Interbank and Liquidity News Scan: African leaders still show enthusiasm for China even as financing has decreased.

Media Scan

Tether. Cryptocurrency. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, is in talks to deepen his financial ties with the company operating the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether, by launching a $2 billion project to lend dollars to clients against bitcoin, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Reuters.

Foreign exchange. Fund inflows. America’s divergence with the rest of the world – manifested in the strength of the U.S. dollar, the relentless rally on Wall Street and the significant rise in Treasury yields – is becoming more entrenched by the week. The dollar has risen eight weeks in a row and on Friday hit a two-year high. According to analysts at TD Securities, U.S. funds in the past 13 weeks have captured over 70% of all developed market bond fund inflows and nearly 90% of all DM equity fund inflows. Reuters.

Equity. Bitcoin. Trump. Global stocks registered a strong weekly gain on Friday while U.S. Treasury yields slipped as markets eyed President-elect Donald Trump‘s likely policies and their impact on the U.S. economy, even as bitcoin traded near the $100,000 threshold. Reuters.

Dollar. Euro. PMI. The euro slumped to a two-year low while the dollar gained on Friday after gauges of business activity were released in each region, while bitcoin again hit a record high as it continued its march toward the $100,000 mark. Reuters.

Equity funds. Inflows. U.S. investors snapped up equity funds for a third successive week through Nov. 20, buoyed by optimism over rising corporate earnings expectations, although the inflows were restrained due to a cautious Federal Reserve rate outlook and geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West. Reuters.

Ghana. cedi. The Ghanaian cedi keeps appreciating in the buying and selling rates against the U.S. dollar. As of 23 November, the buying rate against the dollar was GHS15.79 while the selling rate was GHS15.80. Modern Ghana.

China. Africa. At FOCAC 2024, Xi held bilateral meetings with each of the African heads of states and governments in attendance. He reaffirmed China’s support for each country’s development, making specific commitments regarding tourism support, infrastructure construction, and digitalization in some cases. In several meetings, he stated that this year’s FOCAC would be a turning point and a defining moment in China-Africa relations. In turn, many of the African leaders in bilateral meetings and the final declaration restated their commitment to Beijing’s “One China” principle, recognizing Taiwan as an integral part of mainland China. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Foreign exchange rates, per Board of Governors-Federal Reserve System, as of 18 November 2024

EUR/USD=1.0552

AUD/USD=0.6461

GBP/USD=1.2629

USD/JPY=154.5900

Foreign exchange rates, per x-rates.com, as of 7:16pm, 24 November 2024

EUR/USD=1.0479

AUD/USD=0.6544

GBP/USD=1.2593

USD/JPY=154.0253

Alton Drew

24 November 2024