World Bank president commends FG for removing fuel subsidy

Mr David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, has commended the Federal Government for removing subsidies on petroleum products. He said this in Washington D. C. on Wednesday at the opening press conference for the World Bank at the ongoing 2020 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank virtual annual meetings. Malpass was responding to a […]

How COVID-19 Triggered Extraordinary Contraction Of The Global Economy – IMF

The Financial Counselor of the International Monetary Fund, Tobias Adrian has stated that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an extraordinary contraction of the global economy, but policymakers should remain vigilant as financial vulnerabilities are rising. “Near-term financial stability risks have been contained, for the moment. Unprecedented monetary easing, fiscal measures like transfers and credit guarantees, and […]

IMF World Economic Outlook Forecasts ‘Deep Recession’ In 2020

The International Monetary Fund is projecting a deep recession in 2020 with global growth projected to be -4.4% in its latest update to the World Economic Outlook forecast, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath says. “So we continue to project a deep recession in 2020 with global growth projected to be -4.4%.  This is a small […]

Another SARS Returns!

On Sunday afternoon, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced that the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has been disbanded nationwide, noting that the dissolution of SARS was in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people. Adamu however, observed that by this dissolution, all officers and men of the now-defunct SARS are being redeployed […]

Former IMF director, Rodrigo Rato Acquitted Of Investment Fraud

A Spanish court on Tuesday acquitted former International Monetary Fund (IMF) director, Rodrigo Rato, of charges of investment fraud and balance sheet falsification. The National Court of Justice in Madrid also acquitted 33 further defendants in criminal proceedings relating to the disastrous flotation of the major Spanish bank Bankia in 2011. “The initial public offering […]

Asian Countries Facing Economic Challenges, UNCTAD Says

Four Central Asian countries -Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Turkmenistan – are facing economic challenges common to landlocked developing countries. A study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlights how each can overcome geographical remoteness and transform the structures of their economies, which have become increasingly geared towards exporting commodities to their […]

COVID19, In Nigeria, more of hunger than anything

The full moon looks like burnt bread—Sukanta Bhattacharya The old English reverend Thomas Malthus was wrong when he wrote that, for eternity, food production would grow arithmetically (1-2-3-4) and that populations would grow geometrically (1-2-4-8), with the needs of the population easily outstripping the ability of humans to produce food. When Malthus wrote his treatise […]

Covid-19: Counting the Cost

The advent of coronavirus in the global space since last year has in many ways affected both health and economic sectors, leading to uncertainties of when and how it would be contained.  So far, in Nigeria, the very obvious impact has been huge, especially about government finances, capital flow reversals and loss of income to […]

IMF Executive Board Concludes 2020 Article IV Consultation with Italy

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded the Article IV consultation with Italy. During the Executive Board Assessment, Executive Directors expressed deep sympathy to the Italian people and the authorities for the high human and economic costs of the COVID 19 pandemic. They also conveyed their solidarity with Italy at this difficult […]

When will Nigeria undo the folded lie?

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade: Waves of anger and fear Circulate over the bright And darkened lands of the earth, Obsessing our private lives; The unmentionable odour of death Offends the September night. All I have is […]