London, United Kingdom | AFP | Bank of England governor Mark Carney has suggested that a virtual currency, modelled on Facebook’s Libra, could one day replace the dollar as king of the foreign exchange market. The BoE chief aired vague proposals for a so-called “Synthetic Hegemonic Currency” at the recent …
Read More »Dollar losses mount as investors spooked by Mnuchin comments
Hong Kong, China | AFP | The dollar took another beating on Thursday after two of Donald Trump’s top cabinet members talked down the currency and hinted at a more belligerent trade policy. The sell-off in the greenback especially hit exporters on Japan’s Nikkei index, which tumbled for a second straight …
Read More »Making sense of Uganda’s current economic struggles
Kampala, Uganda| CSBAG| Every time a government official comes out to explain why the economy is poorly performing, they cite external and natural factors. These range from slow growth in China, to fall in commodity prices, tight financing conditions in Europe, and geo-political events such as Brexit and U.S politics. …
Read More »Nigeria to stop defending naira
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria signalled Wednesday it will ease currency controls, opening the door to a plunge in the value of the naira, after the restrictions were blamed for stifling the economy. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele said in a televised speech from Abuja that …
Read More »What can replace the dollar?
By Barry Eichengreen The US debt-ceiling fiasco has raised doubts about the advisability of holding dollars, while Europe’s debt crisis has fueled doubt on the euro’s survival. For more than a half-century, the US dollar has been not only America’s currency, but the world’s as well. It has been the …
Read More »Shilling weakening against dollar follows regional trend
By Joseph Were and agencies On which side will BoU intervene, if at all? The weakening of currencies in the East African region against the U.S. dollar experienced in the last two weeks is likely to persist, according to analysts. Dollar demand by offshore investors and the corporate sector to …
Read More »Dollar to hit Shs 2,500, analysts say
By Patrick Kagenda BoU says it has no means of forecasting value of currency A top Bank of Uganda official last week confirmed the continuing depreciation of the shilling. Mary Katalikawe, the director for research at the central bank spoke as the world’s leading financial market analysts predicted that the …
Read More »Kyeyo dollar shortage worsening inflation
By Patrick Kagenda Basing on reduced US dollar remittances into the economy last December, Forex market operators are warning of a further battering of the shilling. Experts fear the dollar scarcity that led its value to shot up by 30% from Shs 1,700 to the dollar to Shs 2,200 before …
Read More »Skyrocketing dollar versus shilling
By Patrick Kagenda `I have the capacity to burn Forex speculators’ fingers’ As the world financial crisis takes center stage in all global discussions, The Independent’s Patrick Kagenda recorded Uganda Central Bank governor Emanuel Tumusime Mutebile’s answers to the press on why the American dollar has shot skywards and its …
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