Putin’s Efforts to Save Ruble Spurs Zimbabwe’s President to Act

Putin’s Efforts to Save Ruble Spurs Zimbabwe’s President to Act

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is trying to emulate Russian President Vladimir Putin in his attempt to revive Africa’s worst performing currency. Mnangagwa’s administration may announce plans as early as this week for government departments in Zimbabwe — under U.S. sanctions for economic mismanagement and human rights violations for the past two decades — to show “high preference” for the Zimbabwe dollar in the payment of services, according to Persistence…

Read More

Top Africa Pension Fund to Invest $1.6 Billion in Private Firms

Top Africa Pension Fund to Invest $1.6 Billion in Private Firms

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund will invest about 25 billion rand ($1.6 billion) in unlisted companies across the continent, according to people with knowledge of the matter, renewing a contract with its adviser more than a year after it initially expired.  The Public Investment Corp., which manages more than 2.1 trillion rand in assets, will decide on the investments, according to a joint statement the two companies released on…

Read More

Manufacturers’ Mood Darkens After Deadly South African Floods

Manufacturers’ Mood Darkens After Deadly South African Floods

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A gauge measuring South African manufacturing sentiment dropped the most in nine months in April after the worst flooding in almost three decades left more than 400 people dead, damaged businesses and halted operations at the nation’s biggest port. Absa Group Ltd.’s purchasing managers’ index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, dropped to 50.7 from 60 a month earlier. That’s the biggest monthly decline and the lowest reading…

Read More

France’s Military Ties With Mali Cut by African Nation’s Junta

France’s Military Ties With Mali Cut by African Nation’s Junta

BAMAKO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mali severed defense ties with France as a multinational force that’s helped the government fight an Islamist insurgency for the past decade withdraws from the West African nation.The decision to end military collaboration marks the latest deterioration in relations between the countries after a series of disputes in recent months. Mali has criticized France’s decision to move its counter-insurgency forces to neighboring Niger, while France has condemned the presence of Russian…

Read More

Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe? Or is that a question for Siri?

Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe? Or is that a question for Siri?

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) –  Every time we ask Siri a question on our iPhones, we’re using artificial intelligence, of course, but in what other ways will it infiltrate our lives? AI already goes beyond just Siri or Alexa. Every time you get directions from Google Maps, it’s AI that’s working out the shortest path from A to B. When you get a film recommendation on Netflix, it’s AI that knows about people’s preferences…

Read More

Why Putin’s Demand for Rubles Has Europe Scrambling: QuickTake

Why Putin’s Demand for Rubles Has Europe Scrambling: QuickTake

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree imposing a new payments system for gas supplies has placed the European Union and Russia at loggerheads, with Moscow demanding that EU companies open accounts in rubles. The issue, sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Western response to it, escalated on April 27 after Russia cut off gas sales to Poland and Bulgaria, which refused to pay in rubles. At stake is…

Read More

Musk’s Twitter Pitch Featured Job Cuts, Ways to Make Money

Musk’s Twitter Pitch Featured Job Cuts, Ways to Make Money

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – As he negotiated a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter Inc., Elon Musk told bankers that he would be focused on the social-media company’s bottom line, and floated the idea of cutting both costs and jobs, according to people familiar with the matter. On calls with teams of bankers before the deal was announced, Musk fielded questions on how he would generate financial returns at Twitter. While nothing is…

Read More
1 29 30 31 32 33 1,065