Finance | - Part 111

Tunisians Clash With Police as Protests Over Economy Build

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisian police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators in the capital, Tunis, as increasingly violent protests test a government struggling to put its finances in order and attract investors. Late Tuesday, a branch of the French superstore Carrefour was looted and attempts made to set the building on fire. Demonstrations began last week over the government’s budget, which includes higher taxes and spending cuts. One protester has…

Rand Falls as Cheer Gives Way to Hard Reality of Ramaphosa’s Job

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand fell, after clocking up its longest weekly winning run since 2010, as analysts at Rabobank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the currency has rallied too far. The rand weakened as much as 1.3 percent against the dollar, set for the biggest loss since Dec. 7. The selloff on Monday sent the 14-day relative strength index of dollar-rand pairing, which lingered in oversold territory for most of the past three weeks,…

Why Africa’s Top Oil Producer Is Low on Gasoline: QuickTake Q&A

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)- Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and a member of OPEC, has suffered fuel shortages over the past few weeks. They complicated transport and hurt economic activity and, in the words of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, ensured that for many Nigerians the Christmas holidays were “anything but merry and happy.” His administration says it’s working overtime to end the queues that have formed at gasoline stations throughout much of the country. Nigeria is about the…

Kenya President Keeps Treasury Chief as He Builds Government

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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,…

South Sudan Rebel Attacks Kill 34 People Since Beginning of Year

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South Sudan (Capital Markets in Africa) – Attacks by rebel groups in South Sudan killed 34 people in the first three days of this year even as warring parties agreed in December to cease hostilities, according to a military official. Three attacks in the south of the country by rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar and the army’s ex-deputy chief of staff, Thomas Cirillo Swaka, left six assailants dead Wednesday while an ambush on traveling…

Bitcoin Loses Dazzle as Second-Tier Crypto Coins Catch Up

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin alternatives are closing the gap with the market leader after names like stellar and cardano became red hot as 2017 was closing. The biggest cryptocurrency’s share of market value has fallen to a record 36 percent from 56 percent a month ago, according to CoinMarketCap prices for coins and tokens. Stellar, designed for cross-border payments, has more than doubled in the first trading days of this year, achieving…

Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin is losing its luster with some of its earliest and most avid fans — criminals — giving rise to a new breed of virtual currency. Privacy coins such as monero, designed to avoid tracking, have climbed faster over the past two months as law enforcers adopt software tools to monitor people using bitcoin. A slew of analytic firms such as Chainalysis are getting better at flagging digital hoards linked…

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