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LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) – Americans are buying more diamond jewelry than ever before, but prices for most polished gems are falling. Five years ago, the diamond industry’s biggest worry was being forgotten by millennials, who — the theory went — didn’t covet sparkly gems the way their parents had. The concern turned out to be mostly unfounded, but the reality is almost worse. While Americans are buying more diamond jewelry than ever before, most polished…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China wants to hold more talks this month to hammer out the details of the “phase one” trade deal touted by Donald Trump before Xi Jinping agrees to sign it, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing may send a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He, China’s top negotiator, to finalize a written deal that could be signed by the presidents at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe angrily denounced a U.S. government decision to curb imports of diamonds from its Marange field, branding the claim the country uses forced labor at the operations “a shameless lie.” “Invoking the repulsive prospect of alleged forced labor is a new nomenclature for seeking to bar Zimbabwe’s diamonds from the international markets,” the southern African nation’s government said in a statement. “This move constitutes a grave and serious attack…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angela Merkel’s challenge to Boris Johnson to find a Brexit solution in the next 30 days sounds impossible. But while both sides are talking tough, officials in private say there’s still time to salvage a deal. The latest person to sound skeptical about the British prime minister’s chances of taking the U.K. out of the European Union with an agreement was a senior French official close to President Emmanuel Macron. A no-deal…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – African local bonds are on a tear as investors flock to riskier assets. But the continent’s stocks are missing out, despite being much cheaper than their emerging-market peers. The AFMI Bloomberg African Bond Index, which groups the local-currency debt of eight nations including South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana, has gained 6.1% in dollar terms since the start of May, around the time a dovish tilt by major central banks…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Afrioca) – After months of predicting a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies, economists at some of the biggest financial institutions are growing increasingly pessimistic. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Nomura Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase and Co. are among those that have rewritten their forecasts as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose a 25% tariffs on around $300 billion of additional Chinese imports. Analysts at Nomura have made that…