Economy

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa)- Despite improved macroeconomic indicators, the demands for bread, freedom and social justice remain elusive for most. Nine years ago today, the Egyptian people toppled Hosni Mubarak, their ruler of nearly 30 years. What had begun as protests against police brutality drew inspiration from the success of anti-regime demonstrations in Tunisia, and escalated into demands for the fall of the dictatorship. Among the most popular chants in Cairo’s Tahrir Square…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa)- The country scores high on development metrics; it just needs to break free of dependence on commodities. Every time a region of the world goes from being poor to being rich one country tends to be responsible for getting the process started. In Europe that was the U.K., which was the first to industrialize. In East Asia it was Japan. In West Africa, it could be Ghana. Ghana has a number of big…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.K. economy’s bounce since the general election is proving bigger than initially estimated, justifying the Bank of England’s decision to hold fire last month on monetary easing. IHS Markit’s composite Purchasing Manager’s Index jumped to a 16-month high in January, beating an initial estimate. The dominant services sector also improved, and sentiment rose to the strongest since 2015. Sterling gained 0.3% to $1.3069 as of 9:55 a.m. in London. The…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Non-oil private sector growth in Egypt slowed to its lowest level in almost three years, dashing hopes for a rebound as weak consumer demand offset the potential boost of single-digit inflation. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index fell for the sixth consecutive month in January to 46, well below the 50 level that marks an expansion in business activity. The slump came even as inflation remained well within the central bank’s…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Commodities took a heavy beating in January as the virus outbreak spurred across-the-board concerns about demand, and that focus will persist right through this week. Markets in China reopened on Monday, with most raw materials posting steep losses. For global prices, Citigroup Inc. now reckons Brent could soon go sub-$50 a barrel. For the latest, click here. On top of the health emergency, there’s a crowded corporate docket. In Europe, top steelmaker ArcelorMittal reports earnings on…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa has no fiscal space left and must implement strong budget consolidation and state-owned company reforms to ensure its debt sustainability, the International Monetary Fund said. The October medium-term budget policy statement showed gross government debt would surge to 80.9% of gross domestic product in the 2028 fiscal year unless urgent action is taken. That trajectory is almost 20 percentage points higher than forecast in the February budget…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa): Ghana’s central bank is caught between cutting interest rates to boost the economy and running the risk of weakening the currency, which could drive up inflation and spook investors ahead of December’s elections. One the one hand, inflation ended the year slightly below the government’s projection and economic growth slowed in the third quarter, giving room for an interest rate cut. However, a repeat of the government missing its fiscal…