Reuters Africa - Squid Business

US dollar rises after days of losses, but weak outlook intact

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar advanced on Wednesday, recovering from two-month lows hit the previous session, as investors lightened their short positions to book profits ahead of the all-important U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday. The underlying trend though for the dollar remained tilted to the downside and Wednesday’s U.S. private …

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Russia’s Sibur exports LPG to Africa, Middle East and Asia as EU cuts buying

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Sibur, the largest producer and exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Russia, redirected exports to Africa, the Middle East and Asia in the past three months, industry sources said. The European Union imposed an embargo on the import of petroleum products of Russian origin from Feb. 5, but LPG was not …

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Nigerian sovereign fund, Vitol launch venture to invest in carbon removal projects

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund and Vitol have launched a joint venture to invest in a range of carbon avoidance and removal projects, the fund said on Wednesday. The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) said an initial $50 million had been committed and that both firms were in the process of reaching a …

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South Africa’s Northam quits RBPlat takeover battle

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s Northam Platinum has terminated its offer to buy Royal Bafokeng Platinum, citing low prices of platinum group metals (PGM) as it ended a year-long takeover battle with bigger rival Impala Platinum. Northam had outbid Impala’s initial offer to acquire RBPlat, but on Wednesday said that PGM prices had fallen to levels …

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Nigeria gets World Bank funding for social program ahead of fuel subsidy cut

By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria has secured $800 million from the World Bank to scale up its national social program ahead of the removal of its costly but popular subsidies on petrol in June, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Wednesday. Africa’s biggest economy set aside 3.36 trillion naira ($7.3 billion) this year to …

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South African stocks, rand fall after U.S. jobs data

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African stocks fell on Wednesday after U.S. data showed a decline in job openings, while the rand weakened against the dollar. U.S. job openings data, a measure of labour demand, released on Tuesday dropped to 9.9 million in February – the lowest in almost two years. For every unemployed person in the …

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The developing countries facing a debt crisis

LONDON (Reuters) – The record number of developing nations at risk of a debt crisis will be high on the agenda next week when central bankers, finance ministers and political leaders convene for the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings. Ballooning inflation, escalating borrowing costs and a strong dollar have made …

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India in diplomatic effort to protect drug exports after Gambia, Uzbekistan deaths

By Krishna N. Das NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian officials are in contact with foreign authorities and have held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports do not suffer, the government said on Wednesday, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan. India’s drug industry is one of the biggest …

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South Africa fights to keep phone networks up as lights go out

By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG – On a recent Friday morning north of Johannesburg, the head of South Africa’s largest telecoms company surveyed the arsenal of backup systems keeping just one of his 15,000 network towers online amid the worst power cuts on record. A diesel generator. Solar panels. A bank of expensive backup batteries, theft-proofed …

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Nigerians accuse Shell of delay in oil spill London lawsuits

By Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) – Shell Plc is attempting to shield itself from scrutiny over pollution in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, lawyers representing more than 13,000 Nigerians argued at London’s High Court on Tuesday, allegations which the company strongly denies. Thousands of members of the Bille and Ogale communities are suing Shell and its …

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