Covid Cases Surge in Nigeria After Discovery of Omicron Variant

Covid Cases Surge in Nigeria After Discovery of Omicron Variant

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s daily Covid infections have jumped more than fivefold over the past week following the discovery of the omicron variant in the country of 200 million people. The average number of Nigerians who tested positive for the pathogen has risen to 451 a day for the week ending Dec. 12, compared with 76 in the preceding week, according to data from the National Center for Disease Control.The commercial hub…

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West Can’t Ignore China’s Evolving Africa Plan: Clara F. Marques

West Can’t Ignore China’s Evolving Africa Plan: Clara F. Marques

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The West’s excessive focus on African debt has blinded it to China’s widening engagement in a region of 1.4 billion consumers. Myths tend to linger longer than fact, and few have been more resilient in the face of evidence and data than the idea of a Chinese debt trap ensnaring African economies. Last week alone, Britain’s spy chief warned of Beijing trying to “get people on the hook,” while…

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Digital Payments Push Fails to Deter Demand for Cash in Nigeria

Digital Payments Push Fails to Deter Demand for Cash in Nigeria

LAGOS (Capital Martket in Africa) -Cash in circulation in Nigeria rose to a record in October despite a push by authorities to engender cashless transactions and control money supply in Africa’s most populous nation. The amount of naira notes and coins circulating in the economy increased 4.6% to 3 trillion naira ($7.3 billion) in October from the previous month, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria data. Broad money supply, or M2, surged to a record 41.4…

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Omicron Gives New Impetus to Lagging South African Vaccine Drive

Omicron Gives New Impetus to Lagging South African Vaccine Drive

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Martkets in Africa) – South Africa is ramping up its vaccination drive as the omicron variant threatens to derail a stuttering recovery from the coronavirus crisis, while companies are taking a harder line against those who don’t get shots.  The daily number of Covid-19 infections in the country has jumped five-fold over of the past week following the onset of the new strain, with the rolling seven-day average of cases exceeding 10,000. Despite…

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Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO, Replaced by Parag Agrawal

Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO, Replaced by Parag Agrawal

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., is stepping down, ceding the position to the company’s Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. The move is effective immediately, though Dorsey will stay on the board of the social media company until his term expires in 2022, Twitter said in a statement Monday.“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Dorsey said in the statement. “My…

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Bitcoin Stages Bounceback Following Brutal Black-Friday Selloff

Bitcoin Stages Bounceback Following Brutal Black-Friday Selloff

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin is staging a comeback along with other riskier assets on Monday, bouncing back from its Black-Friday lows.  The largest digital asset rose as much as 3.4% during the session to trade around $58,266. Other coins also posted snap-backs, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index adding 5.5% at one point. So-called alternative coins like Polkadot and Dogecoin gained too.  A brutal selloff Friday saw investors fleeing a number of…

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What We Know About Omicron, the New Virus Variant: QuickTake

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A new variant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has been identified in Botswana and South Africa, where it’s been associated with a steep increase in new cases. The strain — first called B.1.1.529 and later named omicron — poses a “very high” risk, according to the World Health Organization, which added it to its list of variants of concern. Governments around the world have started banning travelers from…

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