Market Watch

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Contradictory statements and media leaks are making it impossible to get a handle on India’s soon-to-be-unveiled cryptocurrency policy. The uncertainty is throwing young blockchain firms and programmers into a paroxysm of anxiety: Should they leave or stay? If they hang back, should they do something else with their lives? On Sunday, the global crypto industry heaved a sigh of relief when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman categorically ruled out a…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — There comes a point in nearly every financial conversation these days when someone drops the “B” word. Bitcoin, that is. Maybe it’s pandemic boredom. Maybe it’s the fact that every billionaire out there wants us to know whether they hate it or love it. In any case, the cryptocurrency has been on — hmm, let’s say an… interesting… ride — over the past few weeks. So I thought I’d write you…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — In a world of rising U.S. Treasury yields and a stronger dollar, higher oil prices can be a game-changer — for good or for bad. Oil exporters are the obvious beneficiaries: African crude producers including Angola, Ghana, and Nigeria had budgeted for an average price of around $40 per barrel for Brent crude in 2021, according to Rand Merchant Bank analysts. The price actually averaged closer to $60, providing…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) — Investors placed orders for more than triple the amount of Eurobonds offered by Ivory Coast in a reopened sale Monday, evidence of the unrelenting appetite for the higher returns on riskier frontier-market assets. The west African nation, the world’s largest cocoa producer, issued 600 million euros ($725 million) more of its existing euro-denominated 4.875% coupon bonds due 2032 and 250 million euros more of the 6.625% coupon securities maturing 2048,…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) — Egypt raised $3.75 billion of bonds on Monday as it sought to take advantage of investors’ hunger for higher-yielding assets. The North African nation issued securities due in five, 10 and 40 years, with respective yields of 3.875%, 5.875% and 7.5%. The initial price talk ranged from 4.25% on the shortest tranche to 7.875% on the longest one. A wave of monetary stimulus and optimism that coronavirus vaccine rollouts will sustain a global economic recovery…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — On Wednesday they watched their fortunes surge. They made gains collectively worth billions and bludgeoned two hedge funds. Then their holdings plummeted, only to rebound again to stratospheric heights unimaginable just a few weeks earlier. Now that members of the Reddit forum WallStreetBets have become a cultural juggernaut on Main Street and a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street, many of the investors who make up…