*Global stock markets lose the value of Japan's GDP in a week. NEW YORK, Feb 28- Coronavirus panic sent world stock markets tumbling again on Friday, setting them on course for their largest weekly fall since the 2008 global financial crisis, with over $5 trillion wiped from global market value so far this week. Hopes the epidemic, first detected in China in December,...
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 27- The spread across the world of the Chinese coronavirus has probably wiped out global crude oil demand growth for 2020, but in something of an irony it's likely to be China that will be responsible if any increase is eked out. But it also seems to be the case that Beijing may finally be getting a handle on containing the virus, just as it...
ABUJA, Feb 26- Dangote Cement said on Wednesday it planned to start exports from its Congo Republic plants to neighbouring states after its Nigerian exports fell 41% in 2019 when Nigeria's government closed its borders. He said the company had exported to West and Central Africa from Nigeria. In February, Dangote Cement appointed ex-head of Lafarge Africa...
*South Africa last IG rating in crosshairs after budget. LONDON, Feb 26- Wednesday budget should decide the fate of South Africa's solitary remaining investment grade credit rating, but with many in the country already resigned to its loss the bigger question might be how low could it go. A cut to junk by Moody's- following downgrades by S&P and Fitch in 2017- would...
CAPE TOWN, Feb 26- South Africa will cut its public sector wage bill to contain a rising budget deficit, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown with trade unions who threatened protests if pay was touched. The pay cut proposal boosted the rand, as traders bet it could help South Africa, the continent's most industrialised...
Disruptions caused by the coronavirus will cause the world economy to shrink if the outbreak continues, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris told CNBC.
The probe, led by attorneys general in Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Texas, will examine whether Juul targeted underage users, and its claims about nicotine content and safety, the offices leading the probe said in separate statements. Several other states, including California and Massachusetts, have already sued the San Francisco- based company...
LONDON/ MILAN, Feb 25- Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse and other banks have curbed trips to Italy amid fears that the coronavirus outbreak across the north of the country could quickly spread across Europe, sources said. Lazard, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank also rushed to warn staff against all "non-essential travel" to northern Italy, four...
LONDON, Feb 25- JPMorgan has restricted business travel to and from Italy to prevent the spread of coronavirus, according to a memo sent to EMEA employees and seen by Reuters. The Wall Street bank said all trips to Italy would require line management approval. It also said that staff based across Europe, the Middle East and Africa who had returned from northern...
As the new coronavirus spreads from China, travel guidelines being issued by governments across the world all express notes of growing caution. The Spanish Foreign Ministry also urges against contact with animals in China and suggests making sure that you stay at least one meter away from the next person. For travelers to Italy- the country most badly hit by the...
Feb 25- Mastercard's chief executive officer of 10 years, Ajay Banga, will step down at the start of the next year, the company said on Tuesday, and be replaced by Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach. India- born Banga will take on the role of executive chairman, while Miebach will become the company's president on March 1. Before joining Mastercard as president of...
*Reviewing operating model of Africa ops. JOHANNESBURG, Feb 25- South Africa's Shoprite Holdings will transfer its distribution centres and undeveloped land valued at 2 billion rand to a new joint venture it is creating with Equities Property Fund, the supermarket chain said on Tuesday. Separately, the continent's top supermarket is reviewing its long-term...
*Deere is collaborating with' Uber of tractors' in Africa. Deere& Co. is teaming up with the "Uber of tractors" in Africa and betting on a future where farmers summon machines with the touch of a button. It told Reuters it plans to roll out the devices across Africa in the second half of this year, offering it to all contractors who buy its equipment on the continent.
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 25- South Africa's Shoprite Holdings will transfer its distribution centres and undeveloped land valued at 2 billion rand to a new joint venture it is creating with Equities Property Fund, the supermarket chain said on Tuesday. Thereafter, the joint venture will acquire Shoprite's Cilmor distribution centre in Cape Town and associated...
Set up in 1991 to help ex-communist countries of eastern Europe shift to market economies, the bank is also interested in expanding into Algeria should the new government request to join the institution. Majority owned by G7 top economic powers, the EBRD has widened its geographic scope in recent years to 37 countries including Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco in...
GENEVA, Feb 24- The World Health Organization no longer uses the term pandemic, but the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak remains an international emergency that is likely to spread further, a spokesman said on Monday. Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew after sharp rises in new cases reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea, although China relaxed restrictions on...
LAGOS, Nigeria, Feb 24- The 57 men stumbled out of the back of a dark police truck into the glare of a sunny courtyard and a phalanx of cameras. Some clutched another's hand, as if for comfort. Standing behind a bank of microphones, the Lagos state police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, told the gathered journalists that he personally had ordered the raid that swept up the...
*WHO most concerned about cases with no China link. SHANGHAI/ SEOUL, Feb 23- China reported another fall in new coronavirus infections outside of its epicenter on Sunday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new cases and fears of contagion increased elsewhere. But new infections outside of China continued...
*Infections rise in Italy, Iran. SHANGHAI/ SEOUL, Feb 23- China reported another fall in the new coronavirus infections outside of its epicentre on Sunday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections and fears of contagion increased elsewhere. But new infections outside of China continued to worry...
*Infections rise in Italy, Iran. SHANGHAI/ SEOUL, Feb 23- China reported another fall in the new coronavirus infections outside of its epicenter on Sunday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections and fears of contagion increased elsewhere. But new infections outside of China continued to worry...
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