<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="423" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NVOKCLVWNNPKNPA3Y4B2YSXX7Q.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415851" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NVOKCLVWNNPKNPA3Y4B2YSXX7Q.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NVOKCLVWNNPKNPA3Y4B2YSXX7Q-300x174.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NVOKCLVWNNPKNPA3Y4B2YSXX7Q-155x90.jpg 155w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>South African police enter an airliner in Cape Town October 6, 2006. REUTERS\Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s Comair will start operating flights on Thursday, after the aviation regulator reinstated its certificate, the operator of low-cost airline Kulula and franchise partner of British Airways said.



The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) had grounded Comair&#8217;s planes indefinitely on Sunday for unresolved safety issues, suspending its air operator certificate and stranding hundreds of passengers.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VG04K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;After a thorough review of Comair&#8217;s documentation, the SACAA has lifted the precautionary suspension of Comair&#8217;s licence,&#8221; Chief Executive Glenn Orsmond said in a statement late on Wednesday.



&#8220;We&#8217;re pleased that the situation is finally resolved.&#8221;



The airline aims to restore normal operations as soon as possible to assist customers, he added.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-south-african-airline-comair-s-fleet-grounded-indefinitely">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-african-airline-comairs-fleet-grounded-indefinitely/">South African airline Comair’s fleet grounded indefinitely</a></h3>



As flight schedules are to be restored in a phased manner, customers are advised to check them on the airlines&#8217; website before going to the airport, Comair said, while it would contact those with existing reservations.



In its notice on Saturday, the regulator pointed to Comair&#8217;s safety problems in the past month, ranging from engine failures and malfunctions to landing gear malfunctions, among others.



The regulator said its investigation turned up three findings that &#8220;pose an immediate risk&#8221; to be tackled immediately.



Comair said no safety and security findings were made on flight operations or maintenance, adding that the regulator&#8217;s findings related to quality assurance, the structure and personnel of the safety department and repair documentation.



Comair&#8217;s suspension took out 40% of market capacity, prompting competition authorities to warn other airlines against price gouging after complaints of large price increases.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

South African police enter airliner in Cape Town

South Africa’s Comair back in the skies after suspension lifted

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415924" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106705643-1611772669606-pow-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved its first interest rate increase in more than three years, an incremental salvo to address spiraling inflation without torpedoing economic growth.



After keeping its benchmark interest rate anchored near zero since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it will raise rates by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points.



That will bring the rate now into a range of 0.25%-0.5%. The move will correspond with a hike in the prime rate and immediately send financing costs higher for many forms of consumer borrowing and credit. Fed officials indicated the rate increases will come with slower economic growth this year.



Along with the rate hikes, the committee also penciled in increases at each of the six remaining meetings this year, pointing to a consensus funds rate of 1.9% by year’s end. That is a full percentage point higher than indicated in December. The committee sees three more hikes in 2023 then none the following year.



The rate rise was approved with only one dissent. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard wanted a 50 basis point increase.



The committee last raised rates in December 2018, then had to backtrack the following July and begin cutting.



In its post-meeting statement, the FOMC said it also “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate.” Addressing the Fed’s nearly $9 trillion balance sheet, made up mainly of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities it has purchased over the years, the statement said, “In addition, the Committee expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting.”



Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at his post-meeting news conference hinted that the balance sheet reduction could start in May, and said the process could be the equivalent of another rate hike this year.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/the-federal-reserve-is-scaring-markets-with-the-triple-threat-of-policy-tightening/">The Federal Reserve is scaring markets with the triple threat of policy tightening</a></h3>



The indication of about 175 basis points in rate increases this year was a close call: The “dot plot” of individual members’ projections showed eight members expecting more than the seven hikes, while 10 thought that seven total in 2022 would be sufficient.



“We are attentive to the risks of further upward pressure on inflation and inflation expectations,” Powell said at the news conference. “The committee is determined to take the measures necessary to restore price stability. The U.S. economy is very strong and well-positioned to handle tighter monetary policy.”



Officials also adjusted their economic outlook on multiple fronts, seeing much higher inflation than they expected in December and considerably slower GDP growth.



Committee members bumped up their inflation estimates, expecting the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy to reflect 4.1% growth this year, compared with the 2.7% projection in December 2021. Core PCE is expected to be 2.7% and 2.3%, respectively, in the next two years before settling to 2% over the longer term.



“Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the statement said.



On GDP, December’s 4% was sliced to 2.8%, as the committee particularly noted the potential implications of the Ukraine war. Subsequent years were unchanged. The committee still expects the unemployment rate to end this year at 3.5%.



“The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing tremendous human and economic hardship,” the statement said. “The implications for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain, but in the near term the invasion and related events are likely to create additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity.”



Stocks initially reacted negative to the announcement but then bounced back. Bond yields momentarily moved higher, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 2.22% before receding.



“Ultimately, they’ve come through with a clear message, that the Fed has a path forward to continue to tighten in response to this overwhelming concern around inflation,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “The question is, will it be enough and are they even recognizing that they’ve &#8230; perhaps fallen behind the curve?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-course"><a></a>Changing course</h2>



The central bank had slashed its federal funds rate in the early days of the pandemic to combat a shutdown that crippled the U.S. economy and financial markets while sending 22 million Americans to the unemployment line.



But myriad factors have combined to force the Fed’s hand on inflation, a condition that policymakers last year dismissed as “transitory” before capitulating. Officials over the past two months have strongly indicated that interest rate hikes are coming, with the main question left for investors being how many increases and how quickly they would come.



The current trend of price increases, at their fastest 12-month pace in 40 years, has been fed by demand that has far outstripped supply chains that remain clogged if less so than their pandemic-era peaks. Unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus — more than $10 trillion worth – have coincided with the inflation surge. And the Ukraine war has coincided with a major spike in oil prices, though that has abated in recent days.



Heading into this week’s FOMC meeting, markets had been pricing in the equivalent of about seven 0.25% hikes this year, according to CME Group data. However, traders were split about 50-50 over whether the Fed might hike 50 basis points in May, as some officials have indicated could happen if inflation pressures persist.



Prices are up 7.9% year over year, according to the consumer price index, which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services. Energy has been the biggest burden, as gasoline prices have risen 38% in the 12-month period.



However, price pressures have broadened out from simply gas and groceries.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/global-markets-slump-on-hawkish-fed-minutes/">Global markets slump on hawkish Fed minutes</a></h3>



For instance, clothing prices, after plummeting in the early days of the pandemic, have risen 6.6% over the past year. Motor vehicle repair costs are up 6.3% and airline fares have jumped 12.7%. Rent of shelter costs, which make up nearly one-third of the CPI, have been moving up sharply in recent months and are up 4.8% year over year.



All of those cost increases have left the Fed’s 2% inflation target in the dust.



The Fed in September 2020 approved a new approach to inflation, in which it would let it run hotter in the interest of a full and, most notably, inclusive employment goal that spans across race, gender and wealth. However, the change in approach was followed almost immediately by more pernicious inflation than the U.S. economy had seen since the days of the Arab oil embargo and inflation that peaked in the early 1980s at nearly 15%.



In those days, the Paul Volcker-led Fed had to jack up interest rates to a point where they tipped the economy into recession, something central bankers now want to avoid. Back then, the funds rate eclipsed 19%.



Baird said the Fed will need to live up to its promise to be “nimble” if it is to continue to assuage market fears about runaway inflation.



“Will the path that they’ve laid out be enough to bring inflation back down to more comfortable levels in some reasonable time frame? The possibility certainly exists that they could get more aggressive,” he said.

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Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead

Captains of Industry: BSE CEO on Ukraine conflict

Captains of Industry: BSE CEO on Ukraine conflict, listings outlook & building Sadc stock exchanges

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415915" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4354575339_516d91a9cd_o.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>SAP Logos Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Germany-headquartered software company SAP&nbsp;SAPG.DE&nbsp;will repay South Africa&#8217;s water and sanitation department at least 263 million rand ($17.5 million) for license and support deals declared to be invalid, a court order showed.



Investigators have been probing SAP&#8217;s work for the department for several years, alleging procurement rules were broken and contracts entered into unlawfully.



The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) said in a statement that the SIU had confronted SAP and the DWS with evidence of wrongdoing over license and support agreements between 2015 and 2016.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-sap-launches-business-network-to-help-with-supply-chains">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/sap-launches-business-network-to-help-with-supply-chains/">SAP launches business network to help with supply chains</a></h3>



An order from the Special Tribunal &#8211; a court established by President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s government to fast-track recovery of misspent or stolen public money &#8211; made on Tuesday said SAP had to pay DWS around 263 million rand within five court days.



A further amount of roughly 83 million rand that SAP paid to third-party software companies is still under dispute, with the parties told to file affidavits on whether that amount should also be repaid.



SAP said in a statement that it had reached a settlement with the SIU and DWS. It said the department remained an SAP customer and that it was committed to maintaining a robust compliance programme.



SAP, which has a market value of more than $130 billion, in 2018 admitted to misconduct over deals with South African state firms during former president Jacob Zuma&#8217;s tenure.



($1 = 15.0032 rand)



(Reporting by Alexander Winning in Johannesburg and Nadine Schimroszik in Berlin; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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SAP will repay South Africa at least $17 mln over ‘invalid’ deals – court

Why The U.S. Is Running Out Of Everything

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415911" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12667922963_fda7b750a1_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Launch of Global Forest Watch. Photographer: Ralph Alswang. Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Parliamentarians are proposing amending Kenya&#8217;s forest law to make it easier to change the borders of protected areas, a move activists warn could adversely affect wildlife and the environment in the east African country.



Conservationists say the change would open precious forest land to developers while supporters of the amendment argue it will help protect people with legitimate claims to disputed land from eviction.



The Forest Conservation and Management Amendment would weaken the power of Kenya&#8217;s Forest Service (KFS) to veto proposed boundary changes that would endanger rare species or water catchment areas. KFS did not respond to calls seeking comment.



Forests around the developing Kenyan capital of Nairobi, nicknamed the &#8220;green city in the sun&#8221;, are at the heart of the debate, now under review by parliamentary committee.



&#8220;If that amendment bill is allowed&#8230;what we will have is what we are seeing here,&#8221; said environmentalist Christopher Muriithi, gesturing to a cluster of buildings and a tarmac road cutting through land once part of Oloolua Forest on Nairobi&#8217;s outskirts.



But the amendment&#8217;s supporters argue changing the law protects people already settled on disputed forest land &#8211; they may be families who saved up to buy a home in good faith.



Parliamentarian Nixon Korir, who has expressed support for an amendment, did not respond to requests for comment but previously said the government must act to protect innocent home owners.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenyas-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency/">Kenya’s deputy president, estranged from his boss, aims for the presidency</a></h3>



Kenya lost about half of its forest cover between 1980 and 2000, said African Development Bank, and another 11% in the subsequent two decades, according to Global Forest Watch.



Muriithi said when he was young Oloolua covered around 682 hectares but now estimates it has shrunk to 500. Swathes of lush land were carved out by individuals, loggers, developers, and even the state, which built a railway line through the forest. The giraffe, zebra, and buffaloes he remembers have disappeared.



Muriithi does not think they will return, but hopes to protect what is left. He heads a community association that patrols the forest, replaces invasive trees with indigenous ones, and works with officials to prosecute loggers.



But this is dangerous. When he investigated illegal logging, Muriithi said a body was dumped in the forest and he was warned he could be next, forcing him to flee to Uganda.



&#8220;It’s dangerous, but I’m happy the community now has come in big numbers,&#8221; he said, standing by a pile of dirt and wood fragments from land he says was cleared illegally.



&#8220;They might kill me or someone else but they will not kill the whole community.&#8221;



(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie, editing by Ed Osmond)

12667922963_fda7b750a1_o

Kenya’s proposed forest law worries environmental activists

CBN to offer ₦57bn in NTB auction

The CEO of the WHO Foundation has told CNBC that the global economy will lose “trillions of dollars” if more Covid-19 vaccines aren’t delivered worldwide.



Anil Soni, who became the Foundation’s first CEO in January 2021, said “the governments of Europe and the West have a clear obligation to donate excess doses and to put money on the table to buy the vaccines, the volumes necessary to deliver to 70% of the world’s population this year.”



The World Health Organization has set a target for 70% of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.



Speaking in late February for this week’s episode of CNBC’s “Equity and Opportunity” on vaccine equity, Soni said it is a “moral imperative” to vaccinate the world against Covid.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-eu-india-south-africa-reach-compromise-on-covid-vaccine-ip-waiver-text/">U.S., EU, India, South Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text</a></h3>



“We live in a world in which we see the effects of deep, structural generations-long inequity. This is an opportunity to do something very different and show that history can be corrected. That we can achieve the moral victory of an equitable response where everyone in the world, all of us have equal value, receives the same access to this life-saving technology,” Soni said.



“But epidemiologically and economically, vaccine inequity is self-defeating, the numbers just make that clear. We’re going to lose trillions of dollars in the global economy if we don’t achieve high vaccine coverage, because what you’ll have in global supply chains is materials not able to come from the countries in which you have continued lockdowns, continued high rates of transmission of Covid-19.”



Soni said that even with vaccines, the spread of the most recent variant, omicron, had been “breathtaking,” and if large populations of the world remain unvaccinated, future variants could develop which may be resistant to vaccinations.



The WHO Foundation was established in 2020 to support the World Health Organization’s work in addressing the biggest global health challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-enough-progress"><a></a>Not enough progress</h2>



Soni told CNBC that he was proud of the “tremendous progress” achieved through vaccines in the first two years of the Covid crisis. But he said the pandemic won’t be over until the 70% global target is met, and there hasn’t been enough progress on that front.



Last week, the U.N. reported that while more than 10.5 billion vaccine doses had been administered globally, only about 13% of those in low-income countries had been vaccinated, compared with nearly 70% in high-income ones.



“We have the ability to do it, we can make it happen, but we’ve got to act very differently in the next few months to achieve that target. We have to mobilize more resources, money to buy the vaccines, we have to share doses, and critically, we have to ensure effective delivery in countries around the world to go from the billion doses that have been delivered in low-income countries to hitting that 70% target,” Soni said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fundraising-campaign"><a></a>Fundraising campaign</h2>



In 2021, the WHO Foundation launched the “Go Give One” fundraising campaign.



The campaign encourages everyone to contribute $5, with 95% of the money going toward buying a single vaccine through the international initiative COVAX — co-led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and vaccine alliance Gavi, alongside delivery partner UNICEF.



Soni said the campaign had raised $15 million so far, buying 3 million vaccines.



He also said the sharing of manufacturing knowledge to produce vaccines is “critically important” in achieving vaccine equity.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415907" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a plane at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 26, 2021. Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“Manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries, in the Americas, in Asia, in Africa, have the ability to make these products and they are ready to make them,” he said.



“A number of organizations, including the World Health Organization, is facilitating the technology and the information transfer, but we need those companies in the West, in Europe, in the United States to cooperate and to see this as a win, to see this as an opportunity for them to invest in the type of capacity in these countries, in the manufacturing industry, that they simply can’t meet themselves.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Freedom through vaccinations</h2>



When asked what he would say to those who are against receiving a vaccine, Soni said he was keen to engage in such conversations, ask about their concerns and provide more data and information on vaccine safety.



“Many of the vaccines have received conditional approval, not full approval, that doesn’t mean they’re not effective. It means that there’s a regulatory process that requires a certain amount of data about the stability of a product on a shelf, to provide the full approval,” he said.



With a number of countries scrapping all Covid restrictions recently, Soni warned that it’s necessary to protect that freedom through vaccinations.



“We are in a moment in which we are feeling liberation and freedom. That’s wonderful. But we have to protect that and the way we protect that is by ensuring everyone is vaccinated,” he said.

107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U

Vaccine inequity will cost the world trillions of dollars, WHO Foundation warns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415903" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Vials labelled &#8220;AstraZeneca, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine&#8221; are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON/GENEVA March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States, European Union, India and South Africa have reached a consensus on key elements of a long-sought intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a proposed text reviewed by Reuters.



Sources familiar with the talks described the text as a tentative agreement among the four World Trade Organization members that still needs formal approvals from the parties before it can be considered official. Any agreement must be accepted by the WTO&#8217;s 164 member countries in order to be adopted.



Some elements of the consensus deal, including whether the length of any patent waivers would be three years or five years, still need to be finalized, according to the text. It would apply only to patents for COVID-19 vaccines, which would be much more limited in scope than a broad proposed WTO waiver that had won backing from the United States, according to the document.



The document authorizes use of &#8220;patented subject matter required for the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the right holder to the extent necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenya-lifts-remaining-covid-restrictions%ef%bf%bc/">Kenya lifts remaining COVID restrictions</a></h2>



It said IP rights would also be waived for ingredients and processes necessary for COVID-19 vaccine manufacture, a move aimed at granting critical know-how to many countries lacking expertise, especially for advanced mRNA-type vaccines.



The text contained several limitations, including that the waiver is only available to WTO member countries that exported less than 10% of global exports of COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021.



The tentative agreement does not include COVID-19 treatments or tests, and the limitations would likely exclude China from any waiver, a source familiar with the negotiations said.



The text, which was produced in negotiations last week, was being circulated to officials in Brussels, Washington, Johannesburg and New Delhi before being presented to other WTO members. Adoption of the IP waiver by the consensus-driven organization is far from certain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-promising-path">&#8216;PROMISING PATH&#8217;</h2>



USTR spokesman Adam Hodge said the informal discussions among the four principal parties had not yet resulted in agreement, but had produced a promising compromise and consultations were continuing.



&#8220;The difficult and protracted process has resulted in a compromise outcome that offers the most promising path toward achieving a concrete and meaningful outcome,&#8221; Hodge said in an emailed statement.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VI30G&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



A WTO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters query on the talks.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/pfizer-ceo-says-two-covid-vaccine-doses-arent-enough-for-omicron/">Pfizer CEO says two Covid vaccine doses aren’t ‘enough for omicron’</a></h3>



The tentative deal comes after months of negotiations over how to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine production in developing countries, where vaccination rates have lagged far behind wealthy countries.



In talks brokered by WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the United States, EU, India and South Africa broke away from negotiations among the organization&#8217;s 164 members to try to craft an agreement.



Objections from some countries with large pharmaceuticals sectors, including Switzerland and Britain, had stalled progress in negotiations among the larger group. India and South Africa had first proposed the WTO vaccine IP waiver in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic exploded.



A spokesperson for pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA said efforts to waive intellectual property commitments are unnecessary and harm efforts to end the pandemic. Voluntary technology transfer and partnerships have helped vaccine makers to target production of 20 billion doses in 2022, more than enough for the world, she said.



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder in Washington, Emma Farge in Geneva and Phil Blenkinsop in Brussels, additional reporting by Caroline Humer; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Richard Pullin)

PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA

U.S., EU, India, South Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415897" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc are pictured in Warsaw January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Files </figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Investors are more concerned about the outlook for global growth than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008, and they have ramped up their cash holdings to a two-year high, according to a monthly fund manager survey by BofA.



The majority of investors managing about $1 trillion in assets polled between March 4 and 10 now expect an equity bear market in 2022 and allocations to global equities have dropped to their lowest levels since May 2020.



Cash levels among investors rose to nearly 6% while allocations to commodities soared to a record 33%. Hedge funds net exposure to stock markets is at its lowest level since April 2020, according to the survey.



The top crowded trade is long oil/commodities, the U.S. investment bank said in the note, with long technology stocks and long ESG ranked second and third respectively. Nearly half of the investors surveyed expect oil will produce the best returns in 2022.



The European edition of the monthly fund manager survey made for grim reading with investors slashing their growth outlook for Europe in response to Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-the-federal-reserve-is-scaring-markets-with-the-triple-threat-of-policy-tightening">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/the-federal-reserve-is-scaring-markets-with-the-triple-threat-of-policy-tightening/">The Federal Reserve is scaring markets with the triple threat of policy tightening</a></h3>



A net 69% of respondents expect the European economy to weaken over the coming year, the highest share since 2011. The 81 percentage point swing from February&#8217;s net 12% who still expected to see growth marks the biggest month-on-month drop since BoFA&#8217;s records began in 1994.



In response to the darkening growth outlook, about 61% of investors think the European market has peaked for this cycle, up from 22% in the previous edition of the survey.



Investors have also slightly increased their expectations for the number of rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2022 even as liquidity conditions have worsened considerably to their lowest since the coronavirus pandemic hit financial markets in March and April 2020.



&#8220;This is notable because central banks have historically been much less inclined to hike when liquidity conditions are very poor,&#8221; BofA said.



A net 44% of European investors expect European inflation to rise over the next twelve months, while last month 38% expected lower inflation. At a global level, a net 5% of investors think global inflation will decline, down from a 13-year high of 56% last month, BoFA said.



(Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Tommy Wilkes, Kirsten Donovan)

KGJLDHJ75ZNCHLECJOATMMUGCY

Investors dump stocks, flee to cash as growth outlook hits weakest since 2008 – BoFA

How Wall Street Measures Fear

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415893" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency.jpeg 1350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President and presidential candidate under United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party William Ruto addresses a campaign rally ahead of the forthcoming elections in Karen neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner </figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto is due to be nominated on Tuesday by his new party to stand for the presidency in an August election after his public split with President Uhuru Kenyatta who is backing another candidate.



Ruto will compete with veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has secured Kenyatta&#8217;s support. Kenyatta, who must stand down after serving the maximum of two five-year terms, says Ruto is not trustworthy and less experienced than Odinga.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V02ZC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Some Kenyans are concerned about the divisions because elections have sometimes sparked violence &#8211; notably in 2007, when Odinga&#8217;s supporters said his victory was stolen and a crackdown on political protests degenerated into clashes between ethnic groups.



Ruto, standing with the newly created United Democratic Alliance, has sought to calm those fears.



&#8220;William Ruto will accept the election outcome whichever way it goes,&#8221; Ruto told an audience in Chatham House recently. &#8220;I want all the other candidates to make the same commitment.&#8221;



Elections in the East African nation are closely watched; Kenya is the region&#8217;s richest and most stable nation and a close Western ally that hosts regional headquarters of international firms like Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O and Visa V.N.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-kenya-s-budget-deficit-to-widen-as-treasury-lays-out-extra-spending">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenyas-budget-deficit-to-widen-as-treasury-lays-out-extra-spending/">Kenya’s budget deficit to widen as Treasury lays out extra spending</a></h3>



Ruto, who served as a lawmaker and minister for agriculture before becoming deputy president, has sought to break through Kenya&#8217;s traditional patterns of ethnic voting by casting the election as a competition of poor &#8220;hustlers&#8221; against a wealthy political &#8220;dynasty&#8221;.



He says he began his career as a roadside chicken seller, a pointed contrast to Kenyatta and Odinga &#8211; the sons of the nation&#8217;s first president and vice president respectively &#8211; and pledges to shift government funding from large infrastructure projects to small enterprises.



Critics point to corruption allegations against Ruto &#8211; none of which have ever been proven in court &#8211; and a case against him at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for allegedly masterminding violence following the disputed 2007 election.



The case later collapsed; a Kenyan lawyer is currently on trial at the ICC accused of bribing prosecution witnesses against Ruto, which the lawyer denies.



Kenyatta, Odinga, and Ruto come from three of Kenya&#8217;s four biggest ethnic groups. Kenyatta&#8217;s Kikuyu group, the nation&#8217;s most populous, has produced three of four presidents since independence from Britain in 1963.



Kenya&#8217;s other president Daniel arap Moi &#8211; its longest-serving &#8211; came from Ruto&#8217;s Kalenjin group. Odinga&#8217;s Luo group have never held the top job. Both Odinga and Ruto need to woo Kikuyu voters to win.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Raissa Kasolowsky)

kenya-s-deputy-president-estranged-from-his-boss-aims-for-the-presidency

Kenya’s deputy president, estranged from his boss, aims for the presidency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="502" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/M73ZNPFNPZJJHKHVF42YAOVFQ4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415889" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/M73ZNPFNPZJJHKHVF42YAOVFQ4.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/M73ZNPFNPZJJHKHVF42YAOVFQ4-300x207.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/M73ZNPFNPZJJHKHVF42YAOVFQ4-131x90.jpg 131w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>A Somali woman carries her malnourished child at their makeshift shelter within the Iftin Camp for the internally displaced people outside Baradere town, Gedo Region, Jubaland state, Somalia, March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar</figcaption></figure>



BAARDHEERE, Somalia, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;It has not rained on Habiba Maow Iman&#8217;s farm in southern Somalia for two years. Her animals are dead; her crops failed.



Wrapped in a shawl stamped with rows of white flowers, the 61-year-old is one of tens of thousands seeking aid on the outskirts of Baardheere town.



The Horn of Africa region is facing the driest conditions in more than four decades after three consecutive rainy seasons failed, according to the United Nations&#8217; World Food Program (WFP).



More than four million Somalis like Iman will struggle to find food if the rains don&#8217;t come in April, WFP said.



&#8220;We fled from the drought,&#8221; she said, surrounded by domed huts built with a patchwork of cloth and plastic sheeting. &#8220;Every day I go out and knock every house in the town to beg something for the children to eat.&#8221;



Somalia has experienced a series of catastrophic droughts in the last decade.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-west-africa-bloc-to-deploy-stabilizing-force-to-bissau-after-coup-attempt">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/west-africa-bloc-to-deploy-stabilizing-force-to-bissau-after-coup-attempt/">West Africa bloc to deploy stabilizing force to Bissau after coup attempt</a></h3>



Global weather patterns indicate that the rains are likely to fail again this year, according to the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net), which has warned that the region could experience its worst drought on record.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V0174&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Lying at the bedside of his sick son, Abdullahi Abdow Mohamed travelled by donkey cart for six days to get to Baardheere, only to find the camp in the grip of a measles epidemic.



All four of his children caught the disease. One daughter has already died.



&#8220;These people have lost everything,&#8221; said El-Khidir Daloum Mahmoud, WFP&#8217;s country director. &#8220;Human suffering is human suffering, no matter whether it is in Europe or Africa or Asia or anywhere&#8230; we have a crisis in the making.&#8221;



If this year&#8217;s rains do not materialise, 1.4 million children under five will be acutely malnourished by the end of the year, a WFP spokesperson said.



Earlier this month, the U.N.&#8217;s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the top global climate science authority, said heatwaves, droughts and extreme rainfall would become more frequent in coming decades as temperatures continue to climb.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V30XA&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Feisal Omar, additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh, writing by Hereward Holland; editing by Katharine Houreld and Jane Merriman)

Drought stricken Baradere in southern Somalia

Somalia’s worst drought in four decades means millions need aid

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415885" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A doctor monitors a Covid-19 patient in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the community hospital in Germany on April 28, 2021. RONNY HARTMANN | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — Covid cases are rising in Europe, with an increasing number being attributed to the prevalence of a “stealth” subvariant of the omicron strain.



Covid cases have increased dramatically in the U.K. in recent weeks, while Germany continues to mark record high daily infections with more than 250,000 new cases a day. Elsewhere, France, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands are also seeing Covid infections start to rise again, aided and abetted by the relaxation of coronavirus measures and the spread of a new subvariant of omicron, known as BA.2.



Public health officials and scientists are closely monitoring BA.2, which has been described as a “stealth” variant because it has genetic mutations that could make it harder to distinguish from the delta variant using PCR tests, compared with the original omicron variant, BA.1.



The new subvariant would be the latest in a long line to emerge since the pandemic began in China in late 2019. The omicron variant — the most transmissible strain so far — overtook the delta variant, which itself supplanted the alpha variant — and even this was not the original strain of the virus.



Now, Danish scientists believe that the BA.2 subvariant is&nbsp;1½ times more transmissible&nbsp;than the original omicron strain, and is already overtaking it. The BA.2 variant is now responsible for over half of the new cases in Germany and makes up around 11% of cases in the U.S.



That number is expected to rise further, as it has in Europe.



“It’s clear that BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1 and this, combined with the relaxation of mitigation measures and waning immunity, is contributing to the current surge in infections,” Lawrence Young, a professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, told CNBC on Monday.



“The increased infectiousness of BA.2 is already out-competing and replacing BA.1, and we are likely to see similar waves of infection as other variants enter the population.”



As long as the virus continues to spread and replicate, particularly in populations which are under-vaccinated or where vaccine-induced immunity is decaying, “it will throw up new variants and these will remain a continual threat even to those countries with high rates of vaccination,” Young noted. “Living safely with Covid doesn’t mean ignoring the virus and hoping it will go away forever.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-we-know-about-ba-2"><a></a>What do we know about BA.2?</h2>



The BA.2 variant is being closely monitored by the World Health Organization and similar public health bodies on a national level, including the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) which has said the subvariant is “under investigation” but is not yet of concern.



Still, the WHO acknowledged in a statement last month that “the proportion of reported sequences designated BA.2 has been increasing relative to BA.1 in recent weeks.”



Initial data show that BA.2 is a little more likely to cause infections in household contacts, when compared with BA.1. It’s not believed currently that the BA.2 variant causes more severe illness or carries an increased the risk of being hospitalised, however further research is needed to confirm this, according to a U.K. parliamentary report published last week.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/who-says-the-new-omicron-subvariant-doesnt-appear-to-be-more-severe-than-the-original/">WHO says the new omicron subvariant doesn’t appear to be more severe than the original</a></h3>



Hospitalizations have also risen in a number of European countries as Covid infections have risen in recent weeks, but deaths remain far lower than in previous peaks thanks to widespread vaccine coverage.



The UKHSA has done a preliminary analysis comparing vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for BA.1 and BA.2 infections and found that the levels of protection are similar, with efficacy of up to 77% soon after a booster shot, although this wanes over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>‘Growth advantage’</h2>



The WHO has also noted that BA.2 differs from BA.1 in its genetic sequence, including some amino acid differences in the spike protein and other proteins which could give it an advantage over the original omicron.



“Studies are ongoing to understand the reasons for this growth advantage, but initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common omicron sublineage reported.&nbsp;This difference in transmissibility appears to be much smaller than, for example, the difference between BA.1 and Delta,” the WHO said last month.



The WHO added that initial studies suggest that anyone who has been infected with the original omicron variant has strong protection against reinfection with its subvariant BA.2.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-africa-seeing-more-cases-of-omicron-sub-variant-monitoring-it/">South Africa seeing more cases of Omicron sub-variant, monitoring it</a></h3>



Dr Andrew Freedman, reader in infectious disease at Cardiff Medical School, told CNBC he doesn’t think we need to be too concerned about BA.2, despite the fact that it is slightly more contagious.



“I suspect the rising number of cases is related to several factors including BA.2, the relaxation of restrictions and more social mixing, less mask wearing and some waning of immunity from both previous infections and vaccination, especially in those who received boosters early on,” he said.



“There has been an upturn in hospital admissions testing positive for Covid in the U.K., but many of these are incidental and there has not been a parallel increase in deaths.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Growing in prevalence</h2>



The U.K., and the rest of Europe, have acted as a bellweather for the U.S. at several points in the pandemic, declared two years ago by the WHO. particularly when it comes to the rise and spread of new Covid variants which have emerged and subsequently supplanted previous strains of the virus.



This makes the emergence and growing prevalence of the BA.2 variant a point of concern for the U.S. where cases have nosedived recently to reassuring lows.



Already some parts of the U.S. are seeing an increasing number of infections linked to BA.2, particularly in New York, according to data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Elsewhere, China is currently facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020.



It’s unclear whether BA.2 is contributing to the latest wave of cases, although a prominent infectious disease expert in China told news outlet Caixin that much of the current outbreak is being driven by the BA.2 subvariant.



U.K. data certainly illustrates BA.2′s increasingly prevalence. Sequenced data from Feb. 27 to Mar. 6 found that 68.6% of cases were omicron lineage BA.2, with just 31.1% omicron BA.1.

106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM

Covid cases are rising as omicron’s ‘stealth’ subvariant spreads around the world

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415881" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OY6W367VPRPLTIAYMISYI2L32Y-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Firefighters look at a residential building that was hit by a shell as Russia&#8217;s attack on Ukraine continues, in the Obolon district in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter</figcaption></figure>



LVIV, Ukraine, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States warned China after &#8220;intense&#8221; talks on Monday against helping Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine, while an anti-war protester interrupted Russian state TV news in an extraordinary act of dissent.



Moscow has not captured any of the 10 biggest cities in Ukraine since beginning its incursion on Feb. 24, the most significant attack on a European state since World War Two.



It calls its actions a &#8220;special military operation&#8221; to &#8220;denazify&#8221; the country and has asked for military and economic aid from Beijing, according to U.S. officials.



Moscow denies that, saying it has sufficient resources to fulfil all of its aims. China&#8217;s foreign ministry labelled the reports on assistance as &#8220;disinformation.&#8221;



China had signalled willingness to provide aid to Russia, a U.S. official said, as national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with China&#8217;s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome.



&#8220;We have communicated very clearly to Beijing that we won&#8217;t stand by,&#8221; State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Monday. &#8220;We will not allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses.&#8221;



The seven-hour meeting was &#8220;intense&#8221; and reflected &#8220;the gravity of the moment,&#8221; according to a U.S. official.



The West is weighing how to deal with any involvement from China, top global exporter and No.1 foreign supplier of goods to Americans.



In Russia, a rare anti-war protest occurred in a studio during the main news programme on state TV&#8217;s Channel One, which is the primary source of news for millions of Russians and closely follows the Kremlin line.



A woman held up a sign in English and Russian that said: &#8220;NO WAR. Stop the war. Don&#8217;t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VE18M&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The protester could be seen and heard for several seconds before the channel switched to a different report so she was no longer visible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">HUMANITARIAN TOLL</h2>



More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine.



Moscow on Monday allowed the first convoy to escape besieged Mariupol, home to the worst humanitarian crisis of the conflict.



&#8220;In the first two hours, 160 cars left,&#8221; Andrei Rempel, a representative of the Mariupol city council told Reuters.



But local authorities say as many as 2,500 civilians have died so far, a toll that cannot be independently confirmed.



Russia says it does not target civilians.



But Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, later said Russia had yet again blocked a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city with supplies.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russias-isolation-intensifies-as-ukraine-fighting-rages/">Russia’s isolation intensifies as Ukraine fighting rages</a></h3>



Obtaining safe passage for aid to reach Mariupol and civilians to get out has been Kyiv&#8217;s main demand at several rounds of talks. All previous attempts at a local ceasefire have failed.



The Ukrainian foreign ministry said a pregnant woman who was photographed being evacuated wounded from a maternity hospital in Mariupol bombed by Russia last week had since died along with her baby. Reuters was not able to verify this.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2UZ0BO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Despite video showing at least two pregnant women being carried out of the ruins, Russia has said the hospital was not used at the time and had been occupied by Ukrainian fighters.



Drone video footage released by Ukrainian forces in Mariupol showed a desolate wasteland of bombed out buildings, many in flames, with smoke pouring into the sky.



Britain&#8217;s defence ministry said in an intelligence update on Monday that Russia could be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine in response to a staged fake attack on Russian troops, without citing evidence. U.S. officials have made similar statements.



Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to use biological weapons. The United Nations on Friday said it had no evidence Kyiv had such a program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MORE TALKS</h2>



In the latest bid to ease the crisis, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a fourth round of talks on Monday &#8211; by video link rather than in person &#8211; but no new progress was announced. Discussions were due to resume on Tuesday.



Russia &#8220;still has a delusion that 19 days of violence against (Ukrainian) peaceful cities is the right strategy&#8221;, said Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak.



Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky wrote on social media: &#8220;We&#8217;re aiming to do everything possible for the achievement of the goals set by Vladimir Putin, for Russia&#8217;s peaceful future.&#8221;



EU member states had agreed on a fourth package of sanctions against Russia, according to France.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH1SD&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Details were not officially disclosed, but diplomatic sources said they would include an import ban on Russian steel and iron, an export ban on luxury goods and a ban on investment in the energy sector.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russia-seeks-military-equipment-from-china-after-ukraine-invasion-reports/">Russia seeks military equipment from China after Ukraine invasion -reports</a></h3>



Chelsea soccer team owner Roman Abramovich and 14 others would be added to the EU blacklist.



The war has caused a surge in commodity prices, threatening the global recovery as inflation in the developed world is already at its highest since the 1980s, many poor countries are facing a food crisis and the pandemic is still being felt.



Russia is the world&#8217;s biggest exporter of combined oil and gas, and Russia and Ukraine together supply nearly a third of the world&#8217;s grain exports, as well as metals and chemicals used worldwide in industry and agriculture.



On Monday, Moscow temporarily banned grain exports to ex-Soviet countries and most sugar exports.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH1AO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Russia itself has been cast into economic isolation never before visited on such a big economy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kyiv-apartment-block-hit">KYIV APARTMENT BLOCK HIT</h2>



Its forces have been bearing down on Kyiv but have made little progress so far towards the capital itself, despite heavy fighting that has reduced suburbs on its outskirts to rubble.



In Kyiv itself, an apartment block was hit by a missile overnight, killing at least one person, officials said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH0JV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;The staircase was not there anymore, everything was on fire,&#8221; apartment resident Maksim Korovii said.



&#8220;We managed to put on whatever clothes we had at hand and made our way from balcony to balcony and in the end we climbed down by the next building&#8217;s entrance.&#8221;



In the south, where Russia has made more progress, residents of Odessa, a Black Sea port of 1 million people, fear their city could be next. They formed a human chain on Monday, singing patriotic songs as they carried sandbags from the beach.



In Donetsk, held since 2014 by Russian-backed separatists, Russia&#8217;s defence ministry said at least 20 people had been killed and 28 wounded by what it said was a Ukrainian missile with a cluster charge. It released footage of a missile on a busy street and vehicles destroyed by shrapnel.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH0IA&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Ukraine accused Russia or its allies of carrying out that attack themselves as a pretext: &#8220;It is unmistakably a Russian rocket or another munition,&#8221; Ukrainian military spokesman Leonid Matyukhin said. Reuters could not verify either account.



(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Peter Graff and Costas Pitas; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Angus MacSwan, Grant McCool and Cynthia Osterman)

Firefighters look at a residential building that was hit by a shell in the Obolon district in Kyiv

U.S. warns China not to help Russia as anti-war protest disrupts state TV

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="536" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU-820x536.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415877" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU-820x536.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walks past an electronic board displaying Shanghai Composite index, Nikkei index and Dow Jones Industrial Average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 7, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon</figcaption></figure>



NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Wild swings in asset prices following Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine are prompting some investors to pare risk in their portfolios, fearing that the type of volatility seen in commodities in recent weeks could hit other markets.



At issue is liquidity – or the ease at which investors can buy or sell an asset without affecting its price. While episodes of low liquidity have contributed to sharp gyrations across markets over the last decade, signs of stress have become more plentiful in the last few weeks, exacerbated by everything from sanctions against Russia to expected central bank tightening.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2V757K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Should liquidity continue to deteriorate throughout markets, investors worry that other assets could be subject to the kind of violent price swings that have wracked commodities this month &#8211; which have included a one-day doubling in nickel prices and a surge in oil to 14-year highs.



&#8220;It isn&#8217;t always clear where the contagion risks lie,&#8221; said Frances Donald, Global Chief Economist at Manulife Investment Management. &#8220;This is why liquidity needs to be monitored, not just daily, but hourly at this point, for signs of challenges.&#8221;



Financial indicators are showing increasing signs of stress throughout markets.



The so-called FRA-OIS spread, which measures the gap between the U.S. three-month forward rate agreement and the overnight index swap rate was recently at its highest level since May 2020, while another closely-watched short-term funding stress gauge, the spread between the U.S. three-month Libor and the overnight index swap rate&nbsp;USDL-O3MF=R&nbsp;was at a similar high. Volatility in stocks&nbsp;.VIX, currencies&nbsp;.DBCVIX&nbsp;and U.S. Treasury yields&nbsp;.MOVE&nbsp;has also spiked.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VB2MX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2VE454&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



In another potential red flag, Barclays&nbsp;BARC.L&nbsp;on Monday suspended sales of two products linked to crude oil and market volatility, which some saw as a sign of lack of liquidity.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH1DM&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Among the assets investors have been cutting are emerging markets bonds, which saw $3.54 billion in net outflows last week, the biggest reduction since April 2020. Treasuries, meanwhile, saw some $5.4 billion in inflows in the past nine weeks, according to BofA Global Research.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-the-federal-reserve-is-scaring-markets-with-the-triple-threat-of-policy-tightening">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/the-federal-reserve-is-scaring-markets-with-the-triple-threat-of-policy-tightening/">The Federal Reserve is scaring markets with the triple threat of policy tightening</a></h3>



Mike Vogelzang, Chief Investment Officer at CAPTRUST in Boston, said his firm had taken &#8220;aggressive action&#8221; in response to the Ukraine crisis to reduce the risk profile of its portfolios. That included cutting equity exposure and selling mortgages and a number of corporate bonds, replacing them with highly liquid short-term U.S. Treasuries.



&#8220;We&#8217;re worried about a potential liquidity scare on a global stage,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We were significantly underweight U.S. Treasuries to our benchmarks for years now, and so we really filled that bucket up and reduced the illiquidity potential in our portfolios.&#8221;



Vogelzang said events like last week&#8217;s spike in nickel prices – which came as one of the world&#8217;s top producers bought large amounts of nickel to cover bets on falling prices and cover costly margin calls &#8211; indicate the potential for &#8220;liquidity panic&#8221; in markets.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VB1UT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Investors also highlighted counterparty risk, referring to the probability of defaults in contractual obligations linked, in this case, to an underlying commodity. In a rare warning on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said concentrated positions of prime brokerage counterparties pose particular concerns.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VH2UO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Bill Campbell, Global Bond Portfolio Manager at DoubleLine is concerned about the impact the Ukraine crisis is having on a &#8220;systemically important&#8221; part of global supply chains that affects not only energy prices but also vital commodities such as wheat, of which both Ukraine and Russia are major producers.



Campbell has reduced exposure to Eastern European countries in his portfolios and is looking to differentiate investment between commodity importing and commodity exporting countries to reduce risk.



&#8220;We need to become more comfortable that this crisis is going to be contained to the region,&#8221; he said.



Ryan O&#8217;Malley, a fixed income portfolio manager at Sage Advisory said the conflict had accelerated liquidity concerns in the corporate credit market, pushing him to shift his portfolio increasingly towards more liquid assets such as Treasuries.



&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to get more liquid,&#8221; O&#8217;Malley said.



(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; editing by Ira Iosebashvili, Megan Davies and Richard Pullin)

GNVUDTKFUNI5LONCZPQ4I3XVEU

Investors see risks spiking, fear market-wide liquidity crunch

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5XLMPDE5NFIY5J6WM3FWAIPSV4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415873" width="476" height="476" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5XLMPDE5NFIY5J6WM3FWAIPSV4.jpg 476w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5XLMPDE5NFIY5J6WM3FWAIPSV4-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5XLMPDE5NFIY5J6WM3FWAIPSV4-90x90.jpg 90w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px" /><figcaption>A 3D printed Facebook&#8217;s new rebrand logo Meta is seen in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s Competition Commission on Monday said it had referred Facebook&nbsp;and WhatsApp owner&nbsp;Meta Platforms&nbsp;FB.O&nbsp;to a tribunal for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the market.



But&nbsp;a spokesperson for WhatsApp&nbsp;said the regulator was objecting to actions meant to protect the platform&#8217;s users from abuses of WhatsApp&#8217;s terms.



In a statement, the regulator accused Meta of &#8220;abusing its dominance by engaging in exclusionary conduct geared at preventing competitors or potential competitors from entering into, participating, and expanding in a market&#8221;.



The commission said Meta had decided to &#8220;offboard&#8221; GovChat (a start-up that connects government and citizens) and its subsidiary #LetsTalk from its WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-south-africa-s-information-regulator-says-whatsapp-cannot-share-users-contact-information">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/south-africas-information-regulator-says-whatsapp-cannot-share-users-contact-information/">South Africa’s information regulator says WhatsApp cannot share users’ contact information</a></h3>



It also said the company had &#8220;imposed and/or selectively enforced exclusionary terms and conditions regulating access to the WhatsApp Business API, mainly restrictions on the use of data&#8221;.



However, WhatsApp defended its exclusion of GovChat, saying that the start-up was not complying with Meta&#8217;s terms of service.



&#8220;GovChat has repeatedly refused to comply with our policies which are designed to protect citizens and their information, preferring to prioritise their own commercial interests over the&nbsp;public,&#8221; a Whatsapp spokesperson said. &#8220;We will&nbsp;continue to defend WhatsApp from abuse.&#8221;



Officials at GovChat were not immediately available for comment.



Meta is facing anti-trust action by several authorities, including the United States, Britain and the European Union.



But it has also taken a $250 billion hit to its share price owing to competition from rivals like TikTok that some argue bolster its case that it faces fierce competition and so is not in a monopoly position.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2UI2WO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Jan Harvey, Ed Osmond and Cynthia Osterman)

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South Africa’s Comair back in the skies after suspension lifted

Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead

Captains of Industry: BSE CEO on Ukraine conflict, listings outlook & building Sadc stock exchanges

SAP will repay South Africa at least $17 mln over ‘invalid’ deals – court

Why The U.S. Is Running Out Of Everything

Kenya’s proposed forest law worries environmental activists

CBN to offer ₦57bn in NTB auction

Vaccine inequity will cost the world trillions of dollars, WHO Foundation warns

U.S., EU, India, South Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text

Investors dump stocks, flee to cash as growth outlook hits weakest since 2008 – BoFA

How Wall Street Measures Fear

Kenya’s deputy president, estranged from his boss, aims for the presidency

Somalia’s worst drought in four decades means millions need aid

Covid cases are rising as omicron’s ‘stealth’ subvariant spreads around the world

U.S. warns China not to help Russia as anti-war protest disrupts state TV

Investors see risks spiking, fear market-wide liquidity crunch

South Africa regulator refers Meta to tribunal over dominance

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