Bizness Lounge: October 2015

Monday, 19 October 2015

Four Things to Know About 'Beasts of No Nation' Star Abraham Attah

Abraham Attah (left) and Idris Elba in 'Beasts of No Nation'

Courtesy of Netflix/Venice Film Festival

The teenager from Ghana makes his acting debut in Netflix's first original feature film.

Starring as the child soldier at the center of Netflix's first original feature film, Beasts of No Nation, first-time actor Abraham Attah has received critical acclaim for his performance opposite Idris Elba in the Cary Fukunaga-written and -directed movie. Attah, who was discovered skipping class and playing soccer in Ghana, has already received an award for his work in Beasts, taking home the Marcello Mastroianni prize for best new young actor or actress at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, where Beasts premiered.
The movie began streaming on Netflix on Friday and is also playing in select theaters through a deal with Bleecker Street and Landmark Theatres. In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated $50,699 at the box office, from 27 theaters in 30 markets, for a location average of $1,635.
Read on to find out more about Attah, his work in the film and what he's doing now.
He Was Discovered on a Soccer Field in Ghana and Impressed Fukunaga and the Casting Director with His Ability to Tap into his Emotions:
Attah was skipping class and playing soccer on a school field when casting director Harrison Nesbit walked over and asked him if he'd be interested in auditioning for a movie.

"We were playing football in front of a school, and a

Zambia seeks divine help to tackle economic woes

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 19 October 2015

Zambia seeks divine help to tackle economic woes. PHOTO; Wikipedia

Zambians took part in a national day of prayer on Sunday seeking divine help for the country's economic woes following a collapse in global copper prices.
Zambia, Africa's second biggest copper producer, has seen its kwacha currency tumble nearly 50 percent against the dollar this year, driving up food prices.
Responding to an appeal from President Edgar Lungu, churches across the southern African nation conducted prayer services.
All Sunday soccer matches were postponed and bars and restaurants were encouraged to close in a bid to encourage more Zambians to join the prayer gatherings.
"I personally believe that since we humbled ourselves and cried out to God, the Lord has heard our cry," Lungu said in an address on Sunday. "I appeal to all of you to do your best and leave the rest to God."
Its 1996 constitution designates Zambia officially as a Christian nation.
Its economic woes have also caused power shortages.
"The shortage of electricity has affected all of us. Companies are scaling down production and laying off workers," Catholic priest Michael Mawelera said during Sunday mass at Good Shepherd Kabwata parish in the capital Lusaka.
"Prices of essential commodities have risen because of the depreciation of the kwacha. We need to seek God's hand," he said.
Zambia's economy is expected to grow by less than 5 percent this year, down from an earlier projection of around 6 percent, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda told Reuters last month.

S.Africa's rand close to 6-week highs as U.S. Fed hike in doubt

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 19 October 2015

S.Africa's rand close to 6-week highs as U.S. Fed hike in doubt. PHOTO: Reuters

South Africa's rand traded close to recent six-week highs against the dollar on Monday, supported by the possibility that the U.S. central bank might not raise interest rates this year.
The local stock market looked set to open flat at 0700 GMT as indicated by the Top-40 futures index which was up only 0.01 percent.
By 0654 GMT, the rand was at 13.0435 versus the greenback, up 0.32 percent from Friday's close at 13.0850.
The local unit was within striking distance of last Thursday's high of 13.0300, its strongest level since Aug. 27 according to Thomson Reuters data.
Some investors are now pricing in the likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve could defer interest rate hikes to next year.
This has boosted appetite for emerging market currencies like the rand, which have been sold heavily since the start of the year as investors bet on U.S. policy tightening commencing in 2015.
"Without any catalysts due today I would expect the rand to trade within a slightly narrower range than what we have become accustomed to over the past couple of weeks," Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler said.
"A range of 13.0300-13.1700 should hold for today but if we get a break through last week’s low (for dollar/rand) we could get a quick run to 12.95."
On the debt market, the yield for debt maturing in 2026 dipped 1 basis point to 8.135 percent.

Slow economic growth squeezes South Africa's Shoprite Q3 turnover

By: Reuters

Last Updated:

South Africa's grocer Shoprite Holdings said it was hit by weaker economic growth and lacklustre demand. Photo: Wikimedia

South Africa's grocer Shoprite Holdings on Monday reported slowing third quarter sales, hit by weaker economic growth and lacklustre demand from its core customers.

Africa's largest retailer said turnover for the three months to September rose 6.7 percent compared to a 12.3 percent increase in the same period last year.

"The core customer base of its flagship Shoprite chain in particular remained under pressure from mining job cuts, rising electricity costs, labour instability and lack of job creation," the company said in a statement.

Third quarter performance was also affected by fewer store openings but Shoprite said it expected better sales in festive season.

Shares in Shoprite were down 4 percent at 152.50 rand at 0900 GMT falling short of a 0.5 percent rise in the Johannesburg Securities Exchange's General Retailers index.

Consumers in Africa's most advanced economy are tightening their belts amid rising interest rates, higher energy costs and the first income tax hike in more than a decade.

South Africa's reserve bank cut 2015 growth forecast to 1.5 percent in September mainly due to contractions in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

A $1.5 billion startup that’s been stealing Salesforce execs is growing like crazy

By Eugene Kim October 17, 2015

(Insidesales.com)

Insidesales.com CEO Dave Elkington
Insidesales, last valued at roughly $1.5 billion, is a startup that makes software for salespeople. It dissects billions of sales-related data to predict the best time and person to contact when selling something.

The company’s been making a lot of headlines for its growth and predictive technology, but it’s also known for its recent hiring spree — particularly for bringing in a bunch of executives who were once a major part of Salesforce, the $50 billion cloud software maker.

In the past year alone, Insidesales has hired six former Salesforce executives, including:

China's economic growth dips to 6-year low but consumer spending helps avert deeper downturn Associated Press

By Joe Mcdonald, AP Business Writer 6 hours ago

In this Oct. 11, 2015 photo, a woman works with equipment in a factory manufacturing solar power panels in Shangrao in central China's Jiangxi province. China's economic growth decelerated in the latest quarter but relatively robust spending by Chinese consumers helped to avert a deeper downturn. The world's second-largest economy grew by 6.9 percent in the three months ended in September, the slowest since early 2009 in the aftermath of the global crisis, data showed Monday, Oct. 19, 2015. That was down from the previous quarter's 7 percent. (Chinatopix via AP) CHINA OUT

BEIJING (AP) -- China's economy decelerated in the latest quarter but stronger spending by consumers who are emerging as an important pillar of growth helped to avert a deeper downturn.
The world's second-largest economy grew by

What do Twitter, Microsoft, and Snapchat all have in common?

They have all had layoffs in recent months.

The reasons for the layoffs are as varied as the companies' products, but the job cuts provide an interesting counterpoint to the parade of mega-funding and billion-dollar startup announcements that have dominated headlines all year.

Even as the tech industry appears to be thriving (and, some argue, at or nearing dangerous bubble levels), tech companies are cutting costs and handing out pink slips.

The question is whether the layoffs are a healthy sign, reflecting disciplined businesses taking measures precisely to avoid overextending themselves, or the first early-warning signals of a changing market.

"There is a general sentiment that the tech-financing market is getting tougher at every stage," says Chi-Hua Chien, cofounder of the venture capital firm Goodwater Capital.

He notes that recent layoffs at Twitter and at

Apple Removes Ad Blocking Apps Security Concerns

According to a report, Intel has created a team of more than 1,000 employees to work on delivering its new modem for Apple's iPhone 7 in 2016. Reuters/Mike Segar

LONDON -- Intel, which has been playing catch-up in the mobile chip market, could soon become one of the biggest players in the industry if reported deals with Apple and Microsoft work out.
According to a report from VentureBeat, Intel has created a team of more than 1,000 employees to work on delivering its new modem for Apple's iPhone 7 in 2016. According to the report, Apple has yet to officially sign any contract with Intel, but if the company continues to meet its delivery milestones for the much-lauded 7360 LTE modem chip, then Intel could have a major coup on its hands.
The company has struggled to gain a foothold in the

A pedestrian touching her face is reflected on an electronic board showing the various stock prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan on Aug. 27, 2015. Reuters/Yuya Shino

Asian shares were mixed, while European stocks hit a five-week high Monday, as global investors weighed the potential impact of slowing growth in China. The world's second-largest economy grew by 6.9 percent in the July-September quarter -- narrowly ahead of analysts’ forecasts of 6.7 percent.
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 percent, before paring its losses and trading down 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded mostly down during the day, before closing flat. Stocks were shielded from further falls by

Passengers sit inside a bus in front of a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City, April 24, 2015. Reuters/Edgard Garrido

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. engaged in suspected bribery worth millions of dollars in India, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a federal investigation into allegations of corruption in the company. Investigators discovered the suspected bribery while investigating alleged corruption at the American retail giant's operations in Mexico.
The report stated that Wal-Mart paid thousands of small payments to low-ranking Indian officials to help move goods through customs or acquire real-estate permits. In 2013, Wal-Mart dropped plans to open stores in the South Asian country in a

Morgan Stanley missed third-quarter earnings estimates to report a drop in profits on Monday, Sept 19, 2015. Pictured: Images and market data is displayed on digital display signs on the exterior of the headquarters of Morgan Stanley at 1585 Broadway in New York's Times Square on Sept. 16, 2015. Reuters/Mike Segar

American investment banking giant Morgan Stanley reported quarterly earnings Monday, falling well short of analysts’ expectations. The company's stock dropped 5.7 percent in pre-market trading immediately after the announcement.
The firm posted net revenues of $7.8 billion for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2015 compared with $8.9 billion a year ago, and net income of $1.02 billion, or

S. Africa's gas Mossel Bay plant risks running out of supplies by mid-2017

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 16 October 2015

SA's national oil company, PetroSA, says its flagship Mossel Bay gas-to-liquid plant could run out of local gas supplies by 2017. Wikipedia

South Africa's national oil company, PetroSA, says its flagship Mossel Bay gas-to-liquid plant could run out of local gas supplies by 2017 after an offshore drilling campaign yielded only 10 percent of the expected gas reserves.

The $1 billion offshore drilling campaign along South Africa's southern coast, which completed 3 out of 5 wells before being stopped, only realised 25 billion cubic feet out of an anticipated 242 bcf of gas that could be commercially extracted.

South Africa's rand firms on weak U.S data, stocks falter

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 16 October 2015T

South Africa's rand rallied to its firmest level in almost two months against the dollar on Thursday. PHOTO: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's rand rallied to its firmest level in almost two months against the dollar on Thursday as limp retail sales and producer prices fell, dampening bets of a U.S Federal rate hike.

Stocks fell as mining shares lost ground after iron ore, gold and platinum prices tumbled.

By 1550 GMT, the rand had gained 1.01 percent to 13.0900 per dollar on Thursday, near its firmest since August 28, as the unit rode the wave of an emerging markets rally spurred by the weak data in the United States.

The greenback was weighed down by soft retail sales and the biggest producer prices falls in eight months.[ID:nL1N12E0UR]

"The rand has generally posted and maintained gains post the NFP (non-farm payrolls) at the beginning of the month," currency analysts at Nedbank said in a note.

"This is largely attributable to the diminishing prospects of a rates lift off in the U.S this year."

Government bonds tracked the currency firmer, with the paper due in 2026 shedding 9 basis points to 8.14 percent.

After a dearth of domestic data this week, the rand faces pressure from a raft of releases, with inflation, retail sales and the finance minister's medium term budget speech before parliament all due next Wednesday.

A Reuters poll of economists found that the South Africa was likely to remain in stagflation - slow or no growth with quicker inflation - going into 2016 due to the gloomy global outlook for commodity prices.[ID:nL3N12E51B]

On the bourse, the benchmark Top-40 index shed 0.31 percent to 47,462 points while the broader All-share index lost 0.17 percent to 52,966 points on mining stocks.

Johannesburg-listed mining index fell 1.12 percent dragged down by lower iron ore, gold and platinum prices. Kumba Iron Ore fell 2.7 percent to 83.66 rand.

Shares in Murray & Roberts Holdings fell 0.45 percent to 11.10 rand after shedding more than 7 percent on Wednesday following the collapse of a bridge support structure over one of South Africa's busiest motorways, killing two commuters and injuring 21. The company said it had started a probe into the incident. [ID:nL8N12F3EU]

"The share price was hit a lot yesterday and I think it was a bit oversold. The temporary bridge collapsing is probably not going to effect the share price in the long run," said Vasili Tirasis, a trader at BNP Bernstein.

The incident also led construction equipment company Waco International to postpone a planned listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Safaricom bags lion's share of Kenyan mobile revenues - regulator

By: Reuters

Last Updated:

Safaricom dominates the Kenyan mobile market, sweeping up more than 90 percent of revenues. PHOTO:REUTERS/Antony Njuguna

Safaricom dominates the Kenyan mobile market, sweeping up more than 90 percent of revenues in areas such as voice calls and text messaging, according to regulator data that could further fuel a debate about competition in the industry.
Rivals like Bharti Airtel and some officials have complained that Safaricom's dominance stifles competition. France's Orange is seeking to sell its Kenya operation, becoming the second international operator to quit the country after India's Essar Telecoms sold its Yu business last year.
The data obtained by Reuters comes as the East African nation is amending the telecom sector's competition law to give the regulator more p

Apple's newest courtroom foe is a patent-savvy university

NEW YORK | By Andrew Chung

As a veteran of the global smart phone wars, Apple(AAPL.O) is used to courtroom battles with fierce competitors such as Samsung(005930.KS) and Nokia(NOKIA.HE).This week, however, a federal jury returned a verdict against Apple in a lawsuit brought by a different kind of adversary: a public university.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, convinced a jury that Apple had infringed its patent for improving chip efficiency when the company incorporated the technology into some of its phones and tablets.
Research institutions and universities have not traditionally been major players in patent litigation, and even now schools still launch relatively few patent suits compared to private companies - about 40 to 50 cases per year, according to preliminary research by University of Alberta professor Tania Bubela.
But within that world, WARF has become an

Honeywell profit beats as costs fall

Honeywell International Inc (HON.N), a U.S. manufacturer of aerospace parts and climate control systems, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as costs fell.The company, whose customers include Airbus Group SE (AIR.PA), Boeing Co (BA.N) and Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO), has been cutting jobs and selling or merging businesses to reduce costs and boost efficiency.
Honeywell's expenses fell about 7 percent to $6.65 billion in the third quarter, while operating margins rose to 18.3 percent from 16.2 percent, a year earlier.
However, the company's revenue fell 5 percent, missing analysts' expectations, hurt by a strong dollar.
Honeywell also cut its 2015 revenue forecast to

Turkey shoots down drone near Syria, U.S. suspects Russian origin

ANKARA | By Orhan Coskun

Turkish warplanes shot down an unidentified drone in Turkish air space near Syria on Friday and a U.S. official said Washington believed it was of Russian origin.The Russian defense ministry said all of its planes in Syria had safely returned to base and that all its drones were operating "as planned".
The downing of the drone highlights the risks to NATO member Turkey as Syrian, Russian and U.S. coalition aircraft fly combat missions so close to its borders.
The Turkish military said its jets had shot down the aircraft after it continued on its trajectory despite three warnings, in line with its rules of engagement. Broadcaster NTV said it had come 3 km (1.9 miles) into Turkish air space.
"It's a drone. We are trying to identify its nationality," a senior Turkish government official told Reuters.
A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington suspected it was a Russian drone, but said the information was still preliminary and declined to give any more details.
Russian jets violated Turkish air space on two occasions earlier this month and Turkey has warned it will respond if the incursions are repeated.
Russia's air strikes in Syria mean that Russian and NATO planes are now flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two, heightening concern that the Cold War enemies could fire on each other.
The Russian air force officially informed the Turkish military on Thursday about the violations by Russian jets earlier this month, and about steps it would take to prevent a repetition.
Turkey has also reported unidentified aircraft and Syria-based missile air defense systems harassing its warplanes several times in recent months.
(Additional reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul, Phil Stewart in Washington, Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Nick Tattersall)

Lamar Odom Update: Is Khloé Kardashian's Ex Brain Dead? 'KUWTK' Star Wants To Move Him To LA Hospital

Lamar Odom's estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, wants to move him to a Los Angeles hospital so that he can stay close to his family and friends, according to Hollywood Life. Getty Images/Doug Pensinger

Khloé Kardashian desperately wants to move her estranged husband Lamar Odom to Los Angeles as the former NBA player remains in coma in a hospital in Las Vegas. Odom was found unconscious and bleeding from the mouth and nose at Love Ranch South, a legal brothel in Pahrump, Nevada, on Tuesday.
Khloé, who is in charge of Odom’s medical care despite signing divorce papers in July, remained by his side at Las Vegas’ Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, while her mother Kris Jenner and sister Kim Kardashian flew back home to Los Angeles Thursday.
“Khloé wants Lamar in Los Angeles because she

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, poses as he stands on a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, Sept. 28, 2014. Reuters/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

BANGALORE, India -- Amazon.com, Inc. is in advanced talks for a stake in city startup Housejoy.in, a local on-demand handyman provider, the Economic Times reported Friday, citing three people with knowledge of the plans. The southern city of Bangalore is well established as India's tech and startup hub.
Amazon could lead a clutch of investors in a funding round that could raise between $15 million and $20 million at Housejoy, backed by Growth Story, the organization through which Bangalore’s serial entrepreneur couple Meena and Krishnan Ganesh support startups, and venture capital firm Matrix Partners, the newspaper reported.
Krishnan Ganesh declined to comment when contacted by International Business Times through a company spokesman. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.
From fixing electrical blowouts to

A Nestle logo is pictured on sample products on display at the company headquarters in Vevey, Feb. 19, 2015. Reuters/Denis Balibouse

Nestle, the world's largest packaged food company, lowered its full-year outlook on Friday, as a Maggi noodle recall in India knocked sales and undercalculated U.S. Skin Health rebates weighed on the Swiss company's profits.
Sales dropped 2.1 percent to 64.9 billion Swiss francs ($68 billion) in the nine months through September, missing analysts' average forecast of 65.9 billion in a Reuters poll.
Organic or underlying growth, adjusted for currency swings, acquisitions and divestitures, slowed to 4.2 percent in the period from 4.5 percent in the f

China’s volatile stock markets have helped the number of dollar billionaires in the country outstrip that of the U.S. for the first time. Pictured: A general view shows the Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, Oct. 16, 2014. Getty Images/AFP/Johannes Eisele

SHANGHAI -- China’s volatile stock markets have helped the number of dollar billionaires in the country outstrip that of the U.S. for the first time, despite the country’s economic slowdown, according to a new report. As of mid-August, the country had 596 billionaires, up 242 on 2014, and above the U.S. figure of 537, said Shanghai-based consultancy Hurun Report in its annual China Rich List.
The total wealth of the 1,877 people on the list, each of whom has a personal value of at least 2 billion yuan (around $310 million), exceeds the GDP of India, the report added.
Real estate tycoon and AMC cinema chain owner Wang Jianlin is now China’s richest man, with $34.4 billion, wresting the title back from Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba. However, the information technology sector saw the

Can Russia’s economy really get any worse? Maybe

Katy Barnato | @KatyBarnato

Record-low oil prices, international sanctions and an expensive interventionist foreign policy — can things get any worse for the Russian economy? The answer varies according to which Russian captain of industry you speak.
The World Bank sees Russia's economy shrinking by a steep 3.8 percent this year. A sharp contraction in real wages of 8.5 percent in the first half of 2015 has led to a rise in an already-high poverty rate and a tumble in consumer demand.
However, the billionaire president of Russia's Rusal, the world's second largest producer of aluminum, thinks the worst is yet to come — although not for at least another three quarters.
"There is still a crisis and we can't see the bottom yet and there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved… I don't think in the next nine months we will see the bottom yet," Oleg Deripaska told CNBC on Wednesday.

He pointed to plethora of issues that needed to be

First Data falls 1.5% in biggest IPO of the year

Fred Imbert | @foimbert

Richard Drew | AP

A banner for First Data Corp. adorns the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, to mark the company's IPO, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for further updates.

Shares of First Data fell into negative territory, giving back gains at its initial public offering on Thursday.

The company's stock priced in at $16 and opened at $16.39, up more than 2 percent, before falling about 1.5 percent.

"It's a great day for us to open. We feel fabulous about [the IPO]," Frank Bisignano, CEO of First Data, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" shortly after the stock began trading.
First Data hoped to raise as much as $3.7 billion in what is expected to be the biggest initial public offering of the year.

Bisignano also said he feels confident the company can compete with the likes of Square, which recently filed for its own IPO, and even Visa.
"If you look at what we've done over the past two year, we've really transformed the company," he said. "we were a no-growth company and we've changed that. We changed how we approached our clients ... and changed how we do business with small and medium-sized businesses."

World Bank trims Kenya growth forecast for 2015 and 2016

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 15 October 2015

The World Bank said on Thursday it had trimmed Kenya's growth forecast for this year and 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The World Bank said on Thursday it had trimmed Kenya's growth forecast for this year and 2016, saying east Africa's biggest economy was facing headwinds from currency volatility and tighter monetary policy.
The World Bank put 2015 growth at 5.4 percent, lower than a previous estimate of 6 percent, and forecast the economy would expand 5.7 percent in 2016, down from 6.6 percent.
"These estimates ... take into account more recent data on exchange rate, inflation, fiscal consolidation and balance of payments pressures," the bank said in a report.
Kenya's shilling has lost 14 percent against the dollar this year and interest rates have climbed by 300 basis points.
The World Bank said Kenya's public debt, which went up 0.05 percent to 44.5 percent of gross national production in 2014/2015, remained "sustainable".
The World Bank said Kenya remained on course to be one of Africa's fastest growing economies despite a slight slowdown in economic expansion.
"We believe that the Kenyan economy remains solid," John Randa, a senior World Bank economist, said in Nairobi.

Zimbabwe to approach World Bank, IMF for new loans: finmin

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 15 October 2015

Zimbabwe will seek fresh loans from the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank (AfDB). PHOTO: REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

Zimbabwe will seek fresh loans from the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank (AfDB) as it struggles with slowing growth, subdued commodity prices and high unemployment, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Thursday.

President Robert Mugabe's government started defaulting on its debt to the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank and several Western lenders in 1999 and is struggling to emerge from a catastrophic recession that ran for a decade until 2008.

Without any balance of payment support and starved of foreign credit, Zimbabwe is running its budget hand-to-mouth, leaving it with virtually no money for infrastructure.

"What we agreed with the three

Morocco government sees GDP growth at 3 pct in 2016: budget draft

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 15 October 2015|

The Moroccan government sees the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 3 percent in 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

The Moroccan government sees the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 3 percent in 2016, down from an estimated 5 percent in 2015, a government statement on the national budget draft said.

The budget deficit is expected at 3.5 percent of GDP down, from 4.3 percent in 2015, while inflation is seen at 1.7 percent, according to government

Global Stocks Rebound After Weak US Data Allays Fears Of Imminent Rate Hike

A businessman walks past a share prices board illustrating the benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2015. Getty Images/AFP/YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

European shares rose during early trading Thursday, rebounding from recent losses, after weak U.S. data released the previous day further reduced the chances of an imminent rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Data released Wednesday showed a weak rise in U.S. retail sales and a sharp decline in producer prices, suggesting that the economy was losing steam on the back of weak global growth.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1 percent during early trade, despite a negative session on Wall Street overnight. London’s FTSE 100 also ended a three-day losing

Oscar Pistorius listened to his judgement in the Pretoria High Court on Oct. 21, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa. The South African Paralympian, who was sentenced to six years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend in 2013, will be released from jail on correctional supervision on Oct. 20, 2015. Herman Verwey/Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympian who was sentenced to five years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend in 2013, will be released from jail on house arrest Tuesday, according to Algoa FM radio station in Port Elizabeth.
South Africa allows for some prisoners to be released under correctional supervision after fulfilling one-sixth of their sentence. Pistorius was eligible to

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk and Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko left a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Oct. 15, 2015. Ukraine's debt swap proposal, critical to the country's bailout plan, has been accepted by the majority of its creditors except from Russia, which did not participate in voting. Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko

In the latest economic battle between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian government officials said Thursday the country was prepared to go to court over a $3 billion bond note owed to Russia, Bloomberg reported. Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko negotiated a 20 percent write down on $18 billion worth of bonds in August, but Russia refused to participate in the restructuring.
"We're ready for the legal war with the Russian Federation," said Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk Thursday at a press briefing in the

An aerial view of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas plant at Bonny Island in Rivers state is seen on March 22, 2013. Nigeria is Turkey's top trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and trade volume between the two countries has hit $2.5 billion. Turkey imports liquefied natural gas from Nigeria and Algeria at an annual rate of 7.2 billion cubic meters. Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images

Trade volume between Turkey and Nigeria has reached $2.5 billion, and there are efforts to increase investment, Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Hakan Cakil said Thursday. Speaking at a business forum in Nigeria’s capital organized by the

GTBank partners AFD on N3bn SMEs’ financing scheme

By BusinessNews Staff on October 14, 2015

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) said it has gone into partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to launch a N3 billion Ariz Portfolio Guarantee Scheme, an initiative designed to boost financing for business start-ups and development projects in Nigeria.
The partnership with GTBank, which according to a statement from the bank was the first in Anglophone Africa, would support the growth of SMEs by providing a risk sharing mechanism on loan advances.
The Ariz Portfolio Guarantee Scheme provides banks, private equity investors and other financial institutions a safer platform to increase participation in SME financing by providing foreign guarantees to local credit facilities advanced to SMEs. Since its inception in 2008, the Ariz Portfolio Guarantee Scheme has expanded to over 20 francophone countries in Africa, and has teamed up with more than 40 partner banks worldwide. The scheme has seen a steady rise in the number and volume of guarantees allocated (up 80% annually over the past 3 years) and an increasing number of companies have been able to develop each year, with thousands of jobs created.

According to the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Denys Gauer, “small and medium enterprises have a

NNPC to explore alternative funding to offset subsidy debts to oil marketers

By BusinessNews Staff on October 14, 2015

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) monday said it would explore new financing mechanisms to offset outstanding debts on subsidy claims which the federal government owes petroleum marketers in the country.
The corporation also stated that it would reach out to relevant creditors such as the banks in the country to ease off extant repayment pressure on marketers and extend the credit lines offered by them.
Reports indicate that the government’s subsidy debts to oil marketers runs into billions of naira.
The corporation in a statement from its Group General Manager Public Affairs, Ohi Alegbe, in Abuja, explained that these are parts of the extant measures it is taking to ensure that supply of petroleum products in the country is sustained even into the forthcoming yuletide.
The statement noted that these decisions were reached at a meeting between the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) as well as the Depot and Petroleum Products Association, (DAPPMA).
According to the statement, the meeting was at the instance of the corporation.
It stated that at the end of the meeting, the

CBN adjusts Forex peg to N196.98/$1

By BusinessNews Staff on October 14, 2015

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) strengthened its exchange rate peg slightly to N196.98 against the dollar on the interbank market on Monday, from N197 to a dollar it set last week, traders said.
According to Reuters, the regulator sent a message announcing the adjustment, which is the eighth since the bank introduced tight currency controls in February. The central bank has resisted calls to further devalue the naira in the face of a plunge in vital oil revenues. It devalued the currency last November and later pegged the exchange rate in another de facto devaluation. It had however, resorted to rationing dollar supply by restricting access to hard currency for import of certain items, frustrating businesses.

Vice president Yemi Osibanjo had said Africa’s biggest economy will keep the currency restrictions for now to preserve the country’s foreign reserves but will eventually relax them.
On the parallel market, the naira closed flat at N224 to the dollar on Monday. The bank has been selling dollars twice a week to the parallel market since July, traders said, citing that the regulator is keen to narrow the spreads in both markets.

Petrol queues resurface as marketers cut imports

By BusinessNews Staff on October 14, 2015

Loading of petrol at the depots has also reduced significantly as of Tuesday, our correspondents learnt from market sources.
Many filling stations in Ikoyi, Agege, Ikeja, Ogba, Iju in Lagos, and Berger, Ajuwon and Akute in Ogun State, among others, were shut on Tuesday, with the sales attendants claiming that they had no petrol to sell.
Similarly, the queues for fuel by motorists, which became noticeable in the FCT on Monday night intensified on Tuesday.
Motorists were seen on long queues waiting to buy petrol at the few filling stations that sold the product.
Although officials of some of the petrol stations stated that they had no idea as to why there was fuel scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation described the development as panic buying.
Despite the NNPC’s stance, hundreds of motorists formed long queues at the two petrol stations, Total and Conoil, located directly opposite the headquarters of the corporation in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Executive Secretary, Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that members of the group were loading the available products from the depots.
Adewole said about 10 out of the 42 members of

Nigeria may curtail Ghana natural gas supply over debts

By BusinessNews Staff on October 14, 2015

Nigeria may curb the supply of natural gas to Ghana because the country hasn’t paid more than a year of bills for the fuel, the West African Gas Pipeline Corporation said.
Ghana stopped paying for the fuel from Africa’s largest economy in August of 2014, Harriet Wereko-Brobby, spokeswoman for the pipeline company, told Bloomberg.
The Nigerian Gas Company sent a letter to Ghana’s largest power producer, the Volta River Authority, announcing the possible cut in supply, she said.
“It’s always possible to have the curtailment at any moment,” she said.

Ghana and Nigeria lowered their economic growth forecasts this year because of a drop in oil prices that reduced revenue and made it harder to meet budget deficit targets. Ghana has been struggling to meet power demand because of low water levels at a its largest hydroelectric dam and a lack of natural gas to power thermal plants. Nigeria is the continent’s largest producer of oil and has sub-Saharan Africa’s largest deposit of natural gas.
Ghana received as much as 90 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from Nigeria in the past month, Wereko-Brobby said.

U.S. business summit propounds ways to stimulate growth in Nigeria

By Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri on October 14, 2015

A two–day business summit organised by Humanity for Africa Foundation (HFAF), in collaboration with Merit Global Enterprises, all based in Newark, New Jersey, the United States, with about 256 participants has ended in the Newark, New Jersey, with the resolve to establish a sister city programme liaising between Abuja and Newark to explore business opportunities.
According to a statement by the President of Humanity for Africa, Innocent Okemezie, the participants resolved that the replication of the sister state initiatives in business opportunities of the G2G and B2B was germane.
Okemezie, welcoming the participants, charged them to explore the opportunity of the summit to discuss strategic partnership in the field of commerce and industry and other areas of cooperation to foster business relationship between Abuja and

South Africa's Mediclinic agrees to buy UAE's Al Noor Hospitals

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 14 October 2015

Mediclinic agreed to buy United Arab Emirates' Al Noor Hospitals Group. Photo: Wikimedia

South Africa's Mediclinic Intl on Wednesday agreed to buy United Arab Emirates' Al Noor Hospitals Group, beating out rival NMC Health.

The deal will create a group spanning southern Africa, Switzerland and UAE.

Investors in London-listed Al Noor will be eligible to receive 1,160 pence per share if they tender their stock, or equity in the combined group, the companies said. The price represents a 39 percent premium to the price on Oct. 1.

The deal, structured as a reverse takeover of Al Noor by Mediclinic, will create a London-listed group with a turnover exceeding $4 billion operating 73 hospitals with over 10,000 beds and 35 clinics.

NMC Health, which is also listed in London, said it had made an informal cash-and-shares offer to buy Al Noor on Oct. 9, days after Al Noor and Mediclinic said they were in talks.

Al Noor Chief Executive Ronald Lavater said there was a "compelling strategic fit" with Mediclinic.

He called the NMC Health proposal "inferior both on the value and on the deal certainty".

Shares in Al Noor were up 10.4 percent at 1,098 pence at 0759 GMT, while Mediclinic was up 4.7 percent at 12,270 rand. NMC Health was up 4.2 percent at 822 pence.

Kenya central bank will offer "adequate liquidity" after Imperial Bank case

By: Reuters

Last Updated: 14 October 2015

Kenya's central bank said it was ready to provide "adequate liquidity" to the country's banking system. Photo: Flickr

Kenya's central bank on Wednesday said it was ready to provide "adequate liquidity" to the country's banking system after a mid-sized lender was put into receivership a day earlier.

The Central Bank of Kenya said it "stands ready to use all instruments at its disposal to provide adequate liquidity support to the banking system to ensure its stability and robustness at this time".

It said the case of Imperial Bank bein

Kenya's Uchumi supermarkets says closes loss-making Tanzania, Uganda units

By: Reuters

Uchumi supermarkets has closed down its loss-making Tanzanian and Ugandan businesses as part of its turnaround plan. Photo: Flickr

Kenya's Uchumi supermarkets has closed down its loss-making Tanzanian and Ugandan businesses as part of its turnaround plan, it said on Wednesday.

"Our outlets in Uganda and Tanzania make up only 4.75 percent of our operations yet they account for over 25 percent of our operating costs," Chief Executive Julius Kipng’etich said in a statement.

"The two subsidiaries have not made any profit over the last five years, which means they have been draining the parent operations.

Monday, 19 October 2015

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Friday, 16 October 2015

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