Somalia Starts Payments System as It Rebuilds Nation

Somalia Starts Payments System as It Rebuilds Nation

MOGADISHU (Capital Markets in Africa) – Somalia has set up a national payments system as part of plans to develop the financial industry in one of the world’s most fragile states, following decades of political and economic instability. The 13 lenders in the Horn of Africa nation can now “become inter-operable, connected to the clearing and settlement system of the central bank and able to transact with each other,” Central Bank of Somalia Governor Abdirahman…

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Bankers told to stop moaning and think of the poor

Bankers told to stop moaning and think of the poor

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Young investment bankers on big salaries who complain about being overworked have come under fire from one of the City of London’s veteran financiers. Xavier Rolet, the former boss of the London Stock Exchange who was previously a leading banker, has told graduates who do not enjoy their jobs “by any means do something else”. He suggested that financial firms troubled by mutinous staff “should try hiring poor, hungry…

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Bankers’ bonus cap may be ditched to boost City

Bankers’ bonus cap may be ditched to boost City

The government is considering removing restrictions on bankers’ bonuses as part of its plan to ditch EU rules and to make the City more competitive. The idea is at an early stage and not yet part of any public consultations, as officials fear scrapping the bonus cap could trigger a public backlash. But the move has support among some within the Treasury as a way to make London more attractive for senior bankers than Frankfurt,…

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Senate Poised to Deliver Infrastructure Win for Biden Agenda

Senate Poised to Deliver Infrastructure Win for Biden Agenda

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.S. Senate is heading toward passage this week of a $550 billion infrastructure bill that would provide the biggest infusion of federal spending on public works in decades and mark a major milestone for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. The Democratic and Republican senators who negotiated the plan spent the weekend haggling over last-minute details and combing through the 2,702-page bill text before submitting it to the…

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Bitcoin Drops After Posting Biggest Weekly Gain in Three Months

Bitcoin Drops After Posting Biggest Weekly Gain in Three Months

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin pulled back to around $40,000 after climbing over the weekend to the highest levels since May. The largest cryptocurrency fell about 4.8% to $39,280 as of 8:42 a.m. in New York after dropping as much as 5.6% Monday. Other virtual coins including second-ranked Ether also fell. Analysts suggested profit-taking lay behind the declines. This is “just a normal pullback following bullish action,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific…

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Post-Apartheid Inequality Sparks Fury in South Africa

Post-Apartheid Inequality Sparks Fury in South Africa

JOHANNESBUGR (Capital Markets in Africa) – The trip from Pretoria to Mabopane starts on a six-lane highway lined with malls and office parks, passes verdant gated communities featuring pools and gardens, and ends in the dusty township north of South Africa’s capital where the trees, shops, and sumptuous homes make way for stark, single-story cinder-block structures in dirt yards. Inside one of them—the Katekani Community Development Project, a collection of brick buildings behind a barbed-wire…

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MTN Nigeria to Limit Dollar Spending to Cut Currency Risk

MTN Nigeria to Limit Dollar Spending to Cut Currency Risk

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. plans to reduce its foreign-exchange spending in Nigeria, its biggest market, and pay more of its costs in the local currency to reduce its exposure to exchange-rate volatility. A recent decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria to devalue the naira by 7.6% against the dollar to 410.7 has had a major impact on the business, Africa’s biggest wireless carrier said in a statement on Friday,…

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