Polls have already opened in Zimbabwe, and Mugabe is headed for sure landslide win. Not because Zimbabweans adore his leadership but because Britain wants him to win. He is the most popular president the world has ever known and has great hope for Zimbabwe....READ MORE
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hail Mugabe, long live Bob, you are a true African hero
Despite his flaws, Zimbabwe’s Big Man Robert Mugabe has a “good side”. Compared to Mobutu who grabbed many people’s wives, Mugabe stole only one. During the first round of the Zimbabwe elections, Mugabe stole the vote but had some decency left - he didn’t steal enough to deny Tsvangirai victory. He only rigged it to.......READ MORE
Friday, June 20, 2008
Time to End Mu-Garbage tyranny in Zimbabwe
With just a week to go before Zimbabwe’s run-off elections – and with the body count growing – President Mugabe has been warned that he could be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the atrocities inflicted on his opponents. Any attempt to bring Mr Mugabe before the court in The Hague faces formidable obstacles. The ICC has charged 11 Africans – two from Sudan, four from Uganda, one from the Central African Republic and four from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but it does not have jurisdiction over Zimbabwe.......READ MORE
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Mediocrity of African Leadership
The rising cost of food, Africa's energy deficiency and its projected failure to meet the Millennium Development Goals has forced a deeper conclusion that Africa has a serious leadership deficiency.
Only 4% of national budgets are currently spent on agriculture, and investment is hampered by precolonial land rights that still prevail in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile the cost of fertilizer has risen even more dramatically than the cost of fuel, leaving farmers facing a triple whammy: oil- and food-price rises.. Read More
Friday, June 13, 2008
Safaricom Shares: To go Short or Long Term? The Right Way Revealed
With short term trading, you have to speculate which shares are going to be most volatile. In this case you see profits immediately but if you speculate on the wrong stock, you might end up losing part of your investment capital. If the company you are vested in is fundamentally strong with a strong upside potential, you will lose out on big potential gains if you were to cash out too early. For Safaricom Shares: To go Short or Long Term? The Right Way Revealed One of the advantages of short term investing ……..READ MORE
Monday, June 09, 2008
Who is Michael Joseph? Safaricom CEO highlights the promise—and peril—of doing business in Africa
Mr Joseph was picked for the Kenyan job because he lacked the finishing-school polish required to be a European boss. In some ways it was a homecoming. A self-described “Bolshevik character” in his South African youth, he fled the country in the 1980s when the strictures of apartheid tightened. He had made his name there as a “network man”. When Mr Joseph arrived at Safaricom in 2000, the company had 20,000 customers.....READ MORE CLICK
Friday, June 06, 2008
Do you Know Africa?
Click on the links below to find out
1. South Africa Violence: Why is Brother Fighting Brother?
2. Africa Day is not Socialism Day!
3. Keen on business, China is yet to flex its formidable military muscle in Africa
4. Top secrets: Gaddafi plotted to bomb Kenya
5. Democracy, reforms can end fear of instability
6. Kenya tea loses its flavor in Pakistan
NOTE:
Are the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa Justified?
(Give your view ..CLICK HERE)
In the wake of Barack Obama
It is hard to overstate the historic significance of the just-concluded Democratic Party primaries in the United States to select the party's standard-bearer in the presidential election, and the ultimate triumph of Senator Barack Obama.....READ MORE
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Sierra Leone Ports: Is Privatization the Answer?
Sierra Leone Ports: Is Privatization the Answer?: "For centuries, economists and political leaders have debated the issue of privatization versus non-privatization and private versus public sector ownership as a major means of production and distribution.In all of these debates, the strategic importance and national security implications of utilities like water, gas and electricity, communication (telephone cable and wireless) and urban transit made it possible for them to be treated as Natural Monopolies.
Natural Monopolies which were established by government were regulated interms of prices to charge quality of service and items produced. As a result, only one company was given the go ahead to produce anyone of the items or services identified earlier.
Incidentally, this was done because of the huge expenditure involved in setting up such enterprises. Also the decision to grant such a privilege to only one company was taken into account in order to avoid waste of resources through duplication of assets; to avoid confusion and risk to consumers coupled with the desire to maximize profits and minimize losses.
The ideas, which were primarily western, were later transferred to the colonies of the metropolitan power. Public utilities in the colonial era were akin to pure monopolies because they produced items/services for which there were no known close substitutes. It was therefore the absence of competition that created the environment for the practice of “benign neglect."
Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
Friday, May 30, 2008
Is Thabo Mbeki the source of South Africa Xenophobia?
Finally deep rooted suspicions and condescending attitudes towards “the rest of Africa” have erupted into a wave of violence against black immigrants living in South Africa.
It has to do with two things. First of all there is resentment against the same person being at the helm, which is good for democracy. And also Mr. Mbeki had a distance between himself and the general population. Looking at history, Mbeki is solely to blame for this.......CLICK TO READ MORE
Japan has come late to this second scramble for Africa—and knows it
Whereas in previous meetings aid topped the agenda, this time it has been all about the hunt for natural resources—with Africa's best interests at heart, of course. Like the others, Japan is offering sweeteners to make itself a saucier commercial partner but many analysts are saying "Japan it has come too late to this second scramble for Africa"...... CLICK TO READ MORE
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Is Africa Milked Dry In the Name of Aid?
As Africa heads converge in Japan for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), it is urgent that we reflect on African interests. We already have had Sino-Africa, Euro-Africa, Indo-Africa and now TICAD. The most common denominator in all these is aid. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
NOTE:
Are the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa Justified?
(Give you view on the violence in South Africa in the poll at the top of Business in Focus homepage)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Libya's Gaddafi plotted to bomb Kenya
Like with politics, espionage knows no permanent friends or enemies, only the convergence of interests.
Mr Gaddafi, probably through Ugandan and Soviet intelligence sources in Nairobi, came to learn about the presence of Libyans dissidents in Kenya.
He was furious, and immediately set about planning how to retaliate.
A Libyan commando force assembled near the Entebbe Airport in Uganda, ready to strike once the exact location of the secret camp holding Libyan dissidents in Kenya was established......READ MORE CLICK HERE
Friday, May 23, 2008
Democracy, reforms can end fear of instability
By Raila Odinga
It is now three months since the National Accord and Reconciliation Agreement mediated by former United Nations Secretary-General Dr Kofi Annan was signed.
But Kenyans are still savoring and expressing their relief over the restoration of peace.......READ MORE CLICK HERE
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
South Africa Violence: Why is Brother Fighting Brother?
By Amengeo Amengeo
The recent outburst of criminal violence against Africans seeking employment has less to do with ‘xenophobia’ as touted by the reactionary press but more to do with chronic unresolved anger of the black South African masses.....READ MORE CLICK HERE
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Africa Day is not Socialism Day!
Every year, Africans mark May 25th as an official Africa Liberation day. The date is celebrated to push for an onward progress on the liberation movement and symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation. A casual observation of many groups that celebrate this great day reveals that we are still entrenched in the mindset of entitlement - the belief that some other entity owes us, due to past misdeeds. Our problems and challenges are of our own making: talk of press freedom, bungled elections, food crisis... Read MORE
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Zimbabwe Crisis: Real or Feigned?
By Timothy Kalyegira
As I focus these days on the dark deception at the international level, we turn today to the most extreme example: Zimbabwe. I have followed world media reports extensively but there is something I have not once heard asked or discussed: Why is Zimbabwe, once one of Africa’s most promising countries, where it is today? Or more pointedly, why is Zimbabwe reported and portrayed to be where it is today? Read More
Clinton beaten into a pulp, fails to gain on Obama...again!
INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois Senator Barack Obama has the Democratic presidential nomination firmly within his sights today after scoring a huge victory in North Carolina and battling challenger Hillary Clinton....Read More
Monday, May 05, 2008
A Fund Investing Solely in African Markets?
I’ve been preoccupied with risk these days. Or risk mitigation to be exact. I’m tired of watching my TD Ameritrade account get whipsawed. It’s got me thinking. Would a portfolio invested solely in African markets be a tragedy waiting to happen?
The chart below shows the correlations (or lack thereof) between the dollar-adjusted monthly returns of 10 African local stock indexes over the past 16 months. This is a relatively short time frame, but I think it’s sufficient to get an idea of some of the relationships between the countries that we cover in this newsletter.
Unsurprisingly, the strongest positive correlation we see is between the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (SA) and the Emerging Market Index (EEM). South Africa is a full-fledged emerging market. It is large and liquid, making it a favorite of funds desirous of exposure to the continent. But this also means it is likely to be hit first and worst in the event of a global economic downturn.
The next strongest correlation is that between South Africa and Namibia. The neighboring countries share a customs union, a currency linkage, and a lot of history. Thus their stock indexes move in a concerted fashion. Similarly, the markets of Kenya and Uganda exhibit a strong relationship. Investors from both countries can easily invest in one another’s markets. And landlocked Uganda is almost entirely dependent on trade routes through Kenya. Thus, Kenya’s political crisis early this year hurt the Ugandan index more than the Nairobi Stock Exchange itself!
Continue Reading at Cheetah Index
Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
