The Markets | - Part 248

Mid-size firms shy away from Nairobi and Dar es Salaam bourses

Policy makers in Kenya and Tanzania are looking for ways to attract small and medium sized enterprises to the capital markets to increase their access to cheaper capital according to the East African. 2 years after the launch of the GEMS, the Nairobi bourse has only attracted four companies to the platform whilst the Dar es Salaam stock market has only attracted two. This follows a lukewarm performance at the alternative trading platforms for SMEs on…

South Africa’s rand rides on euro gains versus dollar

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand steadied versus the dollar after pushing firmer than the 12.00 mark overnight, helped by a stronger euro after the Federal Reserve signalled last week that U.S. rates would rise very gradually. A less aggressive than expected policy tightening cycle by the Fed would boost high-yielding emerging currencies such as the rand, even as South Africa’s own central bank is expected to keep its key repo rate unchanged on Thursday….

South Africa’s rand steadies, market awaits MPC

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand was largely steady on Monday, with direction likely to be driven by global market moves as investors speculate on the timing of policy tightening in the United States. On the domestic front, market players anticipated few ripples from the South African Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday, where the benchmark repo rate will likely stay unchanged at 5.75 percent. At 0631 GMT, the rand was just 0.16 percent…

Egyptian pound steady on official market, weaker on black market

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s central bank kept the pound steady at 7.53 pounds to the dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Sunday, while the domestic currency weakened on the black market. The central bank has now kept the official exchange rate steady for more than a month after letting the pound weaken in an attempt to wipe out black-market trading. The bank said it had offered $40 million at auction and sold $38.4 million…

South Africa’s rand firms as dollar bulls take back seat

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Friday, shaking off a credit downgrade to state electricity company Eskom as emerging markets currencies took advantage of a weaker greenback. At 1529 GMT the rand firmed 1.9 percent to 12.0650 per dollar, having earlier hit a session high of 12.0520. The euro was headed for its best weekly performance against the dollar in more than two years, following a surprisingly dovish statement…

African Inflation Snapshot: February 2015

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Angola inflation rises to 7.73 percent: Angola’s consumer inflation edged up to 7.73 percent year-on-year in February from 7.44 percent in January, data from the statistics office. On a month-on-month basis, prices were up 0.76 percent after a 0.72 percent increase previously. Botswana’s inflation falls to 2.8 percent: The annual inflation rate in February 2015 was 2.8 percent, a drop of 0.8 of a percentage point on the January 2015 rate of 3.6 percent. Annual…

Global Corporate Bond Issurance and Outlook

Posted on by The Editorial Team

After advancing by 33% annually in 2012 to a record $1.134 trillion, 2013’s US$-denominated investment grade (IG) bond issuance dipped by -1.5% to $1.119 trillion. Following 2012’s 48% annual surge, US$-denominated high yield bond issuance advanced by 11% to a record $431 billion in 2013. Also, after gaining 5% in 2012, newly rated high yield bank loan programs increased by 38% annually to $579 billion in 2013. In 2014, US$-denominated bond issuance edged up by…

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