil producer has fallen 14% this year, making it the fourth-worst among 94 major bourses tracked by Bloomberg. The slump underscores foreign investors’ frustration over a lack of policy progress since President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election in February. Despite the gloomy picture, a global abundance of…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Shoprite Holdings Ltd. will look to cut costs outside its home market as Africa’s largest food retailer battles currency shortages and stricter regulation in several countries. The owner of supermarket chains such as Checkers and U-Save has been growing in 14 territories outside South Africa to become a continent-wide superpower, but factors such as inflation — particularly in Angola — have hampered progress. That contributed to a 20% decline in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The liquidation of cryptocurrencies tied to an alleged ponzi scheme has been among the assorted reasons cited by market pundits for this week’s slide in digital assets. A closer looks suggests that may not be the case. Speculation mounted that the supposed coin dump was the catalyst mounted when Bitcoin and a slew of other coins suddenly crashed around midday Wednesday in New York. Crypto influencer Dovey Wan tweeted that participants in a…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – It’s hard enough to find a stock bull these days. But one sanguine enough about the economic outlook to forecast just one more rate cut this year? That’s a contrarian. That’s Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s investment management unit, which oversees about $1.7 trillion. While it’s still waiting for better entry levels to buy the dip, it continues to favor equities and credit over government bonds in a rejection of…