GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;African countries raised an objection on Tuesday to a U.S.-led proposal to reform the International Health Regulations (IHR), a move delegates say might prevent passage at the World Health Organization&#8217;s annual assembly.



If Africa continues to withhold support, it could block one of the only concrete reforms expected from the meeting, fraying hopes that members will unite on reforms to strengthen the U.N. health agency&#8217;s rules as it seeks a central role for itself in global health policy.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XF0HC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The IHR set out WHO members&#8217; legally binding obligations around outbreaks. The United States has proposed 13 IHR reforms which seek to authorise the deployment of expert teams to contamination sites and the creation of a new compliance committee to monitor implementation of the rules.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The draft proposal yet to be formally decided is seen as the first step in a broader IHR reform process and would aim to change article 59 that would speed up the implementation for future reforms from 24 to 12 months.



But the African group expressed reservations about even this narrow change, saying all reforms should be tackled together as part of a &#8220;holistic package&#8221; at a later stage.



&#8220;The African region shares the view that the process should not be fast tracked&#8230;,&#8221; Moses Keetile, deputy permanent secretary in Botswana&#8217;s health ministry, told the assembly on Tuesday on behalf of the Africa region.



Diplomats said that African objections may be a strategy to seek concessions on vaccine and drug-sharing from wealthier countries who were seen to be hoarding supplies during COVID-19.



&#8220;We find that they are going too quickly and these sorts of reforms can&#8217;t be rushed through,&#8221; said an African delegate in Geneva who was not authorised to speak to the media.



The U.S. mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.



Several other countries expressed broad support for the idea of IHR reforms, without giving specifics. Iran and Malaysia also expressed reservations.



One diplomat following the discussions &#8220;They don&#8217;t agree but it&#8217;s not a disaster. It&#8217;s a multilateral process so you can&#8217;t force things through.&#8221;



The negotiations will run alongside talks on a potential pandemic treaty, raising concerns over duplication. &#8220;Several developing countries have said that the WHO has too many platforms for negotiation, and it is simply not manageable,&#8221; said Nithin Ramakrishnan, consultant for the Third World Network.



Since the U.S. IHR proposal, Russia has also submitted draft revisions, diplomats say. This assembly is expected to officially launch IHR reform discussions, which may last up to two years.



(Additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly￼

ABUJA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s central bank on Tuesday raised the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13%, its first hike in more than two years, to combat rising inflation, sending markets tumbling.



The move surprised analysts and traders who expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the rate on hold.



But&nbsp;Governor Godwin Emefiele told a news briefing&nbsp;that&nbsp;the rate hike was necessary to tame inflation, which quickened to 16.82% in April, its highest in eight months, amid a fragile economic recovery.



Six members of the MPC voted to increase the main lending rate by 150 basis points, four of them by 100 basis points and one by 50 basis points.



It was the biggest rate hike since&nbsp;July&nbsp;2016 when the central bank increased rates by 200 basis points.



&#8220;(MPC members) felt that tightening will help rein in inflation before it assumes a galloping trend,&#8221; Emefiele said.



&#8220;The committee decided to raise monetary policy rate for the first time in two and a half years to rein in the current rise in inflation as members were of the view that the continued uptrend may adversely impact growth.&#8221;



Food and energy prices are rising in Africa&#8217;s most populous country after Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine pushed up oil prices and disrupted supplies of commodities like corn and wheat.



The rate hike sent the yield on Nigeria&#8217;s longest 30-year bond soaring 75 basis points to 13.8%.&nbsp;Overnight lending rates climbed 200 basis points to 14% while the main share index&nbsp;.NGSEINDEX&nbsp;fell to a two-week low.



Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered, said the rate increase raised questions about whether this could be a precursor to a change in the central bank&#8217;s policy on foreign exchange.



&#8220;This could be the most important signal yet of eventual FX policy intentions &#8230; but we will not really know until we see whether and how much market rates reprice,&#8221; she said.



The naira recovered from a record low of 609 on the black market&nbsp;NGNP=&nbsp;to 606 naira against the dollar after the hike but it weakened to 443.50 naira on the official market&nbsp;NGN=&nbsp;from 413.80 naira and later traded at 417 naira.



The central bank governor, who ended his presidential ambition on Monday, said the economy was expected to expand 3.25% this year, lower than the federal government&#8217;s projection of 4.2% growth.



(Writing and additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Catherine Evans, Mark Potter and Mark Porter)

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Nigeria’s central bank surprises with rate hike, cites inflation

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Rising borrowing costs and the worldwide fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war could see up to 10% of riskier &#8216;junk&#8217;-rated emerging market countries suffer debt crises this year, analysts at U.S. investment bank JPMorgan have warned.



More acute balance of payment pressures and larger fiscal deficits are now compounding problems for heavily-indebted countries that import most of their energy and food.



Sri Lanka has just suffered its first ever sovereign default, joining a list that already included Lebanon, Suriname, Venezuela and Zambia. Russia and Ukraine are both teetering too and the worry is the numbers globally will soon balloon.



&#8220;Nearly half of the (52) country sample is classified as carrying high repayment risk in our assessment. Of these, eight are at risk of reserve depletion by the end of 2023, signalling high default risks. These are Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bahamas, Belize, Senegal, Rwanda, Grenada, and Ethiopia,&#8221; said the note led by strategist Trang Nguyen on Tuesday.



A jump in world interest rates in response to fast-rising inflation also means many countries are facing the reality of rising borrowing costs, a departure from over a decade of so-called &#8220;easy money&#8221;.



&#8220;Accounting for risks of a potential default in Russia and restructuring in Ukraine&#8230;the EM sovereign HY default rate could reach 10% this year,&#8221; JP Morgan&#8217;s note added, also pointing out how Ethiopia was moving towards a G20-led restructuring of its debts.



The International Monetary Fund too has said that nearly 60% of low income countries are either in, or at high risk of, debt distress.



Analysts at investment firm Tellimer this week highlighted how a record 27 emerging market countries now have eurobond yields above 10%.



Those yields are a proxy for what a government has to pay to borrow in the international capital markets and anything above 10% is generally seen as a sign of trouble.



JP Morgan said that in addition to the eight countries flagged as in immediate default danger, larger economies such as Egypt, Ghana and Pakistan were also highly vulnerable from fiscal and debt standpoints over the slightly longer term.



(Reporting by Marc Jones, editing by Jorgelina do Rosario, Kirsten Donovan)

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JPMorgan warns 10% of junk-rated emerging markets facing debt crises this year

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Herbert Diess said alleviating supply chain issues would likely help create some momentum for the German auto giant over the coming months.</li><li>“Markets are always about the future,” Diess said when asked why investors valued Tesla at such a premium to other traditional carmakers.</li><li>“We are still aiming at keeping up and probably overtaking by 2025 when it comes to sales,” Diess said.</li></ul>



The chief executive of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/VOW3-DE">Volkswagen</a>&nbsp;believes Europe’s biggest carmaker can overtake&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles by 2025.



Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Herbert Diess said alleviating supply chain issues would likely help create some momentum for the German auto giant over the coming months.



“Markets are always about the future,” Diess said when asked why investors valued Tesla at such a premium to other traditional carmakers, such as Volkswagen.



“Tesla currently is in the lead when it comes to EVs, probably also it is the most digital car company already and they have some advantages,” he continued. “We are still aiming at keeping up and probably overtaking by 2025 when it comes to sales.”



Diess said Tesla has been able to demonstrate good results and high returns with a credible business model. However, he reaffirmed his belief that Volkswagen could soon close the gap when it comes to EV sales.



“I think for Tesla, also, ramping up now will probably be a bit more challenging. They are opening up new plants and we are trying to keep up speed. We think in the second half of the year, we are going to create some momentum,” Diess said.



Volkswagen’s Frankfurt-listed shares traded around 0.9% lower on Tuesday morning, roughly in line with losses in the autos sector on the pan-European Stoxx 600.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supply-chain-crisis-to-alleviate"><a></a>Supply chain crisis to alleviate</h2>



More than two years into the coronavirus pandemic, the auto industry continues to grapple with the challenge of obtaining crucial parts and building enough vehicles to meet demand.



Shortages of critical supplies, particularly when it comes to battery production, are expected to be an ongoing constraint for the growth of electric vehicle sales in the years ahead.



Nonetheless, Diess said there are some positive signs on the horizon. He expects to see some relief from the semiconductor supply market from the middle of the year.



“I would say that we would see an alleviation of this situation towards mid-year and second half we should be in better shape — if the situation is not getting any worse, which I don’t think so,” Diess said.



When asked whether this means he expects the semiconductor crisis could end in the second half of the year, Diess replied: “I wouldn’t say end but we see a much-improved situation. I think supply chains are getting in order again.&#8221;

Volkswagen chief says German car giant will overtake Tesla on electric vehicle sales by 2025

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States issued an advisory on Monday warning U.S. companies of growing reputational risks of doing business with state-owned enterprises and military-controlled firms in Sudan.



&#8220;These risks arise from, among other things, recent actions undertaken by Sudan&#8217;s Sovereign Council and security forces under the military&#8217;s command, including and especially serious human rights abuse against protesters,&#8221; State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.



The African country has been racked by protests since a military coup in October, and lawyers say dozens of political prisoners remain in detention.



&#8220;Businesses and individuals operating in Sudan should undertake increased due diligence related to human rights issues and be aware of the potential reputational risks of conducting business activities and/or transactions with SOEs and military-controlled companies,&#8221; Price said.



The advisory was issued by the U.S. departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and Labor, he said.



(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Bernard Orr)

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U.S. warns companies of ‘reputational risks’ of doing business in Sudan

The food price crisis of 2007-2008, Covid-19, the Russia – Ukraine War, and climate change have exposed the fragility of food systems. The greatest risk lies in refusing to learn from lessons of the past.&nbsp;



At the start of 2022, we were already facing the prospect of a food crisis. Even before the first Russian tank rolled across Ukraine’s borders on 24 February, food prices had tipped record highs as the world struggled to recover from Covid-19 to repair disrupted supply chains and soaring fuel and gas prices. But a conflict involving two of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and major producers of fertilizer, maize and vegetable oil, have inevitably driven prices even higher and, once again, pushed the issue of global food security into sharp focus.



Russia and Ukraine together account for roughly 30 per cent of the world’s wheat and barley exports, a fifth of its corn trade and almost 80 per cent of sunflower oil exports. Most of their wheat production is imported by countries in the Middle East and Africa, with some 50 countries depending on Russia and Ukraine. Warfare, port blockades and international sanctions have reduced these exports, and supply uncertainties have already pushed wheat prices to around $11 per bushel, a level last seen in 2008. The FAO food price index soared last week to a record high.



The situation is further compounded by rising energy prices, and disruptions to the supply of fertilisers, the prices of which are already fluctuating at levels unseen since the global financial crisis because of higher gas prices. &nbsp;Russia and Belarus produce more than a third of global potash. Russia is also the world’s biggest exporter of fertilizers and the war with Ukraine has disrupted the export of fertilizers and driven up prices for natural gas, which is an important ingredient of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Fertilizer prices (DAP) are surging towards 1000 USD per ton, with a significant increase in the last 6 months, and a 40% jump since the invasion. This will hurt rich and poor farmers alike, due to the clear link between rising costs and reduced production.&nbsp;



The US-based Center for Global Development estimates that higher food and fuel prices will push 40 million more people into extreme poverty.&nbsp; Lower income households, who were already spending between 60 and 80 per cent of their earnings on food, face stark choices, including how many meals to eat in a day. In Tunisia, the fear of food shortages combined with the imminent arrival of Ramadan, caused panic buying and emptied supermarket shelves. Kenyans are protesting rising food prices on social media with the hashtag #lowerfoodprices. Thousands of maize farmers in Ethiopia have been protesting soaring fertilizer prices. And let’s not forget that it was rising food prices that led to the 2019 Sudan coup and the Arab Spring rebellion of 2008.



The food crisis of 2007-8 suggests important lessons for us to mitigate a food crisis this year.



First, remember that cooperation between countries matters, sending important signals to markets that governments and the private sector take the problem seriously.&nbsp;



Second, take concerted action to trade more, easier, faster.&nbsp; Allow food to be traded and attack non-tariff barriers that are the most serious limitations to trade.&nbsp;&nbsp; Africa has shown leadership in the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area – these principles must be fast tracked to allow as friction-free trading system as possible.&nbsp;



Third, governments and development partners should urgently plan for the social and humanitarian consequences of a food crisis.&nbsp; Social safety nets should be strengthened at least temporarily, and humanitarian aid planned for the most vulnerable.&nbsp;



Last and perhaps most importantly, governments and partners must go back to basics: that African economies and livelihoods are built on agriculture. More than 70 per cent of the population is involved in farming, but the vast majority of these are smallholdings with significant exposure to environmental and economic shocks. These farmers and their contributions can be transformed by shorter value chains that share some of the value with farmers, a digital revolution that puts farmers, and strong government agenda and support.&nbsp;



African farmers, if given the opportunities that their European, Asian and North American counterparts have, can increase massively their productivity and grow their businesses.&nbsp; An emergency plan to build support for farmers now can send important signals to markets and increase production this year.&nbsp; Give farmers access to productive, climate smart seeds, the knowledge they need to become more productive, and innovative financial tools to invest.&nbsp; Then help them get their products to market. Proven models are already used by many partners – millions of farmers can be lifted quickly in this way.



At the same time, soaring fertilizer prices must be addressed with urgent action to increase efficiency.&nbsp; AGRA has promoted technologies that can reduce cost to the farmer including the use of blended fertilizers, as we already see in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The same is true in the use of micro-dosing.&nbsp; Both give much more ‘bang for the buck’ and can be much more environmentally friendly. This is also an opportunity to promote greater use of farmers’ traditional practices of regeneration and organic fertilization.



This is the time for African governments to give a strong signal of support to the agriculture sector.&nbsp; Start by reducing redundant regulation, and support SMEs and farmers’ cooperatives with credit guarantee programmes.&nbsp;



We learned from the last food crisis that we should not be afraid of a food crisis.  What we should be worried about is lack of action once we understand the problem. Governments should lead and coordinate, private sector should target investment on proven solutions, and unlock African farmers’ potential. 



The writer is the President of AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa).

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Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

ABUJA, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigerian GDP grew 3.11% in the first quarter, slower than in the previous quarter as a fall in oil production hit the rest of the economy, the national statistics office said on Monday ahead of a central bank interest rate decision on Tuesday.



It was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, with non-oil sectors helping Nigeria bounce back from a severe recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The full-year GDP figure for 2021 showed the fastest growth in seven years.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2US0UR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Gross domestic product grew by 3.98% in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the first three months of last year, the growth rate was 0.51%.



&#8220;After the recession experienced by the country in 2020 occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has been on the path of growth,&#8221; the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.



It said non-oil sectors such as financials, communication, trade and healthcare were among the fastest growing.



However, oil refining, crude petroleum and natural gas, road transport, quarrying and other minerals were lagging.



The naira&nbsp;NGNP=, hit a record low of 609 against the dollar on the black market, where it is freely traded, as the GDP data was announced.



The oil sector shrank by 26.04% in the first quarter, compared with an 8.06% contraction the previous quarter. Crude production fell to 1.49 million barrels per day in the first quarter from 1.50 million barrels in the previous three months.



Frequent vandalism and illegal refining in the oil-producing Niger Delta region have kept the sector under pressure. Nigeria has struggled to meet its production targets, partly missing out on the effects of the global surge in oil prices.



The weak growth could prompt the central bank to keep its dovish stance at a policy meeting on Tuesday despite double-digit inflation, analysts say.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VO1JM&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



($1 = 415.00 naira)



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Jan Harvey and Tomasz Janowski)

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Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that it must be &#8220;at the centre&#8221; of a global healthcare system, while also acknowledging the need for internal reforms.



The World Health Assembly from May 22-28 is seen as one of the most important in the UN health agency&#8217;s 75-year history, as it seeks to define its future role in global health policy and get approval for a funding overhaul.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2X96B0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We need a stronger and sustainably financed WHO, at the centre of the global health security architecture,&#8221; Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a major speech at the WHO&#8217;s annual assembly.



But he added: &#8220;There have been many calls for WHO to change. And there is no question that more change is needed.&#8221;



The WHO is under scrutiny after an independent panel described it as &#8220;underpowered&#8221; when COVID-19 struck, with limited powers to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures.



However, its 194 member states are seen as split over whether it deserves new powers after its handling of COVID.



&#8220;Some members are saying the WHO did what it could during the pandemic and want to strengthen its authority and others are very disillusioned with the WHO and &#8230; are very divided on whether it should be given more powers,&#8221; said Adam Kamradt-Scott, a professor of Global Health at the School of Transnational Governance.



In the same speech, Tedros said COVID is far from over and that the world was not ready for the next pandemic, echoing the findings of a major report last week.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XA0VC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that the world was and remains unprepared for a pandemic,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Russia&#8217;s impact on energy and food prices and security will provide the backdrop to Olaf Scholz&#8217;s first trip to Africa as German Chancellor, a three-day tour of Senegal, Niger and South Africa kicking off on Sunday.



The first stop on Scholz&#8217;s trip is Senegal, which has billions of cubic metres of gas reserves and is expected to become a major gas producer in the region.



Germany is seeking to reduce its heavy reliance on Russia for gas following the Kremlin&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. It could help explore a gas field in Senegal, a government official said on Friday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2WV04P&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The source said Scholz also wanted to discuss possible cooperation on the development of renewable energy. In Senegal, he will visit a solar power plant after meeting and holding a joint news conference with the country&#8217;s President Macky Sall.



Germany has invited both Senegal, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the African Union, and South Africa to attend the G7 summit it is hosting in June as guest countries.



Both countries abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution against Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation to demilitarize a neighbor it says threatened its security.



Ukraine and Western allies say the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.



The conflict has triggered supply disruptions that have pushed up food and energy prices in Africa. Russia&#8217;s military has blocked exports from ports in Ukraine, a major grains and food supplier to the region. The Kremlin blames Western sanctions for the rising prices.



SECURITY IN THE SAHEL



Scholz will travel later on Sunday to Niger. The country has taken on a bigger role hosting European special forces to stem a jihadist insurgency across the Sahel since European relations with the military junta ruling neighboring Mali have deteriorated.



The European Union suspended its military training mission in Mali due to a lack of guarantees from Malian authorities that military contractors from Russia&#8217;s Wagner Group would not interfere in the work. The group is under EU sanctions accused of human rights abuses.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2X95FS&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Russia denies any wrongdoing in Mali or in any other country where Wagner operates. Both Mali and Russia have previously said Wagner Group is not made up of mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.



Scholz will visit German troops in Niger and discuss the lengthy battle against insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and made swathes of territory ungovernable in the Sahel, south of the Sahara.



On Monday evening Scholz is set to travel to Johannesburg for the final leg of his tour.



(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

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Russia looms large on Scholz’s first Africa tour as chancellor￼

May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ratings agency S&amp;P&nbsp;<a href="https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/2842888" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revised</a>&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s outlook to &#8220;positive&#8221; on Friday, saying it reflects favourable terms of trade and a path toward contained fiscal expenditure for the country.



S&amp;P upgraded its outlook from &#8220;stable&#8221; and affirmed the &#8220;BB-/B&#8221; foreign currency as well as &#8220;BB/B&#8221; local currency ratings on South Africa.



&#8220;Recent favourable terms of trade in South Africa have improved the external and fiscal trajectory, while the country&#8217;s reasonably large net external asset position, flexible currency and deep domestic capital markets provide strong buffers against shifts in external financing,&#8221; S&amp;P said in its report.



S&amp;P said it expects South Africa&#8217;s fiscal deficit to remain elevated, but gradually narrow to 5% of GDP by fiscal 2025.



The economic growth of Africa&#8217;s most industrialised country is expected to slow to 1.7% this year, according to the central bank&#8217;s forecast on Thursday, from a 4.9% expansion last year, as it recovers from a contraction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XB4IH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo in Johannesburg; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)

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S&P raises South Africa’s outlook to ‘positive’ on trade terms, fiscal discipline

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Nearly 2,500 global leaders from business, politics and civil society are expected to take part in a rare springtime version of Davos this week.</li><li>Organizers of the event had postponed the meeting from its traditional January slot over safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, in a welcome boost to local residents, the forum’s first in-person event has now returned after a two-year hiatus.</li><li>That’s not to say everyone is happy to see the return of the world’s business and political elite to the Swiss Alps.</li></ul>



The World Economic Forum is trying to fix an image problem.



Nearly 2,500 global leaders from business, politics and civil society are expected to take part in a rare springtime version of Davos this week.



The annual meeting will see movers and shakers convene in Switzerland’s luxury Alpine ski resort of Davos for five days of conversation on issues including Covid-19, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the climate crisis.



Organizers of the event had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/20/davos-world-economic-forum-postpones-meeting-due-to-covid.html">postponed the meeting</a>&nbsp;from its traditional January slot over safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, in a welcome boost to local residents, the forum’s first in-person event has now returned after a two-year hiatus.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/davos-2022-whos-coming-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">theme</a>&nbsp;of this year’s event is “History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies.”



“It means a lot to us. It means a lot to the whole of Switzerland,” Samuel Rosenast, a spokesperson for the local tourism board, said in an interview with CNBC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-chitty/">Tom Chitty</a>.



Rosenast said the event was “unbelievably important” to those residing in Europe’s highest town, estimating that the resort could see a windfall of approximately 70 million Swiss francs ($72 million) in just this week alone.



“Every business is in contact with the World Economic Forum. The people know how important it is,” Rosenast said. “Most people here are looking forward to the World Economic Forum. They are happy that it takes place here again this year.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-symbol-of-a-failed-era"><a></a>‘A symbol of a failed era’</h2>



That’s not to say everyone is pleased to see the return of the world’s business and political elite to the Swiss Alps. The event has been sharply criticized in recent years for being&nbsp;<a href="https://fortune.com/2015/01/22/davos-out-of-touch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">out of touch</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/is-davos-nothing-more-than-an-overpriced-ineffective-talking-shop.html">ineffective</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/davos-is-broadly-irrelevant-there-is-no-case-for-guzzling-jets-and-gallons-of-dom-perignon-20220516" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">irrelevant</a>.



Three years ago, Dutch historian Rutger Bregman went viral at a Davos panel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/19/rutger-bregman-historian-who-confronted-davos-elite-on-higher-taxes.html">when he called out billionaires for tax avoidance</a>. In a clip that has now been viewed nearly 11 million times, Bregman said that a global failure to effectively tackle tax avoidance was the primary cause of inequality.



“It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water,” Bregman said at the time. “This is not rocket science … we have got to be talking about taxes. That’s it. Taxes, taxes, taxes.”



More recently, protestors, activists and people on the frontlines of inequality have sought to challenge the WEF over its “<a href="https://inequality.org/research/global-inequality-protest-davos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">empty rhetoric</a>,” accusing Davos of representing “a symbol of a failed era” that should be left behind.



A report published Monday by global charity Oxfam found that 573 people became new billionaires during the coronavirus pandemic — at a rate of one every 30 hours. The brief, entitled “Profiting from Pain,” expects that 263 million additional people will fall into extreme poverty this year at a rate of 1 million people every 33 hours.



“Billionaires are arriving in Davos to celebrate an incredible surge in their fortunes. The pandemic and now the steep increases in food and energy prices have, simply put, been a bonanza for them,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International.



“Meanwhile, decades of progress on extreme poverty are now in reverse and millions of people are facing impossible rises in the cost of simply staying alive.”



In his youth, Philipp Wilhelm was one of those protesting the annual gathering of billionaires and political leaders in the town where he was born. Now, however, Wilhelm is the mayor of Davos, and his goal is to deliver a successful meeting.



“I protested during the annual meeting because, for me, it was important to express that it’s really crucial that we solve this climate crisis. And we need to make the world a more just place,” Wilhelm said.



Wilhelm said that he had taken part in protests because he felt it was essential to ensure that everyone arriving in Davos “gets the message that it’s really important to solve these issues.”



Wilhelm said he — and WEF — had changed their positions since his protesting days, adding that he believes he can influence policy more effectively in his current role.



When asked whether it was a concern that criticism of WEF had become too closely associated with Davos given that the town itself has become largely interchangeable with the forum, Wilhelm replied: “No it doesn’t bother me at all.”



“I think it is interesting that people know Davos as a place where people meet and discuss — and I mean it should be controversial. There should be a discussion about what is the right way to improve the state of the world,” Wilhelm said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Davos 2022 is ‘one marker in time’</h2>



“The forum’s work is ongoing. The meeting is one marker in time,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the World Economic Forum.



“What we’ve been doing over the last two and a half years — while it hasn’t been visible through a particular meeting — is a set of work that is trying to make a dent on inequality and at the same time also make changes towards addressing one of the biggest existential risks we all face which is climate change.”



When asked whether rising income inequality had become a particular problem for the forum, Zahidi replied: “Inequality is a problem for the world. I think we know that societies that do not combat inequality will have slower growth.”



“And so there has to be an effort that addresses inequality. Now, what does that? Better education, better skills, better jobs, addressing issues like taxation and changing the nature of our economies so that they actually work for people and not just for the few,” Zahidi said. “That is going to be front and center on next week’s agenda.”

Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images

How Davos became the anti-establishment’s punching bag

KEY POINTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>A document outlining the European Commission’s aims for the REPowerEU plan was published on Wednesday.</li><li>It highlighted the importance of energy savings, the diversification of energy imports and speeding up what it called “Europe’s clean energy transition.”</li><li>The EU’s desire to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons means it will need to find oil and gas from other parts of the world to plug supply gaps.</li></ul>



The European Commission has fleshed out details of a plan to ramp up the EU’s renewable energy capacity and reduce its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, at the same time acknowledging that existing coal facilities may have to be used for “longer than initially expected.”



A document outlining the Commission’s aims for the REPowerEU plan was published on Wednesday, highlighting the importance of energy savings, the diversification of energy imports and speeding up what it called “Europe’s clean energy transition.”



In total, it envisages extra investment of 210 billion euros ($220.87 billion) between 2022 and 2027. When it comes to renewables’ share in the EU’s energy mix, the Commission has proposed that the current target of 40% by 2030 should be increased to 45%.



The Commission’s proposals came on the same day the governments of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium said they would aim for a combined target of at least 65 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030. By the middle of the century, they are aiming for 150 GW of capacity.



On the fossil fuel front, the situation is a challenging one. Russia was the biggest supplier of both petroleum oils and natural gas to the EU last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=EU_imports_of_energy_products_-_recent_developments#:~:text=Russia%20was%20the%20largest%20supplier,and%2C%20at%20some%20distance%20Algeria" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Eurostat</a>.



The EU’s desire to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons&nbsp;following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine&nbsp;means it will need to find oil and gas from other parts of the world to plug supply gaps.



The Commission said as much as 1.5 to 2 billion euros of investment would be needed to secure oil supply. To import enough liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas from other sources, an estimated 10 billion euros will be needed by 2030.



All the above comes at a time when the EU has said it wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. In the medium term, it wants net greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by at least 55% by 2030, which the EU calls its “Fit for 55” plan.



The Commission said REPowerEU could not work without what it called “a fast implementation of all Fit for 55 proposals and higher targets for renewables and energy efficiency.”



In this new reality, gas consumption in the EU would “reduce at a faster pace, limiting the role of gas as a transitional fuel,” the Commission said.



“However, shifting away from Russian fossil fuels will also require targeted investments for security of supply in gas infrastructure and very limited changes to oil infrastructure alongside large-scale investments in the electricity grid and an EU-wide hydrogen backbone,” it added.



“In parallel, some of the existing coal capacities might also be used longer than initially expected, with a role for nuclear power and domestic gas resources too,” the Commission said.



During a press conference on Wednesday the EU’s climate chief, Frans Timmermans, admitted that using less natural gas in a transitional phase would mean “you might use coal a bit longer — that has a negative impact on your emissions.”



“But if at the same time, as we propose, you rapidly speed up the introduction of renewables — solar, wind, biomethane — you then have the opposite movement,” he said.



Timmermans, who is the European Commission’s executive vice president for the European Green Deal, went on to stress the importance of finding a middle ground.



“If we can actually do what I say — reduce our energy consumption in combination with a speedier introduction of renewables — we will bring down our emissions even quicker than before,” he said.



“And then, of course we will have slightly higher emissions if people stick a bit longer to coal, but we need to strike the balance so that, on balance, we do not increase our emissions — we hopefully even decrease them more.”



Coal has a substantial effect on the environment, with Greenpeace describing it as “the dirtiest, most polluting way of producing energy.”



Elsewhere, the U.S. Energy Information Administration lists a range of emissions from coal combustion, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen oxides.



The European Commission announcement drew criticism from a number of environmental organizations.



“These plans are supposed to fast-track the clean energy transition — but the European Commission’s latest strategy gives with one hand and takes with the other,” Eilidh Robb, an anti-fossil fuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, said.



“So-called REPowerEU contains useful and necessary strides towards renewable solutions but it simultaneously enables almost 50 fossil fuel infrastructure projects and expansions,” Robb said.

6P3A4A5Y3FPCBIXZTKFUXZLSHM

Europe admits it’ll have to burn more coal as it tries to wean itself off Russian energy

<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>China stocks firm on higher-than-expected borrowing rate cut</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Turkish consumer conf in May edges up from record low</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>EM stocks, FX eye weekly gains of 3% and 1% respectively</li></ul>



By Anisha Sircar and Bansari Mayur Kamdar



May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China stocks led emerging market stocks higher on Friday after Beijing&#8217;s larger-than-expected cut to a key borrowing rate, while a softer dollar sent an index of currencies to their highest level in two weeks.



China&#8217;s main share indexes&nbsp;.CSI300,&nbsp;.SSEC&nbsp;added 1.6% and 2% after Beijing lowered the five-year loan prime rate&nbsp;CNYLPR5Y=CFXS&nbsp;by 15 basis points (bps) to 4.45% to aid the ailing economy, more than the five or 10 bps tipped by analysts in a Reuters poll.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC033&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



That boosted MSCI&#8217;s index of stocks&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;up 2% and more than 3% on the week to track its best weekly performance since mid-March. Most other EM Asian indexes gained between 1% and 2.2% while those in Turkey&nbsp;.XU100&nbsp;and South Africa&nbsp;.JTOPI&nbsp;gained 0.4% and 0.5%.



Still, stocks have clocked losses every month in 2022 and were eyeing their fifth in May as investors remain fearful over the impact of surging inflation, China&#8217;s COVID-19 lockdowns and monetary tightening in developed economies.



&#8220;I&#8217;m not looking at a strong recovery from here &#8211; some stability in (China&#8217;s) renminbi has provided some temporary support this week, but the fact is we&#8217;ve got the strong dollar and concerns over European and Chinese growth very much still with us,&#8221; said Chris Turner, global head of FX Strategy at ING.



Meanwhile, EM currencies&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;looked set for their first weekly gain in seven, lifted by a glum week for the dollar&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;which lost steam after a breathless 14-week surge and amid a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields.&nbsp;FRX/



Mexico&#8217;s peso&nbsp;MXN=&nbsp;and South Africa&#8217;s rand&nbsp;ZAR=&nbsp;were 0.9% and 2% stronger on the week, with the rand helped by a 50 basis point lending rate hike by the central bank on Thursday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XB4IH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Turkey&#8217;s lira&nbsp;TRY=&nbsp;was the outlier, slipping 0.3% and down 11 sessions out of the last 12, with some upbeat data doing little to boost the struggling currency. Turkish consumer confidence was seen rising to 67.6 points in May from a record low in April.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AAPN0KU2M1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;The strategy in place&#8230;is costing an arm to Turkey, which is why soft data like the consumer data isn&#8217;t fit to reverse the ugly mood or fears of seeing the lira crumble if the Turkish central bank were to let go,&#8221; said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.



Elsewhere, Russia&#8217;s rouble&nbsp;RUBUTSTN=MCX&nbsp;saw its fifth straight week in the black, boosted by capital controls and domestic tax payments that support demand for the currency, despite growing global sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;RU/RUB



For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2022, see&nbsp;<a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh</a>



For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2022, see&nbsp;<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX</a>



For TOP NEWS across emerging markets&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3ATOPEMRG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see&nbsp;CEE/



For TURKISH market report, see&nbsp;.IS



For RUSSIAN market report, see&nbsp;RU/RUB



(Reporting by Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)

P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4

EMERGING MARKETS-China rate cut boosts EM stocks; currencies recover as greenback eases￼

NAIROBI, May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund has extended its support for Somalia under its Extended Credit Facility to Aug. 17, the lender said on Friday.



Early this month, the Somali government had asked the fund for a three-month extension in its financial support.



In February, the IMF warned against the risk of automatic expiry this month of the three-year budget support programme worth nearly $400 million, after delayed legislative and presidential elections jeopardised its renewal.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2US5NQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

IMF_logo

IMF extends financial support for Somalia to August

KHARTOUM, May 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A leading&nbsp;Sudanese&nbsp;politician was&nbsp;arrested&nbsp;on Thursday as&nbsp;protests&nbsp;raged in the capital&nbsp;Khartoum&nbsp;for the seventh month against military rule, with tear gas and heavy security force deployment.



A military coup in October effectively ended a 2019 power-sharing deal between generals who overthrew President Omar al-Bashir, andpolitical parties that opposed him.



One of those parties, the&nbsp;Sudanese&nbsp;Communist&nbsp;Party, said its&nbsp;leader&nbsp;Mohamed Mukhtar Al-Khatib had been&nbsp;arrested&nbsp;on Thursday, following a visit to Juba where he met with leading&nbsp;Sudanese&nbsp;rebel&nbsp;leaders.



The party, which has been the most hardline against the coup and any future deal, was pursuing a unified front against the coup, it said.



Sudan&#8217;s economy has spiralled as its government has gone without a prime minister since January. Businesses are stagnating while citizens face steep increases in the prices of food, electricity and fuel.



&#8220;The military has failed economically, politically and psychologically &#8211; in every way,&#8221; said a 30-year-old protester and unemployed engineer who declined to give his name for fear of retribution. &#8220;They are just being stubborn now, but we are more stubborn.&#8221;



The protesters marched under the harsh sun as security forces, including the U.S.-sanctioned Central Reserve Police,&nbsp;were deployed at key points along&nbsp;the protest route.



(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Richard Chang)

1280px-Flag_of_Sudan_(3-2).svg

Sudanese communist leader arrested as protests rage in Khartoum￼

By Mohi Narayan and Scott DiSavino



May 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Oil&nbsp;prices fell on Friday as investors worried that weakening global economic growth and tighter central bank monetary policy could curb a recovery in&nbsp;fuel&nbsp;demand.



Brent&nbsp;LCOc1&nbsp;futures for July fell 59 cents, or 0.53%, to $111.45 a barrel by 0648 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June&nbsp;CLc1&nbsp;fell 56 cents, or 0.5%, to $111.65 on its last day as the front-month.



The more actively traded WTI contract for July&nbsp;CLN2&nbsp;was down 0.8% at $109.01 a barrel.



The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Asian economies to be mindful of spillover&nbsp;risks from monetary tightening.



Asian economies faced a choice between supporting growth with more stimulus and withdrawing it to stabilise debt and inflation, IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2XB2VQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



While Bank of Japan policy runs counter to a global shift towards monetary tightening, central banks in the United States, Britain and Australia raised interest rates recently.



Crude gains have been limited this week, with Brent and WTI mostly trading in a range due to the uncertain path of&nbsp;demand. Investors, worried about rising inflation and more aggressive action from central banks, have been reducing exposure to riskier assets.



Open interest in WTI futures fell to 1.722 million contracts on May 18, the lowest since July 2016.



&#8220;If U.S. growth data continues to sour,&nbsp;oil&nbsp;prices could get caught up in the negative stock market feedback loop,&#8221; SPI Asset Management Managing Director Stephen Innes said in a client note.



In the United States, Americans were getting back behind the wheel, despite higher&nbsp;fuel&nbsp;prices, according to a report from the Federal Highway Administration on vehicle miles.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XB2RM&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



On the gasoline supply side, South Korea&#8217;s third-largest refiner S-Oil&nbsp;halted production at its No. 2 alkylation unit and related processes at its Onsan refinery due to a blast.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XB31C&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The shutdown following Thursday night&#8217;s blast that killed one person is expected to affect already tight gasoline supplies in Asia.



Citi analysts expect S-Oil&#8217;s gasoline output to be &#8220;severely impacted&#8221; in the near term, although it could buy alkylate to maintain production.



Iran, meanwhile, is having a tougher time selling its crude now that more Russian barrels are available.



Iran&#8217;s crude exports to China have fallen sharply since the start of the Ukraine war as Beijing favoured heavily discounted Russian barrels, leaving almost 40 million barrels of Iranian&nbsp;oil&nbsp;stored on tankers at sea in Asia and seeking buyers.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XB1O9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Kim Coghill and Frank Jack Daniel)

Oil falls on uncertainty over fuel demand recovery

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A new study by the&nbsp;central&nbsp;bank&nbsp;to the world&#8217;s&nbsp;central&nbsp;banks, the&nbsp;Bank&nbsp;of International Settlements (BIS), has called for&nbsp;urgent&nbsp;action to tackle&nbsp;rising&nbsp;wealth&nbsp;inequality, warning the problem was feeding a dangerous loop of recessions and poverty.



While government policies have largely been blamed for the rise in&nbsp;inequality&nbsp;since the 1980s,&nbsp;central&nbsp;bankers have also come under fire in recent years for fuelling huge stock market gains with ultra-low interest rates and asset buying schemes.



The&nbsp;BIS, looking at 182 recessions across 70 countries, found that even six years after a downturn, the income share of the bottom 50% of earners in an impacted economy remained 0.3% below the pre-recession level on average, whereas for those in the top 10% bracket it was still 0.7% higher.



Economies that are more unequal go through deeper recessions which in turn further increases&nbsp;inequality, its analysis showed. Less progressive taxes and social support programme in many countries have made the problems worse as well.



&#8220;It is increasingly apparent that&nbsp;inequality&nbsp;has evolved from being an academic issue to an&nbsp;urgent&nbsp;policy&nbsp;matter,&#8221; the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bis.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BIS&nbsp;paper</a>&nbsp;said, adding that one of key risks for&nbsp;central&nbsp;banks was that their policy tools become less effective.



The&nbsp;BIS&nbsp;study showed that low-paid workers in some countries were over three time more likely to have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, while surging inflation was&nbsp;now&nbsp;hitting poorer households disproportionately hard.



&#8220;Once&nbsp;inequality&nbsp;is left to grow unchecked, deeper and deeper recessions demand additional policy support,&#8221; it said.



&#8220;But at the same time monetary stimulus loses traction, so that the&nbsp;central&nbsp;bank&nbsp;needs to deploy bolder and bolder instruments, which can in turn produce undesirable side effects in terms of wealth&nbsp;inequality&#8221;.



Instead it recommended keeping inflation in check and that governments use &#8220;stabilisation policies&#8221; such as subsidies or support payments that help poorer people.



(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

Russia looms large on Scholz’s first Africa tour as chancellor

S&P raises South Africa’s outlook to ‘positive’ on trade terms, fiscal discipline

How Davos became the anti-establishment’s punching bag

Europe admits it’ll have to burn more coal as it tries to wean itself off Russian energy

EMERGING MARKETS-China rate cut boosts EM stocks; currencies recover as greenback eases

IMF extends financial support for Somalia to August

Sudanese communist leader arrested as protests rage in Khartoum

Oil falls on uncertainty over fuel demand recovery

Rising inequality now an urgent matter, BIS central bank group warns

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly￼

Nigeria’s central bank surprises with rate hike, cites inflation

JPMorgan warns 10% of junk-rated emerging markets facing debt crises this year

Volkswagen chief says German car giant will overtake Tesla on electric vehicle sales by 2025

U.S. warns companies of ‘reputational risks’ of doing business in Sudan

Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

Nigeria Q1 GDP growth slows Q/Q ahead of rates decision

WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

Russia looms large on Scholz’s first Africa tour as chancellor￼

S&P raises South Africa’s outlook to ‘positive’ on trade terms, fiscal discipline

How Davos became the anti-establishment’s punching bag

Europe admits it’ll have to burn more coal as it tries to wean itself off Russian energy

EMERGING MARKETS-China rate cut boosts EM stocks; currencies recover as greenback eases￼

IMF extends financial support for Somalia to August

Sudanese communist leader arrested as protests rage in Khartoum￼

Oil falls on uncertainty over fuel demand recovery

Rising inequality now an urgent matter, BIS central bank group warns

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly

Russia looms large on Scholz’s first Africa tour as chancellor

EMERGING MARKETS-China rate cut boosts EM stocks; currencies recover as greenback eases

Sudanese communist leader arrested as protests rage in Khartoum