Paris, France | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign for a “French Renaissance” kicks into overdrive Monday as he welcomes 140 multinational business leaders before this week’s jamboree of the rich and powerful in Davos. The business-friendly president will host executives at the grand Versailles chateau near Paris for an …
Read More »S.Africa’s ANC vows change as Zuma exit looms
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s ruling ANC party said Saturday it would “act decisively” to rebuild its reputation, as local media reported that President Jacob Zuma could soon be forced from office. Zuma has been under growing pressure to resign since he was replaced as head of …
Read More »US to overtake Saudi as crude oil producer: IEA
Paris, France | AFP | The United States are set to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s number two oil producer after Russia this year, as shale companies, attracted by rising prices, ramp up drilling, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. “This year promises to be a record-setting one …
Read More »South Africa central bank chief to head IMF steering committee
Washington, United States | AFP | South Africa’s central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago will take over as chair of the International Monetary Fund’s policy advisory committee, the IMF announced Thursday. Kganyago, who has served as governor of the South African Reserve Bank since late 2014, takes on a three-year post …
Read More »COMMENT: Misery for inflation targeters
Why the misery index has a role to play in assessing the state of an economy and success of policy COMMENT | KOICHI HAMADA | The United States, Europe, and Japan are all making positive economic strides. In the U.S, the unemployment rate is falling, and now stands at just over …
Read More »Mixed reactions to Museveni’s New Year speech on economy
What experts think is important in regard to president’s message Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Gideon Badagawa, the executive director at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), says President Yoweri Museveni’s New Year speech with regard to value addition was well-intentioned. “The concentration of the speech on value addition …
Read More »‘Massive’ infrastructure spending needed in Africa, says report
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Economic growth in Africa picked up steam last year and is set to accelerate strongly in 2018, but “massive investments” are needed in infrastructure, the African Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday. Growth in Africa rose from 2.2 percent in 2016 to 3.6 percent in …
Read More »Africa’s top bank indicates oil investments to spur Uganda economy in 2018
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | THE INDEPENDENT | The latest African Economic Outlook (AEO) report indicates that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows following the recent issuance of oil exploration licenses and the investment in infrastructure development is expected to spur Uganda’s economy for most of 2018. The African Development Bank 2018 …
Read More »Sudan police fire tear gas as protesters march against price rises
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | About 200 protesters marched Wednesday in the Sudanese capital’s twin city of Omdurman against rising food prices, with anti-riot police firing tear gas to disperse the rally. Prices of food items but mainly bread have surged in past weeks across Sudan after a jump in …
Read More »DR Congo revises mining code to make most of battery-driven cobalt boom
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | As demand for batteries drives a surge in the price of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up to overhaul its mining regulations to harvest more profit from the coveted metal. The global boom for smartphones and electric cars has pushed up the …
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