Tough economic conditions meant that 2022 was a rough year for people everywhere in the world. South Africa was no exception. But this year’s crop of problems came on top of a legacy of poor economic performance. The country’s economic growth averaged 1% over the nine years to 2021, leaving the population poorer on average. […]
Nigeria’s COVID-19 economic plan has delivered disappointing results: here’s why
Over a year ago, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari launched an economic plan designed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Nigeria has recorded 207,618 cases of infection and 2,745 deaths as of October 11, 2021. The economic effects were devastating. Economic growth turned negative in 2020, unemployment and […]
COVID-19 is prompting more people to head to trusted mainstream news sites for information — new research
More than a year after it began, the pandemic continues to cast a dark cloud over both public health and the economy. The news industry is no exception. Across the world, long-established news titles are being closed, and journalists are being laid off, as advertisers take fright in the face of a global economic downturn. […]
Federal Reserve bows to bank-crisis fears with quarter-point rate hike, letting up a little in its fight against inflation
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter-point on March 22, 2023, bowing to market expectations that it would temper its aggressive program of rate hikes amid a still-brewing banking crisis. The U.S. central bank lifted rates to a range of 4.75% to 5%, its ninth-straight increase since March 2022. As late as early […]