The Editorial Team |

Amazon Spends $15 Billion to Help Merchants in Charm Offensive

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Amazon.com Inc., criticized for wielding too much power over third-party merchants on its marketplace, said it will spend some $15 billion this year to help them boost sales. The sum, which Amazon hasn’t previously disclosed, includes spending on the portions of the company’s warehouse network dedicated to storing and shipping seller items, and salaries for the engineers, managers and support staff who work on teams geared toward Amazon’s…

Hedge Fund Outflows of $55.9 Billion Make Dismal 2018 Look Good

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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…

What a Yield-Curve Inversion Really Says About the Economy

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – A reliable recession indicator has lost some of its power to predict. The chance of a recession in 2020 has Democratic campaign strategists feverish with anticipation—while trying not to show it—and President Trump even more amped up than usual. While Trump says he’s confident of the strength of the U.S. economy, his actions indicate otherwise. He’s demanding that the Federal Reserve cut its key rate target by at least a full…

UBS Sees Some Relief for Oil Before Demand Woes Return in 2020

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in AfricaA) – Oil prices will rise over the next few months as global inventories shrink, before declining in 2020 as trade-war induced demand woes return to haunt the market, according to UBS AG. The Swiss bank sees Brent crude climbing to $65 a barrel in three months, around 8% higher than current levels, it said in a note by analysts including Giovanni Staunovo. However, the global benchmark will drop to $63 in six…

Fed’s Three Reasons for Cutting in July Support Another Move

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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…

Zimbabwe’s Rulers Find Themselves in a Trap of Their Own Making

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s rulers are finding that two decades of economic mismanagement and brutal repression have led them into a trap from which there’s little chance of escape. If they implement the political and democratic reforms needed to win the financial support the economy needs from international donors, they’re likely to lose the next election. If they don’t, their people, propelled by the extreme hardship brought about by austerity measures imposed…

Ghana’s Shutdown of Second-Tier Lenders Seen Risking 4,000 Jobs

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The central bank announced last week it had revoked the licenses of savings and loans companies as well as finance houses and appointed a receiver to manage their affairs. The steps marked the end of an industry cleanse of lenders and second-level financial institutions that started in August 2017 and cost the government at least 12 billion cedis ($2.2 billion) in bonds and cash to cover depositors’ holdings. The…

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