Business & Tech News
Central Bank Reopens: Libya’s central bank has resumed operations following the release of a bank official who had been abducted from his home on Sunday. CBL confirmed the release of Musaab Muslamm, head of the bank’s information technology department, who was taken by an “unidentified party.”
It said Mr Msallem had been taken from the capital, Tripoli, and that other bank employees had been threatened with kidnapping too. CBL had halted all work, refusing to reopen until Mr Msallem was freed.
Senegal Reviews Oil Contracts: Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on national television on Monday that it had set up a commission of legal, tax, and energy sector experts, to review its oil and gas contracts and work to rebalance them in the national interest . President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who defeated the ruling coalition candidate in a landslide victory in March, ordered an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors after coming into office, and vowed to renegotiate the terms of contracts with foreign operators in the country if needed.
Sasol Profit Slumps: The South African petrochemicals company reported a 66% fall in full-year profit on Tuesday. The profit collapse was accredited to weaker chemical prices. The Group had decided to not issue a final dividend. Headline earnings, was reported at 11.5 billion rand ($648.47 million) in the year to June 30, compared with 33.8 billion rand a year earlier. The Petro Group, which produces liquid fuels and chemicals from coal, and has spent an enormous amount of capital on a chemical plant in the US, indicated that depressed chemicals prices had exerted pressure on margins. Turnover fell 5% to 275.1 billion rand.
Market News
The Dollar saw further pressure overnight as US Treasury yields fell due to expectations of at least four rate cuts that the US Fed would now have to make to correct its overly hawkish stance on holding interest rates this year. US labour market stats, due this week, will also provide cues as to whether the US is in for a hard landing or not. The DXY index has fallen to 101.95 with the Euro closing on the 1.1100 level currently and the Pound trading close to 1.3000, with the Yen just above 147.00. The Rand’s continued to strengthen yesterday as it closed at R17.69 on the back of the weaker Dollar and positive risk sentiment. The rand has lost some ground in early trade this morning morning in line with other Emerging Market currencies and is currently at R17.75.
Commodities: Gold is trading flat this morning at $2,503. Platinum is trading slightly firmer at $957, but Palladium has lost just over 1.0% and is trading at $924. The easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and demand concerns out of China, are affecting the price of oil. Brent crude fell by 2.4% yesterday and is down a further 0.75% this morning and is currently trading at $77.00
Other News Today
A revised version of the eco-levy tax to be tabled in Kenya’s Parliament: Kenyan Treasury Secretary, John Mbadi, yesterday confirmed that 49 measures were being considered as part of a new revised tax amendment bill. The eco-levy tax, aiming particularly at companies and manufacturers, aims to curb pollution and waste management at the office and household level. Unlike the initial proposal, this one will exclude sanitary towels, the newly appointed secretary has insisted. The government also aims to collect more taxes by prolonging the tax amnesty period by six months. The cancellation of Kenya’s Finance Bill 2024 in June followed widespread anti-tax protests. This forced President William Ruto to scrap the initial Tax Bill and reconstitute his Cabinet.
The Malawian Get Drought – Pay-out:
Malawi – The government has received an insurance pay-out of $11.2 million, from the African Development Bank, for a crippling El Nino-linked drought that led the southern African nation to declare a state of disaster earlier this year.The pay-out was issued to Malawi this month, as it had secured a drought insurance policy from the African Development Bnk underwritten by the African Risk Capacity Group, an agency of the African Union. The funds will support food assistance to around 235,000 households in some of Malawi’s hardest-hit drought regions and will provide direct relief payments to more than 100,000 households, according to the African Development Bank. Malawi had declared a state of emergency in March and said there was a food crisis in 23 of its 28 districts.
