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Comey Bluntly Raises Possibility of Trump Obstruction and Condemns His 'Lies' NYT Law & Politics |
WASHINGTON — James B. Comey, the recently fired F.B.I. director, said Thursday in an extraordinary Senate hearing that he believed President Trump had tried to derail an investigation into his national security adviser, and accused the president of lying and defaming him and the F.B.I.
Mr. Comey, no longer constrained by the formalities of a government job, offered a blunt, plain-spoken assessment of a president whose conversations unnerved him from the day they met, weeks before Mr. Trump took office.
Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, flatly denied any obstruction. “The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone,” he said.
Conclusions
Not enough.
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Global food import bill on the rise despite stable markets FAO Commodities |
8 June 2017, Rome-Global food commodity markets are well-balanced, buoyed by ample supplies of wheat and maize and rebounding production of oilseed products. However, rising shipping costs and larger import volumes are set to lift the global food import bill to more than USD 1.3 trillion this year, a 10.6 percent increase from 2016, FAO said today in its biannual Food Outlook.
The food import bills of least-developed countries, low-income food deficit countries and countries in sub-Saharan Africa are on course to rise even faster due to higher import volumes of meat, sugar, dairy and oilseed products.
Rising import bills are forecast for all food categories except for fish, for which growing domestic market demand in many developing countries is being increasingly met by robust growth in their local aquaculture sectors.
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ISDA asked to consider alleged Venezuela Russian loan default Fast FT Emerging Markets |
Someone has asked the global derivatives trade body whether Venezuela’s reported default on a Russian loan constitutes a broader default on its debts.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is the powerful umbrella organisation set up by the finance industry to make the vast derivatives markets “safer and more efficient”.
Isda’s Determinations Committees, made up of finance industry representatives, are the ones that decide whether credit-default swaps – a kind of insurance against a borrower reneging on its debts – are triggered and should be paid out.
According to the organisation’s website, someone has anonymously requested Isda’s regional DC for the Americas whether a reported Venezuelan default on about $950m of export loans from Russia used to finance arms purchases could trigger a wider default. The DC request cites the Latin American Herald Tribune’s report on the default, which the FT has not been able to independently verify. Bloomberg has also confirmed the report, citing Russian Audit Chamber.
There is no indication whether the Americas DC committee will decide to discuss whether the alleged default constitutes a default, and the committees’ deliberations can take time, especially in more legally contentious cases.
Venezuela’s sovereign $3bn bond due in 2022 fell for a fourth day running on Thursday, to trade at 57 cents on the dollar, for an annualised yield of 29.3 per cent – close to a one year high.
Conclusions
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Kenya's Odinga Evokes Ghost of 2008 Chaos, Urges Fair Vote Kenyan Economy |
Kenya’s elections may prompt violence that evokes the unrest that killed at least 1,100 people following a disputed vote a decade ago if the electoral authorities fail to ensure this year’s process is credible, opposition leader Raila Odinga said.
Any outbreak of clashes would be difficult to control, even though Kenyans “don’t want to go back to 2008,” Odinga said in an interview Wednesday in the capital, Nairobi. The 72-year-old former prime minister is seeking to stop President Uhuru Kenyatta from securing a second term in the Aug. 8 election.
Kenyan elections are a source of nervousness for investors in East Africa’s biggest economy. A dispute between supporters of rival parties over the outcome of a presidential election in December 2007 sparked two months of violence that, in addition to the deaths, forced 350,000 others to flee their homes. The clashes also caused Kenya’s economic growth rate to slump to 1.7 percent in 2008 from 7.1 percent a year earlier.
“The other time we told people to stop, but when the situation develops, it becomes very difficult for an individual to do anything,” Odinga said. “Things just completely get out of hand. It’s not in my hands” to stop the violence, he said.
The opposition National Super Alliance, which Odinga heads, already suspects “something sinister” is afoot at the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission after the body dismissed two senior officials in the space of a week. One of the people removed was the head of the procurement office, which has yet to secure 130 million ballot papers needed for the legislative, gubernatorial, presidential and other elections taking place in two months.
Odinga is “setting the tone” that his side may not accept the results, especially if they lose by a small margin, said Lisa Brown, a risk analyst at Rand Merchant Bank in South Africa. By raising questions about the electoral body, his alliance can create public doubt about its ability to carry out the polling as well as any run-off, she said.
“Given the fragility of the economy, Odinga’s rhetoric around rejecting the outcome, and the fact that NASA might not be able to prevent violence, does cloud prospects around economic recovery after August,” Brown said.
Odinga and Kenyatta may have near equal support among ethnic voting blocs in the country, and if the opposition coalition boosts turnout in swing counties by 10 percent on voting day, it may be able to force a run-off, according to Emma Gordon, senior analyst at Bath, England-based Verisk Maplecroft.
Kenyatta is a member of the Kikuyu community, the largest ethnic group in the nation, while Odinga is Luo, the third biggest. There are more than 40 ethnic groups in the nation of 47 million people.
A Kenyatta victory will probably “spark urban rioting in key opposition hot spots,” albeit at “levels only slightly higher than seen in 2013,” Gordon said in a report last month.
Kenyatta would take 47 percent of the vote if elections were held now, pollster Ipsos Kenya said in a survey published May 30. That compares with 42 percent support for Odinga, according to Ipsos. Respondents in 76 percent of the households said economic conditions have worsened, citing the rising cost of living, while 71 percent said the nation is headed in the wrong direction.
NASA can garner about 8.4 million votes in its strongholds against the ruling Jubilee Party’s estimated 7.2 million, Odinga said. The tide of voters in so-called battleground counties, with an estimated 5 million voters, “has changed more in our favor than theirs,” Odinga said.
“You cannot say that 71 percent of the population say the country is headed in the wrong direction and then the leader of that government is still leading in the polls,” he said.
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Kenya Airways small investors stake to be cut Kenyan Economy |
More than 78,000 small Kenya Airways shareholders are set for a massive dilution of their stake in the ongoing restructuring that could leave them owning only about 6.7 per cent of the national carrier from 43.7 per cent.
An analysis done by Genghis Capital, an investment bank, shows that based on Kenya Airways’ (KQ) current market price of Sh6.8 per share, the Treasury will emerge as the biggest shareholder of the national carrier with a 41.1 per cent stake immediately after conversion of its debt into shares.
The Treasury has announced plans to convert its Sh25 billion debt into ordinary KQ shares.
Eleven Kenyan banks, which collectively hold Sh23 billion worth of Kenya Airways loans, will hold a 33.7 per cent stake in the airline post the debt conversion as per the Genghis Capital analysis.
KLM, which is expected to inject about Sh10.3 billion into the airline, could see its stake drop to 18.7 per cent. The Treasury is currently the biggest KQ shareholder with a 29.8 per cent stake while KLM controls 26.7 per cent of the carrier.
An upcoming rights issue announced Thursday by KQ could see small shareholders who fail to participate diluted even further.
“We are looking at a possible dilution to current shareholders of approximately 5.7 times, which translates to a diluted market price of approximately Sh1.2 per share,” says Genghis in a research note sent to its clients on Thursday.
“The turnaround programme in place will take time to yield solid business results, but in the short term, the ticker is deeply dilutive and speculative in nature,” Genghis adds.
Eleven Kenyan banks, including big lenders Equity, KCB Group, Co-operative Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa, are expected to swap the risky Kenya Airways loans for ordinary shares.
The restructuring is expected to be completed in a few weeks.
Genghis’ calculations are based on the assumption that the restructuring transactions will be based on KQ’s current market price of Sh6.8 apiece at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
KQ’s restructuring plan also involves the government guaranteeing the airlines loans totalling Sh77.3 billion seeking to relieve it off repayment pressures and preserve its rating among creditors.
As at March 2016, Kenya Airways had 78, 577 shareholders on its roll, with local individual investors making up 95.3 per cent of this number.
Conclusions
The Banks are making out like Bandits.
This Ratio will not fly, in my opinion.
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Trans-Century reports FY Earnings here cuts FY Loss 64.34% Kenyan Economy |
Par Value: Closing Price: 7.50 Total Shares Issued: 280284476.00 Market Capitalization: 2,102,133,570 EPS: -1.56 PE:
FY Revenue 8.177350b vs. 11.790227b -30.643% FY Cost of sales [7.109323b] vs. [9.259631b] -23.222% FY Gross profit 1.068027b vs. 2.530596b -57.795% FY Net other income 2.064969b vs. 94.903m +2,075.873% FY Operating expenses [2.591643b] vs. [2.499253b] 3.697% FY Profit before depreciation and finance costs 541.353m v. 126.246m +328.808% FY Impairment losses [724.202m] vs. [371.576m] +94.900% FY Results from operating activities [902.033m] vs. [1.047349b] -13.875% FY Forex losses [94.012m] vs. [1.117495b] -91.587% FY Net finance costs [713.068m] vs. [1.908724b] -62.642% FY Loss before income tax [1.615101b] vs. [2.956073b] -45.363% FY Loss for the year [863.890m] vs. [2.422574b] -64.340% Basic and diluted EPS [1.56] vs. [7.09] +77.997% Total Assets 18.911552b vs. 21.817981b -13.321% Total Equity 3.829866b vs. 3.545770b +8.012% Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year [196.115m] vs. [402.711m] -51.301%
Company Commentary
''The results were significantly affected by a temporary limitation in accessing credit lines from our Financiers for the greater part of 2016 due to the perceived uncertainty in the resolution of the Eurobond which matured in March 2016. Eurobond issue was resolved during the year'' Engineering division - 12b Order Book unprecedented increase in order book from regional utilities strengthened Balance sheet by reducing debt exposure by 6b and increasing Equity by 2b Kuramo Africa Opportunity Kenyan vehicle ltd 24.99% via an allotment of 93,776,173 new ordinary shares
Conclusions
I would have thought they have turned the proverbial corner.
But read this
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