Welcome to Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. In today’s edition, we look at a water project in Lesotho that offers hope for a neighbor’s crisis. Also: Why the Iran war threatens African farming How Senegal raised money to fill its budget hole South Africa backtracks in latest US flareup A Wate...
Welcome to Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. In today’s edition, we look at a water project in Lesotho that offers hope for a neighbor’s crisis. Also: Why the Iran war threatens African farming How Senegal raised money to fill its budget hole South Africa backtracks in latest US flareup A Water Kingdom Water is liquid gold. That was the overwhelming sentiment among citizens during our reporting trip to the small mountainous kingdom of Lesotho. And in many ways, the resource is their currency. With an economy of just over $2 billion and largely dependent on textiles and diamond exports, water has become one of the most strategic revenue streams for the government. The country of about 3 million people entirely surrounded by South Africa is a key source of water for its neighbor through a multi-billion-dollar project established in 1986. The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project will take supply from its mountains to Johannesburg and South Africa’s capital Pretoria. It’s been dogged by delays . Originally intended to be completed in 2019, the project is now only set for completion in 2030. That risks extending a crisis in the industrial hub of the continent’s biggest economy. Water shortages — partly due to mismanagement and mostly because of neglect — have become a political flashpoint ahead of council elections in South Africa, with riots erupting in towns and suburbs subjected to weeks or even months of empty taps. Municipalities have failed to maintain reservoirs, pipelines and pumping stations or build enough new ones. President Cyril Ramaphosa has now set up a national crisis committee and pledged to spend more than 150 billion rand ($7.6 billion) on infrastructure and sanitation over the next three years to reverse the decline. The ambitious Lesotho project is no silver bullet, though. It’s also not just about helping solve South Africa’s wate...
Ahmad Mulakhil filmed himself during the assault in Nuneaton in July An Afghan asylum seeker who abducted a 12-year-old girl and filmed himself as he raped her has been jailed for 15 years. Ahmad Mulakhil was found guilty of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video and two counts of sexual assault last month. Mulakhil admitted a second count of rape before his trial began. Continue reading....
Ahmad Mulakhil filmed himself during the assault in Nuneaton in July An Afghan asylum seeker who abducted a 12-year-old girl and filmed himself as he raped her has been jailed for 15 years. Ahmad Mulakhil was found guilty of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video and two counts of sexual assault last month. Mulakhil admitted a second count of rape before his trial began. Continue reading...
TripAdvisor is poised to grow as activist investors step up pressure on the travel booking company to adopt a more fluid, active strategy to fuel growth, according to Bank of America. The bank's research arm upgraded TripAdvisor to buy from neutral and raised its 12-month price target on the stock to $15 from $14. That implies about 51% upside from Thursday's close. "We see a clearer catalyst path...
TripAdvisor is poised to grow as activist investors step up pressure on the travel booking company to adopt a more fluid, active strategy to fuel growth, according to Bank of America. The bank's research arm upgraded TripAdvisor to buy from neutral and raised its 12-month price target on the stock to $15 from $14. That implies about 51% upside from Thursday's close. "We see a clearer catalyst path for value realization driven by accelerating activist engagement and rising strategic optionality across the portfolio," analysts Nafeesa Gupta and Justin Post said Friday in a note to clients. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value took a 9% stake in TripAdvisor in July, aiming at a turnaround. Earlier this week, it added four of its members to TripAdvisor's board. The leadership shift "raises the likelihood that TRIP evaluates transactions across its portfolio at a time when the market, in our view, is undervaluing its faster‑growing segments," Bank of America wrote. The leadership shakeup came after Starboard last month sent a letter to TripAdvisor's leadership criticizing the stock's sluggish performance. The stock is off 29% in the past three months through Thursday. Starboard urged TripAdvisor to explore a sale of its businesses, either together or individually. TripAdvisor's faster-growing businesses are its online excursions marketplace Viator and its dining reservation platform TheFork. The Bank of America analysts estimate the two could be worth a combined $2.5 billion or more, roughly twice the $1.3 billion enterprise value of TripAdvisor's flagship platform. "With recent Board changes increasing the likelihood of asset‑level actions, TRIP's 3x '27 EBITDA multiple (near trough) highlights potential for Viator and TheFork to be valued independently rather than within a declining Hotel meta‑search business," the analysts wrote. The Bank of America call is contrarian. Of the 17 analysts covering TripAdvisor, only three have a buy or strong buy on the stock.
Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) is seeking to partner with family offices as part of efforts to bring ultra-wealthy investors into private markets, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Blue Owl is among several private credit managers that have faced a wave of redemptions from retail-focused funds in recent months, partly tied to worries about software companies. The New York-based alternative asset manage...
Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) is seeking to partner with family offices as part of efforts to bring ultra-wealthy investors into private markets, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Blue Owl is among several private credit managers that have faced a wave of redemptions from retail-focused funds in recent months, partly tied to worries about software companies. The New York-based alternative asset manager is looking to partner with family offices across opportunities ranging from large-scale co-investments to pooled vehicles, according to the Bloomberg report. The push into family capital is said to be driven by the idea that wealthy investors are potentially more comfortable investing in less liquid funds. About 60% of 333 global family offices have no allocation to private credit, while ~30% were planning to increase their exposure in the sector over the next 12 to 18 months, the report noted, citing a JPMorgan Chase survey published last month. More on Blue Owl Capital Blue Owl Looks Incredibly Cheap, And That's Not A Compliment (Downgrade) Blue Owl Capital: 10% Investment-Grade Dividend Yield On AI Panic Understanding Blue Owl's Crash Blue Owl, peers push back on private credit risks amid market jitters TG Therapeutics secures $750M credit facility with Blue Owl, boosts buyback to $300M
Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come John Mahama knows a thing or two about beating the establishment. On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote against transatlantic chatte...
Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come John Mahama knows a thing or two about beating the establishment. On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote against transatlantic chattel slavery, despite major opposition from the same western entities that drove it for centuries. The resolution to declare the practice as “the gravest crime against humanity” passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa. Yet the details of the tally reveal a world still deeply divided on the gravity of the sin of enslaving more than 15 million people as chattel over the course of 400 years. Continue reading...
Robert Way At this month's GTC, Nvidia ( NVDA ) forecast $1T in data center revenue from its Blackwell and Rubin line of GPUs, amid insatiable demand for all things artificial intelligence. Wells Fargo said that forecast could wind up being conservative. By a lot. “We see 15%-20%+ upside to NVDA's 2026-2027 data center estimates,” analyst Aaron Rakers wrote in a note to clients. Rakers, who has an...
Robert Way At this month's GTC, Nvidia ( NVDA ) forecast $1T in data center revenue from its Blackwell and Rubin line of GPUs, amid insatiable demand for all things artificial intelligence. Wells Fargo said that forecast could wind up being conservative. By a lot. “We see 15%-20%+ upside to NVDA's 2026-2027 data center estimates,” analyst Aaron Rakers wrote in a note to clients. Rakers, who has an Overweight rating and $265 price target on Nvidia, said he is not yet raising his estimates on Nvidia. However, given the fact that the top five cloud service providers are set to deploy roughly 22 gigawatts and 25 gigawatts worth of AI in 2026 and 2027, respectively, there is the possibility the $1T figure is conservative. “From this, we present a pluggable model implying ~$120B+ of NVDA data center revenue upside for 2026-2027 vs. consensus estimates,” Rakers added. “$1T+ pipeline disclosure implies $840B+ Blackwell + Rubin through CY27. Out of NVDA's $1T+ of Blackwell + Rubin pipeline disclosure, we [estimate] that ~$840B+ is implied to be delivered from 2026-2027. Below we highlight NVDA's Blackwell disclosures over the past several [quarters], from which we [estimate] ~$150-$155B had been recognized [through] F4Q26 (Jan '26). NVDA disclosed that it deployed ~9 GWs of total Blackwell [infrastructure] exiting F4Q26. - assuming Blackwell GPUs at ~65-70% of GWs deployed, we would arrive at ~$25B/GW.” More on Nvidia AMD Vs. Nvidia: Bet On AMD The Underdog Nvidia: The Market Stopped Believing Nvidia: Improvements Made Me A Believer; I'm In (Upgrade) Nvidia-backed startup Reflection, builder of open-source AI models, seeks $2.5B in latest round: report Lumentum plans new U.S. plant to produce lasers for AI data centers, Nvidia to be customer
Welcome to Bloomberg’s Retail Monitor . Every Friday we’ll deliver you clear insights on industry trends, headwinds and emerging opportunities. Sign up now if you’re not already on the list. This week, we’ve got our eye on the Starbucks CEO , who’s trying to execute a turnaround under some tough circumstances. Estée Lauder is considering a deal that’s not getting a whole lot of support. We’ve also...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s Retail Monitor . Every Friday we’ll deliver you clear insights on industry trends, headwinds and emerging opportunities. Sign up now if you’re not already on the list. This week, we’ve got our eye on the Starbucks CEO , who’s trying to execute a turnaround under some tough circumstances. Estée Lauder is considering a deal that’s not getting a whole lot of support. We’ve also got a wardrobe change at Target , a possible Babylist IPO on the horizon and young cruise influencers . Check it all out here... — Tonya Garcia Market Snapshot Starbucks Corp $91.22 -1.6% Estee Lauder Cos Inc/The $69.75 -4.6% H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB $170.15 -0.4% Macy's Inc $18.49 -0.1% On Holding AG $32.11 -8.7% Market data as of 09:05 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. Expectations for Starbucks’ CEO confront reality Brian Niccol was considered a “dream hire” when Starbucks announced that he was taking the CEO role. The stock popped, analysts gushed, investors swooned. He led a turnaround at Chipotle. Now the coffee chain was offering him a pay package totaling a whopping $113 million to put it on a winning path. A year and a half later, there’s still confidence in his ability to stage a turnaround — results are showing signs of growth. But the massive enthusiasm has subsided. Analysts have realized, much to their surprise, that the challenges Starbucks faces run deeper than what may have been previously understood. And steering a large company into an about-face takes time. But to add to that, Starbucks finds itself trying to execute a turnaround amid an extraordinary level of uncertainty that’s impacting businesses across the consumer space. In its most recent earnings, department store retailer Macy’s cautioned about the impact of tariffs and conflict in the Middle East. And at airports, where Starbucks is a fixture, passengers who would normally go through security and then get a venti jolt of caffeine are waiting for hours on security lines due to the part...
Google released its TurboQuant AI memory compression algorithm, which is designed to reduce the memory requirements of large AI models. The announcement has raised new questions about long term AI memory demand for suppliers such as Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU). Memory stocks, including Micron, sold off as investors reassessed whether memory will remain the main bottleneck for AI workloads. At ...
Google released its TurboQuant AI memory compression algorithm, which is designed to reduce the memory requirements of large AI models. The announcement has raised new questions about long term AI memory demand for suppliers such as Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU). Memory stocks, including Micron, sold off as investors reassessed whether memory will remain the main bottleneck for AI workloads. At the same time, SK Hynix is preparing a U.S. ADR listing and expanding capacity, signaling more...
Escalation On All Fronts As Mediators Say Iran Hasn't Requested Pause On US Energy Strikes Summary No pause from Tehran, war footing deepens: Iran denies requesting Donald Trump’s 10-day halt Escalation on all fronts: IRGC HQ targeted by US-Israsel; Iran signals expansion by naming UAE targets, hitting Kuwait ports and sending drones on Riyadh Israel doubles down amid reports of manpower strain: I...
Escalation On All Fronts As Mediators Say Iran Hasn't Requested Pause On US Energy Strikes Summary No pause from Tehran, war footing deepens: Iran denies requesting Donald Trump’s 10-day halt Escalation on all fronts: IRGC HQ targeted by US-Israsel; Iran signals expansion by naming UAE targets, hitting Kuwait ports and sending drones on Riyadh Israel doubles down amid reports of manpower strain: IDF chief warns of manpower pressure even as Defense Minister Katz vows to "intensify and expand" strikes . Risk rises that Iran is holding back more advanced missiles for a prolonged war: WSJ writes "The US and Israel are pounding Iran’s missile-launching sites... But Tehran’s missiles keep flying." * * * Iran Didn't Request Trump's 10-Day Pause: WSJ Iran has not requested a 10-day pause on strikes on its energy plants, peace talk mediators have been cited in WSJ as saying, and has still not issued formal response to the 15-point US plan delivered via Pakistan. This as the Pentagon is moving thousands of Marines and Army Airborne soldiers into the region. The Wall Street Journal points out that "The U.S. and Israel are pounding Iran’s missile-launching sites, hitting some over and over across almost a month of war. But Tehran’s missiles keep flying." One pundit questions, are we 'winning' yet?... writing the following brief assessment of where things stand: IRGC Joint Staff headquarters under US-Israeli strikes. Iran naming UAE targets as Abu Dhabi enters the war. IDF Chief of Staff warning publicly the Israeli military could "collapse" from manpower shortages. Iran claiming over one million fighters mobilised with IRGC lowering the age for support roles to 12. Pentagon considering 10,000 additional ground troops within striking distance of Kharg. Trump pausing energy-plant destruction for 10 days until April 6. Iran denying it requested the pause. Houthis warning they will enter the war. Lavrov saying the quiet part: “Iran did not violate any of its international obligatio...