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Tuesday 26th of April 2016 |
Morning, Africa |
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Remarks by President Obama in Address to the People of Europe Law & Politics |
you've treated me and Michelle and our daughters to wonderful hospitality. You've offered me excellent beer -- (laughter) -- and weisswurst in Krun. You've now hosted our delegation here in Hannover.
My only regret is that I have never been to Germany for Oktoberfest. (Laughter.)
And I want to begin with an observation that, given the challenges that we face in the world and the headlines we see every day, may seem improbable, but it’s true. We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history. That may surprise young people who are watching TV or looking at your phones and it seems like only bad news comes through every day. But consider that it’s been decades since the last war between major powers. More people live in democracies. We’re wealthier and healthier and better educated, with a global economy that has lifted up more than a billion people from extreme poverty, and created new middle classes from the Americas to Africa to Asia. Think about the health of the average person in the world -- tens of millions of lives that we now save from disease and infant mortality, and people now living longer lives.
Around the world, we’re more tolerant -- with more opportunity for women, and gays and lesbians, as we push back on bigotry and prejudice. And around the world, there’s a new generation of young people -- like you -- that are connected by technology, and driven by your idealism and your imagination, and you're working together to start new ventures, and to hold governments more accountable, and advance human dignity.
If you had to choose a moment in time to be born, any time in human history, and you didn't know ahead of time what nationality you were or what gender or what your economic status might be, you'd choose today -- which isn't to say that there is not still enormous suffering and enormous tragedy and so much work for us to do. It is to remember that the trajectory of our history over the last 50, 100 years has been remarkable. And we can't take that for granted, and we should take confidence in our ability to be able to shape our own destiny.
And you see increasing intolerance in our politics. And loud voices get the most attention. This reminds me of the poem by the great Irish poet W.B. Yeats, where the best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Perhaps you need an outsider, somebody who is not European, to remind you of the magnitude of what you have achieved. The progress that I described was made possible in large measure by ideals that originated on this continent in a great Enlightenment and the founding of new republics. Of course, that progress didn’t travel a straight line.
As Adenauer said in those early days, “European unity was a dream of a few. It became a hope for [the] many. Today it is a necessity for all of us.” (Applause.)
As you go forward, you can be confident that your greatest ally and friend, the United States of America, stands with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, now and forever. Because a united Europe -- once the dream of a few -- remains the hope of the many and a necessity for us all.
Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 12:11 P.M. CEST
Conclusions
Its incredible how he has triangulated Boris Johnson on Brexit and he is brilliant and having Folks look up and not down.
And of course I like the fact he mentioned one of my favourite Poems
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The Second Coming BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS Law & Politics |
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
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China criticizes U.S. warplanes' operation near Hangman Island Law & Politics |
China's Ministry of National Defense on Monday responded to media reports that six U.S. Air Force planes performed a flight mission in "international airspace" in the vicinity of Huangyan Island in the South China Sea on April 19.
"We have noticed such reports, and it should be pointed out that the U.S. is pushing militarization of the South China Sea in the name of 'Freedom of Navigation,'" the ministry's Information Bureau said in a statement.
China is concerned about and opposed to such actions which threaten the sovereignty and security of countries around the South China Sea and undermine regional peace and stability, it stressed.
Huangyan Island is China's inherent territory and the Chinese military will take all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and security, it added.
Conclusions
US needs to bite and not just Bark.
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Billionaire Farmers Reap Fortunes From Russia Food Sanctions Emerging Markets |
Russia’s geopolitical conflicts, anemic oil prices and weakened ruble are working out rather well for the country’s biggest publicly traded farming company.
Ros Agro Plc has ambitious plans to build pig farms and greenhouses in central and eastern Russia, as well as for acquisitions, by selling U.K.-listed shares.
Its aim for the first Russian offering of new stock in London since October illustrates a wider renaissance for the nation’s farms as billionaires from Vladimir Evtushenkov to Gennady Timchenko, friend of President Vladimir Putin, invest in tomatoes and apple trees. It also marks the curious consequences of Russia’s worst falling out with the U.S. since the Cold War.
Ros Agro, owned by Vadim Moshkovich, another billionaire, will raise $250 million to fund investments and help fill a void left by falling food imports after tit-for-tat trade sanctions between Russia and western nations, and a weak ruble that raises prices of shipments from overseas.
“The company is going to invest aggressively and grow,” said Svyatoslav Arsenov, who helps oversee about $300 million including a Ros Agro stake at UralSib Asset Management in Moscow. “The devaluation of the ruble has made the sector very attractive from the perspective of money generation.”
Frontier Markets
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Republic of Congo Seeks Arrest of Former Ninjas Militia Leader @business Africa |
The Republic of Congo has issued an arrest warrant for a former rebel leader known as Pastor Ntumi, who’s being held responsible for a gun battle in the capital, Brazzaville, that killed 17 people earlier this month.
Ntumi, whose real name is Frederic Bintsamou, is wanted for assassination and illegal possession of weapons, according to a copy of the warrant signed by the nation’s prosecutor, Andre Gakala. Bintsamou has denied involvement in the attack.
Gunmen opened fire on police stations and military checkpoints in neighborhoods that are considered opposition strongholds in the early morning of April 4. The government blamed former militia members known as the Ninjas of orchestrating the attack. The Ninjas were active in the 1997-1999 civil war and a 2002 insurgency in the southern Pool region.
Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International that shortly after the violence in Brazzaville attack helicopters destroyed a house in Pool where Bintsamou used to live, according to a statement on the website of the London-based rights group last week. Schools and churches were damaged in the raid and an unidentified number of people were killed.
The oil-producing nation held elections last month that were won by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled for 18 consecutive years following the civil war. His candidacy was contested by the opposition, which led protests against a referendum last year that allowed Sassou Nguesso to change the constitution and run again.
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Analysis: Has Mozambique already squandered its natural gas bonanza? SIMON ALLISON Daily Maverick Africa |
Mozambique has spent much of the last decade borrowing against its future. The debts are now coming due, but the natural gas that was supposed to pay for the multibillion dollar loans is yet to come online. Has the country, through its dodgy tuna bonds, over-extended itself?
By using its newfound natural resources as implied collateral, Mozambique started taking on massive, multibillion dollar loans from investors who were suddenly eager to speculate – especially with the generous returns on offer. The money taps opened, and foreign currency sloshed into the country.
A graph of Mozambique’s debt-to-GDP ratio over the last 10 years tells the story. Flatlining since 2005 at an average of about 22%, in 2008 it angles up sharply as the government takes on more and more debt. As of earlier this year, Mozambique owed the equivalent of 58.3% of its GDP in debt.
And then, this week, another bombshell: after media reports exposed the cover-up, the government confirmed that it had been hiding even more debt, to the tune of $1.35-billion. Like a shopping addict hoarding credit cards, Mozambique has been borrowing money in secret.
Mozambique’s discovery of natural gas was meant to usher in a new era of prosperity for the country. And while GDP growth has been impressive over the last few years, it has been fuelled by a massive amount of borrowed money – not all which has been spent wisely. The dodgy tuna bond, and the hidden debt, suggests a government living well above its means, treating loans like free money. But money is never free, and it is ordinary Mozambicans who will ultimately pay the price
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Barclays ex-CEO Bob Diamond eyes bid for Africa unit with Carlyle -source Africa |
Former Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond is teaming up with private equity group Carlyle to prepare a bid to buy the bank's African operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Diamond is looking to structure a deal to acquire Barclays' 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited via his investment vehicle Atlas Merchant Capital, set up to invest in financial services after he left the UK-based bank.
Carlyle and Atlas Merchant declined to comment.
Barclays on March 1 said it would sell down its stake in the business, to focus instead on a new 'transatlantic' strategy. Sky News first reported the proposed deal on Sunday.
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Kenyan banks on high alert as Ethiopia relaxes entry rules @dailynation Africa |
The April 5 2016 decision by the Ethiopian Parliament to relax restriction on foreign financial institutions into its markets is being seen as a watershed moment in the unfolding story of the country’s economic transformation currently underway.
Ethiopia’s Parliament made the amendments to the stringent rules as it paved the way for the nation to join the African Trade Insurance (ATI) after the signing of a treaty with the continental body.
Following the move, ATI CEO George Otieno, said the pan African insurer will set up base in Ethiopia by June this year once the administrative procedures are completed by the Ethiopian Government.
“In general, membership to ATI will help Ethiopia to attract much-needed trade and investments. In 2015, we supported $1.7 billion worth of insured trade and investments within our member countries and since inception in 2001, we’ve supported $21.5 billion worth of investments and trade. We are very proud of this achievement,” Mr Otieno said in interview.
Smart Company had by the time of going to press not received a clarification from the Ethiopian Treasury through its Ethiopian Embassy in Nairobi on whether the amended provisions apply to foreign participation of multilateral development finance institutions such as Tunis-based PTA Bank, Cairo-based Afrexim Bank and now Nairobi-based ATI only, or whether it represents a total opening for all foreign financial institutions including commercial banks.
But experts nevertheless termed the move a good signal for Kenyan banks who have been eyeing a piece of the Ethiopian market.
“I think this is one of the smoke signals. If Ethiopia is serious about joining the World Trade Organisation then that will mark the ‘Open Sesame’ moment,” said Nairobi-based analyst and Rich Management CEO Aly Khan Satchu.
Several Kenyan financial institutions have over the years expressed their desire to join the Ethiopian market. They include Cooperative Bank of Kenya, KCB Group and Standard Bank Group which trades under the CFC Stanbic brand in Kenya.
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HFC Limited reports a +46.816% acceleration H1 2016 PAT here Kenyan Economy |
a 12 per cent loan book expansion to Sh53.4 billion HFC Limited Q1 2016 through 31st March 2016 vs 31st March 2015 Q1 Net interest income 1.001753b vs. 0.782521b +28.016% Q1 Total operating income 1.243564b vs. 0.950996b +30.764% Q1 Total other operating expenses [0.773102b] vs. [0.671220b] +15.179% Q1 Profit after tax and exceptional items 470.462m vs. 320.444m +46.816% EPS 3.75 vs. 2.54 +47.638%
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25-APR-2016 Atlas African Industries Ltd :: Profit Warning Announcement. Kenyan Economy |
In compliance with the Fifth Schedule of the Continuing Obligations of the Capital Markets (Securities) (public Offers, Listing and Disclosures) Regulations 2002, as amended, Atlas hereby issues a profit warning due to the likelihood that the Company’s earnings for the 18 months ended 31st December 2015 will be more than 25% lower than last audited results to 30th June 2014. This follows guidance given by the Company in relation to expected revenue and loss in public announcements made on 17th July and 17th September 2015. Accordingly, the significant decrease in earnings relate primarily to accounting adjustments relating to restructuring of the Group, which are being confirmed by the audit process, and which were previously announced in public announcements by the Company. As announced previously the Kenyan business, which was the majority of the trading activity, has been liquidated due to the global economic environment, in particular the curtailment of investment in the oil and gas sector. It is important to note the current reporting period was increased to 18 months, and these results are being compared with 12 month audited to 30th June 2014. This is as per the public announcement made on 27 February 2015 relating to the change in reporting periods. The Company expects to release the audited 18 month audited accounts on or before 29 April 2016. The Company continues to trade positively, in-line with recent public updates
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