Oil prices were little changed at 5-month highs on Thursday, as investors weighed a resurgence in COVID-19 infections in some places around the globe that could slow a recovery in fuel demand against a fall in the US dollar and the prospect of a fresh stimulus in the US. WTI crude fell 0.2% to $42.1 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.1% to $45.2 a barrel during early European trading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark repo rate at 4 percent during its August meeting, surprising markets that expected a 25 bps rate cut, to ensure inflation remains within target going forward following a recent climb in prices due to the coronavirus pandemic. Headline inflation rate has been above the central bank's 4 percent target since the beginning of the year and it is expected to ease only in the second half. The RBI has slashed the repo rate by 115 bps this year, aiming to...

The Bank of England voted unanimously to maintain the key bank rate at a record low of 0.1% on August 6th 2020, in line with market forecasts. The Committee voted unanimously for the Bank of England to continue with its existing programmes of UK government bond and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, maintaining the target for the total stock of these purchases at £745 billion. The Committee does not intend to...

The US-backed AFRICOM has warned that the Islamic State and Al-Qaida terrorist groups are gradually taking over the West African region after being displaced in Syria and Iraq. The Commander of the US Special Operations Command, Africa, Maj. Gen. Davin Anderson, while speaking during a virtual media briefing with journalists on Tuesday noted that the extremist groups have begun deploying strategies to re-establish themselves in the region and expand further in the continent without drawing...

Japan on Thursday marks 75 years since the world’s first atomic bomb attack, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing a scaling back of ceremonies to commemorate the victims. Survivors, relatives and a handful of foreign dignitaries will attend this year’s main event in Hiroshima to pray for the victims and call for world peace. The general public will however be kept away, with the ceremony instead broadcast online. Mayor Kazumi Matsui told reporters that the annual commemoration is Hiroshima’s...

Facebook and Twitter have penalised Donald Trump and his campaign for posts in which the president claimed children were "almost immune" to coronavirus. Facebook deleted the post a clip from an interview Mr Trump gave to Fox News saying it contained harmful Covid misinformation. Twitter followed by saying it had frozen a Trump campaign account until a tweet of the same clip was removed. A Facebook spokesperson on Wednesday evening said the video includes false claims that a group of people is...

TikTok has said it plans to build a $500m (£375m) data centre in Ireland. It will store videos, messages and other data generated by European users from the short-form video-sharing app. Until now all of its users' records were stored in the US, with a back-up copy held in Singapore. The announcement comes at a time when President Trump has threatened to ban the app in the US on the grounds its Chinese ownership makes it a national security risk. TikTok's Beijing-based parent company...

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has announced another 30 days of emergency from Friday midnight in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus. This is the second time the country has declared a health emergency since March when it confirmed its first case. In a televised address on Wednesday night, President Nyusi outlined a phased easing of restrictions. Phase one starts on 18 August with the resumption of classes at higher education institutions, military academies and technical training...

Botswana's government has banned the sale of alcohol and suspended all liquor licences. A gazette notice said the suspension was until further notice. All alcohol selling stores will remain closed. The reason given for the ban was that alcohol had "negative effects on adherence to Covid-19 protocols". Last week, the government reinstated a strict lockdown in the capital, Gaborone, for two weeks to curb rising cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gambian President Adama Barrow has declared a state of emergency and introduced nationwide night curfew for 21 days as coronavirus cases keep rising. The president said the borders and airspace will remain closed except for cargo, diplomats and those seeking treatment abroad. He said the rising cases were "worrisome. The vice-president and three ministers are among those infected by the virus, but the president tested negative on Monday. Worship places remain closed in the country and schools...

South African mobile operator MTN Group on Thursday said it will be exiting the Middle East over the medium term, starting with the sale of its 75% stake in MTN Syria as part of plans to focus on Africa. Group President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter told media on a conference call as the firm reported its half-year results that MTN is in advanced discussions to sell the stake in MTN Syria to TeleInvest, which is the minority shareholder in MTN Syria with a 25% holding. Shuter said as...

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean Kudakwashe Tagwirei, an adviser to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, accusing the prominent businessman of being corrupt and helping support the government of Zimbabwe. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it blacklisted Tagwirei and Zimbabwe-based Sakunda Holdings, of which he is chief executive, accusing the businessman of using opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with President Mnangagwa to grow his...

Health ministry data has showed that Coronavirus cases in Gambia, mainland Africa’s smallest country, have surged over 60% in the last seven days to nearly 800 cases. Authorities attributed the rise to people relaxing their guard on protective measures that had so far kept Gambia’s case total the lowest in Africa. Testing has also increased in the country, where the number of deaths is 16. Government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said that there is increased enforcement of mask-wearing and other...

The House of Representatives is set to petition President Muhammadu Buhari over the refusal of some agencies of government to appear before its Committee on Public Account to answer questions over financial irregularities traced to them or clarify some records provided by other agencies. The House Committee on Public Account is particularly not happy with the refusal of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emiefele, Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum...

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed 457 new cases of coronavirus in the country. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections recorded in the country so far to 44,890. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this on Wednesday night via Twitter showing that the new infections were recorded Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and 19 other states of the federation. Lagos topped the list with 137 cases, the FCT came second with 76 new cases of infection. A...

Gold has topped $2,000 (£1,527) an ounce for the first time as traders look for havens amid the pandemic. Investors have moved cash into the precious metal as Covid-19 cases rise in the US and more money is pumped into the global economy. The record high gold price has also been driven by concerns over tensions between Washington and Beijing. Prices of other precious metals, including silver, have also risen sharply since the start of this year. The price of gold has increased by more than...

A survey on Wednesday showed that activity in Kenya’s private sector rose at its fastest pace in a year last month on the back of a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures. The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 54.2 in July, from 46.6 in the previous month, well above the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. July’s level was the highest since June last year. Jibran Qureishi, head of Africa Research at Stanbic Bank said the removal of...

South Africa’s rand inched up on Wednesday after dropping to two-months lows the day before, as some risk demand returned amid concern over the global economy. At 0650 GMT the rand was up 0.4% to 17.3000 per dollar, after falling to 17.5350 in the previous session, its worst since early June. Analysts at Nedbank in a note said the rand traded on the back foot yesterday, despite local sellers of USD. This supply was easily absorbed by offshore-driven demand, with the rand an apparent proxy for...

Morocco Finance Minister on Wednesday said plans to reform, merge or dissolve some state bodies to reduce their dependency on a state budget hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Finance minister, Mohamed Benchaaboun, told reporters that the plan could include a merger of the indebted state railway operator, ONCF, and the highway company ADM into a single entity, Morocco expects its economy to shrink by 5% this year, with the fiscal deficit rising to 7.5% of gross domestic product and treasury...

South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms on Tuesday said that Cell C, in which it is the largest shareholder, had defaulted on the payment of capital on its $184 million note, which was due on Aug. 2. Cell C, a mobile carrier, also defaulted on interest and capital repayments related to the respective bilateral loan facilities between itself and Nedbank Limited, China Development Bank Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China...

South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms on Tuesday said that Cell C, in which it is the largest shareholder, had defaulted on the payment of capital on its $184 million note, which was due on Aug. 2. Cell C, a mobile carrier, also defaulted on interest and capital repayments related to the respective bilateral loan facilities between itself and Nedbank Limited, China Development Bank Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China...

India’s Flipkart on Thursday said it had acquired parent Walmart Inc’s local cash-and-carry business, as the e-commerce firm strengthens its wholesale offerings to compete better with Amazon.com Inc . The Bengaluru-headquartered firm said the deal will allow Flipkart to launch a digital marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale next month, without disclosing any financial details of the deal. Walmart, which has been running Best Price wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India since 2009, bought a...

South African mobile operator Vodacom Group Ltd on Thursday reported a 7.6% rise in first-quarter group service revenue, buoyed by strong demand for voice, data and financial services in its domestic market during the coronavirus lockdown. Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, said group service revenue grew to 18.7 billion rand ($1.14 billion)in the three months ended June 30, up from 17.4 billion rand from the year-earlier period. Overall group revenue grew by 5.6%. Vodacom said the...

South Africa’s rand gained early on Thursday, before a central bank decision on interest rates, as tensions between China and the United States resurfaced and weakened the dollar. At 0650 GMT the rand was 0.27% firmer at 16.4275 per dollar from an overnight close of 16.4850. The rand has strengthened most of the week, spurred by the rescue package the European Union agreed and by investor hopes of a quick global economic recovery. The currency has managed to break through the 16.50 technical...

According to Government sources, Sudan’s amended budget for 2020 includes a currency adjustment programmme beginning in August that aims to reach a full currency float in two years. The country’s currency recently fell to a record low of 150 Sudanese pounds to the dollar on the black market, compared with 55 at the official rate. The black market rate was 140 pounds to the dollar on Wednesday. Acting Finance Minister Hiba Mohamed Ali said the private sector will be allowed to import unlimited...