<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-401544" width="837" height="471" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" /><figcaption>The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange application seen on the screen of an iPhone. Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/bitcoin/">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;surged to a fresh record high of more than $63,000 on Tuesday, as investors awaited the highly-anticipated stock market debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC.CM=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;climbed 5% in the last 24 hours to hit $63,171, according to data from Coin Metrics, before easing slightly to around $62,653.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ETH.CM=">Ether</a>, the second-most valuable digital coin after bitcoin, also set a fresh record, climbing to $2,222.



Coinbase is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/coinbase-direct-listing-set-for-april-14-after-sec-approval.html">set to go public</a> on Wednesday through a direct listing that could value the company at as much as $100 billion — more than major trading venue operators like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ICE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Intercontinental Exchange</a>, owner of the New York Stock Exchange. Crypto investors are hailing the company’s stock market debut as a major milestone for the industry after years of skepticism from Wall Street and regulators.



“This is really good and really important for the industry,” Marcus Swanepoel, CEO and co-founder of London-based cryptocurrency platform Luno, told CNBC. “It’s going to increase the trust and transparency in our industry.”



“There’s still a bit of distrust in the industry and I think having a company of that size be public is going to help a lot of people realize that this is not just an asset class to take seriously but also a business to take seriously.”



Coinbase, founded in 2012, is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. It’s seen surging revenues this year thanks to a climb in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/coinbase-reports-estimated-q1-revenue-of-1point8-billion-up-nine-fold.html">reported estimated revenues of $1.8 billion in the first quarter</a>&nbsp;of 2021, a nine-fold increase from the same period a year earlier, while profits grew to between $730 million and $800 million.



Bitcoin has more than doubled in price since the start of this year, as mainstream investors jumped into cryptocurrencies. Tesla recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">made a $1.5 billion bet on bitcoin</a>&nbsp;and now&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/24/elon-musk-says-people-can-now-buy-a-tesla-with-bitcoin.html">accepts the digital currency as a method of payment</a>&nbsp;for its cars. Meanwhile, Wall Street giants like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Stanley</a>&nbsp;are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/31/bitcoin-goldman-is-close-to-offering-bitcoin-to-its-richest-clients.html">looking to offer their wealthy clients some exposure to bitcoin</a>.



Bitcoin bulls view the cryptocurrency as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/microstrategy-ceo-michael-saylor-sees-bitcoin-100-trillion-market-value-one-day.html">store of value</a>&nbsp;akin to gold that can be used to diversify investment portfolios in times of economic crisis. But&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/joseph-stiglitz-we-should-shutdown-the-cryptocurrencies.html">skeptical economists like Joseph Stiglitz</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/nouriel-roubini-and-michael-novogratz-battle-over-bitcoin-and-crypto.html">Nouriel Roubini are unconvinced</a>, viewing bitcoin as extremely volatile and a vehicle for illegal transactions.

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Bitcoin hits new all-time high above $63,000 ahead of Coinbase debut

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866769-1618315818737-106866769-1618232026044-gettyimages-1232239550-04102021_PHH_JJ_07JPG.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-401540" width="840" height="472" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866769-1618315818737-106866769-1618232026044-gettyimages-1232239550-04102021_PHH_JJ_07JPG.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866769-1618315818737-106866769-1618232026044-gettyimages-1232239550-04102021_PHH_JJ_07JPG-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /><figcaption>Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vial and box seen at a vaccination site. Doses of the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine are being administered throughout the state of Florida despite a small number of patients who have experienced adverse reactions, including blood clots. Paul Hennessy | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The Food and Drug Administration asked states on Tuesday to temporarily halt using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/JNJ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a>’s Covid-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” after six women in the U.S. developed a rare blood-clotting disorder.



“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.”



A White House spokesman referred CNBC to HHS when asked for comment.



All six cases occurred in women ages 18 to 48, with symptoms developing six to 13 days after they received the shot. Doctors typically treat that type of blood clot with heparin, but health regulators noted that could be dangerous in this case and recommended a different treatment.



J&amp;J said in a statement that “no clear causal relationship” has been identified between the blood clots and the vaccine, adding it is working closely with regulators to assess the data.



People who receive the vaccine and “develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider,” the FDA and CDC said.



After the news,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/johnson-johnson-vaccine-blood-clots-fda-cdc.html?referringSource=articleShare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first reported</a>&nbsp;by The New York Times, shares of J&amp;J were down 2.4% in premarket trading Tuesday.



The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review the cases, federal health regulators said Tuesday. The FDA is also investigating the cases.



J&amp;J’s vaccine, like Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, received emergency use authorization from the FDA to start distributing the doses across the U.S. An EUA grants conditional clearance based on two months of safety data, pending another submission for full approval, which usually requires at least six months of data.



J&amp;J submitted its Covid vaccine data to the FDA in February, and no specific concerns were identified at the time when analyzed by age, race and comorbidities, according to the agency. The FDA said at the time the most common side effects reported were headache and fatigue, followed by muscle aches, nausea and fever.



It’s unclear how the pause will impact J&amp;J’s goal to deliver 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of May. The company has already been plagued by manufacturing issues after a plant run by Emergent BioSolutions ruined 15 million doses of the vaccine.



Dr. Kavita Patel told CNBC on Tuesday she believes the FDA’s recommendation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/jj-covid-shot-pause-will-delay-us-vaccination-efforts-says-dr-kavita-patel.html">will likely have lasting impacts on the nation’s efforts to combat the pandemic.</a>



“This is a devastating blow to this J&amp;J vaccine effort in the United States,” Patel, a primary care physician in Washington, D.C., said in an interview on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/squawk-box-us/">CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”</a>&nbsp;Patel said the supply of the two-shot vaccines from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/PFE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pfizer</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MRNA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moderna</a>&nbsp;won’t be able to quickly make up the demand created by the J&amp;J pause. This will delay U.S. vaccination efforts, she added.



Last week, Europe’s medicines regulator&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/07/eu-medicines-regulators-finds-possible-link-between-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-and-blood-clots.html">said it found a possible link</a>&nbsp;between the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and rare blood-clotting issues. AstraZeneca has not received authorization for use in the U.S.



Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said in a televised news conference last week that unusual blood clotting with low blood platelets would be added as a “very rare” side effect to the AstraZeneca vaccine’s product information, along with a slew of other possible adverse reactions.



Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist who has sat on several drug data and safety monitoring boards, noted J&amp;J and AstraZeneca use the same platform for their vaccines. The J&amp;J and AstraZeneca vaccines both use an adenovirus, a common type of virus that typically causes mild cold symptoms.



“Clearly we don’t have all the information and need to learn more about the mechanism and risk factors,” he told CNBC. “But of course we can’t sweep any potential adverse events under the rug and it needs to be investigated thoroughly.”

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FDA halts use of Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine due to rare blood-clotting issues in six women

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866620-1618208053881-gettyimages-1312026925-if108109_2021041214948320.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401416" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866620-1618208053881-gettyimages-1312026925-if108109_2021041214948320.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866620-1618208053881-gettyimages-1312026925-if108109_2021041214948320-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A member of the bar staff pours drinks in the Switch bar as it opens following the easing of lockdown measures on April 12, 2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Ian Forsyth | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — The U.K. has eased its lockdown further with the reopening of non-essential shops and perhaps the most keenly-missed social hotspot — pubs — able to welcome customers to their gardens again on Monday.



Hairdressers, beauty and nail salons and indoor leisure facilities such as gyms and spas are now allowed to reopen and overnight stays away from home in England are now permitted. International travel remains illegal, however, unless for essential reasons.



Public buildings such as libraries and community centers will also reopen, as will outdoor attractions including zoos and theme parks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-open-at-midnight">Open at midnight</h2>



Still, the reopening of pub gardens as the weather improves is expected to give a much-needed morale boost to the British public and the hospitality sector. It comes after a tumultuous year that has seen pubs, bars and restaurants closed for much of the last 12 months.



A number of pubs with 24-hour licenses opened as soon as they were allowed. The Kentish Belle, a micropub in London, for instance, opened at 1 minute past midnight on Monday. Meanwhile, The Switch bar in Newcastle did the same and was fully booked, despite temperatures dropping below freezing.



Regular pubs across the country have been fully booked for weeks as drinkers counted down to April 12. Punters will be required to sit outside until further measures are eased in the coming months.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866621-1618208147102-gettyimages-1312026367-if108080_2021041214948320.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401417" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866621-1618208147102-gettyimages-1312026367-if108080_2021041214948320.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866621-1618208147102-gettyimages-1312026367-if108080_2021041214948320-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Friends make a toast as they enjoy a drink at the Switch bar in Newcastle shortly after midnight following the easing of lockdown measures on April 12, 2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Ian Forsyth | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed last week that an analysis of the Covid infection data following the reopening of schools meant that the country’s reopening plan, or “roadmap,” could continue.



The government has based its decisions on lifting the lockdown on four factors: that the vaccine deployment program continues successfully, that evidence shows vaccines are reducing hospitalizations and deaths and that there is no surge in hospitalizations. In addition, it said its assessment would look at the risks posed by new variants of the virus.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866636-1618214814549-gettyimages-1232261519-AFP_97U2LZ.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401418" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866636-1618214814549-gettyimages-1232261519-AFP_97U2LZ.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106866636-1618214814549-gettyimages-1232261519-AFP_97U2LZ-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Shoppers queue outside a Nike store in central London as coronavirus restrictions are eased across the country on April 12, 2021. GLYN KIRK | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Johnson said last week that there was currently “nothing in the present data” to deviate from the&nbsp;roadmap, allowing “Step 2″ of the easing to take place on April 12.



Johnson urged caution, however, saying that many restrictions remained in place; outdoor gatherings must still be limited to 6 people or 2 households, for example, and people cannot socialize indoors with anyone they do not live with or have not formed a support bubble with.



The U.K. was hit particularly badly by the coronavirus. To date, over 4.3 million infections have been reported in the U.K. and over 127,000 people have died.



One silver lining has been the country’s vaccination program which has been one of the fastest and successful in the world so far.



To date, over32 million people have been vaccinated with a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and over 7.4 million have received a second dose. The swiftness of the rollout, which began in December ahead of the U.S. and EU, largely enabled the country to overcome a third wave of cases in late 2020 that was attributed to the spread of a more infectious variant of the virus.



The next easing of lockdown is due on May 17, when most mixing rules will be lifted outdoors, with a limit of 30 people. Indoor mixing will also be allowed for up to six people and indoor parts of pubs and restaurants, cinemas, museums and group exercise classes will reopen. The government looking to completely lift all restrictions on social contact on June 21.

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Midnight drinkers flock to Britain’s beloved pubs as lockdown eases

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106846239-1614344788245-gettyimages-1231356157-AFP_93P2MN.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401359" width="837" height="471" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106846239-1614344788245-gettyimages-1231356157-AFP_93P2MN.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106846239-1614344788245-gettyimages-1231356157-AFP_93P2MN-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" /><figcaption>An Israeli health worker of the Maccabi Healthcare Services prepares to administer a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on February 24, 2021 in Tel Aviv. Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa is able to evade some of the protection of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/PFE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pfizer</a>&#8211;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/22UA-DE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BioNTech</a>&nbsp;vaccine,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.06.21254882v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to a new Israeli study</a>, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.



Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Clalit, the largest health-care organization in Israel, examined nearly 400 people who had tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. They compared them to the same number of people who were infected and unvaccinated.



The researchers found the prevalence of the variant from South Africa, known as B.1.351, among patients who received two doses of the vaccine was about eight times higher than those who were unvaccinated. The data, published online over the weekend, suggest the B.1.351 is better able to “break through” the protection of the vaccine than the original strain, the researchers wrote in the study.



“Based on patterns in the general population, we would have expected just one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight,” Professor Adi Stern, who headed the research,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/real-world-israeli-data-shows-south-african-variant-better-at-bypassing-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told The Times of Israel.</a>&nbsp;“We can say it’s less effective, but more research is needed to establish exactly how much.”



CNBC has reached out to Pfizer for comment on the study.



The new data comes as public health officials grow concerned that highly contagious variants, which studies have shown can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, could stall the world’s progress on the pandemic.



Last month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued a dire warning, telling reporters that she worried the United States is facing “impending doom” as variants spread and daily Covid-19 cases begin to rebound once again, threatening to send more people to the hospital.



“I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/cdc-chief-warns-us-headed-for-impending-doom-as-covid-cases-rise-again-right-now-im-scared-.html">she said March 29</a>. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.”



Israel launched its national vaccination campaign in December prioritizing people 60 and older, health-care workers, and people with comorbid conditions.&nbsp;By February, it was leading the world in vaccinations, inoculating millions of its citizens against the virus.



In January, Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health entered into a collaboration agreement to monitor the real-world impact of its vaccine.



The researchers noted the main caveat of the study was the sample size. B.1.351 only made up about 1% of all Covid-19 cases, they said. B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in the U.K., is more prevalent.



As variants spread, drugmakers said they are testing whether a third dose would offer more protection.



In February, Pfizer and BioNTech said t<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/pfizer-biontech-are-testing-a-booster-shot-of-their-covid-vaccine-in-a-new-trial.html">hey were testing a third </a>dose of their Covid-19 vaccine to better understand the immune response against new variants of the virus.

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LONDON — Policymakers and central banks need to be “very selective” with stimulus measures to avoid endangering global economic growth over the medium term, according to a top official at the International Monetary Fund, with a debt overhang and financial vulnerabilities identified as possible risks.



The warning comes as the IMF appears to be trying to orchestrate a delicate balancing act at its spring meetings this week.



The Washington-based institute has singled out the U.S. for praise in enacting extraordinary stimulus amid the coronavirus crisis <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/imf-world-economic-outlook-april-2021-global-gdp-to-hit-6percent.html">to fast-track a global economic recovery</a>, while also warning about the potential for these measures to cause longer-term structural damage to worldwide economies.



“There’s no question that stimulus in the United States presents a very favorable backdrop to the growth projections that we have made,” Geoffrey Okamoto, first deputy managing director of the IMF, told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche on Wednesday.



“I wouldn’t characterize it as a crutch. This is a tailwind, right, that countries should be able to use or capitalize on to try and ride through the remaining amount of time until they can get all of their citizens jabbed and their economies reopen,” he added.



The IMF said in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2021/03/23/world-economic-outlook-april-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Economic Outlook</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday that the global economy was on track to expand 6% this year, upgrading its forecast for the second time in three months. It comes after an estimated 3.3% contraction in 2020 and the worst global recession since World War II.



IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/04/07/sp-fostering-a-fair-recovery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> the brighter outlook was underpinned by the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and economic stimulus measures, “especially in the United States.”



In a move expected to supercharge the U.S. economic recovery, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/biden-1point9-trillion-covid-relief-package-thursday-afternoon.html">passed last month</a>. The White House has since sought to make a $2 trillion infrastructure plan the administration’s next legislative priority.



When asked whether policymakers and central banks were at risk of overeating economies as a result of ultra-accommodative measures, Okamoto replied: “Both on fiscal and monetary policy posture, keeping accommodation in place for too long does invite risks.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-risks-to-growth">‘Risks to growth’</h2>



“On the monetary policy side, keeping monetary policy accommodation in place for too long does invite certain vulnerabilities to come into the financial sector,” Okamoto said, adding the institute had said in its Global Financial Stability Report that regulators would need to contain these risks.



The IMF report,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/GFSR/Issues/2021/04/06/global-financial-stability-report-april-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published Tuesday</a>, said that while there is a pressing need to avoid a legacy of vulnerabilities, actions taken during the coronavirus pandemic “may have unintended consequences such as stretched valuations and rising financial vulnerabilities.”



It also highlights a stark divergence between a small number of advanced economies and emerging market economies, with low-income countries seen to be at risk of falling further behind during a multispeed recovery.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106865262-1617877497862-gettyimages-1231998208-Electrical_Products_Export.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401228" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106865262-1617877497862-gettyimages-1231998208-Electrical_Products_Export.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106865262-1617877497862-gettyimages-1231998208-Electrical_Products_Export-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A worker works on a production line to produce electrical products for domestic and Southeast Asian markets in Hai ’an city, east China’s Jiangsu province, March 29, 2021. Costfoto | Barcroft Media | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“On the fiscal side, just because rates remain low and your borrowing capacity is there doesn’t mean you can borrow unlimited amounts of money for any purpose,” Okamoto said.



“We want people to spend resources prudently both to get through the pandemic and to make the proper investments to set themselves on a growth trajectory coming out of the crisis. But that requires being very selective and making sure that you’re funding the projects with the highest economic rates of return.”



Okamoto said a failure to be selective with these projects would invite a debt overhang, “and both the debt overhang or the financial vulnerabilities could invite risks to growth over the medium term.”

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106755522-1603334454766-gettyimages-1176406076-191017_BMF_PHT28.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-400919" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106755522-1603334454766-gettyimages-1176406076-191017_BMF_PHT28.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106755522-1603334454766-gettyimages-1176406076-191017_BMF_PHT28-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>The International Monetary Fund’s logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Thomas Trutschel | Photothek | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — The International Monetary Fund is expecting a stronger economic recovery in 2021 as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/coronavirus/">Covid-19</a>&nbsp;vaccine rollouts get underway, but it warns of “daunting challenges” given the different rates of administering shots across the globe.&nbsp;



The organization said Tuesday it expects the world economy to grow by 6% in 2021, up from its 5.5% forecast in January. Looking further ahead, global GDP for 2022 is seen increasing by 4.4%, higher than an earlier estimate of 4.2%.



“Even with high uncertainty about the path of the pandemic, a way out of this health and economic crisis is increasingly visible,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said in the latest World Economic Outlook report.



The latest round of fiscal stimulus in the U.S., along with the vaccine rollouts across the world, have made the group more confident about the global economy this year.



“Nonetheless, the outlook presents daunting challenges related to divergences in the speed of recovery both across and within countries and the potential for persistent economic damage from the crisis,” Gopinath added.



The IMF estimated growth of 5.1% for advanced economies this year, with the United States expanding by 6.4%.



The group’s forecast for emerging and developing economies’ growth is 6.7% for 2021, with India expected to expand by as much as 12.5%.



“Within-country income inequality will likely increase because young workers and those with relatively lower skills remain more heavily affected in not only advanced but also emerging markets and developing economies,” Gopinath warned, adding that lower levels of female employment was also exacerbating disparities.



As a result, the IMF said governments should continue to focus on “escaping the crisis” by providing fiscal support, including to their health-care systems. In a second phase, “policymakers will need to limit long-term economic scarring” from the crisis and boost public investment, it added.



“Without additional efforts to give all people a fair shot, cross-country gaps in living standards could widen significantly, and decades-long trends of global poverty reduction could reverse,” Gopinath said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recovery-in-the-u-s">Recovery in the U.S.</h2>



The latest forecasts suggest that the United States is well placed to experience a solid economic recovery in 2021, in contrast to much of the world, where it’s likely to take longer to return to precrisis levels.



The positive assessment for the U.S. is highly driven by President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package, which came into force last month.



Unemployment in the United States is expected to fall from 8.1% in 2020 to 5.8% this year and to 4.1% in 2022, according to the latest IMF projections.



In February, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could return to full employment in 2022. “There’s absolutely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/07/covid-stimulus-yellen-says-us-could-return-to-full-employment-next-year-if-relief-passes.html">no reason why we should suffer through a long slow recovery</a>,” she told CNN at the time.



The IMF’s latest forecasts confirm that the U.S. is on track to not only return but exceed its pre-pandemic performance this year.



“Among advanced economies, the United States is expected to surpass its pre-Covid GDP level this year, while many others in the group will return to their pre-COVID levels only in 2022,” Gopinath said.

IMF increases global growth forecast, says crisis end is ‘increasingly visible’

How Mercedes-Benz Is Losing Its Prestige Image

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/104950133-GettyImages-871795390-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400886" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/104950133-GettyImages-871795390-1.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/104950133-GettyImages-871795390-1-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In 2021, bitcoin and ether have seen huge rallies. In April 2021, the cryptocurrency market topped $2 trillion in value for the first time. Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GUANGZHOU, China — The value of the cryptocurrency market topped $2 trillion for the first time on Monday driven by a rally in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ETH=">ether</a>, the second-largest digital coin.



In just over two months, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has doubled, according to price tracking website CoinGecko, as retail and institutional investors pile into the space.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC.CB=">Bitcoin</a>, the biggest digital currency, accounts for over 50% of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization. Bitcoin has rallied over 100% this year alone, and that has helped drive the cryptocurrency market higher.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/13/bitcoin-surpasses-60000-in-record-high-as-rally-accelerates-.html">Last month, bitcoin hit a record high of above $61,000</a>. The digital coin was trading at about $58,800 on Tuesday, according to Coindesk data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ether-rally">Ether rally</h2>



But the latest boost in the cryptocurrency market appears to have been driven by ether, the digital coin that powers the Ethereum blockchain.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/blockchain-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work.html">Bitcoin also runs on a technology called blockchain</a>&nbsp;which is a public ledger of activity and a way for transactions to take place using the cryptocurrency. In comparison, the Ethereum blockchain is more like a software platform that allows developers to build apps on top of it. Users can then spend ether on these apps.



So-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/ethereum-2point0-eth-cryptocurrencys-network-starts-a-major-upgrade.html">smart contracts are a key feature of Ethereum</a>. These are contracts that can be automatically executed using code.



There is growing excitement about the use of Ethereum in so-called decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications. These are blockchain-based financial services, such as lending, which could in theory bypass banks and brokerages. Users of these apps may transact using cryptocurrency.



Ethereum also has the underlying technology behind the recent craze in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/23/how-to-create-buy-sell-nfts.html">non-fungible tokens, or NFTs — a new type of digital asset</a>.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/mark-cuban-on-his-crypto-portfolio-i-own-ethereum-ether-and-bitcoin.html">Billionaire investor Mark Cuban owns ether</a>&nbsp;and said that it is the “closest we have to a true currency.”



Ether hit an all-time high of $2,151.25 on Tuesday morning Singapore time, according to CoinDesk. It is up over 180% year-to-date.



The digital currency is also seeing interest among companies. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/crypto-chinese-app-meitu-buys-millions-worth-of-bitcoin-and-ethereum.html">Chinese app maker Meitu bought $22.1 million worth of ether last month</a>, making it one of the first major companies to do so.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bitcoin interest</h2>



Bitcoin still remains the powerhouse of the cryptocurrency market and over the last few months, saw a big increase in interest among companies and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/04/bitcoin-btc-rally-partly-driven-by-more-institutional-investors-pwc-says.html">large institutional investors</a>.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Square</a>&nbsp;are among a handful of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">companies that have purchased bitcoin</a>.



Meanwhile, major investment banks are exploring ways to allow clients to get involved with digital asset investments. In March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/17/bitcoin-morgan-stanley-is-the-first-big-us-bank-to-offer-wealthy-clients-access-to-bitcoin-funds.html">CNBC reported</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Stanley</a>&nbsp;became the first major U.S. bank to offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/31/bitcoin-goldman-is-close-to-offering-bitcoin-to-its-richest-clients.html">CNBC also reported last month that Goldman Sachs</a>&nbsp;is gearing up to launch its first investment vehicles for bitcoin and other digital assets to clients of its private wealth management group.



There is also hope among investors for an expanding portfolio of investment products and many are watching Grayscale Investments, which runs one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin funds. It is known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GBTC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grayscale Bitcoin Trust</a>.



The company said on Monday that it is “100% committed” to converting that trust into an exchange-traded fund, or ETF. That would effectively track the price of bitcoin and allow traders to play the price movement without owning the cryptocurrency itself. It could be a way for more investors to be involved in the bitcoin market.

104950133-GettyImages-871795390-1

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