The Editorial Team

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…

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

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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…

Brent Oil Approaches $85 With Energy Crisis Boosting Demand

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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…

Algeria Leader Dubs IMF Foreign Debt Advice ‘Political Suicide’

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ALGEIR (Capital Markets in Africa) – Algeria’s president said following International Monetary Fund advice to reverse its long-standing policy and take on foreign borrowing would lead to “political suicide,” describing the OPEC member as able to ride out economic troubles exacerbated by the pandemic. “We will never choose that option, it is unthinkable,” Abdelmadjid Tebboune told a select group of journalists in a televised briefing late Sunday. The North African nation will end the year with enough…

Tunisian Leader Ushers In Loyalist Ministers After Power Shift

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TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s president swore in a government with loyalists taking up key positions in the finance and the interior ministries, his latest step to reshape the country after suspending parliament more than two months ago. The moves come after President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament in July, saying he acted to save the country from economic and political mismanagement. Opponents called it a coup. The political crisis has…

South Africa Rate-Hike Bets Jump on Upside Risks to Inflation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders raised bets that South Africa’s central bank will raise interest rates in November after it warned of upside risks to its inflation outlook. Forward-rate agreements starting in two months, used to speculate on borrowing costs, are now pricing in almost 40 basis points of tightening by year-end. Less than a week ago, those contracts were predicting just an 80% probability of a quarter-point increase, before the South African…

South Africa Business Mood at One-Year Low on Covid Curbs, Riots

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JOHANNEBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African business sentiment dropped to a one-year low in September as economic activity continued to be hamstrung by restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic and unease persisted following deadly riots in July. A confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry dropped to 91, from 91.9 in August, the group said Monday in an emailed statement. While that’s the lowest since September 2020, the…

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