Story of the Day:
When Madison Finance Limited reported its end of financial year results on Friday 23 July 2021, investors had to brace for weaker financial performance from the financial services coming. Read more
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A Zambian national, Marjorie Mpundu replacing outgoing Kenyan Mukami Kariuki as World Bank country manager in Zimbabwe. Ms. Mpundu who is a lawyer by training and will be taking over from Kenyan national Mukami Kariuki who officially finishes her tour of duty this week. Read more: Lusaka Times
Government has embarked on a countrywide campaign to promote enhanced productivity in the civil service as part of implementing the National Productivity Policy. Ministry of Labour Permanent Secretary Chanda Kaziya says the move is in response to President Edgar Lungu’s call that civil service operations should not be business as usual but deliver to citizens. Read more: ZNBC
European Union Head of Cooperation Arnaud Borchard says the 12th European Development Fund (EDF) to be implemented from 2021-2027 will mainly focus on supporting the energy sector which is critical to Zambia’s economic development. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
The Kwacha has continued on its stability path against the United States dollar trading at the same level of K19.20 and K19.25 throughout the session on Friday. But Zanaco Plc head of economic research Patrick Chileshe expects rising copper prices and the return of off-shore investors into the Zambian financial markets to continue strengthening the Kwacha. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
International Business and Finance
Standard Chartered PLC reported a higher than expected 57% jump in first-half profit and $350 million worth of shareholder payouts, but a fall in revenue showed the longer-term struggle ahead for the bank. Read more: Reuters
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after the earnings of a major automaker and a private sector jobs report came in lower than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 323.73 points, or 0.9%, and closed near its session low at 34,792.67. The S&P 500 slipped about 0.5% to finish at 4,402.66, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.1% to 14,780.53. The dip for the broader market came after the S&P 500 set a record closing high on Tuesday. Read more: CNBC
The IMF has warned against countries using cryptocurrencies as legal tender, just over a month before El Salvador is set to become the first nation in the world to allow bitcoin to pay for everything from haircuts to taxes. Read more: Financial Times
Alibaba’s revenue missed estimates for the first time in more than two years, underscoring how Beijing’s months-long campaign against the internet sector is taking a toll. Growth slowed in most of Alibaba’s major divisions from cloud to e-commerce, underlining fears that the mounting list of new government regulations is constraining expansion and increasing companies’ burdens. Read more: Bloomberg
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In 80 trades recorded yesterday 1,528,603 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K5,393,693.95. A share price gain of K0.25 was recorded in Real Estate Investments Zambia. Share price losses were recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation of K0.05, in Lafarge of K0.98 and in Zanaco of K0.05. Trading activity was also recorded in PUMA, Standard Chartered Zambia, SHOP and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,605.57 points, 1.67% down from its previous close of 4,682.42 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K60,840,882,264 including Shoprite Holdings and K26,058,196,824 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day:
