*Today’s News Highlights* ▪ *Housing levy cash invested in T-bills hits Sh46 billion* The value of cash collection from the affordable housing levy funds invested in short-term government securities has risen to Sh46 billion, signaling low absorption of the mandatory monthly contributions from workers and employers towards President William Ruto’s pet project. The Affordable Housing Board, the agency that oversees the development of houses and their off-take, says the billions of shillings are being invested in three-month Treasury bills instead of idling in accounts awaiting expenditure. The amount invested in the 91-day Treasury bills has doubled from Sh20 billion in May last year. ▪ *Co-op Bank cuts base lending rate to 14.5pc* Co-operative Bank of Kenya has cut its base lending rate by two percentage points to 14.5 percent, marking its first major reduction in the price of loans since the central bank started lowering its benchmark in August last year. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender announced Monday morning that it has cut its base rate from 16.5 percent, with the reduction taking effect immediately. ▪ *Pension schemes’ returns jump to 28pc* Pension savers are set to reap big after their funds recorded the highest annual returns in 12 years, backed by a good performance from equities and fixed income investments. A survey of pension returns done by fund administrator Zamara shows that the average annual return for pension funds stood at 28.8 percent last year, up from 1.6 percent in 2023. This is the highest overall return recorded by the funds since 2012 (28.4 percent), showing the positive translation of last year’s rally in share prices at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on savers’ funds. ▪ *CMA moves to curb speculative trading in troubled companies* The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved new trading rules for troubled firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the latest changes seeking to enhance the operations of a special board established to host companies grappling with financial and governance challenges. The changes include a reduction in the daily trading limit for stocks of troubled firms from 10 percent to five percent and introduction of the special board known as recovery board (RB) in every market segment (Main Investment Market Segment (MIMS) and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). ▪ *S. Africa investor loses bid to freeze Genghis accounts* Nairobi-based investment bank Genghis Capital got a reprieve after a court rejected an application seeking to freeze its bank accounts over a debt feud with a South African businessman. Justice Alfred Mabeya rejected the application by Auswel Mashaba, seeking to freeze Genghis Capital bank accounts and at the same time, block the investment bank from selling its assets. According to the South African investor, Genghis Capital was disposing of its assets to defeat his pending claim of about Sh355 million. _Courtesy: Business Daily_ https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaBcBIRAzNbtD1l1eA1k