Story of the Day:
Two weeks into the month of February 2020 trading on the LuSE, we see something that we haven’t seen this year thus far. The bond market doesn’t completely eclipse the equities market as it did in the previous weeks of scoring a 100% to 0%. Read more
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Zambia’s central bank held the benchmark lending rate at 11.5% on Wednesday, as governor Denny Kalyalya expressed concern about slow economic growth and a hefty fiscal deficit. The central bank of Africa’s no.2 copper producer said it expected growth of 3% in 2020 and 3.7% in 2021. Read more: Reuters
The rating agency Moody’s has said it considers Zambia among the countries most vulnerable to financial shock due to increased debt refinancing risks. Read more: Club of Mozambique
Government plans to scale up financial inclusion from the current 59.3 per cent to at least 80 per cent by 2022. Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba says government is currently amending the National Payment Systems Act and the Bank of Zambia Act to provide the much needed business environment for the financial sector. Read more: ZNBC
Commerce Minister Christopher Yaluma says government will go out of its way to protect Zambia’s image as a favorable investment destination in Africa. Read more: ZNBC
President Edgar Lungu has said Zambia and Russia enjoy warm relations that have been demonstrated by Russian Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko’s visit. The two countries have potential to boost trade and cooperation in health, heavy duty industry, agriculture and defence and security sectors, according to a statement released by State House. Read more: Zambia Reports
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Over the last year many finance teams have successfully implemented two new accounting standards, IFRS 9 – Financial instruments and IFRS 15 – Revenue from contracts with customers and are realising that the level of effort required and changes have been greater than anticipated. Read more
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EU leaders are meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the bloc’s future budget plans. This time, the talks are further complicated by the departure of the UK, which was a large net contributor. The talks are about the EU’s long term budget or financial framework. It will set out the total spending level and the amount to be spent on particular areas over the next seven years. Read more: BBC News
UK inflation in January rose to a six-month high as petrol and house prices rose, official figures show. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) stood at 1.8% last month, up from 1.3% in December, the Office for National Statistics said. Read more: BBC News
Boeing has asked for a $100million a year tax break from Washington state to be suspended in a bid to stop the EU from imposing billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs this summer, when it is hoping to bring its troubled 737 Max back into service. Read more: Financial Times
Qantas Airways is warning of a big hit from the novel coronavirus outbreak, as it slashes flights across Asia. The airline reported Thursday that the “negative impact” from the coronavirus outbreak will likely cost it between US$67 million to US$100 million in pre-tax profit for the second half of the company’s fiscal year. Read more: CNN
Federal Reserve officials expressed confidence at their most recent meeting about the state of the U.S. economy and figured interest rates likely would remain unchanged for a while, according to minutes released Wednesday. Read more: Market Watch
China said on Thursday it lowered its benchmark lending rates — a move that was widely expected by analysts as the world’s second-largest economy faced threats from an outbreak of a deadly coronavirus. Read more: CNBC
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In 14 trades recorded yesterday, 42,017 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K47,823. Trading activity was recorded in AEL Zambia, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its previous close at 4,254.31 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,336,443,980 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,097,238,000 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: