African Markets - Factors to watch on Jan. 15

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Tuesday.

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GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares were on back foot on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in China's exports heightened worries about the global economy while the British pound braced for a showdown in parliament over the government's Brexit plan. MKTS/GLOB

WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices rose 1 percent on Tuesday amid supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and Russia, although a darkening economic outlook capped gains. O/R

EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on .J

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS The South African rand was little changed on Monday as investors awaited closely watched data releases including mining output later in the week, while a plunge in investment firm Brait BATJ.J sent stocks lower. SECURITY Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) insurgents overran the town of Rann in northeastern Nigeria on Monday evening, security sources said, a blow to President Buhari's efforts to defeat the militants just weeks before national elections. DERIVATIVES Nigeria is signing up traders ahead of a launch of exchange-traded derivatives (ETDs) and is going through an approval process, the bourse said on Monday. MARKETS The Kenyan shilling KES= gained against the dollar on Monday helped by inflows from offshore investors buying government debt amid subdued oil importer demand for the dollar and high liquidity in the local money market, traders said. TELECOMS India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS is in talks to buy Telkom Kenya, the East African nation's smallest telecoms operator, to create a stronger challenger to market leader Safaricom SCOM.NR , three industry sources told Reuters on Monday. MARKETS The Ugandan shilling UGX= was stable on Monday as preparations for mid-month tax payments by large firms thinned out appetite for dollars. HEALTH/EBOLA Global health teams battling the world's second largest Ebola epidemic in Democratic Republic of Congo fear an election dispute may deepen public mistrust and allow the epidemic to run out of control. ELECTION Democratic Republic of Congo faced growing pressure from African neighbours and beyond on Monday for a recount of its contested presidential election in a dispute that threatens more violence in the volatile nation. POLITICS Tanzania's High Court on Monday rejected a petition from some opposition leaders to halt parliamentary debate on draft legislation they say would criminalize many legitimate political activities and cement "one-party" rule. PROTESTS Protesters in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region have blocked the landlocked country's main route to the sea to demonstrate against surging ethnic violence, organisers said on Monday. METEC Ethiopia hit the former head of military-run industrial conglomerate METEC with additional corruption charges on Monday, in a complex case seen as a test of the new prime minister's anti-corruption campaign. ETHIOPIA/AIRLINES Two Indonesian F-16 fighter jets forced an Ethiopian Airlines ETHA.UL cargo plane to land on Monday at an airport on Batam island after it had flown into Indonesian airspace without permission, an air force spokesman said. LNG Angola's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant has offered a cargo for delivery over late February to early March, three industry sources said on Tuesday. RESERVES Angola's net foreign exchange reserves fell to $11.121 billion in December from a revised $11.902 billion in November, data on the central bank's website showed on Monday. POLITICS Senegal's two best known opposition figures have been barred from running in presidential elections next month, the Constitutional Council said on Monday, increasing President Macky Sall's chances of securing a second term in office. PROTESTS Several people were killed and some 200 arrested during protests in Zimbabwe on Monday, the government said, two days after it raised the price of fuel in an attempt to tame the worst economic crisis in a decade. ECONOMY Low-cost African airline Fastjet FJET.L cancelled its remaining flights to and from Zimbabwe on Monday due to political unrest, it said in a statement on Twitter. RUSSIA Russian diamond giant Alrosa ALRS.MM has set up a subsidiary in Zimbabwe to begin mining operations there, it said on Monday, more than two years after it shelved plans to expand into the southern African country. BONGO President Ali Bongo returned to Gabon on Monday after a three-month medical leave during which a coup attempt was thwarted, two government sources told Reuters. COAST WAR CRIMES International Criminal Court judges will rule on Tuesday on former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo's request to be acquitted and released after more than seven years in custody. COAST INFLATION Consumer price inflation in Ivory Coast slowed to 1 percent year-on-year in December, down from 1.8 percent in November, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Monday. the latest precious metals report click on GOL/

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