World-Beating Stock Rally May Be Just the Start for Egypt

World-Beating Stock Rally May Be Just the Start for Egypt

Cairo, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — If history is any guide, Egyptian stocks’ world-beating gains following the nation’s currency devaluation may be just beginning. The EGX 30 Index has jumped 14 percent since Monday’s 13 percent weakening of the pound. The gains are an echo of what happened in January 2003, when a foreign-currency shortage that gave rise to a black market for dollars and deterred investment led policy makers to devalue the currency by 14 percent….

Read More

South African Reserves Bank to keep rate at 6.50% says Merrill Lynch

South African Reserves Bank to keep rate at 6.50% says Merrill Lynch

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will be meeting tomorrow to determine policy rate. Given the current outlook of the economy, threatened with recession and inflation above the 3 percent to 6 percent target, economists and traders are divided which way SARB will go interest rate move. Some economists predict the Monetary Policy Committee will keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 6.75% and some  expect a 25 basis-point of tightening. Matthew…

Read More

Mozambique Rating Downgrade by S&P, Moody’s on Debt Swap

Mozambique Rating Downgrade by S&P, Moody’s on Debt Swap

MAPUTO, Mozambique, Capital Markets in Africa — Mozambique’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service because a proposed restructuring of about $700 million of bonds issued by a state-owned Tuna-fishing company could be equivalent to a default, according to the firms. S&P’s rating for the south-east African nation was lowered to CC, 10 levels below investment grade, from B-, the company said in a press statement released on Tuesday. While Moody’s…

Read More

Central Bank of Egypt to auction US$1.5bn to stabilise the currency

Central Bank of Egypt to auction US$1.5bn to stabilise the currency

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — Egypt’s central bank will offer US$1.5 billion today  in its third special foreign exchange auction of the week, part of an effort to crush the currency black market and stabilize the Egyptian pound a day after a major devaluation. Egypt devalued the pound on Monday to 8.85 pounds to the dollar from 7.73 pounds and announced that it would shift to a more flexible exchange rate. The equity…

Read More

Nigerian Equity Markets | 15 Mar 2016: Nigerian Bourse Closes Lower on Profit Warning… NSE ASI down 0.4%

Nigerian Equity Markets | 15 Mar 2016: Nigerian Bourse Closes Lower on Profit Warning… NSE ASI down 0.4%

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — At the end of today’s trading session, the All Share Index declined 0.4% to close at 24,745.13 points as the Nigerian bourse continued its retreat into the negative zone. Congruent to the ASI, market capitalization also declined N37.3bn to settle at N8.9tn. Today’s decline was driven  by price depreciation in key Banking counters such as ETI (-9.7%), DIAMOND (-8.8%) and GUARANTY (-2.5%) as ETI issued a profit warning…

Read More

Nigeria: February Headline Inflation Surges to 38-month High

Nigeria: February Headline Inflation Surges to 38-month High

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for February 2016 today with the major Headline Index and Sub-indices at record high double-digit levels. February Headline Inflation – measured Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) was estimated at 11.4%, 1.8% higher than 9.6% reported in January. Headline inflation has been on a steady rise since December 2014 (8.0%) with the only decline in October 2015. The current…

Read More

IMF Doubles Kenya’s Standby Loans to $1.5 Billion

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — The International Monetary Fund approved $1.5 billion in precautionary funding for Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy, the Washington-based lender said on March 15. The agreement comprises a $989.8 million so-called standby arrangement and a $494.9 million standby credit facility, both for two years, the IMF said in a statement on its website. Kenya is now entitled to access about $757.5 million of the total, with the remainder available in four portions…

Read More
1 926 927 928 929 930 1,066