The Markets

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to back down over his threat to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal, despite a growing backlash over the impact his strategy is having on the pound. Johnson’s office hinted on Tuesday that another round of Brexit talks might not happen at all, and has warned he won’t meet EU leaders for negotiations unless they agree to tear open the current…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Man Group Plc’s computer-driven funds are boosting earnings prospects for the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund even as the firm reported its first outflows for a six-month period since 2015. About 90% of Man AHL strategies, which use complex algorithms to trade, were at the “high water mark,” a level that allows funds to charge performance fee, according to a company statement on Wednesday. Man Group shares rose as much as…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, the largest unit within MTN Group Ltd., grew interim profit by 35% as its newly acquired spectrum enabled it to increase broadband and 4G offerings in the West African country. Chief Financial Officer Adekunle Awobodu will be leaving the business later this year “for family reasons,” and the process to find his replacement is well underway, the company said. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd., Africa’s biggest company by market value and soon to be one of Europe’s largest listed technology companies, is investing more of its $10-billion cash-pile in educational platforms. The Cape Town-based company has led the latest $30 million investment round in Brainly, a U.S. startup that allows learners to help each other with homework problems in different parts of the world. The students earn points for the quality…

LONDON (Capiatla Markets in Africa) – Vodafone Group Plc shares gained the most in more than a decade on the phone carrier’s plan to carve out its towers business and consider an initial public offering or minority stake sale of the new unit. The stock rose as much as 10.4%, the biggest intraday jump since November 2008, after the carrier announced plans to separate Europe’s largest towers portfolio alongside financial results that beat expectations. The business,…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian stocks have next to no chance of success when they’re competing for capital against one of the emerging world’s highest bond yields. Weighed down by concern over Nigeria’s economic growth, the prospect of rising bad loans at banks and thinning profit margins, stock inflows have slowed, despite valuations near the cheapest since 2011. That contrasts with the billions pouring into government bonds, which yield 14% on average. Even though Nigerian stocks…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Facebook Inc. agreed to pay a record $5 billion to resolve a U.S. investigation into years of privacy violations, a settlement that increases the board of directors’ responsibility for protecting users’ data while changing little about the company’s lucrative advertising business. The agreement, announced Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission, will for the first time end Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s final authority over privacy decisions, creating an independent privacy committee…