Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Republicans are ratcheting up efforts to paint China as the villain in the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to shift blame as President Donald Trump faces increased criticism of his handling of a crisis that has shuttered the U.S. economy. The Trump campaign on Tuesday sent out a fundraising email that accused China of “lying” about the outbreak and saying the country must be held accountable, language that is harsher than the president has…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa)   — Do we still need cash? Humans have used all sorts of things as stores of value — rare metals, strings of shells, even jugs of whiskey. Over time the objects have become more ephemeral, from coins to paper to digital forms. Economists see great payoffs in a cashless society: lower costs for businesses and new tools to manage economies, stymie tax evasion and fight money laundering. Critics see an erosion of privacy, frightening new powers for governments…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa)  — Volatility in stocks and bonds has ebbed to levels that could boost markets rather than fuel more turbulence, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price swings are getting muted as central banks and governments around the world provide unprecedented packages of stimulus to cushion the economic hit from Covid-19. That’s improving conditions in funding markets, market liquidity and deleveraging by value-at-risk sensitive investors — three key areas for volatility —…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson still has a high temperature and remains in isolation, one week after testing positive for coronavirus. Johnson made the announcement in a video posted on Twitter on Friday, saying that even after seven days, “alas I still have one of the symptoms, a minor symptom: I still have a temperature. In accordance with government advice I must continue my self-isolation.” With deaths still rising…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — How do governments control activity in an economy they never really controlled in the first place? That’s an urgent question being asked for those who run the $35 trillion developing world as the coronavirus takes hold. From the slums of Manila to remote villages in Colombia, some 2 billion people ply their trades in a barely-regulated and untaxed informal economy. The effort to contain the spread of a disease that’s so far infected around…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Governments should stop wasting precious time needed to fight the coronavirus after squandering an opportunity to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization’s head said. “We squandered the first window of opportunity,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The time to act was actually more than a month ago or two months ago.” The WHO chief gave a rare, blunt admonishment Wednesday on the world’s progress against the…