Absa’s Ramos Sees Confidence Returning to South African Economy

Absa’s Ramos Sees Confidence Returning to South African Economy

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Absa Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Maria Ramos is betting that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is on the right track with rebuilding the continent’s most-industrialized economy. Almost a year since taking over from his corruption-tainted predecessor, Ramaphosa started commissions of inquiry to determine how graft became so entrenched and to prevent it in future. He also set in motion plans to reinvigorate economic growth through an investment conference that raised billions in…

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What to Watch in Commodities: Big Oil, Venezuela, Gold, Glencore

What to Watch in Commodities: Big Oil, Venezuela, Gold, Glencore

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa~) – Investors face a week packed with market-moving events: earnings season brings results from Big Oil; the U.S. and China resume trade talks; and the Federal Reserve embarks on a new era of openness. On top of that, iron ore investors are absorbing the impact of a second deadly mine disaster for Vale SA, and the U.S. just lifted sanctions on United Co. Rusal. Among companies reporting, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil…

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Zimbabwe’s Ncube Sees Fiscal Order Taming Inflation, Deficit

Zimbabwe’s Ncube Sees Fiscal Order Taming Inflation, Deficit

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s government will ensure fiscal discipline to rein in an inflation rate that’s the highest in a decade and a yawning budget deficit, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. Both the rate of price growth and the budget shortfall as a percentage of gross domestic product are expected to fall below 10 percent this year, Ncube said in an interview Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Zimbabwe’s Treasury estimated the budget…

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Tunisia Risks Explosion Over Austerity, Ghannouchi Cautions IMF

Tunisia Risks Explosion Over Austerity, Ghannouchi Cautions IMF

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Pressure from global lenders like the International Monetary Fund could put Tunisia’s post-revolution stability at risk, cautioned Rashid Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that is part of the governing coalition. The remarks, made in an interview with Bloomberg, come amid mounting frustration in the North African country as it tries to implement an IMF-backed economic program that calls for cutting government spending as part of a broader push to…

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Tanking Economy Snaps Zimbabwe Dream of Post-Mugabe Revival

Tanking Economy Snaps Zimbabwe Dream of Post-Mugabe Revival

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hopes of an economic revival in Zimbabwe lie in tatters 14 months after President Emmerson Mnangagwa took office, as the nation reels from foreign-exchange and fuel shortages, strikes and a dearth of political leadership. Disgruntlement with falling living standards spilled onto the streets of Harare, the capital, and other towns on Monday with thousands of people heeding a call by the country’s largest labor group to strike against massive fuel-price increases….

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Kenya Plans to Narrow Fiscal Deficit to 5% of GDP in 2019-20

Kenya Plans to Narrow Fiscal Deficit to 5% of GDP in 2019-20

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy intends to narrow its budget deficit to 5 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year beginning in July, from 6.3 percent in the current period. The budget gap is seen at 572.2 billion shillings ($5.62 billion), compared with an estimated 635.5 billion shillings in the 12 months through June, the Treasury said in a draft document on its website. It plans to…

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Crisis and Hope: A Country Guide to Africa’s Top Political Risks

Crisis and Hope: A Country Guide to Africa’s Top Political Risks

LAGOS (capital Markets in Africa) -The start of 2019 has seen a flurry of political activity from Mali to Madagascar, with a shock opposition victory in Africa’s biggest country, protests against long-serving rulers, a short-lived coup and agitation stirred by economic mismanagement all suggesting this will be a year to watch on the continent. South Africa and Nigeria, the continent’s two biggest economies, are among more than 20 African nations that will hold elections this…

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