Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government has presented a proposal prohibiting landlords from charging rent in foreign currency for residential and business premises. The proposal is one of the several contained in the Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2018, which seeks to regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants; and to …
Read More »Russia seeks to dump dollar as new US sanctions loom
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow is intensifying efforts to wean its economy off the dollar as Washington considers tough new sanctions that could deny Russia access to foreign debt markets and cut its banks from the greenback. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly slammed the US unit’s dominance on the …
Read More »Bitcoin drops below $6,200 for first time in three months
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Bitcoin plunged 20 percent to a three-month low on Tuesday, its latest sharp loss following a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency that, with a collapse across global mainstream markets adding to the selling. The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November, …
Read More »Facebook bans ads for cryptocurrencies
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook says it is banning all ads related to cryptocurrencies in an effort to fight scams. The social media giant said it is barring ads for “financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, …
Read More »‘I want to see a strong dollar,’ says Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump waded into the uproar over the US currency Thursday, saying he wants to see “a strong dollar,” after comments by his Treasury secretary appeared to signal the opposite and sent the dollar plunging to three-year lows. In comments to CNBC, Trump said …
Read More »COMMENT: Flexible exchange rates
Why currency depreciation doesn’t always allow exports to decline relative to a producer’s imports COMMENT | GITA GOPINATH | In 1953, Milton Friedman published an essay called `The Case for Flexible Exchange Rates’, arguing that they cushion an economy from internal and external shocks by bringing about just the right price …
Read More »Bitcoin suffers dramatic price plunge in Asia
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Bitcoin prices plunged about 15 percent in Asian trade Wednesday before recouping some of the losses as investors apparently took fright at news that a South Korean exchange had been hacked. The unit, which hit a record $19,500 at the start of the week, took a …
Read More »2017: The year the bitcoin craze reached Wall Street
New York, United States | AFP | Bitcoin burst out of the shadows in 2017, seducing Wall Street and individual investors alike even though many still struggle to understand precisely what it is. The cryptocurrency’s rise is also pushing regulators to consider taking action after years of simply urging caution. Bitcoin …
Read More »Ethiopia devalues currency in competitiveness bid
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia will devalue its currency by 15 percent in a bid to boost demand for its major exports, a state-run media outlet reported Tuesday. Africa’s second most-populous country is also one of its best economic performers, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating in …
Read More »Forget oil, Russia goes crazy for cryptocurrency
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Standing in a warehouse in a Moscow suburb, Dmitry Marinichev tries to speak over the deafening hum of hundreds of computers stacked on shelves hard at work mining for crypto money. “The form of currency we are used to is about to disappear,” predicts the 42-year-old …
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