Recession: Three economists give their views NEWS ANALYSIS | We are in a double bind right now. Prices are going through the roof but all the signs suggest that the economy is weakening. The answer to higher prices is normally to raise interest rates, but this also induces people and firms …
Read More »Russia legalizes parallel imports amid Western sanctions
Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law on Tuesday legalizing “parallel imports” in the country in a bid to stabilize prices amid Western economic sanctions. The law protects Russian companies that import certain categories of goods without the permission of the intellectual property owner, …
Read More »CSBAG urges govt on 2022/23 budget
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group has commended the government for putting together a pro-people 2022/23 budget, but has outlined areas that it wants prioritised so as to achieve tangible results. Speaking at a post-budget event held in Kampala on June 23, Julius Mukunda, …
Read More »South Sudan launches dev’t strategy to consolidate peace
Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | South Sudan on Tuesday launched a revised National Development Strategy (NDS) Plan for 2021-2024 aimed at consolidating peace gains and helping revive the war-battered economy. Riek Machar, the First Vice President who presided over the launch, said the plan is a guide for collective investments meant …
Read More »URA to impose VAT on Facebook, Netflix
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | To maximize tax collection, Uganda Revenue Authority has established mechanisms to start collecting VAT from non-resident service provider companies operating in the Ugandan economy. Collection of VAT from these companies is starting effective 1st July 2022, and will focus on all electronic service providers. These …
Read More »10 years of budget show limited shift in national priorities
A huge chunk of 2022/23 Shs48.1tn budget will go to the usual sectors of works and transport, security, health and education NEWS ANALYSIS | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda’s national budget, read on June.14, has drawn mixed reactions from various players, with manufacturers partly welcoming it but the civil society …
Read More »South Sudan ratifies East African bloc’s protocols on movement of persons, transhumance
Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | South Sudan’s government said Friday it has ratified two protocols of the East African bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on free movement of persons and transhumance in the member states. Mayiik Ayii Deng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the two …
Read More »Biden’s administration faces “only bad options” as inflation soars
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | As U.S. inflation reached a 40-year high in May, President Joe Biden’s administration is facing “only bad options,” U.S. magazine Newsweek has reported. Over the last few months, the White House has been “badgered with questions about how the president will provide relief to Americans struggling …
Read More »Hiking interest rates
Why it’s the wrong recipe for curbing inflation COMMENT | STEPHEN ONYEIWU | The Central Bank of Nigeria recently announced an increase in the interest rate, from 11.5% to 13%, a 1.5 percentage point hike that took effect immediately. Whenever the Central Bank changes the monetary policy rate, otherwise known …
Read More »World Bank downgrades 2022 global growth forecast to 2.9 pct, warns of stagflation risk
Changes in fiscal, monetary, climate and debt policy are needed to counter capital misallocation and inequality Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The global economy is on track to grow by 2.9 percent in 2022, down 1.2 percentage points from the January projection, the World Bank Group said in its latest Global …
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