Features | - Part 162

Egypt Presidential Vote in March as Top El-Sisi Rival Out

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s top election body said Monday that the next presidential election will be held in March, and gave prospective candidates about three weeks to declare. So far the race has only one potential contender: incumbent Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. His most serious possible challenger to date, former premier and air force general Ahmed Shafiq, backed out of contention late Sunday after a mysterious string of events. That left the field wide open…

Zimbabwean Opposition Leader Tsvangirai Suggests He May Retire

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party hinted Monday at his possible retirement, less than two months after the end of his long-time foe President Robert Mugabe’s almost four-decade rule. “We must recognize the imperative that new hands, with the full blessing of the people, must take this struggle and this country forward,” Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change said in a statement emailed from the capital, Harare. Mugabe, 93,…

As Chaos and Despair Grow in Libya, Qaddafi Son Plans Comeback

Posted on by The Editorial Team

TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The fugitive son and onetime heir apparent of Libya’s late Muammar Qaddafi is planning a comeback. Seif al-Islam “decided to run in presidential elections and I see a big chance for him because all the big tribes are supporting him,” said Abdel Majeed al-Mansouri, who headed Libya’s economic development board before 2011 and was close to him. “People are frustrated. Even those who were against the old regime will side…

Angola Joins Long List of Oil Nations in Ditching Dollar Peg

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola is poised to become the latest emerging nation to abandon its currency peg as it seeks to rescue an economy still reeling from the oil-price crash four years ago. The southern African nation, an OPEC member, said this week it would let the kwanza trade within a new band. The rate at which it’s been fixed against the dollar since April 2016 “does not reflect the truth,” according to Jose Massano, who…

Kenya President Keeps Treasury Chief as He Builds Government

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta retained his Treasury and energy chiefs as he begins building a government with the task of reuniting East Africa’s biggest economy after months of electoral uncertainty. Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Energy Secretary Charles Keter will remain in their posts, as will the head of the Tourism Ministry, Najib Balala, and Information and Communications Secretary Joseph Mucheru. Kenyatta also named Fred Matiang’i as interior minister in a televised address on Friday,…

Chad Plans Salary Cuts as It Battles to Service Glencore Loan

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CHAD (Capital Markets in Africa~) – Chad plans to reduce the salaries of some civil servants by almost half as the country battles to meet debt commitments. The proposed cuts of 5 percent to 45 percent for some public-sector workers will enable the landlocked nation to comply with a wage ceiling agreed under a bailout with the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul told reporters Thursday in the capital, N’Djamena. The Washington-based lender approved…

A Tool for Making Sense of Cryptocurrency Markets: Aaron Brown

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin rose 88 percent from Dec. 1 to 19, then fell 23 percent by Dec. 30, a net 44 percent increase for the month. Attention naturally focused on those events, but the important longer-term story is what’s happening within the entire cryptocurrency sector. The market value of all non-bitcoin crypto assets rose 153 percent during bitcoin’s upswing, and 4 percent more while bitcoin declined, for a return of 162…

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