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)

shutterstock_112425113

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

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Ethiopia has embarked on a joint venture with the UK and Germany, which could save thousands of jobs in the country’s textile and garments industry. CNBC Africa spoke to Samuel Getachew, Political Analyst for more.

Ethiopia partners with UK & Germany to help save jobs in country’s textile industry

Report by Julianna Tatelbaum



Key Points



<ul><li>The FDA commissioner has confirmed the agency is currently looking at drugs already approved for other diseases.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Biotech giant Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is trialing its drug kevzara for use against COVID-19.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Chloroquine is a generic malaria drug which has shown promise as a treatment against COVID-19.</li></ul>



Scientists around the globe are racing to develop tests, treatments and vaccines to combat the COVID-19 disease.&nbsp;



Near term, tests are the priority. Beyond testing, regulators are trying to get treatments approved as quickly and safely as possible to serve as a bridge to a vaccine, which is likely to take 12 months, according to the U.S. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Health-care experts broadly agree that a treatment is likely to come before a vaccine. “If a good treatment emerges, whatever it is, we expect regulators to prioritize expeditious review,” Laura Sutcliffe, a UBS health-care analyst said in a research note.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Treatments</h2>



U.S. regulators are leaning heavily on previously developed treatments. At a press conference with President Donald Trump, the FDA commissioner confirmed the agency is currently looking at drugs already approved for other diseases. Several therapies have been thrust into the spotlight in recent days for their promise: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=GILD">Gilead</a>’s remdesivir, Regeneron’s kevzara and generic antimalarial drug chloroquine (and an alternative version called hydroxychloroquine).&nbsp;&nbsp;



Remdesivir was developed by U.S. pharma giant Gilead Sciences Inc and was previously tried as a treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), another type of coronavirus, and Ebola. Remdesivir is currently in clinical trials and is also permitted for compassionate use&nbsp; — meaning it can be used to treat a severely ill patient when no other treatments are available. The Credit Suisse pharma team note that this is the most advanced novel therapy, but they have concerns about supply.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Biotech giant <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=REGN">Regeneron Pharmaceuticals</a> is trialing its drug kevzara for use against COVID-19. It is currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Regeneron co-developed the drug with French health-care firm <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=SAN-FR">Sanofi</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Chloroquine is a generic malaria drug which has shown promise as a treatment against COVID-19. German biosciences conglomerate, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BAYN-DE">Bayer</a>, announced Tuesday it has donated 3 million tablets of its malaria drug resochin which is made of chloroquine phosphate, to the U.S. government to aid in the fight against the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Credit Suisse pharma team see manufacturing and supply as the key challenge for the majority of proposed COVID-19 therapies and, in due course, vaccines: “A global pandemic requires a huge volume of drug in a very short space of time. Stocks of legacy drugs, new drug candidates will take months to build, in our view.”



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Vaccines&nbsp;</h2>



Usually vaccine development takes more than five years and requires significant capital investment. This lengthy process has created problems in the past, for example with Ebola.&nbsp;



But the scientific community is better prepared now than it was for Ebola, argues Sutcliff. A body was set up to coordinate developing vaccines for pandemics and researchers can now leverage work done during previous outbreaks to propel them forward.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While meaningful progress has been made in recent weeks, in particular from biotech firms specializing in mRNA molecules (these are used to instruct the body to produce its own response to fight a range of diseases) like Moderna and BioNtech, this approach has been more successful in veterinary medicine than in humans. There is no guarantee they will be successful. In parallel to the work being done by these biotech firms, traditional pharma giants like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=GSK-GB">GlaxoSmithKline</a> and Sanofi are leaning on their experience dealing with seasonal flu to try to come up with an immunization. But even then, there is no guarantee of success.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Testing&nbsp;</h2>



Several countries, in particular the U.S. and the U.K. are facing heavy criticism from health-care experts over testing. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday the U.K. is in negotiations to buy hundreds of thousands of tests which would be able to detect whether someone has had COVID-19 by checking the presence of antibodies. He argued this could turn the tide in the fight against the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A continuous process&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



Health-care companies and regulators have a fine balancing act to maintain: They must race against the clock to get effective treatments and vaccines to market, but they must also ensure those treatments do not have negative effects on patients.&nbsp;



That requires rigorous and time-intensive clinical trials. This is a continuous process and every aspect of the solution matters — from testing to treatment to immunization.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/a-coronavirus-treatment-could-come-much-quicker-than-a-vaccine.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/a-coronavirus-treatment-could-come-much-quicker-than-a-vaccine.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Hopes are high for a coronavirus treatment, which could come much quicker than a vaccine

Key Points



<ul><li>Over the last 48 hours, three biotech companies, in particular, have been thrust into the spotlight for their promise: BioNTech, CureVac and Moderna.</li></ul>



<ul><li>All three of these firms specialize in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics.</li></ul>



<ul><li>These mRNA molecules are used to instruct the body to produce its own immune response to fight a range of different diseases.</li></ul>



The race is on to develop an immunization against COVID-19.&nbsp;



Dozens of companies and public labs around the world are working to develop a vaccine to prevent the spread of the flu-like virus. Over the last 48 hours, three biotech companies, in particular, have been thrust into the spotlight for their promise: BioNTech, CureVac and Moderna.



All three of these firms specialize in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics. These mRNA molecules are used to instruct the body to produce its own immune response to fight a range of different diseases. This type of vaccine can potentially be developed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines.



Moderna is a Massachusetts-based biotech company working with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It kicked off its first trial Monday in Seattle, Washington.&nbsp;



This is called a “phase one” study and is being conducted by the NIH. Moderna is also preparing for a potential “phase two” study that it would conduct itself. Moderna shares rose 27% in Monday’s trading session.



BioNTech, meanwhile, is a German biotech company which recently announced two strategic partnerships to advance development of a vaccine. It formed a collaboration with Fosun Pharma to advance efforts in China, and with Pfizer to do the same outside China.&nbsp;



Berenberg bank analysts say they are impressed with the company’s efforts to rapidly enter into an alliance with a top pharma company in China and they view it as an important validation of BioNTech’s mRNA technology platform.&nbsp;



“BioNTech appears best positioned in the COVID-19 race owing to its diversified mRNA platform, delivery information and manufacturing capacity,” Berenberg said in a research note.



CureVac is an unlisted German company which aims to start testing an experimental vaccine on humans this summer. After reportedly getting caught in the political crossfire between Germany and the U.S., the European Commission pledged 80 billion euros of financial support to help them get a product out in Europe.&nbsp;



On Monday, CureVac noted it “is working on expanding its manufacturing capacities to be able to provide up to billions of doses for outbreak situations like Covid-19.”



As evidenced by these companies, partnerships are key to developing and manufacturing vaccines for the public. Both public-private partnerships as well as partnerships between the traditional pharmaceutical giants and smaller biotech players can be critical to getting these vaccines from trial to market.&nbsp;



However, the jury is still out on what type of therapeutic approach will work best. Barclays pharmaceutical research team noted that while mRNA vaccines remain unproven, they are likely to dominate the shorter-term headlines given faster development timelines and rapid early progress.&nbsp;



Ultimately, the Barclays team believes these novel vaccines are likely to be superseded by more conventional approaches over time.



(Report by Julianna Tatelbaum)



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/hopes-of-a-coronavirus-vaccine-mount-as-three-key-biotech-players-make-progress.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/hopes-of-a-coronavirus-vaccine-mount-as-three-key-biotech-players-make-progress.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Hopes of a coronavirus vaccine mount as three key biotech players make progress

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African hotel and casino operator Sun International is already handling cancellation of conference bookings and events by clients, CEO Anthony Leeming said on Monday, as companies rush to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 



Late on Sunday, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster as he announced a range of measures to contain the outbreak that has so far infected 61 and showed the first signs of internal transmission. 



Measures to be taken include travel bans from countries such as Italy, Germany, China and the United States. The government will also prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people and cancel large events and celebrations, Ramaphosa said. 



Even before the declaration, Sun International had started seeing the impact of travel restrictions, Leeming told Reuters over the phone. 



“With travel restrictions we’ve definitely lost all international business and conference group bookings are cancelling left right and centre,” he said. 



“With the President’s announcement, we’re going to have all conferencing cancelled for the next couple of months. So that’s the real impact on the hospitality side.” 



Events such as music concerts that are usually held at its Times Square arena and Sun City resort have also been called off. Leeming said this will not be a huge loss for the operator. 



On the casino side, Sun International has not yet seen a significant slow down in foot traffic but Leeming expects “a little bit of slowdown” as people avoid going out. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ONLINE SPORTS BETTING </h3>



In line with exploring new growth opportunities, Sun International will launch an online sports betting platform in the next month or two in Peru, Leeming told Reuters. 



“Then that will quickly roll-out in Panama where we have an online sports betting license and then we can roll it out quite quickly if we can secure a license in Brazil and Argentina,” he said. 



Sun International reported a 91% jump in adjusted headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, for the year ended Dec. 31, to 605 cents per share from 316 cents per share a year ago due to lower interest and depreciation and a significantly lower tax rate. 



Total income rose by 4% to 17.2 billion rand ($1.05 billion), primarily driven by above-market organic growth from key operations in South Africa and the impact of acquisitions made in Latin America during the prior year. 



 ($1 = 16.4071 rand) 



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Pritha Sarkar)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2131WX-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2131WX-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

Conferences, events cancelled at Sun International over virus fears

Coronavirus updates: China reports 8 new cases, wife of Canadian PM tests positive

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel&#8217;s state visit to South Africa is officially underway with the two countries addressing how they will continue to work together to strengthen relations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a state visit to SA with trade high on the agenda

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Last month at Rwanda Day in Bonn, Germany &#8211; an annual event bringing together Rwandan diaspora and friends of the country – Fabrice Goffin showed up with his humanoid robot, Nao. Inspired by the will of the people to solve some of the country&#8217;s problems, he committed to visiting and seeing if his robotic solutions could help in anyway. Zorabots is already in Asia, Europe, North and South America, and now he&#8217;s looking for his way into Africa. Fabrice Goffin joins CNBC Africa for more.

Is East Africa ready to embrace the introduction of humanoid robots?

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Brand South Africa and InvestSA are back from their whirlwind tour to Switzerland, Germany, France and India. They were there to attract investment to South Africa. Were they a hit?

Brand SA’s Judy Smith-Höhn on attracting investment to SA

Karen Gilchrist
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/travel-hacks-valentines-day-getaways-for-all-budgets.html">The best Valentine&#8217;s travel experiences from around the world to suit all budgets</a> 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210227/105724012-1549508295105bus-views_t20_xqkjwr.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Twenty20"/>
Valentine&#8217;s Day is just around the corner, and with it, opportunities aplenty to treat your loved one — or even yourself. But while chocolates and roses are always welcome, lovers are increasingly looking for new and inspired ways to show they care.
One of the growing areas for that is travel. Millennials the world over are renowned for 
prioritizing travel over material goods 
; and when it comes to celebrating the romantic holiday, it seems things are little different.
Last year, 
global travel bookings platform Klook 
 recorded a 100 percent rise in couples&#8217; purchases in February compared to March. This year, it expects that trend to continue and has introduced a &#8220;For Lovers&#8221; filter specifically to assist with the anticipated demand.
The pattern is in line with ever-increasing spending on Feb. 14. In 2018, in the United States alone, 
lovers spent nearly $20 billion on Valentine&#8217;s Day 
. Millennials are expected to 
continue spend big bucks 
this year.
However, the holiday needn&#8217;t break the bank. 
CNBC Make It 
 took a look at some of the most on-trend travel experiences to suit all budgets this Valentine&#8217;s.
Cruise 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210233/105717393-1549258849489travel-destinations-canal-gondola-italy-colourful-rialto-best-of-italy-venice-gondola_t20_yw939l.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Twenty20"/>
When it comes to Valentine&#8217;s, there&#8217;s nothing quite like a romantic cruise along the waters of a beautiful city.
The stunning canals and historic architecture of Venice, Italy make for a timeless waterside destination. And despite the floods of tourists during peak seasons, you can enjoy the city&#8217;s iconic gondola ride for less than $35. If you feel like pushing the boat out, you can tack on a serenade in a gondola for an extra $10.
Other winning boating experiences include a $17 day trip on the Seine in Paris or a $110 dinner cruise along Chicago River.
Safari 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210237/105724428-1549525440568twenty20_fa024d4d-6495-447e-834d-2ab872285cf3.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Twenty20"/>
For nature-lovers, there are few experiences higher on the bucket list than a wild safari.
African countries including Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania, as well as the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka, all boast unique safari experiences.
But for your chance to get up close and personal with the so-called Big Five game animals — lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants and Cape buffalo — try heading to South Africa. There, from just over $2,000, you can enjoy seven days exploring Cape Town and the wildlife of the bush, before embarking on some mountain-hiking.
Photography 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210242/105724418-1549525664744klookph.1910x1000.jpg" alt="Maldives Islands See New Wave Of Chinese Tourists" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Klook"/>
Travel photo shoots have taken off in recent years, with lovers in South Korea and Japan particularly captured by the trend. In 2018, Klook recorded a 50 percent rise in bookings over the holiday period.
One prized photography location is Jeju Island in South Korea, which boasts a wide variety of stunning backdrops, from waterfalls and rock formations to pristine beaches. A $453.29 photo shoot package lasting six-to-nine hours will buy you a portfolio of photos plus a hair and makeup service, outfit hire and transfers to and from your accommodation.
Those who prefer to be behind the lens, meanwhile, could try their hand at taking photos of the street art of New York City or Berlin, Germany from around $150.
Flying 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210247/105717389-1549257683918early-morning-aerial-view-of-the-temples-of-the-archaeological-zone-near-the-irrawaddy-river-in-in_t20_aonz1w.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Twenty20"/>
Love can quite literally be in the air this Valentine&#8217;s with a sky-high ride. From gliding over Queenstown, New Zealand in a helicopter for $600 to flying over the ancient Nazca lines of Peru for around $1,000, there are countless ways to take in the world&#8217;s most iconic sights from above.
For $350, you can watch the sun rise over the ancient city of Bagan, Myanmar from a hot air balloon. During the ride, an English-speaking guide will be on hand to talk you through the history of Bagan&#8217;s more than 2,200 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries, before you return to solid ground for a champagne breakfast.
Cooking 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/08210252/105727048-1549595086150gettyimages-923809882.1910x1000.jpeg" alt="Making bruschetta at a cooking class" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="AleksandarNakic | E+ | Getty Images"/>
A cookery class can be a perfect way to get to know the local cuisine of a new city, and businesses are catching on to that trend, offering a wide selection of experiences for all budgets.
Try cooking up a romantic feast in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, where, for $78 you will be guided through local ingredients and taught to make five dishes. Elsewhere, for around $3,000, you can have a taste of the high life with a gastronomic tour of San Francisco and Napa Valley.
Ride 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/13070231/105735348-1550020037939belmond.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Belmond"/>
If chilled out travel is more your thing, opt to take in the local sights from the comfort of a scenic train journey. 
From around $200, you can make your way between some of Europe&#8217;s most popular cities aboard its vast continental train network. Meanwhile, $3,500 will buy you an all-inclusive three-day overland adventure from Singapore to Bangkok, capturing the stunning scenery of Malaysia and Thailand on route. 
Don&#8217;t miss: 
This engagement ring company wants to send 1 couple across America to find perfect proposal spots
Like this story? 
Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!

The best Valentine’s travel experiences from around the world to suit all budgets

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The third instalment of the Ministerial Partnership for Action on Green Economy is underway in Cape Town today. CNBC Africa’s Kopano Gumbi spoke with Germany’s deputy Environment Minister Rita Sutter about the way forward for global environmental change.

Ways to help combat climate change – Germany Minister

Dr. Michael Ivanovitch
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/03/the-us-needs-to-clean-up-its-monetary-excesses-and-twin-deficits.html">The US needs to clean up its monetary excesses and twin deficits</a>
<ul>
<li>The world is moving on, but America is still nursing the deep wounds of the last financial crisis.</li>
<li>Allowing higher U.S. inflation rates, as some Fed officials advocate, would be the ultimate disaster.</li>
<li>A meaningful decline of U.S. trade deficits would give an impetus to growth at a time when the scope for economy’s fiscal and monetary support has virtually vanished.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/03170230/105555867-1541518638400gettyimages-1058088256.1910x1000.jpeg" alt="US-POLITICS-VOTE" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images"/>
Global talking forums, such as the G-20, show that unhelpful rhetoric and an allegedly obstructionist behavior in official international organizations are not the way to advance America&#8217;s interests. Those organizations have been built and underwritten by America at some of its finest hours of enlightened world leadership.
Washington neocons, famously seeking a &#8220;full-spectrum global dominance,&#8221; will not be the only people to note, with a tinge of sadness, that a real &#8220;program&#8221; speech for the G-20 was delivered last Friday at a Buenos Aires summit by China President Xi Jinping. They will also shake their heads in disbelief seeing that the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit, on the same day, ripped the West&#8217;s addiction to indiscriminate sanctions warfare, while urging constructive multilateral relations and a regulatory update of the World Trade Organization.
All that is a world away from the first G-20 summit in Washington, D.C., in November 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis that ushered in the Great Recession.
The U.S. is still nursing the deep wounds of that epochal debacle.
Come to terms with crisis legacy
The Fed&#8217;s monetary base (M0) has skyrocketed from $820 billion in early 2008 to $3.5 trillion as of the last reserve reporting date on Nov. 21, 2018. Over the same period, excess reserves in the U.S. banking sector, funds banks can readily lend out, have followed a similar path from monthly averages of $1.5 to $2 billion to an astounding $1.7 trillion.
That extraordinary monetary creation is what it took to keep the U.S. economy afloat.
America&#8217;s fiscal picture is even more worrying — and literally getting worse by the day. The price of bailing out the U.S. economy has been a near doubling of the gross public debt from 64 percent of GDP in 2007 to 105.5 percent at this writing. And the debt is on an unstoppable upward trend as the public sector budget deficit continues to widen toward 5 percent of GDP.
The U.S. external deficits predate the financial crisis as a problem reflecting America&#8217;s low savings rates, and free-trade policies in a world of mercantilists free-riding on the American economy. As a result, Washington&#8217;s net foreign debt at the end of the second quarter of this year shot up to $8.6 trillion, an increase of $891.2 billion from the previous three-month period. By the end of this year, the fresh new liabilities to the rest of the world are likely to rise by an additional half-a-trillion dollars.
Clearly, errors of trade policy can&#8217;t be blamed on the rest of the world. America&#8217;s trading partners simply took advantage of the country&#8217;s open markets and its growing purchasing power.
Fixing monetary excesses and the twin deficits is a difficult work-in-progress, where screaming and kicking rear ends, as one U.S. official boasted recently, cannot be substitutes for effective economic policies.
To start with, leave 
the Fed 
 alone to operate as it sees fit, but hold it to account for the impact of its policy choices on growth, employment and price stability. Fed officials who believe that solutions lie in allowing higher inflation rates will probably get a briefing by their colleagues, or the central bank&#8217;s economists, about the wisdom of such a policy option.
Surplus addicts should follow the South Korean example
Price stability is a precious public good — a situation where investment decisions and contractual relationships are made under assumptions of stable prices, because the monetary authorities are trusted to deliver a stable purchasing power of the currency they manage. It&#8217;s something like the German Bundesbank before the monetary union, where no German politician would dare talk about the monetary policy, and where it would be unthinkable that a Buba official would ever publicly urge higher inflation rates.
Fiscal policies are a question of national priorities. The U.S. debt and deficit numbers are clear — and they are not good. Budget constraints must be respected. There is a political and market sanction if they are not. The Fed&#8217;s independence also means that it should never validate unreasonable fiscal policy choices. Normally, fiscal and monetary policies must be closely coordinated to deliver a noninflationary policy mix for a steady and sustainable growth.
A benign neglect of trade deficits is an equally serious policy blunder. Those deficits are a subtraction from American GDP. They are wealth transfers to trade partners and sources of American foreign debt because deficits have to be covered by U.S. debt instruments in exchange for foreign savings.
For almost two years, Washington has been in a virtual state of siege because the Chinese, the Japan and the Europeans don&#8217;t care about threats and taunts. Those economies are piling on their U.S. trade surpluses with abandon.
It should not take a dinner on Argentinian beef and a big delegation to convince the Chinese president to do &#8220;something&#8221; about his soaring U.S. trade surpluses. Xi knows he has a $400 billion trade problem with the U.S., and he knows that he needs to get that down. But Xi has been given a wonderful grace period because he has to negotiate Washington&#8217;s requests to stop forced technology transfers, illegal intellectual property acquisitions, illegal export subsidies, etc.
The solution here is simple. Washington should ask Beijing for a prompt reduction of its trade deficit. How China does that is its own choice.
Think it can&#8217;t actually be done that way? Well, in the first nine months of this year, South Korea slashed its U.S. trade surplus 22.3 percent, after a 17 percent cut for last year as a whole. That is a respectful gesture of a true friend and ally: A 39.3 percent surplus cut since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
The others can do that too, but the truth is the Chinese, the Japanese and the Europeans don&#8217;t want to do it.
And the U.S. should not leave it to the Chinese to change the structural problems. American companies should be prohibited from allowing forced technology transfers, or other forms of intellectual property thefts. Cyber-enabled thefts should be dealt with appropriate technologies that America has. Bilateral market access and investment practices should be matters of strict reciprocity, or as a Scorsese drama character would put it: &#8220;Same to you, fellas.&#8221;
Investment thoughts
Washington is mixing up trade problems with other agendas involving China, Japan and Europe. That&#8217;s been a non-starter for two years now. U.S. trade deficits with those economies continue to grow. On current policies, there is no end in sight.
The huge, and increasing, trade deficits are dampeners of U.S. economic growth at a time when the scope for supportive monetary and fiscal policies has practically vanished. A meaningful reduction of America&#8217;s nearly trillion-dollar trade deficits would spur growth of import competing industries. There would also be new wealth creation if foreign imports were to be replaced by products and services generated through foreign direct investments in U.S.-based production facilities.

Germany automobile manufacturers will be talking about such investments in Washington this week. They should get all the help they need to set an example of how excessive imbalances in automobile trades, and beyond, are being brought down by local manufacturing.
U.S. growth prospects would brighten considerably if Washington could get a substantial relief on the trade front — and provided the Fed continues to focus firmly on price stability.

Commentary by Michael Ivanovitch, an independent analyst focusing on world economy, geopolitics and investment strategy. He served as a senior economist at the OECD in Paris, international economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and taught economics at Columbia Business School.

The US needs to clean up its monetary excesses and twin deficits

By Francois Conradie – Head of Research at NKC African Economics
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika hosted Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel at his palace in Zeralda on Monday, September 17. The main point of the meeting was to discuss Germany’s repatriation of almost 4,000 Algerians who have been refused asylum (Germany considers Algeria a safe country and Algerians’ asylum applications are almost all turned down).
For an observer of Algerian politics, however, the meeting was most interesting because state television broadcast some video footage of it, which gives an idea of Mr Bouteflika’s health. His health is terrible.
The footage (which, it should be remembered, was carefully chosen to show him in the best light) shows the ailing president struggling to say a sentence and then sitting still in his wheelchair once he has said it, his one good hand immobile in the air, while Ms Merkel chats to his interpreter. It also shows Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia getting involved in the discussion from an armchair on the other side of the room.
From the footage we do not think Mr Bouteflika plays any significant role in the running of his country, which is relevant as the power structure around him prepares to put him forward as a candidate in next year’s presidential election.
The same power structure, in which a key player is Ahmed Gaid Salah (chief of staff of the army and deputy minister of defence), has been busy with a personnel shake-up in the army.
On the day of Ms Merkel’s visit, the high commander of land forces and commander of the air force were pushed into retirement; their sacking follows the sackings of a dozen generals in July and August. It was reported in the week that five of the generals were being investigated for abuse of power.
In other election-related news Nacer Boudiaf (son of the highly respected President Mohamed Boudiaf), who has expressed his intention to run for president next year and who has publicly blamed the deep state for his father’s assassination in 1992, has had his diplomatic passport taken away.
The army has been weakened and Mr Gaid Salah with it. This makes us think that the civilians around Mr Bouteflika, especially his brother Said and Mr Ouyahia, may not have been entirely convinced of Mr Gaid Salah’s loyalty and wanted to remove the risk of him using the army to prevent Mr Bouteflika’s re-election. But the army will have to play a key role in assuring his victory (as it has in past elections).
The political environment is deteriorating as the rapacious power structure delays improvements to governance in order to extend its time in government and as this network’s internal paranoia renders it more brittle and fragile.

OpEd: Algeria’s Bouteflika receives Merkel as army is shaken up

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TILP Litigation Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH on behalf of Steinhoff investors has launched a class action against Steinhoff. Those wishing to join can register at www.steinhoff-claim.com.

Class action launched against Steinhoff; open to investors from around the world

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While under pressure from a resurgence of the far-right at home, European leaders, such as French President, Emmanuel Macron and Germany&#8217;s Prime Minister Angela Merkel are set to meet their African counterparts in Cote d&#8217;Ivoire today.

Merkel, Macron’s Africa trip: Expectations and the unexpected

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday her efforts to form a three-way coalition government had failed, thrusting Germany into a political crisis and pushing Europe’s largest economy closer to a possible new election.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-291210 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Angela_Merkel_Wikimedia.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536" />
The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) unexpectedly pulled out of more than four weeks of negotiations with Merkel’s conservative bloc and the ecologist Greens, citing irreconcilable differences.
The euro hit a two-month low against the yen soon after FDP leader Christian Lindner said on Sunday that his party was withdrawing from the talks as the three would-be partners could not find common ground on key issues.
A tired looking Merkel said she would stay on as acting chancellor and would consult with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on how to move forward, adding that a deal had been within reach.
“It is a day of deep reflection on how to go forward in Germany,” Merkel told reporters. “As chancellor, I will do everything to ensure that this country is well managed in the difficult weeks to come.”
It was a sobering moment in the career of a woman who during 12 years in power became a symbol of stability, leading the euro zone during its debt crisis and building compromise within the European Union on a deal with Turkey to stem migrant arrivals.
Merkel was weakened after a September election as voters angry with her decision in 2015 to open Germany’s borders to more than a million asylum seekers punished her conservatives by voting for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) far-right party.
The break down of the talks leaves Germany with two unprecedented options in the post-World War Two era: Merkel forms a minority government, or the president calls a new election if no government is formed.
The center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel’s current coalition partners who were the second-biggest party in the election, have ruled out a repeat of an alliance with her conservatives, who won the vote but were left with fewer seats.
There is little appetite for a new election. The main parties fear that the AfD would win more than the almost 13 percent of votes it secured to enter parliament for the first time as the third-biggest party.
‘DIFFICULT FOR ECONOMY’
Failure to form a government in Europe’s largest economy could have implications for everything from euro zone reforms championed by French President Emmanuel Macron to the shape of relations with Britain after it leaves the EU.
The next government was also expected to increase spending, raising hopes of more fiscal stimulus for an economy that has been relying on consumption and state spending for growth.
While campaigning for a fourth term, Merkel cited the strong performance of an economy that has been growing since 2010 and a record low unemployment rate as reasons for voters to back her conservatives.
Economists have accused her of complacency on the economy, saying she should overhaul the tax system to make it more growth-friendly and boost investment on digital infrastructure &#8211; demands also made by the FDP.
The DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said a prolonged period of uncertainty would be bad for the economy.
“There is the danger that work on major issues for the future of our country will be delayed for a prolonged period of time,” DIHK President Eric Schweitzer wrote in an email. “German companies must now prepare for a possibly long period of uncertainty. This is always difficult for the economy.”
The break down of the talks came as a surprise, especially as it was announced by the resurgent FDP, Merkel’s preferred coalition partners who had dropped out of parliament four years ago and had ruled with her conservatives during 2009-2013.
After its impressive electoral comeback, the FDP’s decision to pull out of coalition talks was puzzling, according to Jackson Janes, of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
“And it is also a dangerous game of poker for Germany,” Janes added.
Immigration was the main sticking point in the negotiations. Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Christian Social Union (CSU) Bavarian allies had demanded a yearly cap on the number of asylum seekers that Germany accepts each year, a measure rejected by the Greens.
There was also discord over conservative proposals to limit the right of some accepted asylum seekers to bring in immediate family members. Merkel said a compromise with the Greens on immigration had also been possible.
Government spending, tax cuts and climate policy had also been sticking points.
“Today there was no progress but rather there were setbacks because specific compromises were questioned,” the FDP’s Lindner said. “It is better not to rule than to rule the wrong way. Goodbye!”
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Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Peter Cooney and Simon Cameron-Moore
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Merkel fourth term in doubt as German coalition talks fail

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According to Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank, the German desk will stimulate greater trade between Nigeria and Germany. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Christycole Popoola caught up with him at the launch of the German Desk Nigeria.

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