Bitcoin Rallies After Weekend Tumble as ETF Anticipation Builds

Bitcoin Rallies After Weekend Tumble as ETF Anticipation Builds

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin rallied early Monday after falling over the weekend, ahead of an anticipated U.S. exchange-traded fund approval. The largest cryptocurrency gained as much as 5.5% and was trading at about $61,975 as of 10:21 a.m. in London. It fell both Saturday and Sunday to nearly $59,000. Bitcoin is in focus as the first futures ETF tied to the token may debut Monday, according to a filing. Major levels being watched include…

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Tunisia Reaches Out to Gulf Nations as Economic Woes Deepen

Tunisia Reaches Out to Gulf Nations as Economic Woes Deepen

TUNIS (Capital Martkets in Africa) – Tunisia is in “very advanced discussions” with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for sorely needed financial aid and talks with the IMF are ongoing, a central bank official said, as the nation’s political crisis weighs on already dire economic ills. An agreement with the two Gulf states may be reached soon, the head of financing and foreign transactions at the Tunisian regulator, Abdelkarim Lassoued, said Saturday in…

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Egyptian President Calls for Revamp of Costly Subsidy System

Egyptian President Calls for Revamp of Costly Subsidy System

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s president on Saturday said a revamp of the nation’s bloated and costly subsidy system was necessary, amid a broader push by the government to ensure that such aid reaches the neediest segment of the population. Speaking at the inauguration of a state housing project, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisisaid that the lack of sufficient digitization of data in Egypt has, over the years, opened the door to a misallocation of state resources….

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Nigeria Awaits Supply of 30 Million Paid-for Covid-19 Vaccines

Nigeria Awaits Supply of 30 Million Paid-for Covid-19 Vaccines

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is yet to receive supplies of 30 million coronavirus vaccines that it ordered and paid for, the country’s finance minister said Friday. “We have paid for vaccines, the supplies are not coming,” Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The donations that have been pledged to us are trickling in.”  Africa’s most populous country has only been able to give the Covid-19 jabs to 4 million…

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UN Withdraws Offer of African Envoy Post to Matt Hancock

UN Withdraws Offer of African Envoy Post to Matt Hancock

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Former U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s appointment to a United Nations special envoy role has been scrapped.  “Mr. Hancock’s appointment by the UN Economic Commission for Africa is not being taken forward,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PassBlue, a news website that specializes in UN coverage, on Friday, adding “ECA has advised him of the matter.”  In an appointment letter to Hancock, Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the ECA, lauded the “success…

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Where a $5 Billion Green Incentive Runs Into Politics of Coal

Where a $5 Billion Green Incentive Runs Into Politics of Coal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s richest countries are courting South Africa as a model of how to transition to a more climate-friendly future from a dependency on coal. While $5 billion of cheap loans and grants are on offer as a first step, transforming Africa’s most industrialized economy demands more than cash. It needs to win over power brokers like Gwede Mantashe, a former coal unionist who is now energy minister and chairman…

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Brent Oil Approaches $85 With Energy Crisis Boosting Demand

Brent Oil Approaches $85 With Energy Crisis Boosting Demand

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Crude in London surged toward $85 a barrel as the global power crunch boosts demand for oil ahead of winter.  Brent futures rose as much as 2.7% to the highest level since October 2018. Prices of coal and natural gas have surged in Europe and Asia with stockpiles running low before the Northern Hemisphere winter, prompting some switching to oil products such as diesel and fuel oil. It is quickly tightening the market…

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