The Don trumps Kamala in 2024 US polls

Your daily dose of Kenya's Business and Financial News

Brian Nzomo
November 06, 2024

Good evening 🙂

All eyes today were on the 2024 US Elections. Republican Party Candidate Donald J. Trump has staged a comeback, flooring his competitor - Democratic Party Candidate Kamala Harris.

But a lot also happened in the Kenyan business scene that we have compiled for you this evening…

🇺🇲 Donald Trump Wins 2024 US Elections as Republicans Win Senate Majority

Congratulatory messages from leaders across the world are streaming in, lauding the historic comeback by Republican Party Candidate Donald Trump. The high stakes election saw Trump zoom past 270 electoral votes needed for a candidate to emerge victorious. His opponent Kamala Harris lost all seven swing states and lost the state of Georgia which President Joe Biden had clinched in his 2020 electoral victory against Trump. Global Markets have reacted positively to the Republican victory as the world's largest economy braces for a new set of policies in trade, immigration, and fiscal management. A poll we undertook as The Kenyan Wall Street earlier this year revealed that many Kenyan professionals preferred a Trump presidency. What does Trump's victory mean for Kenya?

🪙 Following Trump's victory, the dollar gained 1.7% to trade at a 3-month high, above the 105 mark while Bitcoin touched an all time high, edging higher 8.7% above the US$74,300 mark. Read how other currencies and assets like gold performed today…

🛒 Naivas’ Full Year Profits Decline by 19.6% to KSh 1.9 billion

The retail industry has become more competitive and Naivas, one of its largest players, is feeling the heat. In its full year results for the year ended June, Naivas’ profits dipped by 19.6%. Their total assets decreased mildly by 0.3% but liabilities also reduced by 1.25%. IBL Group, a Mauritius conglomerate which owns majority stake in the retailer, attributed the scaled down profits to the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling last year and political unrest. That is not the full picture, however, as Naivas’ rivals like Carrefour and Quickmart remain formidable and expansion-oriented. What expenses drove this profit decline?

🛢️How Lower Demand, FX Distortions, Botched Kenya’s Oil Importation Deal with the Gulf

The IMF has a bleak outlook on Kenya's G2G deal with Gulf oil exporters, warning that the continuation of that agreement will hurt private oil marketers and cost taxpayers ‘contingent liabilities’ if our demand for oil falls short of the supplied volume. The Bretton Woods institution reminds government that our debt situation is still precarious and deals such as these pose more risks. The President's economic fixer, David Ndii, has rubbished IMF’s disapproval of the deal. He defended its viability, insisting that if worked as planned despite the Treasury admitting earlier that the deal was botched. What complicated the ambitious G2G deal?