Willem H. Buiter, NEW YORK – How much slack is there in the US economy? In economics, the “gap version” of Okun’s law holds that a one-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a two-point decline in the real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth rate below its potential. The gap matters, because the closer the […]
SAP Young Professionals Program extends digital skills build to Lusophone Africa LUANDA, Angola, 17 June 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- SAP’s flagship digital skills build initiative the Young Professionals Program is celebrating its first-ever graduates from Lusophone Africa. At a virtual graduation ceremony attended by Constantin Zelenty, Deputy Head of Mission German Embassy Angola, Cathy Smith, Managing […]
Isabella M. Weber, AMHERST – The fiscal expansion in the United States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is like nothing seen outside of wartime. Further large-scale public spending will be needed to rebuild needed infrastructure, tackle climate change, and create jobs. But some prominent economists are warning that government spending on such an extraordinary scale could fuel […]
J. Bradford DeLong, BERKELEY – The financial and economic news in the United States lately has been dominated by concerns about inflation. “Runaway inflation is the biggest risk facing investors, Leuthold’s Jim Paulsen warns,” according to the cable news channel CNBC. As a potential hedge against inflation, “Bitcoin’s time to shine is fast approaching,” reports Fortune’s Robert Hackett. […]
Mohamed A. El-Erian, LAGUNA BEACH – President Joe Biden’s announcement that the US will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for every American by the end of May has contributed to a rising tide of optimism about the country’s economic prospects this year. This, and other good reasons to be hopeful about the economy, opens a valuable window for […]
Willem H. Buiter, NEW YORK – The unprecedented fiscal stimulus unleashed in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic calls for commensurate additional monetary stimulus. The restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus have caused the deepest global recession since World War II. Government-imposed lockdowns have varied in duration and […]
Melvyn Krauss STANFORD – Armin Laschet’s victory in the election to lead Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) puts him in pole position to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel later this year. But the leadership contest was more about differences in tone and style than substance. From a policy standpoint, it makes no difference. Currently the minister-president […]
Mohamed A. El-Erian LAGUNA BEACH – As excited as we all understandably are about the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines, the immediate road ahead remains treacherous. The United States, in particular, could be on the verge of a horrible scenario in which ongoing slippages in each of four areas – public health, the economy, […]
The Uganda shilling started the week lower against the U.S. dollar on account of increased greenback demand. The local unit started the day on the back foot, weighed by increased activity in the foreign currency demand counter, that was unmatched by muted dollar inflows. The USDUGX currency pair closed the session 5 shillings higher by […]
The upbeat momentum of the USDUGX pair remained sound yesterday, dragging the local unit to new lows. The shilling has been drifting south versus the greenback in the last couple of days on account of buoyant dollar appetite amid a shortage of foreign currency inflows, high liquidity conditions, as well as bearish sentiments surrounding the […]
As I prepare to spend November in Addis Ababa and brush up on my terrible Amharic, the third quarter of 2019 was eventful for our company, Teseteo, but also business in Ethiopia as a whole. Privatizing EthioTelecom has only just begun – exciting times ahead as we watch the story unfold and find out which […]
The shilling traded relatively flat versus the greenback in what was a dull Wednesday trading session. Matching flows on both the demand and supply counters failed to stir the market and left the USDUGX currency pair little changed by the end of the day. Yesterday’s trading range will likely be preserved as market searches for […]
WASHINGTON, DC – The International Seabed Authority (ISA) sits perched above the concrete boardwalk of Jamaica’s Kingston Harbor, across the bay from the spot where “Calico Jack” Rackham was once gibbeted as a warning to other eighteenth-century pirates. Today, this small United Nations agency rules the high seas – or, more precisely, the seafloor some three miles […]