WASHINGTON, the United States | Xinhua | America’s gross federal debt has surged past 37 trillion U.S. dollars, a milestone reached earlier this month and five years sooner than pre-pandemic forecasts. Washington is now adding roughly 1 trillion dollars every five months, swelling a debt snowball that already costs nearly …
Read More »Climate change is making Africa’s debt burden worse but new debt contracts could help
COMMENT | MAGALIE MASAMBA | Many African countries are already struggling with heavy debt burdens. Climate change is making this worse. Africa contributes the least to global emissions but suffers the most from extreme weather, rising temperatures and drought. These disasters affect not just people’s livelihoods but also national revenues, making …
Read More »U.S. should look at its own problems instead of blaming China
BEIJING, CHINA | Xinhua | Recent remarks by U.S. officials accusing China of “flooding” global markets with exports and calling for a “rebalancing” of its economy are merely recycled arguments long used against China. These claims disregard the profound changes taking place as China advances toward high-quality and sustainable economic …
Read More »SURVEY: Americans struggling financially amid rising living costs
SACRAMENTO, United States | Xinhua | U.S. families are facing deepening financial distress amid rising costs of living, with many forced to take on debt, skip meals or forgo medical care to make ends meet, recent surveys have shown. According to a survey released last week by the Century Foundation, …
Read More »Uganda told to rethink corruption fight
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As Africa marked the anti-corruption fight day, Uganda was urged to reconsider her own way of dealing with the vice, if a headway is to be made, since the institutions are in place. This is because, despite the several efforts the country has put …
Read More »Global public debt hit a record $102 trillion in 2024
Uganda among the countries that are currently trapped in the high debt repayment crisis Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Since 2010, developing countries’ debt has grown twice as fast as that of advanced economies. Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries spending more on interest payments than on health or …
Read More »Experts: EAC’s failure on non-tariff barriers helps sustain growth of debt
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The East African Community has grappled with the issue of non-tariff barriers (NTB) or barriers to trade for as long as it has existed, despite the existence of what experts see as adequate legal frameworks. All the countries, at least going by the proclamations …
Read More »Experts warn gov’t on unplanned loans
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Experts have urged Uganda to avoid taking loans for which they never prepared and planned, as this distorts growth and development. This comes as the country embarks on what many have termed “ambitious”, a journey to grow the economy from the current 53 Billion …
Read More »Kenya’s fiscal outlook remain fragile amid debt, weak revenue
Kenya’s real GDP is expected to pick up gradually in the medium term, with growth projected to increase from 4.5 percent in 2025 to about 5.0 percent in 2026–27 Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Kenya’s public debt remains at high risk of distress, with interest payments absorbing about a third …
Read More »Can we exit from a world of debt?
The conversation should not be how to sustain an economy in a permanent debt spiral but how to break that cycle COMMENT | VIJAY PRASHAD | In the past two decades, the external debt of developing countries has quadrupled to $11.4 trillion (2023). It is important to understand that this money owed …
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