African Markets - Factors to watch on Feb 20

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday. - - - - -EVENTS:*Nigeria's central bank announces its latest lending rate decision.GLOBAL MARKETSAsian shares fell sharply on Thursday, tracking choppy trading on Wall Street and a dip in European stocks as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans and a cautious stance from Federal Reserve policymakers hurt risk sentiment.WORLD OIL PRICESOil prices edged lower on Thursday after an industry report showed a build in U.S. crude stockpiles and as tariff concerns weighed on sentiment, falling back from gains made in the previous session on worries over supply disruptions in Russia.EMERGING MARKETSFor the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKSFor the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETSSouth Africa's rand weakened on Wednesday after the national budget was postponed due to disagreements within the coalition government.NIGERIA BINANCENigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel cryptocurrency exchange Binance to pay $79.5 billion for economic losses it says were caused by its operations in the country and $2 billion in back taxes, court documents showed on Wednesday.KENYA MARKETSKenya's shilling was little changed against the dollar on Wednesday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed.KENYA TOURISMKenya tourism sector earnings are expected to jump to 650 billion shillings ($5 billion) this year from 452.2 billion shillings last year, Tourism Minister Rebecca Miano said on Wednesday. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO SECURITYVolleys of gunfire rang out in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern border town of Uvira on Wednesday, local sources said, as clashes broke out among allied forces amid the advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.RWANDA BONDRwanda's sole international government bond (XS2373051320=TE) fell by the biggest margin since August 2022 on Wednesday, as worries over fighting in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Rwanda backs M23 rebels, intensified.MALI MININGCanadian miner Barrick Gold has signed a new agreement with the Malian government to end an almost two-year-old dispute over its mining assets in the West African country, four people familiar with the developments told Reuters on Wednesday.For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on