Securities Dealers Call for Prudence as Nigerian Stocks Rally
The Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) warned investors to exercise prudence as the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) enjoys a sustained rally. While renewed confidence and stronger macro‑economic sentiment are fueling price gains, ASHON cautioned that many stocks are rising without supporting earnings or governance fundamentals. The body highlighted the recent suspension of Zichis Agro‑Allied as a reminder of market integrity risks. It called on regulators to tighten surveillance, enforce free‑float rules, and attract new listings to deepen liquidity.
Russia Moves to Bring Crypto Market Under Full State Control
Russia's central bank and finance ministry are drafting legislation to establish a fully regulated domestic cryptocurrency market. The bill, slated for Duma submission in March, would require licensed exchanges, depositories, brokers and asset managers under Central Bank supervision, taking effect...
Unlocking Rs 40 Lakh Crore: Govt's Mega Bet on India's Infra Future
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched NMP 2.0, a second‑phase asset‑monetisation drive that targets over 2,000 public infrastructure assets across 12 ministries. The programme aims to generate Rs 16.7 lakh crore in total proceeds, with Rs 10.8 lakh crore expected between 2025‑26 and 2029‑30. Revenues will be recycled...
What Africa's Banks Can Steal From China's Playbook
The China Development Bank (CDB) grew its balance sheet to $2.6 trillion with a 0.37 % non‑performing loan ratio by leveraging bundled project lending and provincial platform companies. African multilateral financial institutions now control $70 billion to $320 billion in capital, positioning them to...
Fresh Math for World's Fastest Growing Economy: What's Behind India's GDP Revision and Why It Matters
India will revise its GDP series on Feb 27, moving the base year from 2011‑12 to 2022‑23 to better reflect digital services, renewable energy and post‑pandemic consumption patterns. The overhaul introduces double‑deflation accounting, the Proportional Denton method for quarterly‑annual alignment, and...
Milestone Systems Opens Asia Experience Centre in Singapore
Milestone Systems announced the launch of its Asia Experience Centre in Singapore, expanding its regional footprint and providing a live‑lab for AI‑enabled video solutions. The centre supports Singapore’s national AI agenda and offers governments, enterprises, and critical infrastructure operators a...
US Formally Warned Kyiv over Attacks on Russia that Damage American Oil Majors’ Interests, Says Ambassador
The United States delivered a formal diplomatic warning to Kyiv after Ukrainian drones struck the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a key export gateway for Kazakh crude that underpins American oil majors' interests. The attack disabled a single‑point mooring,...
Romania’s Government Approves Public Administration Reform, Economic Stimulus Package
Romania’s cabinet approved a sweeping public‑administration decree that will cut roughly 10% of civil‑service staff – about 12,800 jobs – and impose unified wage standards on the majority of local units. The same session cleared an economic relaunch package featuring...
Who Showed up — and Who Didn’t — for Kyiv’s Big Day
Europe marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full‑scale invasion with a high‑profile solidarity event in Kyiv, where EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa stood beside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The gathering showcased symbolic support...
Godongwana Holds Better Budget Cards but Economic Recovery Remains Inadequate
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to present a 2026 budget bolstered by higher-than‑expected tax receipts, driven by a commodity price surge and improved collection efficiency. Despite the fiscal headroom, his GDP outlook remains bleak, projecting growth under 2%—far short...
Sifuna: I'm Open to Alliance with United Opposition
Kenyan Senate leader Edwin Sifuna announced that his Linda Mwananchi Initiative, a breakaway faction from the ODM, is open to joining the United Opposition ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The prospective alliance aims to consolidate anti‑Ruto forces and present...
As US Tech Giants Become Cable Giants, It’s Time We Pay Attention to Our Seabeds
U.S. tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are increasingly becoming sole owners of undersea data cables, giving them unprecedented control over global internet traffic. Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and hinted at...
MSME Workers Deliver Just 14% of Large-Firm Output; Informality Is Costing India Billions
India’s MSMEs employ 330 million workers, accounting for 62 % of non‑agricultural jobs and about 30 % of GDP, yet their workers generate only 14 % of the output of large‑firm employees. The productivity gap stems from widespread informality, low formal skill training, and...
Loom Games Claims “Unicorn” Crown in Record Time for Turkish Startup
Los Angeles‑based Scopely agreed to acquire a majority stake in Istanbul‑born mobile‑game studio Loom Games, valuing the company at over $1 billion through a performance‑based structure. Loom, founded in August 2025, launched its first title “Pixel Flow” in September, attracting more than 10 million...
Bangladesh Election Reduces Political Uncertainty but Forthcoming Reform Execution Remains Critical
Bangladesh’s February 12 election gave the Bangladesh Nationalist Party a decisive parliamentary super‑majority, easing short‑term political uncertainty. The win clears the path for a long‑awaited constitutional referendum that could reshape the legislature, judiciary and prime‑ministerial term limits. Fitch Ratings notes that...
Panama Seizes Two Canal Ports
Panama's government announced the seizure of two strategic ports along the Panama Canal, citing national security and revenue concerns. The move follows a series of regulatory actions aimed at tightening state control over critical infrastructure. Officials indicated that the ports...
Uzbekistan Looks West for Help in Developing Entrepreneurial Spirit
Uzbekistan announced a partnership with Harvard, Stanford and the London School of Economics to launch the "Next Generation Entrepreneurs" program, overseen by the Youth Affairs Agency. The initiative targets at least 40,000 students with business‑management training, while the top 1,000...
Uzbekistan Resilient Electricity Transmission Project
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved the procurement plan for Uzbekistan’s Resilient Electricity Transmission Project on February 25, 2026, committing 100% financing for a $1.324 million consulting package. Two contracts were cleared: a $24,000 individual consultancy and a $1.3 million project‑preparation...
What’s Next for Ukraine: Investment
Ukraine will emerge from the war burdened with massive debt, but experts Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Maurice Obstfeld argue that restructuring—potentially including outright forgiveness—is essential to attract private capital. They estimate a $40 billion annual investment gap, split between rebuilding destroyed assets,...
A Tale of Two Financial Centres: Brexit Uncertainty and the Fragility of Cross-Border Capital Flows
A new firm‑level study of Swiss‑UK capital linkages finds that the Brexit referendum’s surge in policy uncertainty sharply reduced short‑term debt flows from Swiss‑resident firms to the United Kingdom, while equity investments remained stable. The contraction is driven almost entirely...
Georgia Dream Government Strives to Enforce Its Legitimacy
Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has pushed amendments that criminalize "systematic" non‑recognition of the government, imposing up to three years in prison. The law targets dissent over the contested October 2024 parliamentary elections, which international observers deemed neither free nor fair....
Middle Powers Must Win the AI Deployment Race
The article argues that middle powers such as the UK and Canada should abandon the race to build ever‑larger AI models and instead concentrate on a "deployment race"—embedding near‑state‑of‑the‑art AI into industry and defence. It proposes a UK‑Canada Partnership on...
Eight Questions (and Expert Answers) on What’s Next for US Tariff Policy
President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on most imports, revising his earlier 15 percent target. The move follows a Supreme Court decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant the president authority to impose such duties. Experts...
Monetary Policy Committee Policy Rate Likely to Remain Unchanged
The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to leave its policy rate unchanged at 1.25% during Wednesday’s meeting, buoyed by a stronger‑than‑expected 2.5% year‑on‑year GDP growth in Q4 2025 and a clearer political environment after the election. Economists...
BoT Upgrades Thai GDP Forecast After Robust Q4
The Bank of Thailand raised its 2026 GDP growth projection to 1.9%, up from 1.5%, after a stronger‑than‑expected fourth‑quarter performance. Governor Vitai Ratanakorn stressed that tighter coordination between fiscal stimulus and monetary easing is essential to move the economy toward...
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ANALYSIS: Trump Tariff Snotklap Is a Jolt of Note for SA’s Economy
The US Supreme Court rebuked President Trump’s broad tariff authority, prompting a 10% across‑the‑board duty that replaces the 30% reciprocal tariff South Africa faced. The reduction levels the playing field for SA exporters, while gold surged to a three‑week high...
Ukrainians Don’t Want to Be Resilient. Putin Has Given Them No Other Choice.
The article argues that Ukrainian resilience is not a voluntary virtue but a forced response to Vladimir Putin’s relentless invasion, which seeks to erase Ukraine’s national identity. While global media celebrates the population’s courage, the resilience narrative can mask the urgent...
India Is Conducting Exercise for Mapping Import Reliance
India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched an exercise to map import reliance by cataloguing goods that lack domestic manufacturing across all ministries. The initiative will compile five‑year public procurement data, targeting the $650 billion import...
Government Allows Export of 25 Lakh Tonnes of Wheat
The Indian government has approved a limited export of 25 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and an additional five lakh tonnes of wheat products, despite the overall export ban remaining in force. The decision, taken in January and notified by...
Five Years Later, Spotify Points to Strong Growth in Nigeria — Including a 164% YoY Listening Increase and 1.4 Billion+...
Spotify disclosed that Nigerian users logged over 1.4 billion listening hours in 2025, driving playlist creations past 25 million. The platform reports a 163% year‑over‑year increase in average listening since 2021 and a staggering 5,022% surge in Afrobeats consumption. Local artist presence...
Japan’s Farm and Food Exports Hit New High As Trade Patterns Shift
Japan’s agricultural, forestry and fishery exports reached a record ¥1.7 trillion in 2025, up 12.8% year‑on‑year, marking the 13th consecutive record. Growth was driven by strong demand for scallops, green tea and sake, with the United States and China remaining the...
Lualaba Showcased Cobalt Leadership and Sustainable Vision at Mining Indaba 2026
At Mining Indaba 2026 in Cape Town, Lualaba province positioned itself as the world’s leading cobalt producer, emphasizing its pivotal role in the energy transition. Governor Fifi Masuka Saini highlighted the region’s stable, investment‑friendly governance and alignment with international mining...
The European Central Bank’s Next President May Decide the Fate of the Digital Euro
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde highlighted the digital euro as a core part of her legacy, noting its progress from research to a live policy effort. The project is now in a "preparation phase" with technical design and pilot...
UK to Remove Turkish HDG Quota Exemption
The UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) plans to strip Turkey of its developing‑economy exemption for hot‑dip galvanised (HDG) steel, moving Turkish shipments into the capped “other countries” quota. The move follows Tata Steel’s complaint that Turkish imports surged to 58,030 t...
Mexico’s Cartel Violence Could Hit Economy and Insurance Segment: AM Best
Cartel violence erupted in Mexico after the killing of leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, halting flights and disrupting tourism in Puerto Vallarta. Tourism, which contributes about 10% of Mexico’s GDP, faces short‑term setbacks and longer‑term perception risks. AM Best issued a negative...
IMF Expects Godongwana to Maintain Budget Surplus Target of 1.5% of GDP
The IMF’s South Africa mission chief expects Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to keep the primary budget surplus at 1.5% of GDP and to embed the necessary fiscal reforms in the 2026 budget. The Fund highlighted controlling the public‑sector wage bill,...
America Needs More Than Creativity on Hong Kong – It Needs Action
The article argues that the United States must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete action against Hong Kong’s increasingly repressive regime. It highlights the political role of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) in the U.S., which enjoy diplomatic privileges despite...
Takaichi Draws a Red Line on Nuclear Sharing Amid Japan’s Security Review
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly rejected a NATO‑style nuclear‑sharing arrangement with the United States, reaffirming Japan's Three Non‑Nuclear Principles during a House of Representatives debate. Her statement comes amid a comprehensive review of Japan's National Security Strategy, Defense Strategy,...
Korea’s Demographic Crisis Has Come for Its Military
South Korea’s shrinking birthrate—down to 0.75 children per woman—has cut the pool of eligible male conscripts, driving a 20% drop in active‑duty troops from 560,000 in 2019 to 450,000 in 2025. The Defense Ministry projects the force could shrink to...
In Guinea, the US Has a Rare Opportunity to Gain an Edge over China
Guinea’s newly elected president Mamady Doumbouya hosted a high‑profile inauguration attended by U.S. officials and a Chinese envoy, underscoring the country’s strategic importance. With roughly a quarter of global bauxite reserves and emerging lithium, uranium and iron‑ore projects, Guinea sits...
Cabinet Approves Infra Projects, Farm Benefits of ₹12,236 Crore
The Indian cabinet approved infrastructure projects worth roughly ₹12,236 crore, covering rail line expansions, a new civil enclave at Srinagar airport, and a metro extension in Gujarat. It also raised the raw jute minimum support price to ₹5,925 per quintal, a...
On Africa's Terms: Taking Control of the Resource Future
BGN Group, under CEO Rüya Bayegan, is scaling its African footprint by supplying Egypt with up to 160 LNG cargoes through 2026 and operating fuel terminals across Morocco. In July 2025 the firm launched a joint venture with the DRC’s...
The ‘Resting’ Generation and South Korea’s Youth Recession
South Korea’s headline unemployment rate hovers around 4%, but a hidden youth recession is emerging as roughly 470,000 young adults are “resting” – neither employed nor job‑searching. Hiring for entry‑level positions has fallen for three consecutive years, with large firms...
Is Your ETF Habit Hiding a Systemic Risk?
Passive and thematic ETFs are funneling large inflows into market‑cap‑weighted indices, disproportionately boosting the biggest and most volatile stocks and creating a systemic risk that may outpace liquidity. In Canada, strategist Michael Green warns that this distortion decouples prices from...
Mobile Handset Is Now the Front Door to the Future of Banking in Africa
The Africa Digital Banking Experience report shows mobile handsets have become the primary gateway to banking across the continent. With mobile penetration rising and smartphones becoming affordable, banks are shifting to mobile‑first strategies and redesigning products for handset users. While...
Chinese Ports Are the Next Geoeconomic Battleground
China’s state‑owned and private firms have built a maritime logistics empire spanning 133 ports in 67 countries, turning the global ports network into a new geoeconomic battleground. The United States, European Union and Australia are mounting legal, regulatory and acquisition‑based...
Europe Is Helping Ukraine Resist a US Push for Peace at Any Price
European governments are stepping up to shield Ukraine from a U.S. push for a rapid peace settlement that would require territorial concessions. While Washington seeks a quick ceasefire, the EU has increased military aid by 67 percent in 2025 and approved...
Acceleration in India’s per Capita Income Growth Has Been Faster than in GDP Growth: Poonam Gupta
RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said India’s per‑capita income growth has outpaced overall GDP growth, driven by a sharp slowdown in population growth. From $274 in 1981, per‑capita income reached about $2,700 in 2024 and is projected to hit $4,346...
The Perils of Premature Automation
Developing nations are cautioned against rushing AI automation, as integrating advanced technologies into outdated, fragmented bureaucracies can erase middle‑skill jobs without spurring growth. The article argues that the prevailing "move fast or fall behind" mantra overlooks systemic readiness and may...
Russia Lures African Recruits as Ukraine War Reaches Fourth Year
Russia, facing mounting casualties in its fourth year of the Ukraine war, has turned to African recruits to replenish its ranks, with Ukrainian intelligence estimating more than 1,400 individuals from 36 African nations have been enlisted. Kenya reports roughly 200...