Washington, United States | AFP | Global economic growth could rebound next year but the number of people living in extreme poverty is expected to remain unchanged, the World Bank warned Tuesday. The projection came after the Washington-based development lender said Monday the coronavirus pandemic could drive between 70 and 100 million people into extreme …
Read More »Gas, processed milk to be exempted from taxes
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government will on Thursday announce the removal of Value Added Taxes on various products including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and the processed milk. The announcement is one of the measures contained in the 2020/21 financial year budget with an aim to boost the …
Read More »Bank of Uganda further cuts growth forecast
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Bank of Uganda has further cut growth forecasts to just over 2 percent an indicator that the impact of coronavirus disease on the economy is deeper than earlier thought. In the June monetary policy statement issued on Monday, the central bank said that the …
Read More »Africa vs the West: Who will take the WTO helm?
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Trade Organization on Monday kicked off the process for selecting a new director-general, after its current chief Roberto Azevedo decided to leave a year early. With Azevedo, a Brazilian career diplomat, now set to leave on August 31, the WTO opened a one-month …
Read More »Brazil threatens to quit WHO, Trump says US beating pandemic
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull out of the WHO over “ideological bias,” as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic while Europe slowly reopens its borders. From Africa to Europe to Asia, governments are …
Read More »US shows surprising jobs recovery in May amid pandemic
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States regained 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped as coronavirus pandemic shutdowns began to ease, raising hopes the economy could recover from the crisis sooner than expected. The Labor Department report released Friday, which showed the jobless rate fall …
Read More »Virus stimulus can help combat climate crisis: central banks
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Massive financial stimulus in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic offers a “once in a lifetime” chance to insulate the global economy from the climate crisis, central bankers declared Friday. “This (COVID-19) crisis offers us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild our economy in order to withstand the next shock …
Read More »Trump says US ‘largely through’ coronavirus pandemic
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump asserted Friday that the United States has made it through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, after new jobs numbers showed a surprising increase in employment. “We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible …
Read More »US faces unemployment crisis amid record trade drop
Washington, United States | AFP | In further signs of the crisis facing the world’s largest economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, new data Thursday showed US a record plunge in US exports as layoffs exceeded 42 million. The two key reports on economic health indicate that even as Wall Street regains …
Read More »Stock markets surge on swift recovery hopes
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Growing optimism about a swift global economic recovery pushed equity markets sharply higher Wednesday, as investors took heart from further easing of lockdowns while looking past China-US tensions and civil unrest across America. The upbeat mood — and hopes for an extension to a massive …
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